Heaven Waiting

by

Carol Collins

 

Joseph Roytch, a twenty-year-old apprentice steel worker, easily shifted his heavy metal toolbox from one muscular shoulder to the other as he stepped from the open construction elevator onto the third floor of the new six-floor office building under construction next to the Westside Elementary School. Joe called out to Allen Smith, the elderly journeyman steel worker who had been assigned to train Joe, as he moved to their work area. Allen, a well liked sixty four year old man nearing retirement, smiled and returned the greeting, "Good morning, Joe. The weather is going to be great today. It'll make you glad you chose to work out side instead of being cooped up indoors all the time. Life is really good!"

Joe looked out the open side of the building and saw the children arriving at the elementary school. School buses and private automobiles lined up in front of the relatively old school building while some parents escorted their children on foot. One such parent in particular was of interest to the construction workers. She was a very pretty blonde mother that walked her equally pretty blonde six-year-old daughter to school each and every morning. She lived only two houses down the street from the school. Even from this distance, Joe could see that the mother had shoulder length blonde hair, a pretty face, and a slim athletic figure and that she moved with fluid grace. She was too far away to see her big blue eyes nor had he seen her smile, which could almost light up a room, however, he could imagine them. The construction workers had voted her the sexiest woman to pass by their site every day. Each day, they paid her a compliment in the usual way.

Allen had insisted on no whistles or cat calls from any of the men until after the young daughter was safely inside the school. Even then, he had insisted on no comments that a guy would not want made to his kid sister or daughter. When the small child kissed her mother's cheek and entered the school building, Joe got ready. Joe whistled loudly at the young mother for the seventh time since he had started working on the building the previous week. "Hey, Baby! Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" She never raised her eyes, only walked faster toward her home, just as she had done the first six times. Joe and most of the other men grinned as they picked up their tools and prepared to start working.

Since Allen and Joe were to work on the roof structure, they loaded their equipment onto the elevator and began their ascent to the roof. They were almost at the roof when the steel cable broke. The safety catch mechanism failed to stop the construction elevator as it plummeted six floors toward the basement. For Joe, there was a flipping sensation in his stomach as a feeling of weightlessness swept over him. Then, everything when blank

 

The mist swirled about them as they were escorted to a waiting passenger jet. Joe and Allan were there together but were disoriented. A strange looking little man was speaking, "Come along. Don't worry; Mister Jordan will explain everything to you. I'm just his apprentice, but, with the hurricane in the Caribbean and the earthquake in Peru, it is very busy right now. You two have the honor of being my first customers where I am working completely by myself." The cheerful stranger in a business suit was a small man with large eyeglasses who seemed to be happy about getting to go solo for the first time.

"This must be a dream!" Joe exclaimed as he looked around. "In a minute or two, I'll wake up."

"No, Mister Roytch, this is not a dream. We are at a way station. This is where you will board a conveyance that will take you to your final destination."

Joe laughed. "Yea! Right!" He looked at Allan and saw that his elderly co-worker was not laughing. Joe was about to say something else when a very cultured voice spoke up as a distinguished looking gentleman in a tailored three piece suit stepped out of the mist leading a group of South American Indians.

"What seems to be the problem?" Asked the tall man.

"Mister Jordan, I have picked up the workers from the construction accident. This is Mister Smith and the grinning one is Mister Roytch. Unfortunately, Mister Roytch is not taking the situation seriously."

Mister Jordan had a worried frown on his face as he walked past the line of waiting passengers and picked up a clipboard from the flight attendant manning the boarding stairs. He scanned the list twice before returning the clipboard. Next, he pulled his Probability Calculator from his inside jacket pocket. He punched in the name of Joseph Roytch and was not pleased with the displayed results. Mister Jordan starred at his apprentice as he asked, "Did you wait until they had both passed on before retrieving their Souls?"

The large eye glasses made the little man look like an owl as he cast his eyes downwards, "Well, uh, no, Sir. The accident looked like their deaths were going to be extremely painful. I pulled them out just before the elevator hit bottom."

"I see." Mister Jordan turned to Allan Smith, "Allen, welcome to Heaven. You have been approved for admittance." Allan voiced some concerns for his wife. Mister Jordan punched her name into his Probability Calculator and said, "Don't worry about her. There is a ninety-four percent probability that you will be re-united in about six months." Then, Mister Jordan turned his gaze towards Joe, "You, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter. There is an eighty-nine percent probability that you were not to arrive for what should have been another twenty-seven years. Therefore, we shall return you to your body immediately. I do trust that my assistant can do that correctly. And, when my assistant returns, we shall discuss the reasoning for not pulling a Soul from a body until the body has expired."

The swirling mist immediately surrounded Joe before he could say anything and when it cleared, he was back at the construction site. Workers and emergency personnel were swarming about and were working to clear heavy debris from around the bottom of the elevator shaft as the two other worldly visitors hovered in the air, unseen, above everyone's heads. The little man with the big glasses floated at Joe's side. "Now, to slip you back into your body before anyone notices that you were gone," he said just as the workers found Allan and Joe's bodies buried under the wreckage. It was immediately apparent that Joe would not be able to remain alive in his grossly mutilated body. The small man exclaimed, "Oh, Dear! This will never do!" Joe thought that he was going to be sick as the mist surrounded him once more.

Mister Jordan had seen to the passengers boarding the jetliner. Most were nervous, but had been reassured by him that everything would be fine. That is when Joe and his escort arrived. A short explanation later and Mister Jordan was fully aware of the serious consequences of Joe no longer having a body twenty-seven years before he should have died. "Joseph," he said, "this very rarely ever happens." He gave his apprentice a glare as he added, "In the past, when it happened, we simply placed the Human Soul into another body."

Joe protested, "Now wait just a damned minute!" Mister Jordan and his assistant both looked uncomfortable with Joe's use of profanity. "Are you telling me that since the two of you screwed up, I am going to be put in some one else's body?!?! No way!!!" Joe was visibly upset as he added, "I spent years working out and building up my body. I played Quarter Back. I had the body of an athlete. I want it back!"

Mister Jordan used his suave personality to soothe the emotionally upset Soul. "Joseph, you must understand that almost nothing in Life is pre-ordained. If it were, then people would never be able to make their own choices in their lives. That would also mean that that there could be no rewards or punishments for those choices. Therefore, Humans were given Free Will to choose whether they will do Good or Evil with their limited time on Earth. Your friend, Allan, for instance, through his own actions, earned the right to enter Heaven."

Joe had calmed down slightly as he listened to the distinguished looking Angel speaking, "Are you saying that I can't get into Heaven?"

"No, Joseph. That is not what I am saying. You see, life is made up of seemingly random events that influence one to make choices. We can predict the probability of what those choices will be, however, every person has Free Will and we are sometimes surprised by their choices. At the end of a person's life, those choices are added up and a determination is made. My Probability Calculator tells me that you should not be here now. We cannot judge you without giving you a fair chance to make your own decisions. That's why we will find you a suitable body that should have the potential of lasting another twenty-seven years." He turned to his assistant who immediately looked downwards, "My Calculator says that Joseph should have been able to have leapt free of the falling elevator and would not have been killed in the fall. That is why we should never take any Souls from their bodies until their body is actually dead." His assistant apologized but pointed out that since he was but an apprentice, he had not been issued a Probability Calculator and if he had one, he would never have pulled Mister Roytch out of his body before his time. Mister Jordan did not reply.

Mist swirled around them for a moment. When it cleared, they were hovering in the air above a soccer stadium. Joe looked down and saw a player get knocked down as several other players tripped and fell on top of him, causing his neck to bend in an un-natural angle. Mister Jordan instructed his apprentice, "Please escort Quan Lee to the way station." Next, he turned to Joe, "Well, Joe, here is the body of an athlete."

"Wait a minute! Where are we? This looks like somewhere in China! I don't want to be some Chinese guy! I'm an American! I want to be given an athletic body in my own hometown. That guy may not even be able to speak English!"

Mister Jordan made a facial expression of exasperation as his assistant guided the bodiless Soul of Quan Lee upwards. "Joseph, I thought that you wanted an athlete's body. Quan Lee was one of the greatest athletes that the sport of soccer has ever known. And, we have to slip you into the deceased body before anyone else is aware that the former owner has died." Joe mumbled something about soccer being a "sissy sport". "Very well, Joseph. We shall attempt to find you an athletic American body in your own hometown although I am afraid that our choices may be limited."

The swirling mist surrounded them for a moment. When it cleared, they were standing inside the emergency room of an American hospital. The medical staff never even seemed to notice their presence as they rushed past. "They can not see us, Joseph. We are on a different plane of existence." A cute blonde nurse walked right through Joe as she delivered a hypodermic needle loaded with medicine to the doctor who blocked Joe's view of the patient on the emergency room table. Mister Jordan consulted his Probability Calculator. "What we have here is an American professional tennis player about your own age who has a ruptured blood vessel in the left hemisphere of the brain. The Soul should depart the body within a few seconds. At which time, I can repair the ruptured blood vessel and we can slip you into the body. Or, I am afraid that it probability will be several months before another opportunity such as this presents itself. Well, Joseph, what is it to be?"

The alarms went off as the patient's heart stopped. Joe nodded his head slightly. It was enough of an answer for Mister Jordan as the world began to darken around him. Joe caught a glimpse of the Soul rising up from the body. He recognized it and tried to change his mind. It was too late. Everything went black.

 

Joe slowly opened his eyes. "Damn!" He thought to himself, "What a crazy dream!"

That's when he heard the nurse speaking into the intercom. "Please inform Doctor Johnston that Mrs. Stone is awake."

"Joseph," Joe recognized Mister Jordan's cultured voice. "Joseph, you specified that you wanted an athlete's body in your home town. I do hope that you understand that we placed you in the best athletic body that was to be available for many months." Joe opened his eyes again and saw the Probability Calculator in the angel's hand. "There is a eighty-four percent probability that we would have had to of waited five months, one week, three days and six hours before a suitable male athlete's body would have been available in your home town. After a short period of adjustment, you will adapt to being female. Then, you will have the twenty seven years that you are entitled to before you are judged."

Joe tried to sit up. The wires and tubes attached to his feminine body made it difficult. "I never asked to be a woman!" He tried to say as his voice cracked and croaked unintelligibly.

The nurse rushed to his side, walking right through Mister Jordan in the process. "Lay still, Melanie. The doctor will be here in a moment. We thought that we had lost you. It's a miracle that you are alive." She held a glass of water so that Joe could suck some water through a straw to wet his dry mouth and throat.

While Joe was sipping the water, Mister Jordan advised, "Joseph, when the doctor arrives, just pretend to have amnesia. That should not be too difficult since you have no memories of being Melanie Stone. She was the wife of Ronald Stone and the mother of six-year-old Melissa. You have seen her and her young daughter as Melanie escorted Melissa to Westside Elementary School every morning for almost the last two weeks. After delivering her daughter to school this morning, and just before your accident, she went to play a game of tennis at a local country club. That is when she experienced her aneurysm and collapsed on the court. She was rushed to the emergency room where she died and you took her place."

Joe remembered the young blonde mother that he had whistled at each day. It was bizarre that she was now dead and he was now in her body! "Damn." Was all that he could say as he lay back on the hospital bed and stared at the ceiling?

"Just relax, Dear. Everything will be alright." The concerned nurse told him as she patted his hand. Joe looked up at her.

"Okay?" He thought to himself. "How can everything be okay? I am a guy stuck in a woman's body. Not only that, but I have a husband? And, a daughter?" He then mumbled out loud, "I'm a woman!"

The nurse smiled and reassured her very attractive patient, "Yes, Melanie, you are most definitely a woman, a very pretty woman. And, everything is going to be okay, Dear."

Mister Jordan added, "Yes, Joseph, you are a woman in great physical condition. I repaired the burst blood vessel in your brain in your new body and it will easily last the twenty-seven years that you were originally entitled to live. However, since you seem to be upset about being a woman, when a male body that meets your requirements becomes available, we will give you the choice to swap into that body. I will return to you then. Just remember, Joseph, you have Free Will to choose how you live your life. Choose wisely." Mister Jordan's image faded from view as the doctor entered the hospital room.

 

Joe rubbed his small fragile looking arm when the IV needle was removed. Doctor Johnston had had a new CAT scan performed just to be sure that his patient's brain was okay. It was. The nurse had just helped Joe back into his hospital bed when a tall dark haired man entered the room. He immediately rushed to the bed and threw his strong arms around Joe, almost lifting Joe from the bed. "Melanie," the man almost sobbed, "After I got the news I took the first flight home." He released his crushing embrace to look at Joe's pretty face for a moment before re-tightening his bear hug. "They originally told me that you were probably going to die! Melanie, I was worried sick."

Joe had always been a heterosexual male. Having some guy, whom he did not even know, hug him was making him nervous. The guy that had Joe's petite feminine body almost lifted up off the bed was so much larger than Joe in his new female body, Joe saw very little that he could do at the moment. "At least," Joe thought to himself, "he isn't trying to kiss me. That would be gross!" That was when the tall man kissed him on the lips.

The big guy released his wife when he felt her struggling to get free. "What's the matter, Baby? Am I hurting you?" He backed away from the bed a foot or so as he added, "If I hurt you, I am very sorry. I was just so happy that you are all right. I love you so very much!" He reached out and gently held Joe's hand. "On the flight back, all I could think of was that I could not imagine life without you."

Joe lay back on the bed and tried to think of a way to let the man know that his wife was gone without causing any more pain. He realized that the guy was still holding his hand. It made him uncomfortable. "At least," Joe thought, "He's not trying to kiss me again."

Doctor Johnston entered the room. "You must be Ronald Stone, the husband?" The tall dark haired man nodded his head as he asked how his wife was doing. "Amazingly well. When she was admitted, it appeared to be a fatal aneurysm. The fact that Melanie is alive is a miracle. In fact, the latest tests have indicated that she is in perfect health." Ronald Stone thanked the doctor and, before Joe could react, Ronald tried to kiss Joe on the lips again.

Joe shoved his new husband away as he exclaimed, "I know that I am supposed to be your wife. However, I do not know you. I am sorry, and please don't kiss me!"

As Ronald looked as if he had been slapped in the face, Doctor Johnston explained, "Mister Stone, perhaps we should have had a private conference before you saw your wife. Almost everyone that suffers an aneurysm experiences some memory loss. Your wife is evidently no exception. You will have to be patient with her and go very slowly until we determine the extent of the loss." The doctor stood next to the bed as he held Joe's hand. "Melanie, try to remain calm. Your husband is just overjoyed that you survived your illness. You will need to trust your husband until you recover completely."

After half an hour of questions and answers, the doctor concluded that Melanie Stone had a total memory loss of her personal history. She had no memory of her childhood, her marriage or even of her own daughter. When he informed the husband, he saw tears slowly trickle down the man's cheeks. He left the saddened husband alone as he went to make his rounds.

 

Joe sat up on the side of his hospital bed as he ate the food served for breakfast. Since he had awoken in Melanie Stone's body the day before, he had learned several things about his new body. Yesterday, he had stood in front of the bathroom mirror for nearly a quarter of an hour as he studied his new face. His conclusion was that Melanie Stone was even prettier than he had imagined as he had whistled at her when she had walked past the construction site. And, when the nurse had left him alone for a few minutes as he lay in bed, he had checked out Melanie's body. He found his new body to be both firm and soft. There were muscles, but none of the rippling ridges that his own male body had possessed. His new breasts were about C cups and while they were firm, they had very large sensitive pink nipples. His waist was almost tiny, however, his new hips seemed to be too large. At least his stomach was relatively flat. His new legs were long and he had to admit, though reluctantly, that they were very shapely. While the nurse was still out of the room, he had checked out his new equipment. Since his female body was nude under the hospital gown, it was easy to do. Not only did he no longer have a penis, his pubic area was almost completely bald. There was only a postage stamp sized patch of curly hair on his pubic mound. When he rubbed it very gently, it felt so amazingly good that he would have continued if the nurse had not returned. He was sure that his face turned red as he quickly pulled his hands out from under the hospital blanket. The private duty nurse pretended not to notice what her patient had been doing as she sat down in a chair beside the bed.

After breakfast, Joe was informed that he had a visitor. A tall very attractive slender brunette dressed in a tank top and tight jeans entered the room. Her face was pretty, her dark lustrous hair was short and curly, her eyes were a warm brown and her legs were long and thin. The woman smiled as she gracefully approached the bed, hugged Joe and whispered in his ear, "Damn, Mel, you sure gave me a scare!" The nurse excused herself, saying that she would return later. The brunette leaned back to look into Joe's eyes as she continued, "When you collapsed while we were playing tennis, I thought that you had just passed out for some reason or another. When you wouldn't wake up, we called an ambulance. I rode with you to the hospital. Then, the ER doctor said your were dying. I called Ron's secretary and had her get the message to him. When it was time to pick up Melissa from school, I left the hospital and took her home with me. I only told her that you were sick and in the hospital. That's when I called and they said that you had had a complete recovery!"

Joe could see tears in the brunette's eyes as she added, "I would have traded ten years of my own life to not have to tell Melissa that her mommy was dead! I can't tell you how happy I am that I didn't have to do that!" Tears were now running down the dark haired woman's pretty face as she hugged Joe's feminine body in a crushing embrace. Joe felt sad for the woman. She did not know it, but, her friend really was dead. "Melanie, they said you have amnesia. Is that true?" When Joe nodded his pretty head, she asked, "Does that mean that you don't remember me at all?" She was again looking him in the eyes as Joe nodded his head. "How about Ron or Melissa?"

Now, for some reason, Joe also had tears in his eyes. "I am afraid that I don't remember any of you. I don't even know your name. Sorry." Joe did not want to hurt anyone. All he wanted to do was to find a place to hide until Mister Jordan returned in a few months to let him swap into the male athlete's body. He really did not wish to become involved in the dead woman's life. The crying brunette brushed an errant strand of blonde hair out of Joe's face before hugging him again. He found himself hugging her in return as tears ran down both of their faces.

The dark haired beauty released Joe, leaned back slightly, wiped her eyes, smiled, held out her hand as if to shake hands, and said, "Okay. Since you don't remember me, let me introduce myself. My name is Renee Whiting. I've known you for the last ten years and I hope that we will always be friends." Joe slowly placed his petite hand within Renee's. Some how, the soft grip of her hand soothed his own troubled soul.

Over the next hour or so, Renee Whiting told Joe about her and Melanie's history. Joe found out that they had met in college when they became dormitory roommates. Both were on an athletic scholarship for tennis and played doubles together as well as singles. They became best friends. During their junior year, Melanie met Ron Stone and she became pregnant with Melissa during the spring semester of her senior year. When Ron found out that he was the father of Melanie's baby, he had asked her to marry him. The wedding ceremony was the week after graduation. Renee was Melanie's Bride's Maid. Melissa grew up calling her Aunt Renee. Both women worked part time at the local country club teaching youngsters and adults how to play tennis. The previous month, Ron, Melanie, Melissa, Renee and Ben Logan, Renee's fiancée, had rented a beach house at the seashore for a week. By the time the pretty brunette had finished Melanie's biography, Joe almost felt that he knew both Melanie and Renee. Joe hated to admit it, even to himself, but he had been frightened. He had not wanted to loose his own body. He certainly had not wanted to be female He even felt that he had been tricked into accepting a woman's body by Mister Jordan. He knew that he was stuck in Melanie Stone's body for several months. That also frightened him. He felt he was accepting Renee's friendship under false pretenses, but he needed a friend right now very desperately.

Renee's effervescent personality filled Joe with hope. He had been very despondent since he had been switched into a female body. He had had no idea how he was to survive as a woman. He, as a man, had never had a friendship as close as Renee and Melanie's had been. In many ways, he felt envious. Renee pulled a hairbrush from her purse and began to brush his slightly tangled shoulder length blonde hair as she continued to tell him about Melanie's life. He found out that Ron Stone was a project engineer that worked for a construction company and that he had been out of town supervising the work on a new building when Melanie had her aneurysm. Ron was a nice guy that loved his wife and daughter. Melissa was a wonderful daughter who was both intelligent and beautiful. Melanie had been a very lucky woman.

Renee pulled a pair of pink hair barrettes from her purse and, while talking, arranged Joe's blonde hair into one of the styles that Melanie had sometimes worn. When he went to the bathroom to relieve his bladder, he spent an extra minute admiring his looks in the mirror. "Well," he thought to himself, "if I have to be a woman for a few months, it's better to be a pretty one!" Renee tapped on the bathroom door and asked if everything was okay. "Yes. I was just looking in the mirror for a moment. I'll be out in a couple of minutes." Joe lifted his hospital gown, sat on the commode and peed just as he had done the previous night. Afterwards, he used some toilet paper to dry his nearly hairless vagina. As he stood before the mirror as he washed his hands, he gazed at himself. Instead of a tall, muscular and handsome young man, there was a rather short, shapely and pretty blonde woman looking back at him.

Renee tapped on the door again. Joe opened it and returned to the bed. He found the open back gown to be embarrassing to wear as he sat on the bed and covered his overly exposed tender flesh with a sheet. Renee promised to bring him a nightie to wear. Some how, the idea of wearing a "nightie" did not cheer Joe up very much. It dawned on him that, since he was now a female, he would probably have to wear woman's underwear! Renee saw the look of concern on her friend's face and assumed that Melanie was unhappy with the plain hospital gown. She decided that she would buy her friend a new frilly little baby doll nightgown to make her feel better.

Ronald Stone, having spent the morning making arrangements to have the rest of the week off from work, entered the room right after lunch. Even though he loved his wife more than anything, he did not try to kiss her. He had spoken with the doctors and was willing to give her time to adjust to her amnesia. Ron had brought a dozen red roses, which he knew that his wife adored. Joe had never before noticed that roses smelt this pleasant when he held the flowers as Renee went to find a vase. Joe carried on an awkward conversation with the tall dark man as his new female friend found a water container, arranged the roses and placed the flowers on the table next to the bed.

Joe had always been heterosexual and although he found his new "husband" to be a nice guy and rather handsome, he felt very ill at ease talking to Ron. Joe did not wish to be in a female body, especially not in the body of a woman with a husband and a child. The knowledge that the tall handsome stranger standing beside the bed had had intimate relations with the body that Joe now occupied only made him more nervous. Ron told him that the doctors were amazed at his wife's recovery and had said that they could go home the next day.

"Go home?" Joe thought to himself. "Fat chance! I bet my roommates, Billy and George have already divided up my stereo, television and porno collection." Then, for the first time, Joe thought of his mother. "Mom! I wonder how she is taking all this? She divorced Dad when he ran off with his secretary. She had begged me not to move out of the house, but, I wanted a place to take chicks. I was her only son and she had no daughters. Now, she is all alone." For the first time, Joe thought about how his mother was probably reacting to the death of her only child.

Ron could see the anxiety in his wife's facial expression. He automatically moved forward to take Melanie into his arms to comfort her. She pulled back as if she did not want him to touch her. Ron quickly stepped back away from the bed. The doctor had said that amnesia victims needed time to adapt. Ron loved his wife so much that he wanted nothing more than to enfold her in his arms and protect her from any and all harm. Instead, he stood back to give her the breathing room that the doctor had recommended. After an hour of stilted conversation, Ron left to pick up Melissa at school.

Renee sat on the edge of the hospital bed and took Joe's hand into her own as she said, "Mel, if you feel that you aren't ready to go home with Ron tomorrow, you can stay with me in my apartment until you feel you are ready." Joe looked into the concerned big brown eyes of his new friend and accepted the gracious offer.

 

Joe had taken a shower and, after much stretching and straining, had donned a brassiere for the first time. The lingerie that Renee had brought him to wear under his dress was far too feminine for Joe's taste. In fact, instead of a dress, he would have much preferred jeans and a pull over shirt to wear as he left the hospital, but, Renee misstakeningly felt that her friend was tired of wearing drab hospital gowns and would want to wear something extra pretty.

Joe shifted his breasts inside of his brassiere cups as he checked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. The brassiere was a shiny light blue satin push up model that made his breasts look even bigger than they were. The matching panties were thong style where a string fit between his shapely buttocks. Even though Joe's shoulder length blonde hair was still wet from the shower and he was not wearing any make up, he admired the feminine beauty of the body that he was trapped within. Joe picked up the soft light blue dress, slipped it over his head and let it flutter down around his curvy form. Another minute or two and he had managed to zip up the back zipper of the dress. The sleeveless dress had a neckline that was low enough to hint at his cleavage. The hemline was a few inches above his shapely knees.

When Joe left the bathroom, Renee was waiting with a plugged-in curling iron. A few minutes later, Joe's blonde hair hung in feminine curls. A few minutes more and he was wearing some eye make up and pink lipstick. When Joe had acted as if he did not know how to use a curling iron or apply the make up, Renee had done it for him. She talked to him about how much it would be like they were roommates in college again while he stayed in her apartment. Joe almost balked when he was handed a pair of high heel shoes. The heels were about two and a half inches high. He considered going bare foot but decided to give the high heels a try. By the time he had walked to the bathroom mirror, he had almost adapted to the heels.

Joe was surprised to see the image in the mirror. Sure, he had whistled at Melanie Stone every morning for about a week, but he had never seen her up close and had no idea of just how beautiful the young blonde woman really was. Now, however, there was no doubt in his mind. Renee smiled as she saw her best friend turning to see her own reflection from different angles. She was glad that Melanie was showing an interest in her appearance again.

Joe rode in a wheel chair to the hospital entrance. He thanked the hospital volunteer worker as he climbed out of the chair and into Renee's Honda Accord Coupe. His new friend thought to herself, "Golly, Mel! When you got into the car, your legs were wide open. Everyone near the loading zone saw the color of your light blue satin panties!" Renee shook her head as she rounded her car to get into the driver's seat.

Renee's apartment was small but comfortable. Joe was surprised to find that Renee had gone to Melanie's home and had picked up some of her clothes and had placed them in her closet and drawers. She said that Ron had reluctantly agreed to let his wife spend some time with her best friend instead of coming home from the hospital. Ron had even helped pick out the clothing and personal items that were now in Renee's apartment.

Joe moved around the apartment during the afternoon, getting used to his feminine body and his new surroundings. He blushed when Renee told him about the show of intimate apparel that he had provided as he had sat down in Renee's car at the hospital. He decided to be more careful in the future. "Just a few months," he thought to himself, "that is all. If I can stand being a woman for about five months, that Jordan guy will be able to put me in a male athlete's body." Joe passed by a full-length mirror, saw his reflection, stopped and thought, "Well, if I have to be a woman, at least I'm a pretty one!" Joe even smiled for a moment as he gazed into the mirror. Renee was glad to see that her friend had finally stopped frowning as she moved next to Melanie and put her arms around her attractive blonde friend.

"I am very glad to see you smiling, Mel. You are beginning to look like your old self." Renee leaned over and kissed Joe on his pretty cheek as the doorbell rang. "Bet I know who that is," she added as she went to open the front door. It was Ronald Stone, Melanie's husband, and Melissa Stone, Melanie's daughter.

Melissa gave a very happy squeal as she rushed to her mother and hugged her trim little waist. She exclaimed, "Mommy! I've missed you! When are you coming home?" Looking down into the excited big blue eyes of the little girl made Joe realize just how much Melissa had loved her mother. He decided that whatever he did do, he would try to never hurt her. Joe placed his hand on the back of the little girl's blonde head and softly stroked it as he thought of all the things that he could say, but found none of them appropriate. Melissa took her mother's other hand and led her to the sofa where they sat down beside one another. The little girl whispered, "Mommy, if you come home, I promise to be extra good. Please?" Joe knew that Melissa's mother was actually gone and that she would not be going home with her daughter and it caused a tear to trickle down the side of his pretty face. "Don't be sad, Mommy. Everything will be alright now," the six year old continued as she hugged her mother.

Ron and Melissa stayed for supper. It was the first time that Melissa had seen her mother since her medical problems and she did not understand why she was not going home with her father and her. Ron Stone reminded his daughter of the conversation that they had had and Melissa stopped begging her mother, kissed her cheek and left quietly with her father. When the door closed behind them, Joe found himself crying. Renee led him to her bedroom to prepare for bed.

A few days earlier, Joe, as a virile male, would have been in total lust at the thought of sleeping with a beautiful and sexy woman like Renee. Now, however, as they undressed before putting on nightgowns, he found himself looking at Renee to compare their figures more than to wonder what sex with her would be like. Since Renee only had one bedroom and it had one king sized bed, Joe and Renee snuggled together as they slept.

Joe slowly awoke the next morning. He opened his eyes to see a beautiful brunette entwined in his arms. His first thoughts were that he had gotten lucky the night before. Then, Joe remembered the job site accident. He remembered that he and Allen were killed and that he was placed in the body of a blonde woman who was married and a mother of a six ear old daughter. He glanced down to see that he was wearing a woman's nightgown and could see the bulges of his large breasts pushing out the top of the nylon nightie. Almost all thoughts of sex with the brunette left Joe's mind as he remembered the way that Melissa had clung to him since she thought that he was her mother. After supper, Joe had promised to take the little girl to the park today. Being Saturday, Melissa was out of school and she had been so sad that he could not say no to her when she asked. Renee also awoke, wished him a good morning and they got out of bed. They showered and had toast and coffee for breakfast. Then, Renee laid out some clothing for both of them. Joe still needed help getting dressed, putting on make-up and fixing his hair. Luckily, Renee was a good teacher.

Renee and Joe arrived at the house where the Stone family lived at about ten o'clock. Since Renee had called them on her cell phone, Melissa and her father were waiting on the sidewalk for them. Ronald Stone knew that his wife was suffering from amnesia and was uncomfortable around him, so, he had decided to stay at home while everyone else went to the playground. He figured that his wife and daughter could use the time to get to know one another and re-cement the close bond that they had once had. Even though he loved his wife very much and missed her terribly, he was willing to do what was best for her and Melissa. At the park, Renee spent most of the time going after soft drinks, ice cream cones and pretending to be busy on her cell phone. This left Melanie with nothing to do but play with Melissa. Actually, Joe did not mind playing nursemaid to a six-year-old girl. He was beginning to develop affection for the cute youngster. Playtime ended all too soon and it was time to take Melissa home.

As Joe, Renee and Melissa entered the Stone family home, Ronald Stone, who was preparing lunch, greeted them. He said he had made enough for everyone and invited Renee and his wife to join them. Renee accepted before Joe could think of an excuse to leave. Joe was shown to a chair at one end of the dining table. Ron sat at the other end while Renee and Melissa sat at the sides. Melissa reached over and placed her tiny hand in Joe's as she said, "It's good to have you home again, Mommy." Joe knew that was not actually true, but found himself returning the infectious smile that the innocent six year old gave him.

The meal was plain and simple but quite good. Renee and Ron made small talk about how much fun Melissa had at the playground. Then, Ron asked his wife if she would do him the honor of allowing him to take her out to her favorite restaurant that evening. Joe declined the offer, but Renee and Melissa both begged him to go. Eventually, he reluctantly agreed to go. It was a decision that was met by smiles from three people at the dinner table. Renee excused herself and left the dining room. Joe thought she had went to use the bathroom until she returned with a garment bag and another piece of luggage. "Girl," Renee said to Joe, "we'll make you the prettiest woman at Romano's. Ron, don't worry about getting a babysitter, just drop off Melissa when you pick up Melanie and I'll keep her tonight. Melissa, I bought a new dvd that you'll just love." Joe felt like he had been railroaded, but said nothing as he and Renee left to return to Renee's apartment to prepare for his "date" with Melanie's husband.

Renee filled her bathtub with warm water, bath oils and bubble bath as Joe removed his clothing. Unsnapping his brassiere was an exercise in dexterity, but he finally managed it. As Joe settled into the tub of warm fragrant water, he noticed that his legs were not covered in stubble. He had not shaved his legs since being placed in this female body and wondered why he did not have to shave. When he asked Renee about his lack of body hair, she answered, "Since we teach tennis at the club and have to wear short tennis skirts and short shorts all the time, we both had laser treatments. That way, we never have to shave our legs, underarms or trim our bikini lines. You were too modest to go completely bald, so you had them leave a postage stamp size patch of hair on your tutu." Renee smiled mischievously as she added, "I went completely bald. Ben, my fiancée, loves me that way."

After the bath, Renee gave Joe a silk robe to wear before she placed rollers in his shoulder length blonde hair. Next, she painted his fingernails and toe nails a bright red. While they were drying, she did his facial make up. Joe watched in the mirror, fascinated, as Renee powdered and painted his face until it was transformed from merely pretty to absolutely beautiful. Next, Renee applied a shiny clear coat to his nails to deepen their luster. Then, she removed the rollers and combed out his hair until it was in an up swept style that added even more to Joe's beauty. Renee set his hair in place with a cloud of hair spray. It was time to get dressed, so Renee opened the bag of luggage she had brought back from the Stone apartment.

As Joe removed the silk robe, he stood in Renee's bedroom, completely naked, in all of his feminine glory, as Renee handed him a red silk lace garter belt. Joe only recognized what it was because he had seen girls in men's magazines and porno movies wearing such a contraption to hold up old-fashioned stockings. He asked Renee if she was kidding. "No, Mel. I am not kidding. You are beautiful. When a woman wears sexy lingerie, it is a constant reminder to her that she is sexy. This is all your own lingerie. You have worn it before. You can be a perfect Lady, and never reveal to anyone what is hidden under your outer clothing, or, you can have a little fun and let a certain some one, or even some ones, have a glimpse of your sexy intimates so that their batteries will be fully charged when you want to have some fun with them. If you do not want to have any fun, you can still wear sexy undies. It will be our little secret. Do it for me. Please?" Joe reluctantly wrapped the red lace garter belt around his tiny waist and hooked it closed. Next, Renee gave him a pair of black silk stockings, explained how to put them on and attach them to his garter belt. Joe had to admit to himself that the stockings felt very nice.

The panties that Renee had selected for her friend to wear consisted of a red silk lace bikini panty. Joe put them on over his stockings and garter belt. His brassiere was a low cut red silk lace covered wonder bra that made his C cup sized breasts appear to be D or even DD sized and emphasized his cleavage. His dress was a low cut off the shoulder red silk cocktail dress that had a hemline a couple of inches above his knees. A pair of red high heel pumps with three-inch heels completed Joe's clothing that Renee had selected for him to wear on a date with Melanie's husband. For jewelry, Joe also wore Melanie's matching opal necklace and earrings as well as her wedding rings.

When Joe looked in the full-length mirror, he was in absolute awe! From the exquisitely styled blonde hair atop his head to the high heels on his dainty feet, he was gorgeous! As a man, Joe had been handsome, in a rugged sort of way. However, he never could have even hoped that a woman of such beauty would ever have been interested in him as a man. When Renee, who was watching her friend gaze into the mirror, asked what Melanie thought of her appearance, all Joe could say was a whispered, "Wow!" Which made Renee laugh. She was so glad that her friend was coming out of her shell. The doctor had said that recovery would be slow and that Mrs. Stone may never be the same as she had been before her medical problems but Renee refused to accept that diagnosis. Renee sprayed a little perfume on Melanie just as the doorbell rang. "Wait in here until I call you. I want you to make a grand entrance." Renee said as she went to open the front door.

Joe was, quite naturally, confused. All his life, he had been a male. His father had told him that women were to be used, abused and tossed aside before he had deserted Joe and his mother. Joe had adopted a little of his father's attitude when dealing with women. As soon as he finished high school and got a job, he had moved in with his buddies and left his mother to live by herself. He had dated women but had never respected them. It was at that moment that Joe realized that he had never done anything for anyone else when he had not expected to get some sort of a pay off. He made a vow to himself that he would go visit his mother to see how she was getting along. He heard Renee calling Melanie's name, gathered his courage and went into the living room.

Ronald Stone gave a low wolf whistle when he saw his wife enter the room. The combination of him being on a business trip and her hospital stay, which had left him terrified that he would loose her, meant that they had been separated for about two weeks. Seeing how beautiful she was in her red party dress made him realize how much he truly loved and missed his wife. Melissa ran to her mother, threw her arms around her mother's trim waist and told her that she was the prettiest Mommy in the whole world. The comment made Joe smile. When Ron agreed with his daughter, Joe smiled at the tall handsome man in a dark blue suit. Joe and Ron said bye to Melissa and Renee as they left the apartment. Ron opened the passenger door on their Lexus and Joe remembered to keep his legs together as he slid into the passenger seat.

Romano's was an up scale restaurant that served great food and had a band playing Glenn Miller dance music. Even though Joe had always been a steak and potato man, he had let Ron order what had always been Melanie's favorite menu items. Surprisingly, Joe really enjoyed the meal, even though he had never tried it before tonight. The bottle of wine just seemed to make the food taste even better as he had three glasses of wine. Joe had drunk wine before, but not while being in such a small female body. A warm glow seemed to surround his exquisite form as the wine went to his head. After eating, Ron stood up, held his hand out to his wife and an uncertain what to do Joe placed his smaller hand within Ron's. Ron led his wife to the dance floor, took her right hand in his left, placed his right arm around her slender waist and began to dance a slow two-step. Joe tried to tell Ron that he did not know how to dance. Ron answered, "Melanie, you were always a wonderful dancer. I think you would rather dance than play tennis. Relax, feel the beat of the music, move to it and let me guide you. You'll do fine. Okay?" The alcohol must have affected Joe's female brain; he let Ronald Stone lead him as they danced. By the end of the song, Joe had managed to stop stepping on Ron's toes and was actually enjoying dancing even though he was in the arms of another man. Ron talked Joe into dancing three more songs before they left the restaurant.

On the ride back to Renee's apartment, Joe found himself glancing over at Ron as the light from street lamps would temporarily light up the inside of the car. When he had first met Ron at the hospital, he had pegged him as an over-sized engineering nerd. Even worse, Ron was an over-sized engineering nerd that kissed him on the lips. Now, however, after Joe had gotten to know Ron a little better, he still thought he was an over-sized engineering nerd. But, he also thought that Ron was a nice guy. A nicer guy than Joe had been when he was a man. And, Ron was even good looking. "Good Looking?" Joe thought to himself, "What is wrong with me? In a few months, I'll trade this body is for a man's body. I certainly do not need to be thinking that a guy is good looking!"

Ron escorted his wife to Renee's apartment. After he had pushed the doorbell, he had thanked his wife for a great evening and was leaning in to try to gently kiss her lips when Melissa opened the door and saved Joe from being embarrassed. The inquisitive six year old wanted to know where they had went for supper, what they had eaten, did they dance like Aunt Renee said they would do and was Mommy ready to come back home. Melissa was happy with all the answers except the last one. Joe kissed the little girl on the cheek, as Melissa asked her mother to do, as she and her father were leaving for home. Both Melissa and Renee pushed Joe towards Ronald Stone, who did not have to be asked, took his wife into his arms and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. Joe amazed himself when he did not find the kiss all that distasteful. After the guests had left, Renee and Joe prepared for bed. Seeing Renee in the nude as she slipped into her nightie, he felt a small tingle go up his spine. What worried him was that he felt the same tingle as Ron Stone had kissed him. Even though his mind was in a state of confusion, the effects of the wine allowed Joe to fall asleep rather quickly.

The next morning, Joseph Roytch crawled out of bed and went to Renee's medicine cabinet to get some aspirin for his slight hang over. He looked into the bathroom mirror and ran his fingers through his shoulder length blonde hair to smooth out some of the tangles. "Wow!" He thought to himself, "I'm even pretty in the mornings; even with a hang over!" Joe used the bathroom, washed his hands and went to the kitchen to find Renee already making a pot of coffee. When Renee asked her friend what she wanted to do today, she was surprised to hear that, since it was Sunday, Melanie wanted to go to church. Neither one had ever been a member of any church, however, after Melanie's brush with death, such a request was understandable. Renee offered to accompany her friend, but Melanie wanted to go alone. Renee loaned Melanie her most conservative dress to wear to church.

A taxi took Joseph Roytch to the church that his mother had attended since she was a small girl and still attended almost every Sunday. Joe, being a rambunctious youth, had stopped attending services when he became a teenager. He was relieved to see that his mother was actually there. He was worried in the taxi that it might be too soon after his premature death and that his mother would stay home. Joe managed to move to the pew where his mother sat and was sitting next to her as he looked at her more closely. His mother was a gentle and kind person but he could tell that she had been crying a lot recently since her eyes were red. Several times, before the services began, other members of the congregation would stop to express their condolences and ask the middle-aged woman if she needed anything. Each time, she thanked them but assured them that she was okay. When his mom turned and introduced herself to the younger blonde visitor to her church, he identified himself as Melanie Stone. Another parishioner stopped to express sympathy for the loss of his mother's son, after which, Joe's mother told him of the dreadful accident that had taken her son's life. She told the new visitor that her Joseph was a wonderful son and that she missed him very much as a tear rolled down her cheek. She pulled a Kleenex from her purse as she described Joseph Roytch in glowing, if undeserved terms, as only a mother could do. Joe now realized how much his mother missed him and a tear trickled down his cheek, too. His mom offered him a fresh Kleenex, which he accepted, to wipe away his own tears. During the services, Joe sat closer to his own mother as a stranger than he had as a son in many years. When the Sunday morning services ended, Joe asked his mother if she would like to go to a restaurant to have lunch, she had a better idea, she invited her new friend to her apartment, which was only two blocks away, for lunch. By the end of the afternoon, Joe was something that he never truly was as a man; he was friends with his mother. They exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch when Joe left to return to Renee's apartment.

A worried Ron was waiting at Renee's apartment when Joe walked through the front door. He had thought that it was too soon for a person with amnesia to be wandering the streets by herself but was relieved that his wife had returned safely. Melissa was always glad to see her mommy and told her so. Joe bent down and gave Melissa a hug as he told her, "I missed you, too, Sweetheart." The six-year-old took Joe's feminine hand in hers and led him to the sofa where she showed her mommy what she had done in her coloring book while waiting for her to come home. Joe could see that Melissa had real artistic ability and told her so. The little girl hugged her mommy's neck and kissed her on the cheek before showing more pictures. Ron and Melissa stayed for supper. During the meal, Melissa asked if her mother could come and walk her to school in the morning. Ron and Renee had already said that they needed to be back at work the next morning, so Joe, reluctantly, agreed to escort the first grader to her elementary school. Ron had made sure that his wife had keys to their house in case she wanted to visit during the day while he was at work and Melissa was at school. After Ron and Melissa left for home, Joe and Renee went to bed where Joe dreamed about his mother and Melissa.

The next morning, Renee and Joe arose early. Both wore a sports bra and panties, a jogging suit, put their hair in pony tails, applied a minimum about of make up, ate a light breakfast and climbed into Renee's Accord. Fifteen minutes later, Renee parked in front of the house where the Stone family lived. Joe went in to see if Melissa was ready to go to school. Ten minutes later, Joe was holding Melissa's hand while walking her to school. That is when he heard the catcalls from the construction workers on the third floor of the office building being built next to the school. A few of the comments were quite lewd. When Allen had been alive, he had forbidden anyone doing such a thing, especially when a child was present. "Mommy, why are those men saying those things?" Melissa asked her mother.

Joe glared up at the four workers before saying, "Don't pay them any attention, Melissa. They are stupid men that do not know how to behave in public." Joe felt embarrassed because he knew that he had done almost the same thing when he was a male construction worker. After Melissa had safely entered the school building, Joe marched next door and demanded to speak to the construction site foreman. When Joe's ex-boss came to the gate, Joe said, "Could you please control your men when there are children present? Allen Smith would have never allowed such things to be said as my six-year-old daughter heard this morning!" The foreman did not know how the young blonde lady had known Allen Smith, but he explained that he had hired some new workers to replace two who had died in an accident, apologized to her and promised that he would put a stop to harassment by his workers. Joe thanked him, turned and went to ride to the tennis club where both Renee and Melanie worked as tennis instructors.

At the club, Joe followed Renee to the ladies locker room. Renee had gotten Melanie's locker combination from the club secretary, who was very glad to see that Melanie was well enough to return to work. Joe felt as if he was intruding into some one else's space as he examined the contents of the locker. There were three tennis outfits, each with a short skirt, two sets of tennis shoes, several pairs of athletic socks, three sets of underwear, feminine hygiene products, a tooth brush, tooth paste and mouth wash. There were also several pictures of Ron and Melissa on the inside of the locker door. Renee was half way changed into her tennis dress before Joe had even started to change. "Get a move on, slow poke," Renee said as she slipped her short powder blue tennis dress on over her sport brassiere and powder blue bloomer panties. "I have an early appointment with Mrs. Jones so I have to hurry. Remember, the doctor said you could come in today but to take it easy. If you feel like playing a few sets, have some fun. Nothing too strenuous. Okay, Mel?" Joe nodded his head and promised to go slowly as he slipped out of his jogging suit as Renee went to meet her client.

Joe inspected Melanie's three tennis dresses. Each had a skirt so short his panties would show. It was good that each dress came with a matching set of bloomers. The colors were white, pink and white with pink trim. Joe felt more comfortable wearing the white dress as he returned the other two to the locker. He stepped into the white bloomers and pulled them up. Next, he unzipped the back of the dress and stepped into it. He got it on but struggled to zip it up the back. He regretted the fact that Renee had already left to teach her tennis lessons as he twisted this way and that to get the zipper all the way to the top. Joe picked up the white tennis shoes and put them on over a pair of short athletic socks. He moved to the full-length mirror on the back of the door and checked his reflection. Joe let out a low whistle as he saw the sexy tennis player's reflection. The ultra short skirt did not hide his panties completely. The skirt mainly emphasized his femininity and drew attention to his long shapely legs. Joe reminded himself that this would only last a few months until a male athlete's body became available as he picked up Melanie's tennis racket and slowly opened the door to join Renee on the courts.

Joseph Roytch had played tennis in high school and had been quite good. He preferred playing football because he thought it a more manly sport and his father had also played football. He walked around the club, exploring and determining where everything was located. Joe found Renee playing against a middle-aged woman on an outdoor court. He sat at a table to watch and a couple of young attractive women came to sit with him. They expressed their joy that Melanie had recovered from her health problems and asked how she was feeling. Joe told them that, except for almost total memory loss, he was feeling fine. Both of the women introduced themselves to their friend. The redhead said her name was Joan and the brunette identified herself as Marie. A waitress, whose nametag read Christine, came to the table to see if anyone wanted anything to eat or drink. Joe went along with Joan and Marie as they ordered three orange juices. After about twenty minutes of pleasant conversation while watching the tennis game and a half of a glass of orange juice, Renee and Mrs. Jones joined them at their table. After their exertions, Renee and Mrs. Jones needed to cool off, while Renee ordered an orange juice, Mrs. Jones wiped away a little perspiration, smiled and asked Christine for a screwdriver.

Joan asked Melanie if she felt up to a tennis game. Joe had already decided that since Melanie Stone had been a tennis instructor at the club, he would get in a little practice, even if it were to be in a woman's body. Therefore, he accepted the invitation to play a round. Renee warned her friend not to over do it as she watched the pretty blonde pick up her racket and accompany the equally pretty, if slightly older, redhead to the court. Almost all the points in the first set went to Joan as Joe worked on his hand-and-eye coordination. By the second set, Joe's game had improved significantly and Joan had to work harder for each point. Joe actually won the third set. Even though Joan won the match, Joe was happy with his level of improvement and was smiling as he rejoined the group of women at their table. This time, Joan ordered a screwdriver while Joe stuck to another orange juice. Since he was supposed to be working, he did not think it proper to drink alcohol. Plus, he was following Renee's example. The rest of the day went fairly well.

When their shift was over, Renee and Joe went to the locker room where they joined several other women, who were in various stages of dress, removed their tennis dresses, bloomers, sports brassieres and panties and took a refreshing hot shower. Joe had often fantasized about being in a girl's locker room and he was careful not to stare at the nude bodies around him. He was surprised to see that many women had removed all of their pubic hair, most had tattoos and several even had body piercings. He reminded himself, too late, not to stare when he saw that Joan had a tattoo over her hairless pubic mound. The beautiful redheaded housewife had noticed the pretty blonde tennis pro looking at her tattoo, smiled sexily and winked. Joe was unexpectedly embarrassed by the openly sexual nature of the redhead's response. As a young man, Joe would have been delighted to have such a sexy woman flirt with him. As a young woman, Joe found the sensations confusing as he gave Joan a small polite smile, turned away and went about getting ready to go home to Renee's apartment. In Renee's car, she told him that Joan and Marie were married swingers who had propositioned both Renee and Melanie to join them for lesbian sexual fun. This had been one of Joe's favorite male fantasies. However, there had been too many changes in his life since the accident, plus, he did not think that Mr. Jordan would approve of such activities. Therefore, he told Renee that he did not think that he wanted to have sex with those women. Renee grinned at Melanie as she said that had been her answer even before her amnesia.

They pulled up to Westside Elementary School just as Melissa was exiting the building. She ran to the car as Joe opened his door to let the small child into the backseat. Melissa told them about her day at school as they rode to Renee's apartment. Once inside, they went to the kitchen, prepared a veggie tray and glasses of tea to have as a snack until supper in a couple of hours. While Renee took care of some utility bills, Joe helped Melissa with her homework. Joe realized that he had grown quite fond of the six year old child as they worked on a few math problems. After doing the homework, Melissa climbed onto his lap, wrapped her little arms around his neck and told him, "I love you, Mommy."

Joe put his arms around the little girl and whispered, "Your Mommy loves you, too, Sweetheart." Joe did not want to become emotionally involved with Melissa, or anyone else, since he was only to be in Melanie Stone's female body on a temporary basis. However, he felt that Melissa was a very sweet child and his response was exactly what the real Melanie Stone would have made. Joe heard Renee softly clearing her throat and looked up to see her standing next to the sofa. She had tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips as she turned and left the room to give the mother and daughter some privacy.

Ronald Stone joined them again for supper. Joseph Roytch, in his original male persona, would have thought Ron to be a tall, maybe even good-looking, nerd. He would have called him an egghead. After all, what other kind of guy would spend more time studying math than playing football? The body swapped Joe, on the other hand, found Ron to be a pleasant person who genuinely loved his wife and daughter. Joe even felt sorry for Ron, since his wife actually was dead. When it was time for Ron and Melissa to go home, Melissa kissed Joe on the cheek, then whispered in her mother's ear, "Mommy, give Daddy a kiss, too. He really misses you." Joe reminded himself that this was only a temporary situation and he stood on his toes to also kiss Ron's cheek. Melissa tugged on Joe's hand, as she exclaimed, "No, Mommy! On the lips! Kiss Daddy on the lips the way you used to do!" Joe found himself in Ronald's Stone's relatively muscular arms as their lips met. Thankfully, Ron did not try to French kiss him. That would have grossed Joe out. After the kiss, Melissa had a big smile on her face as she left with her father.

The next morning, Joe and Renee dressed in jogging suits to go to work at the tennis club. They stopped on the way so that Joe could walk Melissa to school. This morning, there were no catcalls from the construction site. However, after Melissa had entered the school building, and before Joe had gotten into Renee's Accord, Joe heard a male voice calling down to him. He looked up to see Sam Albertson, the construction shift foreman standing on the third floor of the office building. "Madam, sorry for what was said yesterday. Those were new guys. It won't happen again." Joe nodded his pretty blonde head in answer. Sam waved as the car drove down the street and he muttered to himself, "It wouldn't have happened at all if Allen was still here. I miss you, Old Friend."

At the club, Joe and Renee changed into their tennis dresses. Today, Joe chose to wear the white dress with pink trim. It seemed less girly than the all pink dress. This morning, he played a game with Marie as Renee once again played Mrs. Jones. Melanie was told as they were getting dressed to let the members win most of the time but not to make it too easy on them the way she had done during the first sets with Joan. Joe did not tell Renee that he had not lost on purpose. This morning, however, his game had improved and he gave the attractive brunette housewife a real workout as they played. Joe did let Marie win the last set so that she could have a win, too. After the match, Marie and Joe sat at a table, each cooling off and drinking a glass of orange juice, as they watched the last set of play between Renee and Mrs. Jones. Joe had his hand lying on the table when Marie reached across to hold his hand as she said, "Everyone is really glad that you recovered from your problems. When you collapsed and they called the ambulance, we were very worried. It's great to have you back. You probably don't remember, but Joan and I are more than just good friends. And, you have an invitation to join us any time. I promise you will enjoy it." Marie smiled as she held Joe's hand. He thanked the woman, but politely declined her offer. Marie then stated, "Okay. Still, you can always count me as a friend. Joan, too." A couple of minutes later, they were joined by Renee and Mrs. Jones.

That afternoon, after work, they picked up Melissa at school. Melissa informed them that she had to work on a school project at home that was due the next day. Therefore, they used Melanie's keys to get into the Stone home. A small snack, and three hours later, the project, which consisted of a poster board display, was finished. By this time, Ron Stone was also home from work. Thankfully, Renee had found some food in the freezer, thawed it out in the microwave oven and had prepared a meal while Joe and Melissa were busy. She had also called Ron and told him that they were at his house this evening. Ron smiled as he entered his home and smelled the wonderful aroma of home cooking. It made him remember the good old days before his wife's health problems. Melissa heard him come in and ran from her bedroom. "Daddy, come and see what me and Mommy made." She grabbed his hand and led him to her room. Ron was impressed with the poster board, so he complimented his wife and young daughter on the fine job that they had done. Renee called to them from the kitchen, saying that supper was ready. Melissa went ahead, leaving Joe and Ron alone in her room. Ron slid his arm around Joe's slender waist as he told his wife that he had missed her. Joe was glad that Ron only kissed his cheek before leading him to the dining table.

At the table, Ron told everyone that there was a possibility that he would have to go out of town the next day for a couple of days. He then asked his wife if she would be able to stay in their apartment until he returned so that Melissa could sleep in her own bed each night and walk to school each morning. Joe tried to think of a reason why he could not, but the Melissa's big pleading eyes were too persuasive. He ended up agreeing to baby sit for the two days Ron would be out of town. Melissa was grinning as she told her mommy that it would be just like it used to be. Although he returned Melissa's smile, Joe seriously doubted that.

Joe went home with Renee and they packed his bags. While Ronald Stone was out of town, Joe would stay in the Stone apartment and baby-sit Melissa until her father returned. The next morning, Joe walked Melissa to school and, once again, there were no catcalls from the construction workers. At the tennis club, Joe had to wear the pink tennis dress since it was the only one that was clean. He was told that his other two would be delivered from the cleaners that afternoon. He was glad that his game was still improving as he played Joan a set of tennis. He was even able to shower in the Ladies' showers without sneaking looks at the other women. Later in the afternoon, when he and Renee met Melissa at the door of her school, they held hands as he walked her home. Then, they carried his bags from Rene's car up to the master bedroom.

Joe inspected the bedroom of the dead woman whose body he had temporarily borrowed. The king sized bed dominated the room. A chest of drawers and a make up table were the other furnishings. There was a master bath with a huge double sink counter, which was half covered with cosmetics and feminine products. Joe took a moment to look into some drawers and into a closet full of mostly female apparel. Even though Joe had been in Melanie Stone's body for over a week, being alone in her and her husband's bedroom still seemed strange to him. It was as if being among her personal possessions gave him even more insight to whom Melanie Stone had been than being in her body had been.

Melissa, after changing out of her school clothes into a pink tee shirt and red shorts in her room, joined the person she thought to be mother. Melissa ran to Joe, threw her little arms around his waist and said, "Mommy, I've really, really missed you not being home." Joe gently placed his hand on Melissa's blonde head as tears formed in his eyes. When the little girl looked up and saw the tears, she said, "Don't cry, Mommy. You're home now and everything is going to be okay." Joe slowly sat on the side of the king sized bed and Melissa hugged his graceful neck He vowed to himself that he would not cause the sweet little girl any more pain than necessary when he was transferred to his new male body.

Renee had gone to the grocery store to buy some food for Melanie and Melissa while they changed clothes and started dinner. Melissa had to show her mother where everything was located. It was good that Joe knew the rudiments of cooking. By the time Renee arrived, he and Melissa almost had supper ready. The meal was not the best that they had enjoyed. It also was not the worst. Joe rather felt proud of himself as he later loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. It gave him the confidence to tell Renee that he and Melissa would be okay by themselves when she asked if she should stay the night or go home to her apartment. An hour later, after a hug and a promise to call Rene if there were any problems, Joe and Melissa were alone.

After Melissa put on her pajamas, Joe read her a bedtime story, tucked her into bed, kissed her good night, wished her sweet dreams and turned off her bedroom over head light. Joe went to the master bedroom to prepare to go to sleep. He removed his sweat suit and unhooked his brassiere before putting on the pink silk nightgown that Renee had packed for her friend to wear. He left his pink satin panties on as he slipped the pink gown over his blonde head. He had to admit, even to himself, that the silks and satins did feel extra nice next to his sensitive skin. He turned out the overhead light, turned down the covers and crawled into bed. As he lay there, in the dark, he noticed that he could smell Ron Stone's odor on the bedding. It was not unpleasant. If anything, it smelt good to Joe's female sense of smell. Joe found himself even burying his nose into the pillow to inhale the male odor and began worrying about what was happening to him since he had been placed in a woman's body as he drifted off to sleep. He even had a dream where Ron kissed him and he enjoyed it.

The alarm awoke Joe the next morning. He turned over to find that Melissa had awoken during the night and had joined him in the king sized bed. Joe slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom. After his morning shower, he put on fresh undies and another sweat suit before awakening the six year old. While Melissa was showering and dressing, Joe poured each of them a glass of milk and toasted a pair of pop tarts. Twenty minutes later, he was walking Melissa to her school. Once again, the construction workers were well behaved. Renee pulled up to the curb, Joe got into her car and they went to the tennis club for another routine day.

Over the next two days, Joe became more comfortable staying at the Stone home and taking care of little Melissa. He and Melissa had even taken turns brushing each other's hair each evening before bed. Melissa had asked her mother if they could brush their hair like they always had and Joe could not refuse the cute girl. He even enjoyed it. Friday afternoon, Ronald Stone returned from his business trip and Joe planned on moving back in with Renee. Ron had called and asked his wife to go out on a dinner date for Friday night. Renee and Melissa badgered Joe into accepting. Since he had went out to eat with Ron the previous weekend, and nothing really bad had happened, he reluctantly agreed to the date.

Renee helped Joe get ready for his date with Melanie's husband. As Joe soaked in bath oils in the tub, Renee laid out the clothing he would wear. After wrapping a towel around his hair and a large bath towel around his body, tucking it in around the top of his breasts the way he had seen Renee do when she exited the bathtub or shower, Joe went to the master bedroom to see what his new friend had chosen for him to wear on his date. The lingerie was all in lavender satin with lace trim. Renee handed him a wispy lace garter belt that fastened around his tiny waist. The four straps dangled down to the tops of his shapely thighs. Renee opened a package of new black silk stockings and reminded her friend of the proper procedure to gather them down to the toe of the stocking, to slide them up her gorgeous legs and to hook the garter tabs to the reinforced tops. Next, Renee gave Joe the lavender satin panties to step into and carefully pull up over his silk stockings. The high heel shoes came next. Joe's bare C-cup breasts wobbled slightly as he bent over to buckle the ankle straps on his high heel open toe sandals. Next, Renee gave him a matching wonder bra to put on. It had small pads in the bottom of the cups that made his large C-cup boobs appear to be DD-cup sized. The lacey brassiere cups were so low cut his nipples were almost exposed.

Joe asked Renee why such sexy underwear was necessary. Renee only smiled as she answered, "A girl never knows where she will end up when she goes out on a date with a handsome man. Therefore, it is better to be ready for anything. It is up to you to decide what a guy will get to see and/or enjoy. Besides, dressing up is a fun part of being a woman. Relax and enjoy it, Mel." Renee had Joe sit at Melanie's make up table in his sexy undies as she did his hair and make up. Next, she opened a garment bag and took out a matching lavender satin dress. Even Joe had to admit that the dress was absolutely beautiful as he stepped into the dress and helped Renee zip up the back. "You had bought this dress to wear this weekend. It is your and Ron's seventh wedding anniversary."

Joe looked to see if Renee was serious before turning to gaze at his own reflection in the bedroom mirror. Two thoughts dominated his mind at the same time. First, it was Ron and Melanie's wedding anniversary. Next, he looked really hot in this dress. In fact, he was beautiful! Much of his cleavage was on display as Renee hung a thin gold chain with a locket around his graceful neck. The only other jewelry he wore was the wedding rings that had been placed on the third finger of Melanie's left hand seven years before. Renee saw the look of worry on her best friend's pretty face and told her not to worry. "Melissa will go home with me tonight so that Ron and you can stay out as late as you wish. Just have a good time."

Ron and Melissa both told Joe how pretty he was as he entered the living room. Renee and Melissa left at the same time as Ron and Joe. Renee and Melissa stopped to pick up take out food on the way to her apartment. Ronald Stone had reservations at one of the best restaurants in town, to be followed by some ballroom dancing. The wine served with their meals was especially potent and Joe found himself truly enjoying the evening meal. After they had eaten, the dancing seemed fun. Joe stepped on Ron's feet a couple of times and failed to get his own feet out of the way a couple of times, but, all in all, he enjoyed the dancing. Even though he was being held in the arms of a man, at least, the man was truly concerned that he enjoyed the evening. The extra glasses of wine also helped to relax Joe. In fact, by midnight, he had about two or three glasses too many.

Joe was swaying on his high-heeled feet as he held onto Ron's arm as they walked out to Ron's car. The cool fresh air in the parking lot helped to clear his head a little. Then, as Ron opened the passenger door for his wife, he encircled her tiny waist with his muscular arms and pulled her to him. She seemed a little disoriented as her husband kissed her sweet wine flavored lips but her husband was not to be denied a kiss on their wedding anniversary. At first, she tried to push him away, then, she more or less melted in his powerful arms. Joe had never experienced sexual surrender before. However, his female body took over and he found himself returning the kisses.

The alcohol-induced haze in Joe's female brain prevented him from thinking clearly as he sat silently in the passenger seat of Ron's car. Ron's hand massaging his bare thigh, above his stocking top all the way back to the Stone residence, kept his befuddled mind preoccupied all the way home. Ronald Stone escorted his wife into their home and straight to their master bedroom. Joseph Roytch wanted to put a stop to the situation before things had gone too far. Unfortunately for him, things had already gone too far. The alcohol had lowered his male inhibitions and his female body had taken over control of his actions.

Ron Stone stood beside his king sized bed as he passionately kissed his wife. It had been about two weeks since he thought that he had lost her forever. He loved her with every fiber of his being as he held her slim body in his arms and kissed her as his nibble fingers lowered the zipper along the back of her satin dress. He rarely took his lips off hers as he pulled her dress off her shoulders and let it slip down to puddle around her high-heeled feet. He was too afraid that she might ask him to stop if he stopped kissing her. His fingers unsnapped his wife's brassiere and pulled it from under her large breasts, causing them to wobble slightly as his hands moved to her big sensitive pink nipples. He heard her sharp intake of breath as he lightly pinched them the way she had always liked it. Within moments, her large nipples were bright pink and even more swollen.

Ron finally let go of his wife's lips as he moved down to suckle at her breasts. Meanwhile, his hands were busy slipping her lavender panties down over her silk stockings, only to join her other clothing around her feet. As his fingers entered her already moistened vagina, his wife seemed to totally surrender to the sensations that her husband was giving her. Ron swept her up into his arms, carried her to their martial bed and gently laid his wife on the bedspread before orally pleasing every inch of her ultra feminine body.

Joe's mind was in absolute turmoil as the sensations assaulted his drunken female body. What Ron was doing to him now was the most wonderful feeling sensations that he had ever known as a man or a woman. He had an Earth shaking orgasm that left Joe totally helpless as Ron quickly removed his own clothing. Joe felt the bed rock slightly as Ron climbed between his wife's spread legs. Joe weakly attempted to push Ron off of him as Ron began entering his wife's body. As Ron went deeper and deeper, it took Joe's breath away and all he could do was to lie there as Ron had his way with his wife's gorgeous body. Joe found that he was automatically moving in rhythm to Ron's movements as they had sex. A powerful orgasm built inside each of them until both crested at about the same time. Joe ended up panting as he held Ron in his arms as each savored the delicious after shocks of their orgasms. They even fell asleep in each other's arms.

 

Five months later, Joe Roytch was awakened from a deep sleep. He sat up in bed to find Mister Jordan standing in his bedroom. "Good evening Joseph. It is time." Joe worriedly looked beside him on the king sized bed and saw that Ron was still sleeping soundly. "Do not worry about him, Joseph. He will not awaken until morning." Joe looked back at the apparition as Mister Jordan continued, "Tonight, Joseph, a male athlete in your home town is about to meet his maker. When that happens, we can quickly switch you into his body and no one will ever be the wiser. You will get the years that you were intended to live and it will be as a male athlete just as you had requested."

Joe hesitantly asked what would happen if he stayed in his current body. Mister Jordan replied, "Joseph, you do not seem to appreciate all the trouble we went through to set up this exchange. You always preferred American football and this athlete is destined to play in the Super Bowl. He even has a fifty nine percent probably of scoring the winning touch down during that game. Surely, you are not willing to give that up to remain a woman?"

"The Super Bowl?" Joe muttered. It was every football fan's dream to some day play in the Super Bowl. Joe then asked what would happen to his female body if he made the switch.

"Technically, it would have died when the original Melanie Stone died. It has been on borrowed time since you have been in it. If you remain, the female body you are currently in will last the number of years you have been promised. Otherwise, it dies tonight. What is it to be, Joseph? Spending the rest of your wife as a woman, or, being the sports hero who has a chance of scoring the winning touch down in the Super Bowl?"

Before Joe could answer, he heard Melissa crying out, "Mommy! Mommy!" Joe excused himself and went to see what was the matter. Melissa was sitting up in her bed with tears streaming from her eyes. "Mommy, I had a bad dream. You went away and I never saw you again!" Joe sat on the side of the bed and took the little girl that he had learned to love into his arms, dried her tears and told her that he was not going away and that every thing was okay. He tucked Melissa into bed, kissed her cheek and turned to leave the room. As he closed the door, he heard the little girl say, "I love you, Mommy."

Joe stood there, for a moment, with his hand on the doorknob to Melissa's bedroom and he answered, "I love you, too, Melissa."

Joe's mind was made up. He went back to the master bedroom where Mister Jordan was awaiting his answer. He thanked the Angel for all that he had done for him and asked if he could please remain in the body of Melanie Stone for the rest of his allotted time on Earth. Mister Jordan smiled approvingly as he replied, "As you wish, Joseph. When you awaken in the morning, and henceforth, you will remember always being Melanie Stone. You will forget you were Joseph Roytch." Joe spoke up and asked that he remain friends with his true mother since she was now alone in the world. Mr. Jordan pulled his Probability Calculator from his pocket, punched in a name and smiled as he said, "Yes, Joseph, that can be arranged. There is a seventy eight percent probability that in less than a year, her apartment building will be torn down and she will move in with you to serve as a Nanny to take care of your children."

Joe asked the one word, "Children?"

"Yes, Joseph. You were not careful in restarting your birth control pills and the upset stomach you have experienced this week is morning sickness. Congratulations, Joseph, you are with child." Before Joe could respond to the news, Mister Jordan's soothing voice said, "Now, go to sleep, Joseph, and when you awake, you will be Melanie Stone for the rest of your natural life." Melanie lay back on the bed, turned and placed an arm around her husband as she went back to a deep restful sleep.

As Mister Jordan was leaving the bedroom, a little man with large eyeglasses was waiting for him in the mist. He spoke up, "Mister Jordan, I really hated giving that sweet little girl that bad dream."

As they moved through the ether, Mister Jordan replied, "Some times, we must perform distasteful acts for the greater good. It is the nature of our work. For instance, given Joseph Roytch's predilection for American football, there was only a fifty eight percent probability that he would ask to remain in Melanie Stone's body rather than move to the male athlete's body. The nightmare, and Joe's response to young Melissa, made it a ninety nine percent probability. It may be their Free Will, however, some times we can help them make the correct decision."

"Which brings up another topic," said the small man with glasses. "Yesterday, when I borrowed your Probability Calculator, I ran the statistics for everyone associated to the Joseph Roytch case. Mister Roytch may have been able to leap free of the falling elevator but he was probably going to loose both legs as he did so and would have been in a wheel chair for the rest of his life. There was a seventy eight percent chance that he would have spent the rest of his live being an alcoholic, becoming addicted to drugs and making every one around him miserable. His mother would have died alone and forgotten in a rest home. Ronald Stone would have remarried but would have chosen unwisely when he met a woman at work. He would have never been happy again. Melissa Stone would have hated her stepmother so much that he would have turned onto drugs as a teenager and there is a ninety two percent probability that she would have died of an overdose by the age of eighteen. Shall I go on?"

Mister Jordan calmly asked, "And your point is?"

"My point is that what I did was a mistake. However, it has worked out for the best. Perhaps, we need to slip people into other bodies on a more or less regular basis? At least, we could do it on special cases where they were probably not going to make the correct decisions. It would not be any different than giving a little girl a bad dream to get some one to make a correct decision. We could just switch a Soul into a different body once in a while to improve their chances."

Mister Jordan looked at his assistant and smiled as he said, "You just might make a full fledged Angel yet."

 

Twenty-seven years later, the Stone family was gathered in a hospital waiting room. The children had tears in their eyes because their beloved grandmother was dying of a rare form of cancer and there was nothing that the doctors could do to save her. Mayor Melissa Farnsworth was missing a city council meeting to be here with her mother, her husband and her three children. Ronald Stone, Junior, already a famous research scientist and engineer, had taken time off from his home hydrogen fuel generator project to be there. He was only weeks away from being able to develop and market a system that would make every home and automobile in the world able to be powered by ordinary water. He had paused his final experiment to bring his wife and children to see his dear mother one last time before she died. Their father had died of a heart attack the year before and their mother had seemed to loose the will to live. She had still been kind to her children and much loved grandchildren, but she did not have the same aura of joy that she had had while her husband of thirty three years was alive.

Joseph Roytch/Melanie Stone wandered out of the intensive care room as the warning buzzers were going off and the medical staff was hurriedly entering the room. He/she could see his/her daughter and son standing beside the bed as tears rolled down their faces. He/she started to go to them and tell them that everything was okay but was called by a small man with large eyeglasses. "Joe, or do you still answer to Melanie? It is time."

"Time?" Joseph Roytch thought to himself as his memories came rushing back to him. He had been a guy until a construction accident. He had been taken out of his body too soon and had been give the temporary body of Melanie Stone. Then, when he was offered the body of a male athlete, just as he had originally requested, he turned down the second body swap to remain as Melanie Stone. He thought back over the last twenty-seven years and would have chosen to live the same life over again and again. A chance to score the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl paled by comparison to what he had experienced living a life as Melanie Stone, the wife of Ronald Stone, mother of Melissa and Ronald, Junior, and grandmother to five wonderful grandchildren. He would not change a thing!

The little man had Joe by his elbow and was leading him past his family and towards the hospital hallway, Joe, who now appeared as a much younger Melanie Stone asked if there was something that could be done for his family. The little man answered, "I am afraid that only time will heal these wounds." When Joe asked if he would ever see his family again, the little man pulled his personal Probability Calculator from his inside coat pocket and punched in every one's name. "Amazing!" He exclaimed, "The odds are, you will see each and every one of them again. And, a couple of them are scheduled to perform Great Deeds. Joe, you can feel very proud of your family." Joe already did as he stopped and gazed at all of them once more.

The little man led a reluctant Joe out into the hallway. "When I escorted your mother, she was thrilled to hear that Melanie Stone was actually her son's Soul in another person's body. She said Melanie always was the daughter that she had always wanted but had never had. She is looking forward to seeing you again. So is Ronald Stone. He is anxiously waiting for you."

Joe moved a little faster after hearing that he was going to see Ron, the man who had been his loving husband for over twenty-six years. No one on Earth had ever meant more to Joseph/Melanie than Ronald Stone. Then, Joe stopped moving. "Wait! I can't see Ron. He was the original Melanie Stone's husband before he was mine. She deserves him more than I do. Besides, I am just a guy who stole Ron's wife's body after she died." Joe had a distressed look on his pretty feminine face as he added, with a voice of extreme sadness, "I will never be able to see Ron again."

The little man grinned as he pushed his over sized eye glasses up his nose as he assured Joe, "Don't worry about there being two Melanie Stones. The original has a husband that only remembers being with her. You will have one that remembers being with you. Think of it as us cloning Ron for both of you. Trust me. It will be okay."

"You can do that?" Joseph/Melanie asked.

"It is called Heaven." Was the answer as they boarded an escalator going up through the ceiling tiles and into the swirling mist.

The End

  

  

  

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