Luke saw the shop window as he approached along the pavement and was
ready to take what he hoped would look like a casual glance inside, just
as he always did whenever he passed by this or any similar
establishment. He didn't know any other boy who would be remotely
interested in seeing what went on through this shop window. They may
stop at the sports stores or spend ages looking at the new models in the
garage forecourts, but this shop would definitely not get a second look.
Despite not wishing to miss anything which may have been going on inside
the shop, on this occasion his eyes were diverted from the scene inside
when a woman in the shop stepped up to the window and stuck a home-made,
computer generated, poster on the glass beside the shop front door. He
managed to catch a couple of words at the top of the poster, which were
in bold print, but he had passed by before he could complete it all, so
he continued on to the next shop and casually inspected the shoes that
the shop sold, before he retraced his steps to finish reading the
poster. He walked over to a small pedestrian area where there was a
couple of benches, and took a seat.
He read the poster over in his mind and as he did so a knot began to
form in his stomach. The poster had read,
"Wanted. Full-time, temporary help during busy summer period. Would suit
school student. Apply within."
It would be absolutely perfect for him, but could he find the nerve to
walk in and ask a complete stranger about the job right now. He couldn't
think of a better way to spend the summer and he could do with the extra
money, but it still wasn't easy for a fifteen year old boy to apply for
a job in this shop. The "shop" was Linda's Hair and Beauty Salon.
As he pondered what to do, Luke's mind drifted to the events of recent
months. The last few weeks had been the most exciting of Luke's young
life.
For as far back as he could remember, he had known he was different from
the other boys he knew and was aware of his strong feminine feelings,
and to him, his natural desire to live and act like a girl. But even at
an early age he had realised that what he felt was not what was expected
from a young boy and he had never told anyone, especially his Mum, about
how he felt. Of course, his Mum, Helen, had always been aware that her
son was not the most rugged of boys, but she was of the opinion that not
all boys are going to be the aggressive and sporty type, and she had
come to love his quiet and polite manner.
For his fourteenth birthday, Helen had scrimped and saved and had bought
him a much wanted computer. By then, Luke had seen some articles in
newspapers or on television and knew that transsexuals existed and that
he was not the only person in the world to have these feelings, so he
tentatively begun to investigate on the internet and was surprised at
the volume of material available for him to look at and to read. He was
amazed to find out that there were many boys, and some girls, who felt
exactly the same way he did. He spent any free time he had surfing
through the welter of both informational and personal sites and he soon
became certain of who and what he was and what he needed to happen in
the future, if he were to live the life he knew he was meant for. He was
transgendered and he was going to have SRS surgery to help him be the
girl he knew he really was. Luke also found on the net, another release
for an interest that had grown steadily in his mind alongside his
growing need to be feminine. Hundreds of sites to let him indulge his
passion for feminine hair and beauty. There were salon sites, hairstyle
galleries, and Luke especially loved any site with pictures of women and
girls with their hair in rollers or permrods. He would dream of being
the girl in the picture, and to him, visiting a salon and having your
hair done was one of the most beautiful and feminine things a woman
could do. He was extremely jealous of these girls but was determined
that this was an experience that would not be denied to him. Alongside
all the other feminine experiences he longed to have in his life, he was
going to make it happen. He had been eleven the last time his hair had
been cut in a boyish fashion, but had steadfastly been refusing his
Mum's pleadings to return to the barbershop, claiming that lots of boys
at school were wearing their hair a little longer at the moment.
Secretly he had just wanted his hair to be more like the girls that he
knew. Gradually it had become more than "a little longer", but Helen had
just accepted her son liked long hair and had given up protesting about
it's length. Little did Luke know that when he eventually had his first
"hair and beauty" experience, it would be with the help of Helen?s
friend, Christine, a woman he loved and admired so much for her grace
and femininity, and it would be the most beautiful experience of his
young life. Luke began to experiment with his longer hair, and when the
opportunity arose, he would try and style it in a feminine fashion by
simply brushing it in what he hoped was a more girlie style, or by
trying a high ponytail. The young Luke soon discovered that this, along
with his daydreaming of being a young girl, brought about his first real
experiences of boyish arousal, and he learned the male pleasure of
satisfying this feeling, while all the time, hating his penis and what
it represented. When he started finding the transgendered and hair
related sites on his new computer he was in an almost permanent state of
arousal and he often orgasmed without the need for even the smallest
amount of manual stimulation. Helen was mildly suspicious at Luke's
sudden, new, keenness to load his own underwear into the washing
machine, but she rightly surmised that this could be the result of "boys
being boys" and Luke doing what nearly all early teenage boys do, so she
didn't make an issue of it. He knew other boys got their kicks from
looking at pictures of Britney Spears or Anna Kournikova but they did
nothing for him sexually, although he had to admit he did love Anna's
long blonde hair! But a photograph of a young girl with her hair in
rollers and beautifully done makeup, and the thought of being that girl,
would be sexually stimulating for him. He often felt guilty because he
knew his Mum trusted him with the computer, but he reasoned to himself
that he was not looking at pornographic sites. It was just that what he
was looking at was sexually stimulating for him. Eventually he found the
middle ground and was more able to control his arousals, and he could
choose whether he took himself to orgasm or not, the need for male
satisfaction battling against his female loathing of his male genitalia
and everything to do with them.
Then, just three short months ago, everything came to a head when Helen
had accidentally found some downloaded material from the net concerning
Luke's "interests" in his bedroom and had confronted him on their
meaning. After the initial shock and embarrassment of being found out
had passed, Luke had come clean and told his Mum exactly how he felt. To
his joy and relief, Helen, although stunned by this revelation, had been
completely calm and understanding. Truth be told, although Helen had
never consciously asked herself the question "Is Luke gay?", the thought
had danced through her mind without ever registering or demanding an
answer. But Luke had told her much, much, more. Luke desperately needed
to live and act as a girl to make his life the way he knew it was
intended to be. Helen then learned as much about Luke's condition as she
could, much of the reading matter supplied by Luke himself, and feeling
the need to unload her burden, had sought advice from her best friend
and Luke's unofficial aunt, Catherine.
Acceptance of Luke's condition soon followed from Catherine and Helen's
other main friends and work colleagues, Carol and Irene. And Carol's
daughter Laura and her friend Julie, who were also Luke's best female
friends, were brought into the small group of people in the knowing and
accepting circle of friends. Especially since they had all met up at
Catherine's house the morning after Luke had spent a "girl's night in"
with Catherine. She had washed and set his hair and applied his makeup
and together they had chosen some outfits to wear. Christine had
transformed the shy Luke into the totally believable and beautiful
"Lucy".
A visit to a local transgendered advice counsellor followed. Luke had
been extremely nervous beforehand but had soon relaxed during his
meeting with Lisa. Lisa was a thirty-something post-operative
transsexual and she had spoken to Helen and Luke together before
spending some time with Luke alone, and then getting Mum and son
together again. Lisa had explained that in her opinion Luke was a
classic case of "Gender Dysphoria" and appeared to have all the obvious
and well-documented symptoms of this condition. She advised Helen and
Luke about the "pros and cons" of early transitioning, some of the
effects of "coming out" and of the difficulties that lay ahead, one of
the most pressing being Luke's schooling. Had they a plan for this
problem. They discussed Luke's sexual preferences and Luke told Lisa
exactly what he had previously told his Mum, that at this point in time
he loved girls and being in the company of girls, but looked on them as
"girlfriends" and not with romance in mind. He had not looked for and
had never had any gay experiences although he admitted that if he were
to become a woman he could envisage himself in a male/female
relationship. But these were issues Helen and Luke had discussed many
times and knew would just have to be dealt with as they arrived. Lisa,
however, was only a counsellor, but said she would be able to refer Luke
to a doctor who specialised in this area of health medicine, a Doctor
Jane Stirling, who was very sympathetic to young transsexuals and if
convinced of her patients sincerity was willing to offer early immediate
intervention to help resolve their conflict. Lisa had said that this was
not always the case with other doctors.
Luke and Helen had eventually met with Doctor Stirling, who after
several consultations had also concluded that Luke was transgendered and
was sure he was a certain future candidate for S.R.S. Once she was
certain that both Luke and Helen were fully aware and prepared for what
lay ahead, she had offered to prescribe Luke anti-androgen tablets,
explaining to Luke and Helen that these pills would have the effect of
working against his male hormones and would hopefully lessen the results
of male puberty, though this was information that both Helen and Luke
were well aware of. Then when Luke turned sixteen she would start him on
oestrogen, beginning with a jab, and then continuing with pills. This,
while working in tandem with the male suppressing anti-androgen tablets
would begin the feminisation of Luke's body. Just listening to this
woman talk in such positive terms, openly and frankly, had been
thrilling for Luke. Together with his Mum, they were talking about an
issue which had been his secret until recently, something so personal he
had never envisioned being able to talk to anyone about it. Doctor
Stirling was seriously, but with compassion and acceptance, discussing,
with Luke, his transition into womanhood and a life of femininity. He
felt like shouting out loud with joy! Dr Stirling had advised that even
after beginning the oestrogen course, as he would be returning to
school, it would be better to wait three to six months before committing
himself to living full-time as Lucy. This would give the oestrogen time
to work on his body, lessen penile arousal and the embarrassment that
causes, and generally make the transition to living as Lucy more
comfortable.
This was all music to Luke's ears, and now for the last few weeks he had
been taking the anti-androgens while attending school as normal. In the
evenings Helen allowed Luke to become a casually attired Lucy, while
insisting studying for the end of term exams was still his main
priority. But on a couple of weekends, Laura and Julie had come round,
and the two girls and young transgendered boy had gone the "whole nine
yards" with makeup, hair and clothes experimentation. Both girls were at
ease with Lucy and were able to empathise with her in a way that certain
females could with transsexuals and indeed greatly enjoyed the process
of turning the handsome Luke into the beautiful Lucy.
In four weeks Luke would celebrate his sixteenth birthday and would
begin taking female hormones and he could hardly wait for this to
happen. Just thinking about the female hormones running through his body
and the effect they would have, sent a tingling sensation to every fibre
of his body. When he saw a woman he admired, he would say to himself,
"I'm soon going to have the same hormones flowing in my veins as that
beautiful woman."
He would think of the choices that woman had made that morning and of
the likely experiences of her day. She had decided to use the pink, no
plum, lipstick. She had spent some time choosing what to wear and had
settled on the plain white blouse and dark blue skirt. She had decided
to put her hair behind her ears today. Perhaps she had phoned her salon
and had made an appointment for later on that day. Maybe later on this
evening she would soak in a perfumed bath and than go through her beauty
routine before retiring to bed.
"All these things are in my future!? he would repeatedly tell himself.
HE JUST LOVED IT.
And here he was sitting on a bench outside "Linda's Hair and Beauty
Salon", trying to summon up the nerve to enter the salon and apply for
the summer job. He tried to play out in his mind how to handle the
situation, what he may be asked and how he would answer. The job would
be for eight weeks and he knew that he would begin his oestrogen routine
in four weeks time, but he was sure that he could manage that, and that
no effects would be noticeable to anyone inside that four-week period.
He was unsure whether he should tell his interviewer his complete story
or even whether he could tell a complete stranger even if he wanted to.
Suddenly, he found himself walking towards the salon front door. He had
made no decisions on how to go about this, and it was as if someone else
had taken the decision for him and propelled him towards the door. He
could barely believe what he was doing and he knew if he stopped to
consider any further he would probably not enter the salon. It was as if
someone else's hand had stretched out before him and pulled down the
handle to open the salon door. Luke entered "Linda's Hair and Beauty
Salon" and was greeted by the warm smell he remembered so well from
previous salon visits with his Mum. When he was younger there had been
times when Helen had had no other option than to take Luke with her on
her salon appointments and the young boy had watched with interest what
was happening around him, the friendly salon staff little realising the
seeds that were being sown in the boy's mind. They had always been
friendly towards Luke, bringing him juice and such and generally just
taking time to talk to him and stop him becoming bored. But Luke was
never bored. Even at this young age, he got to see a salon as being a
happy and friendly place to work. The woman all seemed to enjoy what
they were doing and the chatter between stylists and clients was
constant. Luke knew that often he was the only male in what was a very
feminine environment and he knew that he loved being there. He watched
as the ladies were transformed by hair and makeup and saw the stylists
enjoyed being able to help someone look and feel their best and he
observed the smiles of their customers as they left the salon. He
watched the processes that were taking place at each of the stations and
became mesmerised by the ladies, their hair completely wound in rollers,
or with what looked like hats made of strips of kitchen foil woven
through their hair. Or someone just getting their hair cut and then
dried by the stylist armed with a hairdryer in her hand. He loved the
beauty salon but was careful to try and hide his interest behind the
comic or book he was reading. Boys were just not supposed to be
interested in such things. Recently, Luke had been wondering if these
were the experiences that had set him off down the path that he was now
taking. He had reached a conclusion. Luke figured that he, along with
many other boys, always had it in his genetic programming to be
feminine. He did not know how or why, but he was sure that this was the
case. The experiences in the salon helped to kick-start his
experimenting with his female side, but he was sure his femininity would
have surfaced sooner or later. He remembered his pre and early school
days and how he played with his girlfriends and was left out of (and had
no desire to play in) the boy's games. He had always wanted to be a
girl!
In a daze, Luke took in the scene inside the salon. The woman he had
seen placing the poster in the window was sitting at the reception desk.
She was in her mid-thirties and although she couldn't be described as
beautiful, with her short auburn hair, well applied makeup, and what
turned out to be staff uniform of white blouse and black trousers, she
exuded everything Luke admired about being a woman. A badge on the front
of her blouse told Luke her name was "Linda" and even in his autopilot
state he realised he was walking towards the probable boss of the salon.
Linda glanced up and a glimmer of uncertainty crossed her face before
she turned on an easy smile.
Linda had seen the teenager come through the salon front door and hadn't
been immediately sure if this was a young boy or girl who was
approaching her desk. Boy or girl she had been instantly struck by the
wearer's beautiful shoulder length hair. It was only the clothes he was
wearing that tipped her towards believing it was a boy she was about to
greet.
"Good afternoon. Can I help you?"
Luke was now regaining his composure and as he had anticipated the
likely confusion his entrance would cause, he was able to answer Linda's
quandary without causing embarrassment to either of them.
"My name is Luke McVey and I've come about the job that's advertised in
the window."
This time it was a look of surprise that flickered over Linda's face but
that was quickly replaced by her natural smile.
"Well that was a quick response. I only put the poster in the window
five minutes ago."
"I know. I saw you put it up when I was passing by."
Linda gathered her thoughts and then invited Luke to take one of the
seats in the waiting area and sat down beside him.
"I'll need to be honest and say that I was expecting a young girl to
apply for this job. Although it's not a permanent placement, I figured
it would be a good job for someone who is interested in hair and beauty
and was maybe thinking of working in this line as a career. I just
didn't figure on a boy being interested. Why do you want this job?"
Luke thought he would reply with the easiest, most obvious answers, and
though it was not in his nature to embellish the truth he thought a
little bit of sympathy might be extracted by throwing in some family
history.
"I need a job to give me something to do during the summer. Most of my
friends are either working or going away for the break and I've not been
able to find something to fill in my time. Plus, it's only me and my Mum
at home, and though my Mum works hard and we get by just fine, I'd
really like to help her in any way I can and a little extra money would
come very handy." He thought about telling Linda the truthful fact that
he would use the money to buy his Mum a present but the knowledge that
this would be putting an unfair burden on Linda's decision making
stopped him from adding this to his answer.
Linda looked at the boy in front of her. It was obvious that he was a
nice, genuine boy and now she had had a little time to assess him she
was warming to his personality.
"I understand that much, but I guess I'm wondering why you would want
THIS job?"
Luke pondered as to how he should answer this question and knew he would
have to say something positive in order to give
Linda a reason to hire him. He didn't want to reveal his personal
secrets at this time. But he did want the job. He decided to make a
small attack on Linda's assumptions on gender stereotypes.
Luke smiled and with only the barest hint of chastisement asked, "What
makes you think that I'm not interested in working in a salon as a
career? Is it because I'm a boy?"
Linda smiled. She knew she had been mildly rebuked. She was aware that
as soon as she had been sure that Luke was male, despite being faced by
a soft, handsome teenager, she had immediately given him all the
attributes of her stereotypical boy. But here was a boy who was clearly
gentler in nature and perhaps WOULD be suitable to working in a salon.
Despite herself, her mind instantly jumped to the other stereotype. HE
MUST BE GAY! But she knew she had been wrong to judge Luke once before
and shouldn't do it again, so she sidelined that thought and decided to
concentrate on Luke, the person.
Linda replied with a smile, "I'm sure there is absolutely no reason why
you shouldn't have considered a career in hair and beauty. I shouldn't
have assumed that you hadn't."
Luke decided to stay on the offensive, "This job is just for eight
weeks. I promise that if you give me the job you will not be
disappointed. I'm dependable and very enthusiastic in everything I do."
Linda looked at Luke and tried to imagine him working in the salon. The
salon had an all-female staff and that was the way it had always been.
How would introducing a boy effect the dynamics of the salon? How would
the other girls feel? Would the customers be happy and comfortable?
Would it spoil the feel of the salon to introduce a male member of
staff? But maybe the change would give the salon something different.
She admitted to herself that maybe having a young feminine boy in the
salon might be a positive move. Many women almost expected males working
in beauty salons to be girl-like and she could think of plenty of her
customers who would love to "mother" the young girl/boy Luke. She had
worked in other salons with gay male stylists and was aware of women who
liked chatting and confiding to a them almost as a girlfriend because
they were secure in the knowledge that there was no sexual element to
their relationship. This may not be the case with Luke, but she knew
that in general most women were comfortable with feminine males in the
salon, especially as they usually gave them something to speculate
about. She made a decision. Sometimes, in just a few minutes you can get
a feel for a person and Linda was certain that Luke was a fine and
trustworthy boy. She'd give him a chance. But she thought she had better
warn him.
"You do realise that everybody that works in here is female? You'd be
the only boy in amongst all us women. Are you comfortable with that? And
there's not much money attached to the job. As I said, it's mostly for
experience or to let someone see if this is a possible career for them.
A good and pleasant worker can get some nice tips, though."
Luke heard in Linda's voice the suggestion that Linda was going to offer
him the job and his heart leapt.
"I'm okay for everything that you mentioned." he assured her, "and as
for the money, at the moment I don't have a job and that pays nothing.
If I have a job that pays something then I'll be better off. Have I got
the job?"
Linda laughed, "You've got the job. Can you start a week on Monday?"
"You bet." This was Saturday afternoon and school was finishing for
summer on Wednesday. Luke could hardly contain his excitement. The long
boring summer that stretched before him had suddenly become a fresh and
exciting adventure. Linda then went on to explain to Luke what his
weekly wage would be (to which Luke had to stop himself from shouting,
"I'd do this for nothing.") and the likely duties his job would entail.
This included the mundane stuff like keeping the floor clean, making
sure there was a supply of fresh towels, making tea and coffee for the
customers and stylists and generally assisting the stylists in any way
they required. In fact doing anything that was asked of him. The salon
already had a young trainee, Karen, but during the busy summer period
she would be more involved with actual hairdressing. Linda was on unsure
ground with her new young boy employee and wasn't certain how relevant
her next statement would be but decided she would go ahead anyway.
"Also, if there is time we'll let you interact with the customers as
much as possible. Washing hair, removing permrods and rollers, allow you
to spend time with the stylists, so you can see what they are doing and
how they do it. Learn by observing. How does that sound?"
Luke was a fifteen year old boy applying for a job in a beauty salon. He
didn't need to pretend to this woman that as a boy this wouldn't be
interesting to him.
"I'd love that. It sounds just great."
"You work five days out of six Monday to Saturday and Sunday we're
closed."
"I don't really need the weekday off. I'd be happy to come in every day
during the week if you want."
"OKAY. I'll adjust your wages to suit if that what you really want.
Luke's enthusiastic answers, while not taking Linda by surprise,
certainly confirmed her good feeling that she was talking to an unusual
boy. This was a boy, that for whatever reason, was keen to work and
learn in a beauty salon and it was no accident that he was in this salon
looking for a job. He certainly didn't come in hoping for just ANY job
that would pass the summer. He was in here because he wanted to work in
a BEAUTY SALON. She rose from the chair, walked over to the window and
took down her poster.
"Come on and I'll introduce you to some of the girls." She smiled what
Luke could increasingly see was a happy and sincere smile. "I'm sure
they're going to be a little surprised. But hey. Something different in
the mix will give this place a lift."
They walked from the reception and waiting area towards the main active
area of the salon. Luke could hardly believe his luck. Fifteen minutes
ago he was walking to the bus depot after spending the afternoon in town
buying some new strings for his guitar and now here he was in the heart
of a busy salon drinking in the atmosphere, taking pictures in his mind,
the washing basins to the left and the individual styling stations
against the rear wall and to the right. And he was not sneaking a look
from outside the salon. He was inside being shown round by the
manageress. And in just over a week?s time he was going to be working in
this very salon!
The salon was quite quiet. It was now 4.30pm and it was coming to the
end the afternoon and thing were beginning to wind down. The Saturday
regulars, the women who could only get in on a Saturday because they
were working during the week, the women and girls who had come in
because they had a special event during the evening and were wanting to
look their absolute best, had mostly come and gone. Only a couple of
stations still had clients being attended to, the stylists working
calmly, moving around the station chair, one cutting, the other blow-
drying, their clients hair. A younger girl was folding large white
towels into a recessed shelving unit in the wall beside the wash basins.
The salon had a staff of eight not counting Linda, seven stylists and
beauticians and Karen, the trainee. Apart from the threesome still
working, the rest were gathered in the staff restroom just off the main
salon area. It was the end of their working week and they were talking
casually about their boyfriends, family or planned Saturday night that
lay ahead. The conversation stopped as Linda and Luke walked through the
door and the girls eyed them with barely concealed curiosity. Linda got
straight to the point.
"Girls, I just want you to meet Luke McVey. Luke will be our summer help
in the salon and is starting a week on Monday." She formally continued,
"Girls this is Luke. Luke this is most of the salon staff. Wendy and Eva
are still working at the moment. I'll not bother to introduce them
individually just now, we'll do that when you start and are more likely
to remember their names."
Luke glanced nervously around the faces that were seated at the table to
gauge their reaction to Linda's announcement. Without even knowing these
girls, a yearning sprung up in his mind and body that was natural and
real. It didn't have to be invited into his mind. It came because it was
built into Luke. He wanted to be a part of this group of girls. He
wanted to be an accepted member of their little inner circle. He wanted
to feel one of them. He wanted them to feel he was one of THE GIRLS.
There was a few seconds of silence, during which Luke knew his new
workmates were taking in this new work situation that had been presented
to them, before one the girls, a pretty girl with shoulder length, poker
straight blonde hair, spoke up.
"Well thank goodness for that. We could do with all the help we can get
round here at the moment. Hello Luke."
With that comment, the ice was broken and the rest of the girls shouted
a "hello" to Luke, who smiled and waved a "hello" back. They exchanged
some "see you a week on Monday's and then turned back into the salon.
As they re-entered the salon, Wendy and Eva both looked across at the
same time and Linda, not wanting to interrupt their work, called softly
over to them,
"This is Luke. He'll be helping after the school closes for the summer."
The two girls smiled, mouthed a "hello", exchanged glances, and then
returned to their customers? hair.
"Here's the one I'd better introduce you to now. This is our trainee
Karen. She'll be the one who you'll mostly be helping or working with.
Karen, this is Luke McVey. Luke is going to be working here during the
summer school break. Luke will be taking over most of your duties for
the summer and that will free you of for a little more direct contact
with the customers."
Karen looked at the Luke and was unsure what to make of the fact that
her summer help was going to be a boy, but she certainly liked the idea
of losing, what to her, were some of her more laborious tasks. She
nodded a greeting.
"In that case I can hardly wait for you to start." she grinned
"Me neither." replied Luke. "I'll see you soon." Luke took an instant
like to Karen. She was seventeen, quite small and maybe she was just a
little bit overweight, but she had a laughing face which was set of by a
short, black, spiky haircut which made her look as if she was going to
be fun to work with.
Linda and Luke turned away and headed for the front door.
"Well Luke, I'll expect you here a week on Monday at eight thirty sharp.
OKAY?"
"I'll be here at eight fifteen." Luke said grinning. And he left the
salon on a natural high.
Linda headed back into the salon where all the girls had left the
restroom and were standing just inside the salon. Rosie, the blonde girl
who had been first to greet Luke, was again the first to break the
silence.
"Did you see his hair? That was hair any girl would die for!"
Luke found his Mum in the kitchen preparing the dinner. As soon as he
had arrived home he had gone to his bedroom, taken off the male clothes
he had been wearing for his trip into town, and looked to find something
to wear in his small, but ever increasing, selection of girl's attire.
He settled for a pair of maroon flared trousers and a loose pale blue t-
shirt with the logo "Lucky Girl" printed in dark blue on the front.
Sitting himself in front of the mirror he applied a little liquid
foundation on his face and neck, brushed in some eyelid colour with a
little sponge brush, carefully added mascara and ended with some blush
on his cheeks and a little pencilled lipstick. Lucy sauntered in and sat
at the kitchen table.
"Mum, you know you were asking me what I was going to do with myself
during the school holidays?"
"Yes. Well I haven't really made a big thing about it because I know you
are going to be starting the oestrogen treatment soon, and I thought
that might be enough for you to deal with."
"Well I've found a job anyway. I think it will be perfect for me."
Helen looked at her Lucy and wondered what she had gotten herself into.
Her up and coming transition would have to be handled carefully and it
now appeared she had taken on a job which presumably would mean her
interacting with new people who may or may not be sympathetic to her
problem. She stared at Lucy, demanding her to go ahead and explain
further.
"You know "Linda's Hair and Beauty Salon" in the centre of town?"
"The one in Miller Street? I know it."
"Well they've given me a summer job."
Helen voice was a little raised in surprise. "In the beauty salon?"
"Yes."
Helen thought for a minute.
"And how did that come about?"
"I was just passing by and I saw the owner put a flier in the window
asking for summer help."
Helen had yet to decide if this was good or worrying news.
"And you decided to apply for the job, just like that."
"I had a think about it for a while outside the salon."
"Don't you think you should have discussed it with me before you went
ahead and applied?"
Lucy could see that her Mum was concerned.
"I didn't want to lose the job to someone else. I knew I'd be the first
person applying for the job and I thought if I waited until I'd talked
to you, it would definitely be gone. Have I done the wrong thing?"
"It's just that I'm concerned that you're opening up yourself
unnecessarily to a whole new group of people at a vulnerable time in
your life. I thought that maybe you would settle into your hormone
regime before going back to school."
They had now decided it would be Luke who would return to school after
the summer holidays, although at some point in the early New Year, the
oestrogen treatment and Luke's intention to begin living as Lucy full-
time, would force their hand, and Helen would then inform the headmaster
of their plans, and they would move forward from there. Luke was aware
that this would cause some sensation and probably a great deal of
personal discomfort for him from the less tolerant pupils and maybe even
staff in the school, but he was ready, willing and able to face this.
The love of the people who knew and understood his problem would see him
through.
"Mum, I don't see that they need to find out anything. I'll only be
there for four weeks after I start taking the oestrogen"
Helen pondered again.
"I suppose that's true. Tell me, who did you speak to in the salon?"
"Linda, she's the owner."
"And was she not a little curious as to why a fifteen year old boy would
want to work in a beauty salon?"
"Mum, people will be making judgements about me from now on. I don't
know if she thought it was strange. I suppose she probably did. But I
can't afford to be scared of what people are thinking about me. I just
tried to make her want to give me the job because of my personality and
because I promised I would turn up on time, and would do as I was asked,
cheerfully and diligently. I tried to make the fact that I was a boy not
an issue. And I think it must have worked."
Helen was still thinking, so Lucy ploughed on.
"This will be good for me. I'll get to work and interact with lots of
women and girls. It will help me develop as Lucy."
Helen continued to mull over Lucy's position, weighing the pros and
cons, trying to decide if this was exposing Lucy to potential
embarrassment with a group of people she was unaccustomed to relating
with or giving her a pleasant way of exploring her femininity within a
uniquely female environment.
Lucy was determined to push home her position.
"They all seemed really friendly and Linda was especially nice."
"What will you be doing?"
"Just generally helping out. Sweeping and cleaning. Teas and coffees.
That kind of stuff. The salon is really busy during the summer and
Karen, their trainee, will get more hands-on experience. I'll take up
the slack."
"Are you sure that's what you want to do all summer?"
"I'll just enjoy working in the salon. And Linda said that if time
allowed I'd get some hands-on experience working with the stylists too."
Helen was a little surprised. "I wonder how she knew you would be
interested in the actual hairdressing side?"
Lucy smiled. "She probably just figured that if a boy comes in and asks
to work in a beauty salon, he must have a reason other than enjoying
sweeping hair from salon floors."
Helen thought out loud. "It would help you pass the time, I suppose."
"Are you okay with it, then?"
"I guess so."
A huge smile lit up Lucy's face, and she rushed to her Mum's side to
give her a hug. The prospect of spending summer in "Linda's Hair and
Beauty Salon" was now a definite reality, and Lucy could hardly wait for
school to finish and her new job to start.
The last three days of school were a leisurely affair. Exams were over
for the term, and although classes continued, not much work was done.
Luke had done well in his exams and was being told by his teachers, that
a good university placement was a certainty if he continued his present
level of application. Although academically bright, he hadn't come to
any decision about a future career, and his strong leaning for the less
academic world of music and art had to be considered. He also knew that
his imminent transition would have to be factored in to any career
choice. But since the hard work had been done for this school year, Luke
wasn't going to dwell too much on these decisions for the next few
weeks. He was just going to enjoy the treats the forthcoming summer
would bring. Eight weeks working in "Linda's Hair and Beauty Salon",
during which he would begin his oestrogen hormone treatment.
Wednesday brought the break-up of school. Laura was going to be working
alongside her mother Carol in the supermarket and Julie would be
waitressing in a local coffee shop. Both girls were thrilled for Luke
when they heard about his summer job, and the ladies of the store,
having been informed of Luke's plan by Helen at the beginning of the
week, had joked with Luke when he had come into the store to meet his
mum on the Wednesday afternoon after school break-up. All were
threatening to visit the salon and were telling Luke they would be
expecting preferential rates! Christine said her's was not a threat, but
a promise, as "Linda's" was her regular salon. The idea that he, Luke,
could be involved in the beauty process of this woman whom he so
admired, was exciting to say the least. He had a momentary feeling of
guilt when he remembered a previous conversation with Christine in which
she had said that she loved the all female atmosphere of her salon, but
when Luke reminded her of this, she had stated firmly, with a smile,
that in his case she would definitely make an exception. In fact, she
would tell Linda that Luke was a friend of hers and ask that he be
involved with her appointment in some way. He fervently hoped that he
would be involved in Christine's visit to the salon in at least the
smallest way, but knew that no matter what, when she left the salon, he
would marvel at her fabulous beauty and her obvious delight of being a
woman. She oozed easy and classy femininity. And there would be plenty
more ladies to see every day in the salon. One of the things Luke was
going to enjoy most was watching the transformation of the clients from
arrival to departure, and seeing their delight at knowing they were
leaving the salon, looking their best.
Thursday and Friday, Luke became Lucy for the both days, this however
restricting her to remaining indoors. Lucy was still getting used to
being able to do all the feminine things around the house, reading
women's magazines, applying makeup and dressing in female attire,
without the fear of being caught. She loved knowing that even if her Mum
was to come home unexpectedly, she would now be totally at ease when
confronted by Lucy, not Luke. She marvelled at the fantastic way her Mum
had coped with finding out about Lucy and the manner in which she had
helped to make her transition dream begin to come true. She longed for
the day when she would be able to go outdoors as Lucy, but together with
her Mum, they had decided to wait until she started taking the
oestrogen, before beginning to take some excursions into the wide world.
With no exams to study for, Lucy spent the mornings vacuuming, putting
on washings and generally tidying up around the house. She even did a
little ironing. She enjoyed ironing her Mum's clothes. Just imagining
these were her dresses and blouses was enough to take the chore from the
work. She knew a morning of household chores for her would help make her
Mum's evenings just that little bit more relaxing and so tackled the
work happily. In the afternoons, Lucy was free to spend her time reading
her Mum's magazines, experimenting with different makeup looks she found
in their beauty pages and perfecting her skills at applying them. And
she played with her hair, which was now two or three inches longer than
shoulder length. She practised setting her hair using some rollers her
Mum had bought for her, but although she was able to roll the front and
top really well, she found it almost impossible to roll the hair at the
back and longed for someone to finish of her set properly. She rued her
own inability to create the more elaborate styles for her hair but was
content with the knowledge that her hair was long and in beautiful
condition and that so much could be done with it in experienced hands.
Strange to say that although Helen was now at ease with Lucy around the
house, she had never participated in Lucy's beauty regime. She had
neither offered, nor had Lucy asked for any help with her hair or
makeup. Lucy had started to think that maybe Helen thought that she
would be uncomfortable with her Mum taking such a close involvement in
such things as setting her hair, but the truth was Lucy enjoyed
everything that moved them closer towards a mother/daughter relationship
so she vowed that she would resolve the problem by directly asking her
Mum for help with the rollers. On Friday evening, after they had
finished dinner, Lucy showed his Mum a picture from a magazine of a girl
with her long hair tumbling in loose curls from a parting just to the
right of middle, She explained that during the afternoon she had been
trying to set her hair in an effort to achieve the desired look, but had
been unable to roll the hair towards the back of her head.
She watched her Mum to gauge her reaction. "Do you think you could do
the back for me if I tried again now?"
Helen smiled, then confirmed Lucy's take on the situation. "Sure. No
problem. To tell you the truth I'm a little surprised you haven't asked
me for help before. But I thought you might be a little uncomfortable
with me helping you with your hair and things like that, so I haven't
asked if you wanted any.
"Why would I be uncomfortable?"
Helen thought for the best way to explain her reasonings.
"It's just that I know that there can be a sexual element for you when
you become Lucy, and I thought you might be embarrassed if you had an
accident in front of your Mum. Boys don't normally want their Mum to
know they even have such things as erections never mind talk about them,
or even worse, know their Mum is aware they have got one. But you are
definitely not a normal boy, so I was a little unsure if you would be
all right with me being involved with something that may lead to you
being aroused. I don't even know if you're happy talking like this."
"I'm okay with it Mum if you are. It's true that sometimes I can't
control what happens down there," she said glancing to the area which
she hated so much, " but I think it's probably fresh experiences which
arouse me most. When I'm on my own, just being Lucy, I don't get aroused
at all now. I'm just super content to be Lucy. It's just right. But
sometimes when something different happens, a new experience, or if
someone else is involved in my becoming Lucy, the enormity of what I'm
doing just overwhelms me and I can't control myself. I think, "Here I
am, interacting with another person, not as Luke, but as Lucy, a GIRL."
And it's exciting for me. And I haven't learned to separate and control
excitement from sexual excitement as well as I would like. I guess
Christine told you what happened over at her house. That's the reason it
happened there. But Christine was brilliant about it. And after that was
out the way, I was all right. I could relax and enjoy what was
happening. Me becoming Lucy. I think I'm better able to control myself
now, but if we can both be comfortable with the possibility that it
sometimes happens, especially with a new experience, then I'd love
getting any help you can give. I promise I'll not get embarrassed if you
don't."
Even as Helen was listening to Lucy, she was aware their relationship
had just taken a little step forward and she was confident that they
would be able to handle whatever came their way, together.
"I guess this is a small lesson for both of us. Let's not make anymore
assumptions. Let's ask each other anything without embarrassment. With
your big secret out in the open, it seems silly to stall on the little
things we want to ask or talk about."
"Okay. It's a deal."
Helen took the initiative. "Okay. Let's get started. Do you want me to
wash your hair for you?"
Lucy thought for a second. She had began to feel the unwelcome stirrings
of her penis (how she hated that word), and she knew the best way of
being relaxed with her Mum, was to deal with the problem first. In the
light of the conversation which they had just finished, Lucy knew she
could now say what she was thinking to her Mum.
"That would be nice. Mum, it would perhaps be best if I had a little
time on my own in the bathroom. I think if I can settle myself now, I
will be able to relax with you later on."
Helen smiled. "Go on. Give me a shout when you're ready."
That evening, the relationship of mother and transsexual son became
fixed in both their minds as one of mother and daughter. Although Helen
had long since accepted Luke's desire to be female, there were times
when she still saw him as Luke, her son, the boy who wants to be a
woman. But during that evening she realised that she now saw Lucy, a
girl, and even in the guise of Luke, it was Lucy, the girl, who shone
through. Helen had set Lucy's hair; a full head set using over thirty
rollers, and had felt comfortable doing it. Lucy, her initial excitement
quenched, had loved every minute of her evening. While waiting for her
hair to dry, Helen had done Lucy's makeup, using colours Lucy had never
tried before, giving her a completely different look. They had often
talked about the serious side of Lucy's transition, but tonight they
talked about clothes and hair, makeup and clothes again. Helen stared at
this beautiful girl, hair in rollers, perfect makeup even though she
said so herself, sitting in a pink dressing gown, in every way the
perfect young lady. Well not quite. And she vowed yet again, she would
do what was required to make her dream come true. There would be
troubles ahead, of that she was sure of. Financially, she knew that the
operations Lucy needed were not cheap, and to be honest she was not sure
how they would cope with this problem. She could ask about some extra
hours at the store or maybe get a second job, but she would do what she
had to do.
Luke stared excitedly at the door. It was 1.50p.m. and he knew that at
any moment Christine would come into the salon for her appointment at
2p.m. It was midway through Luke's fourth week in the salon and Helen
had informed Luke on Monday evening that Christine had told her that she
was going to "Linda's" on Wednesday afternoon. Just seeing her name
against the 2p.m. slot in the appointment book had given him a thrill of
anticipation. He hadn't seen Christine since he had started working in
the salon and so he could hardly wait for her to make her appearance
through the salon door. He didn't know that Helen had told Christine
that Luke was being allowed to do a little shampooing, so when Christine
had phoned Linda to make her appointment, she had asked Linda to let
Luke wash her hair, explaining that Luke was the son of her best friend
and perhaps it would be beneficial for him to hone his skills with
someone he was comfortable with. The door opened and Christine stepped
into the salon, causing Luke's heart to miss a beat. Her eyes darted
round the salon, searching for Luke, and very quickly they were
exchanging smiles and mouthing "hello" to one another. Christine was
Luke's absolute, favourite feminine roll model, and although he admired
everything about her, above all, he just loved her easy, womanly, grace.
Christine walked over to the reception desk and greeted Linda, who took
her jacket and the two women exchanged pleasantries for a couple of
minutes. Eventually, Linda called over to Luke.
"Luke. Will you take Mrs. Slater over to the shampooing station and wash
her hair, please?"
Luke gasped! He had anticipated merely watching Christine's passage
through the salon, but it now appeared he was going to take an active
part in her visit. He was going to have a hands-on, personal, salon
employee/client relationship with Christine. He was going to be a part
of what he knew for her, was one of her favourite "girl" experiences. He
felt honoured that Christine was allowing him to be part of that, and he
knew that was because Christine accepted him wholeheartedly as "Lucy".
Smiling constantly at Luke, Christine made her way towards the shampoo
station, and took her seat in the customary fashion with her back
towards the basin, to allow her to tilt her head backwards for
shampooing.
"Afternoon Luke. How's your day going?"
Luke smiled. "Just like every other day. I really love it here." It was
an understatement.
Luke could not have enjoyed the first three weeks of his time at
"Linda's" any more if they had trebled his wages. After the first couple
of days he had felt totally at home. On top of his tidying up duties, he
had been shown, then allowed to shampoo hair and remove rollers from
finished sets. When he was on top of his chores he was even allowed to
observe the stylists at work. He loved watching them cut, colour and
blow-dry. He especially loved watching them roller set a client's hair
or even better, the all too infrequent full head perm. He longed for the
day it would be him sitting in the salon chair, letting these lovely
girls weave their magic on him. His presence had subtly altered the
feeling in the salon, but everyone seemed to be enjoying the change.
They loved his polite manners and his willingness to do even the most
mundane task cheerfully and without question had endeared him to the
girls of the staff. They all could see he was a feminine boy, presumed
he was gay, and in a way that girls and women often do with boys and men
they think are gay, had welcomed him as a friend. They learnt that he
lived with his Mum, and had no other brothers or sisters, but couldn't
figure out if this fact was in any way significant in making Luke the
boy he had become. Luke was aware that they probably thought that he was
gay, but, since truth be told, he didn't really know the answer to that
one himself; he didn't feel inclined to inform them of his feelings. He
was just happy to be accepted by the girls for who he was. Luke liked
that. Women were much better than men at taking people at face value. In
fact, it seemed to Luke from what he had seen and what he had learned on
the internet, that as long as the male in question was not THEIR male,
i.e. husband or boyfriend, most women had absolutely no problem in
accepting gay males, and indeed many seemed to enjoy their conversation
and company. The customers had all been positive, too, though it had
become obvious during Luke's first few days in the salon that many of
the clients were unsure of what to make of him. Outside the salon, with
his flawless skin, unisex good looks and long beautifully conditioned
hair, many people who saw or met Luke for the first time, could not be
sure of his gender, and looked for clues in his clothes or mannerisms.
Linda liked a "uniform" for the girls of the salon, which consisted of a
white blouse, and either black trousers or a choice between two lengths
of black skirt. In the salon, Linda had Luke wearing black trousers and
a plain white male style shirt to fit in with the general look. With
this "uniform" and in the setting of "Linda's Hair and Beauty Salon",
the most obvious assumption many clients made was that Luke was a girl.
But it was Luke and not Lucy who was working in the salon, and others
saw the male shirt, and on closer inspection, realised this was a young
boy. A very girlish, young boy. And there were some who couldn't make
their mind up, and ended up asking their stylist the name of the new
employee, usually to be amazed at the masculine name offered in reply.
Eventually, the other girls, realising the confusion Luke was causing
with clients who had not yet met him, were either quick to introduce
Luke, or drop his name into the beginning of a conversation with their
client, so as to establish his gender in the client's eyes. They very
quickly got used to having Luke brought up as a topic of conversation by
their clients. most of them trying to get the "gen" on the beautiful boy
who works in a beauty salon, but the girls had become very protective of
Luke, and this along with the fact that even they weren't sure about
Luke's personal life, ensured they said very little except that he was a
great kid to be working with. Of course, in those first few weeks, Luke
only met or saw most of the customers a single time, but "Linda's" was a
reasonably up-market salon and had many well-off customers who thought
nothing of coming to the salon every week or even more often if their
social life required them to be looking their best, and Linda was amused
to find that several of them began to request Luke for the shampooing
station. It seemed they just loved to interact and mother the feminine
boy, and Luke loved being a part of their beauty process. He had settled
in nicely and was eagerly looking forward to his birthday in a week's
time when he would begin his oestrogen treatment, which was as far as he
was concerned, the greatest possible birthday present he could receive.
And now he was about to shampoo Christine's hair!
Luke began to run the water and soon had it running at a comfortable
temperature. Overpolitely, he asked Christine,
"Would you please tilt your head back, madam?"
Christine laughed and settled back, lowering her head into the basin.
Luke began to run the warm water through her hair, using his free hand
to lift and move the hair so that it was fully wet. Luke struggled to
control the sensual feeling that touching Christine's hair was arousing
within him and a mild panic that he would not win this struggle began to
sweep over him. But the experience and familiarity he had gained working
in the salon over the last few weeks stood him in good stead and he was
able to master the sensation and continue on. Christine liked to
chatter, and this too helped Luke from concentrating on the exotic
aspect of the task he was carrying out.
"How are you getting on with the girls in here? I think they are a real
nice bunch."
"They've been great. They've all treated me really well. I thought it
might be a little awkward for them when I started, you know a boy
breaking in to their feminine world, but they all seemed to accept it,
no bother. Karen, the trainee, showed me the ropes, and she's been
getting to do more work with the customers, so I guess you could say
that she was definitely pleased to see me. But she still helps me out
when we're quieter, and we get on just fine. She's a really nice girl!"
Luke poured a small amount of shampoo in the palm of his hand, spread it
thoroughly over both his hands and began to work the shampoo into all
parts of Christine's hair, so as not to concentrate the shampoo in one
spot. He soon built up a nice lather and he was careful to make sure
that every hair on Christine's head, from the nape of the neck, round
her ears and to the browline was correctly washed.
"And what about the older girls? How have they been? Wendy's my
colourist and Claire cuts my hair."
"I think they all seem to like me, and I like all of them, but I must
admit, I really like Rosie and Victoria. They've always been quick to
let me help them or to offer to show me what they're doing if I'm not to
busy. I think they've kind of taken me under their wings. Wendy and
Kristy are great too!"
Rosie was the girl who had first spoken and broken the ice when Linda
had introduced Luke to the girls in the staff room on the day he called
in to try and land the job. Rosie was twenty two and Victoria, her best
friend, was a year older, and both had been hairdressers since leaving
school. They were especially popular with the younger generation of
clientele, with Rosie specialising in cutting, while Victoria was the
colouring expert. Rosie, particularly, was intrigued with the young
boy/girl Luke, and had it made it her business to befriend him when he
first set foot inside the salon on his first morning. There was just
something about the way he seemed to combine both sexes she found
totally compelling. Here was a teenage boy, who had almost none of the
traits a teenage boy normally exudes. Indeed, if you took away the
certain knowledge that he was male, his behaviour was completely
acceptable as girl. Here he was working, obviously happily, in a beauty
salon, completely at home in this feminine setting. Yet was he gay? And
there was his looks. He was a beautiful boy. Not handsome. Beautiful.
His complexion was flawless, without any evidence of impending facial
hair, just the fine light hairs of pre puberty youth that further
emphasised his lack of expected masculine features. And when you added
the gorgeous hair! Rosie knew she had never seen a boy quite like Luke
before. She found it very easy to "befriend" Luke, and along with
Victoria, she more than any of the other girls had indeed, taken Luke
under her wing.
Luke finished washing Christine's hair, rinsed it through, then began to
repeat the process once again.
Christine spoke to Luke in a whisper.
"What have they said about you wanting to work in a beauty salon? It's
my guess they're pretty intrigued by you. Are they not asking you any
questions in that area?"
Luke was just as quiet with his reply.
"No. Not really. I think maybe they don't want to embarrass me by asking
what they think will be awkward questions for me."
"So nobody knows your big secret?"
Thinking of his eagerly awaited hormone treatment and the length of time
it would take before noticeable changes would begin to occur, Luke
replied.
"Nobody knows. I'm only here another few weeks and I don't think anyone
will notice any difference in me before I leave. They're all lovely, but
I don't think they need to know just now. Anyway, I'm sure news will get
back to them when I begin to live as Lucy."
"I guess you're right." Luke had finished the shampoo and was beginning
to gently remove the excess water from Christine's hair. She returned to
client mode and said with a smile, "That was really relaxing. I'll be
sure to give my compliments to the manager."
"Thank you, Madam."
Luke took a fresh white towel and passed it around Christine's head
before asking her to sit up and twisting the remainder of the towel and
piling it on top turban style.
"I hope your experience was still a pleasurable one despite my male
participation?" he grinned.
"Luke, I asked for you especially."
Luke was, not for the first time, overcome by love of this compassionate
woman. His mother's love, despite his reluctance to tell her of his
problem and the fact Helen had to bring it out into the open between
them, was a given. He knew, even at the time when he couldn't find the
nerve to bring his desire to be female to his mother, that when it
finally became known, it would be all right. There would just be support
and love. That was his mother's way. He'd known this all along. But he
couldn't have foreseen the support he'd been given by other females in
his life. And most especially by Christine. He was not related to her,
but she seemed to have adopted and accepted him as Lucy, the daughter
she didn't have. There was not one single thing in her behaviour towards
him, that didn't show total acceptance for who and what he was. He loved
her openness of mind and willingness to take people as they were.
Christine rose from the chair and Claire approached from the staff room
to guide her to her station. Obviously not aware that Luke and Christine
were acquainted, and trying as normal to clear up any potential
confusion in her client's mind, she thanked Luke and turned to
Christine.
"I see you were lucky enough to have Luke shampoo your hair. He's
working here for the summer and he's already proving very popular with
the customers. There almost a queue forming to have Luke wash your
hair."
"Luke and I know each other. I'm very friendly with his Mum. Isn't that
right, Luke?"
"Yes. They work together. I've known Mrs. Slater for a long time."
Christine nodded a "see you later" and headed off with Claire for her
cut. This was not a "big" appointment for Christine. She was not having
her highlights touched up or her colour changed. It was just a neatening
up of the style she had had for the last couple of months. Claire
removed the towel turban and began to comb through Christine's blonde
hair. She knew from the appointment book that a trim was all that was
required but checked with Christine all the same.
"It's just a small trim off the ends, isn't it?"
"That's right. I'm thinking of going for something shorter and funkier
next time, but I'm happy with it the way it is just now."
Claire set to work with the scissors, and despite her best intentions,
found herself angling for an opening sentence in her conversation with
Christine. Like all the other girls in the salon, she liked and was
protective of Luke, but she had in front of her someone who knew him
well and could perhaps throw a little more light on his life. Christine
had been a client of hers for some time now, and like many other
stylist/client relationships, she thought of her more a friend than a
customer. But she didn't want to appear nosy. All the same, just like
everyone else, she really wanted to find out a little more about Luke.
"It's great having Luke in the salon. I thought it might change the
place, you know, for the worse, having a boy working here. But it hasn't
really made a great deal of difference, and what difference it has made
has been for the better.
"Yes. I think so too."
"He's such a nice boy. Perfect manners. All the girls in the salon are
pretty fond of him."
"He's been well brought up."
"You know, Luke is the only male I've ever seen inside this salon."
Claire left a little gap in the conversation for Christine to enter, but
ploughed on when met with no response. "I suppose we all thought it was
a little strange, a boy wanting to work in a beauty salon, and maybe it
might take away from the feeling inside the salon, but he's just slotted
in, and become one of the team. He doesn't seem in the least bit
intimidated working amongst all these women. It's unusual that he should
be so comfortable, don't you think?"
Christine smiled to herself as she realised she was being gently quizzed
by her friend. It dawned on her how much of a mystery Luke probably was
for the girls in the salon, and now Claire had someone who knew him from
outside of work and was trying to see if she would maybe fill in some of
the gaps on Luke's life. She was definitely not going to forward any
information that Luke himself had not given them, particularly anything
concerning his sexuality or gender problems.
"I think there are lots of good, positive female influences in his life.
But d