In the back of the car Jimmy Wood was again noting the time. His watch now saying it was 7 a.m. “Is this going to work or not?”
Sean, who was seated directly behind Mark Wood, and across from his best friend said. “Jimmy....”
A brief synopsis- Sean Dempsey and Jimmy Wood are best friends. Jimmy lives with his widowed father Mark Wood, Sean with his dying grandma. When Sean's grandmother dies, he faces the fortunate prospect of living with family members who don't love him. A visit to Spells R Us by Jimmy may supply a solution to both family's situations.
This story is dedicated to Fictionmania author Eric.
Author’s notes- Before someone thinks I’m deranged, I really do know a Philippine born nurse named Cherrypie.
“Where are you going so early in the morning?” Mark Wood asked his son James or Jimmy. It was early on a fall Saturday morning in Brattleboro Vermont. The time being a few minutes before 7:30.
Like most teenagers, Jimmy Wood liked to sleep in late on weekends. “I was going over to Sean’s. Is that all right Dad?”
Sean Dempsey had been Jimmy’s best friend for around five years. “That’s fine. Do you think you and Sean will want to join me when I go into town later?
“Don’t know Dad.” Jimmy said with a shrug.
“Just let me know. We can all go see a movie together if you want.”
“I’ll let Sean know. How’s your ankle?”
Mark Wood had slipped and fallen outside his home four days earlier. A visit to the local emergency room showed the father had sprained his right ankle. Since then Marc Wood had been hobbling around on crutches.
“Pretty good. I’m getting around without the crutches now.”
“That’s good. See you later Dad.”
Jimmy bicycled his way over to Sean’s house. It was a pleasantly cool Vermont day, the leaves already beginning to turn brown. As Jimmy made the five-minute bike trip, two neighbors waved at the boy.
On arrival at Sean’s home, Jimmy rang the doorbell. He didn’t get an answer, so Jimmy rang again. Another minute passed, therefore Jimmy rang the bell a third time.
Jimmy was certain Sean was home. A car was in the driveway, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Sean’s grandmother, Dorothy McGuire, was very ill and seldom used the car any more. That also meant Sean would more than likely be home. The young man was probably seeing to his grandmother right then and unable to answer the door.
After almost five minutes of waiting, Sean opened the door. “Sean man, its good to see you. Can I come in?”
“Yes.” Sean said to his friend as he held the door open for him. Jimmy noticing the tired or worried look on his friend’s face.
Once they were inside, Jimmy took his jacket off. “What’s going on?”
“The usual. Grandma isn’t feeling well.”
“Bummer.”
Dorothy McGuire was in her early seventies. Over fifty years of smoking had taken its toll on the woman. She didn’t have cancer, but the smoking had still abused her body. Emphysema being one side effect from the use of tobacco. Heart trouble was another.
“You eat breakfast yet?” Sean asked.
“Yes. You?”
“No, not yet. I was busy with Grandma. She’s asleep now. Mind if I make myself something?”
“Not at all.” Jimmy and Sean then retired to the kitchen.
While Sean ate, Jimmy got caught up on what his friend had been doing. The two thirteen-year-olds hadn’t talked since about 5 p.m. the previous day.
“Grandma had a rough night.”
“I’m sorry. Didn’t she go to the doctor yesterday?”
Sean nodded his head. “Yes but they said the same thing. Grandma is real sick and she won’t live too much longer.”
Jimmy had lost his mother four years previous. His mother, Bonnie Rachel Wood, dying in a auto accident. Ever since it had been just he and his widowed father living alone. Mark Wood had a lucrative law practice in Brattleboro.
The story of Sean’s parents was even sadder than that of the Wood family. Sean’s father, Randall Dempsey was in jail for the murder of the boy’s mother. Late one evening six years previous, Randall Dempsey had come home drunk. What happened next is unknown, Sean Dempsey was asleep at the time, but his parents began to argue.
The fight turned violent. Randall Dempsey, heavily drunk, took a baseball bat his son owned and bashed it over the head of Melissa Dempsey three times. Melissa Dempsey was dead by the time paramedics arrived.
With his mother dead, and his father serving life in a Pennsylvania prison, Sean went to live with his maternal grandparents. There the boy’s sad life continued. Ten days after arriving in Vermont, Sean came home to find his grandfather dead of a heart attack.
In spite of all the dramas and tragedies he’d undergone, Sean Dempsey was usually a cheerful youth. Not today, the imminent death of his grandmother was weighing heavily on Sean’s mind. What would happen to Sean after she died?
“Dad was inviting you to join us in going to the movies this afternoon.”
“I don’t know if I can go. It will depend on how Grandma is feeling. Tell your Dad thanks for offering if I can’t make it.”
“I will.”
At that precise moment, Sean began to cry. Jimmy didn’t say anything but let his friend pour out his emotions. It wasn’t the first time Sean had cried in front of Jimmy.
“What is going to me happen after Grandma dies? My Uncle and Aunt in Ohio don’t give a fuck about me! They just want Grandma’s money not me.”
“I’m sorry.” Jimmy answered back. A year previous, Mark Wood had offered to be Sean’s guardian if and when the boy’s grandmother died. While she respected Mr. Wood and knew her grandson was fond of the his best friend’s father, Dorothy McGuire had refused to change her will. No reason was given.
“If only I could come to live with you guys. Your Dad is super to me.” Sean said as he stopped crying.
“I hope your grandmother lives long enough that you can finish school here.”
Sean stared at his half eaten bowl of cereal. “The doctors don’t think Grandma has long to live. I overheard her saying that on the phone two nights ago.”
“Bummer.” Jimmy replied to his friend. If only there was something he could do for Sean.
Dorothy McGuire was too sick that Saturday to allow her grandson to go out. So Sean’s outing with Jimmy and his father was postponed. Another month would pass before Sean could get away for a day. By then his grandmother was having a brief upswing in regards to her health.
In the interim, Mark Wood was hospitalized for ten days. Four days after his son Jimmy’s visit to the McGuire house, Mark was found almost passed out in his law office. His secretary immediately called 911.
Marc Wood, possibly due to the combination of his slip and fall and the fact the overweight forty-three year-old suffered from edema in one leg, had blood clots form in his body and shoot to his lungs. The father had suffered a pulmonary embolism.
Pulmonary embolisms are very scary experiences, and often fatal for those who suffer them. The first three days Mark was in the hospital were touch and go. Mark was so short of breath, eating was next to impossible for the father. He would soon become out of breath with his oxygen mask off.
Jimmy’s father did pull through. On the day he arrived at the hospital, Mark had a Greenfield filter inserted to prevent further pulmonary embolisms. After that he spent four days in the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s SICU. When Mark was finally considered out of danger, he was transferred to a room on the fourth floor.
Mark’s close call of course scared his son Jimmy greatly. During his father’s hospitalization, Jimmy stayed with the Cavallaros, Michael and Michelle plus their two children. Michael Cavallaro was Mark Wood’s best friend.
“Dad, I’m so glad you’re out of intensive care.” Jimmy told his father shortly after Mark Wood’s transfer to the fourth floor. “I was really frightened.”
“Son, I’m going to be fine.”
Right then a nurse entered the room. “Hello Mr. Wood, I’m your nurse for today. How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad.” Mark answered as he watched the nurse fill out the chalk board in front of her patient’s bed. On it were the date, room number, names of the nurse and the nurse’s aide plus their phone extension numbers.
“Cherrypie?” Jimmy asked.
“Yes that’s my name.” The nurse answered back. She had black hair, brown eyes, moderately tanned skin and spoke good English but with a slight accent.
“You’re Filipino?” Mark Wood asked.
“Yes I am.” Cherrypie replied before taking her patient’s vitals. When done, Cherrypie left the room.
“Dad do a lot of nurses come from the Philippines?”
“Yes son, they do. There is a nursing shortage in this country. Hospitals hire these ladies to come to work here.”
“I think I’ve seen other nurses like Cherrypie while you were here.”
“You probably did.” Brattleboro was a town of 12,000 plus people. Very few of which were Asian, but Jimmy seemed to think from his father’s short time in the hospital, half of them worked at Brattleboro Memorial.
“She’s pretty Dad, don’t you think?”
“Yes Cherrypie certainly is.”
“Dad, when you get out of here maybe you can ask Cherrypie out on a date.”
This wasn’t the first time James Edward ‘Jimmy’ Wood had tried to set his father up on a date or tried prodding him to ask some woman out. It had to be the twentieth time at least since Bonnie Wood had passed away.
Mark appreciated that his son was so concerned for him, that he wanted to find his Dad suitable company. The father was just being realistic or practical in this matter. Who wanted to date a middle-aged attorney(age 43) who was not just ugly but at least fifty pounds overweight? Mark’s father standing 6'2 but weighing somewhere between 250-260 pounds.
Jimmy was suggesting he ask this nurse out. All Mark Wood could see were reasons for Cherrypie to say no, including the important point that at that moment he was her patient. The same rules that applied to doctors and lawyers, almost certainly applied to nurses. You don’t get romantically involved with a patient or client.
In any case, the father wasn’t going to ask Cherrypie out. Why would any young attractive woman want to date him?
Mark Wood never had much self confidence when it came to dealing with the opposite sex. His late wife Bonnie, bless her soul, had loved Mark despite his many failings. Finding another woman like that, who would also accept his son James, appeared impossible in Mark Wood’s mind. Why ask when you’re certain to be rejected?
“I’ll think about it son,” Mark said as he reached for the television remote control. “Lets see if there’s a good college football game on this afternoon.
Jimmy shook his head. His father still refused to make even the slightest attempt to find a wife. And why? His father was a good guy. Some woman would be lucky to have his Dad for a husband Jimmy thought.
Not that Jimmy and his father didn’t have a good life now. But in five years Jimmy would be leaving for college. Probably going somewhere out of state. Jimmy would prefer to not leave his father alone when that time came.
Six days later Mark Wood was discharged from the hospital. After a further week’s rest at home, Mark went back to work at his law office. The father never did make any attempt at asking Cherrypie out, despite several more promptings from his son.
Sean Dempsey arrived at the Wood house a few minutes after eight on Saturday morning. It was an overcast, cool, October Vermont day.
Jimmy Wood was the one to answer the door. “Sean, come on in. Dad is just getting dressed. He’ll be down in a minute.”
Mark Wood was downstairs two minutes later. If his hospital stay had any silver lining, it was that Jimmy’s father had lost 27 pounds as a result of it. Mark was still overweight but not nearly as much now.
“Hi Mr. Wood, how are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. Thanks for asking. How’s your Grandma?”
“Not too bad today. She said I could stay the day with you. A friend was coming over to the house.”
“Are you boys ready then?”
“Yes Dad.”
“Then lets get going.”
Fall in the Northeast, meant the change of seasons. Leaves turning brown and eventually falling off trees. The Wood house had a fair size back yard, and a larger side one. On the property there were five full grown trees. These produced a great many leafs, and today was the day Marc Wood had chosen to begin raking them up.
Mark had only been out of the hospital two weeks, but his energy levels were almost back to normal. With Jimmy and Sean helping, the three men got the leaves raked and bagged in a little over four hours.
When they were done, Mark made sandwiches for Jimmy and Sean. “Thanks Sean for helping us out.”
“No problem Mr. Wood. I appreciate everything you do for me.”
“You guys want to see a movie this afternoon then?”
Sean and Jimmy both said yes almost simultaneously. The trouble soon arose as to which movie the boys wanted to see. There were both a Sci-Fi and horror movie showing then. Jimmy and Sean were divided as to which one to see.
Mark would let the boys decide if they could. The father had no preference. “So what’s the decision?”
“How about we go see both?”
Mark didn’t have a problem with this. There was one concern. “Can you go to both or will Grandma need you home?”
“I’ll have to call and check.”
Fortunately for Sean, his grandmother gave her blessing. She just asked that Mark Wood have her grandson home by nine.
Mark took the boys to a movie theater at a Brattleboro area outlet mall. The first movie started at 1:30, the second one at 4:15. By the time both flicks were over, the time was 6:30.
After the movies were done, Mark, Sean and Jimmy got some McDonald’s at the mall’s food court. While eating their fast food, the father and boys talked sports and other topics they enjoyed.
“Thank you for taking me Mr. Wood.”
“You’re welcome Sean. I hope you had a good time.”
“Yes I did.”
After they finished eating, the men walked around the mall a little. None of them were much into shopping, but there were a few stores of interest. A video game store was one, another was a sporting goods store. Mark, Jimmy, and Sean visited both of these.
Another store of interest to Mark and Sean, but not as much to Jimmy, was a discount book store. Jimmy’s father and best friend were eager to spend time in there but he wasn’t.
“Dad do you mind if I walk around a little?”
“No son, not at all. Just make sure to be back here by 8:00. We’ll be needing to get Sean home shortly after that.”
“Thanks Dad.” Jimmy then walked back out into the mall. The thirteen-year-old heading no where in particular.
Before going into the book store, Jimmy had noticed an odd looking store. It had a very plain sign above it that read ‘Spells R Us’. It sounded weird, and having nothing better to do, Jimmy decided to check it out.
The inside of the shop was very plain. Some cases with merchandise both on top and inside of them. There were shelves behind the counter where even more merchandise was stored. Jimmy began to walk around the shop, curious as to what was sold there.
“Welcome to Spells R Us.”
Jimmy turned around to see an old man dressed in only a bathrobe. “Hello.”
“If you need any help let me know.”
“I will.”
“There’s a discount table by the door,” The wizard told Jimmy. “We also have some new computer software in. You may find these to be of interest.”
“Thanks.”
Jimmy didn’t see anything of note till he found the software the old man mentioned. For Jimmy Wood was pretty much a computer geek. His father often his son that his best friend was the computer. Other than Sean that is.
It didn’t take too long for Jimmy to find computer software that looked interesting. “What does this transgender morph 2007 do?”
“Would you like a demonstration?”
Jimmy still had twenty minutes before he had to rendevous with his father and Sean. “Yes please, I would.”
Taking a laptop out from below the counter, the wizard began giving Jimmy a demonstration. The computer was already on and had the program installed on it.
“Click one of the photos in the gallery.” The wizard told Jimmy.
There were twenty pictures to choose one. Jimmy clicked on the second from the top left. After doing this another window appeared.
Please select the changes you would like made. A short menu appeared below the message.
Basic
Advanced
Super Advanced.
“I suggest the basic for now. It works faster.”
A few quick questions appeared on the screen. Each had a pull down menu.
Age
Race
Height
Weight
Color of Hair
Color of Eyes
Jimmy answered the questions quickly. When done, another question appeared on the screen.
Are you sure? Any changes once made are permanent. Jimmy clicked on the Yes button.
The picture that Jimmy earlier reappeared. It was of a pretty average white middle aged man. Within moments the changes began taking place.
When they were done, a fifteen-year-old black girl was looking back at Jimmy. “Interesting.”
“I thought you would like it. This program can change not just images but real people.”
Jimmy laughed. “That can’t be done.”
“Did you read the sign before coming in? It says Spells R Us. This is a magic shop and I’m a wizard.
‘Sure old man.’ Jimmy thought to himself as he watched the changes repeat themselves again. “How much does this program cost?”
“We have a sale this week. Today it will cost $24.95 plus tax.”
“Do you take cash?” Jimmy asked the wizard. He didn’t believe any of the magic shit the old man had mentioned to him. The guy was either overselling or was senile.
“Of course. Let me ring you up.”
Jimmy had the software and his receipt two minutes later. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Read the instructions before using the software.”
“I always read the instructions.”Jimmy told the old man before exiting the shop.
Jimmy got back to the bookstore with five minutes to spare. His father was buying a couple of books he found.
“Find something interesting?” Mr. Wood asked his son. He and Sean were standing in line to buy their purchases. The mall was closing in only a few minutes, and because of that the bookstore was busy.
“Just some computer software.”
While Mr. Wood waited in line, Sean and Jimmy talked. They tried making plans for the next day but Sean couldn’t say anything definite.
“After today, Grandma will probably want me to stay home.”
“Do you want me to come over instead?” Jimmy asked. When his mother was still alive, Jimmy would go to church every Sunday with his parents. Mark and Bonnie Wood being both Roman Catholic. Since his wife died, Mark had lost interest in church.
Before Sean got to answer, someone cut into the line. “Dad look what that guy just did.”
“Ignore it son.”
“It isn’t right. We should say something.”
Mark Wood shook his hand. “Remember what I always taught you?”
“What goes around, comes around.”
“Exactly. He’ll get his one day.” Mark told his son. Ten minutes later Jimmy and Mark Wood plus Sean were on the way home.
When they got to the McGuire house, Sean again expressed his thanks. “Thank you Mr. Wood for today.”
“Thank you Sean for helping us out with the yard.”
Sean began to get out of the car, but before he did, Mark Wood slipped him a $20 bill. “Mr. Wood you shouldn’t.”
“No Sean you worked hard today. That’s my way of saying thanks. Jimmy why don’t you go inside with Sean? Just to make sure his grandmother is ok.”
“Will do Dad.”
“Your Dad is the best.” Sean told Jimmy as the two of them approached the front door.
“I’m glad you had a good time today.”
Sean took a set of keys out of his pants pocket. “When Grandma dies, I wish we could be a family.”
“I wish we could too Sean.”
A few minutes later Jimmy got back in the car with his father. “Everything all right inside?” Mark Wood asked.
“Yes Mrs. McGuire was watching television in the living room when we got inside.”
“That’s good.” Mark Wood said as he drove off towards home.
“Dad is there anything we can do about Sean?”
Mark shook his head. “No son. I’ve tried but his grandmother is not going to change her mind. When Mrs. McGuire dies, Sean goes to live with his Uncle in Ohio.”
‘Poor Sean.’ Jimmy thought to himself.
On the way home Jimmy and Mark noticed someone walking alongside the road. His name was Gus Johnson. He worked at a hardware store Mark Wood frequented.
“Hi Gus. Where are you headed?”
“Home. My wife got the car today and went to see her Mom in Keene.” Keene New Hampshire was a university town about twenty miles east of Brattleboro.
“Hop in Gus. I’ll give you a ride home.”
Gus Johnson accepted Mark Wood’s offer. “Thank you Mr. Wood, I appreciate this.”
“You’re welcome Gus.”
Jimmy was always impressed by his father’s generosity to others. Often to people he hardly knew. Mark Wood liked helping others, and this made him in his son Jimmy’s eyes at least, the most wonderful person alive.
For that, Jimmy thought his father deserved to be happy. Ever since Bonnie Wood’s death, the father had been sad and lonely. Jimmy Wood felt his father deserved better, why didn’t women out there see how wonderful a person his Dad was? Did they ever look at a man for more than just his appearance?
As it happened, Gus Johnson lived less than a mile from the Wood house. After dropping Gus off, Jimmy and Mark went straight home.
When the Woods got home, the father and son watched television together till about 10 p.m. Then Jimmy went upstairs in order to get ready for bed that evening.
The Wood household had three computers in it. One in the living room downstairs, the second in Jimmy’s room and the third was a laptop owned by Mark Wood. Mark took the laptop on all trips he made out of the Brattleboro area. Other than that the father rarely used the machine.
At present the laptop was in Jimmy’s room. The thing Jimmy, the self professed computer geek, liked about the machine was its portability. It could be used anywhere and the Wood household had wireless internet too.
After taking his clothes off but before taking a shower, Jimmy turned on the laptop. When finished in the bathroom, Jimmy came back to the bedroom. One of the first things he did was install the computer program he bought.
Installation took only a few minutes. When that was over, Jimmy began to look at the program and what it could do. Jimmy had seen the basic version already, so he clicked on the advanced level. A large amount of drop down menus soon appeared on the screen.
‘This looks complicated.’ Jimmy thought as he began to yawn. He had the computer instructions next to him but the manual was over thirty pages long and only the first four pages or so were in regards to installing the program or describing what Transgender Morph 2007 did. That left over 20 pages for Jimmy to read
Feeling tired, Jimmy postponed looking at the program any further and began to shut down the laptop. Fifteen minutes later Jimmy Wood was fast asleep.
Nine days after buying the computer program, Jimmy and Sean were getting off the school bus after a day of school. While at school that day, the two thirteen-year-olds had decided to go back to Sean’s house when their day was over. Neither had any after school activities planned for the day other than studying for upcoming tests and playing some video games.
Jimmy and Mark arrived at the McGuire house a little after 4 p.m. “Grandma, I’m home.”
No answer came but that wasn’t unusual. Mrs. McGuire was notoriously hard of hearing. “What video game are we going to play?”
“You choose Jimmy. I better check on Grandma first before we get started.”
“I’ll wait for you in the living room then.” Jimmy went into the McGuire living room and plopped himself down on a couch. A television remote control was handy, so Jimmy decided to turn on the television.
Jimmy had been channel surfing for perhaps five minutes when Sean Dempsey called his name. “Jimmy.”
“Yes Sean.” Jimmy said as he turned his head around in order to look at his friend. It took a split second for Jimmy to see something was clearly wrong. Sean Dempsey was deathly pale looking.
“My Grandma is on the bathroom floor and she isn’t breathing.”
Jimmy and Sean called 911 immediately. As they waited for the paramedics, Jimmy placed a call to his father and told him what had happened.
By the time Mark Wood arrived at the McGuire house, police and paramedics were already there. A patrolman was standing just outside the front door as Mark tried to enter.
“May I ask who you are?”
“My name is Mark Wood, my son James is inside.” The patrolman allowed Mark to pass.
Jimmy and his friend Sean were in the living room. Mark went right over to where the boys were seated.
Sean Dempsey was visibly trembling and had only recently stopped crying. Mark sat down next to Sean and put an arm around the boy.
Mark wasn’t sure what to say. Right then Sean needed a friend and the father tried to be just that. “The paramedics are taking care of your Grandma. If anything can be done for her, the paramedics will do it.”
As the Woods waited, Sean began to cry again. Mark holding the boy close and telling him it was all right to cry.
About ten minutes after his arrival, a policeman tapped on Mark Wood’s shoulder. After excusing himself, Mark followed the officer to the home’s front foyer.
“May I ask what your is relationship to Dorothy McGuire?”
Mark first explained to the officer that his son Jimmy was Sean’s best friend. “I’m also Dorothy McGuire’s attorney. How is she?”
“I’m afraid Dorothy McGuire has passed away Mr. Wood.”
The news still struck Mark Wood pretty hard even if it wasn’t surprising. “Do they know what happened?”
“No not yet. I do have to ask you some questions. Is there somewhere we can sit down?”
Mark and the officer went to the house’s kitchen. It was neat like most of the rest of the house except there was a small collection of dirty dishes in the sink.
The police officer, whose name was Ed Holmes, began asking Mark questions about Mrs. McGuire. Who was her closest living relative? When was the last time he saw or spoke to her? Plus some other routine questions.
The big question asked of Mark Wood by Ed Holmes was- “As Mrs. McGuire’s attorney, do you know what the arrangements for Sean Dempsey are?
Dorothy McGuire’s funeral took place four days later. The mass and burial all taking place in Brattleboro.
About 100 people turned out for it. Most were friends of Dorothy McGuire and lived in either Brattleboro or the near vicinity. Only a few people present were relatives of the deceased. Probably ten or fewer in all.
One of those was Sean Dempsey’s uncle, Ralph. The funeral and burial were done in the morning. Later that same day, Mark Wood had a meeting in his law office with Ralph McGuire. It was time to discuss the deceased’s affairs.
Ralph McGuire was well acquainted with his mother’s will. So he got right down to business. “What needs to be done now?”
Mark began by explaining the legal concept of probate to Ralph McGuire. All estates in Vermont had to go through that legal process once a person passes away.
“How long will that take?”
“It varies. I’d say about six to eight months.” In addition to being the late Dorothy McGuire’s attorney, Mark Wood was the executor of her estate. Dorothy McGuire’s most recent will had been drawn up three years earlier.
“That long?”
“Yes. I’m just making an estimate. It could take slightly shorter or slightly longer. That depends on the courts.”
“How about my mother’s money? She has expenses that need being paid.”
“These will continue to get paid while the estate is in probate. As your mother’s executor, that’s my responsibility. You’ll get monthly reports on all expenses.”
Ralph continued to talk to Mark about money matters. Including the sale of Dorothy McGuire’s house. The home would have to appraised first, and then listed with real estate brokers for sale.
“How much do you think I can get for it?
“I don’t really know. That’s why an appraisal will need to be done.”
“That will cost money.”
“Yes it does. In any case as part of probate, an appraisal of the house is required.”
Ralph McGuire seemed to accept that answer. Mark noting that up to now Ralph had not once inquired about his nephew Sean or the teenager’s care. Since the death of his grandmother, Sean Dempsey had been living with the Woods.
The conversation did get around to Sean in a couple of minutes. “Thank you for taking care of my nephew.”
“You’re welcome, and its been my pleasure. Sean is a delightful boy.”
“I’d like him to stay here for a while.”
“May I ask why?”
Ralph said he needed time to make room for Sean at his home in Ohio and do make other preparations. “Me and the wife have three children at home. All of them girls.”
“That won’t be a problem then, Sean is welcome to stay at my house. My son Jimmy is Sean’s best friend if you didn’t know.”
“Sean and I haven’t had time to talk since I got here. I’ll need some money to help move the boy. Can some of my mother’s money be freed up for that?”
Mark inwardly sighed. Money again, did Ralph McGuire give a damn about his nephew and that the boy was hurting right then because of his grandmother’s death? “Yes your mother set aside some funds for just that.”
“How much?”
“$5,000.”
Ralph McGuire just grunted. He had read a financial statement given to him by the attorney and had noticed one account. “Sean has an account for his college education?”
“Yes it was set up by his grandmother. Sean gets the money when he turns eighteen or leaves for college, whichever happens first. Your mother made you trustee of this money in the meantime.”
Mark noted the thin smile that appeared on Ralph McGuire’s face after this reply. The man really didn’t give a damn about Sean. All Ralph McGuire was seeing right then were dollar signs. What a pitiful life lay ahead for Sean Dempsey and there was nothing Mark Wood could do to prevent it.
Ralph McGuire returned to Ohio the next day. Before leaving he asked Mark Wood to begin packing any of Sean’s possessions the boy wanted to keep. Mark said he would do this the first chance he got.
Mark was also told that Sean needed to be ready for the move to Ohio by the Monday before Thanksgiving or a little over two weeks away. Considering how busy and expensive air travel was at that time, Mark calculated Sean wouldn’t be leaving Vermont till November 27th at least.
The first weekend after the funeral saw Mark and Jimmy take Sean back to his grandma’s house in order to pack the teen’s belongings. It was Sean’s first visit to the house since his grandmother died.
Sean held up remarkably well during the visit. He even joking around with Jimmy and Mr. Wood. Sorting out what Sean wanted and didn’t need took around three hours. That included the time to pack the goods. Mark Wood buying some boxes from a pack and ship store before coming to the house that day.
Exactly one week before Thanksgiving, Mark got a phone call at his law office. It was from Ralph McGuire.
“I got Sean a plane ticket for November 28th. Will there be any problem in getting the boy to the airport in Hartford? It was the closest airport I could get to your home.”
If one was traveling by air and lived in Brattleboro, the four closest airports were Albany New York, Rutland Vermont, Manchester New Hampshire, or Bradley International located between Hartford Connecticut and Springfield Massachusetts.
All four airports were a similar distance from Brattleboro. All between sixty-five to eight-five miles from Brattleboro. Bradley was the most convenient. To get there, all Mark had to do was zip down I-91.
“No Mr. McGuire, it won’t be a problem at all. I can make sure Sean gets on a flight personally.”
“I’ll be emailing you the itinerary shortly. Has all of Sean’s clothes been packed?”
“Yes Mr. McGuire. Plus Sean’s other belongings.”
Before hanging up, Ralph McGuire told Mark, that Sean should only bring his clothes with him when flying to Ohio. The rest of his belongings would come at another time.
Mark was paying some household bills the Sunday night before Thanksgiving, when his son Jimmy came by to talk. The thirteen-year-old didn’t look well at all.
“How are you feeling?” Mark asked.
“Not too good.” Jimmy replied just before his father felt his forehead.
“You feel warm. I think you have a temperature. Let me go grab a thermometer and we’ll check.
Mark Wood finished taking his son’s temperature five minutes later. “It’s 101.8. No school for you tomorrow.”
Under normal conditions, Jimmy would have found no school a reward, but not now. For he felt like crap.
“Whatever you say Dad.”
“I’ll call the Principal tomorrow and say you’re not feeling well,” Mark said before thinking for a few moments. “I’d really like to be home tomorrow with you but I got a meeting that I can’t get out of.”
“That’s all right Dad, I understand.”
“Maybe I can get Mrs. Welch to bring you some soup in the morning.” Mary Welch was the Wood’s front neighbor.
“Dad, can we talk?”
“Of course son.”
“Is there anything we can do to help Sean? He’s in the dumps right now about having to go live with his Aunt and Uncle.”
Mark was aware of how Sean felt. “Jimmy, I wish there was but my hands are tied. Believe me, if I could help, I would help Sean.”
“I know Dad.”
Jimmy went back to his bedroom about ten minutes later. Not feeling tired yet, and after surveying what was on television and finding nothing of interest, Jimmy decided to turn on the laptop computer.
A month had passed since Jimmy had installed the Transgender Morph program, but the teen hadn’t used or viewed it once since. This wasn’t unusual, Jimmy bought computer programs regularly that he thought were interesting but then found little or no use for.
But first Jimmy sneezed. He immediately grabbed some Kleenex to blow his nose. ‘Damn flu. Why did I have to come down with this shit?’
When the laptop was through warming up, Jimmy looked for a game to play in order to pass the time away before bed. Looking at the menu, Jimmy had a tough time choosing. He then saw the start button for the Transgender morph program. Clicking on it, Jimmy began to check the program out again.
The biggest obstacle Jimmy faced when using the program, was the sheer complexity of Transgender Morph 2007. Jimmy would have to first read the instructions first.
Jimmy didn’t feel like getting out of bed and was about to close the program, when an idea crossed his mind. A check of the help menu showed the program had an online PDF file for its instructions. Jimmy then cut and pasted the URL into a web browser. After that he hit enter.
It took some two minutes for Adobe Acrobat to open the file.
Welcome to Transgender Morph 2007. The program that allows you to change the gender of a real living person after a few clicks of your mouse.
‘Real living person. They’re shitting me, no computer can do that.’ Jimmy thought to himself at the same time musing that buying the program had been a total waste of money. Nevertheless Jimmy read on.
‘You can do simple changes or radical ones. Make the new person very young or very old compared to who they used to be. Make it so the person doesn’t know they have changed, even change reality to suit the new person. Change their race and ethnicity too. We can custom design the person for you.’
Jimmy began to yawn as he saw some of the specifications he could set for a person. Feet size, bra size, dress size. Jimmy still thought the program was a bunch of bullshit.
‘Would you like to learn more?’
"Maybe later". Jimmy said with a slight shake of his head. He closed the program for now and after that began shutting down the laptop. When finished, Jimmy turned on the television for about ten minutes before deciding to call it a night.
Jimmy stayed home from school the next day. Feeling too weak to do much of anything else, the thirteen-year-old spent almost all day in bed watching television. Mrs. Welch did bring Jimmy over some soup after the boy’s father told the neighbor he would be home sick that day.
On Tuesday Jimmy was still sick but his strength wasn’t as bad. Sean was still in school, the Thanksgiving school holiday beginning the next day.
It was on Tuesday morning that Jimmy took the laptop out again. He was still skeptical if the program really worked. After reading the instructions thoroughly, Jimmy decided to give it a try.
WVBK Channel 12 is a television station in Brattleboro. Every day it has a noon time news broadcast. The station also had its own website, with photos of all its newscasters.
Jimmy after a few minutes of checking out the station personnel, decided to conduct his experiment using one of the station’s weather people. They were almost always wrong in weather forecasting, maybe they should get punished for that Jimmy joked to himself. Like the program could really do what it promised.
The noon-time weatherman was named Glenn Matthews. He was probably fifty years of age or thereabouts. Jimmy cut and pasted his photo into the transgender morph program. After that was done, Jimmy started filling out Super Advanced Gender Morph template. The thirteen-year-old hurrying to finish the form before the news ended.
When done, a final screen appeared. ‘Are you sure you want these changes made? Remember all changes are permanent and can’t be reversed.’
Jimmy clicked on yes. Then another screen appeared.
‘ARE YOU REALLY SURE?’
“Yes asshole, I’m really sure. Don’t matter, this shitty program is a joke anyway.” Jimmy said before clicking on yes again.
A small hourglass appeared on screen. Jimmy at the same time saw the news was about to wrap up. Traansgender Morph 2007 would really have to hurry in order to finish before the news ended.
Unfortunately the news broadcast ended. Jimmy immediately uttered a four letter word at the same moment another screen appeared.
‘Because of the complexity of the changes you ordered, Transgender Morph needs more time. Approximate time needed to finish your order- Eight hours’
“Shit, just like I thought. It’s a ripoff.”
‘Or you can pick a time of your own choosing. As long as it is after the eight hours are over? What do you choose?’
Jimmy thought a few seconds. He wanted to see the changes happen live if possible. That’s if the program was for real, and Jimmy still doubted that. According to the station’s website, Glenn Matthews did the noon and 5:30 p.m. broadcasts, Monday to Friday.
After clicking on the scheduling tab, another screen appeared. Jimmy could manually enter the time he wanted. He decided on 12:20 Wednesday November 21st. In case he was busy, or not home at the time, Jimmy programmed a VCR in the house to tape the next day's noon news.
Jimmy was almost 100% well again on Wednesday morning. Not that it mattered very much. School was now out till November 26th.
Sean and Jimmy spent most of the morning playing video games. Mark Wood had promised the boys he would be home some time in the early afternoon. If there was still time, the three of them would go see a movie that afternoon.
When lunch time rolled around, Jimmy surprised Sean by saying he wanted to watch the news.
“Jimmy, you never watch the news unless your Dad turns it on.”
“Sean, today is different. Trust me, I’ll explain later.”
Jimmy kept checking his watch as he and Sean ate lunch. Before leaving for work, Mark had made tuna sandwiches for his son and his best friend. Sean and Jimmy ate these while each drank a glass of Coca-Cola.
The weather part of the broadcast began at 12:17. Cloudy and cold, but no precipitation was the forecast for the next two days. Still Channel 12 felt obliged to spend almost five minutes of the news explaining this.
Glenn Matthews was still doing the weather when the clock on the television cable box changed to 12:20. Nothing happened.
“It’s a ripoff.” Jimmy muttered. The thirteen-year-old had already finished eating and was only waiting to see if the program worked before going back to playing video games with Sean. Jimmy's father still not home yet.
“What’s a ripoff?” Sean asked.
Jimmy was still watching the news. Glenn Matthews was pointing to some satellite map. Saying a storm system was coming into the Midwest. Then it happened.
Middle aged Glenn Matthews was gone. In his place was this gorgeous, well endowed, but still professional looking twenty-something woman with long blonde hair. The weather forecaster went on like nothing happened.
‘It worked! This is so incredible’ Jimmy said with his mouth almost dragging on the floor. “Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“The woman there.”
“What about her? Andrea Watts is a babe. We wouldn’t be wasting our time watching the news if not for her.”
Jimmy noted Sean’s reaction. It was like nothing happened. Later on Jimmy checked the VCR recording he made. It didn’t show any change at all, the tape of the broadcast showing Andrea Watts and Andrea Watts only. It was like Glenn Matthews never existed.
Jimmy found this very interesting. What other possible uses were there for the Transgender Morph program?
Mark Wood had a surprise for Jimmy and Sean when he got home. He told the boys to start packing.
“You remember the Mullens?”
Jimmy did. “Yes Dad.”
“George has a place up by Burke Mountain. Henrietta is pregnant and doesn’t want to go up there this weekend. George offered it to us if we wanted it.”
Burke Mountain was perhaps the best area of Vermont to ski at. Both Sean and Jimmy jumped at the chance to spend four days skiing at the location.
“We can start skiing tomorrow, that’s if you’re feeling better son. How do you feel now?”
“Not bad Dad.” Mark Wood felt his son’s forehead. If Jimmy had a temperature still, it wasn’t much over normal,
The Woods and Sean spent parts of five days at the Northern Vermont ski area. The skiing was wonderful, and a great diversion, but reality was beginning to sink in for Sean. His departure for Ohio was a week away.
By Friday night even Jimmy was noting how depressed his friend was. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to go to Ohio.”
“Don’t blame you.”
“What will happen to me there? Uncle Ralph doesn’t give a fuck about me.”
Jimmy felt for his friend but what could be done. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too. I hope the plane crashes Wednesday.”
Jimmy was shocked by what Sean just said. “Don’t talk like that. Maybe you can run away and come back here in a few months.”
“Maybe. I’d do anything to stay here in Vermont.” Sean said to his best friend. An hour later he and Jimmy were fast asleep.
Thirteen-year-old boys, unlike adult males thirty or older, usually make it through the night without a bathroom trip. Friday night was an exception for Jimmy. For some reason he woke a few minutes before 4 a.m.. Feeling his bladder was close to full, Jimmy went down the hall to use the bathroom.
It was while he stood peeing that Jimmy had a brainstorm. ‘The computer program! Maybe I can use it to help Sean.’
Fortunately for Jimmy, he had brought the laptop to Burke Mountain. Mark Wood had at first objected, asking why his son would need the machine up at Burke Mountain. They would be spending all their time outdoors at Burke Mountain.
“Dad, I got a report due for History class in two weeks. Maybe I can do a little work late at night before going to bed while we’re away.” Jimmy explained to his father. The young man did have a report due, and his father after a few seconds thought, relented.
So the laptop was available. The computer program could help Sean Dempsey, if Jimmy could find enough time to use it before his best friend left for Ohio.
While out skiing on Saturday, Jimmy began drawing up a plan. Maybe he could use the program to make the two boys brothers. Jimmy decided not to tell anything to Sean about his idea until he checked the program out first. No sense getting his friend’s hopes up.
If Jimmy had studied his first plan out more wisely, he would have known using the program to keep Sean a boy was impossible. The program didn’t do same gender changes. Jimmy learned this after less than an hour of experimenting and re-checking the instructions on Saturday night before bed. So Jimmy had no other choice but to give up or go back to the drawing board.
Jimmy was faced with a quandary. One he spent a great of time thinking about while skiing on Sunday morning. If he was to assist Sean, Jimmy would have to turn his best friend into a girl. How would Sean react to his friend’s plan?
Not well was Jimmy’s guess. Sean most likely saying he’d rather go to Ohio than become a girl. Should Jimmy therefore dump his plans? With less than three days left before Sean’s departure for Ohio, Jimmy needed to make a quick decision.
After a morning spent skiing, Mark Wood and the boys went to lunch. After that they went back to the cabin and began packing for the trip back to Brattleboro.
Because of the large amounts of ski gear and luggage, only one person could sit in the back seat of Mark Wood’s SUV. On the way up to Burke Mountain, Sean had sat in back. This time Jimmy volunteered.
“I can sit in back Jimmy,” Sean said to his friend. “You go ahead and sit up front with your Dad.”
“I want to work on that history report some more. Dad is it all right if I sit in back?”
Mark Wood shrugged. “It’s up to you and Sean.” In the end Jimmy won out so far as where he and Sean would sit on the way back to Brattleboro. Jimmy had a reason for his seating location.
The computer had finished warming up by the time Mark Wood turned onto I-91 south As soon as the Transgender Morph main menu came up, Jimmy clicked on the super advanced options. The Hewlett Packard PC’s battery power would last around 90 minutes or most of the way home.
Should he turn Sean into a girl without telling his friend before hand or asking permission? Jimmy hadn’t answered those questions yet. In the meantime Jimmy would explore the various options so far as changing his best friend.
The Super Advanced program gave Jimmy the most choices. Like changing Sean’s age, just like that weatherman, but did Jimmy want to do that? If Jimmy did, how would Sean react or adjust to that change?
Again the weatherman gave Jimmy the answer. After becoming Andrea Watts, the weather woman acted like nothing had happened. So Jimmy guessed Transgender Morph didn’t just change a person’s gender, but their person also.
What type of person did Jimmy want Sean to be? A couple of ideas presented themselves right away. Jimmy could turn Sean into a girl the same age as him. They could be boyfriend and girlfriend then.
As he traveled south on the interstate, Jimmy decided that idea wasn’t very appealing. Jimmy not knowing if he could kiss a girl knowing she was once his best male friend. It seemed icky to the thirteen-year-old boy.
The next idea was to change Sean into his sister. Mark Wood would go from having just a son to having a son and daughter. Jimmy’s father not even noticing the change.
There were problems with this option also. Jimmy wanted Sean to be his friend still. Would they really remain that way after Jimmy used the program to make Sean into his sister?
If Jimmy’s friends were any indication, probably not. Another close friend of Jimmy was Brad Foster. Brad had four younger siblings, three of which were eleven-year-old triplet girls. From talking to Brad, and his visiting the Foster house, Jimmy knew his friend didn’t get along all that well with his sisters. The sister option for Sean wasn’t very appealing either.
There were other options Jimmy was considering as the car got closer to Brattleboro. During the ride back to Brattleboro, Jimmy had experimented some with the first two future scenarios for Sean without making the final irrevocable decision. With the laptop’s battery power near expiration, Jimmy saved these possible future changes. Then he turned off the computer.
Mark Wood got Sean and Jimmy home just after 4 p.m. The first thing they did was bring everything in from the car.
“Are you guys hungry?”
“No Dad.”
“Want to watch some football then?” Sean and Jimmy said they would. So the three men settled in to watch a Dallas Cowboy game that had started a few minutes earlier.
After the game was earlier, Mark, Sean, and Jimmy went to a McDonald’s for dinner. It was past 7 p.m. and the fast food restaurant was fairly busy as Mark pulled into the parking lot.
“Want to eat here or at home?”
Jimmy looked at Sean. They were both seated in the back of the car. Sean shrugged. “Whatever you want to do Mr Wood.”
Mark Wood decided to get takeout. So he drove towards the drive thru lane but first Mark had to slow down to let some McDonald’s customers cross in front of the car.
“Dad, doesn’t she remind you of Cherrypie?” Jimmy asked his father. One of the people who passed the car resembled the Filipina nurse from Brattleboro Memorial Hospial.
“No Jimmy, I don’t think that’s her.” Mark replied back. The woman did however look Filipino and was attractive in Mark’s opinion.
“You’re right Dad.” Jimmy replied back. His father, patient and courteous as always, was now letting a Family of four pass by before turning into the drive thru lane.
Before going to bed that night, Jimmy took the laptop out once again. There were only a little over two days left before Sean left for Ohio and time was running out.
After an hour, Jimmy was no closer to deciding what to do. For ten minutes, he considered changing Sean’s Uncle Ralph into a woman. Hoping this would make his friend’s life better. That plan was discarded once Jimmy learned he needed a photo or image of Ralph to make the transgender program work. Jimmy soon turned the laptop off again and went to sleep.
It was during English class on Monday that Jimmy got another brainstorm. Mrs. Belamonte, an attractive redhead in her late twenties, was giving a lesson in grammar. The idea Jimmy came up with was so tantalizing, the thirteen-year-old couldn’t help but voice his excitement.
“You know, that may just work!”
Almost every set of eyes in the room turned towards Jimmy. Mrs. Belamonte then spoke.
“Is there something you’d like to share with us Mr. Wood?”
If there was a rock nearby, Jimmy wouldn’t have minded hiding underneath it He felt so embarrassed right then. “No, Mrs. Belamonte, there isn’t.”
On arrival home from school with Sean that afternoon, Jimmy asked for some privacy rather than the two teens playing video games together. “There’s something I need to work on.”
“Like what?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Not even your best friend?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Not even you.”
Sean was a little taken aback by his friend’s secrecy. Jimmy normally wasn’t like this. “How long will this take?
“A couple of hours. Do you mind?”
Sean was really depressed about what was going to happen in two days. He was working hard to keep those feelings to himself. “Go ahead, do whatever you want.”
“Thanks Sean.” Jimmy then went straight to his bedroom. Once in the room, he turned on the laptop and locked the bedroom door.
Jimmy put his ideas into motion as soon as the Transgender morph program popped up on the computer screen. A picture of Sean, necessary to use the program, wasn’t a problem. The laptop had photos from a trip to Boston the previous April. Sean, with his grandmother’s permission, had joined the Woods as they visited that city.
The changes Jimmy wanted to make to his best friend, took almost two hours to feed into the computer. Jimmy left a few of the specifications up to the computer, but not too many. Along the way, Jimmy did a few tweaks to improve what would be Sean Dempsey’s future.
Jimmy didn’t feel at all bothered by what he was doing to Sean. Rather Jimmy thought Sean would thank him one day. If everything worked out as hoped, the Woods would even benefit from the changes. To Jimmy that was the clincher so far as to deciding what his friend’s future would be.
It was just a few minutes after six when Jimmy heard a knocking sound at the bedroom door. “Yes?”
“Your father is home. He’s asking for you.”
“I’ll be right down.” Jimmy saved the changes but didn’t implement them. After closing the Transgender morph program, Jimmy put the still turned on laptop on his desk before going downstairs.
Mark Wood was in the kitchen preparing dinner when Jimmy walked in. “Sean tells me you were working on something secret.”
“Not secret Dad. Just school work.”
Mark looked at his son. He didn’t believe what his son said, but had other more important concerns on his mind. “I need you to throw out the garbage. After that, I’d like you to start a load of laundry. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes Dad.”
Jimmy didn’t have any time to work on the computer again till just before bed. Moments after closing the bedroom door, Jimmy again started up the Transgender Morph program.
Another half hour was spent by Jimmy reviewing what changes he had in store for Sean. Jimmy making a few last minute tweaks to these. When finished, Jimmy decided to finalize what he had done.
After clicking the process button on the template screen, a message appeared. ‘Are you sure you want these changes made? Remember all changes are permanent and can’t be reversed.’
Jimmy clicked on the yes button. A second message appeared.
‘Are you really sure?’
Jimmy had made up his mind. What he was doing was a big favor for Sean. Sean may not see it that way at first, but would come to appreciate it with time. Feeling certain of this, Jimmy clicked on the yes button.
A small hourglass then appeared. After about two to three minutes, the screen Jimmy was waiting for, appeared.
‘Because of the complexity of the changes you specified, Transgender Morph needs more time. Approximate time needed to finish your order- Seventeen hours’
Jimmy did the math in his head. Seventeen hours was mid-day, November 27th. After a few seconds thought, Jimmy decided to specify another time and date.
7 a.m. November 28th. A little over three hours before Sean Dempsey’s flight left for Cleveland Ohio.
Mark Wood rose at 4:45 a.m. on Wednesday November 28th. Among the first things Mark did was put on a pot of coffee on and call the airline. He would wake up Jimmy and Sean after these tasks were completed.
A heavy snow had fallen the night before, so Mark wanted to check if Sean’s flight was still on time. It was good the father did call, the scheduled takeoff of the Hartford to Cleveland flight was going to be delayed two hours.
After learning this, Mark still got Sean and Jimmy up as planned. “What do you think if we go out and have breakfast together?
“Sounds like a good idea Dad.” Jimmy told his father. Sean, feeling downcast in regards to both the move and his future, said eating breakfast out was also fine with him.
Mark tood his boys to Bickfords down on Putney road. Bickfords, which at one time had been a Howard Johnson’s restaurant, began serving breakfast every day at 6 a.m. . Jimmy, his father, and Sean arrived at Bickfords’ front door just as the proprietor was opening up for business.
Over breakfast Mark tried to steer the conversation to sports and school with limited success. Sean wasn’t feeling much like talking.
While eating breakfast, Jimmy noted the time on his watch. Would the computer program work like he programmed it? He, his father, and Sean would soon be finding out.
Because Sean’s flight was delayed, Mark’s plan now was to go back home and leave for the airport around 9 a.m. That’s if the Continental Airlines flight wasn’t delayed even further. Mark planned on leaving Brattleboro with an ample amount of time to get to the airport. The father would also call Jimmy’s school that morning. Saying his son wouldn’t be coming to school that day.
“We better get some gas.” Mark told Jimmy and Sean as he pulled his car out of the restaurant parking lot.
“Whatever Dad.”
Mark began driving towards the main part of Brattleboro. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital was only six blocks away, and two blocks before that there was a Shell gas station. That’s where Mark would refuel the car.
In the back of the car Jimmy Wood was again noting the time. His watch now saying it was 7 a.m. “Is this going to work or not?”
Sean, who was seated directly behind Mark Wood, and across from his best friend said. “Jimmy....”
The first thing Jimmy noticed was his new location in the Wood family car. He was seated in the front passenger seat, his father alongside him. Mark Wood was just beginning to turn into the gas station parking lot at that very moment. Jimmy immediately turned around and looked behind at the back seat . Sean was gone!
“Dad......”
“Hold on son, I see someone waving us down.”
In the Shell parking lot was a gray Toyota Corolla. It’s back left tire was as flat as a pancake and two women were standing beside it. Mark pulled his SUV up behind the Corolla.
Mark got out of his car and walked over towards the two women. “Your tire went flat.”
“Yes it did. We called AAA. They won’t be here for at least an hour.” One of the two women told Mark.
Jimmy had gotten out of the car and was looking at the other woman, the one who as of yet hadn’t spoken. She looked slightly dazed or confused.
“Sean?”
“My name is Luzviminda. Yours?”
‘She doesn’t remember who he used to be. Fantastic!’ Jimmy thought to himself. Once again Jimmy thinking how Sean would never have willingly gone through with his friend’s idea, even if it was better than the alternative. Living with that rotten Uncle of his.
“My name is James Wood, but my friends call me Jimmy. That’s my Dad, his name is Mark Wood.”
“Nice to meet you Jimmy.”
Mark Wood then spoke. “Jimmy, can you give me a hand. I’m going to change the tire for these ladies.”
“No problem Dad.”
“Thank you. You’re both such nice gentlemen to help us out.”
“No problem, I’m glad to be of help.” Mark said as he took the spare tire out of the trunk, Jimmy at the same time grabbing the jack.
Mark and Jimmy went straight to work on changing the Corrola's tire. While they did this, the father and son talked with the two ladies.
“Are you ladies from the Philippines?”
“Yes my name is Alona. Alona Balugo. This is my friend and roommate.”
“My name is Luzviminda Montezon. How did you know we’re from the Philippines?”
“Just a guess. I was a patient at Brattleboro Memorial last month.”
“I hope you’re feeling better.” Luzviminda said.
“Yes, much better. I had a couple of Philippine nurses while I was staying there.”
Jimmy mentioned the name Cherrypie. Alona said she knew a nurse by that name.
“We were on the way to work when the tire blew.” Alona said.
“Me and my son Jimmy will have you back on the road in a jiffy.”
“Thank you. You’re both so helpful.” Luzviminda said.
“You’re welcome.”
“And handsome.” Luzviminda added. This caused Mark to stop for a second and look up at the nurse. The father smiling at Luzviminda for a split second.
‘This is really working!’ Jimmy thought just as his father got all the nuts loose and was able to take the flat tire off.
“It must have taken you ladies a while to get used to the weather here. The Philippines is so tropical.”
“Yes it did.” Alona said. as she rubbed her hands together trying to stay warm. She and Luzviminda were both tightly bundled up.
“I like the snow.” Luzviminda said.
“You came to the right place then.” Mark replied back. “Want some advice?”
“Of course.” Luzviminda replied back.
“The spare is what they call a donut. Your other tires don’t look too good either.”
“I was telling Lucy just that the other day.” Alona added. “She only bought the car a few weeks ago.”
“Your friend is right,” Mark Wood continued to say. He was almost done tightening the lug nuts. “You should get four brand new tires.”
“I will get the new tires the next time I’m off. Thank you for being so kind.”
“No problem. Jimmy and I were glad to be of help.”
Changing the tire took Mark and Jimmy ten minutes in all. When they were through, Luzviminda offered Mark a $20 bill.
“Keep it. I’m just glad we could help you out.”
“We better get going,” Alona said after looking at her watch. “We’re already late for work. Thank you for helping us out. Come on Lucy.”
Luzviminda was still looking at Mark.. “You and your son are so nice. I’d like to do something special for you.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“Let me come to your house. I will cook both of you nice men dinner.” Alona then tugged on her friend’s arm for the second time in less than a minute.
Mark Wood was inclined to say no, except for what his son Jimmy was doing then. The teen was nudging his father to say yes.
“Come on Dad, the pretty lady wants to cook us dinner. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing I suppose.” Mark Wood said hesitantly. He liked helping people, Luzviminda really need to do nothing for Mark and his son. Her saying thank you was good enough. “We’ll accept. Let me give you my business card.”
Mark kept a few of these, with his home number printed on the back, in his wallet. He gave one to Luzviminda.
“I’m off Thursday. Would that be a good day?”
“Yes it would. I better let you go then. Call me at home tomorrow night.” Mark replied back.
“Thank you again.” Luzviminda then surprised Mark by giving him a kiss on the right cheek. “Such a handsome and helpful man. Bye.”
A few moments later Mark and Jimmy were in the car together and watching as Alona and Luzviminda drove away. “Isn’t she nice Dad?”
“Yes son.” Mark was again hearing the beginning the familiar tune of his son playing matchmaker.
“You should ask Luzviminda out. Look Dad, she kissed you.”
‘Just in order to say thank you son. No woman that young or attractive will give me the time of day.’ Mark thought as he pulled the SUV up to a gas pump. “Son, let me fill the tank up. After that I will take you straight to school.”
Jimmy sighed. Only minutes earlier he was supposed to be off from school for the day but not anymore. Going to school would be a small sacrifice in comparison to the gains Jimmy and his father would get if the thirteen-year-old’s plan came to fruition.
After parking their car, Alona and Luzviminda went straight into Brattleboro Memorial. Both nurses worked on the 3rd floor, but in department sections.
“Lucy, you’re really going to cook dinner for those men?”
“Of course. They were very kind. I like the father.”
Alona shook her head. She and Luzviminda Montezon had been friends for over ten years. Over that time Luzviminda’s taste in men had always astonished Alona.
Luzviminda was forty-five minutes late for work. On getting off the elevator on the third floor, she and Alona went their separate ways. The day and night nurses at Brattleboro Memorial were in the middle of the morning shift change. The later getting the former up to speed on that day’s patients in the cancer ward.
“It is good of you to join us Luzviminda. You’re late!” Growled nursing supervisor Mary White.
“I’ll be right there.” Luzviminda said as she continued down the hall. Two doors past the nurse’s station was a dressing room. Luzviminda, after using a key to unlock the door, went straight inside.
As soon as she was inside and the door was closed, Sean Dempsey got his first chance to express her feelings out loud. “What happened to me?”
There were a lot of unanswered questions, but something was driving or commanding Sean Dempsey. Sean resided in this female body people knew as Luzviminda Montezon. However the teen for some reason had little control over what Luzviminda did or how she reacted. Why? Sean had no idea as of yet.
As soon as she was in the dressing room, Luzviminda opened a locker that had her name on it. She then taking off both her jacket and ski cap off and putting them inside. A red sweater Luzviminda had on, was taken off but placed on a bench beside her. Next Luzviminda took off her street clothes and hung these in the locker.
When Luzviminda arrived at work that day, she had a bag with her. Inside it was her nursing uniform. Vermont is too cold for much of the year to be wearing these thin smock like clothing anywhere but inside the well heated hospital Luzviminda worked at. That’s why she had to change clothes at work.
While changing clothes, Sean couldn’t help but notice the female undergarments she was now wearing. A bra in particular, and that meant.....
‘How did this happen?’ Sean asked himself. Without thinking, he reflexively put the purse he now owned in the locker. Sean Dempsey was now the owner of a purse!
Sean was the owner of a lot of other things no thirteen-year-old boy was used to having. Like a hair brush at the top of the nursing locker. Luzviminda took this down and began to brush her hair.
Looking at mirror inside the locker, Sean saw the reflection of a Philippine woman who could have easily passed for someone in her late teens. Sean was only guessing, but he thought was about twenty-five years of age now.
"I was thirteen just an hour ago and now I'm twenty-five? How?"
A lot of things were a mystery to Sean right then. Like how he would do the job Luzviminda had reported to duty for that day? Yes Sean had been interested in medicine, but he had no formal training.
Luzviminda was still brushing her hair, when a nurse stuck her head in the door. “Lucy, Mary is asking when you’ll be out.”
“I’ll be right there.” Luzviminda told the nurse named Janet Brauns. After placing her hair brush where she had gotten it, Luzviminda then closed the locker and exited the room.
Nurse Sadie Arroyo was waiting for Luzviminda at the nurse’s station. “What happened today?”
“My car got a flat on the way in. A nice man changed the tire for me and Alona. I’m sorry about being late.”
Sadie, unlike the nursing supervisor, wasn’t annoyed by Luzviminda’s tardiness. Luzviminda had stayed on late at least four times when Sadie had been late herself and never complaining about it to boot. If anything Sadie owed Luzviminda that day and a few more. “No problem Lucy and that’s good someone helped you out. I had your patients last night. Let me get you up to date.....”
By day’s end Jimmy Wood had come to one conclusion. The world had changed in a way that made it like Sean Dempsey had never existed.
The first proof came on the way to school. Jimmy talking to his father, and at one point slipping in his friend Sean’s name. Mark Wood replied.
“This is the first time you mentioned this friend Sean of yours. You should invite him over to the house one day.”
Jimmy also gained further proof at school. In all three classes Sean and Jimmy attended together, there was no sign of the young man anymore. His seat in each class being taken by another student.
Even more conclusive proof was seen Jimmy went to his 3rd period English classroom. Sean, like Jimmy, had Mrs. Belamonte for English but during fifth period rather than third. Only a few weeks earlier Sean had written a poem for class, one that got him both a top grade and had been put up on a classroom wall. When Jimmy went to check for it, the poem wasn’t there anymore.
After school Sean went to check the McGuire house. It was still there, but the basketball hoop on the side of the garage was no longer there. Just more proof that the computer program hadn’t just turned Sean Dempsey into Luzviminda Montezon but wiped out any trace of the former’s existence.
Deep down Jimmy thought this was all for the best. Sean had such a miserable life up to now, and one that was only likely to get worse.
After arriving home, Jimmy went straight upstairs. Like everywhere else there was no sign of Sean Dempsey ever being at the home.
In his room the laptop was where Jimmy had left it. With little homework to do, Jimmy decided to turn the machine on.
After the machine was finished warming up a pop-up screen appeared. One Jimmy had never seen before. It read-
Your transformation is complete. Would you like to see the results now?
Jimmy clicked on yes. ‘This program is so cool.’
The Transgender Morph program started. An information screen soon appeared alongside a frontal shot of the former Sean Dempsey from the waist up.
Name- Luzviminda Montezon
Gender- Female
DOB- 06/03/1983
Height- 5'3
Weight- 112 lbs
Marital Status- Single(Never Married)
Place of birth- Palo Leyte Philippines
Present location- Brattleboro Vermont USA
Occupation- Registered Nurse
Religion- Roman Catholic
Interests or hobbies- Skiing, Music, Movies,
There was more information too including family and work history. Some of this Jimmy had created, some was the work of the computer program.
Would you like to see more photos? The screen asked. Jimmy clicked yes. There were four more photos of Luzviminda. A closeup of the face, a left profile, a right profile, and a shot from behind.
Jimmy was a little disappointed. He would have loved to seen Luzviminda in the nude. Needless to say, the thirteen-year-old thought his transformed friend was now one very hot woman.
One his father already liked and if the program continued to work would..... Jimmy didn’t want to get his hopes up too high yet.
Another pop-up screen appeared. ‘Would you like to take a customer satisfaction survey?’ Jimmy clicked on the no button. Complete satisfaction with Luzviminda was likely to take a few weeks or months yet.
Luzviminda and Alona left work together at 7:30. They going straight from the hospital to their apartment. Both would need to be back at work at 6:45 the next morning
The apartment Luzviminda and Alona shared was a mile from Brattleboro Hospital. It had been a long and tiring day at work, but both nurses still had to rustle up some food for each other. Once in the apartment, Alona went straight to the kitchen.
“I’ll get dinner started Lucy. Why don’t you get cleaned up. When you’re done, it will be my turn.”
“Whatever you say Alona. Be out shortly.”
Luzviminda went straight into the apartment’s only bedroom. Once inside, Sean let out a deep breath.
“What is going on with me? How did this happen?” Sean asked in voice barely above a whisper.
Luzviminda didn’t have a clear picture of what happened that day, but she did have one small clue. Alone now, Sean had some freedom of thought and ability but not a whole lot Alona was outside cooking dinner and expecting Luzviminda to relieve her. Luzviminda HAD to hurry up and get her personal stuff taken care of.
So Sean began undressing. Removing the many layers of clothes he wore till nothing remained but his underwear. Even in the heated apartment, Luzviminda felt chilly as she stretched her arms around in order to unfasten her bra. A moment later the garment slipped loose from Luzviminda’s arms.
Two small to medium sized light brown colored breasts hung loosely from Luzviminda’s chest. Sean couldn’t stop from gazing at them, even though he had known about them for hours.
“This is fucking incredible.” Sean said before taking off her panty. By then Luzviminda was feeling very chilly. Taking a towel off the dresser, she wrapped her body in it. After that was done, Luzviminda walked barefoot to the apartment’s bathroom.
Once inside Luzviminda turned the shower on, and waited for the water to warm up. Everything Sean was doing was routine, that is routine if you’re an adult woman. While still waiting for the water to warm up, one thing that had been bothering Sean all day, freely flowed to his lips.
“Jimmy is behind this. He called me Sean at the gas station parking lot. How did he do this to me?”
The water in the shower was warm now, and Luzvimnida climbed in. She felt refreshed as the water flowed over her body, removing the sweat of a hard day’s work. While washing himself, Sean thought about the day. It was puzzling to say the least. He had woken up a boy, but turned into a woman around 7 a.m.
A woman who acted like this was her life all along, and Sean inside the same body but not able to act out or say anything 90% of the time. Sean already noting how if other people were present, Luzviminda not he, was the person who was acting out. When he added everything up that had happened to him that day, Sean felt lucky not to be losing his mind right then.
‘Maybe things will get better. Or you’ll find a way back to being a boy.’ Sean kept telling himself in the shower. He had to believe this and continue acting normal, no matter how Sean truly felt right then.
Right then deep inside the body of Luzminda Montezon was one very unhappy and confused boy. Not exactly the happy situation or life Jimmy Wood had in mind for his best friend. Would the passage of time alter how Sean felt about the new life he had?
Sean didn’t get much more time to dwell on that or the other mysteries of his new life the rest of the night. Alona soon came to the bathroom to check on her friend. After finishing in the shower, then drying herself including the long black hair Sean now possessed, Luzviminda returned to the bedroom to put some clothes on. When done, Luzviminda went out to the kitchen.
Alona was waiting patiently for her roommate, reading the a week old edition of People. “Lucy, the chicken has twenty-five minutes to go yet. I started the rice cooker. All you have to do is start the broccoli.”
Sean wanted to scream he wasn’t Lucy, or Luzviminda, but had no choice in the matter. “No problem Alona. I’ll take care of dinner now while you shower.”
Alona then left the kitchen. After checking on the chicken, Sean plopped his now female butt into a kitchen chair. Sean could barely avoid crying as he wondered what the rest of his or her life would be like.
Luzviminda arrived at the Wood house just before 6 p.m on Thursday night. On the way over, Sean had made plans to ask Jimmy just what had happened to him and why.
As they had discussed, Luzviminda called Mark Wood around 8:30 p.m on Wednesday evening. Luzviminda still eager to cook dinner for the two kind men who had helped her with the flat tire. Mark again accepted the offer, and then telling Luzviminda when to come over the house.
“I’m going to cook a steak dinner for you and Jimmy.”
“You must be a psychic. I love a good steak.”
“All men like steaks. Do you have a grill I can cook them on? Or should I bring mine?”
“We have a grill.”
“That’s good. Can you give me directions how to get to your home, please?”
Mark took a few minutes to give Luzviminda directions. Luzviminda writing them down on a pad in the apartment.
“I will have my cell phone and your number in case I get lost. What time should I come over?”
“Six o’clock. I get home around then. If I’m not home yet, my son Jimmy will be. He will let you in.”
“I will be there at six. Bye bye.”
Mark Wood’s car wasn’t in the driveway when Luzviminda arrived at the house. Jimmy did however answer the doorbell only seconds after Luzviminda rung it.
“Hi Luzviminda. Come on in, my Dad just called to say he is on the way home.”
Sean walked in the house. Nothing looking at all different from the last time she had seen it. Jimmy took his friend’s coat and tried directing Luzviminda to the kitchen.
“You brought dinner I see.”
“Yes I did Jimmy. Now I got some questions for you.”
Jimmy immediately sensed something was wrong. The tone of Luzviminda’s voice, matching her facial expression. Both were questioning in tone and appearance, if not downright annoyed or angry.
Well Jimmy never did think Sean would just say I’m happy to be a girl now. Jimmy always thinking his friend would need a little time to realize this was the best option. “Come in the kitchen with me. We can talk there.”
Sean followed Jimmy into the kitchen. Jimmy had already made some preparations for dinner. Like putting the grill out and setting the table.
“Anything else you need?”
“Yes, some answers. You called me Sean yesterday.”
“That was a slip of the tongue.”
Sean put the two bags she was carrying down on a counter. “No it wasn’t. You........”
Neither Jimmy or Sean had heard Mark Wood’s arrival home. The father pulling into the driveway about two seconds after his son let Luzviminda into the house.
“Hello Luzviminda, I see you found the house.”
Luzviminda began acting like herself again. “Yes Mr. Wood I did. Such a nice home you have.”
“Thank you.”
“I am going to cook both you men dinner now.”
“Can we help?”
Luzviminda shook her head. “No, this is my way for thanking you for yesterday. You and Jimmy were both so kind to me and Alona.”
“Just ask if you need anything.”
“I will.” Luzviminda told Mark, before Jimmy’s father went over to take a seat at the kitchen table. Mark taking some time to look at the mail that had arrived that day.
“How was work today?”
“All right son. Are you all caught up with your home work?”
“Yes Dad.”
Luzviminda then came over to the table. “Today I bought these steaks. I hope you like them.”
“Are those......”
“Butcher called them fillet mingeons. He said they are the best steak.”
Mark nodded his head. “Yes they are and expensive too. Luzviminda you.....”
“No Mr. Mark Wood. You and your son were nice to me and this is my chance to be nice back.” Luzviminda then went back over to the stove area.
“Luzviminda’s nice, isn’t she?”
“Yes son, she is. Did you start the load of laundry like I asked?”
Jimmy got up from the table. “No Dad, I haven’t. I’ll do that now.”
Passing by Luzviminda, Jimmy saw how content she looked. Maybe what had happened earlier was a mood swing or something. Girls get those all the time at school. Usually when it was their time of the month.
By going to do the laundry, Jimmy was allowing his father time to be alone with Luzviminda. Jimmy wouldn’t return to the kitchen till dinner was almost ready.
While Luzviminda prepared dinner, she and Mark talked some. Mostly about what they had done that day. Luzviminda had gone and bought new tires like Mark had advised her.
“How was your day?”
“All right. I was in court all morning long.”
“You are a lawyer?”
“Yes I practice family law.”
“You must be rich.”
Mark laughed. “Not really, but I do all right.”
“I grew up poor. Life is good here in the US.”
“Very different too I guess.”
“Yes I miss my family.” Luzviminda said as she started baking three potatoes. She then telling Mark a little about her family. She was the oldest of five sisters. Her father, Juan Montezon was a bank officer and her mother Maria a schoolteacher.
“When did you come to the United States?”
“Two years ago January 27th. I was hired to work here as a nurse.”
“It must have been a big change for you here.”
“Yes and no. I like America, this was always my dream to live here. I just miss my family.”
“That’s understandable. Are here on some kind of work visa?”
“Yes, I have a green card. Want to see?” Mark said no but Luzviminda took a moment away from cooking dinner to show it any way.
“You can become a citizen one day?”
“Yes I can. That is a dream of mine too. That and to have a family.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-four.”
“You barely look eighteen.”
Luzviminda gave Mark a big warm smile. “Thank you. How old are you?
“Forty-three.” Mark told Luzviminda, and then decided to open up his heart a little to the nurse. “Jimmy was my and Bonnie’s only child.”
“What happened to Bonnie?”
“She died in a auto accident four years ago.”
“I’m so sorry.” Luzviminda replied back, looking genuinely sorrowed from learning the fate of Mark Wood’s first wife.
“Thank you. Do you like to be called Luzviminda or Lucy? I heard your friend call you Lucy.”
“Either is all right. Luzviminda is a very Filipino name. It originates from the three main regions of our country. Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.”
“It’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you.
Mark was still looking at the Green Card. Then he put the card and wallet back in Luzviminda’s purse. “Your middle name is Lopez?”
“Yes, that was my mother’s maiden name. That is a Filipino custom.”
“Never known many Filipinos.”
“I’m Roman Catholic. Are you and Jimmy Catholic too?”
“Yes we are.”
“I noticed the cross in your front foyer. That is how I knew. I go to mass every day I can, even on weekdays.”
“Since Bonnie died I haven’t gone to church much.”
“You should. Go there to pray to Bonnie. Ask for her guidance.”
Dinner was served a few minutes later. Luzviminda, Mark, and Jimmy each having one steak and baked potato each plus some green beans.
After saying grace, Luzviminda waited for Mark and Jimmy to taste the dinner she cooked for them. “Do you like it?”
“It’s perfect.” Mark Wood replied back. Jimmy said something along the same lines.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Dad usually eats two of these.” Jimmy pointed out.
“Yes that’s the reason he is so big. Your father would look more handsome if he lost a few pounds.”
Mark didn’t know what to say. That didn’t keep Jimmy from speaking. “We eat out a lot.”
“Yes, fast food isn’t good. You handsome men need someone to cook good food for you.”
After dinner was over, Luzviminda cleared the table and began to clean up. Jimmy insisted on doing this.
“I’ll do it Luzviminda. You can go to the living room. Maybe you and Dad can talk some more.”
“Yes we can do that. Where is your bathroom?”
Mark spoke then. “I’ll show you.”
Jimmy watched as his father and Luzviminda left the kitchen. They already looking like a couple of love birds when together.
“Everything is working perfectly.” Jimmy said once he was alone. If his plan worked as hoped, his friend Sean Dempsey would become his Step Mom Luzviminda Wood. Sean gets a better and happier life, Jimmy’s father gets a happier life and a wife in the process, Jimmy gets a Mom once more. A pretty good deal all around in Jimmy’s opinion.
The only worry Jimmy had was if his father would get the nerve up to ask Luzviminda over to the house again or out on a date. Mark Wood’s lack of self-confidence in regards to women, was the only flaw Jimmy saw in his plan.
Jimmy wanted to keep a low profile after dinner, but Luzviminda insisted he watch television with her and his father. So Jimmy did just that till almost 9 p.m. before excusing himself in order to get ready for bed.
“Thank you for having me over Jimmy Wood.”
“You’re welcome and thank you for the nice dinner. I hope you come over again Luzviminda.”
“Yes I would like to see you again.”
“See you then.” Jimmy then went upstairs. As much as he may have wanted to spy on his father and Luzviminda, the thirteen-year-old knew he had to give them space. It still unknown if Mark Wood would get the nerve up to ask Luzviminda back to the house or on a date.
Mark and Luzviminda watched television till about 9:30. “It must be getting late for you?”
“A little,” Luzviminda replied back. “I do have to work tomorrow.”
“You better get going then.” Mark then got up and Luzviminda did the same. They then both went to the front foyer.
“Thank you for having me over.” Luzviminda told Mark as he helped put her jacket on.
“It is I who should thank you. You made me and Jimmy a wonderful dinner.”
“You were nice to me yesterday. Today too.”
Mark and Luzviminda just stood in the foyer. Neither saying a word, like both were waiting for the other to speak.
“Do you want to ask me something Mark?”
“Luzviminda, I don’t know....” Mark said hesitantly.
“Please Mark say what is on your mind.”
“I’m too old for you.”
“Age is only a number.”
“Yes, I guess it is. The only woman who ever made me feel good was Bonnie.”
“I know. You were married and now you miss her.”
“Yes I miss Bonnie very much.”
“I can only imagine the pain you still suffer.”
“Bonnie was the best thing that ever happened to me. Oh yes, there is Jimmy too.”
Luzviminda then surprised Mark. She giving Mark a great big hug.
That unexpected action tipped the matter in Mark’s mind. “When are you off next?”
“Saturday.”
“Would you like to go to a movie with me tomorrow night?”
“Yes Mark, I’d like that. You can pick me up 8:30 or later.”
“This is the first time I gone out on a date since Bonnie died.”
Luzviminda hugged Mark again. “I know.”
After talking for a few more minutes, Luzviminda agreed to call Mark at his office when she had her lunch break the next day. They’d further discuss their plans for the night then, like what movie they’d see. After that Mark walked Luzviminda out to her car.
Jimmy wasn’t asleep yet, so he heard Mark and Luzviminda leaving the house. The thirteen-year-old immediately turning the light off in his room. This in order to better see what was going on outside.
Not much did happen at first. Mark and Luzviminda talking for a minute or so. Luzviminda standing next to her car, with the driver’s side door open. Then it happened. Mark and Luzviminda shared a brief kiss.
“Yes!” Jimmy said with a fist pump. After the kiss, Luzviminda climbed in her car. Mark closing the door for the nurse.
Jimmy wasn’t asleep yet when his father stopped by the teen’s room about five minutes later. “You’re still awake?”
“Yes Dad, I couldn’t fall asleep.”
“You were pretty fast turning out the light when I let Luzviminda out a few minutes ago.”
“Uhh...yes Dad.”
“Just to let you know, I'm going on a date with Luzviminda tomorrow night.”
“That’s great Dad.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you go to bed now. Good night.”
“Good night Dad.”
About half way back to the apartment, Sean felt like banging his head against the steering wheel. “I’m going to date Jimmy’s Dad. Oh My God!”
Sean had nothing against Mark Wood. He genuinely liked the man. As a father figure, certainly not for romance. Again like like so much of what Sean had done since his ‘change’, he had little choice in the matter.
Against all logic, Luzviminda found the middle-aged overweight Mark Wood handsome. Sean, stifled and overwhelmed by Luzviminda, could even see how mismatched the nurse and the lawyer were. What would a pretty twenty-four-year-old woman want with someone like Mark?
Jimmy. It had to be Jimmy. Sean had come so close to confronting his friend, but as soon as Mark entered the room, it was back to Luzviminda mode. No more doubt existed in Sean’s mind as to how he had become like this. Jimmy Wood was behind it.
Could it be reversed? If not, could Sean at least gain control of the life and body he now possessed?
Right then something from earlier that night entered Sean’s mind. Something he’d prefer not to think of, but erase from his mind entirely. Sean tried doing this by turning the car radio on.
It didn’t work. The kiss Sean had with Mark Wood made the thirteen-year-old boy inside of the body of Luzviminda Montezon cringe and want to puke.
If Sean only could, he would drive far away that night. No matter how much Sean wanted to do just that, he couldn’t. Something was keeping Sean from doing it. What ever power it was, Sean couldn’t beat it then. Would he ever?
Sean was back to the apartment house shortly after that. After grabbing his purse and slinging it over her right shoulder, Sean climbed out of the car.
‘If I’m a woman for life, will I ever get used to it? Right now I’d trade anything to be a boy again.’ Sean thought as he walked inside the apartment house.
To be continued in Part Two
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Danielle J, Very Interesting Story You Have Here
Personally, if I was a thirteen year old boy, I would have done something else to help out my friend, but you have created quite a hurdle for the stuck teen. Will be fun to see how it is solved. May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
I Think That Revenge Will Be Coming
I think Sean/Lucy should get even with Jimmy and use the Trangender Morph program to turn him into a girl. It would serve
him right because he did it without Sean's permission. Having a mother/daughter relationship would be sweet!
Hugs,
Jenn
I think Mother/daughter would be a good revenge if ...
the daughter was very young, say about five. And that Jimmy is in the same boat as Sean, fully aware but only in control when just the two are present; Sean should also put in a provision against the new Jimmy-girl doing Lucy harm.
Is Sean capable of harming Jimmy when they are alone and he is in charge?
"All the world really is a stage, darlings, so strut your stuff, have fun, and give the public a good show!" Miss Jezzi Belle at the end of each show
zap the wizard
When it comes to my spectator's thirst for revenge, whether in a story or on the 6:00 news, intention on the part of the perpetrator counts for a lot. Sadism, hate & selfishness on the part of the criminal makes my blood boil, stupidity and thoughtlessness a bit less. And because this is a story that lets us in to Jimmy's head, we truly KNOW his intentions. Pretty damned presumptious of him to do what he did to Sean, but I'm not aching to see him pay. His intentions were good, his reasoning grotesquely flawed. Maybe a really nice apology would suffice, make him go around to schools giving JUST SAY NO TO MAGIC lectures, something, and I'm not sure some a resolution that satisfies all parties isn't possible in this story without going the revenge route...
But if it's culpability and justice we're looking for, why not go to the real responsible party- the SRU Wizard! What the hell was he thinking giving such powerful magic to a dumb kid who can't even tell right from wrong? (Like that Vonnegut story about the general and the nuclear scientist that ends with the line "Who would give a loaded gun to an idiot?"). Maybe he's the one who needs to have his picture stuck into the magic gizmo.
(that is unless he has this situation all worked out, and it'll all turn out fine, which it might yet)...
And as a side note: Does the Transgendermorf program have a "foetus" setting? Imagine being a fully aware adult mind forced to go along on THAT ride! How bizarre would that be?
~~~hugs, looking forward to part II Danielle; LAIKA
He seems to have mixed his
He seems to have mixed his own desires with those of his friend?
And why didn't he discuss it first??
Ah, because his friend would have said No0o :)
Strangely weaved, it's difficult to see a happy ending to this tale.
Cheers
Yoron.