CRUISING FOR TROUBLE

PART 1

Summary: In the first of three parts, Eric finds himself in deep trouble. He makes a bargain with his family that will ultimately lead him down a path he never dreamed of.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My high school spring break was less than two days away but I was still focused on summer vacation. It would be nice to be off school for over a week, but the big prize would not be arriving until summer.

I had turned 15 in January and had managed to convince my parents to let me take drivers education over the summer vacation. I was signed up to begin my lessons at an agency near our home in Highland Park, as soon as school finished at the end of the spring semester. My mother promised to take me to the Secretary of State's office and get me my learner’s permit. Some of my best friends already had their permit and I wanted to get mine more than anything.

It took a lot of convincing of my parents to let me take driver's education over the summer, because I had recently found myself in the doghouse. My dad was not pleased that I quit the Junior Varsity high school baseball team after only two weeks. I liked baseball, but I really did not love playing at such an intensely competitive level.

The bigger issue that pushed me deep into the doghouse was my mother finding a joint in one of my socks in my bedroom. I thought it was well hidden but I guess she picked up on the smell. I had only smoked a joint twice and didn't really like it. I was read the riot act and put on family probation at home. I lost some privileges and had to stay in for three consecutive weekends.

The punishment had ended two weeks ago, but I knew I was still on a short leash around them. I was grateful that Drivers Ed did not begin until the summer or I probably would have lost that too.

I knew my parents were concerned about me, but I was generally not a problem for them. My grades in school were generally good and for the most part I got along with my sister Sasha, who is a year and a half older than me.

I think the marijuana thing was just a part of my rebellious side that seemed to crop up from time to time. As I said I was a good student, but otherwise I really did not standout. I stood a mere 5'7" tall and according to my doctor I was not likely to grow much more. I have very small feet and hands, so he had predicted that I would only be 5'6” at the most. I was happy I had out grown his prediction. My dad was almost 6 foot tall, but my mother was only 5'4" tall. I ended up almost exactly the same height as my sister, and she often reminded me of that. We were both quite thin, but I think I outweigh her by about five or 10 pounds.

Clearly I'd gotten more of my mother's DNA than my fathers. My features were fairly delicate and I had thick dark brunette hair just like my sister and my mother. Even my voice had a high inflection to it and I was often mistaken for a girl on the phone. I was proud of my main, and I currently wore it quite long.

Over the years my hair had taken on an almost ritual tradition. Each year I would get it cut short before school in the fall and then let it grow until school got out in the spring. I would then get it trimmed a little before the summer heat rolled in. Then in the fall it would be cut way back again and the cycle would repeat itself. During the school year I would only see a barber if there was some special occasion that necessitated a trim.

This tradition had been going on as long as I could remember and I was told that originally it was my mother’s idea because she contended my hair was too beautiful to always wear it short. Later as I grew older I developed an appreciation for wearing it long. My thick hair was one of my few distinguishing characteristics.

My father was less fond of my long hair and typically early each spring suggested that I get it cut. Most people’s hair typically grow at about a half an inch a month, but mine always seem to grow even faster than that.

This spring my hair was easily the longest it had ever been. My hair had been given a head start due to my last two haircuts. At the beginning of last summer my mother decided that she would take me to her stylist, since our neighborhood barber had retired. Instead of giving me my typical quickie trim, Sonia had given me more of a styling. She trimmed a fair amount off, but the results were still much longer than any of my previous summer haircuts. It looked much fuller on the top and the length tapered on the sides. It was a unique style that I thought was kind of cool other than having to go to a salon to get it.

When it was time for my fall preschool cut my mother brought me back to Sonia. Instead of cutting it short for the beginning of the school year, she mostly just trimmed it. She left it very long on the top and only trimmed some length on the bottom and sides. My hair only brushed my neck, but it looked much longer. The top hair reach almost as far down as the somewhat shorter strands on the sides and in the back. If I brushed it straight down it all reach to about the same length all around my head. It already look longer than it typically did in the spring just before I would get most of it cut off.

My mother thought it looked great, but my father made the comment, “This is what happens when you take a boy to a woman’s salon.” I was not sure about it myself, but after hearing my dad statement I got a little defensive. Instead of questioning it, I insisted it looked in style and was perfect.

In the six months since that fall cut my length grew at least 3-4 inches. It managed to remain pretty even in length and I usually had to use a ponytail to keep it from flying in my face. I knew it was beyond long, but every time my dad suggested I get it cut, I resisted. I usually played the “tradition” trump card, but it still did not make him happy.

If it sounds like my father and I were at odds, that was not the case. We disagreed about a lot of things, but overall we got along just fine. I knew he cared a lot about me and for the most part he let me be myself.

I was probably a little bit of a disappointment to him from an athletic viewpoint. My father wanted me to play baseball, because he had been a very good college ballplayer and up until now I had not shown much interest in other competitive sports. I was more the nature person and even enjoyed helping my mother in the family garden. My only typical macho endeavor was my interest in getting my drivers license.

I had some friends in the neighborhood and at school, but I generally had a hard time being social. I always seemed to find myself interested in the most attractive girls, and they generally did not even give me the time of day. My guy friends were into sports, cars, and video games, which I liked, but not to their level. I smoked a joint, because of peer pressure and trying to fit in. I know my mother was particularly concerned with me finding the right friends and just being happy.

This brings us a spring break and the cruise we were about to embark on. Our parents decided that with Sasha almost ready to go off to college that we needed to take a family vacation. They wanted to take a trip in which we would all spend a lot of time together. They felt that cruise would be a good choice, as most families ate their meals together and usually went on excursions together. They also liked the idea, because the new mega-ship Oasis of the Sea had virtually every type of activity on board and no one in our family had ever been on a cruise before.

The ship would be a new experience for all of us and it would probably have something that each of us would like. When I looked at the brochure, I had to admit there was a lot of cool stuff on the ship. The only thing I didn't like was that some of the evening entertainment was kind of formal. There were two fancy dress dinners and some art shows and even a theater. I liked the daytime options the most, and didn't really want to get dressed up on vacation. I expressed that thought at dinner earlier in the week and clearly found I was the only one who felt that way.

The evening before we were set to leave, each of us had to pack our suitcases. My mother was very specific in telling us what to bring. Besides all the bathing suits, shorts, and T-shirts, I was told specifically what nice clothes to pack. My sports jacket, dress slacks, and ties were neatly folded and left on top of my dresser for me to add to my suitcase. I was also told to pack some nice slacks and a couple of nice short sleeve shirts. My leather shoes were placed right next to my suit and I was told to take those with as well. With my extra large Delsy suitcase I had plenty of room for everything I needed, so space was not going to be an issue.

As I was packing, I got a sneaky idea that I should not have acted upon. I decided to "forget" to put my fancy clothes in my suitcase. I figured that my parents and Sasha could do the dressy things and I could find other things to do when they were gone. I would just claim it was a mistake. I certainly would not go hungry as a casual dinner buffet was served on all evenings, even on nights of the formal dinners. I thought I had it all figured out.

We flew to Miami the night before the cruise was to leave. We did not want any possible chance of problems with our connections. The weather was 80 ° when we arrived and I was suddenly very happy to be out of the cold Chicago area weather.

At midday on Saturday, we made our way to the cruise ship. I think we were all blown away by the sheer size of the ship. It was bigger than any of us imagined. The loading process was fairly slow and it took a long time to make it to our suites.

I was not thrilled, but I had to share a suite with my sister. It was attached to a larger suite that my parents were in. I wanted my own room, but then Sasha and I would have been charged as singles, which would have been a lot more expensive.

Dad told us to unpack and then we would go for a tour of the vessel. The room was pretty nice with plenty of drawers and one good-sized closet. It did not take long to put our stuff away. As I was finishing up and putting away my underwear in the bottom drawer, my sister looked at me and asked where my jacket was.

“Oh Shit, I think I forgot it! I meant to put it on top and I must have forgotten. Damn it! I won’t be able to go to the formal events with the family.”

“Mom and dad are going to be really pissed off with you. You don’t have a prayer of them believing that crock.”

“It’s true Sasha, I forgot.”

“Yeah right. We’re still going to do all of those formal things and you are not going to ruin it for all of us.”

“You can all go, it’s no big deal for me.”

“That might be what happens, but Mom and Dad wanted this to be a family trip and they are going to go ballistic.”

“Now you are scaring me.”

“You better be scared. They spent a lot on this trip and they are not going to be happy.”

“Well at this point there is not much I can do.”

“You better go face the music. I would tell them now, to give them time to cool off before tomorrow night’s first formal dinner.”

“I think I will wait.”

“Tell them or I will.”

“Come on sis, can’t it wait?”

“I would tell them now so maybe you can have some fun on the trip before it is over.”

“All right then, I will tell them.”

My sister was so right. They did not even remotely believe it was an accident. They knew I intentionally forgot those clothes and they were also very upset that I tried to lie to them. I pleaded that I was sorry, but they were too upset with me to immediately forgive me.

We were told that each evening we would have an assigned table if we wanted to go to a sit-down dinner. Even on the non-formal nights the sit-down dinners were a little dressier than the buffet area. You didn’t need to wear a jacket or tie, but you usually would come looking a little nicer than shorts and a T-shirt. I had managed to pack only casual clothes and it was already coming back to bite me.

My dad began raising his voice at me before my mother helped him regain his composure. My mother sent me back to my room and told me they were going to discuss my fate. I knew I was in deep Doo Doo and I was seriously regretting my intentional oversight.

I went back to my room and just sat on my bed with my hands on my forehead. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get out of this mess. My sister was less than sympathetic and said my mistake was very selfish. She was probably right about that, but I didn’t say a word.

About 10 minutes later my parents came through the private adjoining door and they still did not look very happy. I could see my troubles were not over. I tried one last time to plead for mercy.

“I am so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was wrong and I will stay in the room while you all go to the formal dinners and dress up activities. Please forgive me.”

“Well Eric, is not going to be that easy. This was supposed to be our family trip and we were planning on spending a lot of time together. Your mother and I planned this to be a special time and you have made that nearly impossible. Maybe we can find you some slacks and a polo shirt, but you have no nice shoes or other things. It’s not really the money, but you just don’t deserve to have us purchase new things for you because of your transgressions.”

“Okay, so what now?”

“We have decided that you are not going to be taking your driver’s education this summer. You will just have to wait.”

“DAD! Come on, not that. I wanted that more than anything. That’s not fair.”

“You should’ve thought about that before. At this point our whole trip is messed up and there is no way around it.”

“I’ll do anything. Please don’t take Drivers Ed away, please.”

“Like I said you should’ve thought about that when you were packing. Your sister didn’t have to be told. Look, she packed clothing for every possible thing we might do, even extras in case of problems. You should have done the same.”

“Yeah, but Sasha is a clothes-horse. I wasn’t thinking. I am sorry. Isn’t there some other way you could punish me. I’ll do extra chores forever.”

“Well if our trip wasn’t so impacted I might have considered that, but that is not possible now.”

At that point my sister chose to speak up.

“I have an idea that might fix our problem and at the same time could serve as punishment for Eric.”

“I don’t see how that is possible.” My father shot back.

“Well dad, how about Eric borrow some of my things so he can join us for the dinners. You said I have plenty.”

“You’re crazy sis, I’m not wearing your things, they are all for girls.”

“Remember on Halloween two years ago you wore the cheerleader costume. You actually looked so good no one knew you were not a girl.”

“That was three years ago, and that was for a stupid party.”

My dad looked directly at my sister, “Sasha, that is a cute idea, but he is 15 now and this is not Halloween. “

My mother who had been silent through the whole discussion decided to interject, “Well Bill, it’s not such a bad idea. He has managed to avoid getting his haircut and he is about Sasha’s size. It might work. At a minimum he will know he should have followed orders.”

“Rita, that’s all well and good, but I still don’t think he could possibly pull it off.”

“I don’t think I can either, so let’s forget it.”

“Bill, how about I have him try on one of Sasha’s outfits and fix him up a little bit. If it looks possible, we can work on perfecting his look tomorrow.”

“Mom, I can’t believe you’re really considering this. I’m not going to dress up in girl’s clothes. I’ll look stupid.”

“I think with a little work, you should probably be passable. If you are not willing to give it a try, you can just forget about Driver’s Ed.”

“But….”

“Son, your mother and Sasha are giving you your one and only opportunity to get out of trouble. I do not see any other options.”

“There’s no way this is going to work dad. Sasha’s idea is just crazy.”

“Well here’s the deal. You will do a dry run here in the room. If your mother thinks it will work, then I will give you the opportunity to earn back your driver’s education class. You have to listen to your mother and do absolutely everything she says. If you do not cooperate 100% then you can just forget about driver’s education. You may not drive until you are 17 or more.”

“What if mom and Sasha’s don’t think it’ll work after dressing me up. Then do I get to take Driver’s Ed? “

“If you cooperate, then I will consider it if you stay out of trouble between now and the summer. But remember, if they think it might work, you have to do whatever they tell you to.”

I couldn't believe it, but I was about to try on some of my sister's clothes for the whole family to see. This was going to be very humiliating and I couldn't believe it was happening.

I was ordered to take a shower and shave my body of any stray hairs. I had very little hair on my body and most of it was very fine. I was told to shave under my arms as well as up and down my legs and chest. I was also told to wash my hair and wrap a towel around it.

Shaving my legs was not as easy as I thought. I actually nicked myself a couple of times, drawing a small amount of blood. I was very embarrassed when I emerged from the bathroom, both hairless and feeling very exposed. My sister looked at me and told me to calm down.

I could see that they had laid out a complete set of clothes on top of my bed. I began to squirm a little and said, “Let’s get this over with.”

First came some of my sister’s undergarments. I had to put on a pair of her briefs and one of her brassieres. They stuffed some of my socks in the brassiere to give me some shape. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and began to squirm even more. It was strange seeing my own image in some of my sister’s lingerie. I’m not sure what came over me, but I started to get an erection. My arousal did not go unnoticed.

My sister commented, "if this is going to work, we are going to have to do something to cover that up. I guess he enjoys being Erika more than he cares to admit."

"Don't tease him, we still have a lot of work to do here."

They slipped over my head one of my sister’s sundresses that only reached to mid-thigh, which was followed up by a pair of wedge sandals onto my feet. I could tell they were pleased with my progress. They told me to sit on the bed while they blow-dried my hair. They worked on my hair for about 15 minutes. They kept brushing it under and using the blow dryer to create one large wave. When they were done my hair curled slightly under my chin. I had never seen my hair like that and it definitely looked more feminine. At that point I thought they were done. Instead, my mother laid out her makeup kit.

“Eric, I am only going to put a little makeup on you to bring out your eyes and cheeks.”

“ I feel so stupid.”

“You look just fine, let me finish.”

Over the next 10 minutes my mother outlined my eyes, and brushed some mascara into my lashes and eyebrows. She worked some powders above my eyes and on my cheek line. Finally she put some lipstick on my lips.

When she was done she stood back a couple of steps and stared at her work.

“That one earring looks wrong with everything else. Eric, please take it out.”

After I took the stud out of my left ear she smiled.

“I think this is going to work. You look very nice, and with a little more effort I think you will look very pretty.”

I turned to the large mirror in our room to take in the full affect. With the makeup on, I looked a little too good. My hair didn’t look quite right, but otherwise I looked like an attractive teenager. I began to get uncomfortable knowing that the charade was unlikely to end anytime soon.

My father got his first look at me and he sealed my fate.

“Eric, you look amazingly like your sister. I think with your small frame and long hair you should have no problem spending some time dressed in your sisters clothes. It looks like our family vacation is back on.”

“Bill, Eric looks pretty good, but his hair looks very odd and his hands and feet look like a mess. If this is going to work, we need to make an appointment for him at the ship salon. I am sure they can do a better job than I did.”

“Rita, you have total freedom to do anything you want to get him ready. I want him to be as perfect as possible to avoid any problems. It will also teach him some good lessons.”

“I will call the salon to get him in tomorrow.”

“I’m not going to a salon! That’s not fair.”

“Son, you know the drill. If you do not do everything your mother says, you can forget about your summer driving plans.”

“How many times am I going to have to get dressed up like this?”

My mother quickly responded, “We will see. There are only two formal evenings, but we may want to go to a show or possibly some other dressier event. You are in no position to make demands.”

“Can I take this off now?”

“Yes, Sasha will show you how to remove the makeup and moisturize your face. Please take good care of her clothing, it needs to last for both of you.”

When I was done we finally went for our tour of the ship. As the brochures’ indicated, the ship had everything. There were many exciting entertainment areas including pools, game rooms, an ice rink, and even karaoke booths. The ship also had many restaurants, spas, salons, and shopping areas. The shopping areas were almost as large as the mall back home. I could probably get all of the boy clothes that I needed in there. I even mentioned that to my parents.

“Eric your father and I have already dealt with that issue. You will be fine and this will teach you to listen better in the future.”

We walked around for nearly 2 hours and only stopped for a quick beverage on the top deck. We decided that after walking around so long we were hungry. Instead of doing the sit-down option we decided to try the buffet. It was plentiful, but nothing exceptional. My parents said that the sit-down and formal dinners typically had better food. We had some dessert and went back to our rooms.

Sasha and I decided to go for an evening swim and our folks decided to check out the onboard casino. It was a fun evening and Sasha and I managed to get over the conflict we felt earlier. By the time we got back to the room around 10 PM I was very relaxed and had forgotten about the coming challenges.

My mother stopped in our room while we were watching a little TV and told me that my appointments were to begin at 10 AM. She said we would all go and have some breakfast at 8:30, and then we could come back to the room to get ready. We were told to turn in, and get a good night sleep.

I ask what she meant by appointments, and all she said was they had a lot to do.

Despite being very tired, I had some trouble sleeping. I woke up two or three times and each time I was thinking about wearing that sundress. Normally I have a hard time waking up, but on Sunday morning I was up before Sasha. I listened to music on my iPhone for a while, until everyone else was up.

We all made our way to breakfast as a family. Today would be our first full day on the ship and there would not be any island excursions. The ship had to make a long journey to its first stop deep in the Caribbean Sea before we would make our first stop in Jamaica. My mother emphasized that it was good we were on the ship all day as I would need extra time to prepare myself for the evening.

I told her that I dreaded the appointment that was growing near and asked one last time if it was really necessary.

“Eric, you need to start getting into a better frame of mind to make this as easy as possible. If you keep making faces and resisting you will have a miserable time and much more likely embarrass yourself. When we get back to the room to change you have to start thinking and acting more like a girl.

“Can’t I just wait until this evening?”

“Honey, when you go back to the room, you have to change into proper clothes for the salon and after the salon we’re going to have to work on teaching you some basic lessons. For the rest of the day you are going to have to be Erika. Tomorrow we go ashore and it is a casual dinner so maybe then things will be easier.”

“I have to go to the salon dressed up?”

“Yes, it would look very odd getting some of your treatments as a teenage boy.”

“I guess you are right, but I don’t want to look stupid.”

“That is why you need to relax and start getting into a better mindset. You’re going to feel different looking and dressing more like your sister. You need to accept that, and just go with it. Don’t try and be a boy in a dress or everyone will see through it. Try and enjoy the experience. If someone compliments you, just smile and say thank you. You are much less likely to be ‘read’, if you make an effort to act in a more feminine way.”

“This is all so much to take in. I’ll try and do my best, just don’t expect me to wear white if I ever get married.”

“That’s very funny Eric. I’m glad you can find some humor in this. But don’t be so quick to plan your life, you probably would look beautiful in white.”

With that we all laughed a little. Breakfast moved along too swiftly for me and it was time for me to get ready for my makeover. We headed back to the room where my mom once again helped me prepare. Sasha and my father went up to the deck to enjoy some of the morning sun.

My mother laid out some clothing for me again, but added a few items. I was surprised by some of the things lying on the bed. She had me put on a maxi pad after I tucked my penis between my legs. Following that uncomfortable maneuver she pulled a very tight bikini bottom up over the pad to hold everything in place. When I looked down I could see I was flat where my family jewels used to reside.

I slipped on the same brassiere from yesterday only my mother had some new inserts for me to put in them. She had found thick rubber breast pads at one of the shops last night. She explained that on the ship a lot of girls like to look much more fully endowed, so they sell waterproof inserts. She had bought the largest ones they had, which almost completely filled my sisters ‘B’ cup bra that I was wearing. They really weren’t meant for someone with no cleavage at all, but they did the job on my chest.

I pulled on the sundress and wedge sandals and walked over to my mother.

“Hold your elbows in a little and take shorter strides.”

She had me walk back and forth a few times until she thought I had a more acceptable motion. She then went to work on my face. She put on me only a little makeup this time; as she said one of the salon stylists plan to touch me up later. She gave me matching silver bracelets for my wrists and also spritzed me with some sweet smelling body mist. With that we were out the door and on our way to the salon.

Just being in the hallway looking as I did, gave me some chills. I knew I had to get used to it, but I could only think about some of my school friends seeing me this way. I told my mother how nervous I was and she seemed sympathetic.

“It probably is a little difficult now. This is all so new to you, but I am sure you will feel much better later. When they are done with you at the salon you’ll look so much nicer and after you have had more time to adjust, I am sure you will feel much more natural. Remember, don’t fight it. You’re going to be pampered at the salon and that is something every girl loves. So just go with it.”

At the salon I was introduced to Lulu who would be trimming my hair. When she first saw me she had an unpleasant look on her otherwise attractive face.

“I see we have a little work to do. Your thick hair has potential, but it looks like no one ever gave it much thought.”

My mother responded, “My Erika has always been kind of a tomboy. On the cruise we want her to look and feel much more like a pretty young lady. We want her to look nice for the evening events, but with something that is not too hard to take care of.”

“Your daughter is going to be very beautiful. She has nice features and wonderful eyes. We will give her a styling, makeup, manicure, pedicure, and pierce the other ear as you requested.

“Mom, what about my ear?”

“Honey, you need to pierce your right ear to wear Sasha’s or my jewelry. Don’t fret, the hole will just fill in later.”

“Mrs. Adams, we have a lot to do and this is going to take a long time. She could be here as much as three hours.”

“I understand. I have scheduled a manicure and pedicure for myself, and Erika’s sister, at noon. We thought it would be nice to have some family girl time.”

“That’s fabulous. We will get to work on Erika and you can see her when you return.”

“Now Erika, please cooperate with Lulu. She knows what to do. I don’t want to hear about any problems or you know what the punishment will be.”

“Yes mom. I will try and be a good girl. Please hurry back, I’m not real comfortable being here all alone.”

“Yes dear. Have a great time.”

Lulu began washing my hair and then she played with it for a couple of minutes, before deciding on how to begin.

“I guess it needs a trim. I had been meaning to get a haircut.”

“A trim, that’s funny. You need a complete restyling. Your hair is very healthy, but has absolutely no body or style. We will take care of that and maybe bring out the color a little more. You have a hint of red in your brown hair and I think we will bring that out just a little bit more. When we are done you will be so thrilled.

“Restyled, like how?”

“Don’t think about that, just sit back and enjoy.”

I never had someone spends so much time working on me as Lulu did. She cut, brushed, died, and even used hot rods in my hair, while I patiently sat in her chair. Shortly before she was done working on my styling, a person entered the salon and called over to her. Lulu waved the girl over to her station and she pointed at me.

“This will only take a minute.” The girl dabbed my right ear and almost immediately I felt a small prick. Moments later I was wearing my mother’s diamond studs on both of my ears. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me, but I just kept thinking it would be over soon enough.

When she was done working on my hair she called over a very beautiful woman that appeared to be of some sort of Caribbean or Latino descent.

“Calia is going to work on your make up. Your mother instructed her to give you some basic highlighting that could be adjusted for different needs or for the time of day.”

Calia’s accent was a little hard for me to understand, so just before she was done I had Lulu explained to me what she was doing.

“Most of the makeup is pretty standard. She uses blends that hold up a little better under the hot sun than traditional cosmetics. She will give you some samples of those to take with you and apply, as you need it. You also received some special treatments for your eyes and your lips”

“What kind of special treatments? She seemed to work on those for a very long time.”

“For your eyes, she put on some long-lasting eyeliner and mascara. Neither is permanent, but should last a week or two. If you swim a lot or are out in the sun a great deal it might not last quite as long. It just wears off gradually and then you will need another treatment.”

“What! This is going to stay on me. That cannot be! You have to take it off.”

“Sorry Erika that would be a very bad idea. When the treatment is fresh, you could get an irritation or even infected if you try to take it off too soon.”

“Oh God, so what did she do to my lips?”

“That was pretty minor. She just stained them to give you a slightly pinker lip color. That also is temporary and you probably will want to wear lipstick on your lips anyway.”

“Can I see myself? I am getting very worried.”

“I am almost done and you can see your pretty self in a moment.”

Almost on cue, my sister and mother re-entered the salon. They immediately made a beeline to our station.

“Holy shit! You are stunning!” My sister nearly screamed.

“Quiet now Sasha. Honey you look adorable. I knew you would be pretty, but I wasn’t certain you would look this fabulous.”

“Mom, they use long-lasting makeup on me, and Lulu still hasn’t let me see myself.”

“It’s called semi-permanent makeup and you look great.”

Lulu informed us that she was done and that I could look now. I stepped out of the chair and I could feel the blood rushed back into my bottom. I walked the 10 feet over to the full-length mirrors and quickly started to feel faint. My mother dashed over to grab me.

“Are you okay Honey?”

“Mom, that can’t be me. What have they done?”

“It’s you dear, and they brought out your inner beauty.”

I started to look again. I was still feeling flush, but I focused more on the image staring back at me. The girl in the mirror was as pretty as any I knew, and I looked almost like my sister. I was originally concerned about passing as a girl in a dress, now I was more concerned as to passing as a guy. With my restyled hair and the makeup, I did not see any way that was possible.

My hair had been cut into what Lulu described as soft cascading curls. Every strand of my long hair had loose spiral shape. My hair while still brown had more red in it and bounced along on my shoulders as I turned my head. I was in shock by the extreme makeover, but also fascinated by how attractive I looked. The longer I looked at myself more I became mesmerized by my appearance. I even found myself getting turned on by the image. I was grateful for the moment that the feminine pad was holding down my private parts.

I was pulled back into reality by Lulu who told us that the manicurists were ready for us. Our feet were submerged into warm tanks of mineral enhanced water. The whole process was much more involved than I imagined. They worked on my hands for about 15 minutes before they began adding fake nails to my fingers. I looked over at my mother and she smiled and said “Acrylic nails will hold up much better at the pool or on the beach. I asked for nails sizes that are just a little longer than your previous length.”

They looked a lot longer to me, but at least they looked pretty natural. I was just getting over the anxiety of having fake nails when my manicurist started painting them ‘sunshine red’. Not that the rest of me looked remotely boyish anymore, but having red nails would just add to the illusion. Before I was done I had matching red toes as well.

My resistance to being humiliated had evaporated. I had no energy to fight back or complain. When the whole idea had been originally suggested, I assumed I would be able to switch back and forth in appearance with ease. Now I knew that would be virtually impossible. I had been given a new identity for the rest of the cruise. I was even a little worried about the ability to remove some of the handiwork after the vacation was over. For now, I was just going to have to stay focused and try to adjust.

When we signed the tab for the extensive services, we thanked and tipped all of the people who helped us. I received a number of compliments on my new look and returned each comment with a polite thank you. The very last compliment though caught me off guard.

“I loved cutting and styling your hair. I think it turned out gorgeous. You’re going to have such a wonderful time on the cruise. Looking at yourself now, isn’t this so much better than being plain old Eric?”

“I nearly froze. Lulu had known from the beginning that I was a boy and never let on. I gave her a quizzical look and answered, “I guess I’m going to find out.”

________________________ END OF PART 1