“So Ellie, now that you know that you have nothing to worry about from your father anymore, there is no need for you to stay disguised. If you want to become Ally again, you are still more than welcome to stay here, I’ve got used to having you around.” Fiona gave me a choice.

“To be honest I have got used to being Ellie, and it would be a shame to waste all the money you have spent on me for the makeover and my boobs, if it’s ok with you, I’ll just stay here as Ellie for the moment until I get things clear in my mind.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The days soon turned into weeks and I continued to live and work as Ellie and settled into life at Ivy Lodge. Fiona and Carly became the nearest I had as family until somehow I could find Mam and Jemma. It just seemed right to fit in with them and live as Ellie, which no longer seemed strange to me, it was who I had now become. Now I was not needing to hide from my father, I toned down the makeup quite a lot to again look like a normal 16-year-old girl, instead of the more dramatic punky version created by Lorraine, but I quite liked my hair so that stayed golden auburn with pale pink streaks.

A few weeks later I was shocked to see Mam and Jemma come into the café and until I could calm myself down, I said nothing, just took and served their orders for coffee and sandwiches. After their meal Mam called me over and asked to see the manager, so I fetched Fiona and left them to it, trying to overhear their conversation from behind the servery counter.

“I’m Fiona Welbeck, the owner and manager, how can I help you?”

“I wonder if you could help us, I’m trying to find my son, who fled from abuse by my husband a few months ago. I’ve been told that it’s thought that he took a bus in this direction and I am going to every stop on the way to see if anyone ever saw him, his name is Ally Taylor or Alistair to be correct and he’s sixteen, here’s a photo of him.”

“A few weeks ago we had someone else asking about him, a big stocky and abusive, short-tempered man.”

“That sounds like Harry, my soon-to-be ex-husband. He got nowhere with his searches, but he is not the pleasantest of men and wouldn’t actually encourage anyone to tell him if they knew anything. He was arrested for drunken and threatening behaviour and once the police learned the truth about why Ally left him, they charged him with child abuse. They managed to trace me at the women’s refuge where we are staying and Jemma and I have been looking for him ever since. It worried me that we had to leave him with Harry, but Jemma and I had to get away for our own safety, always intending to return to fetch Ally when we were able to as the refuge would not allow us to bring him with us.”

“Just wait there for a moment please, there is something I need to attend to.”

Fiona came over and led me into the kitchen.

“I assume that you heard all that. I’m surprised that you just treated them like any other customer, do you not want them to know that you are here?”

“Off course, I just wanted to rush over and give them long hugs, but I was just taken by surprise and panicked, afraid of what they would think of the way I am now living.”

“Do you want to come over with me and I’ll tell them that they have now found you?”

“But what are they going to think of me looking like this, it’ll be a big shock to them and they may not like what they see.”

“What’s not to like, you’re a pleasant young attractive girl. They have been spending a lot of time and effort searching high and low for you, do you not think that they will be so delighted to have found you that anything else will not matter?”

“Sorry about that Mrs Taylor, I think can help you. I’d like to introduce you to Ellie, you know her as Ally.” She told them as she called me over.

Jemma was the first to react, her eyes widened and she jumped up, ran over to me and threw her arms around me, bursting into tears. Mam followed soon behind and the three of us were hugging kissing and crying, getting inquisitive stares from the few other customers.

“Ellie, grab your coat and bag, take your mum and sister back to the Lodge and you can have a good long chat to tell them everything that has happened.” Fiona almost pushed us out of the door, trying to get the café back to normality.

Very little was said in the car driving back to Ivy Lodge, as we were all deep in thought, mentally getting to grips with being back together again, but were soon settled in the guests’ lounge with coffee and cakes.

“I’m sorry you had to discover me like this, you must be wondering how to deal with me.”

“Don’t worry about that, the main thing is that we have found you. Tell me how my son now appears to be my daughter, and a very attractive one at that. Now I can relate to you, I can see that you and Jemma are very alike, I don’t know how I didn’t recognise you when you served at our table.’

“That’s easy to understand, you wouldn’t have expected your waitress in a skirt with big breasts, makeup and tinted hair to be your son would you.”

“Are those real?” Jemma cheekily asked staring at my breasts.

“Jemma, don’t be so rude.” Mam snapped at her.

“It’s alright, I was half expecting that. No they are not real, but I’ve grown accustomed to living with them and they are almost a natural part of me now, along with the clothes hair and makeup.”

“Now Ally, or Ellie if you prefer, tell me from the beginning everything that has happened to you.”
Mam held my hand and kept staring at me, looking me up and down trying to take in my new appearance.”

“Let’s just keep it as Ellie for the moment, if I start thinking myself as Ally, I will only get confused.

It all started after you had to get away, and I know why you needed to do that and don’t blame you for leaving me behind . Dad told me that all the household duties, cooking, shopping, cleaning, ‘woman’s work’ as he called it, were now my responsibility, and when I complained or if anything wasn’t to his liking I got a lot of abuse, usually just a tongue lashing, but sometimes a few slaps or a beating. He then decided that as I was doing all the woman’s work that I should look like one too and insisted, except when I was at school, that I should always dress in clothes Jemma had left behind and wear makeup.

It developed from there and with him insisting that my name was now Ellie to suit the role in life he had forced on me, I came to accept it and soon I was so used to it that I thought nothing of going down to the shops or for a walk around town as Ellie, just glad to get away from him. It all came to an end one night when he came into my bedroom, telling me that he had physical needs and that it was now my job, as the woman of the house, to satisfy him. He tried to rape me, but luckily I managed to give him a couple of frenzied kicks to his manhood and while he was recovering I escaped from the house.”

“Oh, you poor thing, if I had known he was going to treat you like that, I would’ve just sent Jemma away and stayed to protect you from him, I would rather he mistreated me than abuse you.” She managed to say through her tears and sobbing, squeezing my hand tightly. “How did you end up here living and working as a girl, surely once you had got away, you could have put on your boys’ clothes again.”

“I thought that there would be less chance of any of Dad’s drinking friends recognising me and reporting back to him if I stayed in my skirt and makeup until I got out of town. I got talking to a girl on the bus, Carly, Fiona’s daughter, and when she heard about my father’s abuse of me, she insisted that I stayed here at Ivy Lodge until I got things sorted out. Although Fiona soon found out the truth about me, and later told Carly, she had got used to me being around helping here and in the café, and I had got used to the feelings of comfort and safety, and the way I was now dressing, that it all just drifted on from then. Fiona has been really good to me, she has been looking after me as if I was another daughter for her, and to be honest she likes my company now that Carly is away at college. I definitely fell on my feet when I met Carly on the bus.”

“Are you truly comfortable with life’s as a girl, you really look and act the part, but honestly do you not feel weird.” Jemma jumped in with another big question, getting a disapproving look from Mam.

“To be honest Jemma, I don’t really think about it anymore. I just wake up get dressed and ready for work and get on with things, I don’t even think that I am doing anything other than normal behaviour. Look we all have a lot to think about and loads more to talk through, we are not busy here this week why not stay for a few days for us to sort things out. I’ll prepare two of the guest rooms for you, go and get your things out of the car and get freshened up and settled in.”

While they were sorting themselves out in their rooms, I chopped up some veg and chicken breasts into a casserole dish for later when Fiona got back, I was more comfortable keeping myself busy than doing nothing but think about what was happening.

Jemma soon joined me in the kitchen while Mam stayed upstairs having a rest.

“This is going to sound weird, and it’s not something I thought would ever happen, but we have only come out for the day and don’t have a change of clothes, have you got anything I can borrow to change into, something clean and fresh? I feel awkward as I am not used to having a sister, which is more or less what you are now, and it’s what sisters do, swap clothes and accessories and things.”

“Not a problem Jemma. A lot of the stuff I have is yours anyway, that I salvaged when I returned to the house when he wasn’t around. I’ll show you where my room is and leave you to have a browse through the wardrobe and drawers. If it’s your stuff, and it still fits, you can keep it.”

A half-hour later she came back down, gone were the Jeans and cotton top, she had found one of her old dresses, a sleeveless cream shift just above the knee, had brushed out her ponytail so that her hair was hanging loose over her shoulders and she had raided my makeup table.

“My god Jemma, you really scrub up well, I can hardly remember you wearing a dress except for special occasions or if you were going out on a date, you look really beautiful.”

“Well I couldn’t be outdone by my baby sister could I Ellie? Come back upstairs get out of your work clothes and we’ll pick out something for you, after all it is a bit of a celebration tonight.”

“I usually now wore skirts and tops, very rarely a dress, but Jemma insisted that I put on one I had bought for myself, a light floral nipped-waist midi dress that I thought was quite summery and feminine. Without a second thought I stripped off my blouse and bra, causing Jemma to catch her breath when she saw the breast forms hanging on my chest.

“I know that you said that the breast forms were almost part of you now, but I didn’t realise that they were permanently fixed, it’s almost as if you have somehow suddenly grown your own.”

“Why look so shocked Jemma I’m sure that you have seen other girl’s breasts before in the changing rooms at school.”

“True, but not on you.” she giggled.

I put on a fresh bra, one of the more lacy ones that had belonged to Jemma, but turned my back as I changed into matching panties, I had to draw the line somewhere, slipped into my dress, freshened my makeup and was ready to go.

“Hey you have turned out not so bad yourself Ellie, in many ways you are now a younger version of me, let’s go show Mam her two beautiful daughters.”

When we knocked on her bedroom door, Mam was already up and about again, but nearly fell over with surprise when she saw the two of us all dressed up.

“You two are gorgeous, I feel such a frump in these jeans and top.”

“Fiona is due back soon, if I ask her nicely she might be able to find something for you to change into. It’s a good excuse for us all, Fiona included, to glam up a bit and celebrate our family reunion.”

I didn’t even have to ask Fiona, when she saw Jemma and me all dressed up and Mum in the jeans she had been wearing all day looking for me, she took Mam’s hand and led her upstairs, “Come on Caroline, let’s find some glad rags for ourselves we can’t let the girls outshine us.”

They were upstairs a long time but when they came back downstairs, our jaws dropped and our eyes widened in surprise, Fiona and Mam were both dressed in slinky, figure-hugging cocktail dresses, their hair brushed out, curled and styled, and both beautifully made-up.

“Gosh Mum,” I spluttered, I can’t remember ever seeing you look so gorgeous.”

“Your father never liked me to be dressed too fancy and with too much make-up, he thought that it would encourage me to flirt with other men, it’s a nice feeling to look feminine and glamorous for a change.”

“Right you two, Caroline and I have been talking upstairs. Since we are all dressed up, let’s not waste it. There is a lovely little restaurant down in the village, I phoned up to make a reservation, get your things together we are having a celebration night out, your casserole smells delicious, but it will be ok in the fridge until tomorrow.”

We had a wonderful night out together, Mam, Jemma and I had a lot of catching up to do and Fiona was a keen listener, chipping in occasionally with how she had met me, and got used to having me around, almost as a second daughter. It was a much more relaxed and sociable atmosphere than if we had stayed at the Lodge and eaten in the pleasant but a bit lacking-in-character guest breakfast room or in our kitchen/diner. We had a corner table away from other diners and were able to talk freely and admire the view over the river to the hills and moors beyond.

“Are you still in the refuge Caroline.” asked Fiona.

“I would like to return home, but until Harry is locked up, or there is at least a restraining order stopping him coming near us, I wouldn’t feel safe or comfortable going back there.”

“Why not stay here at the Lodge, it’s rarely that all the rooms are taken, and Ellie and you still need to sort yourselves out and decide what you want to do.”

“ I couldn’t impose on you Fiona, and I can’t afford to pay you to stay here.”

“Don’t be silly, as we keep saying Ellie is now almost one of the family and you are her family, so you are more than welcome. Besides next week I have a block booking from guests attending a wedding in the village church, for eight of the rooms. Normally when I am busy like that Carly tries to come home to help out, but she has some exams and can’t get back this time, so it would be a big favour to me if you could stay to help out for that. If you are happy running the place I can concentrate on the café, Ellie can work there with me, and you and Jemma can prepare the rooms and do breakfast, it’ll make my life a lot easier. What about the refuge, are you ok to leave there?”

“To be honest I think that they will be happy for us to leave, they are full up at the moment and are having to turn people away, they’ll be glad to get our room back for someone desperately in need.”

“Right, it is agreed, in the morning go back there and get all your stuff and move into your rooms here, I’m sure that they will be more comfortable than what you have now. It’s one of Ellie’s days at the Lodge so she can show you the ropes, where everything is and what needs doing.”

After breakfast, while I tidied the place up, Mam and Jemma went off to collect their stuff and say their goodbyes. They were soon back, settled in and looking forward to learning the ropes of how the Lodge was managed and operated.and getting into a routine dealing with guests, taking bookings and registering cold-callers, they were glad to be busy again after spending so much time searching for me. They had got used to me being Ellie, Mam was just concerned that I was safe and happy, Jemma was delighted to have me as a sister that she could share confidences and clothes with. How I looked and acted was the least of their worries. Mam being around all day to handle phone calls or people turning up at the door when Fiona and I were down at the café meant that the guest numbers were rising and at times we had to disappoint potential guests when we were full up.

‘Hi Carly, we weren’t expecting you, but it’s good to see you again, how have you been keeping, did your exams go ok?” I gushed a bit, as I gave her a long hug so glad to see her back home.”

“Hey don’t hug so tight, I can hardly breathe. This is the first chance I’ve had to get back, and I just had to come and meet your mum and Jemma, Mum’s told me so much about them and how they have settled in here.”

“Let’s get your things up to your room, even when we are full it’s still kept there just for your use, or if we’re really busy, I give up my room and move in for a few days, guests are not allowed in there. When you have sorted yourself out, I’ll be down in the kitchen with Mam and Jemma, they’ll be delighted to meet you as the girl who turned my life around.”

When she came down, Mam and Jemma rushed over to her and group-hugged her, with tears forming in Mam’s eyes. “Thank you so much Carly, you could have just ignored Ellie on the bus, leaving her to end up God knows where, it was so kind of you to bring her to your home.”

“No need for that it’s been a delight to have a little sister, and now it seems that I have two, nice to meet you Jemma.”

While Mum and I busied ourselves about the house, Jemma and Carly went off to Carly’s room to get to know each other better, and probably gossip and share their thoughts on me and my changed life.

“Come on upstairs with us Ellie,” Jemma said when they came back down later, “your big sisters are taking you out for a night on the town, You’ve been hiding yourself away in here since you arrived, it’s time that you learned the delights of getting glammed up and having a night on the pull.”

“I don’t want to go ‘on the pull’ as you so crudely put it, don’t forget, despite what I look and act like, that I am not a girl.”

“Don’t be daft, we just mean a bit of dancing, a bit of flirting , maybe even a bit of snogging, you don’t have to drop your panties for the first boy that takes an interest in you. If you are going to keep living as a girl, you need to learn to relax and enjoy yourself like the rest of us.

To be continued.