This is a funny little spinoff of my other story, "Mockumentary." But
it's totally okay if you haven't read that one, since the tie-in is
pretty simple: this is the pilot episode for the sitcom that Tristan
ends up starring in. Just to be clear, I wrote this story to be complete
and have a nice, satisfying ending...but, since it's meant to suggest
the pilot of a TV show, it does end on kind of a "and so, the adventure
begins" kind of note. However, I've gone to lengths to ensure that the
story can be enjoyed on its own as a standalone "episode."
But basically, this is a playful little romp with a guy stuffing his big
boobs into a French maid's costume. :) Enjoy!
MY UNCLE FIFI
by Jenny North
"Girls! C'mon! You're gonna be late!" Bonnie called up the winding
staircase.
Her husband Dave walked into the foyer sipping a cup of coffee and
checked his watch. "I thought the bus doesn't get here for another ten
minutes?" he asked.
"If you're not early, you're late," Bonnie said simply. "Besides, we're
on teenager time."
The younger girl, Madison, was the first to emerge, and came trotting
down the stairs wearing her school uniform and carrying her backpack.
"Where's Claire?" Bonnie asked.
Madison shrugged dismissively. "What am I, my sister's keeper?"
Dave gave a knowing glance to his wife. "Teenage sass coming out of a
ten-year-old. And you thought private school wouldn't be worth the
money."
"CLAIRE!" she yelled. "MOVE IT!"
"I don't know why we bothered to install an intercom," Madison said.
"It made sense at the time," Dave offered. "The house is over ten
thousand square feet. I didn't want your Mom getting laryngitis."
Bonnie shot him a look that told him he'd be paying for that remark
later.
Just then, the front door opened. Rumpled and disheveled as was his
custom, Dave's brother Terry walked in, still wearing his favorite
clubbing outfit. He removed his sunglasses and took in the familial
scene. "Whoa. Family meeting? I usually miss these."
"You're usually asleep," Dave said. "You're up early," he observed.
"Technically, I'm up very late," Terry said with a smile. "What's going
on?"
Bonnie looked at him, annoyed. "It's nothing you'd be familiar with,
it's called a morning routine. You should try it sometime."
"Ugh. Sounds grueling."
She turned and yelled up the stairs again. "CLAIRE!"
Terry winced in pain, his hangover amplifying her shrill voice. "I
thought we had an intercom?"
"I know, right?" Madison interjected.
"Here, I've got this," Terry said. He stepped next to the front door and
pressed the intercom button on the wall. "All hands, this...is the
captain. We're...encountering a rift...in the space-time continuum.
Brace...for impact."
"Oh, God, please stop!" Claire's voice came from upstairs. She rounded
the corner and trudged down the stairs, wearing her school uniform. "I
hate it when you do that voice!"
"Everyone's a critic."
As she reached the bottom, she paused to look at him. "And Uncle Terry?
Seriously, the ponytail is way played out. The 90s look isn't retro,
it's just sad."
"Ow!" he replied. "That was unprovoked. And I'll have you know that in
the 90s I was rocking the curtained hair look."
Claire shuddered.
Bonnie shook her head and handed lunch bags to the two girls, saying,
"And remember to come straight home after school. I need you to help
make party favors for the dance tomorrow."
Claire slumped her shoulders in the overdramatic posture often favored
by put-upon teenagers. "Mo-om, you're just chaperoning! You don't have
to bring stuff. You're killing me."
Dave stepped in. "Don't worry, honey, we'll be totally invisible."
Bonnie gave him an annoyed look and he added, "Except for the party
favors, which will be totally visible and absolutely amazing."
The two girls stoically accepted kisses from their parents before
hurrying out the front door.
"Invisible, huh?" Bonnie asked.
Dave shrugged. "Honey, she's sixteen. She's mortified by everything we
do, anyway. There's no need to put extra effort into it," he said as he
kissed her on the cheek.
"Well, I'm off to bed!" Terry declared.
His sister-in-law gave him a dirty look. "Any chance you might look for
work today?"
"Anything can happen. We live in a quantum universe of infinite
possibilities."
"So that's a 'no.'"
He mimed shaking a Magic 8-ball and looking at it. "Outlook not so
good."
Bonnie grit her teeth. "You could at least clean the place up a little,
seeing as how you've got so much time on your hands."
"Wait, wait, whoa," Terry said. He looked to his brother. "I thought we
agreed we were getting another maid? I remember discussing this. You
guys would interview, and I'd have veto rights. You know, 'no dogs
allowed.'"
Bonnie glared at him in disbelief. "Okay, first, 'we' does not include
you. And second, it's your fault that Maria quit, constantly harassing
her with all of those puerile come-ons--"
"Wow. 'Puerile.' Someone woke up on the wrong side of the thesaurus
today."
Dave interposed himself. "Okay, okay, let's not start this again. Terry
will promise to look for work, right? I'm sure he doesn't want to be
here any longer than he has to. He's still getting his feet beneath
him."
"If his feet were any more beneath him he'd be buried up to his neck,"
Bonnie grumbled. "Maybe next to a hill of hungry fire ants..."
"And WE have to get moving ourselves," Dave interrupted. "We don't want
to be late for that investors' meeting."
Bonnie angrily stalked off, muttering to herself.
Dave looked to his brother. "Terry..."
"Look, I'm sorry, man," Terry said. "It's just...it hasn't been easy.
Money is tight, y'know?"
"I get it," Dave said. "And it's been great having you around the last
several months. But this can't go on, bro."
Terry nodded solemnly and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Okay,
first, don't ever use the word 'bro' again. Seriously, I'm telling you
this as a friend, you just can't pull it off. And second, you're kicking
me out?" he complained. He then paused to consider what he said, then
amended, "Wait, check that. Reverse those."
"Look, Terry..."
Terry raised his hand. "No, I changed my mind. I was right the first
time. 'Bro' coming out of you is just wrong. That should be number one."
Dave sighed. "I...look, I didn't say I was kicking you out. I'm just
saying it can't go on indefinitely."
Terry nodded. "Yeah, 'all good things,' right?" He stepped closer and
lowered his voice. "Look, Dave, I hate to ask, but...I'm having some
trouble covering costs. Anything you can toss my way, maybe a couple
grand--"
"Jesus, Terry, again? We talked about this. No. Absolutely not. I'm done
with that. You can stay here, but I'm done paying for your gambling."
"It's not that!" Terry objected. Then, seeing his brother's dubious
look, he added, "Okay, it IS that. But I'm done with it now! It's behind
me, these are just...old debts. And you and Bonnie are so flush--"
Dave gave a rueful laugh. "You are unbelievable, you know that? But I
couldn't even help you if I wanted. We're all tied up in this merger and
Bonnie is watching the books like a hawk. If I stop for a latte she sees
the receipt."
Terry threw up his hands. "No, no...I get it. It's cool. No worries,
I'll work it out. That's what I do, right?" he said with a confident
smile.
Dave just nodded and headed out the door.
Terry stood there for a moment before pulling out his cell phone and
dialing a number. "Ray? Hey, it's me. Yeah, I am totally screwed."
Terry sat on the couch in the game room, playing a video game while his
friend Ray paced back and forth.
"How can you goof off at a time like this?" Ray asked.
"Years of practice," Terry replied, tapping away at the controller.
"I'm talking to a dead man, you DO know that, don't you? There's no way
you're going to be able to come up with that kind of mon--Jesus, get the
power-up! The power-up!" he exclaimed, pointing emphatically at the
screen.
"It's not as easy as it looks! And I'm well aware of Delgado's 'payment
schedule,' thank you very much. What I'm looking for is--no, no, NO, NO,
NO!!" He frantically mashed at the controller before throwing it down in
disgust.
"See? A dead man."
Terry gave him an annoyed glance. "The great Nostradamus," he declared.
"And how was I to know that Delgado was such a vicious thug? In his
legitimate business, he's a pizza baron!"
"Yeah, well, maybe it should have occurred to you not to go to a loan
shark who made his money on a business model based on 'thirty minutes or
less,'" Ray countered.
"I didn't know it was 'thirty minutes OR ELSE.'" Terry sighed heavily.
"Dude, what am I gonna DO?"
Ray sat down on the couch and picked up the newspaper. "Your problem, my
friend, is simple mathematics. You need money, and lots of it, and
fast."
"So, what? I should rob a bank?"
Ray shook his head. "Nah, it's all in computers, these days."
Terry considered that. "I should rob an Apple store?"
"Lucius Delgado doesn't really strike me as a Mac guy," Ray said. "Maybe
you could donate blood, or a kidney, or something?"
"If I give that much blood, Delgado won't HAVE to finish me off," Terry
moaned.
Ray looked at the newspaper. "How 'bout this?" he said, noting an
advertisement. "Volunteering for medical testing?"
Terry looked at it skeptically. "That doesn't pay nearly enough money to
get Delgado off my back."
"Yeah, I was thinkin' more like a plane ticket to South America."
* * * * *
Late that afternoon in the kitchen, Bonnie was overseeing the
preparations for the dance like she was prepping an army for invasion.
She busily pulled some cookies out of the oven and watched as Dave
stirred the large bowl of punch and supervised Claire and her friend
Jasper tying ribbons on little sachets. "You should put more potpourri
in there, Claire."
Claire unceremoniously tossed the little bag on the big pile in front of
her. "Mom, it doesn't matter," she moaned.
"Of course it matters! You need to get the right amount in there. See
what a good job Jasper is doing?" she responded.
Jasper tied a neat little bow on the sachet he was holding and put it on
the pile with the others. "Thanks, Mrs. Riley...I'm just glad to help."
"Well, it's much appreciated, Jasper," Bonnie told him. "We're just
lucky you were available on such short notice." She poked Dave, who had
been listlessly stirring the punch. "The antioxidants need to aerate,"
she admonished him.
"Oh, I'm always happy to come over," Jasper said, sneaking a glance at
Claire, who was disgustedly throwing another little sachet on the pile.
"You sure you didn't have any plans?" Dave asked. "A good looking young
fella like you should have plans on a Friday night."
Jasper just shrugged, but Claire muttered, "Wow, a teenager with plans
on a Friday night...there's a concept."
"You can see Danny at the dance tomorrow," Bonnie chided her. "And he
was more than welcome to come over here tonight and help."
"Yeah, he'll be sorry he missed out on this," she sighed, picking up one
of the sachets. "Mom, nobody is going to want these."
"Well, not the boys," Bonnie countered. "But that's who the cookies are
for."
Terry came breezing into the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge and
made a face at the pungent smell of potpourri. "People! C'mon, we cook
food in here!" he teased, sneaking a cookie off the plate. He took a
bite and looked at it in dismay. "Somewhere, a Keebler Elf is crying."
"They're gluten free," Bonnie said defensively.
"More's the pity," Terry said. "I don't even know what gluten is and now
I miss it. Gluten, we hardly knew ye."
"Out!" Bonnie said, throwing a sachet of potpourri at him as he
retreated from the kitchen.
Terry headed into the large family room and tossed himself on the couch
next to Madison, who was sitting there reading a book. He grabbed the
remote and started surfing through channels, but soon started shifting
around uncomfortably.
"Ants in your pants?" Madison asked.
"Volunteer work," he responded absently.
Madison put her book down and stared at him.
"What?"
"It's just...I know what both of those words mean, but I didn't think
YOU did. And definitely not both of them together like that."
"Ha, ha," he retorted dryly. "I spent the day getting poked and prodded
by doctors."
"Why, are you sick?"
"Hopefully not so sick that I can't fly," Terry muttered.
"I don't get it."
Terry broke into a grin and shifted into a silly cartoon voice. "Hoo-
wee, pardner! Y'all ain't needin' ta be worryin' 'bout that, y'heah?"
Madison furrowed her brow. "Is that supposed to be funny?"
"C'mon, you used to think that was hysterical."
"Sure, when I was eight."
"You're TEN," he told her. "So, what? You're telling me that your
comedic sensibilities changed in two years?"
She shrugged. "Girls mature faster than boys."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Bonnie's voice yelled from the kitchen, "WOULD SOMEONE GET THAT,
PLEASE?"
Terry and Madison, sitting within sight of the door, made eye contact
with each other.
"You're closer," she said.
"And I'm also older," he contended. "So..." He gestured at the door.
"Ugh," Madison groaned, trudging to the door and opening it.
"Well, hello there," a woman's voice came, soft and musical. "Is your
mom or dad home?"
Terry turned from the couch to see that the woman speaking was in her
mid-20s and drop dead gorgeous. She was fashionably dressed in a
tailored suit that flattered her stunning physique.
He leapt from the couch and after two large bounds was standing
breathlessly at the door. "Yes, I'm...Mister Riley," he said smoothly,
giving Madison a little shove out of the way.
Madison rolled her eyes and went back to the couch.
"I'm sorry, I'm looking for David?" the woman said.
"I'm his brother, Terry. But I'm sure I can help you find what you're
looking for. Concert tickets, maybe? You like dancing? Jazz? Barn
raising? Seriously, I have an in with some Amish guys."
"That's funny," she smiled. "Actually, it's a small world. I've been
working with your brother on my art exhibition, and here we are, just
moving in right next door!"
"You don't SAY," Terry enthused. "Well, neighbor, I guess we'll be
seeing a lot of each other, then! But I'm so sorry, I didn't catch your
name."
"I'm Krystal," she said. "Krystal Delgado."
Terry's smile vanished.
He cleared his throat nervously. "So...that'd be 'Delgado' of the
Valencia Delgados, then?"
"Oh, no," she said. "My father is Lucius Delgado. The pizza baron."
"Uh HUH!" Terry remarked, edging his way to the window. He roughly
yanked the blinds closed. "Sorry," he explained. "There was a...glare.
Off a bird."
"Krystal!" Dave's voice called as he walked into the foyer. "How are you
guys settling in?"
She shrugged. "My dad is over there now, yelling at the movers.
Everything is always life-or-death with him."
"HA HA HA!" Terry laughed, awkwardly and nervously.
Dave looked at him strangely. "Krystal, this is my brother, T--"
"Tim! I go my Tim," Terry interrupted.
Krystal looked puzzled. "I thought you said your name was Terry?"
"Yep, that's right, but Tim to my friends. And we're friends, right? Why
wouldn't we be friends?" He gestured to a painting on the wall. "Wow,
would you LOOK at the time. Busy, busy, must dash, but let's do this
again. Maybe at your place? Not here. Call first! We're often not home."
He hurried upstairs.
Dave and Krystal stood there for a moment, bewildered.
"He certainly has a lot of energy," Krystal observed.
"You don't look so good," Claire said, standing by Terry's bedroom door
and watching as he frantically hurried around the room.
Terry paused, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was short of breath and
feeling a little dizzy, but he found the energy to toss a large suitcase
on the bed. "Nope, right as rain," he told her as he sat down. "Although
I'd appreciate if you'd stop spinning like that."
"Oookay," Claire said uncertainly.
Jasper came up behind her, asking, "Hey, did he have the--wow, you don't
look so good."
"Hey, Jasper," Terry said, glancing up at the two of them. "So, you two
dating yet, or what?"
Jasper was flustered at the question. "Oh, um, we-- We're not-- That is,
I mean, we--"
"No," Claire said flatly. "As if. Jasper is like the brother I never
had."
"Or wanted," Madison added, shoving past her older sister as she entered
the room. "Whoa, you look like junk," she said to Terry, who was bent
over slightly, catching his breath.
Terry gave a weak smile and straightened up to continue packing. "Hey,
now. Let's not make this all about me."
"Wow, you really MUST be sick," Claire said, walking over to him and
putting her hand on his forehead. "Yikes, you're burning up! You should
probably lie down."
Terry grabbed an armful of shirts from the closet and tossed them
unceremoniously in the suitcase. "I'll sleep on the plane."
"You going somewhere?"
"What? Who said I was going anywhere?" he assserted defensively, tossing
some underwear into his suitcase while they watched. He looked at them,
and then down at the suitcase. "Oh. This. Right, I... Look, I'll level
with you guys, I need to go away for a while. You know, see the world,
sew my wild oats..."
Madison looked at him suspiciously. "This has something to do with that
lady next door, doesn't it?"
"No!" he exclaimed. "Yes. Not necessarily. Sorry, what was the question,
again?" he wiped the sweat from his brow and blinked in confusion as he
tried to steady himself.
"You turned into a total spaz when she said her name. Delgado, right?"
Jasper's face lit up. "Wow, like the pizza baron?"
"Who?" Claire asked.
"You know," Jasper said, singing the theme song, "Del, Del... Delgado...
Pizza to die for!"
"Is that the one with the shark for the mascot?"
"Yeah! Sharky, the remorseless, cold-blooded killing--"
"OKAY!" Terry interrupted. "Yes, that's the one. Her father and I have
done some...business...together."
"You mean you owe him money," Madison claimed. Terry looked at her in
surprise, and she said, "What? I'm ten, I'm not stupid."
Claire peered at the suitcase apprehensively. "How much money?"
Jasper picked up the printed ticket on the dresser and read the
destination. "Bolivia?"
"That's a lot of money," Claire whispered.
Terry gathered up the girls in his arms and hugged them reassuringly.
"Hey, don't worry about me. Uncle Terry's got this under control.
Everything is going to be just fine." He guided them to the door.
Claire looked at him uncertainly. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Don't give it a second thought. I always land on my feet," he said with
a smile, closing the door behind them.
He turned around, reached for his suitcase and passed out and fell
forward, missing the bed and landing face-down on the floor,
unconscious.
* * * * *
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
Claire was up like a shot, responding to the scream. It was early the
next morning and she ran bleary-eyed next door to Terry's room and threw
the door open. "Uncle Terry, are you... you... you..."
Terry was standing up and staring in the mirror in wide-eyed horror,
clad in his briefs and a tight white undershirt. He had the undershirt
pulled up and was looking at his bare chest, which now sported a truly
spectacular pair of breasts. Tearing his eyes from the mirror to face
Claire's stunned gaze, he pulled the shirt down in embarrassment but it
was so snug it did nothing to hide his prominent bosom.
"You...you..." she repeated, pointing at his chest. "How...?"
He started to pull her into his room when Madison showed up, rubbing her
eyes. "Hey, what's all the yelling ab--" She gave Terry a once-over.
"Wow, this is totally going in my blog."
Terry grabbed both girls and pulled them into the bedroom, his eyes
darting both ways down the corridor before closing and locking the door.
Claire stared at him blankly. "You have..." she said, pointing at his
chest.
"I know!"
"But you're a...?"
"That's right!"
She tried to process that, and then gestured at his crotch uncertainly.
"Do you still...?"
"YES!"
Madison walked around behind him, eyeing his slender feminine waist and
his significantly expanded hips and butt, which were now packed tightly
into his briefs. She reached out with her finger and gave his big round
butt a poke.
"Hey!"
"That's awesome," she giggled.
Claire shook her head. "HOW?"
He sat on the edge of the bed. "I volunteered for some medical
experiments. I needed the money! I never thought...this!" He gave his
soft bosom a little nudge.
"Is it temporary?"
"I don't know," he said.
Madison eyed his chest in wonder. "Wow, you're even bigger than Mom,"
she said.
Claire let out a disgusted little grumble.
"What?" Terry asked.
"It's just..." she began, gesturing at his full-figured bosom before
crossing her arms over her own still-maturing chest. "...it's not FAIR,
y'know?"
"Do we call you Aunt Terry now?" Madison wondered.
"No! And don't tell your parents, either."
"Are you going to Bolivia like that?"
Terry made a face as he thought about that. "I, uh, I don't know. But I
have to get out of here."
"That's gonna be tough with all those people outside," Madison said,
pointing at the window with her thumb.
Terry rushed to see for himself and saw a large number of people milling
about. It looked like the Delgado house next door was setting up for a
wedding reception and it was spilling over into their own lawn. Dave and
Bonnie were out front talking to a heavyset gray-haired man Terry
instantly recognized as Lucius Delgado. The couple was smiling and
nodding as they pointed up to Terry's window. Delgado scowled and looked
right at the window, just as Terry ducked out of sight.
Terry whispered, "Nostradamus was right. I'm a dead man."
Shortly, after the girls went to change into their casual clothes for
the day, Claire returned and knocked gently on his bedroom door.
"How's it look out there?" he asked, letting her in.
"It's no good," she replied. "The back yard is even worse than the
front. It's crawling with people."
"Well, is it just like wedding caterers and stuff?" he asked. "Them, I
could sneak past."
She shook her head. "There's also a bunch of very serious-looking guys
wandering around with earpieces and prominent lumps in their jackets,"
Claire told him. "Unless they're all hard of hearing and carrying
bibles, I'm thinking that's not a good sign."
"Outstanding."
"And you should have seen them all tense up when our back door opened! I
almost screamed and dropped to the ground."
"Yep, that is just outstanding," he repeated, rubbing the bridge of his
nose. "Look, I appreciate you girls trying to help, but maybe it's
better if you just go downstairs and wait it out. I'll figure something
out."
Claire held his hand. "No, Uncle Terry. If you're in trouble, we're
going to help."
"Yeah," Madison agreed. "We don't want to see your bullet-riddled corpse
laying on the front lawn."
They both gaped at her. Terry found his voice first. "Okay, I swear
that's it, no more procedural cop shows for you."
He turned back to Claire. "Did you bring it?"
She handed him a wide elastic ACE bandage that she'd retrieved and he
sat on the bed and began wrapping it over his undershirt, binding down
his oversized breasts. "Damn it, why'd they have to be so big?" he said
to himself.
"Oh, right, THAT'S fair," Claire muttered.
"Hey, who are they?" Madison said, peering out the window through the
curtains.
Claire took a look. "I don't know, maybe they're here for the wedding?"
"I can't believe my luck," Terry said, wincing in discomfort. "Who the
hell has a wedding on a Tuesday?"
"Today's Saturday," Madison informed him.
He paused and blinked. "Wow. I really DO need to get a job. I've got no
sense of time anymore." He stood up. "How's this look?"
His bosom, while flattened somewhat by the bandages, was just as obvious
as ever. And the neck of the shirt had gotten pulled down while he was
binding his chest, so now his boobs were popping out the top, displaying
a very impressive cleavage.
"So, SO not fair," Claire muttered again.
Terry removed the bandage in exasperation and peered out the window.
There were a few women outside the front of their house in housekeeper's
uniforms.
"Why that cheeky little monkey," he marveled. "I knew they were hiring a
maid!"
Claire gazed at the women outside and then back at Terry. "Huh."
Madison studied her sister's expression. "What are you thinking?" she
asked suspiciously.
Terry was still peering out the window. "I'm thinking the blonde MAYBE,
but I'd have to see her up close. The others...ehh," he said, waggling
his hand back and forth.
He turned to look at his nieces, who were both staring at him
critically.
"It could work," Claire said.
"Sure, right up until the part with the bullet-riddled corpse on our
lawn."
"Would you stop SAYING that?" Terry snapped. "And what are we talking
about, again?"
Claire told her sister, "Check in the basement, I think Mom has some
maternity bras down there. One of those should fit. I'll get my makeup
kit."
Terry glanced at them nervously. "Hey, now, let's not be too quick to
throw out the bullet-riddled corpse idea. We're still brainstorming. No
bad ideas."
Later that morning, the doorbell rang.
"WOULD SOMEB--!" Bonnie yelled.
"I got it!" Claire cried, racing down the stairs.
Her mother called out again from the next room, where she was
interviewing one of the maids. "Honey, if it's one of the housekeepers,
just ask her to wait--"
Claire cut her off. "Yep! Will do, Mom!" She opened the door and Jasper
was standing there, looking bewildered.
He motioned over his shoulder. "Are you guys having a block party, or
someth--"
"Do you have it?" she asked impatiently.
He held up a tote bag. "I'm still not sure why you wanted me to--"
"Come on," she said, dragging him upstairs.
They entered Terry's bedroom, where Madison was sitting on the bed
typing away on a laptop as she talked to her uncle through the open door
of the adjoining bathroom.
"I am NOT going back down there!" she told him emphatically. "Going
through Mom's maternity stuff, EWW! I'm not even supposed to know about
all that stuff yet! You're robbing me of my childhood innocence!"
"Yes, I appreciate that..."
"I saw things!" she protested. "Things that can't be unseen!"
Terry walked out of the bathroom in a snug-fitting bra and panties,
tugging at his bra strap as he adjusted his breasts in the cups. "Look,
I'm just asking if you saw anything bigger...oh, hey, guys," he said,
looking at Claire and Jasper.
Unlike his previous male clothing, his feminine undergarments left
absolutely nothing to the imagination, and his transformed body could
stop traffic. His big round breasts formed an impressive cleavage, and
he had a slender feminine waist that flared out to a broad set of hips
and a significantly expanded ass. Claire had done a capable if over-
exaggerated job on his makeup, and his shoulder-length chestnut hair was
worn loose of his usual male ponytail and hung softly about his face and
shoulders.
Standing there in the bedroom, he looked like he could be modeling
lingerie for Fredericks of Hollywood.
"There is no God," Claire grumbled.
Jasper stared at Terry, his eyes as big as saucers. "H-how--?" he
croaked.
Terry rested a hand on one of his jutting hips. "You know how your
parents are always telling you how you shouldn't do drugs?" he said.
"LISTEN TO THEM."
Jasper nodded vigorously.
"Is that it?" Terry asked, pointing at the tote bag. But when Jasper
didn't reply--still frozen like a deer captivated by Terry's impressive
'headlights'--Claire snatched the bag from him and handed it over.
"Okay! I'll just--" Terry stopped as he dumped the contents of the bag
out onto the bed. It was a black satin French maid costume with all the
trimmings...ruffled panties, petticoats, fishnet stockings, a white
apron and a lacy cap. There was even a feather duster and matching
satchel.
"What is this?" Terry exclaimed, gawking at the frilly costume. He
picked up a lacy elastic band.
"I think that's a garter," Madison offered helpfully.
Claire smacked Jasper on the arm. "You dummy! I told you to bring over
one of your housekeeper's uniforms!"
Jasper looked bewildered. "What's the difference?"
"That's a French maid costume!"
"You lost me."
Claire looked at him incredulously. "Why the heck did you think I wanted
a French maid costume?"
He shrugged. "I thought maybe you wanted to dress up?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Please, please don't answer that," Madison interjected.
Terry tossed the outfit on the bed. "Okay, this isn't going to work," he
said. "And my own clothes would only draw suspicion, and I can't fit
into Claire's clothes--"
Claire threw up her hands. "YES! Fine! We get it! Because your boobs are
huge, and I'm so flat!" she exclaimed.
Terry hesitantly continued, "--since I'm like six inches taller than
you..."
"Wow, touched a nerve there," Madison declared.
"What about your mom?" Jasper asked. "Could you borrow one of her
dresses?"
Claire shook her head. "She might have something that would work, but
she locked their bedroom. I guess because of all the people in the house
and next door."
Jasper looked puzzled. "How do you know it's locked?"
"I wanted to borrow some jewelry for the dance tonight," she replied.
"So why didn't you just ask?"
"That's not really how we do things around here," Terry offered. "We're
more of a 'ask forgiveness rather than permission' kind of outfit."
"And that's only if we get caught," Madison interjected.
Terry sighed deeply as he looked at the costume. "Well, I guess there's
nothing else for it, then. On the plus side, all I have to do is sneak
downstairs and get past those goons outside. At least they'll never be
expecting to see me like this."
"NOBODY is going to be expecting this," Jasper said, gawking at Terry's
rounded backside as he leaned over to gather up the outfit.
After Terry got dressed up in the costume, Madison fussed at the
details, brushing Terry's hair and putting the maid's cap in place. "I
love your hair, it's so soft."
"I use an organic leave-in conditioner," he told her, putting his wallet
and passport in the little black satchel. "It has peppermint oil."
Madison nodded appreciatively.
Claire ducked back into the bedroom from the hallway and closed the door
behind her. "I found them in the basement," she said, opening the
shoebox she was carrying. Inside were a pair of very sexy black patent
Italian pumps. "Mom told me she bought these when she was pregnant since
her feet were swollen and she couldn't fit into her regular shoes, so
they may be big enough to fit you."
Terry took the pumps and regarded the five-inch heels skeptically. "She
wore these when she was PREGNANT?"
"No, she BOUGHT them when she was pregnant," Claire corrected. "They're
Salvatore Ferragamos."
Terry slipped them on his feet. They were a little snug, but he'd
manage. He stood up on them, trying to get his balance. "So if they were
too big, why'd she keep them?"
Claire looked at him like it was a ridiculous question. "They're
Salvatore Ferragamos," she repeated.
He turned to face them. "So, how do I look?" he asked, striking a little
pose. The dress was low-cut in front and the white lace around the
neckline framed his abundant cleavage invitingly. The white apron was
tied into a big bow in back that highlighted his narrow waist, and the
froth of petticoats swayed sexily around his pretty stockinged legs
which were perched on the shiny high heels.
The three just stared at him.
Terry shifted self-consciously. "Okay, starting to feel just a little
bit awkward here..."
"You look...incredible," Claire complimented him with a smile.
Madison looked him over. "I can't believe you're a guy. If I end up with
body image and self-esteem issues, you are SO gonna be paying for my
therapy."
Terry blushed a little and smiled, looking to Jasper.
Jasper hadn't moved, and was still staring at Terry in awe. Claire
jabbed him with her elbow. "Good!" he blurted out. "You look...good."
Madison retrieved a sheet of paper from the dresser and handed it to
him. "What's this?" he asked, scanning over the dense text.
"It's your cover identity," she told him. "Your name is Camille
Delacroix. You're a French-Canadian political science student who's
taking a year off to visit the United States to get away from your
controlling ex-fiance, Jacques. You broke it off with him when you
suspected that he was secretly seeing your sister--"
Terry held up his hands. "Stop, stop," he told her. "Madison, all I have
to do is walk down a flight of stairs, go outside, and then walk three
blocks to the coffee shop and wait for Jasper to sneak me my suitcase so
I can change and go to the airport. I don't think I'll need to know
that"--he looked down at the sheet--"that I have a Yorkie named
Robespierre."
"Sure, you say that NOW," she countered, "but if you get caught, you're
going to need to know this! My story is the only thing between you and a
gun to your head!"
"I should never have let you watch _Argo_," Terry sighed.
Claire furrowed her brow. "Is that the best voice you can do?"
"How's this?" he said, affecting a higher-pitched voice.
Claire scrunched her nose. "Can you do it more like that girl's cartoon
voice you sometimes do?"
"Ooh!" Jasper cut in. "Do it like Princess Ravenstar from the Lunar Base
Yamamoto anime!"
Terry shot him a disbelieving look.
"Ignore him," Claire said, rolling her eyes. "Just put a little Jessica
Rabbit in it."
"Mmm...who knew all those years watching cartoons would finally pay
off?" he purred seductively.
Claire's eyes widened. "Wow. Okay, that actually was really good."
"Can you do it with a French accent?" Madison interjected. "Camille is
from Quebec."
He gave her an exasperated look and sighed. "'Ah-lo! My name eez
Camille!" he said, trying out a French accent.
"Wow, that was...unbelievably terrible," Claire said. "Do you even speak
French?"
Terry considered that. "Oui!" he exclaimed brightly.
"You don't even know how to say 'no' in French, do you?"
He hesitated. "Oui, oui!" he repeated.
Madison groaned and snatched the paper out of his hand. "Forget it.
You're from Newark," she declared, marking the sheet up with a pen.
Terry shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, and speaking of 'wee wee,' I need to
make an adjustment down south, or you're never going to have any
cousins. These French-cut ruffled panties are invading my Normandy," he
said, wiggling into the bathroom.
"Why would the French invade Normandy?" Jasper wondered.
After he fretted at his reflection one last time, Terry walked out to
face the three of them. He and the girls looked at each other
apprehensively.
"Well, I guess it's show time," he said as confidently as he could
manage. "Thanks for everything you guys have done for me, I don't know
what to say."
The two girls gave him nervous smiles as they shifted uncertainly.
He stepped close to Claire and touched her arm gently. "I don't know
when I'm going to have a chance to see you again. You're so full of life
and promise. You're funny, beautiful, talented, witty, a good friend,
fashionable, good with animals--"
"Don't oversell it," Madison broke in.
"Actually, it's okay if you want to keep going," Claire smiled, a tear
in her eye.
"I'd say you're gonna be amazing, but you're already there," Terry said,
giving her a warm hug.
He turned to Madison.
She eyed him warily. "I swear to God, if you tell me not to grow up too
fast, I'm gonna punch you right in the boob."
He laughed and pulled her close. "Don't ever change," he said, kissing
the top of her head.
They broke the embrace and she sniffled.
Terry turned to Jasper and held out his hand. "Jasper, my man, I--"
Jasper ran up to Terry and threw his arms around him desperately,
burying his face in Terry's chest.
"Oh! Um, okay. I guess that's good. Y'know, just...just hug it out,
man," he said, patting his hand on the teen's back awkwardly.
Another moment passed. Jasper didn't let go.
"So, yeah, got a flight to catch..." Terry said. He started to become
acutely aware that the teen's face was pressed into his bosom and
grabbed Jasper's arms, trying to disengage the amorous adolescent.
Finally, with Claire's assistance, they managed to pry him loose.
Terry nodded to the girls and started to open the door.
"Uncle Terry?" Claire said.
"Look, sweetie, let's not drag this out any longer than--"
"No, it's not that," she said. "Your petticoats are stuck inside your
panties," she said, pointing at his backside.
"Huh? Oh, thanks," he said, pulling them out and giving them a little
fluff. "Well, wish me luck."
"Bonne chance," Madison said. When Terry just looked at her in
confusion, she buried her face in the palm of her hand and shook her
head.
He stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind him.
"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" Claire asked.
Madison looked at her incredulously. "Are you kidding? There's no way
I'm going to miss this!" she said, following him out the door.
* * * * *
Downstairs, Bonnie was interviewing one of the housekeepers. "Well, Mrs.
Osborn, I have to say I'm very impressed with your credentials. And
that's so interesting, you're the second applicant today to have a
Master's degree in Anthropology," she observed. "Now, I--" She paused,
noting that Mrs. Osborn seemed distracted by something that was going on
behind her. Bonnie turned around and saw a woman in a French maid's
uniform come sneaking down the stairs and across the foyer.
She was up like a shot.
"Excuse me? Excuse me, miss, who are you?" Bonnie challenged.
Terry froze. "I...I, um..." he stammered in his female voice. His mind
went completely blank. The sheer absurdity of standing in front of his
sister-in-law while pretending to be a woman in this ridiculous outfit
put him into total brain lock. "I have a Yorkie named Robespierre," he
volunteered.
Bonnie shook her head. "What? I don't-- Who ARE you?"
"M-my name is--" at this point he was so flustered couldn't even
remember his REAL name. His mind flashed to a stripper he knew.
"Angelique," he said. Crap, he didn't know her last name. "Angelique
is... uh... boy?... b-beau!" he stammered.
"Well, Ms. Isabeaux, what exactly were you doing upstairs just now?"
"I was...cleaning," Terry said. "Because I am a maid. And I was
cleaning. Upstairs. Cleaning. As a maid."
The housekeeper being interviewed got up and joined the conversation.
"Oh, has the position been filled already?"
"Yes," Terry said.
"No," Bonnie retorted.
"Yes," Terry repeated. "Mr. Riley hired me."
"He did," Bonnie said skeptically, glowering at Terry's ridiculously
sexy outfit. "REALLY." Then, she rolled her eyes. "Wait. This 'Mr.
Riley' that hired you...would he be the unkempt and disheveled one with
the ponytail?"
Terry blinked. "I saw him more as a free-spirited Bohemian with boyish
good looks," he said. Then quickly added, "But, no! It was the other Mr.
Riley that hired me. Dave? David, I think it was?"
Bonnie stared at Terry incredulously, trying to reconcile this
information in her head. "Just a moment, please," she said pleasantly.
She walked to the front door and opened it. "DAVE!!!" she screamed. Both
Terry and Mrs. Osborn jumped.
A few moments later, Dave appeared at the door with Krystal, whom he'd
been talking to outside. "Honey? What is it?" he said. "Is everything o-
-" He hesitated as he saw the sexy stranger standing there dressed as a
French maid. "--oookaaay?"
Mrs. Osborn stepped forward to get Bonnie's attention. "You all seem to
be busy, so I'll just let you sort this out..." she offered. She and
Bonnie fell into a quick little side conversation as Bonnie assured her
it would all be worked out and that she'd be in touch.
Terry, seeing an opening, grabbed Dave. "Dave, it's me, Terry," he
whispered in his male voice. "Just go along with whatever I say, I'll
explain later." He stepped back and smiled prettily while Dave stared at
him in utter shock and disbelief.
As Mrs. Osborn left, Bonnie turned to Dave. "Honey, Ms. Isabeaux here
claims that you hired her to be our housekeeper?"
When the slack-jawed Dave didn't answer, Terry jumped in. "Oh, yes," he
simpered. "We had quite a lovely conversation the other day, didn't we,
Mr. Riley? He said that he knew that today would be very busy for you
and wanted to save you the trouble of hiring someone yourself, but I
guess it must have slipped his mind, isn't that right, sir?"
Dave hadn't moved or said a word, and was still staring wide-eyed at his
feminized brother. He looked down at Terry's breasts and blinked slowly
in disbelief. "Uh huh," he agreed absently.
"You hired her without telling me?"
"Um. Uh huh," he repeated.
"And I suppose this--ahem--'uniform' was also your idea?" she said
accusingly.
"Oh, no," Terry replied quickly, not wanting to get Dave in any more
trouble than he already was. "I'm afraid I insisted. You see,
my...abusive ex-fiance Jacques...he used to make me dress this way, so I
wear it proudly to...reclaim it...and never feel like a victim again."
Up the staircase on the landing, Madison nudged her big sister. "See why
that cover identity stuff is so important?"
Krystal had taken a great interest in this conversation and looked
admiringly at Terry. "That is the most amazing thing I've ever heard.
You are so inspirational!"
"It's a lot of something, all right," Bonnie muttered. "I just hope that
you have good qualif--" She stopped short. She'd glanced down for a
moment, and was now staring at Terry intently with confusion and
fascination running across her face. Terry wasn't sure what was going on
until he glanced down at himself, past his cleavage, past the frilly
apron, past his skirts and petticoats...
Down to Bonnie's Salvatore Ferragamo shoes that he was wearing.
He looked back up at her and as they made eye contact, Bonnie gave him a
knowing little smirk. "Well, Angelique," she said, putting emphasis on
the feminine name, "on the other hand, I'm sure if you went through all
of this with Dave, that's good enough for me. Right, honey?"
"Uh huh," Dave said, not having any idea what was going on.
"You know, I really, really hate to ask this," Krystal said, "but we are
dying for some help next door since we just moved in and the wedding
stuff is out of control. Would it be okay if we borrowed Angelique to
help out? We'll pay for her time, whatever you need."
Terry looked at her in alarm. "Oh, I don't think--"
"Certainly!" Bonnie had a huge smile on her face as she leered at her
feminized brother-in-law disguised in his sexy and frilly costume. She
took him by the arm and guided him over to Krystal, telling her, "You
feel free to take Angelique here for as long as you need, and don't you
dare give it a second thought."
"Oh, you guys are so generous," Krystal gushed. Then, to Terry, she
said, "You go ahead and check in with the wedding coordinator next door.
I'm two steps behind you!"
Terry looked at them helplessly and headed out the door nervously.
Bonnie was grinning ear to ear and gave him a little wave.
Once he was gone, Krystal said, "Okay, I admit that at first I wasn't
too sure about her in that outfit, but that whole story about being
abused by her fiance was just heartbreaking, don't you think?" she said,
holding a hand over her heart. "And I just have to say, she has the most
amazing taste in shoes!"
"I thought so, too," Bonnie admitted.
Terry was practically trembling in fear as he walked outside and over to
Delgado's house next door. The whole area was a buzz of activity as
people finished the move-in and prepared for the wedding. In addition to
the caterers and people setting up, there was also a small army of
landscapers, trimming the grass and planting shrubs and flowers. Most of
them were male, and all of them paused in their work to check out the
leggy and buxom French maid who was crossing the driveway up to the
house. Terry swallowed hard and plastered a smile on his face as each of
the guys gave him a lascivious once-over. He felt like a pork chop
surrounded by wolves.
He was having a little trouble in his high heels and he moved slowly up
the steps to the front door when a gust of wind blew up around his legs,
causing his petticoats to rise up and giving a flash of his ruffled
panties.
"Ooh la la!" a guy called, causing Terry to blush furiously as he held
down his skirts.
Hurrying up the stairs, Terry saw that the front door was open,
presumably since people were busily carrying things in and out of the
house. Tentatively he moved inside, hearing the bustle of people further
within as he nervously listened to the clacking of his high heels on the
marble floor. His heart was beating so hard he thought it was going to
leap out of his chest, and as he brought his hand to his heart, he was
startled to encounter the unexpected softness of his jutting bosom. He
took a deep breath and turned around slowly.
Bringing him face-to-face with Lucius Delgado.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Any other time, affecting such a high-pitched girly scream would have
embarrassed Terry. However, given the current circumstances, his rapidly
diminishing male pride was the least of his worries.
"Hey, hey, there, little lady!" Delgado said soothingly, grabbing
Terry's trembling hands in his own. "Didn't mean to startle you, there."
Terry stared at the man wide-eyed, a nervous smile stuck stupidly on his
face. "Y--you didn't," he stammered.
Delgado raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Terry was suddenly aware that Delgado was still holding his hands
firmly. He wanted to yank them back, but didn't want to risk
antagonizing the older man, who was now looking him in the face
intently. Nervously, Terry looked down at the floor and then turned to
look away, his long hair blocking his face. "It's just...you have such
an--imposing--um, foyer," Terry explained. "It's so overwhelming and,
uh, substantial," he said tremulously, suddenly realizing how heavily
muscled Delgado was.
"Really."
"Mmm hmm!" Terry nodded vigorously. "I see a foyer like this and I just
want to hear the acoustics! You know, like, 'aaaaahhh!'" he squeaked.
"Huh," Delgado said, his hands still firmly holding Terry's. "You mean
more like...'RAAAAHHHH!!!'"
Terry almost jumped out of his skin at the shout, embarrassed that
Delgado's pull on his hands had brought him even closer, leaving him
mere inches away from the beefy man. "Yep," he whimpered.
Delgado was looking Terry right in the face, but he'd cocked his ear to
listen to the echo. "Well, I never noticed that before." He looked at
Terry closely. "You know, I have an excellent memory for faces, and I
swear we've met before."
"I'm sure I'd remember," Terry smiled, his hands sweating in Delgado's
grip.
"But where are my manners? I'm Lucius Delgado. And who are you, my
dear?"
Terry's eyes went as wide as saucers. Sheer terror had pushed him into
brain lock again. "I...uh...I'm..."
"Daddy!" Krystal's voice called as she entered the house. "Oh, good, I
see you've met Angelique."
"I'm Angelique!" Terry blurted out.
Delgado released his grip as Krystal came up to them. "Daddy, this is
Angelique Isabeaux. She--"
"I'm Angelique Isabeaux!" Terry repeated.
"Yes. She's working as a housekeeper for the Rileys next door and they
said we could borrow her for the day. I figured we were so short-handed
with the wedding and all, we could use the extra pair of hands."
Delgado nodded. "That's my girl, always thinking!" He then wrapped an
arm around Terry's waist possessively, adding, "And any help as lovely
as this is always welcome in my home."
Terry cleared his throat nervously. "I'm a helper," he croaked.
Hours later, Terry was watching the clock, trying to do the math to
figure out how long it would take to get to the airport. He was starting
to doubt that he'd even have time to change, and wondered if he'd have
to wear the stupid French maid's outfit on the flight.
His experiences all morning and afternoon had been a circle of hell that
even Dante had never envisioned, and it had been presided over by a she-
devil known only as Mrs. Bautista, a self-important dictator who had
been hired as the wedding coordinator. She had taken it upon herself to
ensure that "Angelique" was kept busy at all times, but--obviously at
Mr. Delgado's request--was also kept on display in front of the
assembled guests. For Terry it was bad enough having to dress in drag in
front of all those people, but his skimpy and flirty little outfit had
singled him out for all kinds of unwanted attention, especially from the
men. As he walked around carrying a silver platter to serve drinks and
appetizers to all the guests, he had enough ogling and leering to last
him a lifetime, to say nothing of all the "accidental" gropes. After one
particularly bold teenager got a little too familiar, Terry was about to
tell the little twerp where to stuff it when he got a warning look from
Mrs. Bautista. So instead, he plastered a pretty smile on his face, gave
a little curtsey, and minced back to the kitchen to get more canapes.
Later that afternoon he was helping one of the other waitresses move
some cases of liquor, and soon found himself huffing and puffing in his
tight dress and awkward heels. He looked in annoyance at the men
standing by idly and not even offering to help when he realized that his
exertions had left him flushed and his voluptuous bosom was heaving
prettily in the confines of his dress. One of Delgado's lieutenants from
the loansharking operation gave Terry a long look, and at first Terry
was worried that he'd been recognized when he realized that the man was
just leering at his jiggling boobs.
"I guess they're good for that much," Terry muttered.
"Sorry, what was that?" Krystal asked, walking up to him. She'd changed
into a long slinky gown for the reception and it looked like she'd been
poured into it.
Terry suddenly realized that he'd been staring at her. "That's quite a
dress," he complimented her.
Krystal gave a little smirk. "It was a present," she said. "Seemed like
a good time to break it out."
"A present," Terry echoed. "From your...boyfriend?" he asked, handing
her another glass of champagne from the bar.
"Oh, I don't have a boyfriend," Krystal said, taking a sip from the
glass.
"Oh, good."
"What's that?"
"I mean, it's good, being on your own sometimes, isn't it? Not being
tied to any one guy. You know, just getting comfortable with yourself."
Krystal looked at Terry and shook her head. "God, Angelique, how do you
do it?"
"Hmm?"
"It's just seems like you're so together, y'know? Like you know what you
want. You're such a modern woman."
Terry gave her a nervous smile and grabbed a glass of champagne off a
tray as one of the other waitresses walked by, taking a quick gulp.
"Oh, and I'm sorry about my father," she apologized. "I know he's been a
bit grabby, but ever since my mom passed away he's been kind of a
recluse. But you're probably used to all the attention, what with
wearing that outfit all the time, huh?"
"It's not easy," Terry admitted. "I've been hit on more times today
than..." he paused, "...something that gets hit on a lot." He shook his
head.
"Ugh," Krystal groaned. "I am so sick of guys and their bullshit!"
"Maybe you should switch teams?" Terry joked.
"Tried it. Girls are worse. I dated this lingerie model back in college.
The sex was hot--especially when her twin sister was in town--but God,
the drama! You can't imagine."
Terry had a faraway stare. "I--I'm REALLY trying to imagine," he
whispered.
Krystal sighed and looked across the crowd of people. "Kind of makes you
wish there was a third option, doesn't it?"
Terry raised his eyebrows and said, "You know it's funny you should say
that..." Then he saw Mrs. Bautista standing nearby, staring daggers at
him. "I should get back to work," he grumbled.
"Mmm," Krystal agreed. "Back to mingling," she said, retreating back
into the crowd.
Terry watched as she turned and left, her shapely round bottom looking
quite fetching in her clingy dress. Suddenly, a thought hit him.
"A pinata!" he blurted out. He looked up brightly, but Krystal was long
gone and nobody seemed to be paying any attention to him. Almost nobody.
"What are you doing, standing around?" Mrs. Bautista challenged him.
"Lazy girl! You are a terrible maid!"
"Yeah, well, this place isn't exactly Downton Abbey, either," Terry
deadpanned. Then, seeing her disapproving glare, he picked up another
tray of drinks, sighed heavily, and wandered back into the crowd.
When the meal was served that afternoon, Terry was called upon to wait
on the main table, and found himself getting some dirty looks from the
bride and a few of the bridesmaids every time he leaned over and flashed
his abundant cleavage. Belatedly he realized that the bride--one of
Delgado's nieces--was not nearly so well-endowed, and she seemed to take
delight in ordering him about or making snide comments about the "help."
Being unused to his new body and clothes also presented other
challenges. As he leaned over to fetch Mr. Delgado's plate, Terry had
trouble balancing on his heels and found himself snuggling closer to the
man to reach the dish. As he grabbed it, he suddenly realized that his
jutting breasts were pressed against Delgado's shoulder, and as he
turned to face the man, he saw Delgado staring straight at his
impressive decolletage, and then directly into Terry's flustered face.
Terry flushed in embarrassment, and his face was burning so red that his
blush went all the way to the tops of his breasts, elicting a little
smirk from the man. After that, Terry noticed that Delgado's dishes
always seemed to be a few inches farther away than everybody else's,
causing a number of humiliating repeat performances.
For better or for worse, Terry's little peep show with Delgado did not
go unnoticed by many of the other guests, either. It made his bawdy
display that much more embarrassing for him, but it had another
unexpected side effect. By the time they were serving coffee after
cutting the cake, almost nobody except the most oblivious of guests was
still hitting on him anymore. At first Terry thought it strange how some
of the jerks had stopped giving him a hard time until he turned and saw
Delgado giving him an admiring--and possessive--stare.
"Oookaay, time to go," Terry whispered nervously to himself.
He checked the time and realized that if he hurried he could still make
it to the airport and catch his flight. He wouldn't have time to change,
but by this point he was more worried about escape. He grabbed his
satchel that had his wallet, passport, and tickets, and headed briskly
for the door, figuring that if he walked to the coffee shop a few blocks
away he could call for a cab, and then--
"I hope you're not sneaking away," Delgado said from right behind him.
Terry froze mid-step and grimaced, then slowly turned to face the man as
he plastered a bright smile on his face. "I wouldn't dream of it," he
said. "I just...have a quick errand I need to run. I'll come back and
help clean up--"
"Don't," Delgado said firmly.
Terry swallowed hard. The last time he'd heard Delgado use that tone of
voice with him was when he was in the man's office several weeks ago and
Delgado had made painfully clear to Terry the dire consequences that
would befall him if he were foolish enough to default on his loan. "I'm
sorry?" he squeaked.
"You think I don't know what's going on?" Delgado warned, moving close
to Terry. "You think I'm a FOOL?"
"I don't think that," Terry whispered.
"You know who I am. You know what I can do to people." He grabbed Terry
by the arm.
"This is all a big misunderstanding--"
"No! No more lies. No more games. You think I didn't see through you
since the moment you stepped foot into this house?"
Terry's mouth went dry, his eyes wide. "Mr. Delgado, I swear to you, I
am absolutely--"
"You think I can't tell how attracted you are to me?"
"--absolutely...wild about you?" Terry added uncertainly.
"I knew it," Delgado said, taking Terry by the hands. "All those coy
little glances, the sly little touches. Your subtle feminine wiles are
so obvious to me, Angelique."
"I'm sure not getting anything past you!" Terry declared.
"But now you're afraid of me," Delgado said earnestly. "You know who I
am, what I'm capable of. You think I'd hurt you if I got to know the
real you."
"Ehh..."
"Shh, my angel," he said, putting a finger on Terry's lips. "I know this
all seems sudden, but I'm a man who knows what he wants. But I'm willing
to take it slow. Have dinner with me, tonight. Just the two of us. After
that, if you don't want it to go any further, I swear you'll never hear
from me again."
Terry stared up at Delgado. "'Kay."
"Wonderful!" he exclaimed, giving Terry's hand a little squeeze.
Terry nodded slowly. "I...have to go...change," he said deliberately,
eyeing Delgado carefully. "I'll go...put on something pretty...and then
I'll come back--later--and we will go have dinner. Together. Sound
good?"
"That sounds wonderful, my dear. I'll be counting the minutes!"
"Fab." Terry backed away slowly, a smile frozen on his face as he
fumbled behind him for the doorknob. As he opened the door and slipped
outside, he called, "'Kay! Toodles!" before closing the door shut. He
paused for a moment on the front steps trying to process what just
happened when a warm breeze came along and fluttered his skirts and
petticoats around his silky hairless thighs. He looked down at himself,
his chestnut hair framing his vision as he stared down at the prodigious
cleavage that had captivated so many men today, including the man who
wanted him dead. Who he now had a date with.
"And this is what it feels like to go insane," he whispered.
Checking the time, Terry didn't even bother going into his house next
door. He would barely make his flight as it was, and the inevitable
explanations and recriminations with Dave and Bonnie would take precious
time he couldn't spare. He would have liked to change into another
outfit or at least grab his suitcase, but if Delgado spotted him
hurrying away like that, it's a good bet that "Angelique" would have
some serious explaining to do.
Instead, Terry just briskly walked up the sidewalk towards the coffee
shop, feeling ridiculous as his skirts and petticoats swished along and
his breasts bounced in his brassiere. "I'm sure they have doctors in
Bolivia," he muttered to himself. "I'll get there, I'll get situated,
and they'll fix what's wrong with me, and I will look back on this as
the single weirdest day in my entire li--"
That was as far as he got before somebody jumped him from behind.
* * * * *
Strong hands held him in place as he struggled. His abductors had placed
a fabric bag over his head and pulled him into a van, and a very short
drive later, dragged him into a building and forced him to sit down in a
chair. As they pulled the bag off his head, Terry could see that he was
sitting at a table in what appeared to be a very sparsely-decorated
kitchen. Standing in front of him were two people--a man and a woman--
both dressed in dark suits.
"What the FUCK!" he cried.
"Please, Mr. Riley, calm down," the woman said. "We're not going to hurt
you. We're with a government agency--"
"The FBI."
The woman seemed thrown by that. "We're not at liberty to say."
"We can say it's a three-letter acronym," the man volunteered.
Terry tossed his hair out of his face. "Does it end with an I, start
with an F, and have a B in the middle?" he snapped.
"We can't confirm or deny--"
"I saw the surveillance equipment in the van," Terry told her. "You're
watching Delgado, right?"
"Well...yes," the woman admitted. "You can refer to me as 'Agent A.' My
partner here is 'Agent B.'"
Terry glanced at the man and then back at the woman. "Wouldn't it make
more sense for him to be 'Agent A' since his last name is Adams?"
"How could you possibly--"
"I saw the badge on his belt when I was in the van," Terry explained. "I
could see everything through that bag. What was that, crocheted?"
The woman gave her partner an exasperated look. "You wore your badge
when you grabbed him?"
"I took it off later!" he retorted. "And I told you it made more sense
for me to be 'Agent A.'"
"Well, this has been a treat to see my tax dollars at work, but
unfortunately I have a flight to catch," Terry interjected. "So if
you'll excuse me..."
"You don't even know where you are!" Adams declared.
"We were in the van like 90 seconds, tops," Terry countered. "This is
that rental house down the street. We had a barbeque here a couple
months ago with the last folks to stay in it. Gary and Courtney
Friedman. They were visiting from Topeka. Lovely couple."
The woman closed her eyes and shook her head.
Terry grabbed his satchel purse off the table. "So, this has been fun,
but...hasta la bye-bye and vaya con queso."
"Where are you going, Mr. Riley?" the woman asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say," he said with a smirk, turning towards the
door.
"Any chance you'll be needing these?" she wondered. Terry turned and saw
that she was holding his plane tickets and passport. She motioned for
him to sit back down.
He growled and sat in the chair. "Fine. What do you want?"
"Well, for starters, we would very much like it if you didn't go running
off to--" she looked down at the tickets, "--Bolivia? Really?"
"It's good for my sinuses."
Adams leaned down over him. "Meaning you breathe easier when you're not
pumped full of bullets?"
"Something like that."
The woman looked at him dubiously. "And you honestly think that plan is
going to work?"
"I like it better than the alternative," he asserted.
"Says the man in the French maid's costume sporting the big double-Ds,"
she countered. "But I'll give you points for creativity. How's that plan
working out for you so far?"
Terry shrugged. "Oh, you know. 'Blink-blink, breathe-breathe.' I'm
enjoying that part well enough." His eyes cut between them. "And WHY am
I here, again?"
Adams leaned forward. "Because what you did--getting that close to
Delgado--that took a lot of balls." He got a puzzled look on his face,
and motioned with his finger. "You DO still have--"
"Yes!" Terry snapped.
The two agents looked at each other. "It could still work," Adams said
with a shrug. "For a while, anyway."
Terry looked at them suspiciously. "What are you suggesting?"
The woman sat at the table and looked Terry in the eyes. "Mr. Riley,
we've been trying to get someone on the inside of Lucius Delgado's
organization for years, without success. We've tried undercover agents,
informants, surveillance equipment, but nothing's ever worked. That man
is my white whale, Mr. Riley. I've been after him for years. But then,
today, out of the clear blue, he starts fawning over YOU. I have no idea
why, but you're our best chance to get close to him. You help us take
him down and you get your life back."
"Ooh, tempting? But I'm gonna have to go with--hmm. Hey, what's a more
emphatic rejection than 'No fucking way'?"
"Mr. Riley--"
"Look, Ahab, my Melville is a little rusty, but as I recall it didn't
end up so great for the people who went up against the whale."
"I told you not to go with the whale metaphor," Adams interjected.
"We can protect you," the woman said. "We can even put you in the
witness protection program."
"What, you mean like a new identity? Change my name, my job, wear a
disguise? WAY ahead of you."
"Our way, you don't have to wear ruffled panties," Adams said.
"They're starting to grow on me. And I'd rather wear them than be buried
in them."
"So, you'd prefer to wear women's clothes the rest of your life?"
Terry turned to face him. "If I get close to Delgado and he figures out