Synopsis:

They say that, somewhere in the world, everybody has a twin.
Nothing was said about the sex of that twin…………

Part 1 - Elliot meets his twin, a night out, and the day after.

Story:

TWINS
By Karen J. Taylor
Copyright 2006 by author

Standard Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction, any resemblance to persons living, dead, or recently thought of indicates either A. you have a vivid imagination, or B. you are in serious need of psychological counseling. Song lyrics used under the Fair Use Doctrine are copyrighted by their respective groups, including Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin. Names have been changed to protect the innocent, the insolent, and the guilty. Void where prohibited by law. Your mileage may vary. Not responsible for debts other than my own. No deposit, no return. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. It's only a movie. The smoker you drink, the player you get. Objects in t-shirt are larger than they appear. Caution, contents may be hot. Do not attempt to exit vehicle while in motion. Please fasten your seatbelts and ensure that your seatbacks and trays are in an upright and locked position. Have a nice day.

Added disclaimer: In the interest of keeping things moving, I have compressed the time frame in places. I know the medical procedures have been shortened compared to RL. Since first posting this I've read a lot of stories that carry on and on at various points. Frankly it got boring. I'm not going into great detail about the surgeries, nor am I going to write five chapters about shopping. This is not a medical procedures guide, nor is it a fashion magazine. In addition certain characters are patterned on real people, and I attempt to show that in character interactions. The medical staff are all based on those I have encountered in RL, high-handed and abrasive, or sweet people. In particular, one nurse is a tribute to a longtime family friend. She had her nursing career cut short by lupus. By contrast, one doctor portrayed is high-handed, blunt to the point of being rude, with a "God" complex. You found out only what she wanted you to know when she wanted you to know, and several times I was told "facts" that weren't facts, just to lead me by the nose to where she wanted me, doing what she wanted me to do. Frankly, I treated her better than she deserved.

Parts of this have been a little better organized, at some readers' request. Errors I have left are likely not actually errors, but places I have altered to keep the story moving. Hey, it's called fiction, things work different in my world.

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They say that, somewhere in the world, everybody has a twin.
Nothing was said about the sex of that twin…………

Part 1
Revised 9/13/06 & 9/13/2017

The phone ringing briefly roused me from my lethargy, long enough to think “they’ll give up shortly”. I’d long since unplugged the answering machine, and most callers gave up after a half dozen rings. But this caller was persistent; the phone rang 15-20 times before stopping.

Glancing at the clock, I noticed without much caring that it was early afternoon. Couldn’t find a reason to get out of bed though. The insurance settlements and disability payments eliminated any need to work; and mundane thing like eating, watching TV, reading and the like held no attraction. I supposed that eventually the whole process of living would become more effort than it was worth, but I couldn’t find it in me to care anymore.

The phone took up it’s annoying ringing again, and I decided that shutting it off was as good a reason as any to get out of bed. Glancing at the caller ID, I saw it was Sarah, probably calling from the hair salon. Had I forgotten to cancel an appointment?

Sarah had been trying to get me to come out of my self-imposed exile ever since I’d been released from the hospital. She’d been one of Robyn’s best friends, I knew she was concerned about me, and would show up at the door if I didn’t put her off somehow.

“Hi Sarah”

“El, been trying to get a hold of you, what’s doing?”

“Nothing,” I replied, and the silence dragged on for several moments. “Was I supposed to come by?”

“No-o-o . . . Well, actually, could you come down to the shop, I’ve got something to show you.”

“Ah, gee, I really need to take a shower, and clean up, so….” hoping she’d take the hint.

“Great! Be here in about an hour!”

“Ah, Sarah, look, I really don’t feel like….” but was cut off.

“ELLIOT! When was the last time you were out!” Not waiting for an answer she continued “Get your worthless ass into the shower then get down here! Just towel-dry your hair, otherwise you’ll never get here.”

I had more hair than most, a thick, dirty-blond mass that came down to my shoulder blades. It had once been my pride and joy, and I’d met Sarah in a club when she’d come up and started raving about how nice it looked.

Well, maybe that was still enough of a reason to get out of bed, we’d both had some good times with her fooling with it. Sitting in the shop after closing, drinking wine, her and Robyn and I, Robyn’s hair had been even longer than mine, long enough for her to sit on.

Thinking about Robyn had put me into a mental freeze, until Sarah got my attention again. “El, I know, I miss her too,” she said softly, “but she’d kick your ass if she saw you right now, you’ve got to go on.” More briskly, “Now look, have you still got that beige cable knit sweater?”

“It’s not beige, it’s natural cotton!” I protested.

Her snicker told me she’d known she’d get a rise on that. “Wear that, if it’s clean, please.”

“Yes, ma’am! Anything else, ma’am!”

“No, just throw on a clean pair of jeans and your white sneakers. See ya about 3, ok?” followed by the click as she hung up. Well, I had my marching orders.

Stopping to look in the mirror before stepping in the shower, I decided I’d better wash and condition my mop before Sarah saw it, otherwise I’d be in for another lecture; she could be fierce about proper hair care. Lathering up under the needle sharp hot water, I noticed that the scars had pretty much faded and I could move almost normally. But I was skin and bones, and would probably stay thin the rest of my life, the doctors said.

The racks collapsing on me at work had shattered my rib cage, and the following surgeries had resulted in my losing several ribs and about half my stomach and intestines. At 5’ 7”, I now only weighed about 135 lbs, and few of my clothes still fit.

Digging through the clean laundry, I found a pair of Robyn’s Levis that looked like they might do. “Why not, Robyn said the only thing I was ever interested in was getting into her pants, doubt this was what she meant though!” Surprisingly they fit pretty well around the waist, loose in the hips though.

Pulling on the sweater, I slipped on my white Keds, boat shoes I guess they call them these days, and headed out the door.

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Arriving at the shop, I got a smile and a “How ya doing” from the girl at the counter. “Sarah said to go on back to her station when you got here.”

As I headed back, I heard the lady she was helping with some makeup say “God, she’s got beautiful hair, wish mine could look that good.” SHE??? Well, as long as it is, I suppose that was a natural mistake.

Sarah wasn’t in sight when I went back, so I plopped down in her chair. Glancing in her carry bag, I saw a bottle of Riunite white wine in a chiller sack. Yep, she’s got something planned. Well, now that I was up, I didn’t mind. She’d probably want to fool with my hair while we drank a glass or two, she’d be trying to get me to relax and open up, I thought I could handle it ok.

“El, THERE you are, it’s about time! Come here!” Sarah called from in back. I headed back and when I walked into the back room I thought I was facing a full-length mirror! After a stunned moment I realized I was looking at a girl about 5’7”, long, dirty-blonde hair, wearing a natural cotton cable knit sweater and jeans. She even had on white Keds just like mine.

“WOW!” one of the other girls, Tina, exclaimed, “they’re twins!”
We both stood there frozen, staring at each other.

“El, I want you to meet Kathy Johnson,” Sarah interjected. “She just moved to town. Donna hired her to take Carl’s place. Kathy, this is Elliot Taylor, a good friend of mine. Call him El, the rest of us do.”

Turning to me, she said, “I thought you two should meet.” Well, THAT was an understatement!

Kathy blinked a few times, them turned to Sarah “You said HIM?”

Tina giggled and Sarah said “Yeah. Amazing isn’t it?”

Donna, the shop owner, walked in then and exclaimed, “That’s freaky! Come here, you two.” First she had us stand side by side with our backs to a mirror, then stand back to back. “Except for the tits, you two are the same height and everything.”

Kathy suddenly giggled and said, “I think Sarah‘s planning to fix that.”

Hmmm, nice voice, no accent, unlike my slightly cultured southern drawl. I’d worked hard to cultivate that drawl since moving here. When I’d first moved here in high school after growing up mostly in Europe, I’d taken a lot of shit from the other kids for my formal diction and upper crust accent.

Sarah went over and picked up a sack from her station. Coming over to me she said, “Pull your sweater up over your head.”

I intelligently replied “Huh?” but quickly lifted it when she reached for the bottom. Next I could feel something, no make that two something’s being stuck to my chest. Did she . . .?

“OK, let it down.” Yes, she stuck some breast forms on me! WOW!! Now, other than details like makeup and nail polish we were absolutely identical! A soft “shit” from Kathy told me she was as dumbfounded as me.

“Where did you get these,” I asked.

“Kathy had them in some of her stuff, so I asked if I could borrow them,” Sarah replied.

I turned to Kathy, who was still looking at me in amazement. Trying to think of something, anything, to say, I said the first thing that came into my head “Why do you have breast forms, you don’t need them.”

“Uh, I bought them for my little sister, she thought she’d been shortchanged that way.”

“What, did she decide she didn’t want them?”

“No, she and my parents were killed in a car accident three months ago. I never had the chance to give them to her,” Kathy replied in a flat voice.

I looked at her and saw her chin was quivering and her eyes were bright with tears. I opened my arms and said simply, “I understand”. Then she had her arms wrapped around me and was crying on my shoulder while I held her tightly. Sarah and Tina came over and stroked her hair and rubbed her shoulders; none of us saying anything.

She finally pulled back and I released her with a final squeeze. My own eyes were burning by then, and she looked at me with growing awareness. “You understand,” it wasn’t quite a question. I nodded and she said, “You want to talk?”

“No, maybe later,” I replied, though it was hard as my throat was a bit tight.

“Ok, when you’re ready,” and she wiped the wet spots under my eyes with her fingertips.

“Hey, you two,” Sarah called out, “have some wine!” and she handed us each a glass. “How ‘bout we get cleaned up and hit Happy Hour!”

“I’d have to change,” I said.

Kathy echoed me, adding, “I’ve got to find a motel room for a couple of days, and I’ve still got the U-Haul on my car.”

Sarah looked at me; I could see the wheels turning. “El, you’ve got that whole house, you could spare a bed couldn’t you? Besides, her trailer would be safer in your driveway than sitting at some motel.”

“Uh, yeah, sure, I guess,” I replied, suspecting Sarah had intended this all along. Kathy tried to decline, but Sarah can be persuasive.

“Kathy, he’s got a three bedroom house all to himself,” and the clincher for any girl, “It’s got two full bathrooms.”

Kathy looked at me, “Well, if it’s no bother”.

“Not at all.”

“Ok”

“Now,” Sarah said with a “I’ve got a plan” look on her face that I knew all too well, “What are you twins gonna wear? We’re gonna have some fun with this!”

I started sputtering while Tina giggled and exclaimed, “Oh, yeah!”

Kathy looked at me in amazement while Sarah wheedled, “Oh, come on, El, it’ll be fun!”

Well, maybe…. I allowed myself to be persuaded to go along with it, “Just this once!”

Sarah grabbed her purse and said, “Let’s go get Kathy settled in and unpack some clothes. Wait…” and she ducked into the storeroom. Coming back out she handed a bottle of hair remover to me. “You know how to use this, you need to clean up.”

Kathy looked at me with a strange expression on her face, and Sarah said, “He makes a darling Stevie Nicks!”

“It was a Halloween costume! And besides, you two didn’t give me much choice!” I could see that Kathy had a lot of questions, and I was sure that Sarah had a lot of answers. Hopefully I’d be there to defend myself.

Sarah told Tina to have a glass of wine and stick around, we’d be back in about an hour and she’d need some help. Tina’s “I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” had me wondering just what I’d got myself into.

When we got to my house, I guided Kathy in backing her trailer into the driveway. Sarah then steered me into my bedroom.

“Pull off your sweater, I’ve got to remove your boobs.” After she did that, she pulled some hairpins out of her bag and swiftly pinned up my hair.

Handing me the bottle of hair remover, she told me to apply it all over then shower it off when it was time. “Don’t get your hair wet. I’ll lay some stuff on your bed for you to put on. Holler at me when you’re done and I‘ll help you with your chest.” Then she handed me the roll of wig tape, “You’ll need this”.

“What for?”

Pointing to my crotch she said, “You need to tape that down, we don’t want anything ‘popping up’ unexpectedly, do we!” I know I turned bright red as Sarah laughed at me. “Get going ‘girl’, time’s wasting!”

Following the directions, I smeared the stuff all over my arms, legs and chest. I didn’t have a lot of body hair anyway, and soon it was washing down the drain. After toweling off, I managed to secure my ‘equipment’ back out of the way so I could still sit down to pee, much as I’d done last Halloween.

When I walked into the bedroom I found a pair of cotton panties, pantyhose, and Robyn’s Levis sitting on the bed, along with a bra and the breast forms. After I got the panties, pantyhose and jeans on (why pantyhose with jeans?) I called Sarah.

She came in with a couple of bottles and a cloth something in her hand. “Time to put your tits on!”

“Wait a minute, that’s glue, you’re not gluing them on!”

“Of course, that way they won’t slip out. And this is the remover, I’ll put it in the bathroom.”

Oh, boy, what have I gotten myself into now?

After gluing the forms on, she helped me put the bra on, then handed me the piece of cloth, which turned out to be long-sleeved crinkled fabric top in a clingy metallic royal blue. I pulled it on and saw that the neck was generously scooped, displaying more cleavage than I’d have thought possible.

Sarah pulled the pins out of my hair, letting it down and fluffing it out. “That’s great, come on“, and pulled me into the front bedroom where Kathy was. She was wearing the same top in a metallic pink, and matching skirts were lying on the bed.

“Here,” Sarah said, “put these on” and handed me a pair of sandals that matched my top. I noticed that Kathy had a pair of pink sandals on. “You can put the skirts on after we get finished at the shop.”

My only response was an “Urp, ok” which got a grin from Kathy. The finishing touch was a couple of denim jackets, also in pink and blue, and matching purses.

“Stick your stuff in here El,” Sarah told me.

When I went to drop my billfold in, she went back to Kathy’s room and returned with a woman’s billfold, into which she transferred my money and IDs. Adding a hairbrush from my bathroom, Sarah called out ,“Alright, time’s a wasting, let’s go!”

By consensus, we piled into Sarah’s car for the return to the salon. I sat in back, and all the way to the shop Kathy kept looking back at me, a bemused look on her face. All I could do was gesture helplessly in Sarah’s direction.

When we got there, Kathy and I were parked in adjacent chairs and Tina and Sarah went to work. Out came the hot rollers, and soon both of us had our heads full of curlers. Next came the makeup. I particularly came in for special attention, needing “a little extra assistance” as Tina put it.

No sooner was that done, then they grabbed my hands and started on my nails. Tips were quickly glued on, over my futile protests, filed and shaped, then a coat of light pink polish was applied.

“Damn, we should have done your toenails before you put the panty hose on. Go into the bathroom and skin them off.” When I came out I saw that Kathy was getting a manicure like mine. Then she went in and took off her panty hose and we both received pedicures. During this whole process we were well supplied with wine which, at least in my case, lowered my resistance to the process.

By the time this was all done, our hair was pronounced ready, and Sarah and Tina went to work, unrolling, spraying, combing, brushing, and more spraying. Finally, we were declared done, and the chairs were spun around to face the mirrors. WOW!!! Sitting there were two drop-dead gorgeous girls, identical in appearance!

“What do you think?” Sarah asked.

“I’m stunned,” I said.

“Me, too!” Kathy added.

Our hair fell in generous waves below our shoulders, and gold highlights seemed to glitter in it. Our eyebrows were nicely arched (a little too much so in my case, if you ask me), and our lashes were long and dark. I suspected that false lashes had been used to make them look like that (I was right). We had full red lips and a delicate blush highlighted our cheeks. I’d had my ears pierced the previous year for the Halloween party, and soon we both sported matching gold hoops, 2” above 3”.

“All right, go put your skirts on, we’re wasting time!”

~~Wait a minute, this top and the skirt don’t meet by at least 2 inches, and the hem is a good 6 inches above my knees. I can’t wear this!~~

I stepped out at the same time as Kathy, but before I could say a word, she said “If I look as good as you, we’re h-o-t HOT!”

“This is supposed to fit like this?” waving my hand at the skirt.

“Oh, yeah! Uh-ah, what do I call you?”

“Twins are supposed to have similar names,” Sarah said. “Let’s see, Kathy and something-el, in case we slip and call you El. Kathy and Ka - el. Hmm, sound like Superman’s sister”

In spite of myself, I giggled.

“I’ve got it!” Tina yelled. “Kari, Kathy and Kari!

“Yes!” Sarah exclaimed, “Karielle! Kathy and Karielle! Now don’t forget your name, Karielle!”

“Uh, yeah, got it,” I replied.

“OK, girls, lets go! You coming, Tina?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it! I’ve got some stuff in the car, let me change real quick.”

Sarah grabbed a lipstick and compact off the makeup cart and dropped them in my purse. “You’ll need that,” then did a quick scan over the shelves, grabbed a bottle of perfume and misted it over me the dropped it in the purse also. Tina came back out, and off we went.

When we got to the club it was already getting busy, with a line at the door. Sarah slipped up front and had a word with the doorman, then motioned us forward. Much to the annoyance of the people in line, we were let under the rope and straight in.

Uh-oh, problem! They were checking IDs and my license didn’t look anything like I did now.

Kathy went first, then I made show of digging through my clutch, (wallet, billfold, whatever they call this thing), and came up empty. With a sheepish smile I said, “Sorry, must have left in my other purse.

The doorman uttered “Blondes!” under his breath, but before he could say anything else, Sarah flagged down Bill, the owner, who was walking past. She whispered in his ear and pointed at us.

Bill came over. “What’s the problem,” and the doorman explained I had no ID.

Bill pointed at Kathy and asked, “She has an ID, right?”

The doorman said yeah and Bill looked at him with some disgust, “They’re twins, if one’s old enough, the other is too, Duh!”

As we walked on into the club and started scanning for a table, I heard Bill say, “If they’re with somebody we know, and they’re that hot, let them in.” As he turned away, I heard him mutter “dumb ass!”

Hot, me?! This was starting to get weird!

Before I could really think about it, Tina grabbed my arm “Come ON, we’ve got a table!” Of course, it had to be right down at the edge of the dance floor, where everybody could see us. I always sat at the bar, or back in a corner, out of the noise, but I should have remembered that Sarah likes to sit down front right in the middle of things.

I was starting to get a little (well a lot) nervous, but Kathy leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Relax, you look great, nobody will know.”

No sooner had we settled in than a cocktail waitress showed up with a round of Mimosas (champagne and orange juice), and set them down in front of us. “These are on the house, Bill wants to apologize for the hassle at the door.”

Being somewhat savvier about bars than the others (I’d spent a lot of time in them the previous year), I pulled a ten-dollar bill out of my purse and handed it to her with a “thanks”.

She looked startled, then touched my shoulder and said “No, Thank YOU!” before zipping off to another table.

I turned back around feeling pretty good, to find Kathy giving me yet another strange look (I was collecting a bunch of those today!).

“What! 75 percent of her income is from tips, and on a crazy night like this she’ll be too busy to give the kind of service that gets good tips. She wasn’t expecting to get anything here since the house was buying, and I can afford it.”

“I know,” Kathy said, “but most people wouldn’t have done it. That was thoughtful of you.”
I could feel the heat in my face, but before I could say anything else, Kathy said, “Look behind you at the bar.”

I turned and saw our waitress talking to one of the other girls working the floor, showing her the ten and pointing at us,

She saw me looking and immediately came zipping over. “Did you need something?”

“No, I - we’re fine, thanks.”

“Well, I’m Karen and that’s Lisa, if you need anything, let us know.” With a big smile for Kathy and me, she headed back to the bar.

“Well, you’ve made a friend,” Kathy commented.

The band and another round of drinks arrived at the same time. “These are from the guys over by the pool table,” Karen said. “They’re all right,” she added, grinning.

“All right?” I asked.

“Yeah. Now, take those two over there,” pointing out a couple of guys at the bar who were checking us out. “They’re octopuses.”

“Ah-h-h, I get ya now.”

I reached for my purse again, but Karen checked my hand, “I already collected from them. You’re new, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, Kathy and I just arrived today,” well it is close to the truth!

“I hope you come here often, mostly we get the college crowd and those girls don’t tip worth a shit! I’ll have word with the doormen, you won’t have anymore hassles.”

“Well, thanks!”

“No problemo, gotta take care of the good ones!”

As Karen moved away Tina reached over and grabbed Kathy’s arm, “Potty break!”

“You and Sarah go; Karielle and I will go when you get back”

Tina turned to Sarah; they both grabbed their purses and headed of in search of the Ladies.

“We could take our purses and go now, couldn’t we,” I asked Kathy.

“Nope, lesson number two in clubbing, never leave your drinks unguarded. Somebody could slip something in them, and you’d wake up tomorrow in the ER.”

“Oh,” and suddenly what I was doing got a bit scary. If a guy tried to rape me, it would get ugly.

“Besides, everybody will want to hear the first set, so we won’t have to wait in line to pee.”

“Hey, smart thinking!”

“Yeah, us blondes ain’t all stupid!”

“What’s lesson number one?” I asked.

Waving her hand in the direction of Sarah’s chair, Kathy replied, “Know the owner!” With that we both started giggling!

When we got back to the table the band was already part way through their first set. I’d no sooner sat down than I felt a tap on my shoulder; it was one of the guys from the pool table. “DANCE?” he yelled over the din and motioned to the dance floor.

I glanced over and saw Kathy already headed out with another of the guys, she saw me looking and motioned “come-on”.

Rather than try and be heard over the music I nodded, and he actually pulled my chair out for me and escorted me to the floor. I’ve never been a very good dancer but I tried to make up in enthusiasm for what I lacked in ability.

A couple of fast songs, then the band started a slow number. Uh-oh!

Before I could figure out how to say no to his offer of arms to hold me for a slow song, Kathy grabbed my arm, “Let’s sit down, my feet are killing me!”

I smiled a ‘sorry’ at the guy, and returned to the table. Kathy leaned over and whispered in my ear “Lesson number three, if you dance a couple of fast ones, then you can beg off when the slow stuff starts.”

I shook my head, “Damn, you girls really lead us guys around by the nose, don’t you!”

Giving me a scan up and down, Kathy giggled. “No, it’s US girls! Tonight, doll face, you’re on OUR team!”

The other waitress, Lisa, showed up about then. “Get you anything?”

Kathy looked a bit stretched, so I said, “Two soda twists. Same again when those are empty.”

Lisa grinned, “Gotcha! Sure thing!”

When she left Kathy turned to me, “What are those?”

I smiled a smug little smile, pleased to be one up on her. “Soda water with a twist of lime; looks like we’re drinking Gin & Tonics.” Kathy looked at me in surprise. “Hey, I’m more than just a pretty face!” That earned me a slap on the arm.

Karen showed up just then with our ‘drinks’, and pulling some money out, I asked her, “Do you pool your tips?

“Yeah”

I handed her the money, “OK, I wanted to make sure I didn’t leave Lisa out.”

“Cool!” She set her tray on the table and crouched down between us, “You’ve worked in a club before.”

“I’ve got a little experience.”

“Well, if you want a job, Bill’s hiring, we could use somebody sharp like you. You, too,” she said, turning to Kathy. “The two of you working together could really rake in the tips.”

“No, thanks,” Kathy replied, “I’m a hair stylist. I just started at A Cut Above.”

“Wow, no wonder you two look so good. You a stylist too?” turning to me.

“No, I’m recovering from an accident and can’t work right now.”

“Oh, bummer! Well, the offer’s still open, anytime. Gotta get back to it, see ya later!”

Just then Sarah and Tina returned from wherever they’d gone, the band took the stage again, and we were dragged back up to the dance floor by an assortment of guys, nice and not so nice.

More rounds of drinks and shots appeared over the next several hours, and Lisa showed up with a much appreciated round of coffee at one point. Several more trips were made to the Ladies, to pee, touch up our makeup, and compare notes (gossip) without having to shout at each other.

It was strange for me, men don’t say a word to each other in the restroom, its go in, piss, shake it and leave. At last Sarah, who’d switched to Coke after the first couple of drinks, declared it was time to call it a night.

I had a quick exchange with Karen to ensure the bartenders were taken care of, and even dropped a five in the doormen’s tip jar, much to their surprise. We loaded up in Sarah’s car and headed for home.

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It was late when Sarah dropped us off at my house. We were both a more than a little tipsy as we weaved our way up to the door, giggling and leaning on each other for support. We each headed for a bathroom for some much needed relief.

When I came out of the bathroom there was a blue baby doll pajama set on my bed, along with a matching sheer thigh-length robe. “I put you some sleepwear on your bed, I think it’s your color,” Kathy called from the other room. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, and I put it on.

I was sitting on the bed when Kathy came in; she was wearing a matching set in pink. She sat down next to me and put her arm around me. “I want to thank you for letting me stay here, and, well, everything.”

When I turned to speak she took my face in her hands and kissed me. It started off slow and tender but soon became passionate. We started to play tongue-tag, then I broke away.

“What, don’t you like it? I promise I’ll respect you in the morning,” she giggled.

“Yeah, but I won’t respect me,” I replied, then the next thing I knew, I was sobbing in her arms, a mirror image of this afternoon at the shop.

I realized she was stroking my hair and going, “Shush, shush, it’s alright, it’s alright” over and over.

When I came up for air, she asked me, “Ready to talk now?”

“I think so,” I started to tell her about Robyn, but my throat got tight, so I went back to the beginning.

“My father was a big troubleshooter for Americal Oil, and I grew up all over Europe. We lived in England, Norway, and Belgium, among other places. I attended the international schools when there was one locally, or a Swiss boarding school when there wasn’t.”

“When I was 13, we moved to Antwerp, Belgium and I was enrolled in the international school there, while my dad went to the Middle East for an extended job. There was a French girl in my class, Michelle, who I immediately fell for. She had this beautiful long brown hair; it was so long she could sit on it. I was enraptured with it, and when we were together I’d sit and brush it for her while we talked. She loved it, and would make a sound like a cat purring when I did it. She talked me into letting my hair grow, and by the time my dad came back from the Middle East, it was down to my shoulders.”

“Problems?” Kathy asked.

“Oh, yeah, problems, Big Time!” I replied. “I’m not having my son grow up to be some faggot French pansy!” was one of the milder things he said. The following week he announced we were returning to the States where he said if I didn’t get some sense into my head, the other boys would kick it into me.”

“That’s how you ended up here, I take it.”

“Yeah, I was enrolled at Johnson High across town, and my life became a living hell."

“I refused to cut my hair, and I got beat up on a regular basis. The only bright point was my world history class in 11th grade. There was a girl in it, Robyn Lovelace, and her hair was twice as long as mine. After class my first day, she came up and complimented me on how nice my hair looked. She said she’d seen the way I was being treated and that she admired me, it took guts to stand my ground like I was, and she’d support me however she could."

"Well, I fell in love all over again, but her boyfriend was the captain of the football team, so that wasn’t going to happen. But she let him know she was holding him personally responsible if any of the squad caused me trouble, so things eased up quite a bit."

"My senior year I was the primary yearbook photographer, and people learned it wasn’t smart to piss off the guy who was taking all the pictures for the yearbook, so I didn’t get beat up that last year. But Robyn married the guy their freshman year in college, and I lost track of them.”

“But, isn’t Robyn the one…”

“Yes”

“Then I don’t understand…”

“I’m getting there, it’s a long story.”

“I got a scholarship to State, majoring in photojournalism, and my parents went back overseas. My dad and I were getting along better by then, he still didn’t like the way I looked, but he respected me standing my ground even when I was getting the shit kicked out of me. ‘Takes balls’ was how he put it. And winning that full scholarship impressed him, showing I had drive and determination.”

“Anyway, my senior year in college I was already working as a photojournalist for Ch.7 part time, and was up for an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for some stuff I’d done. I was invited to the national convention for the awards ceremony, and somebody let my folks know, so they decided to surprise me by flying back for it. They were on the Air France flight that was blown up over the Atlantic to protest the arrest of some Al Qaida operatives in Paris”

“Oh God, El, how horrible! I’m so sorry!” Kathy sobbed. I had to stop; my throat had gotten so tight I could hardly breath. Kathy put her arm around me again and rubbed my shoulder for a bit. When I could talk again I continued.

“I dropped out of school, and kinda went into a downward spiral. After the will was probated, and with the settlement from the French government and Air France following the lawsuit (I’m sure you heard about it, a sympathizer in the French government got the terrorists airport security passes so they could get the bomb on the plane) I was financially set for life.”

“I sold most of their stuff but kept this house and moved in. Then I went on a drug and alcohol binge. It was during this period that I met Sarah, she’d seen me in the clubs and was just knocked over that any guy could have hair as nice as mine, especially as I always seemed to be bombed whenever she saw me.”

“She insisted on knowing why I was drinking myself to death (her words), and when I mentioned Robyn, she got kind of a funny look on her face. ‘Not Robyn Lovelace?’ she asked.”

“Yes, do you know her?”

“Yeah, I went to school with her older brother,” Sarah said.

“How’s she doing?”

"Don’t know, haven’t seem her in awhile,” she replied, the liar!

"Before she went home that night she made me promise to come by the shop the following Friday afternoon so she could ‘tidy up that mop of hair’ as she put it. I should have known something was up when she called on Thursday afternoon and again Friday morning to make sure I was coming, but I figured she was just making allowances for a drunk’s memory.”

“Anyway, she got me in and gave me a shampoo and conditioning treatment that was badly needed, then trimmed the ends and cleaned everything up. Then she whipped off the cape and spun me around with a ‘ta-da’ and there was Robyn!"

"I couldn’t believe it! It seems her marriage to the jock only lasted about a year. She finished college with a degree in education and was teaching at a local high school. She started coming to Sarah to get her hair trimmed, old friend and all that, and had told her about this boy she’d known in high school with long hair and what a sweet guy (her words, not mine) he was.”

“Well, I wanted to start seeing her, but Sarah had filled her in on what I was doing, and why. She said IF I could straighten my act up, then it was possible. She fully understood how I had ended up the way I was, but that it couldn’t go on, not if we going to be seeing each other.”

“And I did, Kathy, I did! I came home and dumped all the drugs and the booze down the drain. The first week or two was hard, but the booze and drugs were to blunt the pain, and suddenly the pain was lifted. It was like driving out of a cloudburst into a sunny sky. I got a job at the local manufacturing plant, not for the money, but to keep my days busy, and six months later we got engaged. Life was good!”

“About 4 months ago, one day at work, a forklift driver knocked over a rack of equipment. I was standing on the other side, and my chest was pretty well crushed. It was touch and go for the first week, and a lot of my chest and guts are missing or have been replaced with plastic. Robyn came by everyday after school and she’d sit and talk to me. If I was unconscious, and I was a lot the first week or two, she’d sit and grade papers, not leaving until the nurses made her leave.”

“Then one day, she didn’t show up. A couple of hours after school ended, I was starting to get concerned. Then her mother and their minister, and my doctor and a nurse came in. She was crossing the street to her car when some asshole senior boy came roaring out of the parking lot, trying to show off with his new car, and ran her over. She…she…sh…” and I lost it. I blubbered like a baby, with Kathy holding me tight and making comforting noises.

Sometime later, I became aware again. Kathy was holding me in her lap, stroking my hair, rocking me back and forth. With some effort, I sat up, and Kathy released me, but kept her arm around me.

“Sorry I lost it there.”

“That’s the first time you’ve let yourself go since it happened, isn’t it,” she asked.

“Yeah, when they told me in the hospital I started screaming and they slipped a needle in my IV and knocked me out. When I came to the next day, I found they had me on happy pills of some kind, and I made them stop. I’d promised Robyn I wouldn’t go down that road again, and I won’t.”

“Oh. Uh-h, what about tonight? We got a bit tipsy…” she begin.

“Well, that’s different, as I see it. I wasn’t drowning my sorrow, or masking my pain. I was having fun with some friends. Today is the first time I’ve laughed or smiled since. Thank you for that. It’s been hard, and I’ve been so, so…”

“You’ve kept it all bottled up inside you, and that’s not good. I know, I was doing the same thing, but today you helped me, and now I’ve helped you,” Kathy said.
Somehow, we’d ended up lying back, her head on the pillows and mine on her chest, with her arms around me again. It felt good, and I fell asleep that way.

--------------------------------------------------------

When I woke up the next morning, I discovered Kathy was still in the bed with me. We were cuddled up with an arm over each other. Now, I’m not a morning person, and I had a hangover, but this wasn’t a bad way to wake up. I shifted a bit, and Kathy opened her eyes and smiled at me.

She stroked my cheek gently and kissed me softly, then said “Morning, beautiful.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls who look like you,” I grinned back.

“Nope, just the ones I’ve slept with.” Then she popped me on my butt. “Rise and shine, lazybones! I’m hungry! Got anything to eat around here?”

“Um, probably not.”

"Well, let’s get dressed and go get something. Come on in the bathroom and let me clean you up, we slept in our makeup last night.”

That’s when we found they’d applied false lashes. Even with all the makeup removed, we both still had long dark lashes. “Well, no matter, grab your purse, and I’ll give you a daytime look.”

“Whoa, I wasn’t planning on staying as Karielle!”

"Think again,” Kathy said, pointing at my nails and eyes. “Look at yourself in the mirror, you look like Karielle even without makeup, you might as well look good.”

So I ended up with a little lipstick and eye shadow, in a conservative blouse and jeans, and wearing my Keds again.

Kathy looked at the way the jeans fit me, “Hmmm, gonna have to do something about your ass.”

“What!”

“Hey, we’ve got my image to uphold!”

We jumped in my car, and headed out in search of food and what all. As we were driving along, Kathy suddenly yelled, “Turn in here!” “Here” was a costume supply house.

Kathy had a quick word with the saleslady, who glanced curiously at me before going into the backroom. Coming back out, she handed Kathy a box.

"Come on,” she said, pulling me into the changing rooms. When we got inside, she locked the door and said, “Strip!” I must have had a ‘deer in the headlights’ look, for she nudged me with her hand. “Kathy to El, jeans and undies off, now!”

I complied, and she removed a flesh-toned latex garment from the box. “Put this one, it’s a padded gaff.”

It took several minutes to get my “equipment” sorted out and properly installed, “You can sit down to pee and everything.” The color was an almost perfect match for my skin tone and I now looked like a normal girl down below. A tube of glue like that holding the breast forms on was included in the box, and Kathy quickly sealed the edges to my skin, I hope it comes off!

After putting my underwear (well, panties) back on, and pulling my jeans back on, I was amazed at the difference. The jeans fit great, and I now had curves where I didn’t before!

Kathy laughed, “That’s it, girl, now you look right!”

I nearly choked when I saw the price, but Kathy pointed out that quality wasn’t cheap, and as I‘d already said on several occasions, I could afford it.

So we headed back out in search of breakfast, although it was getting closer to lunch by now. We ended up stopping at an IHOP, just because it was convenient. Much to my discomfort, the hostess seated us right in the middle of the room, where everybody could see us.

When I said as much to Kathy, she replied, “That’s exactly what she did. Two good-looking women, she wants everybody to see us and be impressed with the quality of the customers here. Better get used to it.”

“Arggh!”

Kathy got a standard IHOP breakfast - eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns and coffee, while I ordered a poached egg, toast and coffee.

“Honeychild,” the waitress commented, “I’ve seen birds eat more than that. You get any skinnier, you’re gonna disappear when you turn sideways!”

“Surely not!” Kathy giggled.

“Well maybe not completely, neither one of you,” the waitress replied with a laugh as she walked off. Me, I had a feeling from the way my face burned that I’d invented whole new shades of red.

We talked about Kathy’s plans for the day, she needed to unload her styling tools and equipment and take them to the shop so she could get her station set up. As I had no plans of my own, I offered to help.

About then, the waitress returned with our order. In addition to my egg and toast, a plate of pancakes was set down in front of me.

“I didn’t order pancakes,” I protested to the waitress.

“Honey,” she replied, “these are on the house. You see if you can’t get some inside you, even your sister knows she needs to eat. You keep up like this,” pointing at my egg, “you’re gonna look like that Olsen twin girl. It ain’t healthy!”

“You know,” I told Kathy, “nobody tells Elliot what to eat.”

“Yeah, but there aren’t many guys with anorexia. And you are skin and bones.”

“Well, the doctor said it would take a while for my stomach, or what’s left of it, to stretch enough to eat a more normal-sized meal. In the meantime, I’m supposed to stick with a special diet for most of my meals.”

“And just where is this special diet food? There’s nothing in your refrigerator.”

“Well, I, uh….”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. This your diet,” pulling a list from her purse. “I found it on the refrigerator”.

“Yeah”

“OK, next stop, grocery store!”

The waitress came by to leave our check and clucked her tongue at the amount still left on my plate, but said nothing further. We escaped her disapproving stare, paid our check, (“Y’all have a nice day!”), and headed to the supermarket. An hour later and several hundred dollars lighter, we hauled multiple bags of groceries back to the house.

After getting things stored away, it was time to start unloading the trailer. Kathy had already stacked some boxes in my garage the day before when she was getting out the outfits we wore the night before, and we sorted through them as well as the stuff still in the trailer. Several boxes of stuff were transferred to her car, and we set out for the shop, Kathy driving and me navigating.

When we got to the shop, I grabbed the first box and headed inside, Kathy just behind. I hollered at Donna when I walked in, “Where do I put this?”

Donna looked up “Hi Kathy! Third station down. Is El with you?”

About then Kathy walked in behind me with another box and Donna did a double take. “Elliot?”

Turning to me, “Is that Elliot?” pointing at Kathy. I groaned, Kathy started sputtering and Donna looked back and forth between us. “Alright, who’s who here!”

By now I was getting too upset to talk, but I did point and say, “Kathy”.

Donna looked at me and shook her head. “Gawd, I saw you yesterday, and I still don’t believe it! I figured you’d be back to El today.”

“Well, blame your band of magic fairies,“ I said bitterly. “Between these,” waving my hands at her, “and these,” pointing at my eyes, “it seems Karielle is going to be around for a couple more days.”

“Oh, did they put artificial lashes on you?"

“Yeah, how do you take them off?”

"Um, well, you don’t.”

“WHAT!”

“They fall off as your lashes grow out, but that takes 60 to 90 days.”

“You gotta be kidding me!” Turning to Kathy, “Did you know about this!”

“Not until this morning when I washed my face.”

I dropped the box I was carrying in a chair, and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. Then I folded up.

End Part One

Notes:

This is the first part of a fairly long story, with several sequels in the works. I have had the assistance of Angel O'Hare, who has kindly proofread portions of it. Any mistakes left are mine.

Re-edited by author 9/13/2006

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