Chapter 2 was off-line on Topshelf for a few days. If you missed it, it is now up and available again. Gill

When they woke in the morning it took a few moments for John to get his mindset back in place and resume life as Jayne, mentally calling the mantra ‘I am Jayne, I am a woman’ adding.’I am her, she is me’. She quickly went downstairs, still in the nightie, put the kettle and toast on to prepare breakfast for Kathy, quickly gave her hair a brush and went to the loo, suddenly realising the changes that had been made and that she now had to sit down for a wee and wipe herself afterwards to soak up the dribbles.

“Morning Kathy, I’ve made the coffee, put out a bowl of muesli and made some toast, do you want anything else.”

“No that sounds great, us girls have to watch our figures, and it may be a good idea if you have the same and don’t smother the toast with butter and marmalade like you normally do, just scrapings of each. Do you need a hand with your makeup before I get ready for work.”

“No, I should be fine, Jan gave me clear instructions and a pot or tube of everything she used. She said not to use as much as she used on me yesterday for the night out, tone it all down a bit and if it doesn’t look right clean it all off and start again.”

Kathy stared at Jayne and burst out giggling. “What’s the matter Kath, what have I done wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong honestly, it’s just seeing your breasts wobbling around under the nightie reminded me of the times when you encouraged me to shake mine around dancing in the bedroom, saying it was a turn-on, It’s payback time for you Jayne, give me a jiggle.”

Jayne responded with a jiggle of her breasts, a swivel of her hips and a twirl causing the hem of the nightie to rise up exposing her thighs. “Is that good enough Kathy, but that’s as far as we can go, I’m still stuck in the gaff, remember.”

After Kathy left for work, Jayne spend some time getting the makeup looking decent before getting dressed to go into town, There was a mid-length denim skirt in the pile of clothes that had been donated to her that fitted snugly, along with a fluffy patterned v-neck wooly jumper and thick black tights, which all went together as casual enough for everyday wear, but dressy enough if she met anyone. As instructed she put on the 4” stilettos and practiced walking around the house until she felt comfortable and safe wearing them, or at least as comfortable as shoes like that were ever likely to get. Borrowing one of Kathy’s light summer coats and stocking her handbag with the essentials, although Kathy had already seen to most things, Jayne quickly looked out of the door to make sure no neighbours were around before setting off for the bus into town.

Jayne spent most of the day wandering through the shops chatting to people as she browsed through clothes and beauty product displays asking or giving opinions and several times joining a lone woman at a cafe table and chatting about life in general. As John he would never seek out conversations and kept to himself, but as Jayne she felt much more at ease in company and began to realise some of the things that had been missing from John’s life all those years.

Back home Jayne pressed the dress she would be wearing for her interview with Amanda Barclay, checked that there were no stains from the night out with the girls and hung it up for any minor creases to drop out. She had got used to the 4” heels but decided that was as far as she would go, anything bigger would have to wait for another time. She put a large lamb shank in the slow cooker along with potatoes carrots, with seasoning and spices and left it to look after itself while she went to prepare her presentation to Amanda the following day.

Whilst samples of past projects was just an easy pull from the database, finding any details of Amanda’s house was more difficult, but after visiting and searching a half-dozen estate agents websites she found some floor plans and brochure images which could form the basis of some initial proposals. Using morphing programs she quickly produced a portfolio of before-and-after images of the main areas of the house, adding notes describing the proposed changes, printed everything off and clipped it into a binder, satisfied that she had done as much as could reasonably be expected to do at this early stage.

She had just finished off and tidied up the kitchen after checking that the lamb was cooked when Kathy arrived home.

“Wow, something smells nice, you’ve prepared dinner and it doesn’t smell like your normal curry, pie or bolognese.”
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“If madam cares to get changed and relaxed with a glass of wine, dinner will be served in about 20 minutes, stripped lamb shank, casseroled seasonal vegetables and duchesse potato whirls.”

“You have been a busy girl, I could get used to coming home to something like this, Jayne should’ve made an appearance a long time before now if this is how I’m going to be looked after.”

They enjoyed the dinner, chatting away over a bottle of Malbec. “What did you get up to today then Jayne, did you go into town as I suggested.”

“Yes, and I quite enjoyed myself. Usually I would have given people a wide berth but today I approached them and opened conversations and most people were glad to have a chat. There are a lot of lonely people out there, particularly the elderly whose families have moved away or are too busy to visit or even call them, many of whom have led really interesting lives and have lots of memories to recount. The more people I spoke to the more confidence I got that I was totally acceptable as Jayne, and it has really helped me feel more comfortable about my meetings tomorrow. When I got back I put the lamb in to cook then sat down and prepared my portfolio for Amanda. Do you want have a look and tell me what you think, I still have time to make minor changes.”

“That looks good to me, I love Edge Lodge and its location. I would move into that house tomorrow exactly as it is, i don’t see why she wants to change it”

“I shouldn’t say this as it keeps us in comfort, but some people have more money than sense. A lot of it is oneupmanship, they feel that they have to have all the latest gadgets and follow the style trends in the magazines and TV makeover programmes. The fashion trends in interior design are like those in clothes, the new season brings new must-haves. As you can see from the portfolio, I am not proposing changes just for the sake of new trends, but only where they will enhance the comfort and appearance of the property.”

“I like that last sentence, unless Amanda turns out to be a bit of a giggly airhead you should tell her that. Most people do not like to get ripped off not even those with more money than they know what to do with.”

“Come on let’s get ready for bed, I know that you are a bit tied up at the moment thanks to that sticky gaff, but a kiss and cuddle will still go down well.”

Just before the agreed time of 9:30 Jayne arrived at Edge Lodge with butterflies in her stomach with two worries on her mind, how would her proposals be received, and how would she be received and accepted as Jayne. She pulled up just before the entrance gate, nervously fluffed up her hair and freshened her lipstick, changing from her driving flat shoes into her heels before nervously driving up to the entry system intercom.

“Good morning this is Jayne Irwin here to meet with Mrs Barclay.”

“Fine, I’ll see you in a few minutes if the damn gate mechanism decides to work properly this morning, it has been playing up recently. If nothing happens I’ll come down and turn off the controls.” A cheery voice boomed out of the intercom. The gate system was obviously on its best behaviour and smoothly opened allowing Jayne to drive up to what was a misnamed property. Rather than a small Lodge it turned out to be an imposing mansion, the estate agents details did not do the property justice. She pulled up at the canopied main door, smoothed her dress and jacket to flatten any wrinkles from the journey and was just about to ring the bell when a woman about her own age, immaculately dressed and made up, opened the door and welcomed her with a friendly smile.

“Right on the dot Jayne and please call me Amanda, Mrs Barclay makes me sound like my ex mother-in-law. Come on through to the Orangery and I’ll arrange for Sally, who comes in daily to help around the place, to bring in the tea and nibbles, or would you prefer coffee?”

“Tea will be fine thank you Amanda.”

“Ok that’s that organised, please sit down and tell me a bit about yourself before we get down to business.”

Jayne swept the skirt of her dress under her as she sat down onto, or rather sank down into, a huge luxurious chair opposite Amanda, who was lounging on a matching sofa.

“I’m a sole trader, I am the total staff of Irwin Interiors, if you decide to let me work with you, it’s me you would be dealing with, not a junior designer like a lot of the bigger companies would use.”

“You don’t have to tell me that Jayne, you’re the fourth company I’ve interviewed this week and all the others would pass the work down the line to junior staff, I prefer to deal with the person whose name is on the bank account I’m sending money to.”, Amanda already seemed to be warming to Jayne.

“I totally agree with you, this is obviously a very personal project for you and things run a lot more smoothly when there is a personal relationship between the client and their designer who you can respect and who treats you fairly”, Jayne continued.

“That sounds totally obvious to me but the attitude I picked up from the others was that they were the experts and I should let them get on with it and just send them a cheque every month. I found some of them quite patronising, but then they were all men, and following my divorce I am not particularly tolerant of them anyway. It’s a nice change to see a friendly female face that will think in the same way as I do. I am sure that you and I could get on. Tell me a bit about what you can do for me.”

“Obviously I’ve not seen the property and we have not discussed your personal tastes, but I have prepared a short presentation portfolio that I would like to go through with you. I believe that sophisticated powerpoint, or similar, presentations are a bit impersonal and I prefer to show you a book portfolio, Is it ok for me to sit next to you and we can go through it together.”

“Of course, but while you are up would you like to take off your jacket, you will be much more comfortable? Oh, I love your dress, it’s so bright and fresh, and just the right mix of professional and casual, where did you get it?”

“It’s just from a chain store I’m afraid, I can’t afford any fancy designer labels in the boutique shops.”

“Don’t put yourself down I couldn’t always afford what I have now, or a house like this either, this is all due to a substantial divorce settlement. I was determined to make the two-timing scumbag suffer for cheating on me, and the divorce cost him a pretty penny, but I’ll not bore you with the details, that’s not what you are here for. There’s Sally with the tea, let’s leave the brochure for a few minutes while we get to know a bit more about each other.”

For the next hour or so Jayne talked through the portfolio of her previous work and her initial proposals for Edge Lodge which were all enthusiastically received by Amanda.

“I really like your ideas Jayne and your approach that you will not be proposing changes just for the sake of new trends, but only where they will enhance the comfort and appearance of the property. Send me a copy of your normal contract and terms, I will get my lawyer to look over it, and unless there is a problem I look forward to working with you.”

“Thats wonderful Amanda there’s a lot of potential here, it’s a beautiful house, and I welcome the opportunity to make it even more beautiful.”

“That’s enough business for today, as I said in my phone call, would you like to stay to meet some of my friends that are coming over this afternoon, you never know, a bit of sisterly networking may drum up some more work for you?”

“That’s really good of you, I would love to stay, but not just to tap up your friends for more work, I look forward to meeting them in a social group as long as I will not be seen to be intruding.”

“Don’t be daft Jayne, you are more than welcome. While we are waiting for them to arrive let me give you the grand tour, and I’ll explain why I think it needs your expert touch.”

After the tour where Jayne came up with many more suggestions that Amanda received with enthusiasm, and a light lunch, Amanda’s friends started to arrive. Whilst Amanda was dressed smart casual, although very expensive designer-label smart casual, her friends had made a lot more effort and other than leaving the shop labels hanging out of their dresses, it could not have been more obvious that their outfits had not come cheap.

“Right girls this is Jayne she is going to help me freshen up this place and in her words ‘make it even more beautiful’, let’s all make her welcome, just treat her a one of our social circle, she’s not here to try to get work from you, we should be seeing a lot more of her, so let’s all get to know each other. Now, more importantly, let’s get the bottles open and the glasses filled and you can update me with all the latest gossip.”

The others were all near neighbours so the wine flowed freely, but Jayne had a long journey to get home so mainly listened and drank slowly as they all loosened their tongues. Jayne was surprised to find that although all of them were quite wealthy, mainly due to their husbands or fathers, it did not seem to make them any happier or content with their lives than the girls in the Morrisettes, they still had the same hang-ups and concerns.. Despite having only met them all a few hours earlier, when the time came for her to make her way home Jayne left to a round of hugs and ‘see you again’ wishes, and left feeling that it had been a successful day.

“You’re looking like the cat that’s got the cream I take it that it all went well with your presentation” Kathy greeted her as she walked in, “Sit down and you can tell me all about it, over a glass of wine,”

“It was all amazing Kathy, it’s a fantastic property it will be at least six months work probably even more. Amanda is a real character, a divorcee enjoying the fruits of her divorce settlement, we got on really well. I'm glad that I went as Jayne, if John had made the pitch it’s unlikely that my bid would have succeeded, she’s had her fill of ‘patronising and domineering men’ having been through a really bitter and traumatic divorce. She really liked the idea of a professional sisterly relationship with someone she could relate to and who could understand her worries and concerns.”

“You do realise that will mean that Jayne is going to be around for a while. Living as a woman for a few days is one thing but being Jayne full-time for the best part of a year is a much bigger challenge, are you sure that you could live with that?”

“Why not, you and your friends have put up with it for 30 years or so, I think that I can manage, Besides, apart from my life with you, I’ve never been happier. I have a group of friends that I get on really well with, who accept me no matter how I present myself and are only too willing to help me, I’ve never had that before. It has all given me a lot more confidence in myself, I was so at ease this afternoon among Amanda and her friends, people I had only just met, I never felt like that as John down at the bar with the lads.”

“It’s back down to earth tomorrow, we have dance practice down at the village hall, will you be going there as Jayne?”

“Why not? The girls have all seen me in a dress and full makeup, so leggings and a vest top should not raise any eyebrows, besides I can’t really hide what Jan has done to me , the hair, the brows, the smooth skin, not to mention the breasts and the changes to my groin, for the moment Jayne is who I am, I can’t keep changing back and fro.”

Nothing was said when Jayne arrived at the village hall, although when she took off her coat there were a lot of glances at her groin and at her breasts prominently shown off by the short tight training top and leggings that Kathy had bought for her. All thoughts of their previous coach John were forgotten as Jayne took over the training session and took the other girls through their routines.

“That’s my bit done for this evening, but before I hand you over to Laura and Mel for the aerobics session I’d like to say a few words. None of you have made any comments about my appearance tonight but I feel that I owe you all an explanation. As you know Jan gave me a makeover to help me pass myself off as Jayne to win a major commission to remodel a big house in Alderley Edge. I had an interview yesterday, and barring a major disaster the job is mine. However it means that I will have to present myself as Jayne for at least 6 months, probably more, so my boobs are here to stay and we thought it best if I adjusted how I look down below too. If any of you are embarrassed or offended let me or Kathy know and I’ll dress a bit more discreetly in future, it’s just that I thought that I would fit in better if I looked as much like you all as possible.”

“Woo, hello Jayne, you stay as you are girl” shouted Laura followed by cheers of agreement from all the others.’Next time we’ll all wear our leotards for the aerobic session including you, so it’ll be best to keep your dangly bits where they are.”added Mel.

Over the next few days Jayne prepared and sent the draft contract to Amanda, and became totally comfortable working as Jayne in full make up, usually wearing scoop-neck tops and trousers or leggings, but often wore a skirt, particularly if she planned to go to the shops or was expecting a delivery.

It was not long before she received confirmation of her appointment from Amanda and an invitation to visit the following Thursday ‘when the girls will be getting together again.’Jayne was now invited to be a regular at their get-togethers, coordinated with morning design meetings with Amanda. There was now no going back, John would have to be put on a back-burner for the duration of the work, while Jayne took centre stage.

To be continued.