Soul Mated free porn video

*Letters * mean they're stressed. LetTers mean their tone of voice is raised. _Letters _ mean they're accented but not stressed. Members.home.net/dow75stories Soul Mated 01) A Life for a Life --But This Isn't the Kind of Life I Want!! By Ron Dow75 [email protected] . The bathroom was hazy from the steam from the Jacuzzi and the aromatherapy candles. . A longhaired brunet has her head resting back, letting the jets and the bubble bath ease her stress. . "AAAAA!!! I Am a girl!!!" she suddenly screams in panic, one leg and both arms out of the bath. . "This is *Not *all a nightmare!!" he cried, reaching for those things bouncing around on his (or whoever's) chest. . 'Watch it with the hands!' a voice said. - - - His new boobs down in the water, he-r hands up on the rim of the tub, Taylor looked to see who was in the bathroom with him and his girl body. . "Who's there?! Who's looking at me!?" . 'I thought boys were suppose to be less self-conscious about their bodies?' the haze said. . "This is Not *my *body! What did you do with my body?!!" he hit the rim with he-r small fists. . 'What I want to know is what you're going to do with *my *body!' a naked girl formed out of the haze. - - - Taylor grasped the rim of the Jacuzzi tightly, "What do you mean, _your _body?" . 'Just that!' the transparent girl said, stopping to stand over him. 'This was MY body before you moved in.' . "Oh, hoh-ow!" he dropped he-r head against the rim of the Jacuzzi. "Not again. And a girl, this time, too...!" - - - 'I take it you've done this before?' she said, placing her ghost hands on her ghost hips. . "Only once in a while; it's something I don't really like doing. I got it from Grandma'am, I guess." He was surrounding he-r face with he-r arm. . 'I take it you have some sort of psi power, too?' . "Too?!" he cried, snapping he-r head up to look at her. - - 'I got ESP from my dad's side of the family,' the girl ghost said, sitting down on the rim of the Jacuzzi. . Taylor felt very uncomfortable, as if she was really there to look at his (that is her--That is *her *!--naked body). " ' From my mother's side." . 'Then that explains everything. Thanks by the way: For saving my life.' . Taylor looked down at the body he was in. "Yeah. I guess I should thank you too. ' For saving my life." - - - The girl ghost looked up, trying to remember what she'd rather forget. 'I was crossing West Street bridge, on my way back home. I stopped to look at how high the flood was making the river.' . Taylor still had his arm on the rim, but his other one was hanging down towards the floor. "I was following you." . 'Following me?!' the ghost looked down at him. . "You were the new girl in school. I wanted to see if I could be the first one to get a date with you," he confessed, mumbling. - - - 'Since you save my life, I guess I should be flattered you were stalking me,' the girl ghost seemed as embarrassed as the boy in her body in the tub, her hands were on her closed knees. . "I wasn't stalking, I was...Aw, never mind. It doesn't matter, now," Taylor said, hitting the rim with one fist, and using his other hand to lift himself up against the rim. . He-r breasts were up out of the water, exposed, now. . He fell backwards in the Jacuzzi (knees up and together), covering he- r breasts. . She smiled, visibly relaxing more. - - - 'I got hit by something,' the girl ghost said. Her hands were holding her knees. . "I saw the surge come, and push you over the railing, into the river," cornered in the Jacuzzi, the more naked (or so he thought) Taylor told her. . 'You actually jumped into the river to save me,' the girl's smile became sweeter. She turned her ghost body more in his direction, one hand now on the tub's rim. . "I obviously wasn't thinking," he grumbled. - - - 'You lost your life, saving mine,' the girl ghost said. One ghost thigh was now up on the rim. . "Unh-uh! Until I see my body dead in a casket, I refuse to believe I'm dead!" . 'Which is why you're in _my _body,' she said, bowing her head. 'By the way, my name's Nicole. Nicole Getty.' . "Uh... Taylor Estes. You're taking all of this awfully calm," he asked, confused. . 'Why not? I would be dead, if it wasn't for you.' . "And *I'd *be alive." - - - "Now what? I took possession of your body with my power. You want it back now?" . 'No,' her still bowed head shook. 'The last thing I remember before I passed out was seeing my rescuer being swept away by the river. I wished then it there was something I could do to rescue *you *.' . "So... What you're saying is...." . 'Yes. I guess I gave you permission to use my body,' she said, looking straight at him. 'A life for a life.' - - - "I can't stay you all of my life! And, and..." he began to mumble, "I don't want you to have to be like you are now." . 'As long as we still have our powers, there's hope,' she said. . "Yeah! They got us into this mess, maybe..." Taylor sat up. Then, he wasn't, "Right: Maybe they'll just get us in a bigger mess," he said. . 'You don't sound like the optimistic type.' . "Not with the luck I've always had with my power. ' Bad news all the way." - - - 'Well, why not get dressed, and we'll talk about it,' Nicole said, standing up. . "I'm not getting out while you're here," Taylor said, frowning and covering even more of the body he was in up. . 'It's *my *body.' . "Yeah; I know it's *your *body, and I know what it *looks *like." (The girl covered her ghost body for the first time.) "But it's *me *inside. . "I have to get use to it myself, before I can get use to other people seeing me in it." - - - 'You know, people won't be seeing *you *in me,' Nicole said, smiling, as she turned her back. . "That's another problem," Taylor said, eyes on her ghost back, as he carefully reached for the towel. . 'What does that mean? Because if you're going to ruin my reputation before I even have a one in this city, I may have to take back my body,' she half turned back towards him. . "Here we go. Whatever happened to "a life for a life"?!" he snatched the towel. - - - 'If, I mean, When you get *your *life back, I'd like to have a life left that I can live with.' . Taylor, trying to towel he-r body, was being grossed out, "Aarggh! This is *Not *how I wanted to touch a girl!!" . 'Let me do it, then!' she said, walking over to him. . "Stay away!!" he yelled, backing away. . He slipped. And fell into the water. . The ghost dived in after him. - - - The splashing about eased as Taylor, the guy ghost, surfaced. He got his elbows over the rim. "You *knew *you could do that!" . Nicole, back in her own body, came up for air. 'I (Huhh!) didn't! But I (Ah-huhh!) knew I, uh, didn't have anything to lose.' . "Right. I'm going to believe that," Taylor said, putting his leg over the rim. . 'I wish you'd get over this attitude you have,' Nicole said, sitting up in the tub. 'We're just going to have to learn how to share my body.' . "Yes. 'Thank you' for letting me borrow *your *body!" the naked ghost got out of the tub. "Seeing as I don't have one of my own." - - - 'It *is *my body. But, like I said to you, I don't fully own it. I gave it to you to save your life, because you saved mine. We have to share it until we can get you another body.' . "Well," he grumbled. "Give me time to adjust, I guess. It's not like I ever *wanted *to be a girl," he said, turning. . 'Turn around. Don't look!' she motioned with the hand she wasn't covering herself with. . "*That *makes no sense! I was just *in *it!" - - - 'But you're not *in *it now. Leave so I can dry off and put something on,' the hand was extended now. . "Are you saying you're kicking me out, and making me stay out here, now?!" Taylor was resting his weight on his forward leg, and leaning out to challenge her. . 'What I'm *saying *is that what's okay for someone to do with the...uh, body they're in, *isn't *okay for 'outsiders' to see!' . "Oh." Taylor straightened up. "I think I understand that." * * * Taylor went through the bathroom door, and found his ghost self out in the hallway. And just around the corner were two women talking. . "She's in there talking like there's somebody else in there talking with her!" a woman was saying. . "Nicole's just had a trauma! I would have taken her to the emergency, but the radio was telling us not to unless it was a real emergency!" . "Well, Sis, you've got a real emergency now." . Taylor looked at his hand. Automatically, he had reached for the robe that had been hanging on the other side of the bathroom door. And had brought it out with him. . He didn't question how it could have a ghost-form, he just put it on. - - - "Listen, Irene, I don't want to take my daughter to any more shrinks than I have to. You know what happened when I allowed them to test her for ESP." The woman with large round glasses had a towel wrapped around her head and was in a royal blue velour robe. . "That's another reason you *should *take her, Margot. She's more than just *naturally *weird." Irene was had shoulder-length blond hair. She was wearing a light green halter, shorts with attached suspenders, pantyhose and sandals. . "Part of the reason I moved here with you, Irene, is to get Nicole away from talk like that. Now, if you want me to take my share of the expenses and find somewhere else to live--" . "Okay! Okay! Can't you let a sister act like a sister once in a while!" Irene said, throwing up her hands. - - - "So, this is my new family," Taylor said from the where the wall divided the hall to the bedrooms from the rest of the house. . "Mommy! Mommy! Yvonne pulled the head off of Barbie again!" a little girl yelled scurrying around the corner, and through Taylor. She wore a _Tweeter bird _tee shirt and jeans; a hair band was in her short dark blond hair. . "That was still my Barbie, Mom! Julienne had no business touching it without paying me a penny!" an older, but still young girl yelled back. . "Oh, great," Taylor said. "A house full of girls.... Isn't there any guys around?!" - - - "Where's Bobby?" Irene asked the little girl, Julienne. . "He threw all of our animals around, then went into your room," Julienne reported. . "Oh-oh! And you didn't tell me!" Irene said, hurrying for the hallway to the bedrooms. . "I *told *you somebody had to watch him!" the mother said, passing through Taylor. . "You didn't tell *me *I had to watch him!" Julienne said, following behind. . "The guy sounds a little young. But, at least he's a guy," Taylor said, tagging along. - - - "Bobby! What do you think you're doing?!" Taylor heard. . When he got to the doorway, he saw a room with one normal bed, and one bed that had a smaller bed over it (it wasn't quite a bunk bed, he decided). The mess (mostly, but not all, kid's things) was mainly around the two-bed bed, and around the walk-in closet near the door to its door to the bathroom. And in the middle of the mess was a very little kid grinning up at his mother; he was holding a marking pen. It was pink. "Writing!" . "I see you were writing! But none of this is paper!" . "Yvonne's underpants!" . "What?? What about Yvonne's underpants?!" . "See?!" Yvonne's voice cried out again (still in her bedroom). "That's what you get for shipping us off to camp! I can never wear them to gym, you know!" - - - Taylor groaned. "They sound worse than my brother and sister." . He turned around, and headed back to down the hall. "I think I'm actually starting to miss Jayson and Kaylynne." . The master bedroom was by the large bathroom. The door across the hall was open; it was obviously a room for young girls (light purple walls with pink cloud-like animals and some white stars??). The door next down the hall had to be Nicole's. . "Who let Bobby get a hold of my acrylics?!" came a frustrated mother's cry. - - - Inside was a girl's room! The lower half f the wall was baby blue; the upper was white wallpaper with little pink hearts, little yellow stars, and little yellow comets with pink tails; and the ceiling was purple. Near the door, in front of the picture framed mirror, there was a combination lamp stand (indirect lighting), coat rack (all of the pegs were had a coat or a sweater), and umbrella stand (there four different kinds!); and, on the wall beside the door were pegs for the hats and helmets she had. Beyond that and the posters on the wall, and a white frilly ottoman, was a computer desk (A blue serape patterned cloth hung from it holding text books.) The desk almost blocked the built-in bench under the first dormer window (with blue with white drapes). There was a bookcase that filled the wall between the two dormers; there were all sorts of things on the shelves besides just books (but nothing too wide). There were more shelves (with collector dolls) over the head of the four-poster bed (with a back rest on the left half) with a blue with white canopy draped around the top. A hope chest was at its foot. A side table and a magazine stand were on its left. On its right was a vanity full of little drawers as well as some make up and perfume that had been left out. Behind it, along more than half the wall, was a large closet with sliding doors. There was a blackboard and bulletin board on the topmost. And, finally, in the only large piece of floor space, that between the hope chest and the computer desk, there was a tumbling mat. Stuffed animals were scattered all about. . "Ugh! It even smells like a girl in here." . Behind the door was a full-length mirror. "That's three mirrors, not counting the ones in her compacts; just how vain is this girl I'm stuck with?" . On the wall immediately behind the door were framed magazine covers. He was looking for something else to keep him busy while he waited, when-- . Taylor did a double take. Those covers: They *all * had *her *on them. She was dressed in mainly dresses, but also some pants with cute things on them. "She's a model??!" he groaned. "This just keeps getting worse!" . It was only then that he noticed that the covers all had the same title: *_ Girl Whirl *_, the Catalogue that Celebrates the Girl in All of Us. . "I gotta get out of here!" - - - Taylor left through the door, went around the corner and around to the front door. Outside, a balcony-porch ran almost completely around the house, with only the left-hand corner without one. He was at the end of it, in the middle of the front section. Immediately he knew what kind of house this was. This was one of those old English-style places where the main floor was on the second floor; the first had originally been for servants and horses (now a garage). It was a way to let a breeze in before air conditioners; it was also a way to keep the valuable things dry in a flood. . Judging the river was behind the house (it was), he headed for Coogan's Hill, and his home. . "I may just be a ghost now, but at least I'm a guy ghost. I don't have to put up with any girl stuff. Staying a guy means I'll keep remembering who I am. With no body, I'll want to get my own sooner. Yeah. That's right. I..." . Taylor was fading. - - - 'Are you awake?' It was that girl's voice. Nicole. . Not opening his eyes, Taylor groaned, "I'm a girl again, aren't I?" . 'I'm afraid so. Welcome back to my body.' . "Why am I laying on your boobs? And how can you girls stand to?" . 'We learn. Of course, we don't have to have a crash course like you.' . "First question again, why am I laying on your boobs?" . 'You crashed.' - - - Taylor at last opened he-r eyes. He was lying on the mat on the floor. . 'I barely got in here in time.' Nicole was wearing the ghost bathrobe now, and was sitting on the floor with her knees up, holding her ankles with her hands. 'Mom was waiting for me to come out of the bathroom, and I had to make some lame excuse. It's not going to hold her off for long.' . Taylor started to roll over; the feel of a boob being pressed between he-r body and the floor changed his mind. "Ahw! Why don't you take it?" . 'I don't think I can. You feel?'stuck'. When I shoved you out in the Jacuzzi, you _gave _.' . Taylor pushed himself up enough to get one of those wide hips under him. "I thought there was no limit to astral projection." . 'Is that what your psi power is?' - - - "Yeah. I've always been able to leave my body. They're sort of like dreams to me." he said, sitting up. "But ever since I learn the string to your own body could break, I never did like doing it." . 'I can understand that,' she said, putting her chin on her ghost knees. 'My psi power is called empathy.' . " ' Not mind reading?" . 'It's not that specific,' she shook her head. She looked at him, 'But it's stronger, you know? It's like I can grasp the whole mind at once, and know what you're like.' . "That's how you're able to keep my astral body together and connected to your body," Taylor looked away. . 'It's how I know I like you,' she smiled at him. - - - "Are, are you saying you trust me with your body?" Taylor asked, looking back at the ghost sitting next to him. . 'Yes,' she thought about it for a moment. 'I guess I do.' . "That's not something a guy likes to hear," Taylor grumbled. "It sort of challenges his manhood. . "And I have enough problems keeping what manhood I do have," he said, looking down at he-r body. - - - 'This is the way I see it: I'm going to let a man have my body sooner or later. Why not let that man be the one who was man enough to save my life.' . Taylor shuddered, getting the willies. "Brr! The way you said it." . She smiled. 'It's a very traditional way to look at it, I guess. But it helps me cope with the situation. It's a girl thing.' . Taylor rubbed he-r upper arms, "That's what I mean: Brr!" - - - Knock. Knock. "Nicole? Can we talk now?" her mother said through the door. "I'd like to ease some of my worries about you." . 'Okay, Ma-- Oops!' Nicole said. 'I guess that's your cue.' . "Oh, alright," Taylor said. He used the hope chest to help himself get to he-r feet, "You can come in, I guess." . The door opened, and in came the woman with the big round glasses, still in her royal blue bathrobe and the towel wrapped around her head, "Nicole, before you say anything, tell me if you're having delusions?!" - - - "Delusions?" Taylor looked to the Nicole ghost for some clue on what he should say. "You mean like seeing an invisible..., uh, friend?" . Nicole smiled at that. . "Oh, my word. You are delusional," Nicole mother's said, reaching out for support, only to knock over some of the hats hanging on the wall beside the door. . 'Tell her, "Do you remember Anastia?" ' . "Anastia??" . "Anastia!? Is she back?!" her mom said, propping herself up with a now free peg. - - - "Uh...Yeah. I mean: No! I don't want to be any Anastia!" Taylor told them both. . '*I'm *Anastia! I'm the invisible friend,' Nicole told him. . "Only part of the time, the rest of the time, it's going to be me," Taylor told *her *. . "Being a girl all the time might be alright with you, but not me!" . "Oh, My Dear! It's worse than I feared!" Nicole's mother started to cry. - - - 'Look what you did!' Nicole said, hitting him. . Taylor was only jarred, for a second, out of her body. "Listen. It's, it's like split personality. Okay? . "Nicole is right here beside me. She can hear everything we say, uh, Mrs. Getty. She'll talk with you as soon as she can. She'll let you know everything's alright." . "Mrs. Getty?" the woman asked. "What happened to "Mom"?" - - - "I can't tell you my name, but, uh?" . 'It's Bud!' Nicole said to him. . "Okay, if you want to call me 'Bud'," Taylor grumbled again. . Then, "Why Bud?" . 'It's short for Buddy. We're going to have to be ones, aren't we?' . "Bud, then. Mrs. Getty, my name is Buddy." . "Buh, Buddy?" Mrs. Getty repeated in her daze. . Nicole smiled her revenge, 'It's also short for "Bosom Buddy", and somebody "about to blossom into girlhood"!' . "Hey!" Taylor said. - - - "I'm having serious second thoughts about that psychiatrist," Nicole's mother told her. . 'Tell Mom it would be bad publicity,' Nicole told Taylor. . "Uh, a psychiatrist would be bad publicity(?)," Taylor repeated. . "Your health is more important than any else. Why do you think we moved here?!" the woman tried to reach her daughter. . 'Because news about my power would be bad for business,' Nicole told Taylor again, waving her ghost hand to tell him to tell her mom. . "Why would news about you be bad for business?" Taylor asked Nicole. . 'Who do you think is the centerpiece of her catalogue business?' - - - "Your mom runs that _Girl Whirl _?!" Taylor asked, surprised. . "Your delusion is so real, you beginning to have me believing you think you're not my little girl!" Nicole's mother said. . *Tell *her: Where is she going to get the money for the shrink, if she loses the business?!' . "You guys actually live off of that too cute catalogue?" Taylor said. . 'This is hopeless! What's it going to be like when you have to pretend you're me for the other kids!' - - - "I'm going to make some discrete inquiries, Nicole," her mother told her. "As long as you don't give me a reason I shouldn't get some medication, I won't." . "What??" Taylor asked, confused at the woman's response. . 'Mom's a businesswoman,' Nicole smiled. 'She knows she has to find another way to make money, first.' . "So...that means?" . 'As long as you don't do anything *very *stupid, she's going to let you be stupid, for a while.' - - - "Oh. Okay, Mrs. Getty. You call me, uh, er, 'Buddy', when I'm not Nicole, and I'll try not to do anything too stupid." . "Uh, and how am I going to know when you're not Nicole?" . "Gee! I haven't thought of everything yet. How do we let her know?" Taylor asked Nicole. . 'I don't know... How about if I wear a hair clip on my right side? Or a pin. Or--' . "No clips! No pins! No jewelry! I didn't even wear an earring in my ear!" . "Is that your answer??" Mrs. Getty asked. "When you're not wearing jewelry, you're, uh, this "Buddy"?" . "That's okay by me," Taylor said. - - - "This has been a trying day," her mother said. "Get dressed, and come down to dinner." . "Dress?" Taylor said. "I have to wear...those kind of clothes?" . "You don't expect to go around in just a robe, do you? That would be crazy." . "Crazy," Taylor said, pulling the lapels of the robe closer together. "I suppose there is a limit." . Nicole's mother nodded, "And I'm just about at it." - - - Nicole's mom closed the door on her way out. . " ' You can't take my place?" Taylor asked Nicole. . Nicole pushed; Taylor's ghost separated from her body only from the shoulders up. . 'If we wait a while. But it's about dinner time right now.' . "I don't want to wear a girl's body: Wearing girl's clothes--" . '--Is what girl's bodies do. Listen, getting dressed does not mean wearing a dress.' . "Right! Girls can look like guys!" - - - 'That's right,' Nicole smiled impishly. 'Girls can look like guys. . 'It's *guys *who can't look like girls!' . "That's not funny!" Taylor told her, frowning again. . 'Guys in girls' clothes always look funny-odd, that's why it's a classic funny-ha-ha,' Nicole said. . "Then I'm*not *funny!" . 'See? There's nothing wrong with you wearing my clothes when you're in my body.' - - - "You're not helping," Taylor said, going over to her closet. *I *still know I'm a guy. And if *I *want to get back to being a guy, *I *can't let myself forget that." . 'You're right, I guess,' Nicole said, walking casually behind him, her hands together on her butt. . "There's no guessing about it!" Taylor said, opening the sliding doors. "You're worried about what things'll be like when there's just you in you. What about me?" He'd closed the door on a chest of drawers, and now he realized he had. "If I ever become a guy again, what will *my *life be like, if I act like a girl?!" He'd reopened the door. . 'This is more complicated than a marriage, isn't it?' Nicole said, standing behind him. . "Marriage?!" Taylor stopped, the first drawer open. - - - "Where did "marriage" come from?!" Taylor asked, looking at her. . She smiled, 'Another tradition girl attitude. I'm discovering I have a lot of them. There are blouses and shirts in the second drawer.' . Taylor moved his hands down, but didn't take his eyes off of her. "Are you trying to pretend we're married?!" . 'Yes. It will make things easier, won't it?' . "Not for me. It is not a guy thing to go around talking about what it would be like to be married! " . 'It isn't? Me and my friends back home used to do it all the time.' .- - - "Brr!" Taylor said, getting that chill again. "Is that what I have to look forward to?" . 'You can be like those girls who are against marriage. Traditional marriages, anyway.' . "Good! As long as I get a chance to vote," Taylor said, looking inside the drawer he'd opened. He quickly found a tee shirt. . 'And I vote we're married,' Nicole chuckled. - - - Taylor took out the tee shirt; on it was a big pink canary called _Rock Bird _singing into a hand mike. . He tossed *that *back into the drawer. "You can't have a marriage until *both *say "I do". And I haven't!" . 'The aquamarine one,' Nicole suggested, looking over he-r shoulder. 'Traditionally, the man always says that. It's the job of the girl to convince him he'd be happier being married.' . "I'm not going to be convinced I'm happier," Taylor held up the tee shirt. "This is not a color a guy would wear," he groused. Actually he did have one similar; but he was finding himself getting more opinionated. . 'That's okay,' Nicole said, putting her ghost hands on he-r shoulder. 'We going to have plenty of time together: You'll change your mind.' - - - Taylor pulled the tee shirt over he-r head, "I've changed my mind from my real body into this one. The only mind-changing I'm going to do next is when I find a guy body to live in." He brought one arm out of the robe's sleeve and pushed it into the shirt. . 'You know it's true about marriage. All the studies say married men are happier.' . Taylor pushed the arm through into the sleeve hole. " 'Happier' than what?" . 'Than women,' Nicole shrugged. . Taylor got his arm though the hole, and the sleeve, "It proves how stupid women are. If they're not happier married, why do they want to be?!" . 'That's what my non-traditional friends used to say,' Nicole sighed. - - - "I'm glad I'm going to have company," Taylor said, helping the other arm he'd taken out of the robe into the other sleeve hole. "I'd hate to be the only smart one around." . 'But I know I can make this marriage work!' Nicole brightened. 'I know your soul. My powers let me hold it to me. I can feel it. We're going to be together for eternity....' . "Eternity!" Taylor yelped, getting his arm hung up in the shirt. . 'Yes,' Nicole smiled dreamily. 'Married couples have to die to before they can be as intimately close as we are now.' . "We, we...*did *die," Taylor said, very, very pale. - - - "I'm *not *married!" Taylor declared, forcing he-r arm through the sleeve. "I'm too *young *to be married! You have to get your folks permission! My dad would *Never *give me permission!" . 'He'd rather you just live _in _some strange girl?' Nicole smiled, looking down at he-r exposed breasts. . Taylor looked at where she was looking: He shoved the tee shirt down. - - - "My dad would go ballistic if he knew where I was now. --This thing is _too _tight!! Look, not only does it grab at them, it shows the nipples!" . 'Sorry, if you don't want to be grabbed, you're going to have to wear something with cups.' . "No!" . 'How about a blouse?' She said, reaching in and pulling one out. . "Well..." he thought about it. " ' You got one that looks more like a shirt?" . She didn't answer: She was too busy looking at the ghost blouse in her hand. 'So that's where this robe came from.' * * * Ghost Nicole had put on one of her bras and panties, and was getting into a skirt. 'I'd put on some underwear. I'm going to do it anyway, when I have my body back.' . "No way! It's bad enough I have to wear a blouse and girl jeans!" Taylor said, pulling up the tight jeans. "I'm *not *going to go any further than I have to! This guy ghost will *fight *you if I have to! . "In fact!" he said, finding the snap (it was on the wrong side), "I'm going to go to my house as soon as I can, and we're going to get my clothes!" He snapped and zipped. . 'And how are we going to do that?' Nicole said, finishing up buttoning her blouse, and wishing she could look at herself in a mirror. . Taylor bent over for the sneakers he'd brought out of the closet, "Ghosts can go where--EEER!" he yelped, straightening up, pulling at the pants. . 'I *to-old *you you should wear underwear.' - - - "It's not that bad," Taylor said, he-r girl voice a little higher than usual. "I was just surprised. I can get use to it," he was still pulling at the jeans. . 'Unh, hunh,' Nicole gently shook her head. 'The irritation is just going to cause more dampness. Not to mention the leakage.' . "Girls leak?" Taylor said. . 'What do you think is the major anatomical difference between female and male? That's why we have to wear panty liners.' . " "Panty liners"?? Wearing panties isn't enough?... There's also "panty liners"?!" Taylor said, standing there in horror. . 'Later, when you're ready for it, I'll explain about the, er, other things in the woman's section of a store.' . " "Section"?" * * * 'Honestly! Only a guy would do something like that to avoid wearing underwear,' Nicole said, following him out of her room. . "It works. Solving a problem. That's what guys do," Taylor frowned. "I solve *two *problems this way." . 'And I'm sure it'll cause more problems. That's what guys do,' Nicole gently chided. . "More problems are more problems to solve." . 'Why don't you just give up and wear lingerie?' . "Never!" - - - Taylor found that he was around the hall corner, looking out into the one long room that ran from glass door to the deck outside to the dining room, with the kitchen on one side of the hallway, to the living room, and the stairs downstairs, with the front door on the other side of the hall. . He found himself looking over the stair railing at the little girl from before, because she was looking straight at him, instead of the TV. . "Mommy! Why is Nicole talking to herself?" Julienne asked. . "Ignore her, sweetie," her mother said leaning on the other side of the kitchen counter. The microwave whistled. "Your cousin was in an accident," she said, getting up. "It shook her up real bad." . "You mean it loosened her brain?" - - - Using the potholder, the blond woman took out their dinners, "Be nice, honey. You'll understand when you're older. Maybe." . (The little boy climbed up on the couch from the floor.) . "This is what you were talking about before she and Aunt Margot moved in," Julienne said, turning around on the couch. . Irene Duchamps looked at the girl she thought was Nicole. "No, Julienne. This is what they call a trauma. This has nothing to do with her 'special problem'." . Julienne became distracted because of Bobby's demand for attention from her. . 'She really isn't that bad,' Nicole said to Taylor. 'She just wishes she didn't have another kid around,' Nicole gestured: The large room was overflowing with paintings and collector plates. In between the pictures of wide-eyed kids that looked a lot like Julienne and Bobby (the brunette must be the one he hadn't seen yet, Yvonne), were wild abstracts. (There was something about the paintings (with bits of other materials mixed in) that Taylor couldn't put his finger on, just yet.) - - - "Set the table, Julienne," her mother told the girl. . "I'm watching TV. It's Yvonne's turn." (Bobby was back on the floor in front of the TV, playing with some car-plane he'd made out of Legos.) . "Yvonne?!" her mother called out. . "It is not!!" - - - "Yvonne! Come out! It's dinnertime!" . "It is not!!" . "I say it is! Come out of that room!!" . "It is not!!" . 'I really didn't think she was listening to anybody else,' Nicole said. - - - The ghost Nicole nudged Taylor, 'Offer to set the table.' . " ' You sure? She already thinks you're strange," Taylor said in a low voice. . 'Doesn't your family sit down and eat together?' . "What century are you from?" . 'Pre-television 20th Century,' Nicole sighed. 'Haven't you figured that out, yet?' - - - "Yvonne!!" . "I'm on a diet!!" . "Can I have her supper?!" Julienne asked. "I'm not on a diet!" (Bobby was now playing with one of her sneakers.) . "Your diet is what I allow you to eat!" her mother told her. . "Gee!" she kicked the coffee table with the sneaker she had on. " 'Bad enough the kids know I can't share my junk with them. You don't give me any junk. Not even the money for junk." . "Will you hold off sounding like your sister for a little bit longer?!" - - - "See, Julienne? Nicole knows how to help out," the blond woman said. . "Me?! I, uh, was just getting the utensils for--" Taylor said. . "Your mother raised you right, I'll say that for my sister," the other mother said, opening up the microwave dinners. "You know how to be a help around the house. Your mother doesn't have to worry about things getting done..." . Taylor looked at Nicole, accusingly. . 'I'm sorry, but I *like *being a girl girl,' Nicole said with a "so sue me" gesture. * * * Taylor grumbled as he put the things on the table, while Nicole told him, 'The forks go on the right, knife and spoon on--No: *First *the knife...' . "Julienne!" her mother called, practically in Taylor's ear as she set down the first two plates with the dinners on them. "Go get your Aunt!" . "Do I have to? She's all the way down stairs!" the little girl said, pretending to be mesmerized by the TV. . "I'll get her," Taylor volunteered, handing the woman the utensils left in he-r hand. . "But, but --Julienne!! Get over here!!" (The girl had grabbed her little brother, and had decided to start 'playing' with him.) - - - Taylor headed for the front door, but took the stairs to he-r right of it. He stopped at the landing. . 'Girls do *not *go around holding their boobs!' Nicole told him, slapping at he-r hands. . "But they," he said before looking back up the stairs, and lowering he- r voice, "They bounce!" . 'Don't tell me you hadn't noticed that?' Nicole asked. . "Of course I have! And I liked it: When it wasn't me doing it!" - - - "Everything moves!" Taylor said, demonstrating with a hand on he-r butt. "Everything bounces, jiggles, wiggles, and slides about!" . 'And that's while I'm young and firm.' . "What??" . 'You're just going to have to learn to move like a girl.' . " ' Girl this, girl that," Taylor grumbled, putting he-r back against the wall and easing on down the stairs. " ' Didn't know just being a girl meant you had to *be *a girl...." - - - Still having an arm around he-r bust, Taylor at last set the ball of he-r foot down at the bottom of the stairs. . 'Mom'll be in the office. It's the door on the right,' Nicole said from behind Taylor. . 'What are you doing?' she asked, seeing him turn left. . "What's in here?" he asked, going for the door on that side. . 'It was a garage. Now it's Aunt Irene's art studio.' . "It's locked." . 'You don't have any little kids running around at your house, do you,' Nicole said. - - - "What's in this room," Taylor asked, looking in the open door near the office's door. . 'The what-not room: laundry, storage, the place where the kids can make a mess. Why do you want to know all of this?' . "I want to know where I, and you, can go to get away from everybody in this place!" Taylor told her. . 'You want to know how you can have some privacy?' . "Yes! Privacy. Some places I can be alone: Be myself!" . 'That's easy. // You just have to think like a woman.' . "That's *Why *I need the privacy!!" - - - "Nicole?!" her mother asked, opening the office door. . "Er: Hi! Sorry; it's still me. Buddy," Taylor raised he-r hand. . 'Ask her if she has any jewelry,' Nicole suggested. . "Jewelry? Oh, right! ' You have any?" Taylor asked. . "Jewelry??" the dark brown haired woman said, scratching her head. "I got some when I was on the Home Shopping Channel. Where did I put it..." she said, returning into the office. . 'Mom doesn't like going on TV,' Nicole told him. 'She always ends up spending money.' - - - The office was sky blue with white trim. Beside the door was dolly with a mailbag. Another, nearly empty, bag was on a wheeled platform. Suspended from the ceiling by canvass straps was nest of pine cubby holes, each labeled by a state (there were about 25 of them), or foreign country (six); pulleys were on the ceiling. Next to that was a messy bulletin board and a pine sideboard with mailing supplies on them. In the middle of the room was a coffee table-sized ottoman (antique white with large pink flowers and green leaves, and with a pink skirt) with _Girl Whirl _catalogs on top; one of the three matching oak arm chairs was up near it, while the other one on this side was staggered back to leave room past the ottoman. The fourth chair, on wheels, was pushed up to the oak desk under the window of the front wall. On top, was a laptop, a phone, papers that were organized in loose piles, and photos (not counting the framed pictures of Nicole) and editing proofs. The next wall had a pine 'bookcase' facing the desk; but in it were computer supplies. The wide shelves had going up: manuals, CD-Roms, zips and _Zip _drive, paper, a printer, a scanner, a cable modem, a tower, and books used as decorations between them all. The windows on that side were partially blocked by the silvered filing cabinets and the decorative items on top of them. . Nicole's mother rummaged through a filing cabinet drawer, "I didn't realize how many things I'd filed away. I'm going to have to use that organizer program to help me find a place for them. Here!" she said, pulling something out. . She held out her hand, so Taylor had to hold out he-rs. She dropped it in he-r palm, "I was thinking of adding it to the catalogue. What do you think?" . "What is it?" Taylor asked, trying to figure it out. It was an inch and a half in diameter with yellow gem in the middle and 'petals' of silveredsteel. . "It's whatever you want it to be. It's magnetic. You can 'clip' it on anywhere." . 'Oh, it's darling!' Nicole said, wanting to touch it. - - - "It's too cute," Taylor frowned. . "Isn't it?!" both mother and daughter smiled. . Taylor was about to put it in the jeans, when the mother took it out of he-r hand, "Here! It's made with an advanced, jewel-quality, light-weight alloy." . 'I usually like my jewelry to have weight,' Nicole said. 'It reminds you you *are *wearing jewelry!' . "It's practically guaranteed not to come loose and be lost," the woman talked like she was giving a sales pitch. "It will not tarnish, and can make it through a wash cycle." . She had put a thin silver colored "Y" near the hem of the blouse; the 'daisy' was on the inside, out of sight. - - - Taylor didn't really like even having the "Y" out there, but he did his best to forget about it, "I came down to tell you dinner's ready." . "Already?" the woman said, looking at her watch, and checking it with the clock on the wall, near the door. "Well, I promised I'd forget about work, and schedule the family in." . She took a deep breath. "Okay! I'm ready. Businesswoman put away." . She put on a smile, "Devoted Mother let loose! All daughters be on alert!" * * * Taylor made sure that the woman went up ahead of him. He went up the stairs with he-r arm around that bust again, the other hand was on he-r butt, trying to keep *that *from moving around too much. . 'Honestly! You're just making it worse for yourself, you know,' Nicole told him. 'Ignore it, and you'll get use to it.' . "I don't want to _use _to it, okay?!" Taylor told her in a whisper. . "Did you say something, Nico--. Did you say something to me?" her mother looked back as she continued up. . Then, "Why are you walking like that?" she stopped. . Taylor looked down at his arm. "Uh, they're sore?" . Nicole slapped her forehead while putting her arm under her ghost bust, 'Wrong thing to say.' - - - "Oh, dear! Maybe we should make a doctor's appointment," the mother said. . "No doctors!" Taylor protested. . "Not for that!" Nicole's mother tried to reassure her daughter. "Doctor Gamble said we had to keep track of.... It's not suppose to be due for another week or two, isn't it?" . "I guess. Whatever," Taylor looked at the woman, trying to figure out what she was talking about. . "You don't know?!" the woman was becoming upset. . 'Say it's coming in a week and a half from now!' Nicole ordered him. . "A week and a half!" Taylor reported. "I'm healthy until then!" - - - "Still, why would they be sore?" the mother was thinking. . "The accident!" Taylor said. . "Of course, the accident!" the woman looked relieved. . "The whole body feels awful," Taylor said, seeing an excuse for some other 'weird' things he might be doing with it (like trying to keep the butt from sliding around). . "I didn't see anything when I put you in the Jacuzzi," Nicole's mother said. "Let me look again." . 'Mother! Don't embarrass me,' Nicole said. . "Mother! Don't embarrass me!" Taylor repeated. - - - "There are only females in this house," Nicole mother said. . "And the little boy!" Taylor reminded her. . "And a *_little *_boy. But if you're being modest, we'll go back in the office," she said, and took Nicole's arm. . "You, you don't have to!" Taylor tried to reassure her. "My soreness is all gone: Honest! My power took care of everything." . "Your power is empathy," she raised an eyebrow at the one she thought of as her daughter. . "I'm, uh, Buddy, remember? *My *power is...I never learned its name. . "But it has to do with astral bodies. I'm a fast healer." - - - "We can hear you, you know!" Irene Duchamps called out from the upstairs. . This was followed by, "Aw, Mom! I wanted to hear," from Julienne. . "See?! It's dinnertime! And it's getting cold!" Taylor said, seeing the woman distracted and quickly getting past her. . Margot Getty looked at the body of her daughter as it climbed the stairs. "She is to hurt. She's moving differently. Her grace is gone." . 'Thanks, Mom,' Nicole smiled. 'I worked hard enough for it.' . Then she frowned, 'And *he *took it away.' - - - Taylor found the only seat away from the other mother and two of her kids. (The 2-year-old was in a highchair between them?Do kids his age always make a mess when they eat?) The woman told the 'Nicole', "You took so long, it's gotten cold." . "That's okay. I like most things cold, anyway." . "You sound like a man," the woman said. "My husband was happy to eat out of a can." . Taylor nodded, "Yeah. That's the easiest way. It saves washing dishes, too." . "Around this house, we eat properly," Nicole's mother told 'her daughter' as she approached the kitchen. "There's no excuse for slovenliness; even an accident." . "Yvonne! Get out here!" the other mother yelled. "Like it or not, this is family time!" - - - Taylor picked at the food. - - - Margot Getty put her meal in the microwave, barely taking her eyes off of the body of her daughter. She was obviously worried. . Ghost Nicole stood beside her, looking at her. 'Oh, Mom. I wish I could tell you the truth. Only you could understand. . 'Getting married has been wonderful! I no longer feel the minds of others! I can ignore other people, and learn who I am, now,' Nicole smiled, savoring the presence of only one other soul in her mind. . 'The only regret I have is I won't be able to spend more time with you.' . 'Nicole?? What are you doing over there?!' the ghost of her mother asked, separating from her physical body. . 'Mom!' Nicole cried, running to her. . The End