AF: The Concrete Blonde
By Olivia Evans
The properties of the Medallion of Zulo are well known. This story
addresses one of the lesser explored quirks. What happens when the
magic is stopped halfway?
Life is good, I decided as I admired for the hundredth time the
magnificent view of the river fifty feet below the wooden deck of our
mountain summer retreat. Besides owning the cabin, we had a large 4
bedroom home complete with a beautiful, (and well used) lap pool in the
suburbs and a time share in Hawaii. I own a small, but successful
software development company, that allows me all the free time I want,
pays extremely well and is challenging enough that I didn't get bored
with it.
I'm married to a beautiful woman, Susan, a natural redhead with
flashing green eyes. She's tall, five foot ten inches with a slender
athletic body that is perfectly proportioned for her height and weight
of 140 pounds. Although, I'd never admit it, but I sometime think of
her as my redheaded Amazon.
Even though she's a redhead, she doesn't have the typical redhead's
pale complexion. She tans easily to a deep golden bronze that
emphasizes her Pixie cut red hair.
Sue has a master's degree in physical education. She's on the facility
of the local university and is the girls' freshman swim team coach.
Obviously, she loves to swim and frequently volunteers as a lifeguard
at the local youth center.
We were celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary by spending a two-
week second honeymoon at the cabin. Sue had just driven off to go to
the general store in the small village a few miles down the road from
our place to buy some groceries and other necessities for the coming
week. I had offered to go with her but knowing my great love of
reading and that I had a new book, she had suggested that I stay behind
and enjoy my book on the deck.
Taking her up on her suggestion, I changed into a pair of board shorts,
the baggy knee length shorts loved by surfers, grabbed my book and went
outside to the deck overlooking the river. I figured that I would kill
two birds with one stone and work on my tan while I read.
It was a warm day so I decided that I would take a quick dip in the
river before retiring to the deck and my book. The water was colder
than I expected so I didn't spend much time swimming. Just as I was
wading up the gentle riverbank, I stepped on something that felt a
little harder than the normally soft sand.
I reached down and dug through the sand until my hand brushed against
what I had stepped on. Pulling it up, I discovered a medallion of some
sort attached to a long chain. How curious, I thought, I wonder where
this came from?
I washed it off, then looked closer at it. Brass, maybe bronze. I
thought, inspecting the cheap looking necklace and medallion.
There was some writing in a language that I didn't recognize, not that
I'm an expert in foreign languages. On the reverse was a figure of
what looked amazingly like an angel although it was really hard to tell
what it was it was so worn. I was about to toss it away, when I
hesitated. Sue sometimes has rather eclectic taste in jewelry, so on
the off chance she might like it, I decided to keep it until she could
see it. Because my shorts lacked pockets, I placed it around my neck
and completed the short walk back to the deck.
I had almost forgotten the medallion as I began reading _The Concrete
Blonde_, the latest book in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch murder
mystery series. Reading had always been my favorite form of relaxation
and I was a huge fan of murder mysteries.
I had read about half of the first chapter when the sun went behind a
cloud and I felt a sudden chill. I grabbed what I thought was an old
t-shirt of mine lying on the table and pulled it over my head. I
really didn't think anything about the mild shock I received when the
shirt slid over the medallion.
About 10 or 15 minutes later, I turned on my side and the medallion
slid sideways ending up in my armpit. I tugged on the chain and the
medallion slid out from my armpit, not painfully, but annoying just the
same. Taking the medallion off with one hand (I was still engrossed in
the book) I tossed it in the general direction of the table beside me.
-0-0-0-
I had just completed the second chapter when I heard our car pull up in
front of the cabin. I knew Sue would need some help bring in the
groceries, so I reluctantly marked my place with a bookmark, slipped my
feet into my flip-flops and headed toward the kitchen.
Sue had already brought one load in from the car. So, I went outside
to bring the rest of it in while she put everything away. It was on my
second load that Sue had caught up putting things away enough to turn
and smile at me.
"Thanks hon..." she started to say as she removed a half gallon of ice
cream from the grocery bag. She laughed, then pointed at my t-shirt.
"That's a cute cover-up you're wearing. Although, pink really isn't
your color!"
I looked down and joined in her laughter. What I thought had been one
of my old t-shirts was in reality a thigh length novelty cover-up with
the graphic image of a very shapely woman's torso wearing a skimpy pink
bikini!
"It must belong to your friend, uh..." I hesitated a second trying to
remember the college sophomore's name. "Brooke. She must have left it
when she and her boyfriend were here two weeks ago," I replied,
clearing my throat a couple of times. For some strange reason, my
voice hadn't sounded right, about how it had been when I was entering
puberty.
Apparently, Sue had thought so too. She turned with a concerned
expression on her face. "Are you coming down with something?" Her
look of concern changed to one of amazement. "What did you do while I
was gone?"
"Nothing much, took a short swim then stretched out on the lounger and
started my book..."
"No, I mean what did you do to yourself? You look different and
something's wrong with your voice," she interrupted.
"What do you mean I look different?"
Sue suddenly realized she was still holding the ice cream. She put it
in the freezer and closed the door before giving me the once over.
"For one thing, your tan is darker, and you look.... I don't know, like
you've lost weight and are a couple of years younger somehow...?" She
continued to inspect me, looking closer. She reached out and stroked
my cheek. "Your skin feels softer and smoother, your hair is lighter
in color, and..." She glanced down at my feet. "Oh, my God, did you
shave your legs?"
I involuntarily looked down at my legs sticking out from under my knee
length shorts. The first thing I noticed was that my tan was far
deeper than it had been yesterday and my legs were completely hairless.
I looked up at Sue in astonishment. "I have no idea what happened to
the hair on my legs."
"Or on your arms either?" Sue asked a little sarcastically.
I raised my left arm to look at it. As I gave it a quick glance, I
realized that it too had no hair, or more correctly, the hair that was
on my arm was very fine and almost invisible. I also spotted something
that Sue hadn't. My hand was not my own, where my fingers were
relatively short and stubby, they were now longer and slenderer, almost
exactly like Susan's.
"What the hell!" I exclaimed as I raised my other hand to look at it as
well. I sat down on the kitchen table chair hard, scarcely believing
my eyes. "Look!" I exclaimed holding my hands up for Susan to see.
It was Sue's turn to sit down hard in the other kitchen table chair,
her task of putting away the groceries forgotten for the moment.
"What's happened to you?" she whispered, sounding frightened.
"I don't know. I don't feel any different," I replied turning my hands
over then laying them palm down side by side on the table. Sue looked
at my fingers a little closer.
"Your hands and fingers are slimmer, more elongated, your nails are
longer and look like they've been manicured! With the exception of no
polish, they look almost like a girl's manicure!" Sue gasped as she
placed her left hand next to mine. She was right, our hands were
almost identical, unquestionably female. The only difference that I
could see, was my hand was just a little larger and the nails were just
a little shorter overall than hers.
"Mike, something truly bizarre has happened to you, and it's scaring
me," Sue said beginning to panic. I quickly laid my hands on top of
hers.
"Easy now. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all this," I
said trying to reassure her almost as much as myself. Her fear had
begun to affect me as well. After all, it was my arms and legs we were
talking about.
Sue shook her head. "Maybe." She hesitated. "I'm almost afraid to
ask you to do this, but take off the cover-up, I want to see how far
this thing goes."
My hands were shaking as I pulled the t-shirt over my head. The
garment hadn't even cleared my head before I heard a sharp intake of
breath from Sue.
"What?" I asked as I completed pulling off the t-shirt and dropped it
on the floor.
Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd!......" Sue kept repeating as she stared
at my chest. I looked down and almost fainted when I saw the distinct
tan lines of a woman's bikini top. Centered in the pale twin triangles
exactly where you would expect them to be, were my nipples, or rather,
the nipples that were now attached to my chest. They were larger, with
darker areoles that were nearly twice their normal size atop a puffy
mound. Definitely not what I had awaken to this morning.
We sat at the table for a long moment just staring at my chest, before
Sue got the courage to suggest that I stand up and take everything else
off. I reluctantly stood, terribly afraid we would find that the
changes weren't limited to just my hands and chest. I was about to
pull my shorts down, when Sue told me to wait. She stood up and walked
around the table to stand in front of me. She made a little circular
motion with her hand, which I interpreted correctly to mean she wanted
me to turn around. I slowly turned in a circle.
"Well, you've finally gotten rid of those 'love handles' you were
working on," she said softly. "Or at least, they're not around your
waist anymore."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I think you should go look in the mirror."
My heart pounding in my throat, I followed Sue to the bedroom where we
had a free-standing full-length mirror.
Scarcely noticing my much thinner torso and waist, I stood mesmerized
by the twin triangles of un-tanned flesh on my chest. Like my arms and
legs, my torso was completely hairless, even the hair in my armpits
seemed to have disappeared. I slowly forced my eyes down the
reflection in the mirror. My shorts seemed to be riding lower on my
hips than I remembered. My abdomen was flatter than it had been since
high school, yet lacked the taut look it had back then.
This couldn't be me! I thought, stunned by what I was seeing.
What the hell had happened? I thought shakily as I hooked my thumbs in
the elastic waistband. I slowly eased the shorts down, the lower I
pushed my shorts, the wider my hips grew.
I stopped abruptly when I saw the top of a tiny patch of pubic hair,
much lower than I had expected and centered in what was obviously the
pale shadow of a low-cut bikini swimsuit bottom. Blonde and silken
fine, it was hair unlike any I had seen before, at least not on me. I
pushed down another quarter inch and the hair began to become more
defined. All too soon, I had exposed a narrow rectangle of closely
cropped light blonde hair, about an inch wide.
I turned to look at Sue, who was looking intently at my body.
"That looks exactly like Brooke's bikini trim!" she exclaimed, pointing
at my groin.
"I don't think I can go any further," I said anxiously.
Sue didn't say anything, just tilted her head to the side and looked at
my torso. Slowly shaking her head, she responded flatly. "You're
going to have to do it sooner or later, might as well get it over
with."
I nodded slowly and closed my eyes, not wanting to look. I took a deep
breath and gently eased my shorts downward past my wider hips. When
they reached my thighs, they fell to the floor by themselves.
For the second time since Sue had returned home, I heard her take a
sharp breath and slowly exhale.
"Well, you're smaller, but you appear to be still a man," Sue said
softly. "Smaller, thinner and, and.... well, I don't know, it just
looks different."
I opened my eyes and looked down at an odd looking hairless three-
quarter scale version of my penis. I glanced at my reflection in the
mirror and discovered that compared to my now wider hips, everything
looked positively tiny. My scrotum was smooth and tight, hairless and
elongated from front to back. It looked almost as if it was trying to
pull my testicles up inside of me. My testicles were further back than
normal, considerably smaller and shaped almost like two large almonds,
only tapered on both ends rather than the more egg shape they normally
were. I gently squeezed one, finding it soft and pliable. There was
almost no feeling when I squeezed a little harder.
I looked helplessly at Sue as everything suddenly went black and I fell
backward on to our bed.
-0-0-0-
When I awoke, I was laying naked on my back on our bed. Sue had
managed to get me fully on the bed and cover me with the quilt, then
had left the room. I heard her in the kitchen, finishing putting the
groceries away. For a brief moment, I felt resentful that she had
abandoned me in my strange condition.
Sighing to myself, I closed my eyes, remembering what I had seen in the
mirror. My hands moved of their own accord to my chest. The large,
sensitive nipples felt strange under the tips of my fingers. I pressed
gently against them and was surprised when my fingers seemed to sink
deeper than normal into my chest. Cupping them with my hands, I felt
something neither Sue nor I had observed. There was more flesh behind
them than I had realized, almost as if I had small breasts. Given the
shape of the rest of my body, I was not terribly surprised by this
discovery. Mystified and shocked, but not surprised.
I slowly slipped my hand down my smooth flat abdomen. I hesitated a
moment at my navel, wondering why it felt so different. I slid my hand
downward again, stopping when I reached the small rectangle of soft
pubic hair that ended abruptly at the top of the base of my penis. I
could feel on either side of the rectangle the faint roughness of hair
stubble. I hadn't lost most of my pubic hair, it had been trimmed to
this shape! With my eyes closed and except for my penis, it had felt
very much a woman's body under my hand.
It was at that point that I realized I had to go to the bathroom.
I turned on my side to move to the side of the bed. I could feel my
chest shift a little, an extremely weird sensation, and an unaccustomed
pressure on a different part of my hip. I swung my legs over the edge
of the bed and sat up, pausing just long enough to glance down at my
lap. My penis had become trapped between my pressed together thighs
without the usual discomfort of squeezing my testicles together.
Everything between my legs was totally invisible and looked exactly
like Sue's lap when she sat naked.
I followed the long line of my thighs downward to my outstretched legs
and feet. The dark tan ended about half way down my thighs, then grew
lighter towards my feet, giving the illusion that I was wearing a pair
of thigh-hi stockings. My calves appeared longer and slenderer than I
remembered. My feet appeared to be narrower with slightly longer toes
and there was a faint mark on my left ankle. I was about to look
closer when the urge to urinate grew more urgent. There was no
question in my mind that along with all the other changes, I now
possessed a copy of Brooke's obviously much smaller bladder.
Sighing to myself, I eased out of bed and walked across the room to the
bathroom. I avoided looking at myself in the bathroom mirror as I made
my way to the toilet. I lift up the seat with one hand while reaching
for my penis with the other. I sighed in relief, in my hand, my penis
felt almost the same, maybe just a little smaller, about like when I
had been swimming in very cold water. I was to realize much later that
because of my unfamiliarity with my now much smaller hand, its apparent
size had been mostly an illusion.
Taking aim, I allowed myself to relax. A moment later I felt the urine
begin to flow along my inner thighs. Clamping down as much as I could,
I quickly dropped the seat, spun around and sat to finish.
Feeling the warm liquid under my bare feet, I swore softly and grabbed
a hand towel to dry my thighs. I dropped the towel on the floor and
pushed it around with my foot before picking it up and tossing it
toward the dirty clothes hamper.
Unable to contain my morbid curiosity, I reached between my legs and
pulled my penis up to look at it. My inspection confirmed what I had
already discovered so messily. The urethra was gone! The tip was as
smooth as if a hole had never existed!
Then where? I gingerly felt the space behind my shrunken testicles. I
thought I felt a seam of some sort. Pressing gently on the seam, my
finger slipped inside slightly. The slight dampness instantly told me
what I had feared.
Oh, shit, I thought, not only do I have a body like a girl's, I've got
to pee like one!
I stood up and grabbed Sue's hand mirror from the counter. Placing my
left foot on the edge of the tub, I spread my legs and looked in the
mirror at my groin. Seen from this angle, it was the most bizarre
sight I had ever seen. Directly behind my scrotum was a partially
developed woman's labia major and minor! It was deeper toward my rear
and continued upward between my shrunken and elongated testicles
becoming narrower until it reached the base of my penis where it was
just a wide seam fused together looking like an old, badly healed scar.
The small blemish on my ankle caught my eye. I looked closer and
discovered a faint tattoo of a small butterfly, almost a duplicate of
one I knew Brooke had on her ankle. While her tattoo is distinct and
colorful, mine was a much paler version, as if it were very old, or a
half tone print.
My foot slipped off the edge of the tub when I heard Sue's voice behind
me. "I see you found the tattoo. It's as if you were changing into a
duplicate of Brooke, but stopped when you were only a third of the way
there." She paused, looked at the mirror in my hand, and then asked
softly, "Any other surprises I should know about?"
I put my foot back on the edge of the tub and silently handed her the
mirror. Sue positioned the mirror and studied my groin for a long
moment. I spread apart the cleft so she could see it better.
"Oh, my..." she said softly. She glanced at my penis, noticing that
the hole was missing. "Does that mean what I think it means?"
I nodded. "Looks like you won't have to worry about me putting the
seat down anymore," I joked lamely.
"This isn't funny!" Sue cried out. Tears welled up in her eyes as she
carefully put the mirror back on the counter. She was obviously
suppressing the urge to hurl the mirror at the wall.
"I'm sorry, honey. It's just that I'm at a total loss to explain all
this!" I reached out and gave her a long hug. For a brief moment she
stiffened, then relaxed and ran her hands up and down my bare back as
she cried softly on my shoulder.
"What are we going to do?" Sue sniffed as we pulled apart.
"I'm going to take a shower and get dressed," I replied, far more
calmly than I felt. "I think that it would be more comfortable for
both of us, if I did."
Sue stepped back and glanced at my nipples that had stiffened during
our embrace. "And warmer too," she giggled nervously and wiped the
tears from her eyes.
-0-0-0-
I stayed in the shower longer than I probably should have. But washing
myself was just too strange and fascinating to rush. Overall, my skin
felt softer, more sensitive and oddly naked without body or facial
hair.
I discovered that my new nipples were supersensitive compared to my old
ones and when I gently stroked them, they became erect, not only my
nipples, but below as well. I suspected that the sensations flowing
through my body, was what Sue felt although probably to a lesser
degree.
Interesting, I thought. I stroked my penis a few times, it felt a
little more sensitive and very pleasant, but there was no quick build
up to a climax like the other times I had masturbated. Afraid to
continue, I stopped before things got out of hand, (no pun intended).
When I explored the small slit between my legs, the lips of my false
labia major felt slightly swollen. Again, similar to what happened to
Sue during foreplay.
I quickly shampooed to account for the extra time I had taken exploring
my body, turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Sue was
waiting for me with a fresh towel in her hand. Her eyes were reddened
and she'd obviously been crying while I had been in the shower.
"I think you'll like this one better than the ones you normally use,"
she said sadly, handing me the towel. It was one of her towels, soft
and fluffy. Sue was right, I did like it.
She watched as I dried myself off. "You know you have little boobs?"
she asked. I nodded. "They don't look big enough to require a bra
though," she hesitated a moment, "Well, maybe an 'A' cup." I nodded
again, already having come to that conclusion.
"Want to try one?" she asked hesitantly.
"One what?" I looked at her out of the corner of my eye.
"A bra, do you want to try on a bra? I'm a 36 'C", but I think I have
one that will stretch a little to fit you around the chest." She
blushed a little. "It'll be too big in the cup though."
I just shook my head and ran the towel down my leg.
"Uh, why don't I fix something to eat while you get dressed?" Sue
suggested when the silence grew a little awkward. "Oh, I laid out
somethings on the bed you might want to try on."
"Okay, I'll be out in about five minutes,"
Sue nodded and headed to the kitchen to make us some sandwiches.
-0-0-0-
I hung the towel up and walked naked into the bedroom. Curious, I
looked at the garment on top of the small pile of clothing lying on the
bed. It was a pair of Sue's French cut white cotton panties. The t-
shirt underneath was one of my own, but I knew the cotton khaki colored
pants under the t-shirt like the panties, belonged to Sue.
I held up the panties and looked at them for a moment. Was Sue trying
to tell me something, I wondered. I glanced at my profile in the
mirror. Maybe she was, I thought when I looked at the size and contour
of my hips and rear in the full-length mirror. But my pride, or
perhaps a subconscious denial of the facts, demanded that I wear my own
clothing.
After pulling on a pair of skin-tight boxer shorts that were too loose
in the waist, and trying three different pairs of jeans, I had to admit
defeat. None would fit over my wider hips and fuller rear.
It looked like I would have to wear Sue's pants until I could buy some
new clothes that fit my changed body. Reluctantly I reached for the
pants Sue had left on the bed for me. I hesitated for a moment, then
stripped off my own ill-fitting boxer shorts and pulled on the panties.
Sue's panties while snug, were not nearly as tight as my boxers had
been and a lot more comfortable. Nice, I thought as I ran my hands
over my rear. They fit almost perfectly, except for the small
unfeminine shape in front. I debated briefly about tucking myself
between my legs, but decided not to. It would be too much, too fast.
Sue's pants turned out to be what she called 'clean back', with tiny
pockets in front, no rear pockets and cropped. As with most women's
pants, the fly opened to the left. I pulled the pants up over my hips
and awkwardly fastened the button of the waistband. The pants fit a
little snugger than I was used to, but were surprisingly comfortable
just the same. When I pulled the oddly short zipper up, my penis
seemed to disappear completely, pressed flat between my body and the
fabric of the almost skin-tight pants.
Sue had placed a pair of her leather thong sandals on the floor next to
the bed for me to wear as well. I slipped a foot into one and
discovered that my foot, while smaller than normal, was still a size or
two larger than Sue's. I decided that I would just go barefoot for a
while.
Sue looked up as I walked into the kitchen. "Before you say anything,
I haven't done any washing yet, so it was either those pants or my
denim skirt," she said quickly as she glanced down to look at the flat
front of my pants. She was momentarily stunned. Recovering her
composure and trying to be positive about the whole bizarre situation,
she said, "Uh, they look nice on you. How do they feel?"
"A little snug through the rear," I said, rubbing my hands over my
seat. We both ignored the flat and feminine appearance of the front.
"Turn around and let me see." I pulled my t-shirt up to my waist and
slowly turned around in a circle.
"Wow! If those look as good on me as they do you...." Sue began, then
abruptly shut up as I completed my turn. "I'm sorry Mike, I know this
must be terribly difficult for you. I..."
"Let's eat," I said sitting down and ignoring her sympathy. In spite
of everything, I was hungry and wanted a moment of normalcy before we
discussed the shocking changes in my body any further. Sue nodded and
sat down across from me.
All through our lunch, which we ate mostly in silence, Sue studied me.
After we finished and Sue had tossed the used paper plates in the
trash, Sue asked me the question that had been on our minds since she
had returned home with the groceries.
"Mike, what the hell happened to you?" she asked. "You were perfectly
normal when I left this morning. Then two hours later you have most of
a woman's body and look almost as if you could be Brooke Johnson's
sister."
"I have no idea," I replied truthfully. "I told you everything I did."
"Well, something caused it. Let's look at this logically. I think we
can eliminate you taking female hormones without my knowledge. Don't
give me that look! I know you wouldn't do anything that stupid!
Besides, hormones wouldn't change your body so radically so quickly.
They just don't work like that."
"Nor would they give me tan lines or a butterfly tattoo," I added
dryly.
"Or a pierced navel and ears either," Sue said with a laugh that was a
little forced. She quickly sobered. "Obviously, then, something else
happened. Tell me everything you did from the time I left until I got
back."
I sat back and thought for a moment. I began telling her everything I
had done from the moment she had driven off. "Then I walked back to
the cabin and stretched out on the lounge to read my book. I was still
reading when you came home."
"Wait a minute. I know you were wearing just your baggies when you
went outside. When I saw you again, you were wearing that tacky bikini
body cover-up. Where did that come from?"
"It was lying on the table on the deck. I didn't give it a second
thought, I was a little chilly after my swim and just put it on without
really looking at it."
"Brooke must have forgotten it," Sue said thoughtfully. "Go on."
I sat thinking a moment, trying to remember exactly what I had done
during an otherwise insignificant moment. "I think it was about ten or
fifteen minutes after I put the cover-up on that I shifted my position
and the medallion got caught in my armpit."
"Medallion? What medallion?"
"The one I found buried in the sand at the riverbank."
You could almost see the light bulb go on over her head as Sue snapped
her fingers. "That's it! That's what caused you to change! This
medallion, where is it?"
"I took it off and put it on the table outside," I replied as we both
jumped up to rush outside. I had a chance to return to normal once we
had the instrument of my transformation!
A few seconds later we were standing by the table. The only thing
lying on the table was the book I'd been reading.
"It's not here," Sue said, stating the obvious. "Maybe it fell off the
table."
I got down on my hands and knees and looked around. Nothing. Sue
ripped the cushion off the lounge I had been on with predictable
results, other than some pine needles, nothing was underneath. There
was no one else for a couple of miles in any direction, so some animal,
maybe the raccoon we'd seen the day before, must have carried it off.
If so, the medallion was long gone.
For the first time since Sue had discovered the changes in my body, I
felt helpless. I was stuck like this forever! I sat down on the
lounge put my head in my hands and sobbed.
"I don't know how we can go on with me looking like this. I'm
certainly not the man you married anymore. Hell, I'm not even a man at
all!" I half snorted, half cried. I was scared and didn't care if it
showed.
Sue sat down beside me and put her arms around me.
"I'll understand if you want to leave me," I cried, more concerned at
the moment that I would lose the love of my life, than what had
happened to my body.
Sue was taken aback for a moment, then her expression softened.
"Honey, I love you. I know this is something that neither of us would
have willingly chosen or wanted. But I would no more consider leaving
you because of this, than I would if you'd lost an arm or leg in an
accident. 'For better or worse', remember? It will be alright, honey.
We will survive this somehow. Together."
We sat on the lounge talking until dusk and it began to grow cold. By
the time we went inside I was feeling better. I still wasn't happy
about the changes in my body, but I had resigned myself to making the
best of the worst situation any man could ever find himself in.
Naturally we decided to do the only thing we could do under the
circumstances, we would try to get some sleep and go home the next day.
-0-0-0-
I don't think either of us said more than two words during the long
drive home. There were just too many things on our minds for casual
conversation.
Later, after we had unpacked the car, we started to formulate the cover
story we would live with for the next three years. Since my job
allowed me to work at home, I could continue to work without fear of
any awkward unanswerable questions from co-workers or lose any income.
Beyond the work environment however, I was still faced with the problem
of how to explain my changed body. It was just too feminine to
conceal. There was only one obvious solution, I would become a recluse
for a while until I could come "out".
Through emails and casual comments made to my customers and friends on
the phone, I slowly built the story that I was a transsexual (just call
me Michelle) and was now living as a woman (the "real life test"
requirement) before my SRS surgery. Most of our friends and my
customers were supportive and appeared to be interested in how I was
doing.
I told the story so many times, I almost believed it myself.
Before we began our "transsexual" misdirection campaign, I spent hours
researching the subject on the internet. I found almost more
information than I wanted or needed. In the end, I had developed a
deep respect and sympathy for those who believed, strike that, who knew
they'd been born in bodies with the wrong sex. I found that I
identified mostly with those individuals born with ambiguous genitals,
sometimes known as "intersexed". Is it a boy or a girl? "Well, yes
and... uh, no .....Well, maybe, uh, to be truthful, we're not really
sure..."
"Not really sure." That was me in a nutshell.
There were some interesting and strange things about my transformed
body. The greatest changes were of course, mostly confined to my
torso, from my neck down to about mid-thigh, almost exactly where the
t-shirt had fit on Brooke. I was an inch and a half shorter than
before and my shoulder width appeared to be about half way between my
own and Sue's. My waist was as slender, my hips were almost as wide as
Sue's. The overall effect was that I looked tall and athletic, but
with the undeniable curves of a woman. My face, now completely free of
whiskers was mostly my own, with a strong "first female cousin"
resemblance to myself. If we had been able to test my theory, we would
have found that my DNA was a combination of Brooke's and my own.
My hair was now a slightly lighter shade of my own and longer, about an
inch longer than before. My bellybutton was pierced, but my ears only
had slight dimples where Brooke's piercings were completely through her
earlobes. Obviously, the most pronounced changes were where the bikini
cover-up had been.
My penis/clitoris functioned almost exactly as my old penis had, I
could become erect, penetrate and have a climax (which Sue said sounded
almost like a woman's orgasm when I tried to describe it to her). I
just couldn't pee through it!
I found that I could have multiple orgasms as I ejaculated, although
when that happened it got rather messy. We solved the mess problem by
using a mini-pad, a use that we seriously doubted the manufacturer
could have imagined.
I supposed the best label that could be applied to my body was that I
was a she-male, a name which I hated, although I was more and, at the
same time, far less than that.
To maintain the fiction of being a transitioning transsexual, I allowed
my hair to grow to below my shoulders, learned to use makeup and wore
women's clothing all the time. I even went as far as wearing a push up
bra with "enhancers" once in a while just to make my tops a little more
interesting. Most of the time however, I didn't bother with a bra, not
having much upstairs to be a problem.
Sue's parents initially were understandably upset when they were told
that I was "transitioning", especially when they learned that Sue and I
and had no intention of splitting up after my "operation" and would
continue to live together in a lesbian relationship. Which, again,
depending on how you looked at it, was already both the truth and not.
After a while, mainly because they really liked me as a person and
loved their only daughter deeply, they ended up being very supportive
and accepting.
Perhaps a major factor in their acceptance was our announcement a few
months later that we were expecting a baby (yes, I am the father and
no, I will not tell you how we did it). They were as thrilled as any
set of parents are when they learned that they would have a grandchild,
despite our "unusual lifestyle", (their term, not ours, we considered
ourselves still man and wife).
Sue was about seven months along when our carefully crafted story
almost came crashing down around our ears. I came down with, of all
things, a urinary tract infection, (UTI). I suffered through the
terrible itching for almost a week before Sue took things into her own
hands and made an appointment for me with her gynecologist.
I was a nervous wreck by the time we reached the doctor's office,
terribly afraid that the doctor would denounce me to the authorities or
have me locked up for study or something. Sue kept trying to reassure
me that it would be alright, the doctor was really nice and that I
could receive medication that would stop the infernal itching.
-0-0-0-
"Amazing, simply amazing!" Doctor Karen Smith exclaimed as she leaned
forward on her stool between my spread apart legs. "I've never seen
anything quite so... uh, unique as this before." She poked around a
bit more with her gloved finger, then glanced up at me. "Were you born
like this?"
"No, I had normal male genitalia until about a year ago," I replied,
feeling oddly special. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sue hold her
hands about eight inches apart in the classic "the fish was this big"
routine, giggle, and then nod, crudely confirming my statement.
The doctor glanced at her, smiled faintly, then turned back to me in
astonishment. "A year ago? And yet you managed to get Sue pregnant
looking like this! How?"
I looked at her between my legs and just smiled.
"Sorry, none of my business." Dr. Smith rolled her short stool back,
stood up and stripped off her exam gloves. "You can get dressed now.
I'll give you some samples to use tonight, and a prescription for more
medication. Continue using it until it's gone." She wrote something
on a prescription pad and gave it to Sue. "You might have to show her
... ah, him how to apply the medication."
The doctor reached for the doorknob, then hesitated. Turning back to
us, she watched me pull my panties up before speaking. "You said you
were born with normal male genitals. Do you mind telling me how you
came to be like this? I'm sure this isn't the result of large doses of
female hormones, so it had to be something else? An industrial
accident perhaps?" She blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to
pry, it's just that you're so unusual, that I have to know."
I glanced at Sue who shrugged her shoulders. "Well, to be truthful
doctor, we're not exactly sure how this happened ourselves. As I said,
about a year ago, we were at our cabin in the mountains, I had taken a
swim in the river that runs in front of the cabin. As I was climbing
out of the water, I stepped on what turned out to be a necklace with an
odd-looking medallion..."
The doctor, looking startled, interjected, "Medallion....? Bronze,
about the size of an old silver dollar? Really cheap looking? Had a
figure of a fairy or angel on one side?"
Sue and I looked at each other in stunned surprise. Doctor Smith had
described the medallion exactly! I nodded.
"This is incredible!" She seemed lost in thought for a second. "If
you would meet me in my office when you get the rest of your clothing
on, I might be able to shed more light on what happened to you."
I quickly pulled up the long crinkle "broomstick" skirt Sue had loaned
me, slipped my bare feet into my flats and rushed to follow Sue as she
headed to the doctor's office.
-0-0-0-
"Naturally, because of patient confidentiality, I can't disclose too
much information about uh... 'Mary'." Doctor Smith began. We were
seated around a small table in her private office. In front of Doctor
Smith was an open medical file with the name carefully concealed. "But
I will tell you why I recognized the instrument of your transformation.
I think it was caused by something called the 'Medallion of Zulo'."
"The medallion of what?" Sue and I asked simultaneously.
Doctor Smith looked down at the medical file again. "Medallion of
Zulo. That's what uh, 'Mary' called it. About ten years ago, just
after I opened my practice, I had a slightly overweight, very
attractive and quite upset girl in her late teens come in for an exam.
I examined her and discovered she was about three months pregnant. She
became nearly hysterical when I told her my diagnosis. Once I got her
calmed down, I asked her why she had reacted as she had. I was still
new and hadn't seen a lot of patients yet so I wasn't really prepared
for something like that. I had naturally assumed that she had gotten
pregnant by her boyfriend who dumped her after he found out."
"And she hadn't?" I asked, growing curious about "Mary".
"No, nothing quite as mundane as that. According to Mary, about six
months before I saw her, she had found what she called the 'Medallion
of Zulo' in a thrift store. She had recognized what it was and decided
to have some fun with it. She claimed that the medallion was magical,
and possessed the ability to change the wearer into someone else. All
they have to do is touch a piece of worn clothing to the medallion
while wearing it and within half an hour they become a duplicate of the
last person who'd worn the garment. If the garment is new and has
never been worn, they remain essentially themselves, but change to fit
the clothing, even if the clothing is for the opposite sex or a
different age or race. In either case they can change back, but
there's supposedly a twelve hour wait before the medallion will work on
the same person again."
Sue and I looked at each other. Both halves of the mystery of the
"how" had suddenly fallen into place. It had been a combination of the
medallion and the cover-up Brooke had so carelessly left at the cabin!
"It will also, according to what Mary told me, change two people into
each other if one is wearing the medallion and another touches it. The
change occurs even if it isn't a consensual act."
"Wow, that is scary," Sue exclaimed, glancing at me.
"What happened after she found the medallion?" I asked, fascinated that
someone else had been changed by the medallion. I briefly wondered how
many others had found themselves in my situation or worse.
"That's the part of her story, which in one respect, is very, I suppose
you could say, poetic justice and in a way, quite funny. It seems that
'Mary' took the medallion home to her, uh his, wife and tricked her
into changing with him..."
"Mary had been a man!" Sue exclaimed.
"The doctor nodded. "That's what she claimed. Of course, at the time,
I thought that 'Mary' was telling me some delusional story in her
denial of her pregnancy." The doctor glanced at me and smiled faintly.
"Given what I've just seen, obviously, she'd been telling the truth.
Anyway, she said her 'wife' was so furious about what had happened that
she divorced him a month after they'd changed back. That was when the
ex-wife learned that because of a very well written pre-nuptial
agreement she would receive little more than the clothes on her back."
Sue shook her head. "That's terrible. They should outlaw those dammed
things."
"Sue, let her continue," I admonished softly. Doctor Smith smiled
faintly, obviously agreeing with Sue.
"Mary's ex-wife had the last laugh on him though. A couple of months
after the divorce was final, she was in a bar with some of her
girlfriends, when she suddenly found herself face to face with herself!
Mary, as a man, had been a notorious womanizer before he found the
medallion, but apparently once he'd tried sex as a woman, he found he
liked it much better, at least on a part time basis. Not being very
imaginative, he just used his ex-wife's body. He was quite the party
girl and was well known in the bar scene as being very... well,
frankly, available."
"Damn, what a dumb ass!" I interjected. I could see what was coming.
"Yes, he was. The 'ex' decided that she had to put an end to his
antics once and for all. She purchased some new women's clothing for
her revenge, intending to change him in a woman, then tossing the
medallion away leaving him stuck that way. Since she still had a key
to the house, she found the medallion while 'Mary' was out bar
hopping."
"Let me guess," Sue interjected, "when he came home, she knocked him
out and used the medallion to change him into another woman. Right,
doctor?"
"Exactly! She wanted to humiliate him as well as teaching him a
lesson. In his male body he was a six-foot, 230-pound jock. Even when
he had been his ex-wife, he was tall, 5' 9", and had a very trim
figure. So, using a pair of sweats she had purchased from a college
campus store turned him into a 19-year-old girl who was five foot two
tall and about 35 pounds overweight. He was too young to go bar
hopping, yet old enough to be on her own. The story would have end
there, except for one of those accidental quirks of fate that happen
sometimes or maybe the ex-wife added another little twist to her
revenge. Mary told me later that she thought the sweatpants her ex
used had been tried on by a coed who was in her first trimester and
returned to the shelf. Nothing else would explain 'Mary's' pregnancy."
"Couldn't she have gotten pregnant in the uh, usual way?" Sue asked
curiously.
The Doctor shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps, but Mary claimed that his
wife had changed him only the week before I saw her. After she had
realized she was stuck as a female forever, she'd been too distressed
to even look at a man."
"And so, because of a chance purchase of a garment that had been worn
briefly by a young, overweight and pregnant coed, 'Mary' ended up being
a petite pregnant teenager herself!" Sue laughed.
"Exactly! So, you see, if you can find the medallion again, there's a
chance that you can change back to your old self. Just don't get
pregnant before then, otherwise the medallion won't work until after
you've given birth," the doctor concluded.
"I don't think there's much of a chance of that happening! In spite of
how I may look at the moment, I'm not actually a woman, remember?" I
said dryly. As fascinating as the story had been, I found little humor
in it.
"Thank you for sharing this with us, doctor," Sue said getting up.
"Not at all," the doctor replied. She smiled, then continued, "If you
do find the medallion, come back and see me. I'd love to see what that
thing looks like!"
I stood and followed Sue to the door. Just before I left the office, I
turned and asked, "Uh, Doctor, can you tell us what became of 'Mary'?"
"She had a beautiful baby girl. After the birth, she started going to
the gym and slimmed down to a perfect size 3. Met a man, got married
and had two more babies, another girl and a boy. I still see her on a
regular basis for her annual physical. She seems to be a very happy,
devoted wife and mother."
-0-0-0-
"Wow, what a story! Do you believe it?" Sue asked as we drove back
home.
"Considering the evidence sitting beside you, how could you not
believe?"
"I guess." Sue was silent for a few minutes. "If we found the
medallion again, would you use it?"
"To change back to myself? In a heartbeat," I replied. Sue nodded and
fell silent until we pulled into our driveway.
"Aren't you a bit curious what it feels like to be a real woman? Or
what it feels like to be pregnant?" she asked as I pulled into our
driveway.
I drove into the garage and shut off the engine before I replied, "I
guess every man is curious about what it feels like to be a woman, and
by extension, what it would be like to be pregnant at one time or
another. But for me, no, I don't think so. I've had enough of being a
woman, even if it is only half of one."
"That's good. I hate to think what it would be like if both of us were
suffering from morning sickness at the same time." Sue laughed.
"Although..." I began slowly, "I might consider using a nursing bra and
help you with the feeding once in a while."
"It's a good thing the medallion is lost then, otherwise, I just might
take you up on your offer."
"With these 'mosquito bite' sized boobs?" I asked cupping my small "A"
cup breasts. "I don't think so. The poor baby would starve."
"You never know," Sue winked. I just shook my head.
"Why don't you turn on the news while I fix us something to eat?" I
suggested as we walked into the kitchen.
Sue continued on to the living room. A minute later I heard the TV
turn on. Twenty seconds after that, I heard Sue calling me by my real
name, something she did only when she was excited or mad at me.
"Mike! Come quick! There's a forest fire on the news and I think it's
near the cabin!"
I sat down next to Sue and watched the newscast. "...Thank you,
Battalion Chief Benson for the update. We continue our aerial coverage
of the forest fire in the ...."
The image switched from a very haggard looking fireman to an aerial
view of the fire. Centered in the picture full involved, was a stone
and timber structure, just a few feet from the riverbank.
"Our beautiful cabin!" Sue exclaimed, pointing at the television.
"It's burning!"
"It's insured, honey. Besides, the walls are made of stone even if it
does burn, we can rebuild it as good as new."
"But what if the medallion is still there and it's been destroyed in
the fire? What then?"
I felt a coldness in the pit of my stomach. Yes, what then? The tiny
bit of hope Doctor Smith had given me of somehow finding the medallion
and regaining my old body back would be gone forever.
-0-0-0-
Even though the fire was relatively small, burning less than two
hundred acres, and destroying a total of six cabins, it was three days
before we were allowed into the burn area to look at the cabin.
Except for the stone walls that were still standing, the fire had
totally destroyed our little cabin and its contents. Fighting back
tears, we surveyed the charred rubble, looking for anything that might
have miraculously survived. About the only thing that was still
recognizable was the antique pot belly stove we used sometimes to heat
the cabin. Everything else was charred ash and twisted lumps of metal.
I was mentally calculating what it would cost to rebuild, when Sue
announced that she had to get out of the cabin's shell and get some
fresh air. I glanced up at the single remaining badly burned rafter
and nodded absently as she stepped through the doorway that had once
exited out on to the deck.
Two seconds later I heard a faint crash then Sue exclaim, "Ouch! Damn
it! Ohmigawd! MICHELLE COME HERE QUICK!"
Concerned Sue might have been hurt, I raced to the door, and skidded to
an abrupt halt at the threshold. Half covered with soot and ash, Sue
was sitting in the middle of a pile of charred beams, a huge grin on
her face. In her outstretched hand, she held a long chain and a bronze
medallion!
Against all odds, Sue had found the Medallion of Zulo when what was
remaining of the deck had collapsed under her! It must have fallen
through a crack when I had taken it off! If only I had thought to look
under the deck that day, then my transformation would have been just an
amusing memory!
Miraculously, it didn't appear to have been damaged by the fire.
-0-0-0-
I don't think that either of us could tell you what happened on the way
home after Sue found the medallion.
The first thing we did when we walked into the house was change out of
our dirty clothing, showered and had dinner, (Sue was eating for two
remember). Throughout the meal, we kept throwing glances at the
medallion lying on the dining room table between us. As humble looking
as it was, it held our future within its dull bronze surface.
You would think that as soon as our meal was finished, we would have
rushed into the bedroom. Instead, we took our time, as if neither of
us wanted to lose our strange intimacy that had grown in the last year.
It wasn't until later when I opened our closet that I realized that we,
or rather, I had a big problem. About six months before the fire,
about the time Sue realized she was pregnant and before we had known
about the medallion, I had donated most of my male clothing to charity.
What little I hadn't given away, mainly a few tee shirts and some heavy
socks I had worn as Michelle, which made everything remaining virtually
worthless as a catalyst to change me back.
"Oh, my God, Michelle," Sue said when the realization finally sunk in.
"I'm so sorry."
I could only nod. "Maybe there's a sock or something hiding somewhere
in a drawer that I haven't worn yet."
Sue just shook her head, a look of profound sadness on her face.
We sat on the bed, just staring at the closet and holding hands. When
Sue yawned some time later, she apologized and said she was worn out
and had to get some sleep. We would sleep on it, she suggested, and
maybe we would have a solution tomorrow. I couldn't think of a better
plan, so followed her to bed a few minutes later.
-0-0-0-
We were awaken early the following morning by a frantic phone call from
one of my customers who was having major problems (again!) with his
main frame. I told him that I needed to get to my computer and would
call him back after I had logged onto his system remotely.
I leaned over and kissed Sue, telling her to go back to sleep, there
was no reason for her to get up this early. She mumbled something in
reply, turned over and was softly snoring before I could pull the
covers back.
I got out of bed and threw my bathrobe on. Still half asleep I made my
way to my office. Twenty minutes later I had exercised my
"administrator rights" and had connected with the caller's main frame.
"What in the hell did he do this time?" I said to myself as I navigated
through the operating system. There was something in his data base
that was playing havoc with everything. I'd never seen anything this
screwed up before.
I gave the client a call, and told him that he would be down for at
least a couple of hours and went back to work.
Two hours and a pot of coffee later I was still at it. I had already
eliminated the possibility of a virus or Trojan horse, and was working
to restore the operating system without having it crash on me as it had
twice within the last hour.
"Honey?" I heard behind me. I glanced around and saw Sue standing in
the doorway, fully dressed and holding her purse. "Got a moment to
talk?"
I glanced at my monitor, confirmed my program was running smoothly at
this point, and then nodded. I swiveled around and asked what was up.
"I was thinking about the medallion and what Doctor Smith said.
Remember what she said about touching new clothing to the medallion,
that it would change the wearer to fit the clothing?"
"I remember her saying that. Are you proposing that we do that? But
what about restoring me to my original body? There must be something I
haven't worn since then."
"There may have been something at the cabin, but if there had been it's
gone now."
"Yeah, I suppose so," I said sadly. "It's just that I wanted to become
me again, not some male version of what I am now. What if you don't
like how I turn out?"
"Honey, it doesn't matter what the 'outside' you look like, the 'you'
that I fell in love with would still be here, at least on the inside.
I love you with all my heart and always will regardless what or rather
who you look like. I told you that the first day, and I still mean it.
I love you!"
"And I love you too," I smiled warmly.
"Besides, think of the possibilities!" Sue continued excitedly. "You
can look like or actually be anyone you want. All it will take is the
right combination of clothing."
"Hum, I could be tall, dark and handsome," I mused, teasing Sue a
little.
"How about 7 feet two inches tall, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?" Sue
quipped naming her favorite LA Lakers basketball player. "He's tall,
dark and handsome."
Startled, I shook my head at the thought. "Well, maybe not quite that
tall, but I certainly would like a body that's fit and a little more
athletic than this one." I was about to continue when my computer
dinged. Swearing under my breath I turned back to the computer to read
the error code.
"Honey, I'm going to run to the mall before it gets too crowded. Can
you break away for an hour and help me pick out..."
"I'm sorry Sue, but I really can't leave this right now. This guy is
one of my bigger clients, and I've got to get this fixed before he goes
with someone else." I bent over the keyboard and began typing code in
furiously. "Why don't you go ahead and pick something out for me."
"Do you have any preference of what...?"
"What? No, just pick something out that you would be happy with.
After all, it will be what I'll look like for the rest of my life, so
you might as well tailor it to suit yourself."
"You're sure? I'm mean, what if you don't like...." she asked
doubtfully.
"Honey, as long as you're happy, I'll be happy."
"Okay, but don't ever say I didn't ask. One designer body coming up,"
Sue said cheerfully.
-0-0-0-
Two hours later, I sat back and watched in satisfaction as the client's
main frame rebooted without any problem. I was stiff and long overdue
for a potty break. I pushed my chair back and stretched, got up, walked
around for a few seconds then headed to the bathroom.
I hiked my nightie and robe up and sat on the toilet. By this time
tomorrow, I thought, peeing in this position will be just a memory.
When I finished, I decided that I really needed a shower. I stripped
my night clothes off and turned on the hot water. As I waited for the
water to warm up, I glanced at the clock. Sue had been gone for nearly
three hours! What was taking her so long? I wondered. When I had been
male, I could go into a store and come out twenty minutes later with a
dozen different items.
Glancing down, I noticed that I had a little bit of stubble on my legs.
I decided to shave them one last time. Tomorrow, I would have to shave
again, but then it would be my face. The thought seemed strange after
so long of being without whiskers.
I ended up shaving my legs, underarms and touching up my bikini trim as
well as shampooing and conditioning my shoulder length hair before
deciding I had better get going.
-0-0-0-
Another hour passed before I heard Sue's car pull up in the driveway.
I went out to meet her and help carry in the bags of clothing I knew
she would have brought back. Two trips later our bed was piled high
with shopping bags of clothing.
"Went a little overboard, don't you think?" I asked eyeing the unopened
bags.
"Nope!" Sue replied cheerfully. "Bought just what I needed for you and
a few things for myself."
"All right, what do you want me to do?"
"Take your clothes off and stand in front of the mirror. This time I
want to watch the changes as they happen."
"Okay," I said after I stripped and stepped in front of the mirror.
"What now?"
Sue slipped the medallion's chain over my head, carefully avoiding
touching the medallion itself. There was no way either of us wanted me
to accidentally become a complete twin of Sue, especially since she was
7 months pregnant.
"I really want this to be a surprise, so close your eyes while I touch
the clothing to the medallion."
I began to grow nervous, when I remembered Sue's parting comment about
not making suggestions. What if she did change me into a "Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar" type? I could probably live with being seven feet two
inches tall, but what would the neighbors think!
"Now keep them closed," Sue said, as I felt articles of clothing brush
gently against my chest and the medallion. I felt the initial faint
shock I vaguely remembered from so long ago.
"Okay, want to open your eyes and watch?" Sue asked excitedly.
I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror. I have to admit I wanted to
watch the changes myself. Nothing much happened for a few minutes.
Then I started to notice things shifting and moving about. The longer
I watched the more my mouth dropped open.
I glanced incredulously up at Sue standing beside me. She had a huge
grin of approval on her face. I tore my gaze away and turned back to
the mirror. Finally, the changes slowed to a stop, I had completed
changing.
"Are you sure?" I asked Sue, still stunned at what I was seeing.
"Yep," Sue smiled. "I think you turned out even better than I had
hoped. In fact, you're perfect!"
"Perfect!" I exclaimed as I turned to look at myself in profile. I
glanced at Sue, her eyes were brimming with excitement and full of
love. "Well, it's not exactly what I would have picked out," I said
slowly as I exhaled the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
"Maybe not, but I just know you're going to love it. Once you get used
to it, that is," Sue beamed.
I turned back toward the mirror again, eyeing the five-inch difference
in our height. "How tall do you think I am?"
"If I made my calculations correctly, you should be about five foot 5
or 6 inches, about average for a woman. I chose that height mainly
because it's easier to find nice clothing for someone your size than
for someone as tall as I am. Changing your age took a little more
planning than just changing your body. Then the perfect solution came
to me! I know you like to swim as much as I do, so I used a new,
unworn competition swimsuit from the university junior varsity team's
inventory to give you a 19-year old's world class swimmer's body. I
used Brooke's barrettes to change your hair color and a pair of my
sunglasses to give you green eyes like mine. Everything important was
new in the package, so we don't have to worry about you being another
'Mary'." Sue giggled.
"Well, that's a relief," I sighed. I looked back at the nude
reflection of the young green-eyed blonde in the mirror. I was now a
very completely female version of what I had been, only cuter, well-
proportioned, obviously very fit body that was very flat chested.
"But, why did you change me completely into a girl? I'm not
complaining mind you, it's a terrific body, if I wasn't married, was
five years younger and a male again, I could certainly want to know her
much better.
"I'll just bet you would at that, honey. Something tells me that
you'll become intimately more familiar with that nineteen-year-old body
sooner than you think!" Sue laughed, then gave me a broad wink.
Ignoring the not so subtle remark, "Just curious, why so flat chested
and so young looking?"
"A number of reasons, while I love you as my husband, I didn't want to
lose my best girlfriend just yet. Secondly, I know this was selfish of
me, but since you said you wanted an athletic body, and I really need
another girl on the junior varsity swim team I thought why not use the
medallion to do both?" Sue giggled. "And, if you work really hard at
it, you can move up from Junior Varsity to Senior Varsity in no time at
all!"
I just looked at my naked body again and sighed as she continued.
"I know you like women with large breasts, but to be a successful
competitive woman swimmer, you have to be nearly flat chested, an "A"
or nearly a "B" at most. Thirdly, even though your penis feels like a
tampon when it's inside of me..."
"A tampon! But you never said anything about..." I stammered,
interrupting. I suddenly felt like Sue had kicked me in my now non-
existent testicles.
Sue looked at me, smiled, and then gently stroked my soft cheek.
"Honey, don't worry about it. Even if it was a little small, I really
enjoyed making love with you. As I was saying, before you interrupted
me, even though it was small, your libido was getting way too high and
I frankly needed a break for a while."
"You could have said something," I protested. Was I really that
demanding? Is two or three times a day too much? I wondered.
"Mostly though, I wanted to take you up on your promise." Sue continued
as though I hadn't interrupted her again.
"My promise? What promise was that?" I asked mystified.
Sue reached into another bag and withdrew a plain white cotton bra.
Unlike the swimsuit she had just used to give me my figure with its "A"
cup breasts, the bra had cups that looked three times as large.
"Your promise to help with the nursing," Sue grinned. "Don't worry,
when you're done being a wet nurse, we'll buy you some men's clothing
and I can have my tall and handsome husband back. Just as you wanted,
I promise!"
"In the meantime, since you've officially switched gender teams, how
would you like to join the girls' Junior Varsity Swim Team?" Sue asked
with a smile, as she held up the swimsuit.
"Okay," I sighed. "Let me have the suit and I'll try it on."
Of course, the suit fit as though it had been custom made for me.
Which it was in a way, only in reverse, I had been made to fit it.
-0-0-0-
Sue had held me to my promise, although I still say it had been more of
a joke than a real promise. A week before Sue's due date, we dug out
the medallion and touched the 32 "D" nursing bra to it. To say that it
felt weird beyond description when my tiny "nearly an A" breasts began
to enlarge and fill with milk would be an understatement.
We had badly misjudged the time it would take for me to actually begin
lactating. To our astonishment, milk was dribbling out of my nipples
almost before Sue set the bra down. I spent an uncomfortable half hour
while Sue looked for the breast pump. After that it was simply a
matter of expressing copious amounts of milk from my breasts whenever I
felt "full". Unfortunately, that was about every three hours. I could
tell Sue thought it was hilarious by the amused sideways glances she
kept giving me. Thankfully, she kept her comments to herself,
especially after I threatened her with a divorce if she even so much as
thought of the word "cow"!
In spite of everything though, even when I experienced my first period,
I didn't regret a single moment from the day Stephanie was born. I
even took over the feeding entirely, much to Sue's annoyance. I didn't
mind, once little Stephanie and I got a routine established, I
discovered that it was a perfect time and place to read.
Although I knew she wouldn't understand a word I said, I read softly
out loud to Stephanie. Best of all, my little library grew enormously.
-0-0-0-
We had just put Stephanie to bed after celebrating her third birthday.
We cleaned up the mess from the party and had retired to our bedroom
not long afterwards.
As we undressed, I paused to admire Sue's body. Having a baby hadn't
been all that hard on it, and she had regained her figure quickly. Of
course, the Medallion helped a little, including, by using a pair of
unworn panties in her pre-pregnancy size, she brought her hips back to
her pre-pregnancy size. Which naturally had the unexpected side effect
of restoring her virginity!
Although I didn't use the Medallion, after I had weaned Stephanie, I
had regained most of my figure. What hadn't changed much were my
breasts, they shrunk down to a "C" cup and stayed that size. With my
already terrific figure they looked quite sensuous in low-cut tops,
much to Sue's delight.
I pulled my thigh length silky nightie on and slipped between the
covers. Sue turned out the lights and putting an arm around my
shoulders, snuggled up beside me. She began gently caressing me.
"Honey, I've been thinking," Sue said softly.
Oh, oh, now what? I thought. "Stephanie is such a little sweetheart.
Don't you think it's time we started thinking about having another?"
Oddly, I had been thinking along those lines myself for the last few
months. Now that Stephanie was beginning to get around by herself, I
really missed the fun and challenge of having an infant and toddler
around. If I had been honest with myself, I would have admitted that I
really missed the intimacy of my "mommy time" as I breast feed
Stephanie.
"I wouldn't mind having another baby, but I'm afraid it wouldn't truly
be ours," I said softly.
"What do you mean, it wouldn't be ours?" Sue asked sounding surprised.
"Of course, it would!"
I took her hand from my breast and gently guided it to the soft mound
between my legs. I let her fingers roam around for a few minutes
before I answered her question.
"I'm not exactly equipped at the moment to make it happen, remember?" I
said, not without a touch of sadness. I had been a woman for such a
long time, that I almost forgot about the medallion. The truth be
known, I had become very comfortable as a female.
I tried to move her hand away, her gentle stroking was making me a
little wet. Not that I minded much, I had always loved having sex with
Sue. Unfortunately, since Sue had completely changed me into a woman,
our lovemaking had dropped to near zero. Sue, bless her heart, could
not bring herself to really get into the girl on girl version we were
forced to adopt. Now for some reason she was really getting into it.
It was very nice, but we were trying to have a serious conversation
after all. In that last regard, Sue was being most uncooperative.
"But in answer to your question; yes, I would love to have another baby
with you. You'd have to be, uh... have, uh.... Stop that! ...be
artificially inseminated.... Will you quit.... No, just keep going, it
feels so good! God, I love you Sue, more than I can tell you," I
managed to gasp breathlessly.
"I love you too, honey. I was hoping you would say yes! By the way,
when I was at the mall today, I bought a brand-new jockstrap just in
case you did," Sue confessed. "And we still have the medallion...."
"Go get them!" I panted, rapidly nearing the point of having a huge
orgasm.
"Well, if you're really sure," Sue said coyly. "I mean, we shouldn't
start anything that we both aren't totally committed to..."
"Go get the medallion!" I groan in frustrated exasperation.
"Okay, keep the motor running while I get it!" Sue laughed as she
leaped out of bed and rushed to the dresser where we had hidden the
medallion. I stripped off my nightie to make my breasts more
accessible. Sue began rummaging through the dresser, looking for the
medallion. "Where is that damned thing?" she kept mumbling.
For a brief moment, I wondered if I could remember how to do it again
as a man after being a woman for so long. Speaking of long, what was
taking her so long?
I decided that after I used the medallion to become a man again, I
would just let nature take its course. I mean, how hard could it be to
penetrate the woman you love?
"I can't find the medallion. I know it's here somewhere, but I just
can't find it," Sue said sounding very disappointed.
"That's alright," I replied, "come back to bed and we'll look for it
later."
-0-0-0-
Life isn't half bad I thought as I stretched out on the newly rebuilt
deck of our mountain home. The trees were beginning to grow back, and
the cost to rebuild had been mostly covered by the insurance. The only
extra cost that wasn't covered was the addition of a metal roof to
replace the original shake roof.
It had been nearly three years since the fire. We almost decided not
to rebuild, but in the end had. Neither of us have regretted it. It
makes the perfect vacation home for our growing family.
Our growing family! I smiled at the memories that little statement
brings up. I thought back to that night nearly five months ago the day
Sue purchased the jockstrap.
-0-0-0-
"Are you ready, dear?" Sue had asked as she finally slipped back under
the covers. She placed her hand between my legs again and resumed her
manipulation. "Does this feel good?" she whispered hotly in my ear.
"Oh, yes!" In spite of playing with my breasts while Sue was looking
for the medallion, I had cooled down a bit. Two seconds after she had
returned to bed, I was so close to having a huge orgasm again that all
I could do was moan.
"Does it feel good when I do this?" she asked, slipping a finger inside
of me. Was she crazy or just teasing me, of course it felt good, in
fact it felt wonderful!
"Oh, yes," I moaned. She abruptly withdrew her finger. I pleaded,
"Oh, no, don't stop now! Please don't stop."
"Just a minute," Sue whispered. I felt her hand pushing against my
inner thigh. I obediently spread my legs wider apart. Sue instantly
positioned herself on her knees between my legs.
"What are you doing?" I asked a little startled.
"I was in an uncomfortable position," Sue whispered, "and I couldn't do
this."
I felt her tongue on one of my nipples. "Oh, that's nice," I sighed,
as she worried the fat nipple between her teeth. I felt a sharp pain.
"Don't bite!"
Sue mumbled an apology as she placed an elbow next to my chest and
began playing with the other nipple with her hand. I could feel her
other hand busy stroking me below. At one point she brushed her finger
across my clitoris, causing me to jerk with the sudden jolt of
pleasure/pain that ensued.
Sue released the nipple from between her lips and moved upward to give
me a deep kiss. Oh, God, I thought, it doesn't get better than this!
Sue now had me locked in a deep kiss, and was fondling my breasts and
nipples with both hands. I could feel her hand, fingers extended
stiffly, gently probe the entry to my....
What the...! A third hand!?! Oh my God.... She didn't! I tried to
push myself away from... I'm a still a virgin, she can't do this....!
Too late, I thought as I felt the massive organ slip inside of me. She
had! There was a brief tearing sensation, a little bit of pain,
then...
All I could remember about the first time was that I saw every color in
the rainbow as wave after wave of sheer and utter pleasure rocked
though me. They seemed to go on forever, and was over seemingly in a
split second. Just when I thought I could finally catch my breath, Sue
began slowly moving in and out. A second later I saw colors again,
ones I hadn't seen the first time. The third and probably the best
rainbow, the one with all the fireworks, was preceded by a sudden burst
of liquid heat inside of me.
I now knew from personal experience, exactly why Doctor Smith's "Mary"
had liked using his ex-wife's body so much. Sex as a woman with a man
isn't just good, it was wonderful, it was marvelous, and it was
incredibly mind blowing!
When my vision finally focused again, I saw Sue still on top of me,
grinning like she had just won the lottery. I didn't need to look down
to know what Sue had actually been doing while she'd been "searching"
for the medallion. She'd put the medallion on, then touched the
jockstrap to it, then removed it before she had changed completely into
a male. The small part of her anatomy that had been changed was large,
larger even than I'd been originally and I hadn't been exactly small in
that area.
"Surprise," she said cheerfully as she slowly pulled out.
Surprise indeed!
We lay side by side, trying to let our pounding hearts slow down to
normal. She smiled. "You feel so good..." she said throwing a silky-
smooth leg across mine.
"I was thinking the same thing." I smiled and rolled on to my side,
kissing her soft breasts.
"Thought you wanted me to..." I began releasing the fat nipple I had
been sucking on.
"Be the man? That was my intention when I picked out the jockstrap.
But by the time I got to the checkout counter, I began wondering why
you should be the one to change all the time. Besides, didn't you once
say 'every man is curious about what it feels like to be a woman'?
Well, the reverse is true as well. Most women wonder what it's like to
be a man. This was my one and only chance to see for myself."
"And?"
"And, it's very, very nice, really intense when you come, but I never
realized how much work it is! As soon as the twelve hours are up, I
intend to lose my little friend here forever..."
I wrapped my petite hand around her penis. "Honey, take it from me,
this is not so little," I giggled.
"Maybe I should have bought a medium jockstrap, rather than an extra-
large," Sue mused, sounding a little smug.
I turned over on my side to face Sue, not really easy to do when you
have one hand occupied as mine was. I studied her face and her eyes
for a moment.
"I think it's just about right," I said softly. I felt her beginning
to stiffen again under my softly caressing fingers.
"Huh, and just what do you think you're doing, if I may ask?"
"Well, by my calculations, we still have eleven hours, forty-three
minutes and ten seconds before you can use the medallion again. We
might as well take advantage of it," I said seductively as I could.
"Might as well..." Sue's face split into a big grin. "Then it's my
turn."
Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night. By the time we
wore ourselves out, I really didn't mind that I ended up sleeping in
the "wet spot". At least not too much.
The next morning, because Sue had used the medallion just after we had
gone to bed at 10:00, she couldn't change back until the twelve hours
were up. We stayed in bed a little later than normal enjoying each
other's company. This time we made love slowly and much more tenderly
than the night before.
Just as we finished, Stephanie walked into our bedroom and announced
that she was hungry! We decided that we had better get up and get
going. We shared a shower, which took twice as long as normal. Sue
had become embarrassingly aroused when she washed my back and we needed
to work things out (or in, if you prefer). We almost ran out of hot
water to correct that not so little problem.
I dressed in a pair of denim shorts and tank top and started preparing
breakfast for the three of us. Sue tried to find something of hers
that would fit her altered groin. She really should have used a medium
rather than an extra-large. She finally decided that until the twelve
hours were up, she would just wear her bra and a long tee shirt style
tunic that came to about mid-thigh.
When I saw she was obviously not wearing any panties, I laughed. "I'm
sorry, but I think that I'm going to decline your offer. I'm a little
sore this morning!"
Sue glanced down at the growing bulge under her tee, and scowled, "How
do you guys control this thing?"
"Sometimes, it just has a mind of its own," I laughed.
After we ate, Sue and I played with Stephanie for about an hour, until
she decided that her dolls were more important than her two mothers.
At ten, Sue decided that she had had enough of the "beast that had a
mind of its own" used the medallion and the panties she had used to
restore her virginity to lose her not so little "friend". After she
put a pair of panties on, we returned to the kitchen and talked about
what I should look like after I used the medallion. We finally agreed
on the minor details, such as height, (5'11") the color of my hair and
eyes, (they were to remain blonde and green) and a few other things.
The one thing that did not require compromise was that I would be fully
male again.
Once we agreed on the details, we started working out exactly what
clothing we needed. Obviously, everything had to be brand new,
preferably in the original factory packaging. All that remained to do,
was to go shopping!
Unfortunately, just as we were preparing to put Stephanie in her car
seat, we were interrupted.
-0-0-0-
Sue's parents had just "dropped by" for a two-week visit. As usual,
they hadn't bothered to call ahead to let us know they were coming.
"We were just in the neighborhood and thought we would stop in and say
'hi'!"
Yeah, right! They lived on the other side of the country! Their just
"just in the neighborhood" required a seven-hour airline flight and a
two-hour drive in a rental car!
Still, it was good to see them again since it was the first visit we'd
had since Stephanie's birth three years prior.
That first visit, a month after the birth, had probably been the second
most memorable and strangest day in my life after the first time the
Medallion changed me. As I had said earlier, Sue had used the
medallion to change me completely into a young woman about a month or
so before she was due. Three weeks after that, Sue had used a nursing
bra on me that caused my breasts to lactate so that I could help
breastfeed Stephanie.
That's what I was doing when Sue's parents showed up unexpectedly. I
don't know who was more embarrassed, me or Sue's father when they
walked in to the nursery and saw me sitting there with Stephanie.
Sue's dad turned bright red and returned to the living room to chat
with Sue. Sue's mom, however, sat down and waited patiently until I
was through. We chatted for a while as she exercised her grandmother
privilege to change Stephanie and put her down for her nap.
As we quietly left the nursery, Mom turned to me, looked me up and
down, (mostly down for she was as tall as Sue, making me four or five
inches shorter than she was).
"I see you finally had the operation," she said with a genuine smile.
"I have to admit, I had my doubts about what you were doing. But I
must say, the surgeons did an excellent job. You have a very nice
figure and except for your nose being a little too large, you're quite
attractive."
Stunned, I stood in open mouthed incredibility as Mom proceed to the
living room. I absolutely could not believe I'd heard her correctly.
Was she that na?ve that she really thought my loss of nearly eighty
pounds and seven inches in height, not to mention the fact that at the
moment my own natural breasts were producing more milk than Elsie the
Cow, was through the skills of a surgeon? And what was that snide
comment about my nose?
Sue found me in the bathroom shortly afterwards, intently staring at my
nose. I had just come to the conclusion that it wasn't too large, in
fact it was downright cute! Sue thought it was the funniest thing she
had ever heard when I told her what I was doing and why.
To this day, I still find myself glancing at my nose in the mirror once
in a while.
-0-0-0-
This time they had a surprise for us. Mom and Dad had decided that we
needed some "quality" time together. One of the main reasons of their
visit, was to babysit three-year-old Stephanie while Sue and I went on
a "second honeymoon". They even provided an all-expense paid train
trip through the Canadian Rockies! We didn't find out the other reason
they wanted us out of the way until we had returned.
Due to a delay in their flight, they arrived 24 hours later than they
had planned. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, except our
reservations for our trip was for the following day. To make matters
worse, our airline reservations to the city where the tour started was
in two hours! By the time we hurriedly packed and drove to the
airport, we only had twenty minutes to check-in.
As we were leaving Sue's mother kissed us both good-bye, then whispered
in my ear. "Don't you think it's time you two started on another baby?
Little Stephanie needs a baby sister." It suddenly dawned on me why
Sue's parents were so anxious for us to leave. They were hoping for
another grandchild to spoil! Being on a ten-day train trip alone would
certain give us the opportunity to start an addition to our little
family!
That sounded good to me, but it would have to wait until I could use
Sue's "jockstrap solution'" to become a man again.
-0-0-0-
I didn't mention Mom's comment to Sue until we settled back in our
first-class seats. "I really didn't have the heart to tell her that
since my "operation", I'm now as much a real woman as you are, without
the medallion I could never be the father if we had another baby."
Sue looked at me and winked. "Who said you have to be the father? You
said it yourself, you're are as real a woman as I am...."
"What! That's not what I mean!" I exclaimed. "Besides, I'm not sure I
could handle being pregnant."
Sue laughed and said that she had loved being pregnant and as long as I
was willing to nurse the baby as I had Stephanie, she would "make the
sacrifice" and carry it. But everything would have to be placed on
hold until we returned home, including me returning to being a man,
then we would "work on it."
That seemed to settle the issue, so nothing more was mentioned for the
rest of the trip.
-0-0-0-0
We really enjoyed the trip and vowed to take it again when Stephanie
and her future younger sibling was old enough.
When we returned home, we found out the other reason Sue's parents
wanted us gone in our back yard. Sue's carefully tended vegetable
garden, was gone! In its place was a brand-new gazebo and hot tub!
"Surprise!" Sue's parents said simultaneously.
Sue was strangely quiet when she saw the gazebo and hot tub.
"Michelle, we need to talk -- later," Sue whispered as she forced a
smile.
Sue's parent were so proud of their gift that they insisted that we try
it out as soon as we unpacked our luggage and had a bite to eat. While
we were in the hot tub, they would pack and prepare to return home,
their secret mission having been completed.
Sue and I were in the tub when her parents said good-bye and left. I
could tell that Sue's smile and cheerful behavior was forced when she
thanked her parents again for the hot tub and gazebo.
We waited until we heard their rental car leave before we both stripped
off our suits. We looked at each other and heaved a sigh of relief.
Sue grew serious again as tears began to form in her eyes. Seeing that
she was obviously upset, I maneuvered around to straddle her thighs
facing her. After a number of enjoyable kisses, she slowly calmed
enough to speak.
"Honey, I'm so, so sorry!" Sue broke down and started crying. "I
didn't know. Had I... had I the slightest idea, I never would have
done it." She broke in heaving sobs.
"Sue, what are you talking about? What wouldn't you have done?"
Sue looked up at me and asked between sobs. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"Forgive you for what? What could you have possibly done to beg my
forgiveness? Whatever it is, as long as we have each other there is
nothing to forgive. I'll love you forever, no matter what."
Sue gave me a weak smile. "I only did it because I wanted it keep it
safe."
"Keep what safe?"
"The medallion. I put it in a jar and buried it in the vegetable
garden. It was right about where we're sitting."
Right about where we're sitting? The medallion was under six thousand
pounds of hot tub and water and an additional 6500 pound slab of
reinforced concrete!
For the second time in my life I felt my stomach turn over. To be
honest, my first thought was anger. How could she be so stupid as to
bury the medallion in her garden? I took a few seconds to calm down.
"Sweetheart, don't blame yourself for something your parents did. You
can't blame them either. They had no idea you'd buried the medallion
where they built the gazebo. Even if they had seen it, they wouldn't
even know what the medallion does. It was one of those unfortunate
events that sometimes just happen."
Nobel words coming from an ex-male condemned to a life time of
femininity. Perhaps even worse, another baby, at least one conceived
by Sue and I, was simply out of the question.
"I can live with being a woman until we can figure out what to do.
Most of the time I've really enjoyed it. However, I know how much you
wanted another baby sweetheart. But obviously that is out of the
question now. I'm the one that should ask for your forgiveness! We
had plenty of time for me to use the medallion before your parents
showed up and I didn't do it."
"But you wouldn't have had the male body we agreed to! You would have
ended up as a male version of what you currently are." Sue gave a
little giggle. "You'd be a man that was shorter than average, skinny
with a big prick! And I would lose my star swimmer on the team as a
result! We would both end up losers."
Her comment caused me to smile.
"You know, there are other ways of becoming pregnant. I could find a
tall, dark and handsome guy and have lots and lots of sex with him,"
Sue continued, bring a hurt look from me. "Or, which might be more
practical, I could be artificially inseminated."
"If you really want another baby, I suppose I could live with the
artificial insemination idea. But let's just think about it for a
while, we have plenty of time to have another child. Okay?"
We held each other for comfort and reflection on our fate. Considering
our (my) circumstances, I felt that having another child was a little
premature and the worst thing that could happen to us.
As it turned out, I was being more than just a little pessimistic.
Unknown to me, Sue meet with her gynecologist the next day. Three days
later, she had appointment with Dr. Smith for what Sue claimed was a
routine checkup.
-0-0-0-
Life isn't half bad I thought as I stretched out on the newly rebuilt
deck of our mountain home. The trees were beginning to grow back, and
the cost to rebuild had been mostly covered by the insurance.
It was the perfect vacation home for our growing family.
Our growing family! I smiled at the thought as I reached over to the
table to put my book down and pick up a small clear bottle. I heard
Sue walk up behind me, glancing up at her, I smiled and said, "Hi."
She returned my smile and sat down beside me. She took the bottle of
baby oil from my hand. "I told you the bikini would still fit. How
are you feeling?" Sue asked as she began spreading the oil on my
stomach.
"How do I feel?" I reached up and pulled Sue's face close to mine. I
gave her a long deep kiss. When I released her, I gently rubbed my
extended stomach. "How do I feel? Fat! Very pregnant and very ...
well, maternal."
"It's a little late now, but any regrets?" Sue asked, as she handed me
the bottle of baby oil to spread on her slightly smaller expanding
stomach.
A little late now? It had been far too late ten minutes after she had
touched the jockstrap to the medallion. I knew what she had really
asked was did I have any regrets about losing my manhood and being
stuck as a woman and a mother for the rest of my life.
Or was she referring to her decision to have our gynecologist
impregnate her with sperm from an anonymous donator? I hadn't been
exactly thrilled when I found out what she had done. I realize now
that she had wanted to have another baby herself in the first place.
It had been her intention to have me use the medallion that fateful
night. But the instant Sue had picked up the jockstrap, she made the
fateful decision to see what all the fuss was with being a man once in
her life instead.
I just stuck my tongue out at her.
Sue laughed, saying that she knew exactly how I felt. But she didn't,
not really. She'd been a female all her life and had a prior pregnancy
to relate to. This was all new, and very scary, to me!
"Well, do you?" I asked. Sue just smiled sweetly and shook her head.
I thought for a moment, remembering all that had transpired since the
last time I had sat here just trying to read a different Harry Bosch
mystery. I had been a man with a beautiful wife who loved me as much
as I loved her. Even better than that, I'd had a brand-new book and
the time to read it. There had been no doubt in my mind on that day
that life was good, very good.
I felt a sudden pang of sorrow when I thought about what I had lost
when the Medallion of Zulo first entered our lives.
In the stress and confusion of the day I had found the medallion, I
hadn't thought to take the Harry Bosch mystery _"The Concrete Blonde"_
I'd been reading home with us. It had just begun getting interesting
when Sue had returned from her shopping trip and I'd set it aside. My
only copy had been forgotten at the cabin then later destroyed by the
forest fire. And now it was out of print!
The irony of my situation made me laugh, like the poor murder victim in
the book _"The Concrete Blonde"_, I was a blonde whose body (my male
body that is) is forever entombed in a cement slab.
Maybe, before my baby comes and I won't have the time to look, I'll
find a copy of the book in a used book store somewhere. I'll finally
learn who the blonde entombed in cement had been, who had murdered her
and why.
Then life would be truly good again.
POST SCRIPT:
The only thing about all this that really makes me wonder is that when
we returned from the trip through the Rockies, Sue's parents were
acting just a little bit odd. It wasn't anything specific I could
really put my finger on. Just little things, like Mom holding her fork
in her left hand like Dad did and Dad getting up to help Sue clear the
table, something Sue said she couldn't remember him ever doing before.
It makes you kind of wonder if maybe they had found the jar and the
medallion while working on the gazebo.
I kind of hope they did.
POST-POST SCRIPT:
I just found out my baby is a boy!
I think I'm going to name him Harry, after my favorite fictional
detective, Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch. Won't that be neat!
Author's note: Hieronymus Bosch was a 15th century artist whose works
were described as "fantastic illustrations of religious concepts and
narratives." His most famous works were triptych (three panel
paintings) "The Garden of Earthly Delights" and "The Temptation of St.
Anthony". Source: Wikipedia.
fin.