Just Another Christmas Story         By Constance Grant        (With minor revisions from first publication.)

The necessary stuff:

Copyright December 1999 (all rights reserved) by Constance Grant, Manasquan, NJ 08736

This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons. I would rate this story as PG, there is no explicit sex, but it has a little low intensity violence and deals with TG issues.

Some of the actions of the mean mother were suggested By Amber P. and Daphne in their story Lipstick Discipline, and are used with their permission. The beautifully illustrated version of ‘Lipstick Discipline’ is posted on:
http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Castro/3247/main/index.htm

Note: The ‘Spells 'R' Us’ universe was created by Bill Hart. Any characters from that universe that I've borrowed are ultimately his and I thank him for opening this universe to everyone. Bill has blessed this treatment of Dannie and the Wizard as one of the possible realities in the SRU universe.

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Just Another Christmas Story      by: Constance Grant    ConnieBabe69@hotmail.com

 

"My goodness," Dannie mumbled under her breath, "It’s great to be free for a few hours. Unpacking and checking merchandise invoices sure can get old!" Her pretty face scrunched up, looking like she smelled something bad. But then she smiled thinking of her freedom for the entire afternoon, and the sunshine was back.

As she walked through the mall, she couldn’t help but notice the number of closed shops, and the signs in many others announcing, ‘Drastic discounts! Everything must go! Closing January 5!’ Even the mall Christmas decorations looked wilted and old, it seemed like half the decorative lights were burned out. About the only real cluster of customers was in front of the pizza place, and not a table was to be had. Dannie sighed as she got in the long line. She was HUNGRY!

When it was her turn she ordered, "Two slices with sausage and mushrooms. And a medium Diet Pepsi please."

"No got Pepsi, Diet Coke ‘kay?

She answered, "Yeah, sure," as she stepped forward to pay the cashier. As she waited for her order, she noticed two people get up from a table; she was torn between claiming the table and waiting for her order. Before she could make up her mind, another girl who had been standing holding a tray of pizza and soda claimed it.

"Yo miss! Dis sausage mushroom yours?"

"Yeah, thank you."

Dannie claimed her tray and noticed no one had joined the single girl, as no tables were available Dannie walked up to her and asked, "Mind if I join you?"

The girl looked momentarily surprised, but answered, "No, please be seated." Dannie sat down and the girl continued, "To tell the truth I’m glad for the company, see that group of guys waiting in line, they’re always bothering me. Oh, and I’m Patti." As she extended her hand.

They shook hands and Dannie took a fast bite of pizza, and pulled it from her mouth even faster, "Damn! When will I learn to wait?"

She quickly took a drink of soda before swallowing the bite of pizza, and dribbled a little of it on her blouse. Patti couldn’t help laughing, "Sorry, I couldn’t help it. That has happened to me so many times. I’m so hungry it would have happened to me today, if I’d found a table right away."

She smiled saying, "Don’t worry, I should know better by now. By the way, I’m Dannie."

"Good to meet you Dannie, you work in the mall?"

"Yeah, we are here today and tomorrow. You too?"

"For now, I work at The Limited, they are closing next month though. Maybe earlier, we didn’t have a dozen customers all morning, and after the weekend sale our stock is down to zilch – and tomorrows Christmas Eve."

"Bummer, I hate when it’s slow. Any nice things left in my size?" Dannie couldn’t think of when she had actually shopped, somehow it sounded like fun.

Patti looked at her appraisingly, "You’re about a four aren’t you?" Dannie nodded, "Actually we have quite a few nice dresses and suits in two and four, even a few in six. If you see something you like, I’ll give you my employee discount – over and above the sixty percent off going out of business sale. I’m even buying two power suits for the job interviews I’ll have to be going on – sure wish I had some college. All the good jobs seem to require it."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I think I’ll stop by latter. What's with this mall? It seems like it’s all closing."

"Just about. See those guys over there."

Patti moved her eyes to a large table four removed from theirs. It wasn’t really necessary to point them out. The guys were making a lot of noise as they rudely commented on all the girls in sight.

Dannie nodded yes, and Patti continued, "Too many gangs like that roving the mall, several customers were carjacked in the parking lot and even more were mugged. The area around the mall sucks, it’s a zoo out there. About six months ago stories of the muggings were featured in the local paper, after the editors wife was carjacked. Mall business plummeted; the customers were not reassured by promises of more security - especially after another lady was killed in a parking lot mugging. This after the increased security was begun with much fanfare."

"Damn, I didn’t realize it was that bad here. I’ll be sure to watch out."

The two girls talked for a while longer as they finished their pizza. It’s strange how two people can bond in a short time, but both seemed to need a friend – and they just clicked. Soon Patti had to get back to work and Dannie agreed to stop by The Limited later, as it was back in the direction of her shop.

----------------

Danny walked to the end of the mall, she looked in Lord & Taylors, Macy’s, and Sears, but those stores were closing, and looked like they had been picked clean by vultures. She purchased a soft ice cream and headed back toward The Limited enjoying her treat. All of a sudden, something hit her elbow ramming the remainder of her cone into her face. Ice cream splattered on her blouse and skirt.

The soft ice cream temporarily blinded her, and all she heard was the laughter of half dozen or so boys. They pushed her from one to the other, feeling her up, as she tried to wipe her face. This went on for several minutes, and only stopped when a pair of mall security cops chased them away. Dannie was livid – ‘damn that old man, a few months ago and those punks would never have tried that’ she thought. But she just thanked the security guards politely and wiped most of the ice cream from her face. The security men directed her to the nearest ladies room.

On the way she noticed The Limited and decided to stop in first, maybe they had a rest room. And besides, she was almost in tears and needed a sympathetic ear.

"Oh Dannie! What happened?" Patti ran up to Danny.

"A gang of those damn boys rammed the ice cream cone I was eating into my face. I got it all over myself, and then the bastards pushed me around. I’m so damned mad I could spit nails!"

Patti hugged Dannie. They stood that way for almost a minute while Dannie burst into tears. Patti finally said, "I know Dannie, they have done it to me and several of the other girls. They make you feel so helpless, I hate them!" And Patti began crying too. After a while, they looked at the mess the runny makeup made of their faces, and began laughing.

"What’s so funny Patti?" Dannie asked with a straight face. And the both started giggling again. Patti took Dannie by the hand and led her to the small rest room at the back of the store. They scrubbed their faces clean, still giggling.

Patti said, "Take your skirt and blouse off, lets clean off the spots and let them dry while you try some things on. I’m alone here, so lets both of us have some fun."

While Dannie undressed to her panties and bra, Patti selected some things for Dannie to try. "We really have some nice things, so I brought you a pair of pantyhose and slips to wear – they will give you a better idea how the outfits look."

"Great, I’ll try this LBD first."

Patti went out to the selling area and waited for Dannie. When Dannie came out, Patti whistled appreciatively, "Wow that looks great on you! If you don’t mind watching for customers, I’ll put something on and we can model them together."

A few minutes later Patti came out in a red dress of almost the same style. She also brought out two pair of black high heels. "See if one of these pair fit, we keep them in back so customers can see how the outfits will look."

Both girls modeled in front of a cluster of mirrors to the music of Ricky Martian - the loud music of Ricky Martian. Dannie was blond and had a cute finely featured face, it only took a minute for her to get into the mood to ape fashion models. Patti had dark, almost black hair and was a size ten; her features were courser than Dannie’s, but she moved well to the music, and they both looked damn good. Patti stayed and Dannie went back to change into another outfit, then Patti changed while Dannie watched the store. This fun went on for well over an hour.

Dannie was changing into a power suit, very professional red, with a skirt the fell just below mid thigh. She couldn’t believe how great it made her feel. Then she heard Patti scream, she sounded terrified. Dannie ran out front to see a gang of boys clustered around Patti, one held her from behind while another was groping her. Dannie pushed the panic alarm Patti had shown her, and raced out to help her friend.

Dannie drove her shoulder into the guy holding Patti, the shock of the blow forced the much bigger boy to release Patti, and turn on Dannie. He punched Dannie hard in the stomach, and she fell to the ground. The boy who was groping Patti screamed, "Faggot!" and punched her in the face. She tripped over Dannie and both girls were on the floor now.

The boy screamed, "Faggot, she’s a lousy queer!" and moved in and began to kick Patti, the boy Dannie slammed into began to kick her. Then the other five boys joined in until they were all kicking the helpless girls withering on the floor. Mercifully, both girls were stunned by kicks to the head, and didn’t feel most of the blows.

Several Mall security guards converged on the store and broke up the attack, but they were satisfied with chasing the boys away, and did not attempt to catch them. In a few minutes the girls were sitting up, a female security guard had EMT training, and checked the girls over for broken bones. Her verdict was they would have a lot of bruises, but she didn’t think any bones were broken.

After washing up and vomiting Patti said, "I’m going to close up, I normally walk, but I really don’t feel well. Could one of you give me a lift home?"

The female security officer said, "Sure honey, you can file a report in the morning. I have seen those punks before, and the security cameras must have got them on tape. How about you Dannie?"

"I think my store is a few doors down, if you will walk me there I guess I’ll be alright." Dannie had gotten sick too, and really looked pale and shaken.

The three of them walked toward where Dannie’s store was. As they rounded a bend Dannie started muttering under her breath, Patty thought she was cursing some old man.

"Shit, he has gone already. The old bastard told me he would wait for me!"

"Can you get home?" Patti asked.

"No dammit, he was my ride, and we live way out of town. I’ll have to get a hotel room over night, and catch him tomorrow. No real problem, I have my Visa card." Dannie opened her purse and shouted, "DAMN, Damn! Those bastards stole my wallet."

Patti looked in hers and looked resignedly, "They got mine too, lets stop at that payphone. I need to report my Visa stolen too, this will be a great Christmas!"

I was the third time this year Patti’s wallet had been stolen, so she had memorized the emergency Visa number and her credit card number. She handed the phone to Dannie, and Dannie looked confused at first, but then gave the operator her card number.

"Look Dannie, there is no need to stay in a hotel alone. I live with my mother in a small apartment, but there is space for you in my room. Please stay with me, it’s the least I can do for a friend."

"I’d like that, thank you."

Not much was said in the security car during the five-block drive to Patti’s house. Both girls still felt nauseous, although they didn’t get sick again. Patti hadn’t exaggerated about the neighborhood. It wasn’t very nice, although at one time it had been.

Patti’s apartment was in a three-story gothic style house that had been subdivided into three apartments. "Thanks for the ride Susan, we will be okay from here. The landlord is a retired cop, and the gangs steer clear of this place." They got out of the security car, walked up the porch, and Patti opened the door saying, "Our place is in the third floor, can you make it?"

"Yeah, I think so. Let’s take it slow though."

Once inside the door, a long narrow staircase led upstairs. It was an obvious addition to the house to permit breaking it up into apartments. In fact, Dannie could see it was outside of the original house’s walls. They trudged upstairs, both girls regretted leaving their heels on at the store, and commented dourly that their pantyhose was ruined.

As soon as they entered the apartment, it was apparent to Dannie that it had been crudely fashioned from the previous attic. They walked into the small living room. Dominating the room was a large polished walnut dining room table with eight chairs. It was definitely out of place in such poor surroundings, a large matching hutch only made the room seem smaller. Patti walked over to a curtained off area, and pulled the curtain back to reveal a small refrigerator, stove, sink and open pantry under the eves.

"Like some hot chocolate?" Patti asked

"Sure, but I’d really like to take a hot bath or shower first."

"I’ll go run your water in the tub, please keep an eye on the teapot."

Dannie looked around, and noticed the hutch contained a nice Limoges china service for at least twelve. On the other wall were a couch and two small armchairs with a TV on a small table. Off in the direction Patti was running the bath, was a small bedroom with a double bed and an open closet. The bed was made neatly and from what she could see of the closet, it was nicely ordered too. Patti went into the bedroom, stripped off her clothes, and put on a terry robe and slippers. She looked at the skirt and jacket the had just taken off saying, "Two of the seams need to be sewn, but there doesn’t seem to be any other damage. How did your outfit fare?"

Since there was just the two of them, Dannie took off her shirt, blouse, and jacket. "There doesn’t seem to be any rips or anything, but it definitely needs to be cleaned. Hell, I haven’t even paid for it yet – I hope my things will be safe in the store."

"They should be, those bastards left my keys when they stole my wallet. I had almost thirty dollars cash in it too, I’ll never see that again. It’s a good thing I did most of my Christmas shopping – at least they won’t ruin our Christmas."

"You live here with your mom?"

"Yeah, just the two of us. She won’t be home until after midnight."

"Is it safe for her to be on the streets at that hour?"

"Not really, but she works at the Marriott and the airport van brings her home at night. She works from three to midnight on the desk, so that works out well for her. Whoops, the teapot almost boiled over." Patti turned the gas burner off, and the pot stopped whistling, then she ran to check on the bath. "Okay, if you want to take your bath, it’s ready – I put some bath salts in for you."

Dannie walked into the bath and stripped, then slowly lowered her aching body into the hot water. "Ahhh, that feels good!" She smiled saying, "See you sometime tomorrow."

"Don’t get too comfortable, that water looks mighty good. You are going to have some bruises by the look of those red marks; I have some Ben Gay to rub on them. Oh, by the way – leave the water in the tub when you are done, there probably isn’t enough hot water to draw another whole bath."

As Dannie nodded, Patti shut the door. Dannie soaked until the water started to cool, and then got out. It was difficult, as her bruised muscles didn’t want to move. ‘Where is that damn old man when I really need him?’ She thought with a scowl. Before she dried off, she started the hot water. "Okay, if you want to use the bath again, I just started the hot water to warm it up." She said with a shiver, the apartment was drafty after a warm bath.

Patti entered the bathroom, handed Dannie another terry bathrobe, and stripped off her panties prior to entering the water. "My God, but that feels good! Your coco is on the table, and please stir the stew every few minutes. There is some nice rye bread heating in the oven, kind of keep an eye on that too."

Dannie stuck her head back in and said, "No problem, I get to do all the cooking for the old man and me. Just enjoy your bath, I’ll watch everything out here."

Dannie puttered around, washed the container the stew had been in and stirred it a few times. As it began to simmer, she tried it.

"Hey Patti, this stew is great!"

Dannie’s jaw was too sore to support shouting, and since Patti didn’t respond, Dannie walked ten feet and opening the bathroom door, she repeated her comment. Patti was just getting out of the tub and Dannie caught a glimpse of something that shouldn’t have been there. However, Dannie didn’t comment on it, and just closed the door. She walked thoughtfully back to the stove and stirred the stew again. Patti walked into the kitchen, and Dannie prepared two bowls of stew and brought them and the hot bread to the table. Both girls sat down and began to eat.

They were almost through when Dannie said, "This is really great stew, and you must give me the recipe."

"Sure, I’ll write it down for you. We have it every week, twice a week – so I guess I know the recipe by heart." Patti paused for a moment and then said, "You saw it, didn’t you?"

"Yes, but otherwise there is no doubt that you are a girl. What happened?"

"It’s a long story, do you want me to call a cab for you – I’m sure my mother can find you a room for tonight. I have some money here I could give you until you meet up with your friend tomorrow."

"That won’t be necessary, does it work?"

"Only to pee, it hasn’t worked for anything else in four years. The hormones my mother gave me were an overdose. I grew great boobs as you can see, but they also chemically castrated me. I’m neither fish nor fowl. My DNA would say I’m a boy, I look and act like a girl when dressed, but I’m not a girl and can never have a normal life like a girl."

"How did it happen?"

"Sure you really want to know?"

"Wouldn’t ask, if I didn’t"

"I’ve never told anyone before… Please don’t laugh at me."

"I won’t, I like you Patti, and I want to be your friend. We may have more in common than you know."

"It started when I was twelve, I guess my brother and I were just one too many boys for mom to handle. I know now that she was feeling very abused by men, the divorce from my dad was not very pleasant. She always was kind of bossy, and he told me before he left that he just couldn’t live with her any more. He had found another woman with two children, and was married before the divorce papers were dry. He never even contested mom’s custody of us. It was several months before mom found out that he had remarried, but when she did, she went ballistic.

It started out gradually, and she always made it seem like it was a punishment for doing something bad. I remember the first time she made me wear lipstick, it was only around the house, and it was punishment for fighting with my brother.

The next time I had a fight with him, it was entirely his fault, but she wouldn’t listen to my side at all. He was the younger brother, and since I was almost three years older, I should have controlled him without a fight. This time she made me wear lipstick and nail polish for a week. I even had to go into school with it on."

"That was a awful thing for her to do to you. How did the other kids react?"

"She sent a note in with me explaining my punishment, so the teachers and bus driver kept the other boys from hurting me physically. But they teased me unmercifully the first day. The second day my homeroom teacher brought a tube of lipstick and a bottle of nail polish in and placed it on her desk. She told the other boys, it could happen to them too. Well, that stopped their hazing, but they just avoided me. A few of the girls were nice to me and let me sit with them at lunch. Other of the girls were mean to me, at the time that hurt me more than the boys."

"Then what happened?"

"I did something incredibly stupid, the week after Christmas I stole some bubble gum from the local candy store. The owner knew mom and told her the next day. Well that gave her the excuse she needed. When I came home from school Friday she was waiting for me. First she made me go outside and get a switch, she always made that a part of the punishment. If I selected one too thin, she would use a yardstick, two thick it would hurt worse than the yardstick. When I came in I handed it to her, and she had me take my pants down and lean over a chair. She gave me a few hard strokes and then told me why I was being punished, but then she asked me if I would elect a different punishment, as I was getting almost too old to switch.

Well, as she knew I would, I elected the alternate punishment. The punishment was that for a month, whenever I was at home, I would dress and act like I was her daughter. While the switching was still fresh in my mind, she took me up to my room, had me shower and shave what little hair I had off. Then she dressed me – in panties, training bra, tights, slip, blouse, skirt, and pumps with one-inch heels. Then she put make up on me, telling me I had to pay attention as it would soon be my responsibility to do my own makeup. When I was docile, she acted like a loving mother, if I resisted she slapped me silly.

I found out very soon that she expected me to pass as a girl, after a little basic instruction on Saturday morning she took me to the mall to have my hair done. It was relatively long, since she hadn’t had made me get a haircut since the divorce. I thought that was cool, as the boys were wearing their hair long anyway.

She had been planning this all along; I just didn’t know that then. I was dressed as a girl, but at that stage, really didn’t act like one. All the women working in the salon knew I was a boy, and mom joked with them about what she was doing to me with them. She said it was all my idea, in front of me, and I didn’t dare contradict her. I was mortified.

My black hair was styled, permed, and given red highlights. They gave me a pedicure, waxing, and I found I had hair I didn’t know I had. Silk wraps on my fingernails and a makeover, I took home all the cosmetics and nail polish. Mom had exactly the same treatment, and I went along because she threatened to tell all the customers that I was a boy and that this all was my idea. When they were finished with us, we looked like mother and daughter. Mom was radiant, and dressed as I was I was pleased that she was happy with me. I must confess I looked at myself in every available mirror, I looked like a pretty young girl."

"That seems like a full first day out, you must have been a nervous wreck by the time you got home."

"I was, but that trip to the mall didn’t end with the salon visit. Next, we went to the jeweler. Mom told me that if I made a fuss she would tell everyone in the store I was a boy, and that this was my idea. I got my ears pierced, both ears.

Then we went to a department store and we shopped for at least a dozen outfits, two of them were mother and daughter dresses. Naturally, this included stockings, garter belts, tights, a waist cincher, and training bras. At a shoe store I was fitted for several pair of shoes, including two pair of pumps, one with two inch heals, another with three. Everything a young lady would need, everything except slacks or shorts. All this from a mother who never had enough money to buy me a new pair if jeans or sneakers.

On the way home it sunk in, she was serious about me dressing as a girl for the promised month. When we got home, mom started showing me how to do all the chores she used to do for us boys. Chores dad always called girl chores. How to do wash and ironing properly was the first. Clothes had to be separated, washed together using the correct settings and detergents, dried using the settings called for, and ironed using the correct temperatures. I had two pages of notes, and the penalty was always the same. Do it or else you will be exposed as a willing participant, being slapped silly for minor things, and smiles and loves when I went along. She conditioned me like Pavlov did his dogs.

The first week I had to go to school with the new nails sans polish, but with my hair slicked back to disguise the wave, and no cosmetics. It wasn’t too bad, except I was wearing girl’s panties. Some days I had to wear tights under my pants, if I did a little something wrong. However, mom didn’t make me wear any of my training bras or camisoles.

As soon as I got home, I had to do my hair, apply makeup, and don one of my housedresses. The first week I had to wear two-inch heels doing housework. Mom would inspect me when she got home. If all weren’t darn close to perfect, I would have to wear tights or worse to school the next day. The third week I had to wear three-inch heels, and occasionally had to wear a bra into school. Naturally at night I wore girls long nighties and panties."

"She was really mean to you. What did your dad say about all this?"

"He never came home, and wouldn’t even talk to me over the phone. He wanted nothing to do with mom, and that carried over to us."

"When the month was over, did you get out of wearing dresses?"

"No, of course not. From her point of view why? I wasn’t giving her any trouble, and by the end of the month, I was doing almost all her housework, including the cooking and cleaning. Not only that but I was her companion whenever she went shopping or to a movie. In those days, she had no interest in dating men, so my companionship was important to her. She told me that she was treating me no better or worse than if, I had been born a girl, and training to be a wife and mother.

At the end of the month, she found some glamour magazines I used to jerk off to, actually by that time I was doing it to my image in the mirror. But she used my playing with myself, as an excuse to keep me in skirts. She also started to make me wear a tight Playtex panty girdle and to tuck my privates after that. I hated that damn thing, but it did make me look like a girl in front, and I didn’t get hard with it tucked."

"When did the hormones start?"

"Immediately, that first Saturday in a dress I began taking new vitamins. Of course, they were birth control pills and other hormone pills. She had access to an unlimited supply at the birth control and abortion clinic she was working at as a nurse. By the end of the first month, I was wearing clear nail polish to school and studs in both my ears, and nobody commented on it – it was too much trouble to remove and put on every day. I had no boys that would hang out with me, but several of the girls were nice to me and treated me as if I were another girl. The worst part was, I really didn’t have any close friends, and I didn’t fit into any group. That year I was lucky, the school was building a new gym, and nobody had to take gym. The few facilities the school had were dedicated to inter school team sports.

On Saturday and Sunday, mom would share the cooking and clean up chores with me, we would go to movies and eat out. I was given responsibility for Mike, and if I disciplined him reasonably mom would back me up.

Come summer, my breasts were beginning to bud, and were very sore. The training bra became a full time necessity and not for show. I would take Mike swimming in the housing development’s pool dressed as a girl in a two-piece bathing suit. I paid close attention to how the other girls acted, and by the end of the summer, I not only looked like a girl, but I acted as one. Mom enrolled me in a private school as a girl in the fall semester. By this time, having mom happy with me was more important than being a boy. The hormones had a quieting effect too, but of course, I didn’t know that at the time.

I did my sophomore and junior year in that all girls’ Catholic high school, and things were going pretty well for us when tragedy struck. Mom was driving Mike and I to the mall one Saturday. It was just at the beginning of my senior year, and my breasts had developed to the thirty-four B that they are now. We were broad sided on the passenger’s side by a drunk driver. Mike was killed outright, and I received a bad concussion and fractured ribs.

There were lots of consequences for mom and I, even though she was in no way responsible for the accident. When I was admitted to the hospital, the doctors noticed the discrepancy in my apparent sex and the fact I should have been a boy – as my early medical records showed, and of course my penis and balls. An alert social worker tracked down the fact mom had given me controlled substances, the hormones, and that she obtained them illegally at the clinic she worked for.

To make a long story short, by last year at this time, she had lost her accreditation as a surgical nurse, and damn near went to jail. It was only my testimony that she had done this to me because I asked her to, which saved her from going to jail. The nuns let me finish high school when they saw the medical proof that I was impotent, but toward the end of the year, the story got out. It was during mom’s trial, and it was hellish facing everybody. I suppose I didn’t have to, but I lost all my friends – I just couldn’t face them.

Then things went from bad to worse. Mom was out of work for almost six months, and finally she found this job with the hotel. I started working at the store almost right away, but I didn’t make much money part time. We couldn’t afford the house on my salary, so mom sold it, and a lot of the proceeds went to pay dad’s share, her lawyer, and the fine. Dad used the trial as an excuse to stop child support, and mom’s great salary was a thing of the past. Sometime in the future he will be made to pay back support, at least until I had turned eighteen. We should be receiving an insurance settlement from the auto accident sometime, and have enough money to move out of here.

So, that’s how we went from relatively affluent middle class, to this." Patti spread her hands out and began to cry.

Dannie hugged her saying as the tears slowed, "So you have pretty much forgiven your mother?"

"I can’t really forgive her, but I also can’t hate her. She was driven by devils of her own, and she says she is truly sorry for screwing up my life…

I’m tired and ache, I will sleep here, and you can have the bed."

"No, I’m sore and tired too, sleep in your bed with me. Just for company, I really don’t feel like being alone tonight. You know I’m alone all the time too." She stood up and took Patti’s hand, "Come on Patti, and let’s get some sleep."

They changed into flannel nighties in the chilly room, and both girls fell asleep almost as their heads hit the pillow. Patti’s mother, Gloria looked in on the two girls when she got home, she was puzzled, but she didn’t disturb them. Both had to visit the bathroom during the night and snuggled closer to each other as they slept – somehow taking warmth and strength from the other. A little past seven they awoke snuggled like two spoons, very sore all over, but well rested.

"Oh, hi Dannie, are you awake?"

"I’m alive, so I must be awake. I need caffeine to get going in the morning."

"Stay in bed a few minutes while I put some coffee on, it will be brewed by the time I wash up."

Dannie mumbled assent, and closed her eyes again. A few minutes later, she opened them as the delicious smell of coffee lured her alert. Patty held the cup for her, as she took a few sips of the hot brew.

"Mumm, that’s good. I feel almost human. Be right with you."

Gloria was sitting at the large dining room table sipping coffee when Dannie joined them. Dannie took a few more sips of coffee and said sleepily, "Good morning, I’m Dannie."

"Hi, I’m Gloria, Patti’s mom. Patti told me about yesterday, that was awful. I’m glad she brought you home with her. From what she told me, you saved her from a nasty beating."

"Not really, the mall cops saved us both from a gang of young thugs."

"But you remembered to push the alarm that called them, and then tried to help. That was really a very brave thing to do – you are smaller than I am." Patti added as she brought a plate of warmed Danish to the table. "Mom and I usually have breakfast together, with our present schedules it is the only meal that overlaps."

After a pleasant breakfast, the girls dressed. Dannie wore what she had on yesterday, as Patti’s things were too big for her. They took a cab to work as it was raining, because Gloria’s car was garaged several blocks away. The streets were not safe to leave a car on regularly. Dannie’s shop hadn’t appeared yet, so she went with Patti to the mall security office and filed a statement. Both girls identified the boys from security tapes – some of which showed the attack on Dannie earlier, and the attack in The Limited. When they finished in the security office, Patti offered to buy a cup of coffee since the mall’s retail stores wouldn’t open for twenty minutes.

"… So Patti, do you trust me?"

"Sure, I haven’t known you for long, but you seem like a sister to me."

"Okay, this is kind of hard to believe, but until a few months ago I was a guy…"

"Get out of here!"

"No it’s true, I work for a wizard, and I am in training to become one too. For some obscure reason he thinks I will learn better as a girl. He hasn’t taught me much magic yet, so far all I seem to do is wait on him, and work in his store."

"Okay, say I believe you. What has that got to do with me?"

"Two things. He could cast a spell to make you either a real guy or a real girl. I’d like to do that for you myself, but I don’t know enough magic. However, I think he will do it for you if I ask - especially if you teach me how to make that beef stew." Dannie smiled, and continued, "The second thing is that something has to be done about those gangs of boys, and I think he will have just the thing back in the shop."

"He could make me all a girl, or all a guy? I mean, for real?"

"Yes, what would you like? To become all girl, or all guy?"

"God, but that is a tough question. Off the top of my head, I’d say a guy. However, I was really only a young boy when mom made me dress as a girl, I don’t know what it’s like to be a teen-age guy, much less a man. I think if I had been born a girl, mom and dad would have stayed together. Mom tells me now, that a large part of the friction between them was the fact she felt isolated in an all male house. It’s a flimsy excuse for what happened, but I think I believe her. About the only time I mind being a girl is when a guy molests me, other than that it’s pretty nice. I guess that I would like to be a real girl."

"Sure?"

"Yes, I’d really love to have a husband and raise a family of my own. All those hormones I guess, but that is something I really want, and not just because I can never have that now."

"Would you like to remember your life to date, or would you like to start off fresh?"

"Oh what a pleasant fantasy. Okay, I want to remember everything, the good, and the bad. If he could change me, I want to remember all of the lessons I’ve learned. I want to remember you and other good friends. There, I wish to become a real girl, and remember this life."

"Okay, let’s visit my shop. I can sense that it is here now."

The two girls finished their coffee and walked back toward the entrance they came in. Patti didn’t really believe Dannie, ‘She’s just making pleasant wishes with me, like what to do with all the money, after winning the lottery’ Patti thought.

"This wasn’t here before!" Patti exclaimed

She was looking at a shop with a wooden façade, and a real wooden front door. Hanging like a flag over the entrance was a wooden sign, it proclaimed, ‘Spells ‘R Us.’ Behind the old fashioned multi-paned bow windows on each side of the door, was a weird assortment of dusty merchandise. The entire shop was sandwiched in between a Foot Locker and a Stride Rite store, five minutes before the two stores shared a common wall.

"This is it, I told you it was a magic shop. We move from mall to mall, the old man – I mean the Wizard, doesn’t like to pay rent. Just remember he is a wizard and can read minds, he is touchy about people asking him how he does it. He does it by magic, of course."

This whole thing was becoming very real to Patti now, "And he turned you into a girl and made you work for him?"

"Well there was more to it than that. He claims that he can’t read my mind, and that I have the potential to be a wizard – but so far, you can’t prove that by me. I can tell you for sure, that six months ago I was a fully functioning boy named Dan. I wasn’t a bad boy either, just an unhappy one, and now I am a fully functioning girl."

Patti said with a big smile, "Okay Dannie, off to see the Wizard!"

Dannie went in first, followed closely by Patti. Patti noticed the little bell above the door announced their presence, without being hit by the door. The next thing she noticed was the large stuffed wolf. It was standing in front of the cash register, as if to guard it. ‘It was stuffed, wasn’t it?’ She asked herself, noticing the wolf’s eyes seemed to follow her, ‘must be an optical illusion,’ she reassured herself, without conviction.

"This place is dusty, doesn’t he make you clean the place up?"

"No, as a matter of fact I wanted to when I first started work, but he stopped me saying, "It adds to the ambiance of the shop, customers expect a magic store to be old, arcane, and dusty."" Dannie imitated the wizard’s old voice with little success.

The were both surprised by a petulant voice saying, "Well it does, customers expect it. If you will bring Patti back here she can see for herself we don’t live in a dusty mess."

The stock room was spotless and neat, Dannie thought to herself, ‘He has just used some magic to clean this pig pen up, I have to learn that spell.’

The old man asked Patti, "Well now, so you want to become a real girl, eh?"

Patti looked at the old man carefully. He was dressed in something that looked like an old faded dark blue bathrobe, except Patti recognized it as a wizards robe from her Dungeons and Dragons games. His face was very wrinkled and old looking, but his eyes were bright and very alert. She remembered wizards were a vain lot, and it sure didn’t pay to piss them off in the game – certainly not in real life. So, she answered very respectfully, "Yes sir, and I want to retain my present memories too."

"Please master, no tricks, she has had a hard time of it." Dannie asked.

"Just one trick, do you trust me Patti, I won’t hurt you in any way."

"Yes sir, I trust you." Somehow, Patti really did.

Danny was thinking, ‘god I hope your trust isn’t misplaced," as she watched the old man hand her a small vial of pink liquid, seemingly out of thin air. Patti took the vial and drank its contents without hesitation. Nothing happened immediately, but then the air around Patti started to shimmer. Suddenly, Dannie thought he she was looking in a mirror, because standing in front of her was her twin sister. Dannie glanced in a wall mirror and confirmed that there were now two of them.

The old man cackled, "That’s my trick Dannie, you two are now twins. And none of your lip now, Patti thought you were the best looking girl she had ever seen, and I’ll wager she will be very happy to look like you. Now is there something else? Or can I expect you to do some work now?"

Dannie knew the wizard only would wager on a sure thing, so she didn’t question his actions. Instead, she asked, "I need to borrow the time wand, and the Rings Of Change."

"Is this for revenge Dannie?"

"Not really, the gangs infesting this mall must be brought under control. Have you seen this place? It’s closing because of the crime, people are afraid to shop here. We will have a more prosperous season; you yourself told me this was one of your most profitable stops. So far we have done precious little business."

The wizard waved his hand and spoke for several minutes in a long dead language, a wand and a velvet sack appeared in his hand. "You know how to use these?"

Dannie was about to ask, when she realized she knew all about the magical devices, in fact, she realized that she hadn’t known what to ask for prior to starting to ask. The wizard looked at her saying, "I can’t read your mind, but I can plant thoughts in it. Take your sister; this will be fun for her too. And Dannie, you may have the rest of the day and Christmas off, enjoy them with your twin sister."

"Sir?" Patti asked, "Will you and Dannie both have Christmas dinner with us tomorrow, my mother and I will be pleased to have you. Please?"

"I would like that, I will be there. Don’t worry, I’ll find the place and be there on time, after all I am a wizard." The old man cackled.

------------------------

Dannie held the Wand of Time, and Patti carried the velvet bag containing the Rings Of Change, as they walked through the mall hand in hand. The wizard had clad them both in white cashmere suits, with attractive short skirts, white silk blouses, and matching heels. They were wearing identical delicate jewelry and he muttered something about an early Christmas present as they left the Spells ‘R Us shop. Their first stop was the video arcade; two gangs of tough boys were vying loudly for the use of the games. Dannie waved the wand and all motion ceased, only Dannie and Patti could move.

"Hand me a ring from the bag please." Dannie asked, and Patti handed her a diamond encrusted gold ring. Dannie slipped it on one of the thug’s fingers – he happened to be the leader of the gang that attacked them yesterday. Nothing seemed to happen, except the large ring seemed to shrink onto his finger.

The twins went from boy to boy, Patti would hand Dannie a ring from the bag, and then she would put it on the boy and mutter something. The bag amazed Patti, as it always felt as if there were exactly two rings inside.

When all the two-dozen boys had rings, Dannie waved the Wand of Time once again, but this time she muttered a long incantation. The lights in the mall seemed to dim, and girls, not very attractive girls, replaced most of the boys. The girl who had been the leader must have weighed two hundred pounds, with an awful case of acme, and was only five feet tall. In fact, Patti noticed, most of the girls had acme. Dannie explained, "The worse the boy’s past crimes, the worse her acme will be, and the more overweight. Is this Justice, or is this Justice!"

"You got it sis, I hope you made them clumsy girls that move like boys!"

"Yep!"

Patti whispered, "Oversexed too?"

"Yep!" Dannie answered with a big smile.

As they walked out into the mall, it began to brighten and fill up with happy shoppers. All through the day, as both girls worked together in a very, very busy The Limited, the mall seemed to improve and become busier. Stock appeared in the stores, and all the notices of closings disappeared. The mall closed at seven, and Patti drove Dannie home in her little red BMW. On the way she asked, "Why does everything seem to get brighter and happier as the day went on? Even the area around the mall seems much nicer."

"The change in sex for those girls is from when they were born, so that they never committed the crimes in this reality. Only we will remember this mall as it was. Those girls we made can’t remove their rings, the have to wear them until a bad person steals it from their finger. And no bad person can resist steeling the ring. When that person tries the ring on, as he must, he changes to an inoffensive person, most likely a girl. An ugly girl," she giggled. "That cycle will continue until all the gangs are broken up, and then the rings will return to the wizard. Pretty neat, eh sis?"

Patty smiled and nodded. The drive to the suburbs was uneventful, even though the roads were packed with last minute Christmas shoppers. Patti really didn’t know where she was going; she really didn’t give it a thought.

They pulled into the driveway of a large colonial home, a remote control appeared on her visor, and she pushed the button raising one of the garage doors. She then parked in her space in the three-car garage. She noticed both mom and dad’s cars was present.

As soon as both girls saw the cars, a wave of memories washed into their minds. They looked at each other, and Patti said, "We are twin sisters, I can remember past Christmas Eves in this house."

"Yes, and I can remember mom and dad, and Mike too. He is a weasel, but not really such a bad little brother."

"Let’s go up to our room and change for dinner."

"Sure, I’m famished." Dannie said as she took a key from her purse and opened the mudroom door. Patti punched the button inside the garage door to close it. It seemed to both girls they had been doing those simple actions all their lives.

The girls went up to their room and changed into silk lounging jumpsuits for dinner, more memories rushed in like a flooding river. Dinner with mom and dad was pleasant as usual, and only Patti remembered how rancorous Gloria and Bob’s (her Dad) previous relationship had been. She had all the memories of growing up in both lives. It was very clear to her that having a pair of daughters, as well as a son, made Gloria’s life far more pleasant – and far more pleasant for everyone to be around her. Dannie found that she had all the pleasant memories of growing up as Patti’s twin sister, as well as her own memories growing up as a boy.

Mike was alive in this reality, and was well behaved for a sixteen-year-old boy in the presence of his two older sisters – even when mom and dad left the room to answer the door for company. After dinner, the two girls put the dishes into the dishwasher, and went upstairs and worked on a project long into the night.

------------------

They waited to exchange gifts until their honored guest arrived for dinner. Mike had Nancy, his want-to-be steady girl, over for dinner, and little else registered on his event horizon. Bob and Gloria were a bit unsure whom the twins had invited to dinner, but they were gracious nevertheless.

Dannie and Patti gave the wizard the robe they had made for him, he was very pleased with the gift, and in a blur of motion, only the twins noticed, and he was wearing it. A mirror magically appeared, and he examined himself carefully. Dannie swore she saw a tear in his eye. The robe had all the symbols of his powers, and unlike the old robe, they were embroidered in gold thread against the midnight purple of the velvet gown. His sash was scarlet, and he was sure no one would ever mistake it for a bathrobe. That proved a bit much to ask, but the unfortunate offender would never know the one other reason, why things didn’t turn out as expected.

The twins weren’t expecting anything else from the wizard; after all, he had done so much for them. But he gave them a matched set of the Rings of Presence.

As soon as they took the rings from the wizard, they understood their use, and both knew the controlling spells necessary to use the rings. With those rings, Dannie and Patti would always be able to talk to each other, using a form of telepathy.

The two girls hugged and kissed the wizard thanking him, and even their mother and father saw him blush.

They experimented when alone, and found they could see through the other’s eyes and hear through the other’s ears, and if necessary teleport into the others physical presence. The rings would teleport either of them to the Spells ‘R Us shop, wherever it might be at any time. They could not be removed without magic, and the simple gold index finger rings were invisible unless consciously willed otherwise. Neither girl would ever have to feel alone and isolated again.

Dannie thought, 'The old man does have a heart, or the spirit of Christmas is very powerful!' As she hugged Patti before they went to sleep – together as always.

 

© 2000
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