I Only Wanted A Job - Chapter 3 - Its Show-time free porn video

I ONLY WANTED A JOB Chapter 3 - It's Show-time! Finally the night came when both Simone and Annie declared that I was ready to perform en-femme. Annie helped me get dressed and finished off putting on my makeup - my hands were shaking too much. "You will be fine," she told me severely. "You know the music backwards and have practiced playing in heels, so there is nothing to worry about!" Easy for her to say; harder for me to believe! But there I was; standing behind the stage curtain waiting for my entrance. I heard Simone's voice, front of tabs, talking to the audience; "And tonight I am very pleased to introduce you to our wonderful new pianist. I give you the fabulous.......Victoria." The curtains parted and I was on!!! At that moment I didn't have time to think; my body just took over. I stepped forward into the spotlight; acknowledged Simone with a bob of the head; gave the audience a beaming smile and dropped into a deep curtsy. For this inaugural performance as 'Victoria' I had opted for a simple comfortable dress. It was cream chiffon over an under-dress of cream satin. The skirt was full and fell just above my knee. I had teamed it with nude hose and matching strappy sandals with a 4-inch heel - high but not too much so. I wore my red wig with blonde highlights down and wavy, so that soft curls just brushed my shoulders. Bright red lipstick matched the varnish on my finger and toenails. I smoothed my skirt under me as I sat down on the piano stool. My fingers went into 'automatic mode' as I played the first few chords of my opening number. Suddenly I was lost in the music; an idea for a new variation sprang from nowhere into my mind and, without thinking, I was off down a brand new track. Now this is something I would never have risked had I thought about it; normally even the most experienced musician will try out new ideas in rehearsal before going 'live' in front of an audience. Maybe it was the adrenalin flowing through my body as a result of my appearing for the first time as a woman; I don't know. All I do know is that the number went down a storm and at the end of it I received the loudest applause I have ever achieved! I rose and took a bow. Sitting down once again my normal caution clicked in and I proceeded with the rest of my pre-planned set. I became aware of the audience once more - I had been away in a world of my own for that first number! - and had to take a couple of deep breathes to calm down. It wasn't that I was nervous about my playing - I had done that often enough before - it was just I suddenly became conscious that I was now a professional Drag Queen, performing for a paying public. What if they laughed at me in my feminine get-up? Acting 'camp', as I had for the previous week was one thing - I expected to be laughed at - but trying to perform as a convincing woman was an altogether different kettle of fish. It suddenly struck me that I really wanted to be a success in my new role. I needn't have worried; my solo set was warmly applauded and I left the stage giddy with relief and euphoria. Annie and Simone were waiting in the wings. They both hugged and kissed me before Simone hurried on stage to give me a 'back announcement' and to introduce the next act. "........and I am sure you agree with me that the lovely Victoria will be performing for your pleasure for many months to come!" The applause broke out again and Annie pushed me back on stage. I took another bow before exiting as gracefully as I could - and promptly burst into tears of relief! Fortunately Annie had a drink waiting for me and I sipped a glass of brandy gratefully. "No more booze for you until after the show," Annie admonished in mock severity. "You have to accompany me in a minute and I don't want to have to cope with a pissed pianist!" Not the world's greatest joke, but it broke the tension and my tears turned to laughter. The rest of the first half of the show went off smoothly. I changed my dress for a simple black, floor-length gown to accompany Annie as her style was more sophisticated. During the break a number of the other performers and waiting staff came back stage to congratulate me on my debut performance and I realise, once again, how lucky I was to have ended up working with such a fabulous group of people. Tina - (nee 'Philip') - was particularly sweet, asking me if I was now comfortable with the thought of wearing dresses as my normal working attire. "I'll be fine," I responded, "Heels and skirts take a bit of getting used to on a purely practical level, but I think I have cracked that and, as you told me weeks ago, the wearing of female clothing doesn't make one gay. In fact I feel more at ease in what I am wearing tonight than I did in that hideous pink tail-coat!" The second show went as well as the first, although I didn't tempt fate for a second time and kept my new variation in reserve for further work and rehearsal! Afterwards as I hung up my costumes; cleaned off my makeup; and reverted to male mode, I felt a real sense of achievement. I had taken on the role of Caretaker at Simone's simply as a means to avoid having to creep home with my tail between my legs having failed to find work in London. However, although I had been the best 'caretaker' I could, there was no way in my parents would ever view it as a 'proper job' for their son. Now, being a professional pianist with a regular performance spot at a fashionable nightclub was a different matter entirely and I knew they would be pleased with what I had achieved. They might have preferred me to go into some more academic or business orientated role, but they knew about my passion for music and being a 'performer' would be perfectly acceptable to them. How they would feel when they discovered that I was performing in drag was another question entirely and one that I decided to shelve for the present. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof! I was still on a 'high' when Annie and I arrived back at her flat. "Do you fancy a nightcap?" I enquired. "Only I'm too hyped up to go to sleep just yet." Annie smiled. "I can well understand your elation," she said. "You were fantastic tonight and should be very proud of yourself." "Do you really mean that?" I asked anxiously. "Seriously, as one performer to another, what did you really think? I'm not after having my ego boosted, I need constructive criticism." "Oh there are few points you could polish up," Annie said nonchalantly, "but overall that was amazing for a debut performance. You seemed totally at home in skirts and, if I hadn't known better, I could easily have taken you for a real woman." Coming from Annie this was praise indeed and I felt a glow of pleasure spread through my body. Annie continued; "We have loads of very good Drag Queens performing at the club and the audience laps up that sort of camp behaviour. What you and I can provide is a more sophisticated, subtly feminine performance. This makes for a more balanced programme and, ultimately, gives the punters a better overall experience." By now it was very late - ('early morning' even!) - and alcohol was starting to have the desired effect of making me sleepy, so we agreed to continue the conversation in the morning. Annie gave me a quick goodnight kiss on the cheek and we retired to our separate bedrooms. Inevitably, after such a 'high' debut, the following night's performance was a bit of an anticlimax; it was competent enough but lacked 'sparkle'. Ah well, back to the drawing board for more rehearsal and practice! Over the next few weeks Annie and I polished up both our joint act and my solo spot. Annie was amazingly helpful. She was, by now, a very experienced performer and was able to give me invaluable tips about how to ease the audience towards being on my side. I really started to enjoy my performing and the consequent adrenalin buzz stimulated my composing skills and I dashed off several new tunes and arrangements. I was going down a storm at the Club and Simone was sufficiently impressed to offer me an unsolicited pay rise; which I did not refuse!!! I even started to become comfortable wearing skirts and heels; even to the point where I sometimes didn't bother to get back into male mode before travelling home at the end of a night's performances. I would merely swap my stage costume for a simple dress, or top and jeans, and catch the night bus back to Annie's flat 'en femme'. Dressing as a woman started to become second nature for me. I even agreed to Annie's suggestion that I get my ears pierced; having done so I discovered that I now had a much wider selection of pretty earrings to choose from. I made sure that at least once a week I removed my breast forms and gave the skin of my chest a chance to recover. However, I soon discovered that even without breasts I was often taken for a woman when dressed in male clothes. Maybe it was my plucked eyebrows or my smooth skin, but I suspect that it was really down to the fact that I was now expressing femininity through my body language and speech patterns. It didn't take long for me to reduce the time I spent as a male to the absolute minimum. Even Mrs Gillespie, our neighbour in the flat below, started to believe that I was a girl! She actively encouraged Annie and me to make use of her garden when the weather was fine. "You girls need to get a tan," she would admonish us and before long I had purchased my first bikini and was sunbathing in Mrs Gillespie's garden! It was a relatively modest bikini, but a bikini none-the-less and I soon developed distinctively feminine tan-lines! By now I had been living and working in London for several months without making any trips home and my parents were starting to get a bit agitated. Mum, in particular, was forever writing and asking when I was going to come home for a visit. I used every excuse I could think of to put her off but I was running out of ideas and I knew the time was coming when I would have to face up to telling my parents about my new way of life. I asked Annie for advice. "Well, my parents always knew I had a strong feminine streak in my makeup," she started, "but it still came as a shock to them when I started living and dressing as a girl full-time. However, they remained my parents and eventually came round to realising that if we were to continue to have a relationship they would need to come to terms with my sexuality. Now I realise that your circumstances are somewhat different. I am a transsexual; you are a hetero- sexual man who just happens to earn his living by performing in drag!" At this point we both lost it and collapsed in hysteric giggles! "Oh Annie," I eventually managed to gasp out. "Do you really think that sort of subtlety is going to resonate with my parents? All they are going to see is their son in a dress!" Finally we agreed that I needed to come up with a plan for alerting my parents to my changed lifestyle before appearing on their doorstep looking like a girl. So I wrote Mum and Dad a long and thoughtful letter in which I explained that the reason I hadn't been able to get home for several months was because I had been so busy establishing myself as a professional musician. I then went on to tell them that the Club where I was working was a very fashionable one and that I was extremely fortunate to be playing there and that I was steadily building a strong base of supporters and fans. However, because the club was fashionable it was a bit way-out in terms of style and that I was required to perform in costume. At this point my nerve left me and I bottled out; finishing the letter by saying that I would tell them more when I saw them. Finally, and taking a deep breath, I gave them a date when I would come home for a few days. (I had checked with Simone and she was happy to give me a few days leave. "You have worked amazingly hard for the last three months," she said. "The least I can do is let you take a few days off. Lizzie can accompany Annie. She isn't anywhere near as good a pianist as you, but she is good enough to cover for a few nights.") And so, a few days later I found myself at Euston Station boarding a train for Nuneaton. I had done the best I could to "masculinise," my appearance; I hadn't shaved for a couple of days and now sported a light peach fuzz on my cheeks and chin. (Months of using strong depilatory creams had seriously weakened my beard growth, as well as the hair distribution over the rest of my body!) Naturally I was wearing 'boy's clothes', although I had lost so much weight my old shirts and trousers no longer fitted me and I had had to buy some new ones. I made sure that all traces of makeup and nail varnish were removed and I had cut my nails back to a more masculine length. There wasn't much I could do about my thinned eyebrows, long, tinted hair, and pierced ears, but I pulled my hair back into a shaggy ponytail and put very simple gold studs in my ears. I still looked rather effeminate but sufficiently like my old self so as not to be too much of a shock to Mum and Dad. I suppose you could say I was at the extreme end of 'metro-sexual'. In buying new clothes, I had deliberately gone for a very conservative style. My trousers were grey - with a turn-up! My shirt was white with a blue stripe and I wore a plain navy-blue tie. A beige M & S sweater and black, lace-up brogue shoes completed my attempt to appear a 'normal', masculine man. I'm not sure I was totally successful! My train arrived in Nuneaton on time and I caught the bus out to where my parents lived. My knees were quaking as I walked up the path to the front door. Of course I had a latch key, but somehow it seemed more appropriate to ring the bell. Mum opened the door and, taking me in her arms, gave me a big hug. "Oh Victor, it has been too long since we last saw you," she exclaimed. It was only as she stepped back and took her first good look at me that a shadow crossed her face. "Look at you; you are skin and bone. I knew you wouldn't look after yourself. It is about time you came back for a bit of home cooking; I'll soon fatten you up!" Nothing about my hair, eyebrows or earrings; Mum only saw that her son had lost weight! Dad however, was not so uncritical; "Hi Son; London seems to have gone to your head. You wouldn't get away with earrings and dyed hair for long in Nuneaton," was his opening comment! "Stop it Frank," responded Mum; "I thing Victor looks very smart and it is good he is taking care of his appearance after all those years as a scruffy schoolboy and student." And that was it for the time being. Mum had prepared a meal around my all-time favourite dishes and I really enjoyed good home cooking after eating mainly at the Club for all these months. However, I couldn't do the meal the justice Mum expected; months of having to think about my figure and limit my food intake had seriously reduced my appetite. Mum looked a bit disappointed as I pushed my plate away. "Are you sure you wouldn't like seconds?" she asked anxiously, "Only I know sticky toffee pudding is your favourite dessert." "Sorry Mum, I'm absolutely stuffed," I responded and proceeded to help her clear the table. In the kitchen she turned to me; "There isn't anything wrong with you, is there? Only I have never known you eat so little before." "No Mum, I'm fine," I replied. "It is just that as a performer I need to think about the image I project and I have consciously been trying to slim down a bit. I'm very fit and healthy; it's just I don't eat as much anymore." This sort of satisfied Mum, but I could sense she didn't really agree with how I was looking after myself. It was later that evening that my worst fears had to be faced. The three of us had moved to the lounge for coffee and Dad and I were enjoying a malt whisky whilst Mum sipped a glass of Tia Maria. "Now tell us all about your job and this Club where you work," demanded Mum excitedly. "Do you have any photographs?" I admitted that I did, indeed, have a few photos of me performing and, taking a deep breath, opened up the photo- app on my iphone. Whilst I had known all along that I was going to have to come clean with my parents about the fact that I performed in drag, now that it came to it my heart was pounding fit to burst. I passed my iphone to Mum and she and Dad scanned the first picture avidly. It was a photo of me accompanying Annie. "Where are you?" enquired Mum, "I can only see two girls in this picture." "Look more closely at the one playing the piano," I replied; "That is me." There was a sudden in-drawing of breath and then silence. Mum was quicker on the uptake than Dad. "You mean that the girl playing the piano is actually you wearing a dress?" she asked amazedly. "Yes," I replied; "The Club at which I work, 'Simone's' is a drag club and I perform as a cross-dresser." "What; you mean you are some fag, nancy-boy?" exploded Dad, reverting, in his surprise and anger, to the language of his youth. "No Dad," I explained, with a sigh. "I am just as 'straight' as I always was. This is just the way I earn my living. For me wearing a dress, makeup and heels is just the same as you wearing a suit into the office. I wear the uniform that is expected of me." Mum was a bit more thoughtful. "You mean that in order to earn your living as a performer you need to dress as a girl?" she enquired anxiously. "Yes Mum," I responded. "It is no big deal; some of the guys at the club are gay, but many are totally straight and just earning a living as best they can. I never planned for this to happen. It is just that when a job opportunity arose, it required me wear skirts. I was a bit freaked out at first I will admit, but now dresses are just what I wear when I am working." This answer seemed to satisfy Mum but Dad kept on muttering for a bit longer. I showed them other photos of me performing and pointed out Annie to them. "Annie is my flat-mate," I explained. "She is a transsexual and is just waiting for approval for gender-reassignment surgery. She is a lovely person and we are great friends; but "no", before you ask, I am not 'involved' with her!" This clearly came as a great relief to my parents! We continued talking into the early hours of the morning and gradually they calmed down and started to accept that my work, whilst somewhat unusual, wasn't anything deviant. Finally, talked out, we all retired to bed exhausted. Surprisingly, I slept very well and woke quite early and went downstairs to the kitchen, where Mum was preparing breakfast. "I imagine that after what you told us last night, you won't be asking for a cooked breakfast?" she asked with a weak smile. "No Mum," I responded, glad she could make a joke about my situation, "I'll just have a bowl of muesli and a black coffee". As Mum busied herself with breakfast, she continued; "Do you have any of your female clothes with you?" she enquired, "only I think it might be helpful to Dad and I if we could see you as you appear at the Club. "Sorry Mum," I responded; "I haven't brought any dresses with me. I did think about it, but then decided that as these are only my working clothes, it wasn't really appropriate." (I deliberately neglected to add that, for convenience, in London I also spent much of my time when not at the Club dressed as a woman.) Anyway, that was just about it. I spent a week at home with Mum and Dad and, whilst they both tried probing a bit deeper as to my way of life, fortunately neither seemed to want to push the conversation too far. It was only as I was saying good bye, prior to leaving to return to London, that Mum finally plucked up courage and asked; "Would it be alright if Dad and I came and saw you performing one day?" I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or even more nervous! I managed to stammer out; "Of course, that would be great. I will sort out a mutually convenient date and look forward to your seeing how I earn my own living." (This was said a bit through gritted teeth, but I knew deep down that there wasn't any real option.) On my return to Stoke Newington I told Annie what had happened. She laughed; "Well you didn't really expect anything different did you?" I had to confess that overall things had gone much more smoothly than I had anticipated. "You are just going to have to fix a date for your parents to come to the Club," she said. "If I can offer one piece of advice; make it a week when we don't have a blue, drag comedian top-lining the bill! Something a bit more 'vanilla' would be best as an introduction for your parents to the world of drag." The next few weeks were relatively quiet. My work at the Club continued to go well and, as I started to relax more as a performer, I began to be able to take more notice of those parts of the show in which I wasn't appearing. To be honest, some of the routines were getting a bit stale and jaded and would clearly benefit from a bit of a revamp. I also noticed that fewer of our regular customers were making return visits and that increasingly we seemed to be relying on passing tourist trade. I took an opportunity one morning to have a word with Simon. "Please don't think me impertinent," I started; "I don't want to speak out of turn, but I have been wondering whether the Club would benefit from an updating of the nightly show. It has had the same format since I started working here and some of the routines are getting a bit slack. But, as I say, if I am speaking out of turn, I apologise and let's say no more." "Not at all," responded Simon. "I'm always willing to consider new ideas. To be honest, 'production' isn't really my forte; I'm really just a 'Drag Queen' Mistress of Ceremonies. The show was originally put together by an old friend of mine about two years ago and, apart from a few changes amongst the performers - such as you replacing Frank - nothing much has changed since. If you think you can refresh it and inject a new spark, by all means do so." We agreed I would undertake some research - including visiting other Caberet Clubs; both 'gay' and 'straight' - to get a better idea of the current scene, styles, and standards of performance. I would then come up with a proposal for a new production. So, over the next few weeks, this is what I did. My visits to other venues confirmed my fears that 'Simone's' was rapidly becoming tacky and old hat. I also used the internet - especially Youtube - to check out different acts and before long I was able to put together an outline plane for a new production. Inevitably changes were going to incur additional costs, but when I put my plans in front of Simon, he did not blanch at my projected budget and gave me the go ahead to produce a new show. It was important that I had the backing of the other performers, so the first thing I did was to get everyone together for a meeting at which Simon outlined his reasons for asking me to produce a new show. The was, of course, a certain amount of muttering and bitching about 'up-start new boy' and 'getting too big for his boots', but in the main the team was supportive of making a fresh start; they weren't stupid and knew the old show had become stale and tired. I announced that the following Monday I would be starting auditions and that if any of the existing team had ideas about how they could improve their acts, they should book a slot to demonstrate these for me. Quite a few of my colleagues came forward during the following week and some showed potential and talent that I hadn't seen from them before. These individuals went onto my 'new team' list, whilst others, who were clearly unhappy with my new role, were earmarked for 'early release when convenient'! I also advertised open auditions and picked up some exciting new talent from those who came along. Finally, after a couple of weeks, I was able to go back to Simon with my detailed plan of who we would employ in the new show and how I intended to balance their various talents. It was my intention to make the new show less obviously a collection of individual drag acts and more an integrated, stylish cabaret in which the female roles just happened to be undertaken by cross-dressed men. I also managed to convince Simon that it would be a good idea to have some male singers and dancers performing as 'men'! Now came the difficult bit; I had to tell those performers who had no role in the new show that they were being let go. As can be imagined this caused an absolute furore with much flouncing and bad language! As I had anticipated, everyone who was 'out' left the premises immediately, promising never to return. This inevitably left quite a few gaps in the ranks and, of course, we still had the old show to perform whilst rehearsing the new one. Fortunately I had anticipated a walkout by rejected performers and had taken the precaution of getting some of my new recruits to discretely sit-in on the show for the previous few nights to get an idea of the old routines. The new 'girls' were keen and eager and after a couple of roughish nights, they slipped into the show as though they had been there for years. Indeed, just this infusion of fresh energy gave much needed new life to the old show. However, 'off with the old and on with the new'; I immediately started rehearsals for the new show. I wasn't a choreographer, but one of the dancers I had recruited had staged a few routines elsewhere and he set to work to lick the new dance numbers into shape. I concentrated on working with the singers, musicians and comics to meld their individual talents into an integrated, modern show. In total the overall cast numbers only went up by about four, but the new team was much more versatile and willing to perform in different roles, so that the overall effect was of a much more lavish show. During my auditions, it had emerged that as well as being a singer and comedienne, Lizzie was a talented clarinet player. So one of the new acts I had devised was for her, Annie and me to perform some modern jazz standards. I put together a small backing combo of guitar and drums from our existing band and we billed ourselves as "The Three Queens". The pun was excusable because one day in rehearsal Annie had remarked that it was amusing that the three of us were all named after Queens of England! I thought we could make something of this and had arranged for costumes to be made for us loosely based - (very loosely based!) - on dresses from the appropriate periods. For example; Lizzie, as Queen Elizabeth I, wore a red wig with a pearl-trimmed headpiece, ruff, square-cut bodice and stomacher, and a thigh-length over-skirt. However, I omitted the Elizabethan underskirt and petticoats, so Lizzie trim legs were revealed in all their glory in black fish-net tights! Annie had a similar parody dress based on 17th century designs, whilst I wore black bombazine and Queen Victoria's trade-mark white cap. In both cases much of the traditional skirting was removed. To quote a hoary old chestnut; Queen Victoria would "not have been amused"! In staging the new show I realised I would have to invest in new scenery and costumes. This was where Simon was going to have to put up extra money. Fortunately Lizzie knew a young designer, Clive, who, having assisted on a number of fringe shows was keen to work on a production of his own. He expressed willingness to undertake the design work for a very modest fee; "Because Lizzie is a very good friend of mine". (In fact I worked out they were actually boyfriends!) However, this represented a good deal for the Club so I accepted Clive's offer gratefully. The fact that he was very camp with a penchant for pink lighting, spangles, and glitter-balls may not have been to my personal taste but was absolutely perfect for a drag show! It was at this point that all my hard work sorting out and storing old costumes and props paid off. Clive went through the stockroom and announced that there was a load of stuff he could refresh and reuse. Of course this saved quite a lot of money. When complete I was able to tell Simon, with a fair amount of pride, that I had brought his new production in very slightly under the budget we had agreed! Before launching the new show, Simon closed the Club for two weeks in order to give the public areas a complete make-over. "We want the customers to realise this is a thoroughly revitalised Club," he announced. We performers used this time to bring the different elements of the show together and to ensure they fused seamlessly into an integrated whole. You can imagine how nervous I was when Opening Night finally arrived. Owing to my role as producer, I had less performing to do than most of the rest of the team. I only appeared in "The Three Queens," jazz set and as Annie's accompanist. (She had specifically begged me to continue in this role and, as I owed her so much, I could hardly refuse.) This meant that I could sit at the back of the Club for much of the show and take notes of anything that required attention. In the event if went off better than I could possibly have expected and the crowded audience expressed their appreciation in the most pleasurable way. Having put together a longer, more integrated show, Simone and I had decided to do away with the previous 'twice-nightly' pattern and to perform the new show just once, after customers had dined and before they were encouraged to start dancing. The new model worked well and overall the takings rose. Inevitably I had 'notes' to give the following morning, but they weren't too significant and I had a very happy team of performers congratulating me after I had given them feedback. I waited a couple of weeks to let the new show bed down and then, taking my courage in both hands, I asked my parents if they would like to come to London for a couple of nights and see the show. Naturally they accepted like a shot! As there was no room to put them up at the flat Annie and I shared, I booked Mum and Dad into a boutique hotel just off Oxford Street and arranged for them to be given the best table in the Club. I asked Tina (nee Philip) if she would look after them personally. Unlike some of the other 'waitresses' Tina was straight and I knew would not alarm my parents unduly. I wasn't too worried about Mum; she was more adaptable that she at first appeared, but I knew Dad would be very nervous. Drag shows and gay boy-waitresses were way out of his sense of normality and I wanted to minimise the chance of him freaking out. In the event, I need not have worried. I met Mum and Dad at Euston - (in 'Victor' mode, naturally) - and took them to their hotel. They were both delighted with room and the basket of fruit and bottle of champagne I had laid on for them. "Now remember," I told them, "dinner will be served at the Club at 8:00pm. It is only ten minutes walk down the road," - (my Dad would never waste money on taxis!) - "and I suggest you get there about 7:30 for a pre-dinner drink. I will see you after the show. I hope you won't be too upset at seeing me performing in an evening gown." Mum assured me that she was looking forward to meeting her "new daughter"; Dad didn't look at all convinced! Well, the die was cast so I made my farewells and left for the Club to get ready for the show. The next time I saw Mum and Dad was when I slid onto my piano stool to accompany Annie in her solo spot. I was wearing a black and silver cocktail dress with wide net under-skirts and very sparkly jewellery. I could almost hear my Mother's in-draw of breath as she took in my new appearance. Just before going on, Tina had slipped backstage to reassure me that Mum and Dad had enjoyed their meal and that Dad hadn't been too freaked out by being served by a man in a dress. I don't know if Annie made a special effort to impress my parents, but that night she sang her heart out. I had never heard her perform better and in one of her more jazzy numbers, she tipped me the wink and we started improvising, each sparking a new angle from the other. We left the stage to thunderous applause. My next appearance was as 'Queen Victoria' in our jazz set. I was even more nervous about what Mum might think of me showing off my legs in fishnet tights, but, hey, there was nothing I could do about it now, so I tried to forget my parents were out-front and concentrated on relaxing into the music. This set also went down well, although not as rapturously received as Annie's solo spot had been. Overall I was well pleased that Mum and Dad had seen the show on a good night and I hoped they would be impressed by both my performing and production roles. They were! When the show was over and the other customers were starting to get down on the dance floor, Tina ushered Mum and Dad through the pass-door and into the backstage area. I was waiting to greet them. Mum threw herself into my arms. "Oh darling, I am so proud of you," she cried. "To think that you have made such a success of things here in London; your work might not be what Dad and I had envisaged for you but you are clearly very good at it and, if this is what you want to do, we will back you all the way!" "Of course we will son," Dad muttered in agreement, perhaps a bit less enthusiastically than Mum! I took the two of them around the backstage area introducing them to the team and especially to Annie. "This is Annie," I explained. "I told you about her when I came home the last time. We share a flat together and she has become my best friend. I owe her for everything I have achieved here in London." Dad glared a bit at this, but his look was missed as Mum folded Annie in her arms. "Thank you for having taken care of Victor for me," she enthused. "He tells me that although a boy externally, you actually are a woman inside. I wish you all the best for your transition and that you won't have to wait too long for reassignment surgery." I suddenly realised that Mum hadn't been wasting her time. Since my visit home, she had clearly been on the internet researching the whole transgender scene! Annie was almost in tears at my Mum's reaction and I suddenly realised that she had been nearly as nervous as I about my parent's visit. The show being over, Annie and I changed out of our 'Three Queens' costumes into cocktail dresses and accompanied Mum and Dad back into the main part of the Club where Tina proceeded to serve us some very good champagne courtesy of Simon. 'Simone' joined us shortly afterwards and I was pleased to see how Dad engaged her in conversation about the details of running a West End Club. The rest of the evening passed in a relaxed, enjoyable manner and Mum and Dad hugged and kissed everyone as they finally left to go back to their hotel. (Mum may have kicked Dad under the table to make sure he gave everyone a proper embrace, but he did it with apparent good grace!) We had arranged that the following day, Sunday, Mum and Dad would come over to Stoke Newington to see the flat I was sharing with Annie and for the two of us to take them out to lunch. Naturally it was Mum who enthused about the flat and congratulated Annie on her taste and style. However, I was pleased to see that Dad seemed relaxed in her company and was treating her as a woman, not some cross-dressed man. I was in 'male drab', having decided that enough was enough and not to push the boundaries too far when things seemed to be going so well. The four of us enjoyed an excellent lunch in a little Italian restaurant before Annie and I accompanied Mum and Dad back to Euston and put them on the train for Nuneaton. As Dad was saying goodbye to Annie, Mum hugged me closely and whispered in my ear; "I think Annie is lovely and if the two of you were ever to decide that your relationship was something more than friendship, I for one would be delighted." This was a real bolt from the blue. I had never consciously considered Annie as a possible partner, but Mum having said what she had, suddenly made me realise just how fond I had become of Annie and how comfortably we fitted together in the flat. In many ways Mum was right, we were a bit like an old married couple! Still all that was for another day; for now I was just pleased that the visit had gone off so smoothly. After we had waved Mum and Dad off and their train had left the station, I gave Annie a big hug and thanked her for having help make my parent's visit to London to see me perform in drag so successful. "Let's go and have some fizz at the St Pancras Champagne Bar," I suggested. "That seems a bit extravagant," Annie responded, "why don't we just go home and crack open a bottle of sparkling wine?" "No, you deserve champagne after all you have done to make my parent's trip a success," I replied. "I know we can't afford to do this very often, but tonight is something special and I want to treat you." So we happily set off for St Pancras station and enjoyed not one but two bottles of their house champagne! We were both a bit tiddly when we got back to the flat, but I cannot blame what happened next on alcohol. As we collapsed onto the sofa, it just seemed natural for me to take Annie in my arms and give her a lingering kiss - one which she returned with interest I have to say! Kissing developed into petting and before long Annie was leading me upstairs and into her bedroom. We woke the next morning a little hung- over, embarrassed, but neither of us sorry about what had transpired. Our relationship had, without doubt, taken a step forward. What would happen next was up for grabs, but the two of us were now definitely lovers! Annie and I both agreed to leave any possible relationship 'on hold' for the present and just concentrate on getting Simone's club show to the best it could be. To that end we, and the rest of the cast, worked long and hard, polishing our routines and ensuring each act was working to its optimum. I personally found the work hard but rewarding. However, there was little - if any - time for anything else as Annie and I were both totally exhausted by the time we got home in the early hours of the morning. Then the 'game changer' happened. Quite out of the blue Simone received a letter inviting 'The Three Queens' to audition for the television series 'X Factor'. None of us could quite grasp what was happening. Simone was most encouraging that we should enter this TV competition. I wasn't sure, but allowed myself to be persuaded, never believing that we would get past the audition stage. But we did, and in due course, found ourselves in competition with others on a national TV show....and not only that, but a show that enjoyed the highest weekly ratings in the country! I am sure that everyone is familiar with the format of this type of 'talent show' - even if they haven't personally seen the 'X Factor'. Everything is hyped up to extremes with lots of coverage in the tabloid newspapers and contestant's private lives being put under the microscope. Naturally as a drag act, The Three Queens' came in for particular attention. If only a limited number of my acquaintances had been aware of my being a drag queen before X Factor; no-one could have been in any doubt afterwards! But, as they say, 'there is no such thing as bad publicity' and certainly the coverage we received in the newspapers and gossip magazines heightened our profile and ensured that we had lots of support from members of the viewing public when it came to voting. We didn't in the end, win, but achieved a very respectable second place. This had an unbelievable effect on our profile. Suddenly we were in demand. Offers of bookings came in from far and wide. Obviously we couldn't accept them; we were under contract to Simon. He, however, was extremely generous and insisted that we be released from our obligation to him in order to be able to take advantage of the offers we were receiving. "After all, your success will reflect well on the Club and I can capitalise on your new found fame," he explained. "Also when you become top-liners, I trust you to come back and front up some shows for me." This was extremely generous and more than we deserved, so the three of us had no problem with giving Simon our word that we would be happy to perform in his club any time. I am delighted to be able to record that we did indeed keep our word. Having achieved 'top billing' status we never forgot what we owed to Simon and every six months or so we made a point of playing a two week gig at the Club. I for one always enjoyed going back to our roots and know that Annie and Lizzie felt the same. We were earning enough to be able to play at 'Simone's' for free. It was a pleasure to play at the old, familiar venue and any extra money we brought into Simon's coffers was more than justified by the support he had given us in our early days. So professionally my career - and Annie's - went from strength to strength. What about our personal life you might ask. Well, that is another story that I might share another time. For now, however, I must leave you. Keep a look out for a poster advertising 'The Three Queens' appearing in your area. If you do come to a show, please visit us back- stage afterwards. We would love to meet you. Any fan who is sufficiently interested in us to read our 'back history' is bound to be worth meeting. Until then; lots of love, Victoria - (nee 'Victor')