Leslie practiced walking and such, after his aunt left. He went back to his Mom’s closet and looked at her things. The closet was filled almost to overflowing. She had dresses on one side and skirts, blouses and slacks on the other side. At the back, she had maybe twenty pair of shoes, from flats, to heels, to atheletic shoes in a wall rack. He found a pair of black heels, which had a T-strap and what appeared to be five inch heels. He had never seen his mom wear them. He took them back into her room and tried them on. They pinched his toes a bit more and were much tighter in the heel and sides of his feet. He also found them a lot harder to walk in them, he was wobbly and nearly fell a couple of times, but they looked fabulous on his feet. He took them off when his arches started to hurt, it might take some more practice in a lower heel and a better fitting shoe, he thought. He decided to put the first heels his aunt handed him, back on.

He noticed that his aunt had done a lot of work cleaning the apartment, but he saw that there was still more to be done, to get the room shipshape. He began straightening the living room up and then vacuumed the carpet. He then finished cleaning the dining room and the kitchen, washing their breakfast dishes.
He had just finished with the kitchen, when the doorbell rang. He had been so comfortable dressed as he was, that he didn’t think. He just went to the door and opened it.

“Hi,” Leslie said as he saw Amanda West, a girl he knew from school.

“Hello, I am Amanda West. Is Leslie in, I know him from school?”

“Of course, I know you Aman…” Leslie then realized he was in deep shit.

“Is that you Leslie,” she said, taking his hands and stepping inside. She then closed the door with her heel, behind her. “Why are you dressed up as a girl and why do you look so damn good?”

Leslie was on the brink of tears from embarrassment. He just stood there sputtering. He tried to turn and runaway, but Amanda just held on to his hands.

He really started crying then. She just wrapped Leslie up in a hug, patted his back and let him cry on her shoulder, while she murmured in his ear, that it would be alright. It felt so good holding this lovely girl.

When he was cried out, she stepped back and giggled, “We need to clean up your face, where is your makeup Leslie?”

“It’s in my Mom’s room.” Leslie said.

“Lay on MacDuff,”

Leslie led her to his Mom’s room. Amanda had him sit, as she perused what was on the vanity. She found the makeup wipes and proceeded to clean off his face.

“Let me get out of these clothes,” Leslie said.

“Please, don’t change just because of me, let me fix your face up,” Amanda begged, smiling at Leslie. “You looked so lovely.”

Leslie sniffed one last time and just nodded yes.

Amanda smiled as she began to work on his, no make that her face. She had fun as she gave Leslie a more dramatic glamour look. Leslie’s mouth just hung open, as his friend worked on him. He knew enough to know that this was not an everyday look. He had liked what his Aunt had done, but he loved the way Amanda made him look.

When she finished, she took his hand and led him back to the living room. They sat and talked.

“Why aren’t you in school, Amanda?”

“We were only in school for half a day. They let us out before lunch; the teachers have a workshop this afternoon. I came by to just see you.”

Leslie then opened up and told Amanda how he wound up dressed like this. Amanda just held his hand as he told his story. She had worried about him before she came over. She hadn’t been able to come to his mom’s funeral. He smiled as they talked and they even laughed as they described their shock at seeing each other.

It felt good having someone his age to talk to.

They then began telling each other funny stories and having a good time.

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Janet unlocked the door and entered the apartment. She was surprised at hearing laughter and not just from her nephew.

She said, “Hello kids,” as she saw her nephew and a girl sitting together. “I am Janet Blain,” she said, as she held out her hand to the girl.

“I am Amanda West. It is nice meeting you,” the girl said, “I am a friend of Leslie’s from school.”

“Its nice meeting you too, Amanda. Are you hungry? I have plenty of Chinese if you like?”

“That sounds yummy,” Amanda said, smiling.

Amanda helped Leslie stand and together they followed Janet into the kitchen. Leslie got out some plates, as Amanda found the silverware and got some cokes out of the fridge. Janet set the food on the breakfast island and sat on a stool.

They talked about this and that as they ate. Janet observed the kids and began to relax a bit. She didn’t think Amanda would hurt Leslie. It didn’t matter if a few people found out about Leslie dressing up; they wouldn’t be here but a few weeks longer. Janet and Leslie would be moving to her home a thousand miles away. She just didn’t want to see Leslie hurt while they were still here.

“So tell me Amanda, It must have been quite a shock to see Leslie.”

“Oh it was. I thought she might have been a cousin or something, at first. She looked so good.”

“I thought my world was over at first, but Amanda was so nice to me,” Leslie added.

“Don’t worry Leslie, I would never hurt you.”

“I know that now, but you know, people get hurt for being different,” Leslie said. “That’s why I cried when you first saw me.”

“People can be so cruel, but I am not that way. I just figured that that was how you were dealing with your grief. When are you coming back to school, Leslie?”

“I am afraid he is not Amanda, I live in San Francisco and I have been away from my business interests too long now, with my sister’s illness and such. We will be here another week or two, but then Leslie will be going back with me.”

Amanda looked sad and hugged Leslie. “You have got to come back for at least one day, to say goodbye to your friends.”

“What friends? I was pretty much a loner.”

“If you would have just opened up a bit more; I know half a dozen girls that would have loved to have you on their arm, including me. You were just too shy.”

“Really?” Leslie said, with a look of incredulity on his face.

“Really,” Amanda said with a look of determined compassion on her face.

“Why didn’t they say anything?”

“Girls don’t usually ask guys out, Leslie,” Janet said. “They are programed that way, by their mothers.”

“Yeah, what’s a girl gotta do to get your attention? Flash you?” Amanda said, as she raised her blouse, showing him her bra.

Leslie exhaled some coke through his nose.

“Amanda! Please.” A shocked Janet said. “I think you have made your point.” She was grinning, but had to work hard to suppress a snicker.

Leslie was unable to talk, while he was coughing and trying to clear his nose. Amanda was patting him on the back, trying to help him, after lowering her blouse.

When he finally got to where he could breathe again, Amanda cleaned his face a little and then planted a smoldering kiss on his lips. Leslie struggled a bit and appeared to wonder where to put his hands. Janet smiled and counted to twenty.

“Okay kiddos, you either have to come up for air, or get married and I am not going to sign a consent form, Amanda.”

Amanda broke the kiss and then gave him another short kiss.

“I love the taste of your lipstick, Leslie.”

“We will come to school next Thursday, Leslie needs to turn in his books and I need to sign him out.” Janet said.

Leslie was barley lucid and Amanda really did need to support him a bit.

“What are you two doing tomorrow?”

“We hadn’t planned anything,” Janet said. “I wanted Leslie to be free, so he could…”

“I know,” Amanda said. “How about we go shopping for this Leslie?”

“What for, I don’t need anything?”

“While your Mom’s clothes are really nice on you, I am sure that there are clothes that are better suited for a teenager Leslie,” Amada said.

Leslie sputtered at the thought of going out dressed as a girl. “Nah, I don’t think so, no, no way. People would laugh at me. I could get pounded into the ground.”

Aunt Janet just sat back and watched the two kids interact. She wouldn’t make him go out shopping, but even she thought it might be a good idea.

“Nobody would know, Leslie. I didn’t recognize you. It will be fun.”

“Someone could recognize me, my reputation would be ruined.”

“For me, please? I would love to go shopping with my bestest girlfriend.”

“Aunt Janet, help me?”

“I don’t know, this town is big enough, the odds of meeting someone you know at a distant mall are slim. I suppose, with Amanda and me there, that even if you were uncovered, you wouldn’t get pounded. It might do you good to get out. Another thing, since you have been dressed in your Mom’s clothes, you haven’t been as morose. Lastly, who cares if anybody recognizes you, in two weeks, we are out of here. I won’t make you go out shopping dressed as a girl, but I noticed how much fun you have had and how lively and animated you have been. It’s your call, girl.”

Leslie didn’t mind being called ‘girl’ and it has been kind of fun. He was just scared about this whole being dressed as a girl thing. He didn’t exactly know why he dressed in his Mom’s nightgown. It felt so comforting to feel what his mom felt and the gown felt so good. The hairs on his arms stood up, as if he were chilled with that thought.

“But I don’t have any money,”

“Shopping is more than just buying,” Amanda said.

“Besides, you aren’t penniless, Leslie. Your Mom didn’t have to work? Your father had a half a million—dollar, life insurance policy and a policy to pay off this apartment. You know, this apartment is actually a condo, worth nearly seven hundred thousand. You own this apartment, free and clear. Melissa worked to have a little extra spending money, but she also maintained a hefty life insurance policy on herself. She didn’t want to leave you needing for anything. If you didn’t want to work, you could live very comfortably on it and the interest off the savings account, for many years. Besides, you are my responsibility now,” Janet said, hugging Leslie. “And I am not penniless either. Amanda is right though, if you want to be the girl Leslie, you need things that would fit a teenage girl.”

“Come on, it will be fun, Leslie.”

“Oh, alright. I will be your Barbie Doll tomorrow.”

Amanda jumped up clapping; she then kissed Leslie and hugged Janet, “I will see you tomorrow at nine. The malls open at ten. I need to go home.”

“Need a ride, Amanda?” Janet asked.

“That would be wonderful; I live about ten blocks away.”

“I need to pick up some things, if we are going shopping tomorrow. Will you be alright, Leslie?”

Leslie smiled at his Aunt and said. “Don’t worry, I will be fine.”

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Janet thought about what she needed, as she drove Amanda home. She had seen some things that cross dressers needed, in some of her lingerie catalogues. There were breast forms that could be attached with that could be attached with adhesive and some lingerie that could hide a male’s penis, scrotum and testes. The odds were in her favor that she could find what she needed.

“Are there any ‘Lady Margo’s’ lingerie shops nearby, Amanda?”

“Yes, there is one at the mall on Seventh Street. Why?”

“If we are going shopping tomorrow, I need to pick up some things for Leslie.”

“What things?”

“That's for me to know girl.”

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Leslie looked at the clock and saw that it was just five fifteen; since he didn’t know when his Aunt would be back, he wandered back into his Mom’s room. This was her room, so he felt closer to her here. In her closet he looked at all the dresses, skirts, blouses and slacks there. He took some of the clothes off the rod and held them up to him. He took time to remember seeing his Mom wearing this dress, or that skirt, with this blouse. He took off the skirt and blouse he was wearing and began to go through her wardrobe. He was saddened to find that he couldn’t wear some of her favorite things. His Mom still had a nice waist and although he was slim waisted, and was wearing something to take a few inches off, he figured he needed to take about two more inches off, still.

He still found quite a few things he could wear. He stepped into one dress and struggled to get it zipped. He had seen his Mom do that many times, she had made it look easy. Leslie found it awkward at best and had to change arms and arm position several times, to get it zipped up. What had taken his Mom seconds to do, had taken him a couple of minutes to figure out and accomplish.

The dress he now wore, was a baby blue and silver, ankle length formal; it was fitted just beneath the bust. It had a u shaped neckline, which was gathered at the breast and would have shown the curves of his breasts if he had any. Instead, he could see a little bit of pantyhose, which had been stuffed up top. The dress was a little loose down to the top of his hips and had a lot of fabric at the hemline. The hemline pooled just a little on the floor.

He didn’t remember his Mom being that much taller than he was, she must have worn a higher heel. Back at the shoe rack, he tried to remember what shoes she wore with this dress. He found a silver pair of sandals that was just a mass of tiny straps that arced in many different directions. He thought they were pretty cute. He sat on her bed and tried them on. He found that he had to wind the straps up his calf and they hooked together well above the thickest part of his calf. The sandals were an inch and a half higher than the black pumps and fit a little better too.

The soft fabric of the dress made him shiver as he walked in it. Even though he could take a longer stride wearing this dress, he found that it wasn’t comfortable doing so because of the heels and the fact that the dress would bunch between the legs, if he tried to do so.

He remembered that his Mom had worn this dress when she had gone to hear the symphony orchestra, with a guy she worked with. He walked to the living room and got out the family photo album. He had taken his Mom’s picture, when was it… six, no, seven months ago. He found the picture he was looking for. He smiled and began to cry a little, she was just so beautiful. Who was that guy… it was… Paul… Dunn, no… Paul Denton. That was who it was, Paul Denton. He looked to be about eight to ten years younger than his Mom. She had told him that his girlfriend had just broken up with him the week before. The tickets had cost him a small fortune and he didn’t want to go alone.

Melissa loved Classical Music and while she didn’t really consider the guy marriageable/dating type material, he was a nice kid. They both had a great time and she rewarded him with a kiss on his cheek, when he returned her home afterwards.

Leslie went through all the pictures, there were many happy times held in these albums. Melissa really liked taking pictures and having pictures of her and Leslie together. There were even pictures of his dad in the album. He looked handsome and strong.

“What would Dad think of me now?” He asked himself. “I know he would still love me, Dad was that kind of a man. He didn’t care about people’s lifestyles; he only cared how people lived out their lives. He always told me to do good and live my life proudly.”

Leslie clutched the albums to his chest. “I’ll have to make sure that I take these with me.”

He wiped his tears with the back of his hand. He laughed as he saw the mascara stains on his hand.

“Why do women wear this if they have to continually be aware of crying? I know, because it makes them look good.”

Leslie went back to his mother’s room. He found the makeup wipes and cleaned up the errant makeup. He cleaned it all up and then sat and looked at all the things sitting on the vanity. He then tried to remember what his Aunt and Amanda had done to him. He started with the foundation. He took a sponge and then dabbed a bit of foundation on it. He put small spots of foundation all over his face and then worked blending them together. He remembered his mom doing something similar, but he hadn’t paid attention back then. Leslie liked the way it evened out his skins texture and color. He picked up a compact and a large brush and then sort of painted his face with the pressed powder. That took the shine off of the areas of his face,where the makeup had worn thin.

“Girls don’t like their faces to look oily or shiny, I believe.”

He then looked at his Mom’s eye shadows. She had several palates that had many different colors of eye shadows. Many of them had never been used. He took a smaller brush and dabbed it in the various pots in the pallet. He then brushed it on the back of his hand. His skin tone was very much like his Mom’s had been before her illness, except she had gone more pallid at the end. It had been frightening to watch his Mom deteriorate at the end, but he found that he couldn’t not watch her. He had loved her so. He found a couple of colors that went together well and tried to apply them to his eyes. He had to start over several times before he realized that he had to add the color slowly, building it up till he got the results he wanted. This made blending colors easier and it was easier to get the other eye’s appearance closer.

He took that lesson to heart, as he tried to use the eyeliner. Luckily, he had a steady hand; he just never tried to draw a line on his eyelid before. The mascara was easier, especially since he only did his upper eyelashes. He didn’t want to try the lower eyelashes, which Amanda did. He brushed blush on his cheeks and diffused it a little more with the brush. He finished up with lipstick. He wasn’t entirely displeased with his look, it was his first try after all, but he clearly wasn’t as good as his Aunt, or Amanda.

(to be continued)