Update from the previous four parts.

Joe and Karen, a normal couple except for one small thing; Joe likes to dress occasionally and Karen has decided to support her husband. Joe’s problem is that, while he loves to dress he is less than happy with the result. The torment threatens their marriage so Karen decides to act. She finds a wonderful support group headed up by "Aunt Mary" who helps Joe accept his feminine side.

Joe seems to be adapting well until he begins to feel that he’s being pushed too far and too fast. He goes to spend some time with his brother Rob to escape the pressure and to think. Joe’s desires prove too strong and he finds himself out enfemme with a hair stylist, Gloria. Ignoring Gloria’s warnings to avoid Vic Bar, Joe finds Rob and decides that his little brother needs to get home. Joe as his feminine side Sue allows Rob to pick him up and steers his brother home.

Joe escapes with nothing more than a kiss and the realization that he wants Karen and his feminine side. This part begins early in the morning with Joe calling Karen.

 

Natural

by

Marti B

 

Part Five

 Karen sat and stared at the phone. Ever since Joe left to stay with Rob she had waited for his call but now that it had come, well she just wasn’t sure what she wanted or, more importantly, what Joe wanted from their relationship. Joe had sounded positive and upbeat and Karen desperately wanted to believe that everything was going to work out between her and Joe. Now, with the sound of his voice echoing in her head, she feared the worst.

Joe’s call a little before eight was a complete surprise. He sounded great! In fact, everything was great until he asked to meet at lunch. Joe had suggested they meet at Delmonico’s around eleven-thirty. A deep sense of foreboding overcame Karen almost as soon as the words were out of Joe’s mouth. A public place could only mean bad news. That was one of Karen’s unwritten rules. If you have something unpleasant to say, do it in a public place where there is less chance of a full-blown confrontation and scene. Did Joe have bad news?

Now, Karen blamed herself for everything. She had only wanted to understand Joe’s needs and help him. Now look. Living apart for the first time and she was more confused than ever. Mary kept trying to convince Karen that everything would work out in the end. Just yesterday she said the she thought that Joe was close to resolving his inner torment.

Karen looked at the alarm. Eight Twenty-three! She’d lost almost thirty minutes and would surely be late for class. Karen dashed to the bathroom to finish her makeup. She simply twisted her damp hair and secured it with a large clip. She dashed to the closet and grabbed her white t-shirt and the jeans jumper that was her official "no time to pick" outfit. She left the house at eight forty-three and walked into her American Literature of the Twentieth Century class at exactly one minute to nine.

Joe was alarmed to find Gloria’s shop closed. She had said that she often went in early but ten minutes to eight was probably hoping for too much. Joe was tired after his long night. He didn’t feel right about going home until he and Karen had talked so he drove over toward his office to get a room in one of the nearby hotels. All the way to the hotel Joe checked himself in the mirror. His hair really wasn’t too bad. After all, he was the head of an advertising agency and, he was just showing off his creative side. Joe was also having a tough time dealing with the events of last night. Did he want to get picked up? Why did he go to Vic’s when he knew it was Rob’s favorite bar? Could he have done something differently to avoid the kiss?

Joe was focused on these issues as he pulled up in front of the hotel. He walked up to the desk and asked if there were any rooms available. There were and Joe reached for his frequent guest and credit cards.

"Nice nails!"

The receptionist’s comment caught Joe completely off guard.

"What?" Joe asked, recognition slowly flooding through his conscious mind.

He looked at his hands. The long and definitely French nails were tough to disguise. All this time he’d been worried about his hair. Curls were a minor, easily overlooked element but the nails.

"It was my wife’s idea." The words stumbled from his lips. It was a weak excuse but, one that he was stuck with so he continued.

"My wife is trying to cure me of nail biting. She thought the acrylics would help stop the habit. It seemed to be working and this was my reward." He said holding up his hand.

"They’re absolutely beautiful!" Exclaimed the girl. "But, do you really like them?"

Joe realized that his masculinity was being questioned and he needed to respond.

"No, not really." He said. "But, several of our friends are having some difficulties. Seems the men are fooling around while off on business trips. Karen, my wife, is a little worried. I told her there was no reason to worry but she wanted some way to make it difficult for me to pick up women. She had originally suggested that I switch to panties instead of my boxers but with all the security at the airports I told her that I didn’t want to stand there if my bag was picked for extra security and the agent started pulling panties out for the whole world to see. The nails were her third choice and the first one that I thought I could live with. I really didn’t expect that she want them this long but, if it makes Karen feel better about my traveling, then it’s worth it."

The look on the girl’s face said she wasn’t buying any part of Joe’s tale. Joe quickly gathered his key and retreated to the relative safety of his room.

Once in the room, Joe reached for his cell phone. It was off. He didn’t remember turning it off and quickly powered it up. The display said he had messages. The first was from Joan, his administrative assistant. Her voice conveyed that there was a true emergency at the office as she pleaded with Joe to call. Joe punched the speed dial number and was immediately put through to his line. Joan picked up on the first ring.

"Joe, where are you? I’ve been calling everywhere. The O’Malley agency just visited Jim Hayes and his senior VPs."

Ken O’Malley ran the second largest advertising agency in the local area. He used to be the biggest but made the mistake of trying to steal several of Joe’s biggest accounts about three years ago. It was pure hell for six months but Joe’s agency ended up keeping all their own clients and taking O’Malley’s third and fourth biggest accounts by the time Ken asked for a truce. The past two and a half years had been relatively calm but it looked like war in the local advertising market.

"OK Joan. Assemble the prime staff. I’ll be there in an hour. I want a presentation for Jim Hayes that outlines a new campaign but stresses the value of name recognition associated with the current campaign. I want some numbers to show what Jim would potentially be throwing away. Then end it with a proposal for managing a transition in campaigns."

Joe was already undressing as he concluded the phone call. He headed to the shower but stopped when he saw himself in the mirror. What was he going to do about his hair and eyebrows? He thought about calling Gloria again but decided to wait until he finished his shower.

Joe dressed quickly following his shower. A pair of kaki dockers, an open collar blue shirt, and his trustworthy navy blue blazer provided the perfect outfit. He tried Gloria again but got no answer. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. The eyebrows weren’t too bad. They were partially hidden behind his glasses. The hair had puffed up into a curly frizzy mess following the shower. His nails were the biggest problem.

Joe headed out to a Rite Aid pharmacy he noticed when he drove in earlier. He found the nail files quickly and grabbed three of the padded ones. He next headed for the hair care aisle hoping to find something for his hair. He didn’t know what he wanted since he’d never had a perm before. A bottle of FirzzEase relaxing cream seemed to be just the thing to calm his unruly head of curls.

Back at the hotel Joe dampened his hair and applied a generous amount of the cream. He carefully brushed his hair. He tried to part his hair on the normal right side but that just wasn’t working. He remembered Gloria said that the directional perm would be more feminine with a left side part. Joe tried this and was reasonably pleased with the results. His hair was full and wavy. It was definitely more feminine than he’d wanted, especially going into a business war. He stood in front of the mirrored closet and looked at himself. The glasses did hide the thin arched eyebrows, almost. His hair, well his hair would just have to do. He completely forgot about his nails until he saw the bag from the store by the door. He looked at his watch and realized that he had to hurry. Well, the nail biting story would just have to do for now.

Joe arrived at the office just before 9:30. He roared through the outer offices barking orders and stirring up the troops. He motioned for Joan to follow him into his office.

"You change stylists?"

"Hugh"

"The hair Joe. It’s nice but quite a change. When did you get it permed? What does Karen think?"

"What makes you think I got a perm? OK, I guess it is obvious. Karen likes it. In fact, it was sort of her idea. She’s been after me to try something different. What do you think?"

"It does look good on you Joe. But I think the nails are a bit much. That is unless there’s another side to you that I don’t know about?"

Joe stuffed his hands into his pockets and quickly moved behind the desk. He was more than a little self-conscious when he had to display his hands again to open the box centered on his desk.

"Karen suggested matching manicures while my hair was processing." Joe adlibbed. "I agreed before I knew she was getting acrylics."

"I bought some files to try to do something about them."

"Here, let me help." Said Joan grabbing a file from Joe and going to work on his left hand.

Joan filled Joe in on the events of the previous day. She reported that Kevin, the junior member of the Hayes team had called in his resignation at seven thirty that morning. Joe said that he hoped O’Malley had promised him a big raise.

Midway in the conversation Joan had switched hands. Now, as they headed for the conference room Joe’s nails were still bright and shiny but the were closer to a normal masculine length.

Conversation ceased as soon as Joe entered the conference room. Before anyone could say a word Joe started.

"Morning everyone. Like the new look? I’ll take compliments after we make sure Hayes remains in the Lossin fold. Barry, what angle was Kevin working on?"

Barry reported on several of Kevin’s ideas for Hayes. Barry had killed most of them outright as too outlandish for the normally conservative Hayes Corporation. The group discussed all the possible ideas that Kevin may have pitched to O’Malley. Barry presented his ideas for Hayes to the group. They were very good. By the time the group adjourned for lunch however, they were great. Barry went off to implement the recommended fixes and Joe called Jim Hayes.

Jim seemed to be eager to talk and they set a meeting for 10:30 the next day. Joe let the team know about the meeting. He said that he wanted a final review at 4:15 that afternoon.

Joe now turned his attention to the box on his desk. It contained a cell phone. Joe was a little puzzled at first until he remembered that he had agreed to switch phone companies and try out the new cell phone with radio link. He clicked the transmit button and called for Joan. Surprisingly, she answered immediately. He copied down his new number. Joe pulled out his old phone, switched it off, and tossed it into his desk drawer.

Joe called Rachel in business development. He asked her to make a list of O’Malley’s top five accounts. He told her to get the list to Frank, Mary and Barb as soon as possible.

"Can I get on this right after lunch boss?"

Lunch! Joe had been so wrapped up that he’d forgotten lunch. He quickly told Rachel to go eat first. He dialed Delmonico’s from memory. Tony answered and Joe told him that he was running late but would be there by 12:15. He asked Tony to apologize to Karen.

"Karen called about twenty minutes ago to say she wouldn’t make it Joe. I assumed that she called you as well."

Joe told Tony to cancel the reservation. He assured his friend that everything was OK. It really wasn’t but you don’t confide that fact to mere friends. Joe sat and stared into space for ten minutes. Karen cancelled and didn’t call him. The only explanation Joe could think of was that she didn’t want to get back together. Joe tried to call Karen at work. One of the other professors answered and said that Karen and Jim (Professor Jim Goode) had gone for a quick bite. Joe asked that Karen call his cell phone.

His imagination ran wild with scenarios involving Karen and other men. Joe called Veronica at the downtown office. They talked briefly. He asked for an appointment but the only one she had was at four. Joe couldn’t make that. She did have a 10:00 the next morning. Joe couldn’t make that one either. Veronica told Joe that she’d take a look at her schedule and call him back. Joe told her to use his cell phone number and leave a message.

Joe sent an e-mail to the team working on O’Malley’s clients telling them that they’d meet at 2:30. At 12:10 Joe went for a walk.

At 12:45 Joe found himself in front of Gloria’s shop. He had no idea how he’d gotten there. He remembered walking south from his office and getting hailing a cab.

Gloria was just finishing a tuna salad as Joe entered.

"Joe, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Joe asked Gloria if she could help with his hair. She looked at it and asked a few questions about the product he used. She led him back to the shampoo bowl. They talked about the previous night. As they returned to the stylist chair Joe told Gloria about his adventure at Vic’s.

Gloria laughed when Joe told her about the kiss. Joe was hurt till she said.

"One night out as a girl and some guy takes advantage of you. Now you know why a girl never lets her guard down. You probably realize why I advised you to avoid Vic’s in the first place."

Joe and Gloria continued to talk as she began to set Joe’s hair on medium rollers. Joe expressed his concern about a feminine style but Gloria assured him that she had something in mind that would look fine. By the time Joe got to the part of his story where he left the note for Rob they were both laughing about the "Big Adventure" as Gloria called it.

"You realize that Sue better not show her face around here for a long time." Gloria said. "Right now, your brother’s probably masturbated twice while reading the note and will be bragging to all his friends about his status as a major stud. You really are a flirt and a tease."

Joe emerged from the dryer and Gloria began un-rolling his hair. Big bouncy curls were all Joe could see. Gloria brushed through the curls first forward and then to the side. Slowly, a smooth, wavy unisex style emerged. She used a little styling gel on her fingers to add dimension to Joe’s hair. By the time he left the shop at 2:00 Joe was feeling better about a lot of things.

At two thirty the capture team assembled in the conference room. There were a few comments from the group about Joe’s "new do" as Mary described it. Joe simply said that he had tried something different and adventurous the previous weekend. He told the group that he went down the street and asked for help at the first salon he found. The result was what they currently saw. Several of the women offered suggestions. While trying to appear unconcerned Joe listened intently. Janice suggested that Joe allow "The Girls" to style his hair as soon as we beat O’Malley.

Rachel’s research and a few discrete phone calls told the team that three of the five were firm in their commitment to O’Malley. The other two were candidates for a new pitch.

Frank took the lead on one while Barb was designated the capture lead for the other. They discussed ideas for both campaigns. At three forty Joe returned to his office and called both of these potential customers. When he walked into the Hayes review at four fifteen he had appointments with four of the five targets. He explained to the group that the first two seemed so eager to talk about a new campaign that he decided to call the others and had struck pay dirt. Mary would head up one of the additional candidates while Joe was taking the lead on O’Malley’s top account.

Barry had a solid presentation. The group discussed a few minor tweaks before breaking up at five thirty. Joe went back to his office to get working on his pitch scheduled in three days. He said bye to Joan at six. At ten, he left an office littered with discarded ideas. He had a winner sitting on his desk. He was sure of it!

Joan was surprised to find Joe hard at work when she arrived at eight the next morning. He had changed so she assumed that he went home. Joe outlined his idea to her first thing that morning. She agreed that it was a winner. She tool Joe’s sketches down to art while Joe headed over to see Jim Hayes.

Joe talked about name recognition with Jim Hayes. He showed Jim the numbers that indicated how important image and recognition was to Hayes customers.

Barry then went through the plan to transition to a new ad campaign. Jim Hayes would be the spokesperson just as he was ten years ago when he took a slumping company and turned it into a market powerhouse. All through Barry’s presentation Joe watched Jim Hayes. They had him. Joe could see it. Jim’s eyes sparkled as he told them that O’Malley had visited him the previous afternoon. Kevin had pitched one of the ideas that Barry had discarded. Jim said that he was offended by the implied sexual message in O’Malley’s proposed campaign. He said that he needed an agency that knew him and knew his customers. He told Joe and Barry that, based on what he’d just seen, he knew that he could trust Lossin Associates. On the way back to the office, Joe told Barry that he was now a Senior Associate.

Barb was waiting for Joe. Her presentation had gone very well. She hadn’t gotten a commitment but indications were that the customer liked the new ideas. Frank called at five with similar news. Mary stopped by to run her ideas past Joe. She had a good foundation. Joe offered some comments and together they worked on some rough sketches. Mary left around six thirty. Joe reviewed the artwork for his own pitch later that evening. He really needed to stay and work but he also needed to get away. On a whim he called Gloria’s shop a little after seven. She answered and told Joe she was just finishing up a highlight. Joe asked if she’d be interested in another girl’s night. They agreed to meet at the shop at eight.

Joe went back to his apartment. He showered and shaved and then sat down at the dressing table. He flicked through his damp hair to accentuate the curl. The perm had returned in full force when he came out of the shower. Joe applied a foundation. As he continued with mascara and eyeliner Sue emerged for her night out.

Sue arrived at Gloria’s Salon at 8:15. She had a basic black dress with a gold chain and gold hoop earrings. Joe had let his hair dry naturally which gave Sue a head full of curls. Gloria told Sue to sit in the styling chair. Gloria squirted a small amount of liquid gel into her hand, rubbed her hands together and began to work on Sue’s hair. Gloria’s magic fingers created a stunning look from the mass of curls. Sue’s hair was pushed back over the ears and then seemed to explode in curls that framed the backs of her ears. On top, the curls became waves across the top with just the hint of bangs reaching down to Sue’s arched eyebrows.

They had a nice evening out. Sue talked about Karen and his concern over the fact that he hadn’t heard from her. Sue cried as he told Gloria how he feared that he was losing Karen. Gloria comforted Sue. Changing the subject, Sue set up an appointment for the following Saturday. Gloria said she thought she had an opening at three but would check and call Sue on the cell phone to confirm. They talked about Gloria’s loves and the two shared a couple more cries. They agreed that men could be such louses. They separated laughing but it was obvious that Sue was concerned. Gloria continued to say that things would work out but she shared his concern when she and Sue said goodbye that night.

At the same time, just over a block away another woman comforted her companion who also expressed fears of losing her spouse. Karen couldn’t understand why Joe hadn’t returned her calls. She had called his cell phone over ten times in the past three days. Joe had called her four times but they never seemed to be able to talk. Mary thought about her talk with Veronica concerning Joe and Karen. She told Karen that Joe had tried to set up an appointment but just couldn’t make it due to something at work. Karen told Mary that she had called Joan earlier that afternoon and found out that the entire company was spun up over an attempt to steal a top account. Karen said that she told Joan that she’d see Joe at home rather than have him call.

Karen was also concerned because she had tried Joe’s cell phone several times and left messages. None of her calls had been returned. That was so unlike Joe that Karen was convinced that the separation was permanent. Mary and Karen shared a couple of good cries. They separated with Mary telling Karen that things would work out.

The next morning Joe appeared in the office with another "new do". Gloria’s efforts from the night before had survived the evening due to the gel and hairspray. Joe had started to wash his hair that morning but decided that the style looked too good to ruin. Joan told her boss that she liked the mixture of curls and waves but thought that it was just a bit too feminine.

With Joe’s permission she called Janice and the two women went to work on the bosses hair. They wet Joe’s hair and used a pick to accentuate the curls. They worked for ten minutes and seemed satisfied. Joe though this new curly do was a bit more feminine, especially with the curly bangs that cascaded from the right part across his forehead and above his left eye.

At the same time, Mary and Veronica were in the middle of an impromptu meeting at their downtown offices. Mary related the gist of her conversation with Karen being careful to protect client privilege. Veronica told Mary that she hadn’t heard from Joe since that first call. She had called his cell phone several times to try to work an appointment in but she kept getting Joe’s voice mail. She’d left several messages but had not heard from Joe. Mary related that there appeared to be a crisis at work and Karen said that Joe was totally focused when it came to problems. They agreed that they’d go by Joe’s office if he hadn’t called on Monday.

Shortly after ten, Mary called to say that Higgins Markets wanted to sign a contract immediately. Jim Hayes had also called to confirm that he was sticking with Joe so that made it no losses and one victory. Barb burst in just before eleven to say that Abbott Auto had just called. Bruce Abbott asked if She and her boss could come over to sign a contract that afternoon.

By three on Friday Joe was able to sit back and relax. Besides keeping the Hayes account he had taken three of O’Malley’s top five accounts. He had just finished talking to O’Malley who asked, no begged for a truce.

Joe thought about his appointment with Gloria the next day. She had promised to call and confirm but he hadn’t heard a word. He dialed Gloria’s Salon. Gloria answered on the fourth ring. She said that she was extremely busy and couldn’t talk. She said that Joe was set for ten the next day and insisted that she had called Joe’s cell phone to confirm.

Joe insisted that there were no messages on his phone and asked Gloria to confirm that she was calling his number. She related the number from her book.

"Well, that’s my number." Said Joe. "I can’t figure out why… Oh damn! I forgot. We just got these fancy new phones with the two-way radios for instant contact. Here’s my new number."

Joe gave Gloria his new number and didn’t think about other implications of this sudden realization. A light went on over Gloria’s head immediately. She acted on her brilliant insight as soon as she hung up with Joe.

Gloria made three phone calls that morning. She left messages at the first two. The second call also provided Gloria with a third number that she tried. Success! The woman on the other end of the conversation seemed confused at first. Although they had never spoken with each other before they formed an instantaneous bond. The conversation lasted only twenty minutes but the plan was to have a long lasting impact on several lives.

Joe opened his eyes a little after seven on Saturday morning. He really did need to get going if he was going to make his appointment at Gloria’s but he just wanted to lay back and relax. What a week! A smile grew as Joe relived his conversation with O’Malley. God was that great, hearing that pompous ass beg for a truce! The smile turned to a frown as Joe’s thoughts turned to the one issue that he hadn’t resolved, Karen. Why hadn’t she returned his calls? By this time Joe was sure that he had lost her forever. How was he going to survive without this pillar of support? Joe knew that the ache in his chest was from his broken heart.

Joe lay in bed for almost an hour. Twice he reached for the phone to call Karen. He just couldn’t complete the call. Joe was afraid to hear the words that would confirm his fears and end his relationship with the woman he loved. He blamed himself and his stupid cross-dressing. Maybe, if he were normal, he and Karen would be laying in the same bed. He could reach out and lightly caress the curve of her breast under the covers. Deep down inside he knew that the real cause of their current separation had nothing to do with cross-dressing. It was fear. Fear to reveal his true feelings to his wife originally. Fear of the unknown. Fear of loosing control.

Joe got out of bed a little after eight. He had planned on going to the shop as Sue but now, wrapped up in his fears and guilt; he just didn’t feel like it. Maybe, a couple of hours talking to Gloria would help bring him out of this funk. Joe showered and shaved. He dressed in a pair of jeans and a navy t-shirt. He packed two outfits for Sue just in case. The first consisted of a pair of slacks with a men’s style pink blouse, and a pair of flat sandals. The other outfit consisted of that little black dress, and a pair of open toed sandals with three-inch heels. Joe selected appropriate jewelry and lingerie for each outfit and packed these into a Victoria’s Secret bag. He fixed a pot of coffee and read the paper until nine-thirty. He headed for Gloria’s.

Joe was feeling a little better as he parked the car. He grabbed the slacks and blouse as he headed for the salon. Gloria was just finishing her nine thirty cut as Joe entered. There was one other customer sitting under the dryer but the latest edition of Cosmo hid her face. Even though he couldn’t see the lady’s face there was something about her. Joe hung Sue’s outfit on the rack and sat in the waiting area. The nine thirty paid and left.

"What are we doing today Sue?" Gloria asked.

Joe was about to ask for a simple trim and color touch-up when he heard himself say, "I’d like a shampoo and set Gloria."

Gloria washed Joe’s hair.

"New shampoo?" Joe asked. "It smells different."

"Yeah, this is my special shampoo for special occasions." Gloria replied. It has a really sensual fragrance that just seems to last forever. I use it when I’m feeling really feminine and want to reward my senses with a special day."

Gloria stepped away after rinsing Joe’s hair. Joe continued to lay back with his eyes closed. He felt her fingers as she massaged the conditioner into his hair. The conditioner had the same wonderful aroma.

"Well, I think you’re wasting it on me today. I just don’t feel special today. In fact, this is the worst day in my life. I’ve been busy at work all week and haven’t had time to just think. This morning everything came crashing down. I think I’ve lost Karen. The one part of my life that was special and I let it slip away."

"I don’t slip away that easily buster."

Joe’s eyes snapped open as soon as he heard the voice.

"Karen! How?"

"You can thank Gloria, Joe. She called me yesterday afternoon right after she talked to you. She put it all together when you gave he your new cell phone number. You don’t know how many messages I’ve left on your old phone mister."

"All this time I thought you were mad at me!" Joe replied. "Boy am I dumb."

"I’ll agree with that assessment, wouldn’t you Gloria?" Karen answered. "Now, you just relax. I’m going to finish this shampoo then Gloria’s going to make you beautiful and the three of us will have a girl’s luncheon. Gloria has several appointments this afternoon but we’ll be back by her around four to pick her up for dinner and a show. By eleven though, you’ll be back home and I’ll have you all to myself!"

Joe could only smile as Karen gave him one of the most sensuous shampoos he had ever had. Her motion of her fingers both aroused and relaxed him as he felt the tension that had been building up over the previous weeks flow out of his body. Karen wrapped Joe’s head in a towel and led him toward the waxing room at the rear of the salon. Joe lay back on the cushioned table as his transformation into Sue began with an eyebrow waxing.

Joe followed the two wonderful women up to the front of the salon thinking that he was the luckiest man, no make that person, on the face of the earth. Here he was with two special women experiencing the joy of becoming, if only temporarily, a woman himself. He thought about the events of the past three months and how things had changed. The changes were most obvious as she looked in the mirror and watched Gloria roll her hair on medium rollers. Yes, Sue thought, this was the way life was supposed to be. It felt natural. Later that night, Joe had the same thought as he caressed Karen’s breast with his still painted lips. He seemed to pass from male to female and back again naturally following the flow of emotions and events around him. Now he was clearly in his male role as Karen was about to find out for the second time this night.

The relationship among Joe, Karen and Sue continued to evolve over the next several months. Joe/Sue began visiting Veronica once again. They discussed Sue’s "date with Rob. Joe/Sue had already told Karen about that night. Instead of being upset, she was happy that Sue looked after Joe’s brother. Joe had some residual guilt about his motivations in going to Vic’s and the kiss back in Rob’s room. Veronica agreed with Karen that the event was harmless. Eventually, Joe began to understand that the visit to Vic’s was a right of passage, a final test that proved to Sue that she could be accepted as herself. The event marked the discarding of Sue’s "perfect girl" image and her acceptance of the girl she was. As far as the incident with Rob was concerned, veronica helped Joe/Sue understand that she was trying to protect her little brother and that this was a typical feminine nurturing reaction to a relative in need. Sue came to understand that the kiss was nothing more than an unintentional consequence of an act of kindness.

Sue and Karen had standing appointments at Gloria’s every four weeks. The three girls would get together for an evening out about every other week. Sue and Karen have their own "girls night" two or three times a week. Sue has gotten quite talented with her hands and tongue, much to Karen’s delight. There’s no schedule that Joe/Sue and Karen follow. They just do what comes naturally.

The only loose thread in Joe’s world was work, especially Joan. Joe confided to Karen that he thought Joan suspects his feminine secret. Several times she and Janice had re-styled Joe’s hair at work. Each time they had made it a little more feminine looking. They both seemed to have a lot of fun and Joe, up to a point had gone along with their play. He was getting more and more concerned and he, Karen and Gloria had discussed options that included confiding in Joan to firing Joan just to protect Joe’s secret. In the end, they decided to confide in Joan and a fourth member was added to the monthly "girl’s night out" group. Including Joan in their little group helped ease tension at work but added several new wrinkles to Joe/Sue’s lift. That, however, is another story.

 

 

 

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© 2002 by Marti B. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.