Who Said That Three is a Crowd?

by Samantha Michelle Davies

Part 8 – TJ gets her revenge

 

Next morning TJ came downstairs sometime after Judy & Myself. She had a big grin on her face carrying two short lengths of chain.

"Ladies it is time for your lesson to begin" she said with a big smile on her face.

"I too have been using the internet. Today I'm going to be pampered like a lady."

She said with total determination.

Judy & I were dressed fairly smartly but not overly so considering we were going to be at home all day. We grinned at each other as we thought that we were outsmarting TJ.

I was wearing a mid-calf length skirt with a simple roll neck top. Judy was wearing one on my Mothers skirts from the late 1950's. The sort of things that Marylyn Monroe wore in Some Like it Hot. This one though was a Dior original. These were intentionally tight around the thigh and thus limited the length of our stride. TJ saw straight through our little scheme so as punishment she took two links out of the chain length just to make our steps that bit shorter.

She departed with a spring in her step but it was noticeably shorter in length and her hips certainly had more swing in them. It looked like the lesson had started to sink in. TJ 1, Judy & Freddie 0.

We waddled into the study and got to work on our project. We had not told TJ about our day's exploits. We had overcome her objections by telling her by saying that we would reveal all within a couple of days when things were a bit more certain.

Today was going to be a big day for me. I would have to reveal the extent of my finances to Judy. Well not quite all of them but enough to get her attention. Some of the hidden were deliberately kept offshore to keep them out of the hands of our thieving government. (That's my opinion anyway…) I had decided to explain my finances so that as we were going into business she needed to know what were playing with. She had some initial problems understanding a balance sheet but these I was sure would disappear with practice.

During the day, I went through the basics of company accounting, profit & loss and elementary taxation. I was passing on these skills that I had learnt as a child from my father and he from his father before him. I did wonder at some point if I would I get the chance to pass these collective experiences onto a son or daughter of my own but I pushed these concerns to the back of my mind for the moment.

It turned out had figured correctly that underneath a lot of bullshit & bluster, Judy had the makings of an astute businesswoman and being possibly a creative genius as well as having an offbeat sense of humour. This is an unusual combination of skills and I was in love with her too. I realised that I'm such a lucky person.

One result of our Internet investigations was that we made a list of forthcoming auctions of shoe making equipment in the Northampton Area. If the offer that we were going to make for the shoe company were rejected then we would switch to plan B and do our own thing.

Time sped by and before we realized it, it was getting dark. I struggled upstairs to use the toilet. One side effect of wearing a belt with a rear plate was that it had to be unlocked before one could use the toilet. I had fixed the key to the rear plates to the wall in the bathroom. Going up the stairs was a slow process. By the time I go to the top, I had thought of many ways to get my revenge on TJ for making the chain so short but I knew in my heart that I would forgive her in the end.

There was no sign of TJ coming home but she would lets us know what was happening if she was going to be late. We went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. About halfway through TJ called to say that she was going to spend the night in London and would be back in the morning. I said that we looked forward to seeing her in the morning to release us.

We had dinner and relaxed together. About 9:00 pm Jim called as promised. He gave us the contact details of the owner and a bit more of their background. He had obviously been doing some checking up on me as well. It turned out that his family came from a village about 5 miles away and that he had cycled past the entrance to my home many times as a child. We had a good natter for about 15 minutes. I then asked him how he had realized that I was not all I appeared on the surface. His reply astounded me.

"I noticed that you did not always sit with your knees together. It is very rare for a woman to do that. I also noticed that your hands are a bit large for a woman of your stature."

My heart skipped a beat. What was going on?

"How did you come to notice things like that?" I enquired nervously.

"You tend to notice those little behaviours if you have been living with someone like you for over fifteen years" he replied calmly.

"You mean your wife?" I probed a bit further.

"Yes. Back then it was very difficult for someone like she is to get acceptance. It was a long time before my family accepted who she was so, you see I have almost a lifetime of experience being on the lookout for really good converts and believe me Freddie you are good"

"Thank you Jim. You are only about the third person even to guess my little secret." I replied very relieved but certainly interested in getting to know Jim and his wife.

I promised to keep him informed of any developments. We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone.

I briefed Judy on the details of the business side of the phone call and we made plans to speak to the owner in the morning.

We had a decision to make when we went upstairs to bed. Should we undo the hobbles or should we keep them on until TJ came home to unlock them herself. There was a spare set of keys in the safe so we could undo them. I wanted to keep faith with the spirit of what I was trying to do. Not only was I trying to teach the girls some valuable tricks about being proper ladies but also I wanted to build trust between us all. I could sense that Judy was already ok about this but that because of her past, TJ was still not fully happy with it yet. I managed to persuade Judy to keep them on until TJ came home to remove them. We removed our skirts and tops and went to bed. For a while neither of us moved afraid that any movement might cause the chains to rattle and disturb the other one. I realized this and we joked about it. After a very long embrace with a lot of tongue we relaxed in each other's arms and fell asleep.

Due to our predicament neither of us could shower then next morning so extra dabs of perfume were needed to make us sweet smelling. We dressed in the same clothes as yesterday and got down to business whilst we waited for TJ to return.

I called the owner of the Northampton Shoe Company. The owner was immediately very suspicious of us and defended her company. I think she was understandably very reticent to sell, as the business was the creation of her husband. I said that in my opinion the business would be insolvent before the year was out. I was willing to offer a good price for the business but she rejected me outright.

It was a pity but both Judy & I felt that plan B was needed. I got Judy to call the Factory and ask to speak to Jim. She told him of the outcome of the phone call and we suggested that we meet in three days time at the Auction to discuss things further. After a bit of prompting from me, Judy asked him to speak to Steve quietly about the possibility of the two of them coming to work for us. He said that he would. She also asked him to invite his wife to come along as well. He agreed to ask them both. He also said that he would contact the owner and apply a little subtle pressure by mentioning that he and Steve might just come and work for us if she didn't consider my offer a bit more seriously.

Judy & I spent the rest of the morning putting more detail into Plan B.

Just before lunch; TJ came home armed with plenty of purchases. The spring in her step from the day before was still there. So, was the smaller stride length? I could not determine if it was put on as a show for us or, if she was doing it more or less naturally.

She was very impressed that we had stayed hobbled all night.

"As you like it so much, you can stay like that until it is time for bed," She said jokingly. I looked at Judy and I could tell from the expression on her face that we would get our revenge later.

TJ started to show us some of her purchases. There was some beautiful dark green silk from China. I thought that is would look good on her after it was made into a dress. She had also purchased some delightful underwear. Then to our surprise she stripped off her top. There in her nipples were two rings.

"When these have healed you can both suck on one at the same time? Besides, one of the corsets Georgina is making for me is going to have attachments for these" she exclaimed.

"Have you got any more little surprises to show us?" I said looking at one unopened package.

"That is a little surprise for later. No peeking now or I will leave you like that even longer."

With that she picked up her packages and trooped upstairs. I looked in amazement at Judy.

"That is the TJ of old, impetuous and full of surprises. She seems to be as she was before she had that bad relationship. Well done Freddie". She gave me a long lingering kiss and I felt her hand touch the front plate of the chastity belt. I felt an erection building up so I slowly removed her hand. Life with these two was certainly getting interesting.

Over lunch TJ explained what she had done the previous day (apart from getting her nipples pierced that is). She had gone to see some of the other budding designers who were at college with her & Judy. It appeared that most of them are still looking for something to do. Many were unemployed. One was serving fast food at a Burger Emporium.

This had helped TJ feel good I am sure. She went on to say that one of her compatriots, a girl named Sandy had got a position in a Paris House otherwise, the employment prospects of the rest were pretty bleak.

"What did you say about what you & Judy were doing?" I enquired.

"I said that we were bumming about in the country with a rich dude who was going to bankroll us in the fashion business!" she smirked.

Before I could reply she said "Of course I didn't silly. Please give me the credit for some sense. I told them that we were unemployed but still looking for the right position. I did not want to stand out from the others. This is why I went dressed like this" she said pointing at the "Grungy" clothes that she still wore.

We all hugged each other, welcoming her back home.

That afternoon we explained what we had been doing the previous couple of days. While Judy cleaned up the lunch things, I went through the finances.

More that once TJ said, "Wow!" under her breath at the amounts of money that was available for use. I stressed to her much more sternly that I had to Judy that it was not to be squandered. I enforced a rule with her that any purchases over £500 had to be cleared with me first. I was sure that Judy understood the importance of money but TJ was far more impetuous and likely to make rash purchases. This was the spark that I had seen in her right from the beginning. It was part of her attraction to me.

After our discussions, TJ went upstairs to change. She came down dressed in one of my mother's afternoon dresses that dated from about 1960. It was a beautiful light grey taffeta. It had a full skirt, nipped waist and a halter neck top. Straight out of the 1950's 'New Look'. She had put on one of my shoulder length auburn wigs. Appropriate makeup (pale foundation, red lipstick, well defined eyes and accentuated eyebrow arches), seamed silk stockings and 4-inch court shoes in black leather completed the outfit. She was an absolute picture of beauty and innocence. A tear came to my eye as I remembered a picture of my mother on a holiday with my father before they married. He had this picture on his desk for years. I went into the study to look for it. I found it and hobbled back into the sitting room where the girls were engaged in talk about their friends from college.

I showed the picture first to Judy. She wept as well. TJ wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I showed her the picture as well. She cried to. The resemblance was striking. It took more that one glance to tell them apart. TJ put the picture in pride of place on the table. She then came over and hugged us. I wondered if this resemblance was one of the things that made me notice her in the first place. I am sure that some follower of Freud would be very interested in our reactions.

"I'm sorry Freddie. I will not dress like this ever again if it brings back unhappy memories like this," she said calmly. She went to remove the wig. I stopped her before she could succeed.

"Please don't do that. You are absolutely beautiful. The memories are not sad but happy. I had a wonderful relationship with my mother. Yes I see her but I see you here, now and beautiful beyond words. You can dress like this all the time if you want to." I said fighting back the tears.

I kissed her deeply. Then, not forgetting Judy I kissed her as well. Then TJ embraced Judy just to keep things even amongst us. We sat together each embroiled in our own thoughts until it was almost dark.

TJ eventually got up and undid a chain that was around her neck. On the chain were the keys to our hobbles. She released us with the instructions to go upstairs and get showered as we were beginning to smell a bit. Then we were to get dolled up like she was as she was going to treat us to dinner. Judy and I went upstairs arm in arm to obey her instructions. While we did the TJ rang a few places to try to book a table for us for that evening.

After showering, I found another of my mother's dresses from that period. This was a deep almost iridescent red silk. I chose a long blonde wig to go with it. I added similar accessories including matching silk gloves I was ready. Judy was wearing a dress that my mother had had made by Norman Hartnell for going on her honeymoon. It was blue crushed silk with matching shoes.

Dinner was at a small country hotel near Stratford-upon-Avon. The food was great and we all felt much better for being together once more especially after all the ogling we got all through dinner. I sat daydreaming over coffee. I was thinking how much I hated come to depend upon these two fantastic ladies over such a short time. A kick from TJ brought me back to reality.

"A penny for your thoughts?" asked TJ.

I took a deep breath and said, "I was thinking how much I love you both. I am very lucky person to have found such perfect soul mates" I gripped both their hands tightly. There was not a dry eye amongst us. I felt their other hands slide up my thighs.

Before things got embarrassing, I signalled for the waiter to bring us the bill. TJ protested but I waved her protestations away saying that, as I had never been happier that I would pay. I promised that next time she would indeed pay. I got Judy to support me in that promise. Judy went to repair her makeup from the tears before we left the hotel to go home.

On the journey home, TJ commented that we should really have a better car that the Ford. It did not look good for three beautiful ladies to arrive at places like that in a 10 year old Ford Escort. I agreed and I suggested that we take a trip to soon to look at getting something more appropriate for three beautiful & elegant ladies to travel in.

"But that's a man's job" said TJ mockingly.

I punched her gently on the arm.

 

When we got home, Judy reminded TJ that there was one package that we had not seen the contents of yet.

TJ smile and went to get the package.

She returned with a small package and opened it. Inside there were four rings. One obviously meant for a man. It was a plain gold band. She handed me saying that this was for when I was Mike. I looked at the inscription inside.

"M+TJ+J=1"

The other three rings were identical. The rings were a simple six stone diamond cluster on a plain gold band.

She handed one of the other rings to Judy. She looked at the inscription.

"TJ+F+J=1"

She slipped it onto my wedding ring finger.

TJ then took another ring and handed it to me. She then presented her left hand to me. I put the ring on her wedding ring finger. She took the final ring and placed it on Judy's wedding ring finger.

We all hugged and kissed for a long time. All thoughts that Judy & I had earlier of revenge had gone out of the door. We trooped off to bed arm in arm. There was not a lot of sleep had that night though.

It was a bleary eyed trio that assembled in the kitchen for Breakfast the following morning. After several cups of coffee I was awake enough to decide that today was going to be a day for doing not a lot. TJ said that she was going to do some work in the workroom and was not to be disturbed. The though crossed my mind that she might find a place to curl up and get some more sleep but I didn't really care if she did or not.

Judy decided to go into Banbury and get her hair done. I though that I should direct her elsewhere but thought better of it for now. It certainly did need cutting though. I gave her a list of groceries that we needed. The smile on her face when she saw the size of the list disappeared rapidly. She hated supermarkets. She tossed the list back at me and said, "Why don't you order this lot online and get it delivered"

"None of the supermarkets can ever find us here. Believe me I have tried" I replied. I thought for a second and then said "I will order it and you can collect it on you way home. How does that sound?"

"Ok! She replied, the smile back on her face.

I went into the study and after placing the shopping order I went surfing for some help with a few ideas that had come to mind in the preceding days.

I fixed up some lunch and took it to TJ. I knocked at the door to the workroom.

At first there was silence. After a minute, I knocked again.

"Go away" came the order.

"I will leave it outside for you to get when you are ready" I offered.

"Ok. Do that and leave me alone!" she commanded.

Perhaps she was doing some work after all but somehow I doubted it.

In mid afternoon, Judy arrived back with her new hairdo. I ran to greet her. She had had her hair dyed and cut into the same style that my mother used to have. It made her look much more adult and business like. She was not going to be outdone by TJ that was for sure. I kissed and hugged her tightly. I was very happy.

"I'm glad you like it. I lay in bed for a long time last night deliberating if I should do this or not and wondering how you would react. I decided to give it a go. If you didn't like it I was prepared to cut the whole lot off. I love you so much" she said as we held each other.

TJ came out of the workroom and smiled at Judy when she saw her new hairstyle.

"I wondered if you would do that!" she said as she came and joined the hug.

We unloaded the car and carried the groceries inside. Judy refused to do and putting away. She explained that she did not want to risk damaging her nails. She held up her bright red talons. She had long extensions put on. They were very nice but I wondered how long they would last.

"I know what you are thinking Freddie. I know they will not last very long but they seem to go well with the hair and everything else. That's my excuse anyway." She remarked.

I looked at TJ and winked. She smiled back knowing that Judy had just got carried away. Neither of us minded in the least.

I kissed her again being careful to avoid getting scratched by her lethal weapons that she now carried.

We had a quiet evening together. My thoughts were on the plans for the following day and our meeting with Jim and his 'wife' at the auction in Northampton.

I was feeling a bit nervous the next day as Judy & I travelled to the Auctioneers in Northampton the next morning. I had agreed to meet Jim and his wife in the viewing period prior to the auction starting.

We were looking at some of the tools that were for sale. The prices were at almost giveaway levels. Jim came and introduced his wife, Rosalind. Judy went off with Rosalind while Jim and I looked over the things that were up for auction. He mentioned that one of the reasons that we had failed in our bid to get the owner interested in selling was that the manager was the owner's brother. This was something he had not realized until the previous day when the owner had visited the factory for the first time in nearly a year. The row that had ensued between the brother & sister was audible all over the place. He said that our inquiry had it seemed hit a nerve. I was sure that he was leading up to something.

He was. He indicated a tall elegant lady standing near the auctioneer's desk.

"That's the Owner. Mrs. Upton. Her first name is Sally. I told us we would be here today and if she had reconsidered our offer then she should come and meet us here."

We went over and he introduced us. I nodded to Judy to join us. Jim went off to look at things with his wife while we talked business.

"I want to thank you for warning me about the state of the business and I am sorry for dismissing you so abruptly the other day" she said in a very conciliatory manner.

"I think we could do business after all. That rotten brother of mine was keeping the state of things from me. I have fired him" she continued, "Jim is an old and valued employee. He was the first person my husband took on when he setup the business over 10 years ago so I value his opinion. He says that you want to change things a lot. I would like to do it but I cannot afford the time it would take to fully justify the investment it would take. Jim feels that you could do the job. I don't know his reasons for saying that but I do value his opinion."

She handed me a piece of paper. On it was written a figure.

"That is the figure I have in mind. The company has a very small amount of debtors and we owe in total less that two thousand pounds. My late husband always insisted that the business was run that way. What do you think of my asking price?"

I showed the figure to Judy. My heart skipped a few beats. It was right at the very top of our estimates. I could see from Judy's demeanour that I should try to get it lowered a bit.

"If you take 10% off we have a deal Mrs., Upton" I offered.

She thought for a few seconds and then stuck out her hand.

"Please call me Sally. Yes we have a deal," she said as she smiled for the first time.

Jim had been watching us. He could tell straight away that we had agreed a deal. He came over to congratulate us. I left Judy to go with Sally to her solicitors to draw up the papers.

We had a few minutes before the auction was to start. Jim handed me a piece of paper with some lot numbers and a price. He said that these items would help us in what we were going to do and that was the maximum price I should go to in the auction.

He proved an excellent judge of price. I only had to exceed his estimate once but as I had got many of the other things for a lot less I was excused. After the auction had finished and all the business with the Auctioneer had been settled I managed to get to speak to his wife for the first time. Her name was Rosalind and had been with Jim since they met in 1985. She invited me to come to their house for lunch. I agreed after phoning Judy to let her know what we were doing. She was having lunch with Sally so things fitted in ok.

Rosalind was very impressed with my role as a woman. She was very convincing as well. I knew I was on safe ground with her and Jim. One of my biggest fears is being exposed but I certainly felt safe with them. Over lunch she explained how she and Jim had met. She went to the Reading Pop Festival as a woman for the first time and her tent ended up being pitched next to Jim's. It rained incessantly that weekend and her tent leaked. So Jim, ever the Gentleman offered her a space in his tent. Naturally, one thing led to another. She showed me a picture of her at that time. She was a very striking lady. They had been together ever since. She explained that they went to Mexico where she changed her name and they got married. There was no problem with them being treated as man and wife except for his family who had ostracized them for years. However they slowly came round to the way things were so she was now accepted. She had gone the whole way some years ago and had a full sex change. I could tell that they were both very happy. It gave me confidence to consider doing the same for the first time ever.

She went on so say how excited Jim was with the possibilities for the business we had discussed. She had not seen him so happy for years. I was pleased with that.

About 3:00 pm, Judy phoned to say the papers were all ready for my signature. I arranged for Jim to handle the transport of our purchases to the factory the following week. I appointed him temporary manager. He said once more that he didn't want to be a manager. I explained that we needed someone we could trust and that I expected him to handle the day-to-day running of the factory. Judy and I would handle the major things.

He appeared relieved at this so we shook hands and I left to meet with Judy.

I read the purchase document carefully along with Judy. There were only a few minor changes that Sally agreed to without delay. With the documents signed I wrote a cheque for the agreed sale price, Judy and I went home the proud owners of a shoe manufacturing business.

TJ insisted that we reveal all. She was slightly shocked by the amount I had spent during that day but I said that I felt sure that it would be worth it in the long run. TJ was still being mysterious about what she was doing but it appeared that she was doing some real designing at last.

I slept like a log for the first time in weeks that night. Things were coming together not quite as I had originally envisaged but progress was being made.

Continued in Part 9

  

  

  

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