On Becoming Miss Louisa Harper Of New York And Newport 1 free porn video

From 'The Autobiography of Miss Louisa Harper' ~ "The summer of 1890 was to be the start of my new life. At fifteen years of age, I was to be presented to society and I had expected that I would then be considered an adult. That, at long last, I would have a say in my own life, my own destiny. That was not to be, though. I was still just a doll to be dressed and used as decoration in the home of my powerful parents. I was made up and dressed and used to impress the visitors who came to visit us at Golden Bluff that summer. There were Astors and Goodyear's, Vanderbilts and Thorndykes, Cabots and Lowells and Rockefellers. There were princesses and princes, dukes and duchesses, lords and ladies, and of course, Presidents. Both Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison were guests that summer. I smiled and nodded and laughed at their jokes and endured their flirtations while always remembering my place. It was beautiful and glorious and exasperating. I was a debutante, yes, but unlike many of my peers, I was a debutante with opinions. Strong opinions which I wanted so very badly to voice. Don't misunderstand me, though. There was much about my adolescent life that I loved. The elegance and opulence of Newport, Rhode Island was like nowhere else on earth in that year. Back then, my head was not yet strictly a place of serious thought and reflection. It was also a steamer trunk filled with the din of small talk, the chaos of feminine intrigue and the ever important subject of fashion. I was the Rembrandt of fashion. I decorated myself as no one had done before and few have done since. I was a work of art. I began everyday with the blank canvass that was my pale body and by mid-day, when I appeared in public, I was a masterpiece of color, texture and style. In 1890, my father was the King of New York City, my mother was the Queen of Fifth Avenue and I ruled Aquidneck Island as the Princess of Newport, Rhode Island." XXX "I'm sorry Mrs Jenkins, but I just can't do it. I tried, I swear, but the pain in my back is just too much to bear." Quinn grimaced as he tried to find a standing position that would relieve some of the pain he was dealing with. "See, since my surgery..." Carolyn Jenkins held up both of her hands as she sat behind her desk. 'Quinn, I know the whole story. You know that." She heaved a big sigh and shook her head. "The stable work was too much for your back, being a part of the kitchen staff was too much for your back, now being a butler is too much for your back. Quinn, I told your sister that I'd find something for you to do here at Golden Bluffs, but you just don't seem capable of doing anything. Not even something as simple as just standing up." "I know, Mrs Jenkins, and I am truly sorry, but the pain is constant and even just standing becomes more than I can stand." Quinn looked at the floor and shook his head. "Look, Mrs Jenkins, I appreciate your help, but... I guess I should probably just go." Carolyn Jenkins looked at Quinn, then at her assistant and shook her head. "Just... just go sit in the outer office, Quinn. Let me think for a few minutes. There must be something you can do around here." "Ok, Mrs Jenkins," the twenty one year old nodded. He turned and headed to the outer office, but stopped at the door. "I really am sorry, Mrs Jenkins. I am grateful for all that you've done, but... I really don't want to make things more difficult for you than necessary." "I know, Quinn. Just give me some time to think, ok? I'm sorry if I was brusque. It's just been a crappy day. I'll call you back in in a little while. Better yet, go down to the restaurant and have some lunch. We'll talk later." She waited for the door to close, then looked her assistant and shook her head. "I swear to God, Jess, if we manage to get the estate reopened this year, it'll be a miracle." Jess and Carolyn were both attractive women in their mid fifties and had been friends and colleagues for decades. They'd faced a lot of challenges along the way. It wasn't easy to keep a living museum viable, especially on Mansion Row in Newport, Rhode Island where every house on the street was just as magnificent as the estate they ran, Golden Bluffs. All of these 'Gilded Age' mansions, with the exception of Golden Bluffs, had been acquired by The Newport Historical Society years ago, but Golden Bluffs was still owned by the descendants of the most famous woman of the period; Miss Louisa Harper - The woman who, at age seventeen, wrote the book that became the chronicle of the Gilded Age, then went on to be one of the most important voices in the fight for women's suffrage and social reform. The family relied not only on tourist dollars to keep the mansion in good repair, but also on private events such as weddings, anniversaries, company retreats, etc. It was a difficult job that became more challenging every year. "Why don't you just let the kid leave?" Jess asked, baffled by her boss' interest in the boy. "When the estate closed for the winter in January, we knew that this would be a tough year. Now, it's even tougher than we expected. Why are you allowing this kid to be such a distraction? God, that stupid pony tail of his was a big enough problem; it doesn't come close to any men's style of the Gilded Age. I don't know if he's lazy or just stupid." Carolyn sighed and shook her head. "Long story short - Quinn was in a car accident seven years ago that killed his parents and older brother. His sister lives down the street from me and she and Barbara are best friends. His sister was away at college the day of the accident and, as the only surviving family member, she took on the responsibility of caring for Quinn. He was quite the athlete in middle school and they expected that he'd dominate when he got to high school. Unfortunately, the accident broke his back in several places and he also had to have a kidney transplant. Six surgeries later and it's a miracle he's alive. That's why he's in constant pain. And that long hair... well... at first no one knew if he'd ever walk again, so the barber wasn't a priority. Then, as he made progress, the female nurses and physical therapists all kept praising his beautiful red hair, even though it is stick straight and pretty scraggly. I think it was just something positive in his life that he could cling to. Now his hair is like his security blanket. I guarantee you it won't be there any more once he's back to feeling like a whole human being." Jess nodded. "Wow. Poor kid. But if he can't work, he can't work. End of story." Carolyn shook her head. "Jess, the kid has been through hell. He only just graduated from high school last month - at age twenty one, for crying out loud - and now he's been accepted to Salve Regina for college. His sister is living paycheck to paycheck because of his conditions and I promised I'd find SOMETHING he could do to earn some money to help her out." She shook her head again. "So... I'm sure you didn't come in here to talk about Quinn. So far today we've had plumbing issues, parking permit problems, the chef is demanding a raise and the trash removal company is increasing its pick up costs by sixty percent. What else could possibly go wrong today?" Jess grimaced as she broke the news. "I just got a call from Lindsey Carter. She got a role on a TV show and is leaving for Atlanta tonight." "You've got to be kidding me," Carolyn sunk in her chair. "Unbelievable. We have two weddings on the premises in the next ten days, not to mention the opening of the museum and we lose our teenaged Louisa. This is like some sort of bad dream!" One of the most popular attractions at Golden Bluffs were The Three Louisas. Louisa 3 was an actress in her fifties who talked to guests about Louisa Harper's work as a social reformer in the 1930s and 40, Louisa 2 discussed the woman's work as a suffragette at the beginning of the twentieth century and Louisa 1 discussed living as a debutant in The Gilded Age and the legendary writings that brought her fame. Louisa 1 was always the most popular Louisa, due in part to the original Louisa's writing still being very popular, especially amongst young women, but also because of the opulent clothing and jewelry of the period that never failed to mesmerize the female guests. For the last two seasons, Louisa 1 had been portrayed extremely well by Lindsey Carter. Finding a replacement would not be easy. Especially since they would need to find that replacement pretty damned quickly. Carolyn checked her watch. Only eleven forty five. Still plenty of time for a lot more to go wrong. "Do you know if Barbara is back yet?" "She is." Jess checked her phone. "She sent me a text at eleven twenty that she was back and working in the wardrobe room. She says that her team is making some new maids uniforms for the servers in the restaurant." "Tell her I need to see her ASAP, will you? Let me know when the plumbers are done and I'll call Aaron over at the trash removal place and try to reason with him and his organized crime associates." Carolyn looked at the pile of work on her desk and groaned. "This gets harder every year." "I know," Jess agreed, then headed to the door. "What about that kid? Want me to just send him home?" "No," Carolyn grunted. "Maybe Barbara will have some idea of what to do with him. She knows him pretty well." XXX "Hi, mom," Barbara smiled as she entered Carolyn's office carrying a bolt of fabric and a large screened iPad with her. "Hi, sweetie." Carolyn was sitting at a small table near a window that overlooked the estate's rocky beach as she nibbled on some pita bread and hummus. "Have you had lunch?" "That's your lunch? Mom, come on. At least have a salad or something. There's a kitchen fight below us. Get something decent, will you?" "It's plenty," Carolyn waved her daughter off. "Come sit." They discussed the new uniforms for the servers and the issues that had plagued Carolyn that morning. "Oh, and to top off all of that," Carolyn said disgusted, "We need a new teenaged Louisa like yesterday. Whoever we find will have to do a lot of work to get ready for the parties next weekend." "Keep that tight timeline in mind when you cast her, mom. Remember that Louisa 1's dresses are the most involved. Everything we had before was altered to fit Lindsey and we've made and remade a lot of her clothes since. So, no matter how great an actress you may find, unless she's five foot six inches tall with no more than a twenty six inch waist that can be corseted in to twenty two inches, you don't have girl who can play Louisa. There is no way we can make new costumes in ten days." Carolyn nodded. "So, in effect, we are looking for an actress to fill the costume, not costuming the actress. I'm sure that will narrow down our options." "Well, if you do run into a situation, just cast someone who fits the costumes, then have Ashley Kemp work as a narrator. She has been the docent in that wing for years and knows the whole script backwards and forwards. She can handle any questions that the visitors may throw at her." "Good idea," Carolyn made a note on her legal pad. "So, what size are we looking for?" Barbara sniffed as she grabbed her iPad and searched for a moment. Because everyone needed to dress in period garb, Barbara and her staff measured everyone who was hired at Golden Bluffs when they were hired. Staff members were expected to let the wardrobe people know when/if they went up or down a size so that costumes always looked correct. "Five foot six, thirty five inch bust and twenty five inch waist and an A cup would be best." Carolyn took notes. "Hips?" "Doesn't really matter. Everything is high waisted and heavily petticoated, so hips are hidden." There was a knock on the door. "Yes?" Carolyn called. The door cracked open and Quinn's head popped in. When he saw Barbara, he refrained from entering. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." "Oh, don't be silly, Quinn," Barbara smiled at her long time, young friend. "Come on in." She stood and hugged him gently. "Why are you out of costume?" Carolyn let out an unintentional and very sardonic chuckle. "And that's another thing. We need to find something else for Quinn. He's having a hard time standing all day." "Of course you are," Barbara smiled. "Not your fault, honey. Come and sit down and let's see what we can find for you." Quinn's face reddened a bit when Barbara called him 'honey,' a pet name she'd adopted for him back when she'd been a part time caregiver for him, when he was unable to care for himself, before and immediately following his back surgeries. Barbara was a dark haired, breathtakingly beautiful woman and always was, even back then when she was still in high school. Being three six years older than him and so beautiful, Quinn had developed a huge crunch on her, one that he still had, but could never tell her about. "I... I just wanted to stop in and say 'thank you' and 'goodbye,'" he explained. "You've been very patient and kind, but I've thought about every job here at the estate and I really don't think that I can do any of them with my back pain. I'm really sorry." "What!?" Barbara said in a shocked expression that one might use to keep a toddler's attention. "You're not seriously thinking of leaving Golden Bluff, are you? Quinn, you just got here!" She took his arm and guided him towards the little luncheon area in Carolyn's office. "Now, you just sit right there and let's see what we can find." Quinn began to protest, but Carolyn stopped him. "That's right, Quinn. I promised Annie that we'd find something to help you out. Now, don't make me out to be a liar." Quinn let out a sad sound as he sat. This was all hopeless. He'd had nothing but bad luck for years, now. It seemed as if the fates were just out to get him. "Now, let's see. Hmmm...." Barbara perused the spreadsheet that had the jobs at Golden Bluffs and the employees assigned to those posts. She looked for a very long while and her face grew concerned. "So... do you think you'd be ok if you were seated for part of the day?" Quinn shrugged. "I guess. I really don't know for sure until I try." "Of course, of course," Barbara nodded. "What about reception?" Carolyn cleared her throat. "I'm afraid we can't do that. Reception involves dealing with cash and, as foolish as it sounds, everyone who works at reception has to be bonded and in order to be bonded, the employee must have a high school diploma and at least one semester of college credit. This isn't something I can bypass. Our insurance insists on the bond. I'm sorry." Barbara nodded, but kept reading the list. "Food prep? Can you do that from a stool?" Her mother grabbed her own iPad and looked up something. "Hmm... no. According to the chef's description, 'Applicant must be able to lift boxes of fifty to sixty pounds and be able to work at a counter for long periods of tine.'" This went on and on and the whole process made Quinn feel more and more inadequate as they went along. "Ooh!" Barbara perked up. "We need a Chauffeur!" "I haven't gotten my license, yet." Quinn said, embarrassed. "Oh... of course." Barbara muttered. "Well..." she looked at her mother, "... could we add another doorman?" Carolyn pursed her lips and pondered. "Doormen were typically fairly strong. There is some standing on busy days, of course. And then there's the uniform. I don't think we've ever had to fabricate one of those, there were so many here already. I'm pretty sure that Quinn would be swimming in even the smallest of those." "Let me look and see what we have in stock." Barbara looked at her costume inventory. "It appears that our smallest uniform pant is a thirty four and our smallest jacket is a forty two. Now, let me check... here we go... Quinn, your waist is a..." she looked at her mother. "Twenty six." Carolyn sat straighter and listened to what came next. "Your five foot six inches tall and have a thirty five inch chest." Quinn had once been one of the better built kids in his class but the accident and the surgeries had caused him to whither substantially. The anti-rejection drugs he'd taken for his new kidney had also left him more or less the same height he'd been the day of the accident when he was fourteen. Just hearing those numbers spoken aloud made him cringe. "Ok. I think that's enough. I get it - I'm just useless." "No, no, no, no!" Barbara grabbed his forearm as he tried to stand. "Quinny... we have the perfect job for you. Lots of sitting. No heavy lifting. It's perfect... but a little unconventional." "Unconventional, how?" Quinn was genuinely curious, but concerned. "Quinn," Carolyn said, "how much do you know about Louisa Harper's life and writings?" He shrugged and thought for a moment. "I think I know a lot. I mean, I remember what we learned on our school trips and, when I was confined to bed, Barbara read me her autobiography a few times... maybe more than a few times." The women looked at each other. "Ok. Let me give you a little quiz," Carolyn said. "I need to run down stairs for a minute," Barbara said as she stood and hurried out the door. For the next few minutes, Carolyn asked him increasingly more obscure questions about the life and times of Louisa Harper, until, at last, Barbara came back into her mother's office carrying an armful of clothing. "How did he do?" Barbara asked as she draped the clothing over the back of a chair. Carolyn smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that he'd done a graduate thesis all about Louisa's life. He knows more about her than I do." "Awesome. Quinn, come here let's see if this fits." Confused by the enthusiastic comment on his knowledge about Louisa Harper's life and the amount of material that Barbara had carried with her, Quinn stood up and walked across the office. "Take off your clothes and put this on," Barbara instructed. He looked around for a moment then asked, "Where can I change?" Barbara laughed. "Quinn, just a few years ago, you were laying in bed, crippled and unable to care for yourself. My mother and I were changing your diapers and wiping your butt on a nearly daily basis. Come on. This is important. Just..." She could see that he was nervous. "Oh, for crying out loud." She opened a door to a shallow storage room that had just enough space for shelves. "Stand behind this door and put this on." She handed him a cotton garment like none he'd ever seen before, but he knew that a lot had changed in clothing since the Gilded Age, so he just took the garment and ducked behind the door. "Can I leave my underwear on?" He asked. "Take everything off,' Barbara instructed. "That is underwear." He removed all of his clothing, then shook the garment he'd been given, then turned it this way and that until he figured out where the top and front were located. He looked it over and had some concerns. Those concerns were caused primarily by the over abundance of elaborate layers of lace all over the garment. "This is women's underwear, isn't it?" He called around the door. "It's just a costume, Quinn. Put it on and after we take some measurements, we'll discuss if you're even going to be able to play the part we have in mind for you." Barbara sounded exasperated with him, so Quinn opened the front of it and considered how to get it on. "What is this thing?" "It's called 'a combination.'" "And how do I get into it?" "How do you...?" Barbara was clearly frustrated, now. "It's just like a romper. Open it up, step into the pants, pull it up and pull the top part onto your shoulders." "It opens in the front, right?" "Of course it opens in the front. It's got a flap that covers the rear end. Obviously, that goes in the back." "There's so much lace on this thing it's hard to figure out what's what." Suddenly, both woman raised their voices and shouted in unison. "Just put it on!" "Alright, alright." He stepped into the short pant legs and pulled it up to his waist, then put his arms thru the sleeve holes and settled it onto his shoulders. "It's only got, like, a couple buttons. There aren't enough to keep it closed." "No, that's what the ribbons are for. Step out and I'll tie them up for you." Before he could even take a step, Barbara pulled the door open to reveal Quinn wearing the loose fitting combination. It was made from a very soft, very sheer cotton and covered in lace from the shoulders to the waist. Below that, there was layer after layer of lace fringe that hung off the very loose fitting hips and wide leg openings that reached gently to his knees, making it look as if he might have been wearing a skirt. She quickly tied the ribbons on his chest and waist, then stood back, looked at him and smiled, looking towards to her mother. "What do you think?" "He looks great," Carolyn nodded and looked at him with the eye of someone who'd seen many people dressed just like this. "Really? Because I feel stupid," Quinn said, fingering the material. "You don't really expect me to go out in public dressed like this, do you?" "Don't be foolish, Quinn," Carolyn scoffed. "That's just the first layer of clothes." "Hold your arms to the side," Barbara got his attention. He did as he was told and a moment later, Barbara was standing right in front of him, leaning over his shoulder to see behind him while she wrapped him in something stiff and beige. Then she stepped back a bit and began fastening hooks and eyes on the front of the wrap that encased his abdomen from just above his hips to just below his pectoral musicals. "What is... is that a corset!? I can't wear a corset!" He said in shock. "Of course you can," Barbara said, as she continued to fasten the hooks into the eyes. "Lots of men wore corsets in The Gilded Age. Truth be told, a lot do now, too." "Oh," Quinn took a breath. "So, this is a man's corset?" Barbara finished the fasteners, looked him in the eye, smiled and said, "No, but don't get upset. It's not one of those fetishistic things that are popular today. It's just a foundation garment that was worn everyday by more than half the population in the eighteen- nineties." She touched his chest. "See, no cups or anything. Just support to shape the body." She moved behind him. "Why would I need to shape my body? Ooof!" That last noise was an involuntary noise made when Barbara first yanked on the laces in the back of the corset. "Please, be careful of my back." "Don't worry, I'll be gentle," she assured him. "You know," Carolyn offered, "a lot of the museum employees who wear corsets say that it actually offers a lot of back support." "Don't let me hurt you, though," Barbara said as she worked. "I want it tight, not painful." When he grunted again, she asked, "Am I hurting you?" "It's not the tightness that hurts, it's how my back shakes when you pull the laces back there." "Oh, we can fix that. Come over her and grab onto this rack," Carolyn pointed to what looked like an ornate, sturdy, towel rack that had been mounted on the wall. "Hold tight to this and, if Barbara is careful, you won't get jerked. Not too hard, now, Barbara." "What is this bar for?" Quinn asked, gripping the ornate piece of iron work. "It's a corseting bar," Carolyn said, matter of factly. "Louisa's mother had these installed in all the guest bedrooms for the benefit of female guests. My office was once a small, guest bedroom." Barbara pulled the strings some more, trying to not jerk his body. Having him hold onto the corseting bar helped a great deal, too. Once he was more stable and not being hurt by the jerking of the lacing process, Quinn's torso began to narrow very quickly. Very soon, Barbara was wrapping the strings to the front of Quinn's body and tying the excess into a neat knot at his waist line. "Grab my tape measure, please," Barbara asked. Her mother handed it to her and in seconds it was wrapped around Quinn's waist. She looked up at her mother and smiled. "Twenty two inches?" "Twenty one and a half," Barbara smiled. "I was being gentle, too. I bet we could even get him smaller." "Ok, fine, but there's no need for that, right?" Carolyn asked. "No. This is great." As the two women talked, Quinn looked down at himself and grew concerned. "Maybe this isn't a fetish corset with cups for a woman's breasts, but this thing is making my chest look awfully weird. It's pushing all my skin up." Barbara reached into the top of the corset and pulled as much skin as possible over the top of the corset on both sides of his chest. "Hey," Quinn complained. "Maybe not quite an A cup, but not too far off, either." Barbara smiled. She picked up two very tall stockings and handed them to Quinn. "Put these on." "Now, come on. What exactly are you expecting me to do?" Quinn tried to draw a line in the sand. Barbara and Carolyn looked at each other. Finally, Carolyn said,"Quinn... we need a teenaged Louisa, at least for a few weeks." "A teenaged...? Are you nuts!? You want me to pretend to be Louisa Harper!? Come on! People will see me! I can't do that!" "Ok, take a breath," Barbara tried to calm him down. "First of all, you need a job and this is a job - AND it's a job that pays a lot better than any of the other jobs that you're actually qualified for. Second, no one is going to recognize you if you're dressed as Louisa. I was Louisa for two years when I was in high school and at least a couple of dozen people I knew pretty well came into the museum and no one ever recognized me. The makeup and hair are specifically designed to make the person dressed as Louisa look just like Louisa. And third, under our current time and financial limitations, it's more important that we have someone who looks good in the dresses than a great actress." Quinn shook his head. "How about four, five and six? Four, I'm not a girl. Fifth, I'm not a teenager. Sixth, I'm not a teenaged girl! This is crazy!" "Ok, everyone take a breath," Carolyn put one hand on Quinn's shoulder and the other on Barbara's. "Now, Quinn, let's just try this - Let Barbara get you dressed in the costume. If the costume fits and makes your body look like Louisa's, then take the night to think about what we're asking you to do. If you decide to try the next step, tomorrow we'll do a hair and makeup test. If that looks alright, then we'll put the costume back on and see if the whole package works. Then, after we see that, we sit down, discuss what comes next, and we work out a reasonable wage that makes all of this worth your while and doesn't bankrupt us. Now, does that sound reasonable?" "No!" Quinn could not believe that they were serious. "It's not reasonable at all!" "How about plausible, then?" Carolyn remained calm. "Quinn... we are stuck. Lindsey left without notice, we have all kinds of things happening in the next couple of weeks. We need your help." He thought done a moment. "I don't know. I need to think about this." "Fair enough," Barbara agreed, "but let me ask you a question. How does your back feel?" Quinn blinked. "My back? It's... ok, I guess. Why?" She smiled. "Quinny, I've been watching you for the last couple of days. You're moving really well, but you kind of list to the left because of your back injury. Now, I've been watching you move around here since I put that corset on you and you are moving perfectly naturally. So... come on. How does your back feel? Really?" Quinn moved a little and thought. "Actually... it feels really good. You were right, it does support your back well.' "Ok. One point for Team Louisa. Now, let's put those stockings on." XXX From 'The Autobiography of Miss Louisa Harper' ~ "The summer of 1890 was filled with events at Golden Bluffs. Millionaires, congressmen, senators and notable men and women from all over the world who required our attention at all hours of the day and night filled the estate. Making them feel welcome and important occupied nearly every minute of every day, but the biggest challenge that I faced that summer was communicating with my sister. Nine years older than me and more schooled in the ways of society, she questioned everything - every decision I made, every word that I said, every flirtatious gesture I made to an eligible suitor. Of course I loved and respected her, she was my sister, but nothing that I could do would ever please her. I strived desperately to gain her approval, but it became increasingly more apparent that she would never see me as anything but a child - An emotional and intellectual invalid who could not be trusted to do something as simple as live my own life." XXX "Annie? Annie?" Barbara called as she entered the modest, Cape Cod style house in Portsmouth, a town twenty minutes north of Newport on Auidneck Island in Rhode Island. "Annie?" "Be right down!" Came from upstairs. Then the twenty eight year old, attractive Special Education teacher trotted down the stairs in running leggings and a pullover sweatshirt bearing the name and color of the college where she'd gotten her Masters Degree. - 'Brown.' "Hey, Barbie! What's up?" They exchanged a friendly hug and a peck on each other's cheeks. Barbara smiled and took a deep breath. "So... I need to talk to you about something kind of... odd." "Sure," Ann nodded. "I was just on the treadmill. Let's go into the kitchen and sit. I need a drink. Water?" "Sure." They enter the small kitchen with its worn faux-brick linoleum, old, small cabinets painted in flat white milk-paint, mid century gas range and olive green refrigerator. Ann grabbed two bottles of cold water from the noisy appliance and handed one to Barbara as they sat at the table. "So, what's up? I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the reason you're here is because Quinn isn't working out at the museum. Look, Barbie, you don't have to feel bad. The kid... well, there's a lot going on there, of course, but I really think he's making more of his back pain than it really is. According to his doctor and physical therapist, any pain that he's having at this point should be manageable. Don't get me wrong, Barb, I love my brother to death, but I think we may have moved past being in pain to just being lazy." Barbara understood her friend's feelings. Ann had graduated from Salve Regina as Valedictorian, headed to Brown to get her masters degree and planned to continue on to a PhD from there, but her life had been as drastically altered by the accident that took the lives of most of her family as her little brother?s had, even if she had escaped injury. Her dreams of success, freedom and travel had disappeared the moment she received that phone call from the local police. Since then, she had had to narrow her dreams of success to teaching in the small school system where her parents? home was located, and her dreams of freedom and travel had been traded in for the reality of becoming the primary caregiver to a brother who?d suffered horrible injuries, but always seemed to be recovering at a slower pace than the doctors predicted. Yes, she loved her brother... Yes, she wanted to help him... But... Goddamnit, this was not the life she?d planned for herself. "Alright, yes... Quinn?s first couple of days haven?t gone well. He can?t do grounds work or stable work because he has no strength and he can?t do household work because he can?t stand very long..." Ann had been shaking her head through all of Barbara?s explanation. "Son of a bitch, Barbie, that kid... look at this place! My father had all these big plans to renovate it and then... I have been hemorrhaging money since the accident. I?m absolutely broke and Quinn won?t put in the least little bit of effort to help. I don?t know how he plans on dealing with college in the fall if he can?t even..." "Ok, ok, Annie, back the truck up! Quinn still has a job and it?s probably going to be a better paying job than he expected to have. In fact, a pretty lucrative job at that, but... well, as they say... therein lays the problem." Ann sat back a bit and looked at her friend. "He still has a job? And that job pays well? Can he do it without complaining about his back?" "Well... yes... It?s not his back he?s complaining about." Barbara went on to explain the costume situation and how Quinn looked pretty darned good in one of Louisa Harper?s dresses and its accompanying accoutrements, but she also explained the young man?s concerns about doing the job. ?So, he looks good as Louisa?" Ann asked, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. "His body fits everything perfectly, yes, and ? added bonus ? the corset seems to support his back and relieve the pain. Tomorrow morning, we?re going to do a makeup test and try some hairstyles and maybe a few hairpieces. Honestly, though... I think he?s a natural. He knows everything about her life and he even has her red hair and pale, freckled complexion. His hair is long enough that we could probably use hair pieces rather than wigs, which would be a lot more natural looking." Ann considered everything she?d just heard. "And... how much would he make?" "Well, mom and I talked and we figured that we?d add a little more to his wages than we?d normally pay our Louisas due to his having to crossdress and, to be honest, because we know and love you guys and we know that he needs to make some real money, so..." When Ann heard the hourly wage they were willing to pay her brother there was no question in her mind that he?d be taking the job. No, it wasn?t a fortune, but it was extremely generous for a guy who had no work history whatsoever. "He?ll do it," Ann said, decisively. "Well, ok, but there?s a lot he?ll need to agree to do beyond just the clothes and makeup..." "I don?t care," Ann held up a hand. "He needs to step up and be a man. He?ll do it." "See. He actually needs to step up and be a fifteen year old girl..." "He?ll do it," Ann shrugged. "I?ll talk to him. I?ll explain how close we are to actually slipping in to poverty. He?s a good kid. He?ll understand. He?ll do it." "Ok," Barbara nodded. "I sure hope so. We need him as much as he needs the money, so... that would be great." "Where is he now?" "Mom?s bringing him here to talk it over. She gave me a twenty minute head start to give you a heads up about the whole situation." Ann nodded as she thought. "He?ll do it." Just then, they heard the sound of car doors closing outside. "That?s them," Barbara looked in the direction of the sound. "Now, Annie, just remember... this is a lot to ask of him. Take it slow." "A lot to ask of him? Barbie, I gave up everything to take care of him. It?s about time that he..." "Annie, Annie, Annie!" Barbara held up both hands. "Take... It... Slow." "Hello?" Carolyn called from the front door. "We?re coming," Barbara called back, then looked at Ann. "Slow." "Yeah, yeah, yeah... slow," Ann shook her head and headed into the front room. She expected to see her friend, Carolyn, and her own kid brother, but instead, standing next to her friend was a person who, yes, had her brother?s face and bright red hair in a ratty ponytail, but below that was the body of an elegant woman of the late nineteenth century wearing a high collared, antique silk blouse with a lace boarder on that collar. The blouse was covered by a very short jacket of red plaid that featured a plunging neckline, revealing the opulent elegance of the blouse. The jacket also had impressively puffed upper sleeves, tight fitting lower, three large, gold buttons at the bottom to close the jacket, three sewn on a delicate angle on each side to emphasize the feminine shape of the wearer, a peplum fringe traveling around the back from one hip to the other, and a black leather collar and wide lapels featuring green stitching in the shape of the boarders of the pages in The Book of Kells. Below that jacket was a floor length, obviously petticoated, skirt of the same material that hung in such a way as to insinuate that the wearer, who, she had to remind herself, was in fact, her little brother, had the elegant form of a Gilded Age beauty. "Holy moly," Ann gasped. "Impressive, isn?t he?" Carolyn asked, pleased with Ann?s response. "Impressive does not describe it," Ann said in a daze, as she approached Quinn. She touched the material of the sleeves and was impressed by the soft feel of quality to the cloth. Then, without thinking, she ran her hands across the jacket where it covered his chest. "I like that you kept the inserts small. It looks and feels very natural." "It is natural," Barbara laughed. "It?s all him, just shaped by the corset. Even though he?s thin, Quinn has enough extra skin to create breasts without inserts. He?s not wearing any kind of bra ? not even attached to the corset. That?s just a little extra flab being put to good use." "I think it?s because of the anti-rejection drugs that I took for my kidney. They made me a little plump in certain places for a while. Remember?" Quinn was embarrassed by the fact that he was so easily able to pretend to have breasts. "I do," Ann nodded, still amazed by what she was seeing. She ran her hand along his rear end, as well, and shook her head. "That doesn?t feel natural." "No, that?s a bustle-pad," Barbara explained, looking at Quinn from the other side. "By the time Louisa was a young woman, women had traded uncomfortable bustles for little pads that enhanced their backsides. In Quinn?s case, it doesn?t just enhance, it creates shape where none really exists at all. Of course, the corset does enhance what little he has." "Just incredible," Ann smiled as she looked from Quinn to Barbara to Carolyn. Then she smiled at Quinn and said, "Quinn, I?m in shock. From your chin up, you?re my brother, but from your chin down... Damn, girl, you are hot! Well... hot for 1890, but... damn, Quinn... this is going to work!" "And, like I told you," Barbara added, "the corset offers his back support." "Does it?" Ann smiled, rubbing his back to feel the corset below. "I kind of hate to admit it, but, yeah, it really does. I was in agony all morning but I haven?t had a single spasm since I put it on." Ann nodded. "Then that settles it. You?re going to do this, right?" "I... I don?t know," Quinn looked around. "I mean..." he breathed a heavy sigh. "Look, Annie... I know I?ve never really said it, but... I am very, very grateful for all you?ve done for me, and I want to help out, I really do. And I know how much college is going to cost and that the money from dad?s life insurance is all gone... well, I know all of that, and... Since you?re kind of excited about this instead of being freaked out, I assume that Barbara told you how much they?re willing to pay me to do this, but... this is all kind of... weird, isn?t it?" Ann stared at Quinn. In an odd way, he had just thanked her for everything she?d done for him. It was as if a drain had opened up and all of her resentment towards her brother began flowing out of her. "You?re... grateful?" She muttered. "Of course I am." Now, it was Quinn?s turn to be amazed. "Annie... without you... I?m sure I?d be dead by now. I couldn?t have made it this far without you, Annie, and I thank God every night that you cared enough to give up everything for me, but... now it?s time for me to help. I?m just not sure how I feel about helping this way." Suddenly, all of resentment and pettiness that Ann had felt just a few minutes earlier was gone. Instead of just insisting that he put his male ego aside and take whatever Carolyn had to offer, she understood why a twenty one year old man would have reservations about portraying a fifteen year old girl in close quarters with curious museum goers. All at once, he wasn?t the bane of her existence anymore ? he was her scared little brother again. Ann nodded and looked at him. "Ok... ok. Well... what do we do, then?" Quinn just looked confused. "Let?s sit and talk," Carolyn suggested. Carolyn and Ann sat on the old couch that sagged in front of the TV and Quinn and Barbara sat on the sad, worn loveseat by the wall. "Sit with your back in the corner of the seat, Quinn," Barbara instructed. "You?ll have to sit with a straight back due to the corset. Cross your ankles, keep your knees together and use the arm of the chair for support is you need to." He nodded and sat, a bit tentatively, but found that sitting in this manner and having the tight fitting corset wrapped around him to be quite comfortable. "Ok ? Pros?" Carolyn kicked off the conversation. The Pros were obvious. The corset offered support that relieved his pain. The clothing fit very well and looked lovely on him. The museum needed a Louisa and he fit the bill. He knew more about Louisa than almost anyone except Carolyn and Barbara. The wages would be much higher than he?d expected. He would hold a place of honor at staged events, private parties and weddings. The cons were obvious, too, but much less plentiful. In fact, there was only one ? There was a stigma attached to men dressing as women. "I promise you, Quinny," Barbara patted his back, "when we?ve done your hair and makeup, no one will suspect that your not a girl. Heck, after we?re done and you look in a mirror, YOU won?t even see anything but a girl." "And if we?re wrong, we?ll find something else for you to do," Carolyn added. It was quiet for a few moments. Finally Ann asked, "Well... what do you think, Quinn? You want to give it a try or not?" He looked down at the beautiful clothing he was wearing and thought about it. It might be fun... right? Like... fooling everyone into thinking he?s a girl. The clothes were cool and all, but... "What about my voice?" "What about it?" Carolyn seemed confused by the question. "I don?t really sound like a girl, do I?" "Well..." Barbara felt that she should tread lightly here. "...your voice isn?t exactly... low... but... we can work together and we?ll find the proper voice placement and... ummm... intonation... to make you sound convincing." He nodded, then looked at his sister. "Do you think I can do it?" She smiled. "Quinn... I have seen you accomplish the impossible a dozen times in the last seven years. This is nothing compared to learning how to walk again." She paused for a moment, but felt that there was something else that needed to be said. "Besides, Quinn... I haven?t really wanted to talk about this in front of you, much, but we are not in good shape, financially. Now, I don?t want that to be the sole reason for you to do this, but... things are... not good. We need to either bring in more money or sell mom and dad?s house. And, to be honest, if we sold the house, I?m not sure we could afford to live anywhere on the island, or even over the bridge. We?d probably need to leave the area." Quinn knew what that meant. Not just starting over in a new community, it meant a new job in a new school system for Ann and a whole new team of doctors and therapists for him. He nodded. "I?ll give it a try," he said, quietly. "But if I end up looking like one of those Monty Python guys, then the deal is off. Either I look so much like a girl that no one knows, or I don?t do it." "Deal," Barbara said, shaking his hand. "But... there are a few things we need you to do tonight, then, so that we can be ready for tomorrow?s hair and makeup work, ok?" He nodded. "Alright." Barbara looked at Ann and said, "Can I talk to you in the kitchen?" "Sure." The two friends exited the room to speak. "You?re going to do fine, Quinn," Carolyn stood and crossed the room, looking at the boy, closely. "Stand up, please." She turned him to face away from her and pulled the hair tie from the back of his head, allowing his hair to hang freely. It wasn?t very well kept. That would need to change. There was time, though. God created the world in six days, surely she and her team at Golden Bluffs could turn this boy into a suitable version of Louisa Harper in ten. "Do you have a brush?" She asked. "Yes." "Would you get it, please?" As Quinn walked to the downstairs lavatory to retrieve a brush, Carolyn took note of how he moved. He?d already learned to shorten his steps in order to move easily while wearing two petticoats and the heavy, multilayered, lined skirt while also wearing the two inch heeled walking boots they?d put him in. That, combined with the stiffness in his upper body caused by the constricting corset, he was already moving like a young woman. This could work. When he returned with a wide brush, Carolyn instructed him to sit in a straight backed chair and she began to brush it. "You really do have lovely hair, Quinn. You should take better care of it. Maybe have someone trim those split ends or use some conditioner now and again. It could be a lot nicer looking and it?d feel nicer, too." He?d heard this from Ann before. Carolyn moved around to stand in front of him. "Lean your head down as far as the corset will let you." Quinn didn?t understand why she wanted him to do this, but he obeyed. Carolyn began under brushing his red locks, being a bit aggressive. "I need you to condition your hair tonight, then I?m going to ask Annie to set it for us so that we?ll have some body to work with tomorrow morning, alright?" "Ok," Quinn agreed, not really having any idea what he?d agreed to do. The brushing continued for a few more minutes before she had him sit up straight again just as Ann and Barbara came back into the room. "Oh, wow," Ann said, "that already looks great." His hair looked as if it had much more life and texture to it. Because it wasn?t pulled tight to his scalp, it also just looked cleaner. "Well, maybe for today?s women, but not for a young woman in 1890." Carolyn set the brush down. "So you?ll take care of his body hair, condition his head of hair and set it for him so we have a better chance of getting things right tomorrow?" Ann nodded. "I?ll help him with everything. Barbie gave me the chart to follow for setting his hair. Tomorrow morning he?ll be ready to go." "Awesome," Barbara smiled, then touched Quinn?s cheek. "You?re already ninety percent of the way there, Quinny. You?re going to look great, so just relax and enjoy it." Quinn chuckled at that. "Ok." When the others had left, Ann looked at her brother and smiled. "I can?t remember the last time I saw your hair down. It looks nice. Pretty. It really looks nice with your skin tone." "Thanks, I guess. What did Barbara say you needed to help me do?" Ann smiled and giggled. "Be a girl." "Very funny," Quinn stood. "Can you help me out of all of this?" "Sure. Let?s go to your room. You?re going to have to let me help you get ready, too, Quinn. That means I?m going to need to see you in your birthday suit. Just remember, though, it was only a short time ago that I was cleaning you up down there every day. Ok? So, there?s no reason to be shy." "Geez, why does everyone feel the need to remind me of that?" Quinn was a bit insulted. She took his hand. "Just don?t get upset, Quinn. Just let us help you to get everything done. Today and tomorrow may be pretty odd for you, but it needs to be done and just take comfort in the fact that you?re twenty one and doing it for the first time. Barbie and I have been doing this stuff since we were eleven or twelve. So, bite the bullet and be a big, grown up girl. Ok?" He snorted a laugh. "Ok." Ann guided him to his bedroom upstairs and left him there for a few minutes while she gathered some things into the bathroom. When she returned, she she seemed surprised. "I thought you?d have started to get undressed." "I can?t get undressed myself. The way everything is made, I need someone else to help me." She smiled and shook her head as she looked at the boy in the beautiful outfit. "So... where do I start?" Quinn held up his right arm and with his left, he pointed to six tiny buttons running from his wrist up his arm towards his elbow. "I guess here. This was the last thing that Barbara buttoned." Ann took his hand and began unbuttoning the tiny, gold buttons. "Barbie dressed you?" He nodded. It occurred to Ann that Quinn probably enjoyed that quite a bit. Ann and her family had moved to Portsmouth from Ohio nine years earlier. Their parents had wanted to give their family a new, exciting life on the ocean and the fact that their new home was close to the historic mansions of Newport was very exiting to their history teaching father. Ann was already attending Salve Regina University and her father found the whole area fascinating. He?d provided them with the biggest house that he could afford, but it needed repairs that he?d barely begun before the accident that taken his life and those of his wife and oldest son. Barbara and her mother lived diagonally across the street and they became fast friends with Ann?s family. Carolyn and Ann?s mother were like sisters who?d been separated at birth and Barbara and Ann were the same. Being a very normal teenager, Quinn had found all of his big sister?s friends intriguing, but he?d been smitten with Barbara from the first time she?d walked into their house. After the accident, Barbara practically lived with Ann and Quinn for the first year and on many occasions, those times when Ann or Quinn or both had lost their momentum and found the need to wallow in self- pity, Barbara had been the stabilizing influence that brought them back to reality. In Quinn?s case, just seeing Barbara walk into his room would give him hope that there was still good things in the world. So ? Ann now understood how her little brother had ended up in these outrageously feminine clothes: Barbara had dressed him. With the long cuffs on both sleeves unbuttoned, Quinn could manage the three gold buttons that held the jacket closed and pull his arms from the garment, revealing the truly beautiful, lace covered, silk blouse below. It too had sleeves that were tight on the forearms and blossomed into large puffs of silk above the elbows. Ann moved behind Quinn and was amazed that it was even more beautiful in the back than the front. What she?d assumed would be a small button at the rear of the neck to hold the lacy neckline in place, was a large, elaborate bow tied into a perfect, girlish decoration. Below it was an endless number of tiny, round pearl buttons. "Wow! You weren?t kidding,"Ann said, impressed. "There really is no way that you could get out of this without help." It took a good minute or more to undo all of the buttons on the back and sleeves of the blouse and when that came off, it revealed a less ornate, but no less beautiful, silk garment below. "It?s a corset cover," Quinn explained. "I think I need to take off the skirt and petticoats first, though. The skirt unbuttoned in the back, then Ann slid it to the floor so that Quinn could step out. She picked up the multilayered garment and laid it neatly over a chair. "That must weigh ten pounds," Ann kidded. Then, she untied the rear of the outer petticoat, which was just a skirt of soft, thin cotton, and had Quinn step out of that. The inner petticoat was a bit more structural with an inner lining of soft silk and an outer lining of gently pleated cotton that ?inflated? the outer skirt in the style of the day. Next came the corset cover, the bustle pad and the corset itself. Barbara had tied the excess laces in a bow in front of Quinn. He untied that and Ann loosened the lacing in the back, allowing Quinn to undo the hooks and eyes in the front. He did breath a sigh when the pressure surrounding his abdomen was released, but he immediately felt the loss of support for his lower back. "Well, that?s adorable," Ann smiled admiring the gorgeous combination Quinn was wearing. "Like a fancy little girl?s romper." "Thanks," Quinn chuckled as he reached under the legs of the combination, untied the ribbons that had acted as garters and rolled the black, silk stocking down to the tops of his ankle boots. "Damn. I think we need a buttonhook to undo the buttons on the boots. That?s how Barbara put them on." "Sit on your bed and I?ll do it for you," Ann instructed. It wasn?t easy, but eventually she was able to get all the buttons through their holes. While she struggled with them, though, she kept stealing glances at Quinn. "I don?t know if you want to hear this or not, Quinn, but with your hair down and brushed out like that, you really do look quite pretty." Quinn just smiled. "That doesn?t bother you that I said that you look pretty?" "Isn?t that the point?" Quinn shrugged. "Louisa was one of the most beautiful girls of her day and I?m supposed to look like her, right?" "That?s right," Ann smiled, but that?s not what she had meant at all. What she had meant was the pale, freckle faced, red headed boy she was looking at made a very attractive young lady, even without any makeup. The hair that had been brushed out nice and full and the pretty lace that framed the soft featured face was enough to turn her little brother into a very cute girl. "All done," Ann said at long last, as she pulled the ankle boots from his feet, then slid the stockings off. Quinn stood, just wearing the combination. "Thanks." "And what did that take? Only about fifteen minutes. That?s normal for getting undressed, right?" Ann laid the stockings and shoes on the same chair as the skirts, etc. "Ok, little girl, now it?s going to get a little weird. Take off your pretty undies and let?s go into the bathroom." Minutes later, Ann was shaking a blue plastic bottle and handing Quinn a shower cap. "Tuck your hair into that. This is Nair. It?s a depilatory cream to remove hair. Basically, you need to be hairless from your eyebrows to your toes, so this is a lot less painful than shaving. Luckily, you don?t have a lot of hair, so I think I have enough. I will spread this onto you, then we give it about five minute to work and we wipe it off. Simple. Ok?" "All my hair?" Quinn seemed surprised. "The only parts of my body that showed are my face and my hands. Besides, women didn?t shave their... privates... back then." "Barbara said your WHOLE body, Quinn. Do you want to call her and argue?" He shook his head. "No. I ll do it. It?ll grow back, right?" "Yes. I need to use it about once a week. So, come on, spread eagle, please." Quinn complied and Ann began spreading the goop over his body. Ten minutes later, Quinn was wet from the shower and his body hair had all disappeared down the drain. Ann handed him a bar of Dove soap and told him to wash as usual. "What about my hair?" He asked. "I?ll wash that for you when you?ve cleaned your body. I need to wash it a couple of times and teach you how to condition it." This all seemed like a bit of overkill to Quinn, but so what. He needed the money, he liked the way the clothes felt and he wanted to please Barbara. He knew that she?d never be interested in him, not romantically, anyway, but he loved being with her and hearing her praise him. He had to kneel in the tub for Ann to shampoo his hair. Her technique seemed a bit more aggressive than any shampoo he?d ever given himself, but it wasn?t painful. What was getting painful, though, was the aching in his back. He really missed the support of the corset and his back was complaining quite loudly about it. His hair was washed twice and the conditioner stayed in his hair for a good long while before Ann rinsed it out. "You can get out, now," Ann said and she turned to the vanity and washed her hands. She was drying her hands on a towel when she heard a tired groan. Quinn had stopped drying himself and stood with his eyes closed. "Your back hurt?" He nodded. "Too much standing, today?" He shook his head. "Maybe, but... well, I think my back misses the corset?s support. Weird, huh?" "No. It makes sense. Your back is weak, Quinn. I?d say to put the corset back on, but I don?t think you should sleep in it. It is a costume piece for the museum, so I expect that it costs a pretty penny." Then, a thought occurred to her. "Tell you what ? Use this body oil all over yourself, the go put on your boxers and a tee shirt. I think there?s something in mom?s dresser that might help you." Quinn was standing in his boxers, pulling, with a bit pain and effort, a ribbed, sleeveless tee shirt on when Ann entered. She immediately noticed that his hair was still very damp and that he smelled of the vanilla and lavender that the shampoo and body oil contained. "Here. Try this on," Ann said, holding what looked like a modern day version of the corset Quinn had been wearing. It was definitely some kind of corset, but it was covered with black satin, had five large buttons in the front and it came to a peak in the front and that peak was obviously meant to separate a woman?s breasts. "Mom had a corset?" Quinn was very surprised at the idea of his mom wearing a fetish garment. "Mom had a waist trainer. It?s like a corset, but most modern corsets have breast cups. She?d wear this at night. She claimed that having us messed up her figure and this helped her regain it. When I was like fourteen or so and I got a little chubby, she got me one too. I wore it for a few nights, but I hated it. Maybe it?ll help your back, though." "Ok. It?s worth a try." As it turned out, the buttons in the front were strictly decorative and the waist trainer opened and closed in exactly the same way that antique corset had ? using hooks and eyes in the front and a lace-up system in the back. Quinn fastened up the front and Ann went to work on the back. It was nearly completely tightened when Quinn said, "Wait. Wait. Something is cutting into my side." Ann loosened the lacings and Quinn undid the hooks and eyes. When the trainer was removed, Quinn lifted his ribbed shirt and the problem was obvious. The crude seams on the sides of the shirt were digging into his sides, forming a red trough on each side of him. The ribs on the shirt had also left red lines on his torso. "Well, that won?t work," Ann shook her head. "Maybe I should put the trainer on first," Quinn suggested. "No," Ann said. "I remember mom being very clear about how to wear it and she always insisted that it had to have a chemise under it." She thought for a moment. "I have some, but they?d be too big for you." She thought some more, then she had a thought. "Ooh! I?ll be back." She ran out of the room, returning with something black and silky in her hands. "Take off that shirt." When he?d removed his shirt and tossed it to the side, Ann handed him the black cloth. "Put this on." "It?s one of mom?s nightgowns," Quinn stared at the item. It had spaghetti straps that met the inverted ?V? shape of the two breast cups with a tiny white bow over each breast. Other than those bows, there was no decoration. "Yeah. You?re just about mom?s size. Put it on and let?s see if that works." Quinn hesitated for a moment prompting Ann to say, "Quinn... it?s ok. Mom would just want you to not be in pain. She won?t mind." "That?s not it." He just looked at it. "It..." he chocked as he tried to speak. "It... it still smells like mom. Annie... it?s been seven years and it still smells like mom!" Tears were filling his eyes. "Oh, Quinn, honey, no, no... that?s the sachets of potpourri mom kept in her drawers. That?s what smells like mom. She always smelled like those." It didn?t matter, though. Quinn had been kept in a an induced coma for days after the accident and when he awoke, nearly everything he heard horrified him, but the loss of his parents and a sibling had been overwhelmed by the news that he?d broken his back and may never walk, again. The psychologist that had attended to both Ann and Quinn had warned Ann that her little brother had not had the opportunity to grief and that someday ? maybe a week from that day and maybe in twenty years ? something would trigger the boy and his grieving process would begin. All of a sudden, it looked like this was that day. And it was. Suddenly, Quinn began to shake, nearly to the point of convulsions, and his tears burst out of him like a dam had just collapsed behind his eyes. All of it was becoming clear to Quinn. He?d spent the last seven years fighting to get back his health and to build a future for himself, but he?d never fully realized that that future would not, could not ever, include his mother or his father or his brother Tony. They were gone ? gone forever. He?d actually convinced a part of himself that, if he just worked harder at getting better, if he just pushed himself to take that next painful step, if he just was able to walk, and care for himself and work, everything would go back to how it had been, but now he knew that ?how it had been? was a fantasy. It was just him and Ann and he was nothing but a burden to her. The tears came in torrents. Ann patted his back and held him tightly. He was half a head shorter than her and he felt so small and vulnerable that Ann could not have let go if she?d wanted to. She cried a few tears herself and she clung tightly to the boy with the damp, red hair as he purged his anguish. It was at least ten minutes, possibly much longer, before Quinn was able to get control of his breathing, again. It was at least another few minutes more before he realized that he was crying into his sister?s shoulder. He gathered his strength and got a hold of himself. What had happened? He?d just... lost it! How? Why? It had been seven years! Why now? He straightened up and pulled back from Ann?s embrace. "Are you, ok?" She asked as gently as he could. He nodded. "Yeah. I... I think so. I don?t really know what happened. I was just..." he looked at the nightgown in his hands. "All of a sudden, I just... missed them so much." "I know," Ann kissed his cheek. "That was my fault. I?ll put this back and see if I have anything..." "No!" Quinn was almost too forceful when Ann made to take the nightgown from him. "Sorry. No... no... it?s ok. I like that it smells like mom. I... I want to wear it." Ann nodded and smiled. "Ok. Ok. Let me help you." In a few moments, Quinn was wearing the sleek, mid-thigh reaching nightgown, breathing in the memory of his mother as he once again donned the waist trainer and connected the hooks to the eyes. Ann worked the lacings for him and pulled them as tight as he felt he could bear. The nightie and the trainer being the same color created the appearance of one garment instead of two. "So," Ann looked him over, "how does the nightie feel?" Quinn swayed from side to side a bit. "Very light. Soft." She nodded. "Even nicer without body hair, I bet. So, that?s the comfortable part. Now, it?s time for the less comfortable part. Ready?" "Ready for what?" Quinn found the remark odd. "I have to set your hair. Come on. I haven?t done this for a while and mom always kept everything downstairs so she could do my hair while I sat in a kitchen chair. Tell you what, though - it?s getting late, so why don?t I call for pizza and we?ll bring a kitchen chair into the living room. We can eat pizza and watch Netflix or something after I set it." "Ok," Quinn said as he followed her out of his room and down the stairs. "How do you go about ?setting? my hair, though?" Ann laughed. "Why, with curlers, of course, Quinn. Barbie left me a little diagram outlining how I should do your hair. They want you to have some body in that lifeless mop of yours, so I?ll put the rollers in, pin them in place and douse you with setting solution. By morning, it?ll be dry and you?ll have some nice curl to your hair." Curlers!? That had not occurred to Quinn at all. "I have to sleep in curlers?" She nodded. "Is that even possible?" Ann laughed. "Lots of girls and women do it every night, Quinn. It?ll be uncomfortable for a little while, but you?ll get used to it pretty quickly and then you?ll sleep just fine. If all of this works out, you might want to consider getting a perm. They can give you some nice, loose body and you might be able to go without curlers, but for tonight... another chapter in the mysteries of womanhood is about to be revealed to you." It took a few minutes to get everything together and call the pizza place across town, but pretty soon, Quinn was sitting in a kitchen chair in the living room, watching an old comedy with great music while Ann separated his hair into sections, inserted large clips into his hair to hold it in those sections, and began rolling the hair at the center of his head onto pink plastic curlers that had not been used in nearly a decade. "I?ll do this for you for a few days, Quinn," Ann said, "but if this has to be done every night, then you?re going to have to learn to do it yourself." "Ok," Quinn said. As the minutes passed an, on the television, Jake and Elwood devised their plan to raise enough money to save the orphanage where they?d grown up, Quinn began to think - and then he felt the need to talk. Maybe it was because he was facing forward and Ann was behind him, or maybe it was because the way that Ann was touching his hair and speaking so quietly to him, but everything just felt so much more intimate and safe than it ever had before. So Quinn decided to say what he needed to say. "Annie... I just want to say... thank you." "Oh, that?s ok, Quinn," Ann let out a little laugh as she continued to roll his hair. "I?m really kind of enjoying this." "No... Annie. I want to say... thank you. You know... for everything. I know that I?ve kind of ruined your life and I?m really sorry for that, but... I just wanted to say it... you know... just say thank you." "Alright, now stop," Ann said a bit harshly. Now it was she who was fighting back some tears. She stopped her work and rubbed her bowed forehead with her hands. "Ohhhh, Quinn, Quinn, Quinn," she whispered. "Quinn... I never..." she stopped before she found herself lying. "Quinn." She paused again. "Honey... I may have felt... just a few times, when I was being selfish... Jesus..." she struggled. "Quinn. Life hasn?t been fair to us and, every now and then we all get to feeling sorry for ourselves, but Quinn..." she moved to be in front of him and knelt, taking his hands. "If I ever came across as not being happy, then... well, that?s me being a jackass. The truth is, Quinn... If I?d lost you, too, then... Quinn, I can?t imagine that. Honey, I love you. You know that, right?" "Yeah, of course I know that, Annie, I just... I just feel sorry that I ruined your life. I?m not saying that because you?ve acted like I ruined it, it?s just that... I know what you wanted to do with your life and I know what your doing now. You never wanted to be a public school teacher like dad. You wanted to be a researcher, a writer, a college lecturer. You gave all of that up for me, and I just need to say thank you." He must have heard her when she was feeling low. These were nearly the same words she?d uttered a million times when she was wallowing in self pity. He wasn?t supposed to hear that. "No, Quinn. I?m sorry. I?m just... hey... let?s do this - You?re kind of starting a new life, now. You?re healthy again, you?ve got a new job, you?ve got college ahead of you... everything?s getting better. Let?s make a pact. Let?s support each other all the time, ok? Let?s just be a family, ok?" Quinn smiled. "Ok. Brother and sister. Or..." he touched the mass of curlers in his hair, "... whatever." There was a knock on the door. "The pizza is here. We?re good, right?" He nodded. "We?re great." "Cool," she kissed his forehead and hurried to the door, retrieved the pizza and placed it on the coffee table. "The pizza will have to wait. Two more curlers and we?re done." A few minutes later and the last two curlers were in and she was tying a flowered, silk scarf around his curler covered head to keep everything in place when he went to bed. "Ok, we?re done," she said as she tapped his shoulder to stand. When he turned to look at her, Ann had to marvel at how very girlish he already looked. The silk scarf and curlers framed a very cute, somewhat apple-shaped face, his neck was slender, narrow, small shoulders, slender arms, cute legs, the pretty nightie with the waist trainer creating not just a more narrow, feminine waist, but pushing up just enough flesh to give the impression of a girl who was in the process of leaving childhood behind and taking her first steps into developing into a woman. There was one issue, though. One thing that looked incongruous. She knew how to fix that. "Don?t sit, yet. I?ll be right back," she ordered as she turned and ran up the stairs. Quinn took that opportunity to return the kitchen chair to its place at the table and the two of them returned to the living room at the same time. "What?s that?" Quinn asked, looking at a piece of cloth in his sister?s hands. "The final touch," Ann laughed as she quickly knelt in front of him, then quite unexpectedly reached under the short skirt of Quinn?s nightie and pulled his boxers to the floor. "You look so good, but the bottoms of your boxers are sticking out. These will fix that." Ann held up a pair of plain, silky, black panties. "Their a little granny-ish for someone your age, certainly not stylish enough for a fifteen year old like Louisa Harper, but they?ll do the job for tonight." "I?m not wearing my mother?s panties!" Quinn was a bit horrified at the idea. "Don?t worry," Ann smiled. She held up the panties and displayed a price tag being held on by a plastic thread. She pulled on the plastic thread, breaking it free of the panties. "Mom never wore them. I saw them in her drawer before. Step in." She held the panties open by his feet and Quinn stepped into them. Ann pulled them up under his skirt and settled them in place in his hips. Then she stood. "Nice, huh?" In fact they felt nicer than Quinn wished to admit. So, he just nodded. His sudden shyness amused Ann. She could tell that he was enjoying this ? not just the soft feeling of the clothes. He was enjoying the forbidden nature of this adventure. "Come on. It?s pizza time." Ann opened the box and handed a slice to her brother, then grabbed one for herself and sat next to him on the old couch. As they ate, she?d sneak peaks at him. It had been a long, difficult seven years since the accident and this may have been the first ?normal? night that she had shared with Quinn since that night. And in a way that could only happen in their family, their first ?normal? night involved having her little brother wearing his mother?s lingerie and having his hair up in curlers. He did look awfully cute, though. "Hey! How are you guys doing with the..." Barbara entered the house through the front door without knocking, as was her custom, but she came to a dead stop at the sight of Quinn. She looked from Quinn to Ann and back again several times before finally asking, "Getting into character?" "In a way," Ann smiled as she responded. "Since the corset you had Quinn wear helped his back so much, we?re using mom?s waist trainer to give him the same kind of support. He needed something soft under it, so we used mom?s nightgown. The curlers are per your instructions." Barbara could tell by the tone of her friend?s voice that this was all ?a good thing,? and that it should be treated as normal, so that?s what she did. "You look great, Quinny. Let me look at your face." Quinn was still chewing a small bite of pizza, but he looked at Barbara and kept chewing. Barbara held his face by his chin and looked at it closely. She smiled and looked at Ann. "He?s a cutie, isn?t he?" "He sure is," Ann agreed. "I don?t want to jinx anything, but I think that you may have found yourself the perfect ?Miss Louisa Harper.?" "Of New York and Newport," Barbara agreed, using the real Louisa?s debutante title. "Are you ready to become a real girl, Quinny?" "I think I am," Quinn smiled. Barbara winked at him. "You?re going to love it, Quinny. I promise."