One thing that Mike found changed when he got back to school, was a new Dean of the Psychology Department. It was a Dr. Ruth Halloran. He learned that she wasn't the typical stuffed shirt department head that a lot of college departments have. She insisted that everyone call her, Dr. Ruth. In fact, he found that they had missed a really fun party, that she had thrown on her appointment. Mike wasn't a psychology major, Masumi was, he was majoring in International Relations, but he enjoyed assisting with the experiments in the Psych department.

It wasn't long after their wedding reception at the Gordons, that Mike had a day with no classes, but Masumi did. He had finished all the chores around the apartment, and was sitting reading, and he was board with what he was reading. He started thinking about what Masumi had said, 'I'm just thinking of how you would look dressed as a Geisha.' He went to their bedroom, and looked at her kimonos. He was taken as to just how pretty the red and white one was. He took it out of the closet, felt how soft and sensual it was, and laid it on the bed. He then went to the dresser when Masumi had put all the other garments necessary to properly wear a kimono. He had watched her put it on for the party, but just shook his head, figuring that he'd never figure it out by himself. He really wanted to try it.

Masumi came home to Mishelle. Which brought a smile to her face. But, she saw that Mishelle was a little down. "What's wrong honey?", she asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"Nothing? I know better. The look on your face and the tone of your voice says something is wrong."

"It's nothing really."

"So, tell me what nothing is."

"I got to thinking about something that you said the night of the party."

"What?"

"Do you remember saying, 'I'm just thinking of how you would look dressed as a Geisha.'?"

"Sure."

"I got curious. I was going to dress in it, but I've only seen you put it on once. And, I looked at all the other stuff, and gave up."

"It's not that hard.", she said with a smile. "In fact, that's an idea."

"An idea?"

"Yea. Dr. Ruth is having a Halloween costume party. And, that may be the ideal costume for you."

Mishelle slowly got a big smile on her face.

"The only thing that we may have a problem with is making you look Japanese. We'll have to work on that."

"That would be fun. Think we can pull it off?"

"Sure. I think I know of a way to give your eyes a slant, and then with the heavy makeup... Yes, it should work. But, we're going to have a trial run."

"Sounds like fun to me."

That Saturday they headed over to a shop that deals costumes, theatrical makeup, etc. They wandered around, looking at various things, and Masumi spotted a costume that she thought she could wear to the party. She didn't say anything to Mike, she wanted it to be a surprise. They talked to one of the girls, told her what they want to do, and she knew just what they wanted. She took them to a display that had eye-tabs on it, and she showed them, in a booklet, how to obtain an oriental look. They took a couple sets of the eye-tabs, the booklet, and some clown white makeup. Masumi thought that she had everything else that they needed.

When they got home, they headed to the bedroom, Masumi started looking through her things, and set a number of items on the table. Mike put on one of his wig caps, and sat at their dressing table. Masumi took the booklet, and read again on how to use the eye-tabs. It showed how Shirley MacLaine was made up for the part of Yoko Mori in the film My Geisha. And, Masumi was going to try and follow it, at least to get the oriental look, she knew how to do the Geisha makeup.

She carefully applied one end of a eye-tabs just behind and just above the corner of Mike's right eye. She then pulled it slightly upwards and over the top of the wig cap, lifting the corner of his eye up, and attached the other end to the wig cap. She looked at it carefully, and readjusted it a little. She then did the left eye. And, stood back to get a good look.

Mike said, "Well?"

"Take a look."

He turned around and looked in the mirror, and said, "It looks good. But, it's a little uncomfortable."

"Get use to it lover. It's what we have to do to get you looking like a Geisha."

"You're the boss."

"You know it. Turn back around, and lets try some makeup."

He spun back around, and she kissed him.

She then thinned his eyebrows a little, and used some additional tabs to lift them. Then she started with the clown white, and covered his face, being sure to leave a line of bare skin around where the wig would be. She then outlined his eyes in heavy black, and worked it to give them a more oriental look. Then she did his eyebrows in black. The crowning touch was the bright red lipstick right in the center of his lips, this was done to emphasize delicacy, femininity, and the desired miniature effect. She stood back, looked, and smiled a little. As she walked to her closet, as she told him to not look. She was back quickly with her Geisha wig. She had to adjust it to fit his head, but it did. She reworked it a little to hide the eye-tabs, and other tape. Again, she stood back, and looked at it with a critical eye. And, again she smiled, and told Mike to have a look.

Mike turned and looked in the mirror. There looking at him was a Geisha. Masumi had done, what he thought was, a good job. And, said, "It really looks great, babe."

"It's ok. It still needs some work."

"You too much of a perfectionist."

"Only the best for you, love. Want to try the kimono?"

"You have to ask."

"And, it's not as hard as you think. And, you can learn some new words, too. First it's best if you put on the white tabi socks. If you don't, and your dressing yourself, it could be hard to do once you have the kimono and belts on. Then comes the slips or juban, and the white collar, called an eri-sugata. Now, when you put the kimono on, be sure that the seam is centered in the back. And, always overlap the left over the right side."

So, Mike started by putting on the socks, and Masumi helped him with the slips and collar. She went to the closet, and came back with her red and white kimono, and helped him slip it on. He forgot and crossed right over left.

She stomped her foot, and said, "No. It's left over right, unless your dead."

He changed it quickly. And, said, "It's too long."

"No. Will take care of that with the obi."

She carefully adjusted the collar, and the kimono. She then said, "Now the obi. Actually there are two of them for this kimono. First we need to adjust the kimono until it's just at you ankles." She carefully folded the material until it fell right at his ankles. And, told him to hold it there while she wrapped the koshi-himo belt just below the excess fabric. "This belt starts in the front, wraps around the back, and is tied in the front." After she tied the belt, she fussed around, so the fabric fell just right, and then folded the excess kimono material down over the belt. "And, finally we wrap the date-jime belt around you, covering the koshi-himo, and tie it in front. See that wasn't bad, was it?"

"Not really. Can I see?"

"Not until your wearing the geta sandals." She walked back to the closed, and came back with a pair of getas. She set them on the floor, and he slipped his feet into them.

"Can I see now?"

"Take a look."

He turned and looked in the full length mirror. He just stared.

"Well?", she finally asked.

"I love the look. You did a fantastic job!"

"Like I said, it still needs some work. But, between now and the party we'll get it."

He did look like a Geisha. But, it looked a little too faked for Masumi's liking. When Mike was Mishelle, he looked like a girl, but right now something just wasn't right.

"You know.", she continued, "We can call you Mishelle when you look like an western girl. We need a Japanese name for you. Any ideas?"

"Well, since I'm really Mike, and you and your sister named my female side Mishelle, it should probably start with an M. How about Midori, or Michi, or Mayuko, or the best one Masumi?"

"You can't have my name, silly. I like Midori, but I also like Miyuki."

"Hmm, Midori or Miyuki? Midori or Miyuki?"

"You get to pick this one."

"I really do like Miyuki."

"Douzo yoroshiku, Miyuki." (Nice to meet you, Miyuki.)

"Douzo yoroshiku, Masumi. Aishiteru wa." (Nice to meet you, Masumi. I love you.)

"I love you too."

Masumi took a few digital pictures of Miyuki, so that she could try and figure out what need to be done to make Miyuki look better. She was pretty, just like Mishelle was, but something was just not right.

Halloween

Over the next few weeks Masumi worked on Mike's Geisha look. But, she still wasn't happy. So, she e-mailed a copy of one of the photos to her sister, Sachiko, to see if she could spot the problem. It wasn't long before Sachiko e-mailed her back and said, look at the eyes, they are slanted too much, and the eye brows need to be thinner. Masumi studied the pictures some more, and finally had to agree with Sachiko. So, that night when she did Miyuki's makeup, she began to slowly thin his eyebrows, and adjusted the eye-tabs. That was it. Now, Miyuki looked like a proper Japanese Geisha.

Try as he might, Mike couldn't get Masumi to tell him who she was going to the party as. She knew he was a lover of the old time western movies and heros, and she was going as one of his favorites.

The party was on a Saturday night, and Masumi helped Mike transform into Miyuki. Though he didn't need much help, except with the makeup. And, by now she had his eyebrows as thin as a real girls. When Masumi was done, he was a proper Geisha. She made him go into the livingroom while she got ready. It was about half an hour later when she came into the room, Mike heard a jingling, and couldn't figure out what it was. He looked over to where she was standing, and smiled from ear to ear. There stood Masumi as one of his favorite western characters, the Lone Ranger. Spurs, and all. Perhaps a bit shorter than the original, but still the Lone Ranger. She said, with a real fake western drawl, "Ok pardner lets get these doggies moving."

"You are really something else. No wonder I love you so much. If I wouldn't ruin my makeup, I'd kiss you."

"You can do as much of that after we get back to the ranch, pardner."

They headed out the door, and into the car. Masumi was going to drive, as Miyuki couldn't drive wearing geta sandals. As they pulled out, they headed west, and Dr. Ruth lived north of them. Miyuki said, "Your going the wrong way."

"No. I'm going the right way."

"Dr. Ruth lives north of here."

"I know. But, where we're going first, is west of here."

"West of here... The only people that we know that live west of here are my parents. My parents!?"

"Uh huh."

"No. We can't go there."

"Yes we can. I've been talking to mom about the Halloween party, and what we're wearing. And, she wanted to see us."

"But, dad will be there, not to mention my brother and sister."

"By the time we get there, she'll have them all prepared."

"Oh man. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have gone?"

"No way."

"Well that should answer your question."

Miyuki just looked out the window, as all the familiar landmarks went by. The closer they got, the more his stomach churned. He was mad at Masumi for pulling this stunt. Well, as mad as he could get at her, which wasn't much. As they turned down his parents street, he took a deep breath, and looked at Masumi.

"Almost there, lover.", Masumi said, with a smile that could melt butter.

"I know."

They pulled in the drive way, Masumi shut off the car, got out, went around to the passenger side, and opened the door. She offered her hand to Miyuki. Miyuki just sat there and looked at her.

"Come on love. Your mom knows that you crossdress, so she won't be too surprised. And, by now the rest of the family will know that your going to the party as a Geisha. And, they'll be interested in how you look."

Miyuki took Masumi's hand, and exited the car. Again, Miyuki took a deep breath, and started up the walk, his getas clicking on the concrete. He saw his mother looking out the window of the door, and the front porch light was on. As they walked up on the porch, the door opened, and there stood his family, along with his brothers girlfriend, Harlie. As they got close to the door, he could see the look of utter amazement on his mother's face. Not to mention his dad standing there with his mouth wide open. His brothers eyes were as big as saucers. And, the two girls, his sister and Harlie, were just grinning. Everyone just stood there, for a few moments, looking at each other.

His mother finally broke the silence, by says, "Don't just stand there. Come in." Miyuki removed her getas, and left them by the door. And, the five moved away from the threshold, and allowed Masumi and Miyuki to come in and close the door. Everyone migrated to the livingroom, where Miyuki became the center of attention. The two girls, felt the kimono, and commented about how soft and silky it felt. And, wanted to know about wearing it. His sister had worn one at the wedding, but not as elaborate as this one. His brother just couldn't say anything, which was unusual for him. His dad just looked at him, shaking his head. His mother joined the two girls in asking about the kimono.

Finally his mom, in front of everyone, said, "Masumi said that you were very pretty when you dressed, but I had no idea."

Miyuki looked at his mom in shock. Maybe he was the only one that caught the comment. But, maybe not, the room got a little quiet.

"Mom, can I talk to you?", Miyuki asked.

"Sure honey." And, he followed her into the kitchen. She turned and looked at him, and said, "Mrs. Matsushita just didn't do you justice, when she said you were pretty when you were dressed as a girl. You do make a very pretty girl."

"Thanks. I think. Mom, what did dad say when you told him that I was going to this party as a girl?"

"Well you know your father. He raised his left eyebrow, and said, 'As a girl huh. I bet he won't look good. But, it's Halloween.' And, let it go at that."

"It's going to be interesting to see what he tells you after we leave."

"I know. But, your brother is the one that really threw me, when he couldn't say anything. I figured that he would be all over you, like he normally is."

"Me too, Paul usually can't wait to put a dig in. And, it was almost worth it to see the look on his face. But, I'm really worried as to what dad is going to say. Especially after your comment."

"I'll handle your father. So, don't you worry about him."

"How much has Masumi told you?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes. We had a nice long mother-in-law daughter-in-law talk a few weeks ago, and she told me everything about that first trip to Japan, and the shopping trip. And, then when you were introduced to Mr. Matsushita."

"And, you don't have a problem with this."

"No, honey. Like I told you when we were in Japan, I've kind of known about this side of you for a long time. And, if it makes you happy, then it makes me happy. And, it appears to make Masumi happy, and that's important also. We'd better get back to the others."

"Thanks mom. I really love you guys. Even Paul."

They walked back into the livingroom, and Mrs. Gifford said to Masumi, "We've all but ignored you, making such a fuss over Mike, I mean Miyuki. But, your costume is really great, too. And, knowing how Mike loves the old western movies, I bet he was surprised."

"Yes he was. And, thank you for the compliment. You know we had better get going, or we're going to be late for the party."

They said their goodbys to everyone. Mike's dad was a little cool towards him, and as Mike gave his mom a hug goodbys, he whispered, "Be sure and let me know what dad says." She whispered back, "I will."

Masumi and Miyuki were back in the car heading for the party, and Miyuki said, "I should really be mad at you for pulling that trick. But, I'm not. In fact, I'm glad you did it. It's going to be really interesting to hear what my dad tells my mom."

"I didn't think you'd be mad at me. I thought it would be fun, and it was. The look on your brothers face was priceless, and he just couldn't find the words to say anything."

"That was worth it."

"The two girls were also priceless. They both treated you like you were a girl. I mean, all the questions about the kimono. Now, your dad is another question. He was his old self when you and your mom went into the kitchen. Is your mom going to talk to him."

"Yes. And, she promised to tell me what happens."

"Your mom is a fantastic person. She knows about you, but was completely taken aback when she first saw you. What was the kitchen talk about?"

"To start with she told me about the mother-in-law daughter-in-law talk you two had about me. So, you told her about everything that happened while I was with you in Japan."

"Not everything. I didn't tell her about going to the club that time."

"Why not."

"I didn't think she'd like hearing how much her son enjoyed dancing with the female to male crossdresser."

"I enjoyed dancing with everyone."

"But, you should have seen you face when you were dancing with him.", she said with a big grin.

"I would have rather have been dancing with you. And, it didn't seem to bother you."

"It didn't. I just enjoyed watching you. You were having fun."

"So were you."

"Yes. Watching you."

They continued there friendly banter all the way to the party.

They arrived at the party, and went to park the car. But, the party was at a private party center, and had valet parking. The valet, noting two girls in the car, first opened the passenger side door, and helped Miyuki out of the car. And, then did the same for Masumi. The girls walked up to the door, and the doorman politely opened the door for them. Miyuki politely bowed to him in thanks.

As they walked into the room where the party was, Dr. Ruth, dressed as a very sexy Elvira, was standing greeting the guests. As Masumi and Miyuki walked up to her, she recognized Masumi, but not Miyuki. Dr. Ruth said, "Masumi, I just love your costume."

"You knew it was me.", Masumi said with a fake little pout.

"Honey. The Lone Ranger was a little taller than five foot. But, it's really a cute costume. Satin pants, shirt, and mask. And, that ten gallon hat is great. Did Mike come as Tonto?"

"No."

"Mike is here. Isn't he?"

"Yes he is.", Masumi said as she looked at Miyuki.

Miyuki bowed, and said, in a perfect feminine voice, "Douzo yoroshiku. Dr. Ruth."

Dr. Ruth looked at Miyuki, and said "Mike!"

"Not tonight, Dr. Ruth. Tonight it's Miyuki."

"No. It can't be. Masumi, tell me that this isn't really Mike."

"It's Mike.", Masumi said with a big grin.

"But, the voice, the look. I mean... You look too good."

"Thank you Dr. Ruth.", Miyuki said, "The voice is something that I've been able to do for a long time. The look is all thanks to Masumi."

"If you don't win best costume tonight, I want to know why. You two kids go and have fun. I'll see you later."

Miyuki and Masumi spent the night dancing, with each other and others, and just enjoying themselves. There was an unknown group of people, who chose the ten best costumes at the party. About an hour before the party was to end, the top ten were called up on the stage. Miyuki was one, as was a Gladiator, a very sexy witch, and seven others. The microphone was passed down from one contestant to the next, and they told who they really were. Miyuki was next to the last, and when she said, in Mike's voice, "Hi. I'm Mike Gifford." There were some smiles from a few of the sixty or so people in attendance who knew, but the look on most peoples faces was one of pure unbelieving awe. Dr. Ruth then went down the line, holding her hand over each of the ten contestants heads for an applause rating. The sexy witch's applause level was close to Miyuki, but Miyuki was a hands down winner.

For the rest of the party, many people came up to her, and asked lots questions. There were a number of guys that asked what it was like to wear women's clothes. In most cases, Miyuki with a smile, said, "Just try it." A number asked about the voice. She told them it was just something that she had always been able to do, change it to feminine at will. Most were just amazed that it was actually Mike.

As the party was breaking up, Dr. Ruth and her husband were saying good bye to everyone as they left. And, as people were still talking to them, Miyuki and Masumi were almost the last to leave. And, as they were leaving Dr. Ruth whispered to Miyuki, "Can I ask you something kind of personal?"

"I guess."

"Are you a transvestite?"

"Why do you ask?", Miyuki asked, glancing at Masumi.

"You were just too good. You emanate femininity. Your mannerisms. Your speech patterns. They are just too perfect for a guy dressing as a girl just for a party."

Miyuki again glanced at Masumi, and shyly said, "Yes. But, please don't tell anyone."

"I won't tell anyone. It will be our secret. And, thank you both for coming, you really helped make the party a success. Everyone will be talking about it for a long time."

Bowing as a proper Japanese girl would do, Miyuki said, "Arigatou gozaimasu, Dr. Ruth." (Thank you, Dr. Ruth)

The couple arrived home, happy, but tired. They had, had a good time. It took them a little while to remove Miyuki's makeup and return her to being Mike.

Masumi asked, "Did you have fun tonight lover?"

"I sure did. Did you?"

"Yes. It was a great party."

"Only one thing."

"What?"

"The stunt that you pulled, taking me to my parents."

"Are you mad at me?", she said with a little pout.

"Yes. And, I need to punish you for being so bad.", he said, as he wrestled her to the bed, and ...

Dinner at the Gifford's House

Sunday they were going to eat dinner this Mike's family. And, Mike was really worried about what his dad's reaction to last night was going to be. He was really nervous, because his mom hadn't called yet, and they had to leave soon. In fact he was so nervous, that he was pacing like a caged cat. Masumi finally got him to sit down, and to call his mom. He called, a little worried that his dad would answer, but his sister did. She told him, that she still couldn't get over how good he look as a Geisha. He half heartedly thanked her, and asked to talk to his mom.

"Hi mom"..."Oh we had a great time."... "Ah, did you talk to dad?"... "And."... "I see. So, he knows about everything. Oh great!"... "You think. We'll see."... "See you in a little bit. Bye."

Mike sunk down in the chair, and just shook his head.

Masumi asked, "What wrong?"

"After we left, mom had a long talk with dad about me. He was really surprised how good I looked. She told him a lot about what went on in Japan. She said, that he wasn't very happy about the whole thing. But, this morning, he seemed to have calmed down a bit."

The drive to the Gifford's home was a very quiet one. Mike wasn't sure what was going to happen, and if he really wanted to be there when it did. Masumi knew not to say much. As they pulled into the drive, Mike took a deep breath, and got out of the car. He and Masumi walked up to the back door, and into the house. His mom was in the kitchen, cooking, and said that dinner was almost ready. Masumi and Mike helped her put the plates of food on the table. And, Mrs. Gifford called everyone else to dinner. The greetings were the normal pleasant ones, but Mike could feel a little tenseness with his dad.

Dinner itself was pleasant. Even Paul was nice to his brother. After dinner, Masumi and Ruth helped Mrs. Gifford clear the table, and bring desert in. As they were sitting eating desert, Mr. Gifford said, "Mike, I thought your costume last night was very interesting. Then your mother and I had a long talk about you, and I wasn't very happy about what I heard. Do you want to explain? Do you want your brother and sister to leave?"

"I'll try and explain. And, no they are a part of this family, and need to hear this too. What you saw last night was fun, fun for me, and fun for Masumi. Yes, I enjoy dressing and presenting like a girl. It's part of me, and I can't help it."

"So, you want to be a girl."

"No, sir. I don't want to be a girl. I don't want a sex change operation. I just enjoy wearing the clothes, and presenting as a girl."

"How long has this been going on?"

"For about as long as I can remember. I use to wear mom's and Ruth's things when I was home. And when I went off to college, I bought my own things."

"You wore your mom's and sister's things. And, they didn't know."

"Mom told me that she did. But, I don't think Ruth did." Ruth shook her head no.

"But, a man wearing girls clothes, and looking like a girl just isn't normal."

"Dad, they are just clothes. Look at Ruth, she has on men's jeans and shirt. And, no one thinks anything about it. True, she isn't trying to present as a guy. But, there are girls out there that do. I feel very comfortable when I dress. It allows me to relax. I could be on drugs, or drink. And, crossdressing hurts no one. I agree being able to pass as a girl goes farther than just wearing the clothes. But, it's just another part of it that we enjoy."

"Dad,", Masumi broke in, "Mike is a very loving person. And, being a crossdresser is just a small part of him. When he told me that he liked girls clothes, I took it as being just a part of him. And, since I love him, all of him, I love that part also. I love it when he dresses, I have another girlfriend. And, I've also enjoyed bring that part of him out. A lot of this is my fault, I took him shopping in Japan, I taught him how to do his makeup, and took him out for the first time. I've encouraged him to express his feminine side. And, if this upsets you, I'm so very sorry." And, the tears started to flow down her cheeks. Mike held her.

"Daddy,", Ruth said, "I think it's cool that Mike has a feminine side. I kind of wish Paul did, then he would be so mean to me."

"Well Paul," Mr. Gifford said, "do you have anything to add?"

"No sir. I'm staying out of this."

"I do." said Mrs. Gifford, "As I told you, I knew along time ago that Mike had a softer side, and was using some of my clothes. I love these kids very much. And, I see nothing wrong with Mike dressing like he wants to. Masumi, who's with him for better or worse, doesn't have a problem with it. So, we shouldn't. If he likes going out as a girl, and it's not hurting anyone, so be it."

"How many people know you dress like a girl?", Mr. Gifford asked.

"There's you guys, the Matsushitas, Harlie, but I think she saw it as a Halloween costume, and Dr. Ruth."

"Dr. Ruth. Dr. Ruth Halloran from the college?"

"Yes."

"Great. Now it's going to be all over campus."

"Why do you think that. She's not going to say anything to anyone. There's no reason for her to."

"We'll see. It looks like I got out voted in this matter. I don't really like it, but I guess I can live with it, as long as I don't see you dressed. Masumi, I'm very sorry that I made you cry."

"That's alright dad. I'm just very sensitive to things that effect Mike.", Masumi said.

"No it's not alright.", Mrs Gifford said, "Honey, come with me, and well get you cleaned up."

Mrs. Gifford and Masumi left the dinning room.

Mr. Gifford looked at Paul and Ruth, and said, "This goes no farther than this room. Understood?"

"Yes sir.", Ruth and Paul said together.

Mike got up, and followed his mom and Masumi to the first floor half bath. His mom was wiping her face, and comforting him. Mike said, "Honey, are you ok?"

"Yes. I'm just so sorry that I started this whole thing. And, now your dad is upset."

"Don't be sorry. You didn't start this. I did, many years ago. All you did was show me that it was really a big part of me, and that you loved that part of me. Don't worry about dad, he'll get over it."

"Kids, I have an idea. When you get ready to leave, go along with me."

"What are you going to do?", Mike asked.

"Something this family hasn't done for a long time, and needs to start doing again."

Mike looked at Masumi, and shrugged his shoulders.

The rest of the evening went fairly well. Everyone sat and watched the football game on TV, and chatted. Mike and his dad even exchanged some pleasant words. As Mike and Masumi were getting ready to leave, his mom stood up, and said, "Ok, everyone over here. We're going to restart an old family tradition, that we should have never stopped."

"Now what?", Mr. Gifford said.

Mrs. Gifford, glared at him a little, and said, "The family hug."

Mr. Gifford kind of looked at her a little funny. But, everyone wrapped there arms around who ever was on either side of them, and it was a big hug. Of course there was the usual good night kisses, and hugs. And, when Ruth was giving Masumi an individual hug, she whispered, "I think he looked very cute." Masumi gave Ruth an extra hug.

On the way home Mike and Masumi talked about the evening. She was so worried that things between Mike and his dad had become strained. Mike told her that his dad, who was standing next to him during the family hug, had actually given him an extra hug. And, not worry about it, as his mom was sure to talk to him some more. Masumi said, "You know. I've learned two customs from you, that I really love."

"What's that?"

"Tonight it was the family hug. And, the other was carrying the bride across the threshold."

Mike smiled at her.

After arriving home, Mike unlocked the apartment door, turned to Masumi, picked her up, and carried her across the threshold.

"Why did you do that?"

"Are you complaining?"

"No." She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.

"I did it for two reasons. I'll always think of you as my bride. And, I love you."

She kissed him.

A Shopping Trip

The rest of the school term went along as normal, well almost normal. For the first time Masumi's grades were better than Mikes, not too much better, but better. And, Mishelle had been kind of absent. Both of these worried Masumi a little, along with a little depression that she had noticed in Mike. She knew Mike was the smarter of the two, his grades had always been just a little better. And, Mishelle not being around was not good for Mikes psyche. She had to do something. Late one morning, about two weeks before Christmas, she said, "Come on, get dressed. I want to go shopping."

"I am dressed."

"No your not. I want to go shopping with Mishelle."

He looked at her a little puzzled, and said, "Why Mishelle?"

"I miss her, and she needs to get out. And, I want to see the blond Mishelle when you come back out of the bedroom. And a skirt, no pants."

Mike grumbled a little, but got up, and went to the bedroom. She knew she had a little more than a half an hour before Mishelle came back, so she made a couple of phone calls. She was right, half an hour, and there was Mishelle. She looked ok, but not her usual self. It had been that way since that Sunday dinner at Mike's parents.

Masumi drove, and they headed downtown. She parked in front of an upscale beauty parlor. Mishelle looked at her a little puzzled, and said, "I thought we were going shopping?"

"We are. But, a trip to the beauty parlor always make a girl feel great."

"I know I'm passable. But, they'll know when they see the wig."

"I've already called. And, the manager is going to take care of you personally. So, not to worry."

They got out of the car, and walked into the shop, and were greeted by a very nice receptionist. Masumi told her that she had called earlier, and spoken to the manager. The receptionist checked her book, and said, "Oh yes. Erin said that you would be in. Please have a seat, and he'll be with you in a few minutes."

Mishelle whispered, "He?"

"Sure, there are a lot of male hairdressers."

A few minutes later a very nicely dressed young man walked into the reception area, looked at Masumi and Mishelle, and said, "Hello. My name is Erin. What can I do for you lovely ladies?"

Masumi said, "My friend, Mishelle, needs a complete make over."

"Well, come with me. And, we'll see what we can do."

They got up, followed Erin into the shop, and a private room. He had Mishelle remove her blouse, put on a smock, and sit in the chair. Then he preceded to look very closely at her face, and hair. He then said, "You have great bone structure. And, your makeup is very good, but I think we can do a few things to improve it. Your hair does need a little help. And, to be honest, I have a number of male clients, and you are the prettiest one." At that point a girl walked into the room, and Erin introduced her, "This is Anna, she's the wig stylist, and she does great work. I wanted her to see the wig on you, before she started."

Anna said, "Hi. The wig looks great, but I think I can make it fit your face a little better. Do you mind if I take a couple of pictures?"

"No. Go right ahead.", Mishelle said.

Anna took about half a dozen pictures with a digital camera. Then said, "Do you mind if I take the wig? I'll bring it back when I'm all done."

"Sure."

Anna carefully removed the wig, and Erin commented on the way Mishelle had her eyebrows taped. Anna walked out with the wig, and two other girls walked in. Erin introduced them, "This is Mary. She is going to give you a pedicure, and a manicure. And, this is Kathy. She is going to give you a full facial. And, do your makeup."

So, over the next couple of hours, Mishelle was treated to the full treatment. Pedicure, manicure, with acrylics, full facial, her eyebrows were thinned some more. Mishelle got into it, and just relaxed and enjoyed. After her facial, Kathy went to work on Mishelle's makeup. When Mary and Kathy were finished, Erin and Anna came back in with the wig. It looked gorgeous. They had added highlights, and cut it into a shag style, that would fall onto her shoulders. Erin carefully placed the wig back on Mishelle's head, styled it a little, and smiled. He looked at Masumi, who had been chatting with Mishelle, but taking this all in, and asked, "What do you think?"

"I've never seen her look so pretty."

"Thank you. We aim to please." He slowly turned Mishelle so that she could see. And, Masumi was right, Mishelle had never looked so good. Mishelle turned her head this way, and that, just to look at her face from every direction. She then turned to Masumi, and said, "You were right. A trip to the beauty parlor, always makes a girl feel great. Thank you."

"Your welcome, lover."

Erin asked, "We have an album of our clients. Do you mind if we take a couple of pictures of you?"

"No. Not at all.", Mishelle answered with a smile.

They went out to the reception area. Erin took a few pictures of Mishelle, while Masumi took care of the bill.

As they were walking out, Mishelle asked, "Ok. Where did the money come from for this? It had to be expensive."

"There you go complaining. Didn't it just make you feel just so good?"

"Yes. But..."

She put her finger on Mishelle's lips, and said, "No, buts lover. Just enjoy, and don't worry. I want my old Mishelle back. And, Miyuki wouldn't be bad either."

They got back in the car, and headed to one of the upscale malls in the area. The two of them turned heads and received smiles, from both men and women, as they walked through the mall. They spent a few hours clothes shopping, and Masumi found a couple of blouses she loved. She just really loved shopping with Mishelle, she had a great eye for style, and didn't pull any punches. If she didn't like it, she said so. It was getting close to dinner time, and they hadn't had lunch, and they were both getting hungry. The real upscale restaurant in the mall was the Firehouse, and Masumi had somehow gotten reservations. The maitre 'd checked his list, and showed the two ladies to a table, but someone, another girl, was already sitting there. As they walked up, Mishelle recognized her sister, Ruth. Mishelle looked a little puzzled at Masumi. And, Masumi said, as they were sitting down, "Surprise. I thought that Ruth just might liked to meet Mishelle. Was I right, Ruth?"

"Very much so. And, Mike, I mean Mishelle, what Masumi has said about you just doesn't do you justice. Miyuki was pretty, but you are just down right beautiful."

Just then someone else walked up behind Mishelle, bent over, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, with a "Hello, honey."

Mishelle jumped, and looked. It was her mom. "Mom, what are you doing here."

"Surprise again, lover.", Masumi said with a grin, "I thought that we should include your mom in our girls night out."

Her mom sat down next to her, took her hands in hers, looked her in the eyes, and whispered, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear, "Honey, your so pretty. Your father doesn't know what he's missing."

Mishelle looked quickly around the restaurant, and said, "He's not here. Is he?"

Everyone else laughed. And, her mom said, "No honey. No males at this party."

The four girls had a nice leisurely dinner together. And, talked for a long time like four old girl friends. Afterwards, they window shopped the mall, and stopped for a night cap at a bar in the mall. As they were sipping their drinks, the waitress came over, and said, "Those three guys over there want to know if you would like to join them." The girls looked over at the three, not bad looking, guys, three of the girls lifted there left hands, pointed to wedding and engagement rings, and shook their head no. The guys, lifted their glasses, smiled, and shrugged their shoulders.

The girls went back to their chatting, and Mrs. Gifford finally asked, "Mishelle, when did you start wearing a wedding ring set?"

Mishelle told her about the time that she and Masumi had been hit on in Japan, and how hard it was to get rid of the guys. And, how later Masumi had gotten the idea to get rings for both of them, so it wouldn't happen again. Everyone had a good chuckle over it, and Mrs Gifford said, "Daughter in law, that was a great idea."

After they finished their drinks, they were saying their good nights, Ruth was giving Mishelle a hug, and whispered, "You know sis. I wish you had been born a girl. It's tough being the only girl in a family. And, you do look fantastic."

"Thanks. Just remember you really have two big sisters now, Masumi and I. If you ever need anything, or someone to talk to, we're here for you."

Mrs. Gifford said to everyone, "You know girls. This has been so much fun, we need to do it again. And, we will! Often."

On the way home, Mishelle and Masumi were talking about how much fun the evening had been. And, they ended up stopped at a traffic light, Mishelle looked at Masumi, and said, "Sam. This was the best shopping trip that I've ever had. It's what I needed to get out of my blue funk. I love you so much." And, she reached over, and gave her a deep kiss. As they broke the kiss, Mishelle looked up, and a car load of teenaged girls had pulled up next to them. All were staring at them, one in disbelief, one with her mouth wide open, and two were smiling at them. Mishelle waved, smiled back, and said to Masumi, "Look too left, smile, and wave." Masumi looked, smiled, and waved. The girls started giggling, and drove off, almost through a red light. Our two girls, just shook their heads, and laughed. Masumi said, "I guess we shocked them a little bit."

"I doubt it. Kids these days have seen it all."

Separated

Christmas and New Years came and went. And, Spring semester started. It was the final semester of their undergraduate degrees. Both were going to go on for their Masters, and Masumi was already talking about her PhD. It would be hard on them, but as with anything that they did together, it was doable.

Part of the way through the semester, they both received letters from the university, giving them full ride scholarships for their Master degree work. This made both of them feel like a million dollars. Mishelle was around, as was Miyuki, and they had great fun going out as two Japanese girls. The rest of the term flew by, and their grades were good enough for both of them to graduate Magna Cum Laude. Mike's mom and dad gave them a graduation party, and the big surprise was that Masumi's parents, sister, and her husband were there. It was like a big family reunion, with good friends thrown in for good measure.

While they were working on their Masters, one of Mike's requirements, was that he had to intern with a governmental organization for a semester. This meant that he would have to be in Washington DC for about three months, and Masumi would have to remain at home to work on her Masters. It was going to be hard, they hadn't been separated since they were married. When the time came for Mike to leave, it was almost as bad as their separation the Summer after they had first met.

Mike would be living in a large apartment building just inside the Washington Belt Way. And, he had been lucky enough to get a single. Some of the others, that were there for internships, were living as many as four in a two bedroom apartment. He drove the eight hours from home to Washington, it was a lonely trip. As he was unpacking, he opened one suitcase, that he couldn't remember packing, and smiled. Masumi had packed a number of Mishelle's things. There was also a card, and she had written,

"A few years ago when we were separated, I wrote, 'My love, I have lost

my heart to you. You will be mine for always, and we will work out

everything, even though we are far apart. The item in the box swears my

undying love for you. Keep me in your dreams. I love you.'

"What I wrote then, is felt even deeper now. You are my dreams, my life.

This card also swears my undying love for you. When you become Mishelle,

as I know you will, keep me in you dreams.

"I love you.

"Sam"

He sat on the bed, and cried. Then, he picked up the telephone, and called her. They talked for a good hour. He admitted to Masumi, that becoming Mishelle without her around wasn't any fun. But, he also admitted that the urge would be there, along with the need to relax, and that she would be there in spirt, when he dressed.

As he unpacked Mishelle's suitcase, he found a gift wrapped package at the bottom. He opened it, and found a very pretty red nylon night gown, with some very pretty embroidery on it. That night Mishelle enjoyed a very restful sleep, with dreams of Masumi.

Over the next three months, Mike worked hard, called Masumi every chance he got, exchanged emails with her, and became Mishelle a number of times. The time went fairly quickly, but it was lonely without Masumi around. The last Friday that Mike was spending in DC, he was packing his things for the drive home on Saturday. And, there was a knock on the door. He walked over, opened it, and there stood Sam, with a very big smile on her face. Just like that time five years ago, they just looked at each other for the longest time, she finally jumped up wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Their lips met in a very deep kiss. When they finally broke, he said, "What are you doing here?"

"Your not happy to see me?", she said with the same fake little pout that she used five years ago..

"I'm very happy to see you! But, what are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"No kidding. A wonderful surprise. But, why are you here?"

"I really missed you. And, thought that you might like company on the drive home."

"I would enjoy that more than you know."

She helped him finish packing. Then, he took her out to dinner, at a very nice restaurant that he had found. That night they spent a long time getting reacquainted.

Saturday morning they checked the apartment, to be sure they hadn't forgotten anything. And, hauled the suitcases down to the car, and started the eight hour trip home. As the were pulling out of the parking lot, Masumi said, "Let's not go straight home."

"Why?"

"There's no rush to get there. Besides, I want to see something out this way."

"Ok. Where do you want to go?"

"It's a secret."

"Well, if it's a secret. How am I going to know how to get there?"

"I have instructions for you. You just need to follow them."

"Ok. Ok. Where do I go?"

"Can you find I-95 north?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Do it, and I'll tell you from there."

They drove north about two and a half hours, until they came to the Hershey, Pennsylvania exit. And, Masumi said, "Here's where we get off." And, she continued to give him directions, until they pulled up in front of the Hotel Hershey. He looked at her, and said, "You've got be kidding. This place has got to be expensive."

"There you go, complaining again. Lover, just relax and enjoy."

The bell hop met them at the curb, and Masumi showed him what suitcases to take. A valet took the car to be parked. And, the couple walked into a very elegant hotel. Masumi walked over to the desk, checked them in, and the bell hop took them to their room. He set the luggage in the room, and Masumi thanked him with a very nice tip.

Mike just shook his head, this was more than a room, it was a suite. There was a bedroom, with a king size bed, a sitting room, and a bathroom with a large Jacuzzi tub. Mike said, "I can't believe this. A suite. A suite, with a sitting room, a bedroom, and a bathroom that's almost bigger than our apartment."

"Lover. Over the next two days, don't plan on seeing much of the sitting room. Plan on spending a long time getting reacquainted in the bedroom and the Jacuzzi.", she said, with a gleam in her eyes.

Kidding he said, "I thought we got reacquainted last night?"

"Lover. You don't make up for three months in one night."

She picked up the phone, dialed room service, and ordered them lunch. While they waited, they unpacked, and put their clothes away. In about fifteen minutes there was a knock at the door, Mike opened it, and the room service waiter rolled a cart in. Masumi gave him a nice tip, and they sat down to a nice lunch. After they were done, Mike rolled the cart out in the hall, turned around, and was attacked by Masumi. It wasn't long before she not only had his clothes off, but hers also. She took his hand, and lead him into the bathroom. As she closed the door, she said "Lets try out the Jacuzzi."

Quite a while later, she walked out of the bathroom, wrapping a terrycloth robe around herself, turned around looked at Mike, who was still in the Jacuzzi, and said, with a big grin, "Well, that made up for the first week. One down, and eleven to go."

As he sunk lower into the Jacuzzi, he said, "If we keep this up, I'm not going to be able to walk."

They really did leave the hotel. Later that afternoon, they went to downtown Hershey and walked the shops. Then that evening, they had dinner in the hotels restaurant, and took a walk around the grounds. They found a place to sit, somewhat like at her parents house, and just cuddled for awhile. Eventually they headed back to their room. They found the bed turned down, and four Hershey Kisses on the pillows. Masumi, looked at the Kisses, then at Mike, and said, "You'd better eat those, lover. Your going to need the energy tonight."

They slept in the next morning, recovering from the nights activity. Masumi was up first, and was sitting at the dresser brushing her hair, when Mike rolled over, and watched her. She saw him in the mirror, and said, "Good morning, lover."

"Good morning, babe. Did you sleep good?"

"Sure did. Did you?"

"Yep. You wore me out yesterday."

"Wore you out? I sure hope not. I still have a lot time to make up for."

He just smiled. Getting out of bed, he headed for the shower. After he got started, she joined him. It was a long shower.

They went down to the restaurant for lunch, and again walked around the grounds, admiring the golf course. They found the same bench, and sat for awhile. Finally Masumi said, "Think Mishelle would like to go out for dinner tonight?"

"Maybe. Where did you have in mind?"

"I saw a place downtown that looked interesting."

"Sounds good. Let's go find Mishelle."

They headed back to their room. Masumi pulled out Mishelle's suitcase, and placed it on the bed. She dug out the black corset, black nylons, black satin panty, black slip, breast forms, black wig, and the makeup case. Mike looked at her, and said, "Looks like were really getting dressed up?"

"You've got it lover. I even brought along that silky little black dress. You know, how about Miyuki tonight?"

"Can you do it?"

"I think we can. May take a little work. But, it'll be fun. Get changed, and then we'll start on the makeup."

Mike stripped, slipped on the black satin panty, and the nylons. Then he wrapped the corset around himself, fastened the busk, and slipped in the breast forms. Masumi then tightened the lacings, and fastened the nylons to the garter tabs. He then pulled a pair of shiny black three inch sling back shoes out of the case, and put them on.

It was then Masumi's turn. She got a towel from the bath, and wrapped it around his neck. She then took a good close look at his face, grabbed the tweezers, and went to work on his eyebrows. He had let them go, so she had some real work to do, and she grumbled at him a little bit about not taking care of his appearance like a girl should. She then throughly cleaned his face, to remove any oils. Had him put on his wig cap, and tuck all his hair under it. Then she carefully applied the eye tabs, to pull the corner of his eyes up, and give them an Oriental appearance. Added the tapes above his eyebrows, to give them a nice arch. Stood back, and took a long hard look. She smiled her approval.

Next came the moisturizer. Mike's face was nice, clear, and soft, and she didn't want to ruin his complexion. She then told him, "I want to try and change your skin tone to be closer to mine, more Oriental. So, I stopped at that costume shop, and picked up this foundation. It's supposed to change your skin tone, we'll see." She carefully applied the foundation, being sure to cover everything that would show, including his cleavage. She again stood back for a good look, and smiled. "You know. Not bad. Not bad at all. I just wish I had enough to do something with your arms, because they aren't going to match."

"It's cool out today, so I could always wear a sweater over the dress."

"Good idea."

She continued working on his face. She went with a somewhat sultry look, which looked really good on Miyuki. She used black on his eyebrows, and bright red lipstick. She then removed the black wig from a box, carefully brushed it out, and placed it on his head. She had it styled in the same manner as her hair. It was done in a shag cut, that just rested on his shoulders. She fussed around with it a little, brushed it a little, and smiled. She removed the towel, and said with a deep bow, "Gobusata shite imasu, Miyuki." (I haven't seen you in a long time, Miyuki.)

"Kochira koso, Masumi", Miyuki replied. (Same here, Masumi)

"Take a look, lover. I think you'll like it."

Miyuki turned, and looked in the mirror. Looking back at her was a pretty Japanese girl, with dark eyes, long dark hair, and a pretty smile. Masumi had done a wonderful job.

"Wow. If I didn't know better, I would think that I'm looking at the picture of a another person."

"I have a little confession to make."

"A confession?"

"Uh huh. I needed something to occupy my time while you were gone, and didn't have any studying to do. I found out that the costume store offered classes in makeup. So, I checked it out. For the most part they taught how to do clown, fright, and that sort of makeup. But, I talked to the instructor, and she said that she could help me. And, you can see the result."

"Time well spent, babe!" He looked closer in the mirror. "Is there no end to your talents? I think that I almost like Miyuki better than Mishelle."

He got up, put the black slip on, and then the little black dress. Looked in the mirror, and just loved what he saw, as did Masumi. He took the black sweater that Masumi had brought, and slipped it on. It was a little tight, but would do for tonight. It didn't take Masumi long to get ready, they gathered their things, including Miyuki's wedding and engagement rings, walked out of the room, and to the elevator. They exited the elevator at the lobby, and started walking to the front door with their heals clicking on the marble floor.. They noticed everyone watching them, and smiling at two pretty girls. This had happened before, and they loved it. They had a very enjoyable meal, and walked around the area a little. Miyuki didn't want to walk too far in three inch heels.

After they returned to the hotel, they found their bench, and sat for awhile. They didn't sit long, as it had turned cold, and Masumi didn't have a coat with her. They headed back into the hotel, to the same looks, and smiles. As they walked into the room, Masumi turned around, and gave Miyuki a deep kiss. After breaking the kiss, Masumi said, "You know lover. When you dress as a girl, it's a major turn on for me. Mishelle is a turn on. But, there is something about Miyuki that really gets me hot." She kissed Miyuki again. It wasn't long before they were undressing each other. It took a little longer to remove what Miyuki was wearing, but not much. They made love with Mike still looking like a girl, makeup and a wig.

The next morning, they had a light breakfast in their room, and packed up everything. Masumi was unusually quiet. The bell hop took there suitcases back to the lobby, they took care of the bill, and headed home. It was a quiet ride, to start with. It looked like Masumi was in deep thought, and Mike didn't want to disturb her. He knew she would talk when she was ready.

It was a good two hours into their drive home, when Masumi finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry I've been so quiet. But, I've just been trying to sort out things."

"That's ok, babe. What kind of things?"

"How I felt last night."

"How's that?"

"Back when you first told me that you liked to dress like a girl, it was a real turn on. And, there have been times, when you've been dressed, that if we hadn't gotten out of house, I would have been all over you."

"Really."

"Yes. And, last night after you were all made up as Miyuki. We were lucky to make it out of the room. It was such a major turn on. The only thing I could think of all night, was what I wanted to do to you when we got back to the room."

"And, have you been able to figure things out?"

"No. And, it kind of scares me. Why do I feel like I do when your dressed as a girl? Am I really a lesbian, bi, or what? Why do I feel this way?"

They were coming up on a rest area along the Interstate, and Mike pulled in. This rest area was one of those that had a really nice picnic area. So, Mike parked the car near that area. As it was early, it was deserted. Mike got out, went around to the other side of the car, and helped Masumi out. Holding her hand, he led her over to one of the picnic tables, and they sat facing each other. She looked at him a little strangely, and started to say something. He hushed her by saying, "Hush. Just close your eyes, and sit here quietly for a few minutes." She closed her eyes, and sat quietly.

Mike finally said, "Ok. Keep your eyes closed, and give me your hands."

She reached her hands out to him. He took them, and said, "Now, I want you to visualize something, and don't say anything until you have a complete picture in your mind."

She nodded yes.

Mike continued, "When I say so. I want you to open your eyes, take a good look at me, close your eyes, think about what you saw, and then tell me what you see. Ok, open your eyes."

Masumi, opened her eyes, looked Mike face over very carefully, closed her eyes again, and thought for a long while. She then said, "I see my best friend, my soul mate, my husband, and my lover. I see someone that I love to spent all my time with."

"Ok. Keep your eyes closed. And, visualize Mishelle and Miyuki. Then tell me what you see."

She sat silently even longer. Then said, "With them, I see my best girl friends. I see the other side of my husband, his feminine side. I see someone that I am very comfortable with, and love to be with. I see a girl that I really know is my husband. I see someone that is also my lover."

"Ok. Keep them closed. Now, visualize your real girl friends, back home, and here. Visualize, Kioko, Suki, Jean, Dee, Kathy, and anyone else you want to. Then tell me what you see."

It didn't take her long. She said, "I see friends. Good friends. I see people that I like to have fun with, and are fun to be with."

"One more. Think back to the crossdressers club that we went to in Japan. Visualize some of the guys there dressed as girls. Some of the better ones. What do you see?"

This took her a little longer than the last one, but she smiled, and said, "I saw some guys that liked to express there feminine side. They were fun to be around."

"Good. Ok you can open your eyes now."

She opened her eyes, and hit him with that very contagious smile of hers. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

He continued, "Think about what you told me about the four things I had you think about. And, then tell me what you see about yourself."

She sat there for a couple of minutes, then said, "You should be the psych major, not me. You opened my eyes. I see, as I've known for a long time, that I am deeply in love with you. Both of you. That I am possibly deeper in love with your feminine side. But, that in the end, I want the male side more. That I'm not interested in anyone else, male or female, crossdressed or not. I still need to think about this more, but now the water is no longer muddy."

They got up, she threw her arms around his neck, and gave him a deep kiss. She broke it, and said, "I can not tell you this enough. I love you."

He smiled at her, and said, "I love you, too."

They walked hand in hand, back to the car. And, finished there drive home in a more normal way, Masumi was her usual chatty self.

Back Home

It didn't take long for Mike to settle back into their apartment. He had really missed his own bed, and cuddling with Masumi. The studies for their Masters degrees went along very well, both of them always close to the top in their class. At the start of his final semester, Mike was called into his advisors office. Dr. Wolfe had been his advisor since his Junior year, and they were actually friends. Mike showed up at the appointed hour.

"Hello Mike.", Dr. Wolfe started out, "Have a seat."

"Hi Dr. Wolfe. What's up?"

"Oh nothing much. Just some good news."

"Good news?"

"The group that you interned with in DC was very impressed with you. And, they wanted to be first in line to offer you a job when you graduated. So, they sent this letter to me, to pass on to you."

Dr Wolfe handed Mike a sealed envelope. Mike kind of just looked at it for a minute, then opened it, and read the letter. He looked at Dr. Wolfe. And, Dr. Wolfe said, "Congratulations. You'll be the first graduate from this program that was offered a job directly with this department, if you decide to take it. We do have other graduates working there, but they had to work there way in."

"Wow. Dr. Wolfe, this is too much. I'm going to have to talk with Masumi before I make a decision. She was going to do her doctoral work here."

"Yes, I know. But, there are some very fine colleges in the Washington area. Remember, you don't need to say yes or no to them right away. They just wanted to be the first to offer you a job. You will get others. Just let them know that you're interested."

Mike thanked Dr. Wolfe, and headed home. Masumi was at class, and it was his turn to make dinner. He put together one of her favorite dinners, and even a bottle of her favorite wine. She arrived home just as he was finishing cooking, she helped him put everything on the table, and as usual they sat next to each other at the table. She could tell that he was excited about something, but was going to wait for him to bring it up. After they had cleared the table, he poured more wine, and handed her the letter.

She asked, "What's this?"

"Read it."

She looked at the return address on the letter, and looked at Mike with a mixture of surprise, excitement, and concern. She slowly removed the letter, and read it. Looked at Mike, and read the letter again. Her look turned to one of excitement. She got up, sat in his lap, and kissed him.

"Honey," she said, "this is fantastic. I'm so proud."

"Easy. We need to talk about this. You planned on doing your doctoral here."

"Honey. This is more important. There are good schools in Washington. Have you told anyone else?"

"No. Just Dr. Wolfe. But, he's the one that told me. The letter was sent to him. He said that they wanted to get their foot in the door with a job offer before anyone else did. I don't have to tell them yes or no right away. Just let them know that I'm interested."

"Are you?"

"Very much so. That department does some very intriguing things."

Dr. Wolfe was right. Mike received other interesting job offers. But, none that were as good as the first one. He, and Masumi, made the decision to accept the offer from this certain government department.. So, he contacted them, and they sent him a packet of forms to be filled out. They needed his life story, and a bunch of references. He was told that all of his references, relatives, and neighbors, would be contacted during a background check. As he finished, he sat back with a little bit of a concerned look. Masumi looked at him, and asked, "What's the matter? Got a question that you can't answer."

"No. Not that. I just had a sinking feeling."

"What?"

"Some of these people on the references list know about my other self. I'm kind of worried that it might effect my getting this job."

"Honey. If your supposed to work for them, you will. And, don't let it worry you. We'll cross that bridge when, and if, we come to it."

"I guess your right."

He finished up the packet of questions, and sent it off. He heard from a number of people that they had been contacted, some by mail, and others directly. One day he was working in the psych department, and Dr. Ruth called him into her office. "Have a seat, Mike.", she said.

"I had a visit the other day from the people that are doing your background checks. And, one of the thing they asked was if you had, for lack of a better word, kinks. And, seeing who these people are, I told them the truth. Well, at least part of the truth."

"The truth?"

"Yea. About you coming to my party dressed as a very passable Geisha. But, I didn't tell them that you had told me about being a crossdresser. I felt that this was patient doctor privilege."

He sunk down in his chair, with a very downtrodden look on his face.

Dr. Ruth continued, "Mike. Don't worry. The girl didn't even blink an eye when I said it. And, just continued on with other questions. I'm sorry, but I figured that I'd better tell them."

"I was afraid of this. It's not your fault. Damn. Damn. Damn."

He got up, and slowly walked out of her office. Later that day, as he walked into the apartment, he was met at the door my Masumi. She made a big fuss over him, trying to cheer him up. He said, "Dr. Ruth called you. Didn't she?"

"Yes, she did. She is really concerned about you."

"Did she tell you everything?"

"Yes. She's a good friend."

"Your right. It's not her fault. I've screwed this up. Big time!"

"Honey. Don't be this way. You don't know anything yet. Please don't be negative about this."

"I'll try."

Over the next couple of weeks, Mike was still down. And, Masumi did her best to keep his spirts up. Then one afternoon, the phone rang, and Mike answered, "Hello."..."Yes, this is Mike Gifford."..."Yes, hello Mr. Warner."..."Yes."..."Yes. I can do that."..."Yes. Fine."..."Yes, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

When Masumi came home, he was sitting in the kitchen with a puzzled look on his face. "What's the matter?", she asked.

"I got a telephone call from Mr. Warner, the head of that department in Washington, this afternoon."

She thought, 'God no. They turned him down.' But, said in an positive tone, "What did he want?"

"They want me to come to Washington tomorrow for some tests and interviews."

"That's great. Tomorrow! That's kind of short notice."

"I guess it's just the way they do things."

"It may be a good sign. If they weren't interested they could have just send a form letter, saying so."

"True."

Very early the following morning Masumi drove Mike to the airport, he was dressed in his one and only conservative suit. She could tell he was both nervous and excited. He stopped by the airline courtesy desk, and his round trip ticket was waiting for him. She walked with him as far as she could, gave him a big hug and kiss, and whispered, "I love you. And, everything will be just fine." She watched the plane leave, and drove back home. She prayed that everything would work out.

That evening, she met his plane. It was a late flight, and didn't get in until after eleven. She watched everyone walk down the concourse, Mike was one of the last ones. She couldn't tell by the expression on his face what had happened. The only thing she could tell was that he was tired. He walked up to her, and kissed her. They walked hand in hand out to the car without saying much. Once in the car, she looked at him, and said, "Well?"

He took a letter out of his inner coat pocket, handed it to her, and said, "Read this."

She took the letter, opened it, and read it. Her eyes got teary. She looked at Mike, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him. Finally breaking the kiss, she was crying, crying with happiness, and she said, "See, I told you everything would work out." The letter was a formal job offer. She asked him, "Did you tell them yes?"

"What do you think? Of course I did."

Again, she kissed him. On the way home, he filled her in on his day. How he was met at the airport by Mr. Warner, and taken to a breakfast meeting with a number of people from the department. It was basically, a friendly, get to know each other meeting. Then it was off to Mr. Warner's office for a number tests. Nothing much out of the ordinary. Then he had a number of one on one meetings with various people. The last one, was the one he kind of dreaded, it was with a psychologist. They talked for a long time about a number of things, including his relationship with Masumi, his relationship with his parents, and hers. Then the subject he dreaded came up, his dressing as the Geisha for the party. He confessed to the psychologist that he was a crossdresser, that only Masumi, his parents, his brother and sister, Masumi's parents, and sister, and Dr. Halloran were the only ones that knew. They talked about it for a long time.

That evening, before catching his flight home, Mr. Warner had taken him out to a late dinner. They had talked about the day, his tests, and his meetings. Mr. Warner finally brought up the crossdressing. He had told Mike, that in most cases, if they knew about it ahead of time, like they did about his, it wasn't a problem. And, that it only became a problem if they didn't know about it, and things became compromised. In fact there were a few people in the department that were crossdressers, and only a very few people knew about them.

As they were sitting enjoying desert, Mr. Warner had handed Mike the envelope. Mike had opened it, and it contained two copies of the letter that he has shown Masumi. Mike needed to accept or refuse the job offer, by signing on one of two lines. Mr. Warner had told Mike that he didn't need to make up his mind right away. But, Mike told Mr. Warner, that he had already discussed this with Masumi, and that they had decided that he should accept the job if it was offered. So, Mike had signed the acceptance line on one copy of the letter, and had given it to Mr. Warner.

A couple of weeks later they took a trip to Washington to see about various things, an apartment, college for her, and he needed to meet with others at the department. They found a very nice brownstone apartment, in the Georgetown area of Washington, it was two stories, had two bedrooms, a nice kitchen, dining area, and livingroom. It also had a garage off a back alley. They took it without looking at any others. She visited the two or three colleges that she was interested in, and, as luck would have it, decided to apply to Georgetown University which was only a short walk from the apartment.

The Move

Two weeks before they were to move, Masumi received a letter of acceptance from Georgetown to do her Doctoral there. There were also a number of going away parties planned. There was one with just Mike's family, there was one with the people from the Psychology Department, and another special one. The special one was planned by Dr Ruth, she had asked Mike to come dressed as Miyuki, and for her and Masumi to arrive at different times. Masumi first, if possible. Mike questioned her as to why, but she said it was a surprise.

The first two parties were great. Mike's mom cried most of the time, as she said, "Her baby was moving away." Mike assured her that they would be back home as often as possible.

The party at Dr. Ruth's was to be a small affair, only four or five couples. Mike was a little nervous, because of the request Dr. Ruth had made about him coming as Miyuki, and Masumi and Miyuki arriving at different times. Masumi wasn't worried at all, and encouraged Mike to relax and enjoy the party.

Mike spent most of the afternoon getting ready. Masumi had suggested a nice long bath, with nice smelling bath oils, to help him relax.. They checked his body to be sure all his body hair was gone. He did his nails, finger and toes. He had thought about wearing a kimono, but thought it would be better to wear an evening gown. Mike started out dressing with a g-string, followed by black nylons, breast forms, and his corset. Masumi just loved lacing him up, and attaching his nylons to the garter tabs. Masumi was going to do his makeup, as they had found that she did a better job with the oriental look than he did. She put the eye-tabs in place, followed by the eyebrow tape, a good moisturizer, then the new foundation, followed by the eye makeup. The bright red lipstick was the crowning glory of Mike's makeup. Masumi then carefully placed the black wig over his wig cap, adjusted it, pinning it, and brushed it out. Masumi had also found a spray, at the costume store, that would temporary change Mike's skin tone, making it closer to hers. She carefully sprayed his arms, back, chest, and shoulders. She said, "Take a look."

Mike looked in the mirror, and Masumi had done a marvelous job. Miyuki had never looked so good. He looked at Masumi, bowed, and said, "Arigatou gozaimasu, Masumi." (Thank you.)

Bowing to Miyuki, Masumi said, "Dou itashi mashite, Miyuki" (You're Welcome.)

As Miyuki finished dressing, Masumi started getting ready. They had found a very pretty dark blue, satin, evening gown, at a local thrift store, and it was a perfect fit for Miyuki. It fell to her ankles, and had a slit high up the right side. Miyuki also wore a pair of black, four inch open toed heels, with ankle straps. Masumi was also dressed to kill. She wore an off the shoulder, black dress, that ended about mid thigh. And, her makeup was as good as Miyuki's.

As they were getting ready to leave, Miyuki said, "I'm starting to get really nervous about this. Walking in without you... I'm just not sure about it." And, she sat down on the arm of the couch.

"Honey. There is nothing to be nervous about. Dr. Ruth would never do anything to embarrass you, or humiliate you. I think she may be wanting you to make a grand entrance."

"I know, but I'm just not sure of this. I know some of the people who'll be there, you and me of course, Dr. Ruth and her husband, Dr. Wolfe and his wife, and they have never met Miyuki. But, these two other couples? And, won't they wonder, you showing up by yourself. Without me."

"Honey. Dr. Ruth is doing this for some reason. I don't know why. But, if we don't get going, we are going to be late.", Masumi said, handing Miyuki her purse, smiling at her, and kissing her on the cheek.

Miyuki took a deep breath, and walked out to the car. She drove, and was still very nervous. When they arrived at Dr. Ruths, Masumi said, "Wait about five to ten minutes, then come in. Ok?"

"Ok. I guess."

"Relax. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Masumi got out of the car, leaving Miyuki sitting alone. Miyuki saw Dr. Ruth open the door, and welcome Masumi. Then the door closed. Miyuki was alone with her thoughts.

Miyuki waited, nervously, for about ten minutes, checked her lipstick, got out of the car, and walked up to the door. She stood there for awhile, and could hear voices inside. They sounded friendly, like they were having a good time. She reached for the doorbell button, and pushed it. Within a minute Dr. Ruth opened the door, smiled at Miyuki, took her hands in a friendly manner, and led her into the house. She gave Miyuki a kiss on the cheek, and said, "I'm so glad that you came tonight. And, you look so pretty. There are some people here who really want to meet you."

"Thank you, Dr. Ruth. But, I'm so nervous. You have been so secretive about this dinner, that I almost didn't come."

"Dear. There is nothing to worry about. Come. Everyone is in the den."

Dr. Ruth took Miyuki by the arm, and walked with her into the den. As soon as Miyuki saw who was there she froze. There was Masumi, Dr. Ruth's husband, Dr. Wolfe, and his wife. Also, there was a Japanese couple. But, what sent chills up Miyuki's spine was the other two people in the room.

- End Part 3 -