Chapter 5

What seemed like just a few more minutes later, the sun illuminating my bedroom awakened me. I sat up in bed and stretched. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. After washing my face and hands, I put on my robe and slippers and went downstairs.

I was the first one up this morning so I started breakfast. Instead of the usual bacon and eggs, I made pancake batter. Mom always bought the pre-mixed kind. Nothing to do except add water, and stir. I made enough for four on the assumption that Mom, Carol, and Aunt Jessica would want them also. As I stirred the mix, Mom and Aunt Jessica came in. While I heated the pan and melted some margarine in it to coat the surface, Mom made the orange juice, and a pot of tea. I started to cook the pancakes as soon as the frying pan was hot enough. By the time that the first batch was ready, Carol had come down. I continued cooking until all the batter was used up. Then I joined the others at the table. They had already started on the pancakes when I sat down. Some families wait until everybody is seated before starting to eat, but we always believed that you should eat the food when it was hot, and nobody was ever insulted by having the others start to eat before you do.

I took a couple of pancakes and put maple syrup on them. I used to have six or seven, but now two would fill me up. The tartness of the orange juice, followed by the sweetness of the maple syrup, followed by the bitterness of the tea, really had my taste buds messed up. Because of the maple syrup’s sweetness, I had to add two extra teaspoons of sugar to my tea.

Mom said, "This was a nice change, Crystal. It seems like we’ve been having bacon and eggs every morning for the past month."

"I guess that’s been my fault. I’ve been the first one up each day since I got involved with the theatre group, and I've been starting breakfast. I’ll try to vary it a little more often."

I had to sit and drink my tea until it looked like Carol was ready to go upstairs. I couldn’t take my bath without her help, since she would have to release me from my corset. Thinking about the corset, I realized that I was thinking about it less and less. Today was the 5^th day that I have worn it, so it was becoming normal to have it on. Especially since I have been wearing it 23½ hours a day. Another thought occurred to me also. I had been trying to copy the actions and mannerisms of the women around me so that I could blend in. I realized that I had adopted the exaggerated movements with my hands that many women have. Well, after all, that had been the point. To walk like, talk like, move like, and look like a woman so that no one would guess my true identity. Mr. Tucker had congratulated me on my acting skills when I had told him that no one had yet unmasked me.

While Carol finished her tea, I cleared the table and loaded the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher after rinsing them first. I asked Carol to help me when she came upstairs, and I went up ahead of her. I removed my robe and sleepwear and started to run my bath. Carol came in and helped me out of the corset. I had come to love my bath time each morning, mainly because I was released from the corset for the all too short event. I laid back and enjoyed the warm water, and the ability to breathe in unrestricted amounts of air.

When the water started to chill, I knew that bath time was almost over. I finished washing myself and exited the tub. After patting my self dry, I powdered my body and walked back into my bedroom. When I had put on my panties and girdle, I stood in front of the mirror to examine my breasts. There was still no indication that they were anything but the real article. I put on a clean bra, fresh chemise, and stockings, prior to putting on the corset. As I had been doing, I tightened the corset as much as I could, then sat down to work on my face. I heard Carol get into the bathtub and wondered if she enjoyed hers as much as I enjoyed mine. I plucked a few small hairs in my eyebrows, and then began to work on my face.

Carol came into my bedroom after she had completed her bath, and tightened my corset. As I walked around to get used to the new restriction after my ½ hour of freedom, it dawned on me that Carol had been naked. I had become so used to seeing my own boobs that seeing hers did not even cause me to notice that they were not covered. When she came back in, she was dressed. She tightened me down so that I could barely breathe, and tied off the laces. She helped me into full slip, and then dressed me in a peasant blouse and tight skirt. As usual, her clothes were tight on me except in the waist. There, they were quite loose. Due, no doubt, to the work of the corset. Carol put my shoes on me since I could not bend, and then worked on my hair. Instead of the ponytail that I had been wearing for the past couple of days, she divided my hair into two parts and braided them on the back of my head. I liked the look and thanked her when she was done.

She bent over and kissed me on the cheek. "You’re welcome, sis. I have something for you."

Then she handed me a small white box. I opened it and saw a pair of the earrings that she had purchased last night at the mall.

She said, "I thought that these would look perfect on you. I saw your face when you tried them on, so I bought them for you. They’re yours to keep."

I put them right on and then stood and hugged her as I thanked her for her generosity. I had to fix my face again after we separated. I had shed a few tears and made my mascara run. After that she returned to her room, and I continued to get ready to leave. When I was done, I stood and checked my appearance in the mirror. The tight skirt, low cut peasant blouse, and 4-inch heels continued the perceived image of ‘blond bimbo’. At least in my own mind.

I went downstairs and found Mom and Aunt Jessica watching a morning talk show. I hit Mom up for more money. I had to explain where I had spent the five dollars that she had given to me yesterday.

"75 cents for the bus, $2.25 for lunch, and $1.75 for ice cream last night."

"Okay dear, here’s another 5 dollars."

"Thanks, Mom. Goodbye. Goodbye Aunt Jess."

They both said goodbye and I left to catch the bus. As I stood on the street corner waiting for the bus, a car with three boys stopped.

One of them yelled, "Hey doll, want a ride?"

"No thank you", I said politely.

"Aw, come on. We’ll save you the bus fare. We’ll take you anywhere that you want to go."

"No thank you."

"What’s the matter, slut? Think that you’re too good for us?"

I turned to look in another direction.

"I’m talking to you, bitch. Don’t turn away from me.

The boy who was doing all of the talking started to get out of the car. I began to get very scared. I knew that I could never outrun him in the tight skirt and heels. Besides, the corset would prevent me from running more than half a block anyway. I felt very vulnerable.

The boy with the foul mouth towered over me and said, "My bitches look at me when I’m talking or I start handing out black eyes."

I turned to face him. "I am not ‘one of your bitches’. Nor will I ever be one. Now get lost."

He stood and stared at me for several seconds while trying to decide what to do. Just as he took a step towards me, and I took a step backwards, a police siren chirped out. The police car had come up behind the car that the boys were riding in. One of the officers got out while the other was using the radio.

The officer came over to us and said, "What seems to be the trouble here?"

The boy said, "No trouble officer. I was just asking for directions."

The officer looked at me and said, "Is that right, Miss?"

The boy glared at me as I spoke. "No officer. This boy and his friends offered me a ride. When I refused, he got abusive and threatening."

"That’s a lie", the boy said. "All I wanted was directions to the nearest McDonalds."

The officer said, "Save it Barton. I know you well enough to believe the lady without question. Miss, would you like to file a complaint?"

"No, officer. If he had touched me I would, but no harm was done. Just some abusive language. I would rather just forget it."

"Okay, Miss."

The other officer called out that the vehicle was ‘clean’.

"Barton, you’re getting off easy this time. But I’m going to be watching you closer than ever. One wrong move and I’m going to lock you up and lose the key. You got that?"

"Yes, Officer Dailey"

"Now, get out of here before I decide to strip search you for weapons."

The boy turned and got back into the car. He looked at me and said, "I’ll be seeing you again, bit… girl"

The boy behind the wheel started the car and drove away.

The police officer said, "I don’t think that they’ll give you any more trouble today, Miss."

I smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Officer Dailey."

"My pleasure, Miss."

My bus arrived just as the police car pulled away. I was relieved to climb the steps and take a seat. I started to shake after I had sat down. The stress of the incident had taken its toll on my nervous system. I trembled for five minutes before calming down. I was fine again by the time that we reached the downtown area.

I walked to the side entrance to the theatre and opened the door. Stepping inside, I waited while my eyes became accustomed to the low illumination of the theatre. Then I walked to the makeup room and put my purse up on the shelf where it would be safe and yet out of the way. I went to the coffee maker on stage left and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. There was about a cup left from yesterday. That was unusual, as Mr. Tucker usually drained the pot every day.

With the new coffee dripping into the pot, I walked across the stage to reach the wardrobe room. My heels clicking on the stage echoed throughout the empty theatre. Barbara was working away on her sewing machine, making the alterations that she had measured for yesterday. She looked up as I entered.

"Good morning, Crystal dear. How are you today?"

"Fine Barbara. How are you?"

"Couldn’t be better. It’s such a glorious day outside, that I walked to the theatre instead of taking my car. I can’t remember the last time that I felt like walking eight blocks."

I smiled and said, "Yes it is lovely outside today. Barbara have you heard any word yet from any of the distributors?"

"Not yet dear. But it’s still very early. We have to give them a chance to have their coffee and settle down to business. The manufacturer still has the ‘closed for the holiday’ message on their telephone answering machine. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from somebody."

"Okay, Barbara. I’ll stop back later."

"Bye, dear."

I went to the desk that was set up on stage right and turned on the desk lamp. I sat down and began to organize the script notes that Mr. Tucker had made yesterday. I typed everything into the computer’s word processor program and printed out the pages. Then I punched them with the three-hole punch and inserted them into Mr. Tucker’s notebook. By the time that I was done, cast members were starting to arrive. Everyone addressed me as Crystal. By now, all of the cast members knew of the accident, and had been admonished about saying anything about it outside of the theatre. Actors were a different breed. They blithely accepted such things where most people would not. Each and every member had treated me as a young lady yesterday, rather than as a boy in a dress.

When Mr. Tucker came in, I poured a cup of coffee and brought it to him. He said, "Ah, the lovely Crystal delivers the nectar of the Gods. Thank you my dear. You are as invaluable as you are beautiful."

When rehearsals started, I once again filled in for missing cast members. Since this was a community theatre group, the actors were not paid. Most had full time jobs and did their best to work their schedules around the theatre group’s requirements. During the full dress rehearsals next week, we would work during the evenings because that would enable all cast members to attend.

During lunch break, I went out with the girls without even thinking about it. They had accepted me as a member of the group, and I felt very comfortable with them. My lunch again was simply soup and tea. The corset kept my appetite very limited.

During the afternoon, I stopped in to see Barbara.

Barbara said, "Crystal, honey. I heard back from one of the distributors to whom I placed a call looking for information about the breast forms manufacturer. They told me that ‘Belle-Gel’ closes each year during the week in which July 4^th falls, for a two-week vacation. They will be closed until July 19^th. Since today is only July 7^th, you will have to remain that way for another 12 days."

Instead of being shattered as she expected, I accepted the news calmly and without any wild outbursts.

"The entire company has been so wonderful in accepting me like this that I can wait, Barbara. It’s inconvenient, but not devastating. I will miss not being able to go swimming for the next few weeks though."

"There’s no reason why you can’t go swimming. But you’ll have to go as a woman. The water and chlorine won’t harm the breasts."

"I have another little problem. The panty girdle holds me in normally, but in a bathing suit, my ‘little problem’ would show."

"That can be handled easily. I know a place that sells a special piece of clothing called a ‘gaff’, which can be worn under a two piece suit. It will hold you in as well as the panty girdle. I’ll pick one up for you tomorrow. They're inexpensive and the theatre will pay for it since you're doing this to protect our investment in the breast forms."

"Barbara, do you have any other padded girdles so that I don’t have to wear the same one every day? And maybe another corset, so that I can alternate them also until this is resolved?

"Of course, dear." She got up and put another girdle and corset in a paper bag for me. "I’ll leave these here until you’re ready to leave tonight. Are you set with everything else?"

"Yes. Mom bought me some underwear, and I’ve been wearing Carol’s clothes. Some of them are a little tight but I’ve been getting by."

"Judging by the looks of the men that we pass when we’re going to and from lunch, they think that your clothes are just fine."

I thanked her for the things and went back to work. At 5 o’clock, the company started to leave while I stayed behind to get things organized for tomorrow. Most of the company had gone by the time that I was finished. I went to the ladies room before leaving and ran into Debbie just coming out. She turned and followed me back in, and pressed me against the wall. Before I had a chance to say anything, her mouth was pressed against mine. I felt her hands roaming all over my body as she held me in a lip-lock. As we kissed, her tongue invaded my mouth and searched out the interior of my mouth. I surrendered to her passion until once again voices in the hall stopped us. We quickly composed ourselves but nobody came in. Still, the moment was dampened by the potential of being discovered. She asked me if I wanted a ride home and I said yes.

I picked up the things that Barbara had lent me and met Debbie at the exit door. Together we walked to her Toyota in the parking lot behind the theatre. She drove straight to my house and parked in front, then she leaned over and kissed me on the mouth before I got out. We said our good-byes and I walked to the door of my house. Debbie waited until I opened the door before she drove away.

When I entered the house I could smell the dinner cooking. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until then. I put my purse and package in my bedroom and went to the kitchen. Carol, Mom, and Aunt Jessica were talking as they sat at the table. I said hello and received three hellos in return. I took a seat and joined the conversation. When the casserole was almost ready, we set the table and made the side dishes. Mom is a wonderful cook and I really enjoyed her casseroles. Tonight’s was mashed potato with small ham chunks. I wished that I could eat more but I filled up quickly. After dinner, Carol and I cleaned the kitchen as Mom made a pot of tea. Knowing in advance that the tea would taste a little bitter, I had automatically added extra sugar. We talked for another hour until Mom and Aunt Jessica went to the living room to watch a TV special that was coming on. Carol and I didn’t have any interest in it so we went upstairs.

We were talking as we arrived at her bedroom door, so I followed her in and we continued talking in her bedroom. I spent the next several hours in her room. We talked about clothes, jewelry, and hair. We spent an hour in front of the mirror, playing with ours. Lastly, we talked about boys. I told her about the incident of this morning.

"I know that creep, Joey Barton, and the two morons that he hangs around with. He treats girls like dirt, and can’t get a date to save his life. They spend all of their time cruising around trying to pick up girls that don’t know them yet. They’re all jerks, but watch out for him, sis. He’s dangerous. He’s been in trouble with the police since he was in grade school."

"I was glad that the police car came along when it did. I couldn’t have outrun him, and I thought that he was going to hit me."

If he comes around again, just do the same thing that you did. Ignore him. Maybe he’ll realize that it’s a lost cause and give up. If he tries to hurt you, yell ‘Fire’."

"Fire?"

"Yeah, that brings people faster than ‘rape’ according to the studies."

We laughed and joked about that, and continued talking about other things until it was quite late. Carol came into my bedroom so that she could help me undress. As usual, she released the corset about an inch giving me sufficient room to breathe more easily. I showed her the other corset and girdle that Barbara had loaned me. Now I would be able to alternate them so that I could clean them and let them dry between uses. Before Carol went back to her bedroom, I hugged her and told her how much I appreciated all of the help that she had given me over the past five days. She hugged me back and said how wonderful it was to have a sister.

She said, "I’m so happy that you're here. It’s been wonderful having somebody to share things with. I’m glad that you had that little accident at the theatre. It has created a whole new life for you, and for Mom and I. Three women can do so much more together than two women and a boy. I love you, Crystal."

"And I love you, Carol."

We hugged again and she left to return to her bedroom. I finished undressing and removed my makeup. I put on my sleep set and washed my things. When I was finally ready for bed, I was too keyed up to fall asleep right away. I lay in the darkness and thought about the day, and my situation. I would have to be this way for another couple of weeks, until Belle-Gel opened again. That left more than enough time to run into Joey Barton. On the positive side, there was Debbie. She liked me like this. She hadn’t paid any attention to me when I was Cary. But as Crystal, she can’t keep her hands off of me. And we have a date for Friday night. The theatre company had been wonderful. Nobody made fun of my predicament. The fact that there were no kids there made all of the difference, I decided. I had been accepted to the point that I felt that they had forgotten my former identity. And I enjoyed the way that I was treated almost everywhere. I never felt ignored anymore. People went out of their way to help me. I just had to be a little more careful where I went and what kind of signals, real or implied, that I gave out. I loved some of the clothes that I could wear now. The fabrics were so soft compared to my former clothes. And the satin sleepwear was divine compared to the cotton PJ’s that I used to wear. Except for the corset, I was content in my new form. The corset was a painful reminder that I was not a woman, or I might have started to believe that I was. My speech and mannerisms had adapted to the role so well, that nobody gave me a second look, unless it was one of sexual lust. I finally drifted off to sleep and dreamed about really being a woman.

 

(continued in Chapter 6)

 

 

 

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