The Unofficial Biography Of Kimmay

Prequel: The Nature Of Love

by G L Hudson

 

CHAPTER 16

Excerpts from Melissa Ann May's diary

We began the drive home the next morning. It was a two-hour drive, and we used that time to plan our wedding and our future together. The wedding would be relatively small. I had no relatives to invite and Cynthia had only a few. We were going to invite only friends that knew about Melissa. That meant I would be inviting three people, and they were all going to be in the wedding party. The good part was the bill for catering would be small.

We both wanted to wear the same dress. It would take some dedicated shopping to find two identical dresses, one in size four and one in size six. But if we were nothing else, we were shoppers. I was looking forward to trying on dresses and lingerie. We decided that we would always carry one of Cynthia's good cameras with us as we went shopping. We were going to completely document our wedding. Valerie would be thrilled.

We had most of the wedding planned half way home. I turned my attention to my new life in Milwaukee. "Where are we going to live in Milwaukee? Can we have our own home?"

"I don't see why not. We have the money. I have a good paying, steady job. You can get a job. There shouldn't be any problem."

"I can get a job," I repeated. "There should be more opportunities in Milwaukee than in South Bend. I am sure that I can find a full time position in some salon."

"Actually, I'd like to make a suggestion." Cynthia gave me a quick glance and smile as she drove.

"Ooooh, I think you've been planning something." I giggled and added, "Haven't you?" I was starting to understand Cynthia. She usually had things planned out well in advance, and revealed her ideas only when it was time. She was a manipulator. Most people would have resented that, but so far I had no complaints.

"You're beginning to figure me out, aren't you? Yes, I do have one tiny, little suggestion. Would you be interested in owning your own business?"

Once again, Cynthia managed to catch me by surprise. "My own business? What do you mean? Have you already found something?"

"No, no. Nothing yet. I haven't done anything. I was only thinking. Why not own your own beauty salon? We would own it, but you would run it. You would make all of the decisions. The beauticians would work for you. I would stay out of your way."

"It sounds interesting, but I know nothing about running my own business."

"Dad would be our advisor. He has run his own business for years. He knows about payrolls, insurance, taxes, unemployment and all the other details."

"Have you already discussed this with dad?" I decided to take co-ownership of Cynthia's mom and dad. They would also be mine now.

"No I haven't. I didn't want to mention it until we had talked. Here is my idea, think about it and tell me why I am probably nuts."

"You are nuts!" I quickly said. "You must be if you love me."

"Actually, that is the only sane thing about me," and she flashed me a quick smile, and then returned her attention to the road. "You will probably have to find some courses at the local schools or libraries to help learn how to run a business."

"Not a problem. Most cosmetology schools have a 500-hour course on how to manage a beauty salon. That would be a good starting point. Helen's has a course." Then an idea hit me, "When will we move to Milwaukee?"

"Not for several weeks. I have an experienced salesman coming to take over my territory, so I won't have to spend too much time with him. It will probably take three or four weeks to introduce him to everyone in my area. And he won't move here before mid October. So I can't see us leaving before December at the earliest. It would be nice to be settled in Milwaukee by Christmas."

"Helen's School of Beauty has a manager's course. They run it four times a year, starting at the beginning of each quarter. That would mean October 1. It lasts twelve weeks, which means it ends by January. I could start the course immediately. If you want, you could move to Milwaukee when you are ready, and I could stay behind for a couple of weeks to finish the course. Then I'll come to Milwaukee and join you. That way, I can get a fast start on my training. What do you think?"

"Amazing!" Cynthia said. "I'll miss you when I'm in Milwaukee and you are here, but it will only be for a couple of weeks at most. It's a good idea."

I was proud of myself. "Ok, then how do we proceed?"

"Well, let's kill two birds with one stone. We need a place to live, and you want to own your own home. Second, we need a building for your salon. How about if we put them together? We find an old house like dad uses for his business. We convert the first floor to a salon and live on the second floor. There are a lot of tax advantages, including the ability to depreciate half of our house."

"I like the idea, but can we do it? I mean can we find the right type of building in a reasonable part of town? I don't want to live in a totally commercial neighborhood."

"That's reasonable. I hadn't given that part very much thought."

"Oh my goodness. What is the world coming to? You didn't have all of the details already worked out? You're slowing down Sweetie." I was only being partly facetious. "Let's think about this. Milwaukee is a large town, so there have to be lots of options for us. One idea would be an older neighbor on the edge of a commercial area, or on the edge of a growing area. The residential area could provide the customers."

Cynthia found a problem, "An older neighborhood probably means older customers. That means a wash and set and not much more. And older customers are only going to go to lower cost salons. I don't see us having a low-end salon. I would like to see a vibrant upscale salon with the latest in styles and fashions."

"You're right. I agree. It would be easier to run a salon with older clientele, but it would be more fun to be a bit more avant-garde. That changes things a bit. We want to be in or near an upscale neighborhood with younger residents. That means probably closer to the center of town."

We both thought about the situation. Cynthia came up with the first suggestion; "There is an area in Milwaukee around the 'lavender zone'. That is how people refer to the gay area. The gay area is close to the center of town and not too far from the nightlife. The area between the two is not fully developed yet, so real estate should be relatively cheap. On the other hand, the buildings are dilapidated and they'll take some work to fix. And, it's not the nicest area of town. At least not yet. It is ok during the day time, and would probably be acceptable to most people, especially the younger crowd, which is who were going after. And, I am sure that it will eventually be redeveloped."

"Being close to the gay area doesn't do much for clientele. Contrary to modern myth, the community has few people who use salons. Some of the women with good paying jobs, like in sales, will use us, but not many more. On the other hand, it is a great area to find beauticians. Cosmetology is an accepted vocation for the guys, and they tend to be very talented. They stay up with the latest styles and techniques."

I thought about what I had just said, and felt ashamed. "How is that for stereotyping?" I asked.

"Don't feel bad. Sometimes it applies to a small group. I think you are right about being able to find employees close by. As far as a customer base, consider this. You are going to offer a rather unique service. If you go after the truly cutting edge styles, not many other people in Milwaukee will be offering the same thing. People will have to travel to use our salon. So the walk-in, close-by customer won't be as big of a consideration as normally. Location is not as critical."

"I see potential. Can we call dad tonight and ask him? Maybe he can start to do a little snooping around for us?" I asked.

"Why not? I already told mom and dad that we might be moving to Milwaukee. Let's confirm it. But be prepared, we will have to stand our ground to remain independent. They will want to keep us a close as possible to them."

"That will be a problem for me. Walking away from parents isn't my problem. Walking away from someone I like and respect, that is a little tougher."

We made the call when we got home. Dad promised to get the ball rolling. Cynthia and I were psyched.

On Monday, Cynthia returned to work. While she set out to make calls, I contacted Helen's School of Beauty and arranged to join their next management course.

I worked half days on Monday, and I started at 1:00, but I went in an hour early to find Karen. She was with a customer, but I caught her eye and flashed my diamond. She squealed so loud that her customer almost jumped out of her chair. Karen apologized and flashed me a huge grin.

Karen came running into the break room about twenty minutes later. She pulled me out of my chair and gave me a bear hug. I thought my eyes would pop out. "Oh my God! When did it happen? Did Cynthia propose? Tell me. Now! Hurry up. I'm all ears."

"I'll tell you everything, but first I have a very important question to ask you?'

"Yes," she said.

"You don't even know the question."

"Yes I do. Yes, I want to be in your wedding. I'll kill you if I'm not."

"Oh goodness," I said as somberly as possible. "I guess I'll have to rethink who I'm going to ask to be in my wedding."

"Shut up and tell me the story," Karen demanded. "I don't have much patience, but I do have customers."

"Sorry. First, will you be my Maid of Honor?"

"I already said yes. Now tell me how you became engaged. Who asked whom?"

"Cynthia took me to the fanciest restaurant in Chicago, she got down on her knee and asked if I would be her wife. Her wife!" I exclaimed.

"Hot damn! Right in the middle of the restaurant? In front of God and country?"

"Well, we did have a bit of privacy. But yes, in front of God and country."

"And your ring. My God what a beautiful ring. Where did she get it? How much did it cost?"

"Are all women gold diggers? That's what she called me. She was kidding of course. I wanted to know how she could afford the evening. Everything was exceptionally expensive. But the ring. I know you have to get back. I'll tell you the rest of the details later. But the ring belonged to her grandmother. It is a very expensive family heirloom."

"I'll bet it is! Yea, I have to get back. I want to hear the tiniest and most intimate details later. Just tell me one thing, what kind of ring are you going to get Cynthia?"

"I don't know." And that was the truth.

I finished my work and went home later that evening. After dinner, I spent the rest of the evening on the telephone with Suzy and Karen. Suzy agreed to be in my wedding, but she still didn't know the truth about Melissa. I wasn't sure how to tell her, but I knew the sooner I told her the better. I spent the next two hours on the phone with Karen. I told her all of the details about the proposal. She was so happy for me. I asked for her opinion on telling Suzy the facts about Melissa. Friday night she said. The three of us would go out dancing, and the two of us together would tell Suzy.

"I have another question for you," I told Karen. "Do you think Kristal would be in my wedding? I know she is a big international star, and this is just a little wedding, but I would love to have her."

"I can't speak for Kristal," she said. "Especially now with her hectic schedule. But I think if she can make it she will say yes."

"It will be a risk for her," I said. "She is probably followed by paparazzi all the time. If they catch her at such an odd wedding, they might start asking questions. It might hurt her career."

Karen tried to reassure me. "I seriously doubt that will be even the slightest consideration to Kristal. I know her, and trust me, that won't give her a moment's hesitation."

"Thanks, Karen. How can I get in touch with her? Do I have to send a note through her agent, or do you have her telephone number?"

"Melissa, I'm sorry. I do have her telephone number, but I can't give it to you without her permission. I'll call her and ask her to call you. Will that be acceptable?"

"Sure," I said. "I understand." We talked another ten minutes before we hung up.

Cynthia enjoyed teasing me about spending my time on the phone like a teenage girl. Well, I almost was a teenage girl. I was only twenty and a half. It dawned on me that I wasn't even 21 and I was engaged to be married. Was I too young? The thought didn't last more than two seconds. I was ready to marry and become a wife. That thought just sent shivers up and down my spine. Wife. How strange. It would have been totally incomprehensible two years ago. And now it seemed totally right. I had grown. I had matured. I was ready to accept the responsibility.

It was late and time to begin my nightly bedtime preparations. As I finished and turned the bathroom over to Cynthia, the telephone rang. It was Kristal. "Melissa, Karen just called me. How wonderful for you. Congratulations! You and Cynthia will make a beautiful couple. I would love to be in your wedding. When is the date?"

"Kristal, thank you for calling so fast. I can only guess how busy your life must be. Thanks so much for agreeing to be in my wedding. I don't have very many friends, so I appreciate you saying yes. The problem is we haven't set the date yet. It will probably be next April or May. I hope it doesn't conflict with something more important."

"Melissa, don't worry, it won't conflict with something more important. There is nothing more important. We girls have to look out for one another, don't we?"

"Well, we do relate to one another." We both laughed.

"Melissa, do you have a pen and paper handy?" I found both and told her to continue. "This is my private telephone number. When you set the date, you call me. And if you want to just talk sometime, you call me then too. I'll never be too busy to talk with a friend. I promise."

"Kristal, you are a true friend. You just made my day." And she had. I ran into the bathroom to give Cynthia the good news.

Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't work. I used the time to clean the house and do all of Cynthia's and my household chores. I spent both afternoons looking for a suitable ring for Cynthia. I found some possibilities, but I wanted to keep looking.

Friday night I went out with Suzy and Karen. Cynthia agreed to stay home and keep our bed warm. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and before we went to my favorite country and western saloon, I told Suzy.

"Suzy, I have a big favor to ask you. I just got engaged and I would like you to be in my wedding."

"You already asked me, and I already said yes." she said. She gave me a hug and asked, "Who is the lucky guy? Have I met him?"

"Yes, you have met him. He is me." She gave me a puzzled look. "I know this sounds weird, but I am a guy. I am marrying Cynthia, my roommate. We are deeply in love."

She let the shock sink in for a moment. "You're a guy? Are you serious? You're beautiful. You look and act and talk like a girl. How?" She looked at Karen for help. "Is she serious? Is she a guy? Because I can't believe it. Tell me."

Karen took over. "Yes, Suzy. She is telling you the truth. Melissa was a guy, but not anymore. Legally she is still a guy, and that is why she can marry Cynthia. But emotionally and physically (at least in appearance) she is a woman. A very beautiful woman, and a woman I am proud to call my friend. I hope it doesn't change anything between the two of you."

"No. But I have to admit, I'm shocked." She turned back to me, "You really are beautiful. I never, never in my wildest dreams would have thought a guy could look like a beautiful girl. You had me totally fooled. You had everyone fooled. I'll bet there isn't another guy on the face of this planet that could have done what you have."

Karen and I looked at each other and started laughing. "What's so funny?" Suzy was confused again.

Karen answered, "It's an inside joke. We went to a gay bar once and they had female impersonators there. Yes, they were even prettier than Melissa." Karen had to lie. She couldn't allow Suzy to even start guessing as to who else might be a guy.

"Suzy, are you ok with this? I know it is a big surprise, and I am sorry that I didn't tell you before. But you have to understand how difficult this is for me. Some people have found out before, government authorities actually, and they made my life a living hell. You can't believe how horrible it was. Since then, I have become paranoid about someone finding out and humiliating me again. I'm not ashamed of who I am, but I am afraid of other people. Trust me, there are some people out there who are not nice."

Suzy seemed to understand. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else. And I am ok with this, although I will admit it changes things a little bit."

I was worried by what she meant by that comment. "What do you mean by a little bit?"

"Well, I will find it a little more difficult to talk to you about 'girl' things. Like periods and getting knocked up. What about guys, do you like guys? You like to dance with them."

"I'm heterosexual. I like girls, but there is only one girl in my life, Cynthia. I like the attention from the guys. Actually, I love the attention from the guys. It reinforces my self-esteem and makes me feel more feminine. When guys are interested in me, it tells me that I am pretty, and that I look and talk and act like a girl. Like a desirable girl. But I'm not interested in guys any farther than that."

"What about girls? Do you like girls?"

"Yes, but in a different way than you think. I like girls and I want to be with girls. I want to be one of the girls. I want female friends, and I want both of you to be my friend forever. But it is not a sexual desire. I don't get sexually excited when I see a naked girl. When I do see another girl, I'm mostly interested in how my boobs compare to hers." That got a chuckle from Suzy and Karen.

"Don't we all," said Karen.

"Suzy, I have been taking female hormones for two years. They have changed me. My male sex drive isn't there anymore. To be honest, I can barely function as a male. Thank God for Viagra or Cynthia would never get any." That got a bigger laugh. I couldn't tell if Suzy was really ok with me, or if she was still deciding. I thought telling her as much as possible would help her understand and cope.

Suzy's curiosity was starting to come out. I thought it was a good sign. "How do you … ah … you know … function in bed?"

"I can still use Viagra and get an erection. I can't ejaculate usually, but that isn't required. The physical act can please Cynthia, and I don't have to reach orgasm. And I can also please her orally."

"Guys do like that, don't they?"

"Yes, I do enjoy going down on Cynthia."

Then another idea came to her, "What about you? If you can't come, is it still fun? Do you enjoy it?"

"I'll tell you very honestly that I do miss it. But, I would never give up what I have now to get it back. And I can't get it back. This is permanent."

"So, were you a woman trapped in a man's body?"

"No, I never felt that way. I never even wore women's clothes until two years ago. It started as a Halloween costume. But I liked it. I loved it. And Cynthia encouraged me to enjoy it. The two of us call it the 'softer side of life', the feminine side of life where you can enjoy soft clothes and pampering at a beauty salon. I fell in love with it. And also with Cynthia."

"Wow, I'm still in partial shock. I still can't believe how real you look."

"I am real. Go ahead, pinch me." I gave her a soft smile. "So, are you ok with the real Melissa?"

"Yes. I still want you to be my friend, and I want to be your friend." Suzy gave me an encouraging smile.

"Will you be in my wedding?"

"Of course, when is it?" Before I could answer she asked me another question, "Who will be the bride? Will you? Will Cynthia be the groom?"

I smiled and gave a small laugh. I was relieved a little. It was starting to look like Suzy would accept my new status. "We're both going to be brides. We're going to buy identical gowns."

"Oh neat!" said Karen. "You hadn't told me that. Will the bridesmaids on both sides wear the same dresses?'

"Yes. We're going to run a mirror down the middle of the church, and both sides will be reflections of the other side. The only difference will be the bride on my side of the room will be the prettiest." We all giggled.

Suzy was in the swing again, "Who proposed to whom?"

Karen interrupted, "Suzy, make her tell you the whole story. It is the most romantic thing you have ever heard. I got goose bumps when she told me."

I told Suzy the full story, and she loved it. Later, we went to the saloon and danced and had a great time. Suzy seemed to be ok with her new knowledge. I hoped that she was. I really liked her.

The following week I continued my search for Cynthia's ring. I only had one more week before my school course began. Fortunately, it was my lucky week. I found an engagement-wedding ring combination that I loved. The wedding ring had a large, one carat diamond surrounded by five small diamonds. One of the surrounding diamonds was mounted on the engagement ring. During the engagement period, Cynthia would have one small diamond. When we married, the two rings would be joined, and she would have the full arrangement.

The ring wasn't cheap. But I still had money left over from mom and dad's gift. I spent $5000 on the ring. But I was a good negotiator. I made them give me two gold, slave bracelets to wear around our ankles. Cynthia's anklet had my name engraved on it, and my anklet had Cynthia's name. I thought we could wear them together when we went out dining.

The following weekend was my last free weekend before school. I told Cynthia that we were going to have an extra special Saturday evening. We spent Saturday morning at the beauty salon having our hair washed and set. I asked for a special, curly style. The afternoon was spent doing our nails and enjoying the warm day. Life was gentle and warm and pleasurable and the day fit the mood perfectly.

When it was time to dress, we both wore the same dresses that we had in Chicago. After dressing, primping and applying the miracle of cosmetics, I told Cynthia that we needed to get pictures of us in our beautiful gowns.

"Before I take your picture, there is one last thing I need to do," I told her. I got down on one knee and held the ring box in both hands for her to see. "Would you marry me, and be my wife?"

She broke out in a huge smile, "You shouldn't have. But since you did, give it to me." We both giggled, and I stood up as she opened the box. I had given her both rings.

"It is not as beautiful as the ring you gave me, but I hope you will say yes."

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Of course I will marry you. This ring is beautiful. Is it two rings; an engagement and wedding ring?"

"Yes," and I showed her how they fit together. "May I?" I asked. I put the wedding ring back in the box and slid the engagement ring on her finger. "Look, were two engaged girls," and I showed her my friendship ring on my wedding finger. We hugged, making sure not to mess our hair or makeup. "And one more thing." I gave her the slave bracelet. "It has my name on it." I was wearing my bracelet and I pointed at it, "And my bracelet has your name on it. They're gold."

"They are wonderful. You went to too much trouble." I received another careful hug.

"Let me take some pictures and then we can go."

It was another memorable evening.

CHAPTER 17

Excerpts from Melissa Ann May's diary

Going back to school changed everything. Life became hectic again. During the day I was back in school and Cynthia was busy introducing a new salesman around her territory. After work, we were busy planning our future. Youthful exuberance kept us going at full throttle, but it still didn't give us enough time to prepare for Halloween. Halloween was just too important to ignore, but we didn't have the time necessary to work on new costumes. Unfortunately, the witch and the debutante costumes were forced to make a return. Dancing at the country and western saloon allowed us to flirt with the boys and restore our tired egos. Suzy joined us one night and Karen joined us both nights. One night Karen did a Kristal imitation and the second night she was a genie. Nothing could keep us from enjoying our most important holiday!

Suzy seemed to accept the new Melissa. Suzy was not shy about asking personal questions about how Cynthia and I could function together, nor was she shy about expressing her friendship. I was gaining new respect for Suzy. I was happy to have her as my friend.

School was easy. There was very little salon work. Once in a while we were taken for tours to learn about hygiene issues. But mostly it was classroom study. A breeze for me.

Dad was busy looking for real estate in Milwaukee. He sounded like he was having good luck. Cynthia and I decided that we would go home to Milwaukee over Thanksgiving and inspect some of the potential properties. I was welcomed with open arms, hugs and kisses. Dad showed no reservations about me at all. He even kissed me on the lips. My respect for him climbed every time we met. He was a remarkable man.

At the end of Thanksgiving dinner, Valerie showed up just in time for dessert. She insisted on taking us out for a quick drink at a nearby neighborhood bar. We had to give her the full details of our marriage proposals. She had heard most of Cynthia's version of affairs, and was eager to hear my side. Valerie was a laugh a minute. She had us in stitches as she managed to ask one embarrassing question after another. She then managed to invite herself on our building tour on Friday. I didn't mind, she did know Milwaukee and I thought she could have some good input.

On Friday we gathered at 9:00 A.M., picked up Valerie and met our real estate agent at her office. We loaded into her Lexus and headed towards the Lavender Zone. She gave us a quick tour of the area, primarily for my benefit. I didn't see anything to really concern me. We stopped at the first of five properties. I wasn't impressed, and dad ended the tour quickly. It wasn't worth our time. The second and third properties were fair to acceptable, but the fourth won everyone's praise. The fifth property we drove by merely to confirm that we had found our winner at the previous stop.

The winner was a three-story brownstone in probably the best location that we saw. The building needed some renovation, but dad told us not to worry about that. Anything we bought would require some renovation. The important point was the structural integrity and the adherence to code. The building had been used for a telemarketing operation only one year previously. The owner had gotten some special federal incentives, and had brought the building up to code for electrical. Plumbing was actually minimal, which meant little renovation to meet code. The rest of the building seemed strong enough.

I liked the idea of it having three stories. I had done some planning and manipulating. We could use the first floor for the salon. The second story we could split in half. One half we could rent out for some professional business, and the other half I could turn into a photography studio. I had an idea about having a glamour photo studio. I could do glamour photos of women in their lingerie. They could use the pictures to titillate their boy friends and husbands. I would run it in conjunction with the salon. The third story would be our apartment.

Valerie proved her worth. She had a really unique idea. The building was on a corner with a parking lot around the back two sides of the building. There was a door on all four sides. She recommended using one of the street doors for the first floor salon, and the other street side door for the second floor professional units. One of the rear doors could be used for a private entrance to our house on the third floor. The other rear door could be used for a back entrance to the salon. That entrance could have a different name. It could be used for access to private rooms in the back of the salon. Our beauticians would be able to access both salons. The front salon would be advertised as our up-scale, cutting edge salon for young women. The back salon would be advertised to cross dressers, and transvestites.

Dad found this really funny for some reason. He had several jokes about the idea. I was a little confused. At first, I thought his attitude was an affront to me. But then I realized that he had so totally accepted me as a woman, he never thought about offending me. In one way I accepted his jokes, but in another way it saddened me. Even though he was a wonderful man, and had accepted me and shown me his love, he was still vulnerable to societal stereotypes. If he could fall back into this attitude, anyone could. For that reason I whole-heartedly accepted Valerie's suggestion. I asked her if she would be my advertising agency and she immediately accepted. "You will see a nation wide Internet advertising campaign that will rival anything Madison Avenue could put together. I'll bring in the most beautiful celebrities and female impersonators in the world. I'll get endorsements from the President and the Attorney General. Cher will sing the national anthem at the grand opening. And the best part, it will be dirt cheap!" Valerie was truly a force in our world. If she only knew whom I would bring to the grand opening, she would have died.

And finally, the neatest thing about the building was its elevator. It had an old style, open elevator in the back corner. We could use it for taking heavy or bulky items up to our apartment. It was perfect! Could we afford it?

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Dad worked the details, talked with buddies, negotiated and threatened to walk away twice. He was awesome. He was the man! It took three weeks, almost Christmas time, before he brought us what he said was the best deal he could get us. He convinced the owners and the city to give the poor, little girls a break. Meaning cost break and tax break. We signed the papers when we returned at Christmas. It was the first time in my life that I had three glasses of wine. I celebrated like a crazy drunk. (Or maybe I exaggerate a tad.)

Christmas at mom and dads was wonderful that year. I helped cook Christmas dinner. We spent the day after Christmas washing and setting our hair. Mom was impressed by my new abilities, and I gave both mom and Cynthia extra special styles. We gave dad a special curly show that night. I also took some of Cynthia's advice to heart and became a die-hard Brewer and Packer fan. Classroom work was my specialty. I put that to good use as I memorized the entire Packer roster and their numbers. During the Packer game, I yelled loud and long. I cussed the Vikings in a very proper and feminine manner. But I cussed them none-the-less.

Never in my life had I truly felt the warmth and acceptance of a family. No human being on the face of this planet should underestimate the power of that feeling. I could have flapped my arms and soared like an eagle.

And of course, we went out in the evening with Valerie. Somehow Valerie kept running across the same man no matter where we went. And, surprise surprise, she seemed to like him. Things were getting suspicious.

Valerie came up with another nifty business idea. I swore her to secrecy and then told her about my idea concerning a photography studio on the second floor. She said we could put together a package for cross dressers and TVs. We would offer a packaged deal for a makeover or hairstyling and a glamour photo session. I told Valerie to get into advertising. She was a wizard.

I had to return to South Bend for a couple of weeks to finish my studies and get my diploma. Cynthia stayed with mom and dad. I returned in time for the New Years Eve celebration. Valerie wanted to party like it was 1999. Cynthia and I decided that we should take our parents out and thank them for all of their help. We told Valerie about our plan and invited her along, but we told her she had to have a date. What a surprise when she showed up with her friend from Thanksgiving. We were very gentle, and only teased her for a short bit. He was a very nice guy. Like Valerie, he was an ectomorphic extrovert. Everyone liked him. Even Valerie's old baby sitter, mom, thought he was a good catch.

I watched the Rose Bowl with dad the next day and cheered for Wisconsin. I even drank half a beer, ate a brat and wore a cheese hat. Can you say 'Brown Noser'? But I was sincere. I loved my new family and really, really wanted to be a part of it.

On January 2, 2005 we drove to South Bend and packed up everything left behind. We took it to Milwaukee and dumped it in mom and dad's basement. We moved into Cynthia's bedroom and set up our temporary home. It would take us another month to get our new house ready for habitation.

Goodbye South Bend. Hello Milwaukee.

It was fun renovating the salon and house, but it was a tremendous amount of work. Plumbing, electrical, counters, desks, phones, lighting, signs, wallpaper, tables, chairs, hair dryers, interviews, inspectors, blah, blah, blah. It was more work than I would have ever thought. I collapsed into bed every night. It was fun, it was invigorating, but it was tough work.

We moved into our new home in February, but the salon didn't open until March. And then my life became really busy. I not only managed the salon, but I was one of the beauticians. We didn't have enough clients to justify hiring more beauticians, and until we had an established clientele I didn't want to take a chance on bringing in a new person and then having to let her go two months later. We started with only part time people. That also reduced some of the benefits that we would have to pay.

One of the big problems was balancing advertising and profits. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Without advertising we weren't going to grow fast enough to pay our bills. But we didn't have enough cash flow to pay for advertising. Then a miracle fell from heaven. Her name was Kristal, but the public knew her as Krysallis. I was talking with Kristal one night and telling her about the wedding plans. She asked how the salon was coming along, and I told her a few of my concerns and problems.

"Don't worry about advertising and publicity," she counseled. "Get your building, people and resources up and running. Get the day-to-day experience that you need to run the salon smoothly. When you are ready, I'll get you all the PR you can handle."

In my mind that could mean only one thing, but I asked her anyway. "When I come to Milwaukee for your wedding, I'll let the local press know I am in town. I'll tell them I am there to open the latest, most chic salon in the Midwest. I'll get you ink in the local paper, and maybe even some television time. I'll call one of the local stations and offer them an interview as long as I can mention your salon. FYI, you have to be careful with these press people. They are very dishonest. They will tell you anything to get you on their show, then they cut and edit and drop stuff they agreed to air. But I can handle that."

"Kristal, that is too much! It's wonderful! There is no way in the world I could get better PR, but it really is imposing on you."

"No it's not. I'm in town to see you. I'll come to your salon and we can get some pictures and sign some autographs."

"Kristal, I was going to provide free salon services for everyone in the wedding party. Maybe we could do it then?"

"I don't want to intrude on your special day. Will you be going on a honeymoon? I mean, will you still be in town on the following Monday?"

"I could be. Cynthia and I haven't really talked about a honeymoon. I don't think I can afford the time away from the salon."

"Then it's set, I'll come to the salon on Monday. We will take lots of promotional pictures of me. We can take pictures of me having a manicure, in curlers, under the drier, talking with your beauticians. Everything you can think of. I'll put on a bikini and sit in your tanning booth. You can use the pictures later for advertising campaigns. I'll also leave autographed pictures for you to give away to clients. And I'll talk to some of my model friends. I'll make sure that when they are in the Milwaukee area, they stop by and give you more free pictures and PR."

"Kristal, curlers?" I was joking. She had to be the most magnanimous person I had ever met.

She chuckled, but then got serious. "I'm not kidding Melissa, curlers. Nothing says 'Salon' like a beautiful model in curlers. They're sexy too. The bikini shot will get you more PR than you can imagine. The key is making sure that your salon's name is prominently displayed in the ad pictures. For pictures to decorate your walls, you want candid pictures with you and your employees in them with me. Trust me, I've been doing this for a few years now and I know what works. Together, we can make your salon world famous, and I'm not exaggerating! Which reminds me, have you come up with a name for your salon yet?"

"Yes, I have three names, actually."

"Three? Why?"

"I expect 99% of my customers to come through the front door, the door on the main street. Above that door I am going to hang a sign that says 'Lissa's Beauty Salon. I'll spell it apostrophe, capital L, i, s, s, a, apostrophe, s."

"I like it. It is chic. It is unique. It should work well. And what are the other two names for?"

"I have a private parking lot on both sides of the building in back. I'll split the parking lot down the middle and have two entrances. One entrance from the main street will be for 'Lissa's and the entrance from the side street will be for Gabrielle's Beauty Salon. Gabrielle's will cater to cross dressers and transvestites. I'll have private rooms in the back for them, so they can come and go in complete privacy."

"How wonderful of you, Melissa. That is a great idea, and very thoughtful. And the third sign?"

"As you know, I have three stories. The first floor is dedicated to the salon. The third floor will be home for Cynthia and me, and the second floor I want to use for professional offices. There is nothing on the second floor now. We might use it for our wedding reception. But eventually, I want to split the second floor in half and have two offices there. One office I hope to rent to a lawyer or accountant. The second office will be for Melissa's Glamour Photography Studio. I want to specialize in glamour pictures for the girls. I'll take pictures of them in lingerie or semi-nude, and they can give the pictures to their husbands and boyfriends. I'll offer coupled deals. For proms or dances, they can have their hair styled or get a makeover, and then go to the studio and have their pictures taken. I'll make the offer to both the girls and the boys."

"Neat idea! You could be very busy though. I'll also do PR for your future photography studio. I'll tell everyone that you took the pictures for my initial portfolio which launched my career. Maybe we can get some big posters for you to put in your reception area."

"Wow," was all I could say. "I'll never be able to repay you."

"To the contrary, I'm only trying to repay you. You gave me great, professional quality pictures to get my career started. And you charged me almost nothing. It's time that I repaid you. Trust me, it will be fun."

I had to change the subject. "Kristal, I have a question about the wedding. Cynthia and I want to keep it low key. I already had one very bad incident when someone found out about my true gender. It was the ugliest day of my life. And also, I don't think it would help your career if the press found out what type of wedding you were attending. It might even start some embarrassing questioning."

"Don't worry, Melissa. I know how to get attention, and I know how to dodge attention. I have ways of getting around with minimal notice. I agree that we don't want the press showing up at your wedding. Trust me, there won't be a problem. You will be able to plan everything for a group of old friends with no fear of outside intruders. I can guarantee that. But you do have to schedule the weekend and let me know at least two weeks in advance. When do you want me to arrive?"

I thought we could begin our preparations on Thursday. Thursday would be for last minute dress alterations, and if possible a bachelorette party. Friday I'll do everyone's nails, facials and waxing, and Saturday morning we'll do everyone's hair. The wedding will be at 2:00. Ok?"

"Melissa, can I handle arrangements for the bachelorette party? I have an idea."

"Sure, I am more than happy to delegate some work. I'm up to my eyebrows in things as it is."

"Good. I have one more thing to ask. It is very important. Have you hired a photographer yet?"

"We have talked with someone. He is an old friend of Cynthia's dad. Why?"

"Have you signed a contract or sealed the deal?"

"No."

"Melissa, I have to ask you to turn him away. I can't afford to have people take professional quality pictures of me. It is actually in some of my contracts. The problem is that even though you have contracts and agreements and everyone appears very honest up front, it is difficult to turn down $5000 for one picture. And people will ask him. He will get calls from the paparazzi and celebrity magazines. I can't afford to take that chance.

"I have a personal photographer who can handle all of the photography. She will be with us full time, so she can shoot the wedding, the rehearsal, bachelorette party, and all of the salon PR pictures. She is also my agent. She will arrange transportation for me, so that no one knows where I am. She can call newspapers and television stations for promotions and interviews. She handles everything for me, and she is very good. She will maximize your advertising and also deliver dazzling pictures of your special event. Is that ok?"

"Sure. I understand your concerns. But will there be any restrictions on our wedding pictures?"

"None, I have no problem posing for any pictures for you and your friends. They will have copyright logos on them. But you will get anything and everything you want. I hope you understand my position."

"I understand. You are famous and I can only imagine the problems that causes for you celebrities."

"Especially for me! And you know why. My agent's name is Jennifer Gayle. I'll have her contact you and set schedules. By the way, you will really like her." She paused for a second, then in a conspiratorial voice she added, "The two of you will be able to relate to one another."

My mouth fell open for a second. "Kristal, you are one surprise after another. I look forward to meeting her, and seeing you again. Thanks so much for coming."

"I'll be there."

Wedding dress shopping was fun, but also hectic. Cynthia and I probably tried on thirty five different dresses between the two of us. And we had pictures of every dress that we tried. We finally settled on some beautiful, and expensive dresses. Mom insisted that we pay no never mind to the prices. She was going to buy them both. Her and dad must have had more money than I thought, because the dresses were extremely expensive. They were satin and felt so smooth. Since I had grown to a solid 'B' cup size, we decided that we could both handle a plunging neckline. Cynthia had much more cleavage than me, but in my wedding dress there would be no doubt that I possessed a nice pair of ta-tas, also.

The dresses had lots of buttons down the front of the bodice and pulled in the waist to really accent our figures. With my corset, I was a curvaceous 34B, 23, 36 goddess. The dresses had long sleeves with six buttons on each cuff. The dress ended at the ankles, since we decided to stay away from a long train. Cynthia had always dreamed of her wedding dress having a long train, but we decided to opt for practicality. The entire dress was covered in lace.

We chose a soft, feminine pink, satin dress for our bridesmaids. They were ankle length with long sleeves and a plunging neckline. The plunging neckline would allow everyone to show off her cleavage, with one exception. Cynthia and Valerie had convinced Valerie's brother Sam to be a bridesmaid. It was going to be like old times for Cynthia, Valerie and Samantha.

Three weeks before the wedding I made a decision on staffing at the salon. I decided to gamble on Kristal's PR. I made Simon a permanent, full-time employee and I hired another beautician. His name was George. We used the next three weeks to try and set up a consistent schedule, and eliminate little problems that had been plaguing us. Some of the hair dryers were too cool, and I switched the type of wax we used for leg waxing. We changed little things that slowed us down, but didn't actually cause major problems. We did our best to get into a smooth groove, in the hopes that business would pick up. I shouldn't have worried. Kristal was good to her word.

Two weeks before the wedding I decided to change my hair color and have a permanent. During one of our numerous slow days, I had Simon color my hair. I had been a redhead for almost two years, so I decided to go lighter. Simon gave me a golden blonde color. It was different and I liked it. The Saturday before the wedding he gave me a permanent. He washed my hair and cut off about one inch of split hairs and frizzies. He used our smallest curlers and gave me a small, tight curl that cascaded down like a ringlet. It gave me a head of bouncy curls that I could throw around if I wanted. I still loved the erotic and sensual feel of having my hair permed, and I had forgotten how bouncy and light a fresh permanent made my hair. I decided that I had to get my hair permed more often than every other year. When I showed my perm to Cynthia she loved it. She wanted to take me to bed immediately. I made her take me out to dinner first. But I did spend the evening tickling the insides of her thighs with my new curls. We both loved my new permanent.

On Tuesday before the wedding, Sam came to the salon and I dyed his hair. He chose platinum blonde, just like I had many years ago. I also had one of the girls wax his legs and eyebrows. On Wednesday we sent him across town for a hair weave, since no one in my salon was qualified yet. Simon, my lead beautician, was still three weeks away from his certification. On Thursday, before all of the girls went for their final fitting, I styled Sam's hair and gave him a makeover. One of my part-time girls gave him a manicure and long acrylic nails. Valerie and Cynthia did the rest. They borrowed my old breast forms and corset and gave him a nice figure. Sam was about three inches taller and thirty pounds heavier than Cynthia and Valerie, so no one was going to mistake him for a diva. But with Kristal in our party, no one would spend much time looking at him.

Kristal and Jennifer arrived at noon. Kristal had brought Andromeda with her. I liked Andromeda and Andromeda seemed to like me. When she saw me, she jumped out of Kristal's arms and ran over to me. I picked her up and she nuzzled my breast and settled into my arms. I had to welcome and hug Kristal with only one arm. The other girls arrived only minutes behind Kristal. If nothing else, Cynthia and I had punctual friends.

We all went for the final fitting of the bridesmaid's dresses. Cynthia had her three bridesmaids, Valerie, Vickie and Samantha, and I had Karen, Kristal and Suzy. Everyone was really excited about meeting an international super model. They weren't disappointed in Krysallis' beauty, but her unpresuming attitude caught them all off guard. She joked and teased with everyone, and never once asked for any special attention. The women at the dress shop were in shock when they recognized Krysallis. They bent over backwards trying to please her. Kristal wouldn't let anyone call her by her professional name. She insisted on Kristal, and I think that helped everyone accept her even more.

The final fitting was a load of fun. Poor Samantha took a lot of kidding from everyone, but everyone also went out of her way to make him feel comfortable. Everyone really liked Sam and it was easy to see why. He was good looking as a guy, and made a decent girl. He had a cute smile and always laughed. He was much like Valerie in his personality. He had a girlfriend that he had asked to the wedding, and like everyone else, she was looking forward to meeting Krysallis. Cynthia suggested that Sam's girl friend join us for the bachelorette party, as well as the rehearsal dinner. She readily agreed.

Throughout all of the events, Jennifer stood in the background and took pictures, and organized every thing. Kristal was right, we did relate to each other. She was very nice and unpresuming, just like Kristal. We finished with the final fitting and alteration session, and then Jennifer herded us out back to a huge limousine and took everyone to our apartment. We had one hour to change into formal wear for the evening. Those were Kristal's instructions.

Cynthia and I wore the same dresses that we wore the night she proposed to me. I loved that dress, and I welcomed any opportunity to wear it and get my money's worth from it. Cynthia and Valerie dressed as fast as they could, and then went to help Sam. Sam's girlfriend wasn't allowed to see him until he was fully dressed. They put him in a short, black dress with a mandarin collar and long sleeves. They had him wear white stockings with black one-inch Mary Jane shoes. The stockings had a beautiful floral pattern. He was tall, but cute. His girlfriend Stacey, thought he looked darling; her word, not mine.

One and a half hours later the ten of us were ready. Kristal wore a designer gown that belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine. It was a black dress with one sleeve down to the wrist and the other arm was uncovered. The hem was bias cut starting two inches above one knee and ending just below the other knee. With her face and figure she was without a doubt one of the most beautiful visions I have ever seen, and that is no exaggeration.

Jennifer led us to the limousine and we headed south, out of Milwaukee. We had been questioning both Kristal and Jennifer all day as to their plans for our evening. Kristal finally told us. "We're going to Chicago for a very special evening. First we will have dinner at a very posh restaurant. It is located downtown, on the 35^th floor of the John Hancock Building." She gave Cynthia and me a wink. Cynthia and I just looked at each other and smiled. Kristal had a wonderful romantic approach to life. "Then, we are going to the same place that all of the Chicago bachelorette parties go to. It's a nightclub called Baton's. It features the most beautiful female impersonators in the country."

All of the girls started laughing and giggling. Several remarks were made to Samantha about amateur night. I could only smile at Kristal and Valerie. It was just too ironic and funny. I asked them later who had the idea for going to Baton's, and they both took credit.

We arrived at the restaurant and Jennifer led us to the elevator and took us up to the 35^th floor. She moved ahead of us at a swift pace and was in the restaurant before we were half way across the lobby. As we walked in, I over heard Jennifer talking with the maitre' d and she definitely used the name Krysallis. He escorted us to a corner of the dining room with a fantastic view of Lake Michigan. Every head in the restaurant turned and watched us walk through. This time, I don't think either Cynthia nor I was the cause. The girl leading the pack of girls across the room was Kysallis, and every eye in the restaurant was on her.

I sat with Cynthia on one side and Kristal on the other. Jennifer sat with her back to the windows and facing towards the room. It was amazing how Kristal had taken over and controlled the evening. Cynthia had her maid of honor sitting on her other side, and normally I would have expected Karen sitting on my other side. Instead the seating arrangement was Valerie, Cynthia, me, Kristal and Karen. Sam (Samantha) and Stacey sat by Valerie and Suzy was next to Karen. Vickie and Jennifer were sort of odd man out.

Whenever a fan or anyone else approached our table, Jennifer was out of her chair like a shot and intercepted them. I noticed that every time Jennifer got up, a waiter got an extremely dirty look from her. It was becoming quite clear that Jennifer was running the restaurant.

None-the-less, we had a wonderful meal. Kristal ordered wine, and the only two people not drinking were Jennifer and I. Suzy was a non-stop dynamo the entire evening. She was truly enjoying herself, and she started a very interesting conversation with Kristal. She started it by asking Kristal about her future work and ambitions.

Kristal's answer was surprising. "I want to get involved in Hollywood and television. The way to fame and fortune is through movies. There is no doubt about that. And I will admit fortune is nice, but I want the fame."

Suzy started to probe Kristal. Suzy surprised me with the depth of some of her questions. "What is so important about fame? I mean, Melissa has told me some of the things and arrangements that you have made to hide from the press and paparazzi this week. You say you want fame, but then you try and hide from people."

Normally one might have thought that to be an aggressive question, but coming from Suzy it made perfect sense. She was merely asking Kristal to clarify her reasoning. And Kristal did just that. "Good question, Suzy. You make a good interviewer. No one else has had the guts to ask that question that honestly. So I will answer you honestly. I want the fame for another reason, I want to go to Washington D.C." That caught everyone's attention.

Suzy pressed on, "Why? Do you have political ambitions? Please excuse me for seeming irreverent, I mean no disrespect, but you are a model. A woman. I know there are successful female politicians, but they didn't start as models. What about the … ah … bimbo factor? Please, I am not trying to insult you, but as women we don't get much respect."

"Suzy, damn but you are sharp! No offense meant, and none taken. You are 100% correct. As women, we're not taken seriously. Only eunuchs can succeed in politics. I exaggerate, but that is what men want you and me to believe. And since they are in control, they make it so. Look what they did to Hillary Clinton. Because she had the balls to stand for something," and she looked at me so that we could share a smile, "the opposition ripped her apart. They called her ugly. They accused her of being a lesbian, a bitch, and a manipulator."

Kristal stopped and took a sip of wine. She was deliberately slowing down the conversation so that she could make a point. All that I could think of was that she was underage, but not one person at the table or in the room cared.

"It takes three things to succeed in Washington; money, a pretty face and connections. I have the first two, and I plan on getting more of the first. But the third is what I have to work at. And work, I will. Just in case no one else has noticed, this country is in serious trouble. The current government went into Afghanistan a couple years back to destroy a terrorist regime and kill their leaders. So far they have failed to accomplish either goal. But the part that all of us should remember, is how they portrayed the terrorists. They were religious fanatics. They wanted to turn the clock back to Biblical times where the men controlled everything and the women were property. Remember? The women couldn't leave their homes. They had to be completely covered up, and wear a burqua when they went outside. How horrible! They had to be accompanied by a man if they left their house. They couldn't go to school. They couldn't learn how to read. And on and on and on it went. Do any of you remember that? The propaganda about that from our government?"

She stopped and looked around the table. Some of the levity had subsided. The girls were starting to think back. "Yea, I remember," said Sam. "In one breath my friends said, 'Those Arabs are SOBs', and in the next breath they said, 'Women should be kept in their place.' They half joked, but they kind of meant it."

"Exactly," said Kristal. "Now fast forward to today. What is our President telling us? We have to return to our moral and religious roots. We have to take back the Bible and become a Christian nation. Put the Ten Commandments in the courthouses. What we condemned those Islamic extremists for doing to their women, our religious right now wants to do to our women. We need to eliminate abortions. He doesn't say those words. He says pro-life. But what he means is anti-women. Rape 'em and get 'em pregnant, and make 'em give birth. What the hell are they doing voting? Isn't there an amendment that we can repeal? The sanctity of marriage? Now there is a joke. It has nothing to do with marriage. It has to do with the Bible. You know that book and religion that are supposed to be about tolerance and forgiveness? Let's damn those people who are different than us. We don't want them to have the same economic rights as the rest of us. He even said that God has spoken to him. Kill the bad guys! He wants a religious war in the Middle-East. A Crusade. He has said that!"

Suzy kept the conversation alive. I don't know if she was doing it for the entertainment effect, or if Suzy had more to her than I had given her credit. It took many years before I realized how much I had under estimated Suzy. She knew that night who and what Kristal really was. She figured it all out and never said a word to anyone. "So what do you think you can do about it?"

Before Kristal could answer I jumped in. "Suzy, did I ever tell you about the time I shot Kristal's portfolio?"

"No. You did?"

Kristal answered, "Yes, she did. The photo portfolio that launched my career was shot by Melissa." She raised her glass and made a toast to me.

"Kristal is very modest," I said. "Anyone can make a beautiful woman look beautiful. But that wasn't my point. Suzy, you don't know what kind of talent you are talking to here." I looked at Kristal and apologized, "I don't know if you have told other people this, but we're all good friends, and I want everyone to know something. No one should ever under estimate this girl. The night that I finished our photo shoot, Kristal saw my electronic keyboard. She walked over to it and immediately began playing Bach like I have never heard. I was a music major my first semester. It doesn't mean much, but I knew a little bit about music. Her talent was light years beyond anything I had ever seen. Then she told me, that she dropped it because math was more interesting. In less than a year she had totally over whelmed a university math professor with her ability. This girl is a force to be reckoned with. I personally will vote for her when she runs for president of this country."

Applause. They applauded! For the first time ever, Kristal bowed her head. Jennifer looked at me and gave me a nod. It was starting to get a bit mushy, so Suzy came to the rescue one last time.

"Kristal, I believe in you, but what can you do? Really?"

Kristal became very serious. Her voice dropped but her intensity jumped by an order of magnitude. "Suzy, I don't know. Not yet. This country is in real trouble. I honestly believe that if something doesn't change, we won't survive. We will become a totalitarian regime within four or five years. I have to try to change that. I need more money, I need more fame, and then I need more contacts. After that, I will do everything in my power to save us. I am going to go to Washington D. C. and," she turned to face me, "I will use every ounce of every ability ever given to me, and I will try to save us."

Suzy swallowed hard. She had a lump in her throat. Her voice broke as she replied, "Kristal, we need you. And I believe in you. If anyone can make the world stand still and pay attention, you will."

Everyone was listening and totally enraptured by what Kristal had said. The conversation was getting a little heavy, and Suzy came to the rescue. After letting Kristal explain a few more points, Suzy changed the subject. Only Suzy and her happy go lucky attitude could have gotten away with the question that she asked, "So Kristal, are you gay?" Those of us that knew Kristal understood the question, but we were shocked to think that Suzy and figured her out. Like I said, I had under estimated Suzy.

Kristal surprised the living shit out of me, and probably Cynthia, Karen and Jennifer. (And I don't like to swear.) "No, I'm not gay. I'm heterosexual. I love women."

What? I looked at Cynthia, and she gave me a 'Don't make a big thing out of it' look. I looked at Karen and she just smiled. So did Jennifer. It started to sink in. Kristal was truly sincere and adamant about what she had just said. And I think if push came to shove, she would throw away her entire career and life, to stand up for what she believed. The other girls thought she was making a joke. Cynthia, Karen, Jennifer and I now knew she was dead serious.

This time Jennifer came to our rescue. She stood up and pointed at a waiter. "These women need service. Now! Another round of drinks." We all laughed, but the waiters jumped and moved as if commanded by a general.

The mood lifted and we became like a raucous group of young, crazy girls with daddy's credit card and a desire to break the limit. Once again we got crazy. We teased Sam and gave Stacey our condolences. We harassed Valerie and Vickie over past indiscretions that totally embarrassed them. We asked Kristal for stories about all of the famous people that she had met. I asked Jennifer for her funniest story about Kristal, but she wouldn't answer. Jennifer remained the silent type.

We had finished our meal, and a decadent chocolate dessert. We were ready to leave, and Kristal made one last announcement. "I have one last thing to say, before we go heckle beautiful men wearing dresses." Everyone laughed. "There is a reason that we are here tonight. It is a very important and solemn reason. I want to thank Karen and Valerie, for informing me about this critical piece of information." She paused for effect and Cynthia and I gave Karen and Valerie threatening looks. "It was in this very same geographical location, indeed, in this very same establishment, that not more than eight months ago a momentous episode in our history took place." She again paused for effect. While everyone else was looking at Kristal, Cynthia and I were giving Karen and Valerie the evil eye. Kristal looked around and collected everyone's eyes, "In this very spot, Cynthia proposed to Melissa. Congratulations!"

Everyone started laughing and offered us their congratulations. It was a wonderful feeling. The entire restaurant was looking at us. How could they help it? We were loud, we were excited, we were beautiful, and we had Krysallis. I had never realized what a power, what an intelligence and what a commitment lay behind Kristal. She was going to change the world. And I never realized how much we needed her.

Jennifer again took the lead. We left the restaurant and headed down the elevator to the ground lobby. Jennifer marched us out the front door and the limousine driver was waiting for us with the back door open. We piled in, laughing and giggling and really enjoying the evening. "To the club, James. And don't spare the horses," Valerie called.

It was a short ten minute drive to the Baton. Jennifer led us in. They had a cover charge, but we didn't pay anything. Jennifer handled everything. They had two shows a night and we arrived between shows. When we walked in, they had a long bar to the left. We all stopped and ordered a drink. Karen noticed that I had had no alcoholic beverage at the restaurant, so she corrected that here. "It's your bachelorette party, you don't have the wedding for two days, so you WILL have a drink tonight!" She ordered a Marguerita for me. I actually liked it.

The head honcho, he might have been the owner, took us up to the front of the stage and gave us the best seats in the house. Obviously, Jennifer had something to do with that. The show started a short time later and we had a ball. The girls were gorgeous, and talented. Much of the singing was lip synched, but some was real. They told jokes, raunchy jokes, they sang, they danced and they walked out into the audience to collect their tips.

Besides us, there were three other bachelorette parties in attendance. Guys and girls in the audience would walk up to the stage and handed one and five dollar bills to the girls as they performed. It was a very comfortable and 'hands-on' atmosphere. The girls would smile, wink and sometimes give the boys a peck on the cheek when they received their dollar bills.

They recognized Krysallis right away and gave her great deference. The hostess asked Krysallis to step on stage and perform. She took the offer, but only to a small extent. She went on stage, and took the microphone. She gave a few words of thanks, appreciation and 'Hello Chicago', then asked Karen to come up and sing a song. When they wheeled out a baby grand piano, it became apparent to me that Jennifer had arranged everything.

Karen took the microphone, pointed her hand at Krysallis and said, "Ladies, girls and you wannabes, I give you Krysallis." She began to pound out high energy, contemporary dance music. Everyone in the place either clapped in rhythm or stood to dance. After about three or four minutes she morphed into the song Gloria, and Karen began singing. She was good! Better than good, she sounded like a professional. They had the place going crazy. Everyone was on their feet singing and clapping along to the music. When the two finished, they held hands and bowed together. The place went wild.

What a display. They both had professional level talent. I always knew what Kristal could do, but Karen had never given the slightest indication that she could sing like a diva. It was an awesome display of talent. If the girls hadn't believed me back at the restaurant, they sure believed now. The energy in the club was approaching nuclear. The girls came out to perform and probably gave their best performances ever. The Blond Bombshell form Iowa was gorgeous. What a set of tits! I can say that because I had finished my Marguerita and was a bit tipsy. She was followed by the Baton Rouge Babe, and Eva Destruction. Our group alone must have given the girls a hundred dollars.

And poor Sam. I don't know who started it, but every time one of us had to go to the restroom, we made Sam come along. He was groped and squeezed more often than a cantaloupe at a cheap roadside stand. Stacey laughed so hard she hyperventilated. We made her lie down on the floor over by the bar for a short period of time. Later she got the hiccoughs from laughing again.

It was a wonderful night. The show finally ended, and the girls came out to meet us. They really wanted to meet Kristal. Kristal was still sober and still thinking. She agreed to sign autographs, only if they would trade three for one. She also talked them out of a two pictures of Mimi on their wall. "Melissa, these are all for you and Gabrielle's," she said.

We were having a wonderful time, but Jennifer put an end to it all. About 1:00 A.M. she very gently started rounding us up and moving us toward the door. It was like trying to herd cats. We weren't very cooperative. But she finally got us all together and out the front door. We had to walk one block to the parking lot to get to the limousine.

Half way down the block, things went crazy. Five kids in their early twenties stepped out in front of us and blocked our way. "My what pretty ladies we have here. Where ya' going in such a hurry?"

Things happened fast. Jennifer had been leading us. She took a couple steps back and put her self directly in front of Kristal. She immediately lifted her camera and started shooting the boys. Her strobe started flashing and blinding them. "Knock it off bitch." One of them said.

Just then, two huge guys came out of nowhere. They came from behind us and immediately moved between the boys and us. We heard Jennifer say, "Follow me now," and I saw her hand the camera to Kristal. Jennifer fell to the side and Kristal led the group back towards the limo. Jennifer kept herself between the boys and us at all times. One of the boys said , "We're here for you bitches," and we heard a loud slap and a yell. We reached the limo and the driver had the back door open and waiting for us. We jumped in, he slammed the door closed, and hit a button to lock it by remote. He walked to the driver's door and quickly got us out of there.

Everyone sobered up quickly. We were all a bit scared. Stacey said, "Where did those two guys come from? Thank God they were there."

I saw Kristal look at Jennifer and give her a little nod. Jennifer cleared her throat and got everyone's attention. "There was nothing to worry about back there. Those two guys have been following us ever since we left Milwaukee. They are two or three cars behind us right now." Everyone looked to the rear. All you could see were headlights and streetlights. "They were hired to do exactly what they did."

Someone said, "Huh?"

Jennifer continued, "Kristal travels all over the world. Some areas are tougher than Chicago, some areas are nicer. We never take any chances."

"You mean you have body guards with you?" Sam asked.

"Always," Jennifer responded.

"But we never saw them. Where were they?"

"Unlike television, our body guards are instructed to be invisible. It's tough for people like Kristal. She deserves to have a normal life, but there are a lot of weird people in this world. We try to allow her to live a normal life, but we do protect her."

Sam caught on before the rest of us. "We? Are you also a body guard?"

Jennifer didn't flinch. She looked Sam straight in the eye and said, "Yes. I can protect her if necessary." She smiled at Kristal and Kristal returned the smile.

Sam, the guy, was now interested. "Against five street kids? You could have protected us?"

Jennifer was as confident as anyone I ever saw. "Yes. I could have gotten us out of there with no problem."

"How? Are you a black belt or something?"

"No," she said. "I have been trained in street fighting. No black belt. No posturing or hand waving. I've been taught to hit fast, hit hard and head out. You're thinking like a guy. The idea isn't to fight. The idea is to get the hell out of there without anyone getting hurt. There are things other than punches that can save your skin."

"You mean like blinding them with a strobe?" Suzy asked the question.

This time Kristal answered. "Suzy, you are exactly correct. Even if the body guards hadn't shown up, Jennifer would have had us out of there in no time. She not only takes pictures and handles PR, she also handles assholes."

Everyone laughed. And then one by one we all said thanks to Jennifer. It was late. For several of the girls the alcohol was overtaking the adrenaline, and it became a quiet ride back to Milwaukee. Halfway back, most of the girls were sleeping. Jennifer was wide-awake, as was I. I reached across the limo and offered her my hand. We silently shook hands and shared a smile.

We started late on Friday morning; about 10:30. We were spread across five square miles of Milwaukee. Suzy and Karen had slept at our apartment. Kristal and Jennifer stayed with mom and dad. The other bridesmaids were from Milwaukee and they stayed at their homes. Suzy and Karen were already in the salon, having their legs waxed or getting facials, before the other girls showed up. I helped Simon, George and my two part time girls as we made sure everyone had facials, waxes and manicures. We had lunch brought in and continued into the early afternoon. Jennifer was swooping all over the salon getting pictures of everyone in various stages of dress and pampering. Kristal had her picture taken with all of the beauticians and did some additional posing for PR shots. Jennifer also spent much of her time on her cell phone making arrangements for Monday.

By 2:00 we had everyone finished. I chased them up stairs and made them start changing into dresses for the rehearsal and dinner. Valerie and Cynthia insisted that Sam also dress. Samantha wore a pretty floral print with an empire waist and surplice neckline. Her hemline was knee length like everyone else's. It was the current fashion. Valerie tied his hair up with a pretty pink ribbon and gave his style more lift. Then they put on his make-up. Cynthia took over and gave his brows a little arch and used a light pink eye shadow to give him a youthful, bright-eyed look. She used just a touch of eyeliner and mascara. Then Cynthia finished Samantha with a light pink blush and a darker, pink lipstick. Samantha looked very becoming and innocent. We arrived at the church at 4:00 and spent only half an hour going over our plans. The minister was very nice and she made us feel comfortable. She was amenable to almost anything we wanted to do. By 5:00 we were at the restaurant.

Suzy's, Kristal and Karen's, Valerie and Sam's, and Vickie's parents were also invited to the rehearsal dinner. Samantha brought Stacey, Vickie brought her girlfriend and Valerie invited her boy friend. We had 23 guests including the minister. Cynthia and I sat together in the middle of one long table with mom and dad directly across from us. Dinner was prime rib or crab legs. The feast lasted until almost 8:00. Our parents retired home or to their hotel rooms, and the youngsters headed out for a short evening of dancing. At least that is what Valerie claimed. We went to an upscale disco in downtown Milwaukee, where we met up with Sheila and her latest boyfriend. Jennifer had arranged for us to get a semi private table in a corner of the club. She stayed close to Kristal all night. I saw two familiar faces hanging out near the bar. They never acknowledged either Jennifer or Kristal.

We had a nice time. We danced en masse and dominated the floor when we went out. Kristal joined us for a couple of dances, and the entire club watched when she was on the floor. Most of us had a couple of guys hit on us during the night, but when anyone tried to approach Kristal, Jennifer always headed them off. She was very polite, but also effective. Kristal allowed one guy to dance with her, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek after the dance. He floated back to his buddies afterwards.

At midnight I rounded up the troops and forced everyone to leave. We had a full day scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday I made people show up at the salon at 9:00. Everyone was going to get an elaborate hairstyle or up-do and makeup, so it was going to take some time. I helped on a couple of girls, but Simon pulled me to his chair and insisted that I allow him to start with my up-do. He was going to weave gold ribbons into my hair, and it was going to take him more than hour. By noon we were all finished and half of us were in our dresses. Valerie had already dressed Sam and had him looking pretty. Cynthia and I were the last to get into our dresses, and our bridesmaids helped considerably. The church was three miles away, and we barely made it on time.

There were only a few people in the pews. Along with everyone from the rehearsal dinner, my salon employees were there. Cynthia's aunts and uncles were there, along with her four cousins. Everyone in the wedding party, along with their parents, knew the truth about Melissa. They all knew that this was a legal wedding between Cynthia and Melissa. Everyone else thought they were attending a lesbian commitment ceremony.

The bridesmaids took their places in the front of the church and the ceremony began. The music started, and dad slowly walked Cynthia up the aisle. When they reached the front, he gave Cynthia a kiss and took a seat in the front row. There was tear in both dad's and Cynthia's eye. Then it was my turn. I felt a rush of blood to my face and felt it get hot. I knew I had turned two shades redder. I took mom's arm and she escorted me to the front. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, then sat down next to dad. Cynthia offered me her arm and I took it. I hung on to her arm for dear life. I still felt a little light-headed. We faced away from the pews and towards the minister. She gave me a warm smile and a reassuring wink.

In the background, Jennifer was fluttering around taking pictures.

The ceremony was only fifteen minutes long. The minister asked for the rings. I turned to Karen and Cynthia turned to Valerie for our rings. The minister blessed them, and then we slid them on each other's finger. My heirloom ring was breath taking. I loved seeing it on my finger. The minister quietly pronounced us married and we gave each other a light kiss. (We had made sure to wear the same shade of lipstick.) Then the minister had us turn to face our friends. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mrs. Cynthia and Mrs. Melissa May. Everyone applauded. The music started up and we walked arm in arm down the aisle. We stopped at the back of the church and greeted our friends as they filed past us. I was giddy and somewhat incoherent as I greeted our guests. Cynthia introduced me to her cousins and aunts and uncles, and everyone was very complimentary and friendly towards me. They were all as nice as our parents.

The reception was held at our apartment. We had cleaned the second floor and it was wide open. Tables were set up for the meal, and the caterers were already there and had the food ready. Our disc jockey played some mood music as we arrived. We took our seats and the waitresses poured champagne for everyone. Valerie offered a toast and didn't insult either one of us. It was a very sincere toast. Then it was Karen's turn and she also gave us a nice, sincere toast. Then the spoons started clinking the glasses. I leaned over to Cynthia and gave her a smooch.

Then dad wanted to offer a toast. "To my beautiful daughter, and my gorgeous, daughter-in-law; peace, love and prosperity for all your days." Clink, clink, clink. Cynthia gave me a kiss and grabbed my boob at the same time. That brought out some laughter. The waitresses began serving dinner. Clink, clink, clink. Another kiss and this time I grabbed Cynthia's boob. More laughs and clucking from the group.

It was a small and intimate party and that resulted in a comfortable and laid back evening. After the meal, the disc jockey started playing polkas and disco, with an occasional country and western line dance thrown in for good measure. I danced the polka with mom and dad a couple of times. I led the line dances and discoed with everyone. I kissed, hugged and chatted constantly. I had the best time of my life. There really is something special about a girl's wedding. Cynthia and I left at midnight to go to a local hotel. The party was still going, and Valerie was threatening to take everyone to an all-night dance hall.

At the hotel we had two bathrooms, so we were able to change quickly. I washed off my makeup, moisturized my face, brushed my teeth, and spritzed myself with our favorite perfume. I slid into my silk babydoll and panties. I took my Viagra and went to meet my new wife. I lay on the bed and gave her my most provocative pose. She was wearing a hot pink, see through negligee. She walked over and lay down on top of me and gave me a long lingering kiss. She then said, "Mrs. Melissa Ann May. I like the sound of that. Mrs. May, may I have the honor of ravishing you here in our wedding bed?"

"Why, Mrs. Cynthia Lynn May, I would be honored if you would do so. When shall you start?"

"Right now," and she plunged her tongue into my mouth and started grinding her hips into mine.

The next morning I woke up with Cynthia pressed against the back of me in a spooning position. With her top hand she reached over and gently took hold of my breast. Her palm caressed my entire breast, then concentrated on my nipple. She ran her finger around my areola to stimulate my nipple and then gently pinched it between her fingers. She repeated the process over and over on both breasts. My nipples began to respond and I could feel a warmth in my breasts and my crotch.

At the same time she buried her face in my hair, letting it caress and tickle her face. "I love the smell of hair after a permanent. You still have a little of the smell left." I moaned and gently rocked my head to help my hair tickle her face. She finished caressing my breast and slid her hand down my stomach to my crotch. She took hold of my flaccid penis and began to caress it. She wiggled it, and petted it. She ran her fingers around my scrotum and held it in her palm. She gently squeezed and shook it to make my penis wiggle again. "I love holding your little penis when it is like this. The skin is so soft, and it feels so vulnerable and small. It feels feminine. I love to twist it around my fingers and wrap it around and between my fingers. Do you like this?"

I moaned an affirmative.

"So do I. I think of it as a feminine extension of you. Do you have feelings about it? I mean, do you see your penis as masculine or feminine?"

"I look at my body and I believe that I have a feminine body. So my penis is an extension of that femininity. Just as I think large breasts are a mark of a beautiful female body, I think a small penis is also a mark of a beautiful female body. The smaller the penis the better. The smaller it is, the more vulnerable it looks. That's how I think of it."

"That is about how I feel, also. Sometimes when I see you naked, I marvel at how beautiful you are. How feminine and beautifully proportioned you are. Your waist is so thin! I love it. And I see your penis when it is small like this, and I think how appropriate it is. It belongs on you. Sometimes, I see myself in the mirror and wonder where my penis is. I think that I would look more feminine if I also had one. Kind of funny isn't it?"

"Kiss me," I said, and I rolled onto my back so she could reach my mouth. She kissed me, but kept my penis in her hand. I ended the kiss and said, "I want to see you between my legs, sucking and licking my little pee-pee. Would you do that please?" She moved down between my legs and started to lick and suck my penis. It took a few minutes, but my penis finally started responding. I knew that without the Viagra I wouldn't get very hard, but I loved the feeling of my penis when it was soft. It felt more sexual and vulnerable and fun without the Viagra. I loved the feeling, and I loved seeing Cynthia between my legs. "Give me an hour," I said, "and then I'll return the favor." Her eyes returned my smile.

After our lovemaking our bodies were soaked in sweat, and our muscles were fatigued. We both wrapped an arm around our lover's waist, and walked to the shower together. We took turns shampooing each other's hair and scrubbing each other's backs. As usual, certain anatomical parts received extended, tender-loving-care. When we were finished, I stepped out of the shower and gently towel-dried my hair. Standing in front of the mirror I shook my hair and began pulling a comb through my curls. I let my hair air-dry and my perm turned into beautiful, soft curls when it eventually dried.

I completed my morning routine, including powdering myself from my toes to my neck with a large, perfumed, powder puff, and left the bathroom. Before I could slip into my lingerie, Cynthia stopped me. She unhitched the towel wrapped around my chest and let it drop to the floor, leaving me naked. She held one of the golden ribbons that Simon had woven into my hair, and kneeling before me she wrapped the ribbon around my scrotum and penis, and tied it in a bow. "I want you to leave this on today," Cynthia instructed me. "I want to unwrap my little gift again tonight. I have some special plans for it," and she gave me a devilish grin.

"Cynthia, you're a romantic fool. But I won't be able to tuck my little pee-pee. I'm going to have a boy-bulge, especially with the ribbon. We're taking pictures today with Kristal. The bulge will show," I complained.

"You can wear one of your larger uniforms. The skirt will be a bit more bulky and help cover your bulge. Plus you can wear one of your beautician smocks. Please? I really want to unwrap you tonight," she pleaded.

I had no choice. She flashed me those large puppy-eyes of hers and I couldn't turn her down. It felt odd and took a while to get over the novel feeling. It had been several years since I had left the house without my penis tucked safely between my legs. Every time I thought about the ribbon I could feel it tied around my penis. It did feel naughty and nice. Whenever I stepped into the bathroom stall to relieve myself, I couldn't help but smile when I saw it hanging between my legs.

By the time we returned to our apartment, all of the girls were there. We accepted their teasing; asking why we were arriving so late. Everyone but Kristal and Jennifer had their dresses packed up and were ready to leave. Suzy and Karen were ready to drive over to the local hotel and meet up with their parents for the drive back to South Bend. Valerie and Vickie had nothing to pack, so they were watching TV and munching on bagels. Sam was the only one not present. He had arranged to stop by after lunch and I was going to remove his hair extensions.

Amid plenty of hugs and kisses, Karen and Suzy said their good-byes and left. Jennifer asked if we could go to the salon and start setting up for photos. The six of us went to the salon, with Andromeda trotting along behind. Jennifer started setting up her equipment. I had no idea where it all came from. She set up lights in the tanning parlor, at the wash station and around one of the styling chairs. After setting up, she had Kristal and I put on our makeup. Jennifer did most of Kristal's makeup. With one exception, she told me to use the same shades and colors as I usually used, but told me to apply extra heavy amounts. "I don't want to wash out your color under the bright lights," she explained. The one exception was my lipstick. Jennifer said it would look better if I used a dark, saturated red color. It would look better in the pictures and help accentuate the sultry image that she was going to emphasize.

Jennifer wanted to start with the tanning booth, so she, Kristal and I strolled into the largest tanning room and shut the door. Kristal stripped and Jennifer handed her a tiny, black bikini. I watched as Kristal pulled up the bikini bottom. "Kristal, can I ask a personal question?"

Kristal carefully tucked her penis between her legs and then finished sliding the bikini into a comfortable position. She put on the string tied top and said, "Maybe. What is it?"

"You look so small," I said. "I mean your penis. It looks much smaller than when I took your pictures a couple of years ago. Did you do something or is it just my imagination?"

"Melissa, it is an optical illusion. My penis is no smaller than before, but my scrotum is. I had an orchiectomy."

"Castration?"

"Yes. I really had no choice. I became allergic to the antiandrogens that I was using. First a rash, then nausea and headaches. We tried four or five different types, and they all caused some type of negative side effects. So the doctor recommended orchiectomy."

"Was it painful? Was there a long recovery time?"

"Not at all. The doctor gave me pain pills, but I never used them. I had to remain in bed for a couple of days to minimize the chance of pulling out stitches. But I was back to my normal routine in about a week. I'm glad I did it. Tucking is much easier, and there is no longer any fear of accidentally hurting myself. I highly recommend it."

I looked at Jennifer. "Did you have an orchiectomy?"

She shook her head, "No, at least not yet."

I turned back to Kristal, "Can I ask you another personal question?"

"Let's see."

"Cynthia and I were in bed this morning, and I'm not sure how we got on this topic, but she asked me if I considered my penis to be masculine or feminine. I said feminine. How do you consider your penis?"

Kristal and Jennifer chuckled. "You have some really interesting pillow talk," Kristal said. "Psychologically, I consider myself 100% female. My penis is an extension of what I am. I consider it to be one of my most beautiful and feminine attributes."

"Jennifer, how about you?"

"That's an interesting question. Mostly feminine I would have to say. But there are times where I consider it masculine. For instance, when I'm working out and practicing my self-defense, I am in a masculine mode. So at those times, I would have to say its masculine."

I turned back to Kristal, "Can I ask one last question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you have sex?"

"Wow, that is one last question. Yes, I have sex, but not as often as I would like. My problem is my job. I have to be very careful about who learns what about me. I know I could handle it if the press exposed me. There are other alternatives for me. But I'm making way too much money to want to give it up. I love the travel and the glamour. And I have some future plans that I would like to pursue, and it would be best if I remained a genetic girl in the public's eye.

"I envy you and your relationship with Cynthia." She continued. "You are both in love and you can share that openly with each other. Don't let go of Cynthia. I have no one with whom to share a truly open and intimate relationship."

I couldn't help myself, the next question I just blurted out, "Have you ever been with a man?"

She didn't seem shocked. "I think I understand. Have you?"

"No."

"Do you want to? Are you curious?"

I hesitated. "I'm not sure. I have no desire to have a relationship with a man. I don't care for men, but I sometimes wonder what an intimate encounter might feel like."

"Yes, I have been with a man. But I really prefer women. It is easy to find a man to bed you. Women are very difficult to find. That is another reason that I envy you. You have a beautiful female partner in Cynthia. Women can be strange at times. Men seem to have a sliding scale of sexuality; from pure hetero to pure homo, but there is room in between. From my experiences, women seem to line up on the two extremes, with less room for experimentation in between. What do you think, Jennifer?"

"I think your assessment is generally correct. Men are more open to different relationships than women."

I asked Jennifer, "Do you prefer men or women?"

"I'm more of a 50/50 girl. I like to be with a woman, and if I had the chance to settle down and marry like you, I would definitely prefer to be with a woman. But I also like to be taken by a man once in a while. I want to play the submissive role, and have someone much stronger than me take me in his arms and take control."

"Have you ever had a man enter and come in you?"

"Yes, but let me explain. That physical act isn't very pleasant, but tt is something you can get used to. It is the rest of the experience that I want, and probably what you are interested in. The man on top of you, the feel of his weight and his hands gripping you are the part I like. His smell and warmth are enjoyable to me. I enjoy him pumping and grinding against my hips, but I don't get any pleasure from his penis being inside me. I love to have him kiss and lick my breasts. It makes me feel like a woman. It's the ancillary activities and pleasures that I desire when I take a man."

Kristal decided to end the conversation. "We should probably get on with the pictures. This is always tricky," she said as she changed the subject. "I never model swimsuits in public, for a certain, obvious reason. Fortunately, Jennifer is very good at finding the best angles to make everything look natural."

"Well then maybe she can help me today," I said.

"Why? What do you mean?" Kristal asked. I told them about my ribbon. They both laughed uproariously. "You two are in love, aren't you?"

Jennifer shook her head and muttered, "Newlyweds!"

Jennifer took over and directed Kristal to stand in front of the tanning bed. After a few pictures, Kristal then sat on the bed, and finally lay on the bed. Jennifer directed her to take various sexy poses. Finally, she had Kristal and me stand together in front of the tanning booth and she took a couple more pictures. We also shot a couple of pictures while taking turns holding Andromeda. Andromeda was something of a trademark for Krysallis.

Jennifer reached into her bag and handed Kristal black pantyhose and a black leather mini skirt. Kristal left on her bikini, and over her top she pulled on a blue cashmere sweater with a plunging neckline. Jennifer gave her a pair of black pumps with four-inch heels. When she was dressed, the three of us walked out to the main salon.

Cynthia, Valerie and Vickie followed us around and watched the shoot. We started with a fake manicure. I put on one of the smocks that the beauticians wore, and I sat behind the table pretending to give Kristal a manicure. I handed my smock to Cynthia and Jennifer took a couple pictures of Cynthia with Kristal. Valerie asked if she could be the beautician next. Kristal said sure. And of course we finished with Vickie and Kristal getting their picture taken together.

I took back my coat, and we followed Jennifer to the wash station. Jennifer put us in position and then spent five minutes adjusting lights and checking exposure. When she was ready, I began washing Kristal's hair. I used extra shampoo and built up a large lather on her head. When Jennifer had enough lather pictures, I rinsed Kristal's hair and wrapped a towel around her head. Jennifer took more pictures as I led her back to the styling chair.

In the chair I set Kristal's hair twice; first with extra large rollers, and later with very small rollers. With the large rollers in place, Jennifer took close ups of just Kristal and then shoulder and head pictures with the two of us. Then Jennifer would step back and take full shots of Kristal having her hair set. Jennifer took pictures with and without Kristal wearing her pink protective cape. Without the cape, Jennifer posed Kristal to show off her mini skirt and shapely legs. I finished with the large rollers and Jennifer took a few more close-ups. Then I removed her curlers and took her back to the sink to dampen her hair.

We returned to the styling chair and while I used small curlers, we went through the entire routine again. After finishing with the series, Jennifer took Kristal to the dryers and shot a few more pictures while Kristal's hair dried. Most of these shots emphasized the mini skirt and legs, or the plunging neckline and Kristal's ample breasts.

When her hair was dry, we returned to the styling chair and I removed her curlers. After removing the curlers, Jennifer took several pictures of Kristal's curled hair, before I brushed it out. We finished with several shots of me spraying enough hair spray to destroy the ozone layer.

"Finished," Jennifer announced. "Thanks everyone." She left her lights situated around the styling chair, but moved the shampoo-sink lights over to the receptionist's desk. "For tomorrow," she explained.

We turned off the lights and went up to our apartment. I began preparing dinner, and the rest of the girls vegged out in front of the television. We had a quiet evening. Valerie and Vickie left about 8:00. Kristal and Jennifer spent the night with Cynthia and me.

Shortly after Kristal and Jennifer retired, Cynthia unwrapped her gift. She untied the bow without using her hands; only her teeth and tongue. It was rather close at one point, but it was extremely erotic and a huge turn-on. Then she presented me with two brass rings. "They're cock-rings," she said. I went to a sex shop and asked about them. He asked what size cock you had. I said it was very cute, but small. He suggested two rings. One is small and will fit around your pee-pee. You put it on when your small, and when you get an erection, it helps hold the blood inside you pee-pee and allows your erection to last longer. Good. No?"

"Yes."

"The other ring is larger. It will go around both your pee-pee and your scrotum. It does the same thing, but tightens up in a different position. Which would you like?"

I wasn't sure at first. I was worried that they might be too tight and hurt when I got an erection. But I decided that everything would probably be all right. I chose the larger ring. Cynthia made a show of sliding it on my penis. I slid it up tight against my scrotum, and then squeezed one testicle at a time through the hoop. I pulled it tight against my body. My scrotum and penis were trapped inside it. It felt snug, but not uncomfortable. I enjoyed the snugness. "I like it," I proclaimed. "Maybe I will keep it on all of the time. Can you get it inscribed? Something like 'Property of Cynthia'?"

She giggled and replied, "Sexy idea. I'll see what I can do." Actually, she did better than I expected. She not only had it inscribed, but attached a small ring on it that could be clipped to a leash!

That night we did something that we had never done before. It was intimidating and a bit frightening, almost painful at first, but I eventually adjusted and in the end it was extremely erotic and I enjoyed the experience. Cynthia even made me squeal at one point. I felt like a defrocked virgin by the end of the night.

Cynthia continued to surprise and please me. Her aggressiveness and imagination in the boudoir kept our sex life fun and unpredictable. I loved her surprises for me and I enjoyed allowing her control. I felt perfectly safe in her arms and preferred to play the submissive role.

Jennifer was up early the next morning, working the telephone. She had made arrangements for two call-in radio interviews and three remote television interviews at the salon. It was going to be a busy day. Cynthia left us at 8:00 and headed off to work. Jennifer and Kristal whirled around like tornados for the entire day. We didn't have many customers scheduled, so I left the customers to Simon and the girls. Everyone had a chance to have her picture taken with Kristal. I was interviewed on camera each time the television crews came. Most of the interview was with Krysallis of course, but I was going to be on TV. Early in the morning three large boxes full of Kristal pictures, posters, and calendars arrived. When not being photographed or interviewed, she autographed pictures. She worked her tush off. I never would have believed an international super model could put in a work day like she did. I couldn't have spent a million dollars and gotten the PR that Kristal was generating.

Cynthia arrived around 5:00 and watched Kristal and Jennifer for a while. She asked me, "Have they been that busy all day?"

"No," I answered "They're winding down now. And I am not exaggerating." We didn't finish until closing time at 7:00. Jennifer packed up her equipment while I escorted Kristal up to the apartment. Cynthia ran out and picked up KFC.

I was over whelmed by the day. "Kristal, I have never seen anything like that today. I can't believe how hard you and Jennifer worked. I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I will be forever in your debt. I couldn't spend a million dollars and get the PR you gave me. Just before we left, my receptionist said we had received more bookings today than any single day in our history. And most of your stuff didn't hit the airwaves until this evening."

"Melissa, it was my pleasure and trust me, this wasn't an unusual day. Most people think we sit around and get pampered all day. Today wasn't that unusual. And just for your information, today's efforts don't cost a million dollars. Typically this would have cost someone a mere hundred thousand." She gave me a wink.

"This will get me going for at least ten years. So it really was a million dollars worth of PR. Thanks a million." I said.

"A bit more business," Kristal said. "Jennifer will need about three weeks to get your pictures back to you. She will send you a CD with everything. Every picture with me in it will have her copyright logo in the bottom corner. And any picture that places me in a bad light will be removed. Sorry. The rest of your pictures won't get her logo. My present to you. You can print any pictures you want. However, I do ask that you don't place any of my pictures on the Internet."

"I won't."

"You can use the PR pictures however you please. However, try and control their use as much as possible. There are a lot of people out there who will try to use them for their own purposes. If you do find someone using my pictures without permission, I would appreciate it if you would call Jennifer. Jennifer can answer any questions that come up in the future. You have her telephone number as well as mine."

CHAPTER 18

Excerpts from Cynthia L. May's diary

Amid much hugging and kissing, Kristal, Jennifer and Andromeda left the next morning. Melissa's salon began to take off, based solely on the free radio, television and newspaper attention. Appointments flooded her books. Within three months, Melissa was in the black. In mid July, Melissa hired an advertising agent. She told me it was an awesome meeting. The agency came into the meeting full of piss and vinegar, bragging about all of the things they could do for her. When they were finished with their presentation, Melissa slipped her CD into their projector, and gave them a short preview of Kristal's PR pictures. Melissa said their mouths dropped open. They were the ones who left impressed.

Advertising featuring Kristal and the salon's cutting-edge image started in August. Appointments jumped again. They were running at almost full schedule. If Kristal was Melissa's first big time celebrity, Simon became her second. He turned out to be a diamond in the rough. He became a celebrity in the local fashion industry. He had originally taken the job at Melissa's salon because it was close to his home. Every day he either walked or biked the three blocks to work. Melissa paid to send him to seminars in New York and Chicago. It was a match made in heaven. Melissa made him a celebrity, and he kept her salon the best in Milwaukee.

Gabrielle's Salon was fun for Melissa. It broke some of the tension. With high-end salons come some finicky customers. The boys who came to Gabrielle's were much more fun and acted as a relief valve for Melissa. She handled all of their business, and left Simon and George for the girls out front.

We finished renovating the second floor and rented it to a young lawyer just starting out on her own. Melissa's Glamour Photography Studio languished for almost a year. The salon was doing too well and taking too much of Melissa's time. By the end of her first year, her full time staff was at five, and she had almost fifteen other part time girls.

When I had first dreamed of having Melissa own and run a beauty salon, I never dreamed it would be a world famous salon. I expected a small local salon with two or three employees. Instead, at age twenty two Melissa was a business success story. She was being interviewed for local business magazines, and even made Fortune's list of up and coming twenty something executives.

Melissa eventually got the photography studio started. She never used any of Kristal's advertising pictures for the studio. She couldn't take the chance that it would be as much of a success as her salon. There weren't enough hours in the day for that.

She was busy. I had to make her slow down once in a while. We hired the salon's cleaning crew to clean our apartment twice a week while we were working. I insisted that Melissa go out on Saturday evenings for dinner and dancing. She spent all of her time in the same building, so I knew she had to get a change of scenery at least once a week. One Sunday a month we had dinner at mom and dad's.

My work was going well. I had received another nice promotion, and I was making a very nice salary. I had Melissa signed onto all of my insurance and health care at work as Mel A. May. Having health care was a huge relief. Health care costs were an enormous problem in the country. Melissa tried to buy health care for her full time employees but couldn't afford. If she couldn't afford it for only five employees, how could any small business buy it?

With Melissa's salary, there was very little we couldn't afford. We bought a Mercedes SUV for Melissa. Life was wonderful. Melissa and I were very much in love. Life was hectic but rewarding. We both felt fulfilled and successful in our work. There was only one thing missing from our lives. Children. In April of 2007 I made a trip to South Bend. I had been checking my temperature, and the time was right. I called ahead and made arrangements. I drove to the Reproductive Fertility Center and presented my paperwork. They were very professional and I left with my first insemination. I made another trip later in the week and had my second insemination. I returned home to wait. It was very difficult to wait a couple of weeks before I could begin my testing. In early May, my tests came back positive. I was exhilarated. I could hardly hold my excitement. I wanted to tell Melissa, but I held off until early June.

For our Saturday evening out, I asked Melissa to dress extra special. I also asked her to wear my grandmother's earrings and necklace. She was suspicious, but didn't know what I was up to. We went to a very nice restaurant. We had our meal and Melissa was still waiting for some announcement or surprise. She noticed that I didn't have any wine with dinner, but didn't guess why. At the end of the meal, I leaned over to Melissa and took her hand.

"Sweetie, I have something very important to ask." She kept quiet and looked into my eyes. "We are pregnant." I was filled with excitement, and she remained calm, almost as if she hadn't heard me. "Will you be mother to our daughter?"

"Have you been back to South Bend?" she asked.

"Yes, I have. In early April."

"And it took you this long to tell me?"

"Well, I wanted to be sure."

"And you want me to be her mother?"

"Yes." I was getting a bit worried. She wasn't jumping up and down in excitement.

"I am up to my eyebrows in a new advertising campaign to keep my salon in the black, and you want me to take my valuable time and be a mother?"

I was getting nervous. This wasn't going the way I had expected. "Yes. You would be a wonderful mother. I don't know anyone as generous and loving as you."

"And now you are trying to lavish compliments on me so I'll be happy and enthusiastic to be a new mother."

She sounded a little irritated. I was really nervous. "I wasn't trying to pacify or control you. I am excited and I want to have our child."

"Well damn it, so do I. I would love to be a mother. This is the best news that I have ever had. It completes me. It is exactly want I want at exactly the right time in my life!" She lunged at me and kissed me. She had really scared me. She was more of a hand full than I had ever anticipated.

We hugged for a while, and then she asked, "How do you know we're going to have a daughter? Can you test this early for sex?"

"I don't have to test. We will have a daughter. Right?"

"Right."

The end.

  

  

  

*********************************************
© 2005 by G L Hudson. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, and compilation design) may be printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without the express written consent of StorySite and the copyright holder.