Bikini Beach: A Punk's Story

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Bikini Beach: A Punk's Story
By Ellie Dauber
Copyright 2000

When Felicia Ormand invited the cocksure Frankie DiAntonio to spend the day at the water park, Frankie thought that his luck was in. After all, he knew there'd be less competition there - less than he realized. He didn't know what "A Wonderful Life" he was about to fall into.

This is the sequel to "Bikini Beach: Purse Snatchers."

Bikini Beach: A Punk's Story
By Ellie Dauber
Copyright 2000

By the time we came back after the Memorial Day break, the school year's just about over. Sure, there were a couple weeks left — and the exams, but who worries about them? Me, I was thinking about the summer, three months to have fun and raise hell.

It looked like the fun was starting early. It was just a couple of days after we got back. I was walking around, looking for Bill Gerhart. Bill was just a guy I knew, but he said that he had an idea that could make us both some money. I was about to give up on him and see if I could find anybody else that might have something going, when I heard somebody call my name.

"Frankie! Frankie D, wait up!" It was Felicia Ormand. She was one hot babe, dressed in a short white dress that was short enough to give a real good look at those long legs of hers and tight enough to show off her luscious curves. And believe me, I looked. She flashed me a smile, and I wondered what else she could do with those lips — and tongue — of hers.

"Hey, Felicia," I said. "What's up?"

"You are, I think," she said with a giggle looking down quickly at my crotch. I was surprised. That didn't sound like the "good girl" that Felicia usually was. Maybe she'd decided to stop acting like such a prim little stuck-up. "I was wondering if you could maybe do me a little favor."

"A favor? Sure, I'd be glad to." Nothing like having a babe owe you a favor.

"My, umm, car's stuck in the shop, and I was wondering if you could maybe give me a lift someplace after school."

"No problem. Where you going?"

"You know that water park, Bikini Beach? I'd like a lift over there."

"Yeah, sure. I've been meaning to check the place out anyway." That was for sure. If the girls there were half as pretty as the ones in the ads, it was a place any red-blooded guy would want to be.

Felicia smiled like she'd just won something. Damn! I always figured that she wanted me. Maybe I'd been right. "Tell you what," she said, "I'm a member. You take me out there, and I'll treat you to a pass."

"You're on. Meet me in the north lot after school." She definitely wanted me.

"Okay, see you then." She hurried off. I stood watching her ass sway until she turned a corner. Then I went to find Gerhart. The little creep owed me twenty bucks.

* * * * *

It was a short drive to Bikini Beach. As I drove through the afternoon traffic, I kept an eye on Felicia. Some girls are impressed — maybe even turned on a little — by the way a guy handles a car. It makes them wonder how they are at handling other things, if you know what I mean. She was looking at me real weird, like she had something in mind. I was hoping that it was to have some "fun" together in the park — or maybe on the ride home after. After a while, though, her smile began to get to me. It was like she had some kind of secret, and it was a secret that I wasn't gonna like.

I pulled into an empty spot near the entrance. Felicia was out of the car almost before I stopped. "I'll be right back," she said and ran over to the gate.

When you live in an oceanfront town — and, especially, if you like to party — you keep a spare pair of trunks and a towel in your car. I got mine out and started towards the gate. She was back over in a minute, carrying something in her hand. "Here it is," she said, handing me a pen and a purple piece of cardboard about the size of a playing card. "I got you a pass. Just sign your name, and we can go in."

I looked at the pass. "One Week Pass To Bikini Beach Issued To" with a line for my name. "One week," I said. "That's a lot for one little favor." It was generous. Maybe I was wrong to be suspicious of her.

"Oh, believe me," she said. "It's not half of what you deserve."

"Okay," I said and signed my name. I guess I really had impressed her. She wanted me — bad.

We went into the park. The girl at the gate was a very pretty redhead a few years older than me. She greeted Felicia by name and smiled when I flashed my pass. This place just got better and better. Felicia headed to the Women's Locker Room to change. I headed to the Men's. It was a lot smaller. 'Good,' I thought. 'Less guys means less competition.'

I found an empty locker and changed into my surfer's "baggies." I looked pretty good in the mirror near the door. I'm not tall, but I work out with weights, so I'm in good shape, lean with a lot of toned muscles. "Look out, Felicia," I said out loud and tried the door.

It was locked; some kind of electronic lock from the look of it. For a second, I thought about the set of lock picks hidden in the trunk of my car. Then I noticed the sign on the door. "Please remember to shower before leaving locker room" and below it in smaller print, "Health Department Regulation."

'Cute,' I thought. 'The door's rigged not to open until the showers run. Okay, I'll play.' I walked over and turned on one of the showers.

It felt real good, like that shower massager Angie Torrantino had at her house. I thought about Angie, and about what we'd done a couple of times in that shower, and I felt my trunks get a little tight. 'Down, boy,' I thought. 'Save it for when you're alone with Felicia.' I closed my eyes and let the shower hit my shoulders and back for a minute.

I turned off the shower and headed back for the door. 'No sense keeping Felicia waiting,' I thought. I noticed that my body was tingling all over — kind of like that feeling you get when your leg goes to sleep. It seemed to be the worst in my chest and my groin. I felt something wet slide down along my neck, and my hips — well, "hurt" isn't quite what it felt like. All of a sudden, I seemed to be walking kind of funny, too. I figured that I must have stayed too long in the shower, but it had only seemed like a couple of minutes.

I got a surprise when I got near the door. A girl was standing there topless, wearing only a high-cut green and gold bikini bottom that made her legs look even longer. She looked Italian — in fact, she looked a lot like my cousin, Rosa, only my age, not 12. She had beautiful dark eyes and full lips. Her dark brown hair was a wet tangle of curves that hung down past her shoulders. She had a great figure, too, but those tits — those beautiful tits. They were 36-C, maybe -D even, pillowy things with dark nipples that just begged to be played with.

I stared at the girl for a moment and saw her lick her lips and stare back at my own chest. I looked down. Holy shit, what were her tits doing sticking out from my chest? I'd been looking in a mirror. I was the girl.

"You can wear this top today," a voice said, "but I'd suggest that you wear a one-piece suit the next time you come."

I spun around. There was a short, elderly woman standing there holding a green and gold bikini top that it perfectly matched the bikini bottom that my "baggies" had somehow become. Felicia was standing next to her in a smoke gray tankini, a tank-topped bikini, with the same weird smile as before. "Surprise," she said.

I grabbed the top and put it on. After I got it on, I realized how easily I'd done that. "What did you do to me," I insisted. "And why?"

"Let's just say that it's something I owed you from a previous life," Felicia said. "This place is for women only." She gestured at the old woman. "This is the owner, by the way. The only way that a guy can get in is by changing into one."

"So when I leave, I change back?"

"Sorry," the old lady said. "The change is for the length of the pass, plus a few hours."

"A week! I can't be a girl for a week. You better change me back, lady. When my Pop finds out, he'll come out here with a few of his friends and — "

"Do absolutely nothing," the old lady said confidently. "Tell me, dear, what's your name? Your full name."

"My name? Okay, I'm Francesca Maria — no, that's not right. It's Francesca, Fran... ces... ca... Ma... ria. You stop this, lady. I'm a girl, not a girl, darn it. Francesca — oh, the heck with it."

"You're Francesca Maria now, Frankie. In fact, as far as everyone except the three of us — and my granddaughter, Anya, of course — is concerned, you've always been Francesca Maria DiAntonio. For the next week, you'll live the life you'd have led if you'd been born a girl because, in this new reality, that's exactly what happened."

"Be happy that it's just for a week, Frankie," Felicia said. "For a while, I was thinking about buying you a lifetime pass."

"L-Lifetime? That would mean that I'd - why, Felicia? What did I do to you that was so bad? We hardly know one another."

"Like I said, Frankie, it's something I owe you from a previous life."

"You mean you — you wasn't always you."

"Very good, Frankie. I knew you weren't as dumb as you looked when you were a boy. You got me — the old me — in a lot of trouble. It wasn't your fault that I was changed, but it wouldn't have happened if the old me hadn't been stupid enough to listen to you."

"So, then, you changed me to get even for what happened to you." Revenge I could understand.

"No, Frankie, in a strange way. I'm grateful. I'm a lot happier as Felicia. I thought I'd give you a chance at a better life, too."

"A better life? As a broad? Forget it. Just let me get my clothes, and I am so out of here."

"Very well," the old broad said. "Felicia, you'll have to dress, too."

"Why?" we both asked at the same time.

"Because in this new reality, Francesca doesn't have a car. It was Felicia that drove you both out here."

"No car? What are you talking about? I worked hard to buy that car and keep it going." A lot of hard work... and not all of it legal.

"Yes, dear, and at the sort of jobs that the new Frankie couldn't — or wouldn't do. Get dressed and see for yourself, if you don't believe me."

I ran back to the locker where I'd left my clothes. They were gone. There was clothes there all right — girl's clothes. I thought I might have gotten the lockers mixed up, but hanging from the hook on the inside of the door was my St. Francis medal. Mama gave me that medal a month before — before the cancer took her. I've worn it ever since.

Okay, it was my locker; it had to be, but the clothes were different. I could even see a bra on the shelf inside. "Where are my clothes?" I said.

"Frankie, dear, those are your clothes," Felicia said. "Why, I remember just a couple of weeks ago when we went shopping, and you bought that darling little blouse. You even said that I could borrow it sometime." She had that same satisfied grin on her face that she'd had when she handed me the pass.

I looked at the old woman. "C'mon, lady, this has gone too far."

"I don't believe that it has, Francesca," the old woman said, "but I can't stand here all day. I've a park to run. Either you get dressed and go home, or you come into the park. It's your choice." With that, she turned and walked out the door.

"I still can't believe that you did this to me, Felicia! I thought you kind of liked me."

"Actually, I do, Frankie. That's why I did it. In this reality, we're good friends." She smiled, a friendly smile, and took my hand. I suddenly realized that she was taller than me now. As a boy, I had six inches on her. "Look, you're already wet, and you're in a suit. Why don't you come into the park with me — for a while, at least?"

Pop always said, "When they've got you covered, there's no sense in fighting it." I shrugged. "Okay, but not for too long."

* * * * *

As much as I wanted to hate Felicia — and the park — I couldn't. It was just too much fun. Felicia took me — okay, she dragged me — to some kind of high waterslide. "The Pipeline", I think they called it. I've always liked those things, and the way it twisted and turned, this was one of the best I'd ever been on.

I did find out why the old lady mentioned wearing a one-piece suit. I went under water at the bottom of the slide, and my bikini top surfaced a couple of feet away from where I did. I didn't even notice until Felicia giggled and pointed at it, then at my chest. I looked down, shrieked, and then quickly looked around for the top. I swam over to where it was floating and hurriedly put it back on.

Felicia came over laughing and showed me when — and how — to hold onto my top, so it wouldn't come off when I hit the water. I climbed back up to the top and slid down again. Sure enough, it stayed in place. We went down that slide a couple more times, then moved on to some of the others. There was even one. "Pele's Race" with six slides, so we could race each other to the bottom.

We were climbing back up to have a second race, when I began to hear this nagging voice in the back of my mind. "Say, Felicia," I said aloud, "what time is it?"

She looked at her watch, one of those fancy diver's watches, "Almost 5, why?"

"I don't know. It suddenly seemed — oh, gee, I've got to get home."

I — the real, the male me — never had to worry about getting home from school. Pop always figured that I could take care of myself, and I'd come home when I got hungry. But now — whatever craziness was going on — something was telling me that I had to go home. Somebody was waiting for me, was expecting me to be there. It was a feeling that I just couldn't ignore.

"Are you okay, Frankie?" Felicia looked at me like she was really concerned.

"Yeah — I guess. Felicia, I don't know why, but something — something's telling me that I have to go home. Could you drive me there? Please?"

"Sure, Hon." Felicia smiled like she knew what was going on, but she didn't say a word. We climbed down from the slide's tower and headed back to the locker rooms.

It seemed weird going into the Men's Lockers looking the way I did, but that was where my clothes were. Only, they wasn't my clothes; they belonged to some girl. My jeans were pale blue now, instead of dark blue, a feminine cut pair of jeans with white lace on the pockets. Somebody had even patched that rip on the pocket where I'd caught them on a nail. All of a sudden, I had a picture in my mind of me — the new me — sitting on a chair with my pants and a needle and thread. I was the one who'd patched my pants.

This was definitely took much to take, and I sat down on a bench to clear my head. Then I heard that voice in my mind again. "Go Home." I stood up and peeled out of my bikini as quickly as I could.

I'd have liked to go over to the mirror; to take a good look at my new body. From what I'd seen before, I was really a babe. I thought about checking out the plumbing — maybe taking the new bod for a quick "test drive", but that stupid voice kept saying, "No" and "Hurry." I sighed, watching my new boobs jiggle as I reached for a towel. Rushed as I was, I knew somehow that I should pat myself dry instead of rubbing like I was used to. I guess my new feminine skin was more sensitive.

I reached into the locker and pulled out a pair of yellow cotton panties; my old boxers, I guess. 'Kind of plain-looking,' I thought. I'd seen a lot of girls in — and out of — their underwear, and most of them, especially the ones as pretty as I was now, wore fancier, sexier stuff than these. For some reason, I felt a little frustrated, like I wanted to wear prettier undies, and somebody wouldn't let me. But who? I shrugged and stepped into the panties, pulling them up around my hips. It was weird. I got out a matching bra and put it on almost without thinking. It was like I'd been wearing a bra for years. I certainly needed one with these big new breasts of mine.

I sat back down on the bench and pulled on my jeans. I had to stand up and yank some to get them past my hips, though. I sat back down and put on a pair of light blue ruffled socks and a pair of medium blue sneakers. Yeah, just sneakers. I paid over 100 bucks for a pair of Nike cross-trainers, and now they were just a pair of regular girl's sneakers. Darn — oh, my — I just realized that I couldn't seem to curse any more. I still knew all the words. It just didn't feel right to be saying them.

I took the St. Francis medal out of the locker. It seemed a little smaller now, and it was hanging from a silver chain instead of the leather thong I was used to. I sighed and put it around my neck, lifting my hair, so it went underneath. The medal hung down to just above my breasts. It probably looked kind of sexy with the ruffled white peasant blouse I put on next. The blouse didn't look anything like the WWF T-shirt it had been that morning.

On an impulse — I don't know where it came from — I fixed the wide collar, so it was below my shoulders. Now I definitely looked sexy. I walked over to the mirror and turned posing. Man, I was hot! I saw myself smiling. A part of me wanted to be this sexy babe. Another part shuddered at the thought. Even so, I didn't pull the collar back up.

There was a small purse in the back of the locker. Where had it come from? I took it out and hung it from my shoulder by the long strap. I reached in and pulled out a small tube of lipstick. I wasn't sure what to do, but my body seemed to know. I pursed my lips and moved the lipstick across them like a pro. A quick blot with a tissue from the purse, and I was ready to go.

Felicia was waiting for me outside. Her clothes hadn't changed, though I don't know why they should have. She smiled when she saw me. "You look great in that blouse, Frankie. I just wish... ." She stopped as if there was something more, but she didn't want to say it. "I wish you'd loan it to me sometime."

As we walked towards the lot, I remembered that I'd left my book bag in my car. If the car was gone, were my books gone, too? I didn't think it would be much of a loss, except that I'd have to pay for them.

"Right where I left it," Felicia said. Sure enough, her Chevy was parked in the spot where I'd left my car. We put our wet suits and towels in the trunk. My book bag — same design, but pink now — was there in her trunk, too. Felicia slammed the trunk lid and let herself into the locked car. She reached over and unlocked my door.

I opened the door and sat down on the front seat. Then I shifted my feet into the car. 'Just like a girl,' I thought, as Felicia started the engine, and we drove off. About ten minutes later, we pulled up in from of my apartment building.

I began to feel scared as I got out of the car. What was Pop going to say when he saw me like this? Felicia must have seen my expression. "Don't worry, honey," she said, reaching over to pat my hand. "Like Grandmother... that's what the lady at the park likes to be called... like Grandmother said, as far as anybody but you and me knows you've always been a girl. Just relax and go with the flow."

"Yeah, right," I said. I should still have been mad at her for what she'd done to me. Maybe it was magic; maybe it was just the shock of the change. I just didn't feel very mad. Felicia popped the trunk from inside the car, and I got out my stuff.

"I'll try to call you later," she shouted as she drove off. "Just go with the flow, like I said, and everything will be fine. You'll see."

A couple minutes later, I was letting myself into our apartment. 'At least now maybe I'll find out why I had to come home so early,' I thought. I looked around. The place still looked pretty much the way it had this morning. No, that picture of Mama wasn't on the table near the TV where it had always been. Instead, there was a picture of Pop, Nikki Sutton, and me. This me, the girl, only a couple of years younger. Pop had on a suit I didn't remember ever seeing him in before. Me and Nikki were wearing matching pale blue dresses. What was...?

"Frankie, there you are. I was beginning to get worried."

I spun around almost dropping the picture.

Nikki Sutton was a dame Pop had been dating for a while, fairly steady, too. She was in her mid-thirties, but she had a figure that always made her look a lot younger, lots of tight, ripe curves in all the right places, and a mass of thick brunette hair that framed her face. She worked at Samuelsohn's Department Store, in the dress department, I think. She also did a little modeling for them sometimes.

At least, that's how I remembered her. She still had those great breasts, but now she had quite a little beer belly on her. No, that wasn't it. She — holy cow — she was wearing a maternity blouse. She... she was pregnant! "Nikki, I, ah...”

"I thought you said that you were going to try calling me 'Mom.'" She smiled and gently patted her belly. "You don't want to be confusing your new little brother or sister, do you?"

"I... I'm sorry, umm, Mom. You, ah, startled me."

"I guess we're even then. You had me going, too. You're almost never this late getting home from school."

"I, uh, went swimming with Felicia Ormand."

"Well, I suppose, on a hot day like this, it was okay, but you really should have called. I expect you home to help me with supper."

Supper! Is that what was bothering me? I had to go home to be "Suzie Homemaker" with my — my pregnant stepmother? For that matter, how did my being a girl get me a stepmother in the first place?

"I'm sorry," I said. "We, umm, were having so much fun that, well, I guess I lost track of time."

"Well, you did manage to come home in time to help, so I suppose there's really no harm done."

She leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "Go hang up your suit and towel. You can set the table, and then make some salad. We're having baked chicken."

"Okay," I said as I headed for the "guest" bathroom, just past the kitchen. There was a second bathroom in Pop's bedroom, so this one was mostly mine. It still was — for the new me. There was a bunch of bottles, moisturizers, creams, and whatever on the counter, as well as a pink Lady Schick electric razor where my old straight razor had been. I looked in the medicine chest; more stuff I didn't recognize — and a couple of things that I did: an opened box of Tampons and a bottle of Midol. 'Geez,' I thought, regretting my new inability to curse, 'I hope this change is over before my period starts.'

There was a couple of pairs of pantyhose hanging from the shower rack. They was dry, so I took them down and hung up my towel and the two pieces of my bikini.

I took the hose with me into my bedroom and tossed them onto my bed along with my book bag. My bed? My bed didn't have four posts and a white canopy on top. This one did. I looked around the room. The picture of Mama was on my dresser, which was now painted white. There was a tray of make-up and one of those stand-up jewelry boxes on the two sides of it.

There was a Backstreet Boys poster on the now pale blue wall where the nude Alyssa Milano poster had been. Bill Gerhart and I had downloaded the picture from some Internet site, printed up poster-sized copies, and sold them for fifty bucks each. My stereo system — that stone system that I'd gotten with the profits — was gone, too, replaced by a silly looking CD player with just a couple of speakers. Oh, yeah, and with an entirely different set of CDs, pretty boy bands that I would never have listened to, as myself.

The room was a lot cleaner, too; no clothes anyplace. The closet door was closed, but the short pink robe that hung where my plaid bathrobe had been told me more than I really wanted to know about what was inside. Gosh, that old woman was thorough, and, boy, did I ever want to curse!

"Hey, in there." Nikki was getting impatient. "You've got chores, remember."

"Sorry," I said without thinking and hurried to the kitchen.

"C'mon, Hon," Nikki said. "Your dad'll be home soon. Get going on the table."

I got three dishes out of the cupboard and put them around the table. Then, I folded paper napkins and put them by each dish, with a set of silverware on top of each napkin. It still didn't look right... glasses! I got three from the same cupboard as the plates and put one by each place. "All done," I said.

"Not yet, you're not. You forgot the bread and butter. I just got fresh rolls. They're in that paper bag on the counter."

There was a small straw basket in a corner by the toaster. I grabbed a cloth napkin from a drawer and opened it out over the basket. Then I tossed in the rolls, covered them with the ends of the napkin, and put it in the center of the table. I got the butter dish out of the fridge and put it, and a butter knife, near the rolls.

'Wait a minute,' I thought. 'How the he-heck did I know how to do that?' I could set a table, I guess. Everybody knows that; plate, napkin, knife, fork, spoon. But that business with the rolls, I — the old me — had never done anything like that. How had I known what to do and where everything was? Worse, maybe, why did I feel a sense of satisfaction about doing it?

"Hey, kiddo, there's still work to do. The peas should be done. Drain 'em and get 'em to the table."

Peas? I looked over to the stove. There was a covered pot on one burner, a whisp of steam leaking out from under the lid. I didn't know what to do, but my body did. I took the pot to the sink. There was a colander — and don't ask me how I knew the name of the thing — in the dish rack. I put it in the sink and carefully poured in the peas. While the water all drained out, I put on a couple of oven mitts that were hanging on a hook and got a serving bowl out of the dish rack. Two minutes later, the bowl of peas was in the center of the table melting the three pats of butter I'd put on them.

Nikki was taking the chicken out of the oven, when I heard the front door open. "Hey, what smells so good?" Pop was home. I braced myself for the explosion when he saw what had happened to me.

It never came.

"He walked into the kitchen and over to Nikki. "A beautiful wife and baked chicken; what more could a guy ask for?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"How about a lovely daughter?" Nikki said. "Frankie was her usual big help."

"I know, I know," he said with a smile. "How are you, Cara?" Then — so help me — he leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. The kiss was bad enough, but did he have to call me "Cara"? It was a traditional nickname for girls in my family. Now, I was struck with it for the week.

How was I? I was mortified. Then it got worse. "Hi, Daddy," I said. Daddy! What was I saying?

"Go wash up, Dom," Nikki said. "Dinner will be ready in a minute." Pop left. Nikki used a pair of tongs to move the chicken onto a serving platter. Then she moved the oven rack and took out some potatoes that had been cooking on it.

Pop came back in just as Nikki put the platter on the table. I put the tray on the table. Nikki whispered "Thanks" under her breath, and we sat down to eat. Dinner was dinner. What else can you say? Nikki was a good cook. Pop asked some questions about how I was doing in school, and I gave him the same, "Okay, I guess" answer that I did on those rare occasions in the past when he asked the old me about school.

Then he asks how I'm doing about getting a summer job. A job? My plans for the summer, the ones I had when I was a boy, were to hang out and see what sort of interesting trouble I could find, maybe look for a fast buck or two. I was still thinking that way, I guess. Felicia said I'd only be a girl for a week. That meant that I'd be a boy again right about the time school ended. "Nothing definite," I said, deciding to just go along with whatever he asked about a job.

"Nothing definite," Pop says. "I thought that friend of yours — what's her name, oh yeah, Felicia. I thought Felicia had something lined up for you."

"Felicia?" Well, she'd said we were friends in this new reality.

"Yeah, Felicia Ormand. She was gonna get you a job with her father's company or something."

"No, Dom," Nikki said. "Frankie, didn't you say something about getting a job at that water park her friend Felicia belongs to. "Say, is that why you were out at that park with her today; to talk to them about a job?"

"A job — at Bikini Beach?" I almost choked on the piece of chicken I'd been eating.

"Hey, wait a minute," Pop said. "I don't want my little girl walking around all summer in a bikini, showing herself off and giving the boys ideas."

"It's not that kind of a place," I said, surprising myself. "It's a park for women only. There'd be no boys there to see me." What was I saying, and why did the idea of not being seen by boys make me feel just a little disappointed?

"They'd better not. I raised you up to be a good girl, and I want you to stay that way." He paused for a moment. "You sure there's no boys at that place?"

"Not a one," I said. At least not after they showered. What was going on? It was like I wanted to work there. And why was Pop being so protective?

"Dom," Nikki said. "I've heard about this place. Frankie's right. It is only for women. The owner's an old lady who built it as a place where women could go and not get leered at by men. I've met her and her granddaughter at the store. I sold the granddaughter a couple of blouses just last week. They seem like real nice people."

"Well, if you like them, Nikki," Pop said, "they must be okay. It's just — you know how I feel about Frankie. She's a good girl, and I want her to stay that way. I promised... Gina."

Nikki reached across and took Pop's hand. "I know you did, Dom, and I love you for what you've done to keep that promise, but Frankie's a big girl now. You can trust her."

"I do — I trust you, Cara," Pop said to me. Then he frowned. "It's the boys I don't trust."

"C'mon, Dom, remember back to when you were a boy Frankie's age."

"I do, Nikki, love," he laughed. "That's why I don't trust them."

Nikki made a sour face. Then she giggled and squeezed his hand.

* * * * *

After dinner, Nikki and I cleared the table and put the leftovers away. Pop put on a plain white apron, rolled up his sleeves, and did the dishes. I think that was as surprising as anything — and I mean anything — that had happened that day. When I was a boy, in the old reality, he wouldn't wash a plate until he couldn't find a clean one.

I went into the living room to watch "Sports Beat", a half-hour local show. Nikki came in and sat down next to me. "Is there a problem, Frankie? You usually start on your homework right after dinner."

"The year's almost over; we — I've got no homework." Actually, I did, but just a few problems from the business math course I was taking, simple stuff."

"Then there's more time to study for the finals coming up."

Finals? Yeah, they were coming, but who cared? "I've got plenty of time to start studying."

"What's the — oh, I understand. It's just after 7. If he hasn't called you by 7:30, you go hit the books. Deal?"

"Deal." I didn't know what else to say. 'He?' I thought. 'He who?' Great, that crazy spell not only turned me into a girl; it sounded like it had given me boyfriend, too. I tried not to think about it, but "Sports Beat" didn't seem to be as interesting as it usually was. I surfed through the channels and stopped at "Wheel of Fortune." It was a cute game, and I just loved the dress that Vanna — aww, why was I thinking like that? I closed my eyes for a minute, then I worked real hard concentrating on trying to solve the puzzle.

I almost had it when the phone rang. "Frankie," Nikki called from the kitchen. "It's for you. It's Mel."

The only Mel I knew was that wimp, Mel Haywood. He couldn't be my boyfriend, could he? Well, somebody named Mel was, and my body sure wanted to talk to him. I found myself jumping from the chair and all but running to the kitchen. I stopped at the door, and the voice in my head said, 'Catch your breath. Don't be too eager.' Great! Now it was giving me dating tips.

"Hello," I said, taking the phone from Nikki. She was smiling a — I hate to say it — a maternal sort of smile.

"Hi, Frankie," the voice on the phone said. "It's Mel. I — umm — didn't get a chance to talk to you after school." I recognized the voice. It was Haywood.

"Yeah, I, uh, went out to that park, Bikini Beach, with Felicia Ormand."

"I know. In fact, that's what I called about. Did you get the job?"

Did everybody know about this job but me? "I, ah, I think so. They said that they'd call and let me know."

"Aw, I'm sure you got it. The Boss is a pretty straight lady."

"Oh, and how would you know that?"

"I — umm, I've, ah, met her a couple of times. You know that I work after school for Ronnie Harris, the developer. She lives in a condo right across from the park. The Boss, the old lady who owns the park, is doing some kind of really big business deal with Ms. Harris. The whole office is talking about it. The old lady comes to the office a lot, and I've had to take papers out to her at the park a couple of times."

Something made me a little suspicious, but the story sort of made sense. Maybe it was just the way Mel was stammering. I decided to let it drop — for now. "So you think I got the job?" As if I wanted the job — or did I?

"I'm sure of it. I just wish I could get back — could get into the park to see how you look in a bikini. I'll bet you're really cute."

I wanted to ask him what he meant by "get back", but I was just so happy that he thought I'd look cute. "Well, you'll never know," I found myself saying.

"Maybe someday I will," he said. "It'll give me something to look forward to. In the meantime, how about if I take you out Saturday night to celebrate your new job?"

"Sure, but why wait till Saturday?" What the heck? Frankie the boy went out often enough on a weeknight, why shouldn't Frankie the girl?

"Frankie, did your dad change his mind? You said he'd never let you go out on a school night. You said he wouldn't even let you go out at all until about six months ago."

What! Since when was Pop so strict? He never had a problem with the old — the male — me staying out all hours any night I wanted. 'Better play it cool,' I thought. "No, he hasn't changed. I guess I'm just a little excited about my new job."

"Well, ask him after we finish talking, and let me know in school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, I guess."

"Great. Tell your dad that I'll pick you up about 7 — okay." He waited to see if I objected. "We can go to that club you like, umm, Shell Game, over on South Pier. They've got a new house band that I hear is pretty good." He paused again for my comment. The band was pretty good. Why not let somebody else pay for me to hear it? "Okay, then, and tell him that I promise to get you home by 11, just like he wants."

At least some things didn't change. Shell Game was a great place: live music, videos on screen, and a couple of rooms with all the latest video games. I, the old me, went there a lot. It was weird listening to Haywood planning out the evening for me, but a little bit of me — a very little bit — liked it. Listening to how strict my Pop was, now that was really strange.

We talked a while longer. Nothing important really, just the sort of stuff kids talk about on the phone so they can hear each other's voice. I was surprised how much I was enjoying talking to Haywood, to Mel, and how much I was beginning to look forward to seeing him in school the next day.

All of a sudden, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around. Pop was standing there pointing at his watch. It was 7:58, over a half-hour since Mel had called. I nodded. "I think I'd better go now, Mel."

"Your dad doing his wristwatch routine?"

"Yep," I giggled. Giggled! "See you in school tomorrow. Bye."

"Okay, but don't forget to ask about Saturday. Bye." There was a click as he hung up.

"Sorry, Cara," Pop said. "but you do have homework."

"I know, Daddy." Rats, I'd said "Daddy" again "I was wondering, though."

"Yeah," Pop was smiling. He knew what was coming.

"Mel asked me to go out with him on Saturday; he said we'd go to that dance club, The Shell Game, and he'll pick me up here at seven and bring me back at eleven, and can I go, please, Daddy, please." It all spilled out of me in one excited breath before I could stop myself.

I'm not sure why I was so eager to go out with Haywood. Maybe it was curiosity about what it would be like to go out as a girl. Maybe I liked the idea of going out and having somebody else pay for everything. Or, maybe, just maybe, I was starting to think like a girl. I sure sounded like one, the way I had asked. I hoped it was some of each and not just that I was thinking like a girl.

Pop smiled, "Okay, okay. I like the Haywood boy. He respects you, and he's smart enough to know to have you to ask me first. They don't serve drinks at that place he wants to take you to, do they?"

"Only soda and bottled water." It was true. That was all they served, and they watched for anyone who tried to smuggle in anything stronger. I know; the old me had tried and been stopped at the door. You see, there was some trouble with some kids in town a while back. The city came down hard; they put in a curfew, even closed down a few places. Things were looser now, but that was partly because nobody wanted to give the city an excuse to do anything else.

"All right then," Pop said. "But you wait until tomorrow in school to tell him I said you could go. You've got homework. Scoot."

I felt so good, I — believe it or not — I actually kissed him on the cheek as I left. I headed for my room and actually started my homework. It was weird; I knew the stuff. Not knew it cold, but I seemed to understand it a lot better, even in the courses where I had been paying attention.

I finished the business math problems — I was still in the course — then pulled out my civics book. That was one course where I did pay attention. You can't beat the system, if you don't know the system. Only, now, I wasn't so cynical while I read the assignment. I was just — just enjoying reading, like I really wanted to learn the stuff.

About 9:30, I thought I heard the phone ring. A moment later, there was a knock on my door. "Frankie, Hon," Nikki said. "Felicia Ormand called. She says that it's important. You can have fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Okay, umm, Mom." What did she want? Was she calling to gloat? Then I remembered that she'd said that she would call. I put a pen in my civics book to mark the page, we and headed for the kitchen.

The phone was on the table. Nikki handed it to me. "Remember, Hon, fifteen minutes is all you get."

I turned as she started out of the kitchen and sat down on a chair by the table. "Hello, Felicia, what do you want?"

"Hey, is that any way to talk to a good friend? I just called up to see how you were handling things."

"Oh, just wonderful, considering everything that happened, that you made happen. Why did you do it to me, Felicia?"

"I told you. Payback."

"Yeah, I know, for something that I don't even remember doing."

"Exactly. Look, Frankie, we can go around like this for days, and it won't get you anyplace. You're stuck as a girl for the next week. What do you think of it so far?"

"What do I think? I'm a girl. My father's acting weird. He's married, and my stepmother's pregnant. Worst of all, I've got a boyfriend, and we're... we're going out on Saturday. What's not to like?"

"A boyfriend." She paused a moment. "Oh, yeah, you're going with Mel Haywood."

"What... what did you just do? How did you know that?"

"Everybody else's memories changed when you did. I was there, so I have to think for a minute to hook into the new memories. I have both sets. So do you. If you concentrate, you can remember growing up as a girl. Try it."

"I don't think I want to. It's, well, it's weird enough just being one now. I don't want to remember always being one."

"Actually, you can't help it. The memories will pop up if you need them to help you with stuff."

That explained the voice in my head. "I think they already have; a couple of times, in fact."

"See, and did it help with whatever was happening?"

"I guess, but it's still kind of spooky."

"You'll get used it to, and it won't happen often. Like I said before, just go with the flow."

"That's what you said this afternoon."

"Hey, look at it as a learning experience. After all, you'll be a boy again in a week. Think of what you'll learn about girls in the meantime."

"I suppose." She had a point. A guy who knew what girls liked, the way they thought, could make out like crazy. It was a great idea, though, somehow, a part of me felt embarrassed for the way I was thinking.

Ding! I heard a kitchen timer behind me. Nikki hadn't been kidding when she said fifteen minutes. She must have set it after she handed me the phone. I decided that I'd better "go with the flow."

"Felicia, I've got to get off the phone, now, and get back to my homework. My, umm, step-mom actually set a timer for this call."

There was silence for a moment. "I know. Your folks do that in this world."

Cripes, just how strict were Pop and Nikki? "Yeah, and she's probably waiting outside to make sure I get off the phone."

"Then go. I'll talk to you in school tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone just as Nikki came into the kitchen.

She saw me hang up the phone and smiled slightly. "Have a nice phone call, Hon?" She went over to the sink and poured herself a glass of water. There were some pill bottles nearby. She took a couple out of one bottle, popped them in her mouth, and drank the water. Then she saw me looking at her. "A little something Dr. Pearce gave me to help with the pregnancy."

"Dr. Pearce? Are you okay?"

"Let's just say that there have been easier pregnancies. That's why I'm so grateful for all your help around the house."

No wonder I felt such a need to get home. It wasn't just a chore. Nikki was depending on me. 'Okay,' I thought. 'I like her, I guess I can put up with this for a week.'

"Frankie, much as I'd like to sit here and talk to you, you've got homework and studying to do. You'd better get to it."

"But...” I wanted to stay there, maybe get more of an idea of what my life was like in this reality.

"No stalling, Hon." She pointed towards the door. "Get going."

"Okay," I said with a sigh. "I'm going." I got up and headed back to my room. I finished the civics assignment and read a couple chapters of the Business English course. I was working my way through the assignment for a science course I hadn't been taking before — oceanography, an easy read for a kid who grew up two miles from the beach, when there was a knock on my door.

"Frankie," Nikki said through the door. "It's almost 11:30, time to go to bed."

"Okay, Nik... Mom." The word came almost automatically. "Goodnight."

"Not so fast, Cara." It was Pop. "I expect a kiss good night."

I caught myself smiling. I loved Pop. I always had, but he hadn't acted so, well, so much like a father in years. I've got to admit, I'd kind of missed it.

I opened the door. He and Nikki were standing there holding hands and smiling at me. Without thinking, I threw my arms around Pop and kissed him — on the cheek, but it was still a kiss. "G'night, Daddy," I said, using that stupid name. Then I reached over and gently hugged Nikki. "Goodnight... Mom." I kissed my two fingers and reached down to touch her stomach. "And goodnight to you, too, kiddo."

I felt totally creeped out; the way I was acting like a girl, I mean. Then maybe the weirdest thing of all happened. As I touched Nikki's stomach, I felt something hit my fingers. I pulled my hand back like I'd touched a hot stove and let out a surprised "Yeep!"

Nikki gently rubbed the spot. "It's okay, Frankie. Your little brother or sister is just saying good night the only way he or she can."

"You mean that was him... her... whatever?"

"Uh-huh. Want to try again?"

I was still nervous, but I was curious. I put my hand, oh, so gently back on her stomach. I didn't feel anything for a minute or two, then something pushed back against my fingers. "I felt it!" I said almost whooping with delight.

"I think that both my kids are up too late," Pop said. Then he turned to me. "And you, Cara, are old enough to know better."

"I guess," I said. "'Night everyone — and, umm, Mom, thanks."

Nikki was beaming. "Good night, dear."

I closed the door and went back to the bed. I put all my books and papers in the book bag and stuck it on a chair. Gee, it was heavier now, or I was a lot weaker as a girl.

I took of my blouse and tossed it into a half-filled laundry hamper that was in a corner by my bed, its lid leaning against it; for dirty clothes, I guessed. I unhooked my bra without even having to think about it and tossed it. I kicked off my sneakers and wriggled out of my jeans. They went in, too.

I looked around, but there was no sign of any PJs. No, I was wrong. There was a pair in the hamper, half-hidden by my blouse. I went over to dig them out, but the voice in my head started going, 'Yew, ugh, dirty.' This I didn't need. I stopped and opened one of my dresser drawers. I pulled out a long green nightgown that looked like an overgrown T-shirt. I'd have preferred pajamas, but there weren't any in the drawer, just nighties — nightgowns. This one would be like sleeping in a T-shirt and shorts, something I — the boy me — did a lot on warm nights.

I put my arms into the, umm, sleep-T, a word I'd never heard before, but that I knew now. I raised my arms over my head, and let the T slide down onto my body. It felt kind of funny as the material slid past my bare breasts, tickling the nipples. I had to reach down and tug a little as it got hung up on my new, wider hips. The T slipped past them, stopping and swirling out just above my knees. I pulled my hair out from inside it and used some kind of green elastic thing to fix it in a ponytail.

I went into the bathroom and washed my face, using some kind of cold cream to take off the make-up, and brushed my teeth. In five minutes, I was back in my bedroom trying to get used to sleeping on my back. With my new — chest, it was the only way I could get comfortable. My hand brushed against my tummy, and I thought of Nikki — and of the baby kicking me. The last thing I remember was smiling and wondering what it would be like to be somebody's big sister.

* * * * *

I woke up to somebody knocking on my door. "Frankie, honey, it's time to wake up and get ready for school." Nikki? What was she doing here? I knew that she and Pop sometimes...

I suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday. Was it a dream? No, one look at the way my — my breasts were pushing out my sleep-T, and I knew that it wasn't. I climbed out of bed. Then — so help me -I leaned over and quickly pulled the sheet and blanket back into place, remaking the bed. Weird.

I took off the sleep-T and tossed it on the bed. I put on the robe that was hanging on my closet door, tied it, and headed to the bathroom.

When I got to the bathroom, I locked the door and took of the robe, hanging it on a hook on the door. I turned towards the sink and saw myself in the large mirror above the sink. Whoa, I looked hot! That green thingie in my hair had come loose and my hair trailed down over my shoulders, half covering one breast. Standing there in just my panty, I was every teenaged boy's wet dream.

I closed my eyes and opened my mouth just a little, so it looked like I was sort of pouting. "Hello, big boy," I said, half-giggling. "Do you like what you see?" What the heck was I doing? It was like I was enjoying being the sexy babe I saw in the mirror. I turned on the cold water and splashed some in my face.

I felt a little better — and not so turned on by myself. I stepped out of my panty and into the shower. I turned on the water — the cold water. I let out a yelp when it first hit me, but I let it run cold for a bit before I turned on the hot. I soaped up, being very careful about not rubbing the lather around on my breasts or near my groin. Then, just to be sure, I turned the water back to cold to rinse off. I was shivering when I got out of the shower, but I wasn't turned on anymore by what I saw in the mirror.

I dried myself, automatically patting myself, rather than rubbing. I sprinkled on some kind of unscented powder and used some deodorant. Then I put on the robe, brushed my teeth, and headed back to my room.

I hung the robe back on my closet door and got a pastel blue bra and panty set out of the dresser. Knowing where stuff was seemed to come automatically. It was weird, but at least I didn't hear the voice. Then, as I stepped into the panty, I suddenly thought about how plain-looking all of my underwear seemed. Again I wondered why, and this time I got an answer. 'Daddy,' said the voice. It sounded disappointed. What did Dad have to do with it? I decided to ask Mom — Nikki about it later. I had school to get ready for, though being so concerned about school was also something new.

I stepped into the panties and pulled them up around my waist. Man, did they feel different from my old cotton jockey shorts. I put on the bra again without really thinking about it. I pulled a pale blue blouse with a lacy trim around the collar out of a drawer and slipped it on. Now for the hard part, do I wear pants or a skirt? Pants, I decided; I wasn't ready for a skirt yet? I pulled out a pair of jeans that had the some lace trim on the pockets, trim that sort of matched what was on the blouse. It took a little work to get them past my hips. I had to yank some, but I managed.

After I put on socks and a pair of sandals with just a bit of heel, I checked myself out in the mirror. I looked pretty good. The outfit showed off my figure, but it wasn't tight enough to be a problem anyplace. 'Daddy,' came the voice again. I shrugged, figuring that I'd find out eventually.

I was about to leave, when I heard that stupid voice again. 'Make-up,' it said. It was right, I guess. I never saw a girl without it; even the plain ones used some. A little lip gloss, some blush for my cheeks, all of it going on as if I'd done it for years, and I was ready to face the day.

Dad was sitting in the kitchen with Mom, drinking coffee, when I came in. He looked sharp in a brown suit that I hadn't seen before. "You're up early, Daddy," I said without thinking. In my old life, he sometimes didn't come in from the night before until after I'd left for school.

"What are you talking about, Cara? Your Mom and I always leave for Samuelsohn's about the same time you leave to catch your bus for school."

"Samuelsohn's?" What was going on? Since when did Dad work at the store with Mom? I sat down and poured some milk into the cereal that was waiting for me.

"Yep, in fact, I've got a meeting at 8:45 with Jack Brenner. He wants to go over my proposal for the 'Off to College' campaign. If he buys into it, and I think he will, your old man will be in line to be the new head of "Men and Boys' Wear". What do you think of that, Cara?"

I thought that I was hearing things; my Dad a working stiff. It was crazy, but what wasn't right now? I decided to go along — "go with the flow — and try to figure it out later. "He'll like it, Daddy," I gushed. "I know he will." I meant it, too. After all, whatever was going on, he was still my Dad.

"I guess that makes it unanimous," Mom said.

"With confidence like that, I can't lose," Dad said with a big grin. He kissed Mom on the cheek and reached down to pat me on the arm. It felt nice, and I was smiling as I ate my breakfast.

* * * * *

Getting to school was — to make a bad pun — a real trip. I didn't have a car anymore, so I had to walk the two blocks between my apartment and the bus stop. I just got there in time. Luckily, the driver recognized me, so I didn't have to dig out my pass. He always gave me a hard time when I was a guy — before I got my car, I mean. Now, he opened the door and actually smiled as I climbed onboard.

I was surprised and turned to thank him. Only, when I did, I saw that he was staring at my butt. I was mortified. "What are you looking at, you old coot?" I said, glowering at him. I stormed down the aisle, while he muttered something about "rude kids."

I wound up sitting down next to Stacy Brenner. She giggled at what had happened. "What got into you, Frankie? You never had the guts to talk like that. Everybody knows that he likes to look at us. A few girls even dress up a little slutty just to tease him."

"Yeah," said Jeff Hogan, who was sitting next to Stacy. "One of these days, he's going to forget himself and touch one of you girls. Then we can get him fired for it."

"I-I hope so." I was a little shaky from what happened. Shaky? From just staring down some old letch? I must have been more girl than I thought, and I didn't like it.

I was a little uncertain about sitting there with Jeff Hogan. The old me never gave him the time of day. He was way too straight for anything that the old me might have wanted to try. And Brenner, well, she was cute — cute enough to have caught my male eye more than once. But the two of them had been together forever. It might have been fun to make a play for her, except she was as straight as he was. What was the point?

Now we're sitting together and talking like old friends. Worst of all, I was kind of enjoying it. There was some kind of girls-only party at Tina Feldman's that Friday. Stacy was going, and it seemed that I was, too. Jeff made a couple of lame jokes about how he and some of his friends were going to try to crash the party. 'Boys!' I thought, then I shook my head in disbelief at what I had just thought. How much of a girl had I become?

"Hey," Jeff said. "Mel will be there to protect you; only he will be one of the guys trying to get in." He laughed, and Stacy giggled and slapped at his arm. Me, I just felt so embarrassed. I looked around, but there was no sign of Mel. He must ride in on another bus. I felt — I don't know — I felt like I wanted somebody to protect me.

And there he was. As the bus pulled into the school lot, I saw Haywood leaning against a tree. He saw me and waved, and I, by reflex, I guess, waved back. He walked over as the bus stopped. "Hi, Frankie," he said as I stepped off. "What did your dad say?"

I had to smile. He was so eager. "He said, 'Yes', with the usual rules." I didn’t know what rules Dad might have, but, after last night, I was sure that he had some rules for any boy who might want to date me.

His smile got even bigger. "Great. I'll come by about a quarter of seven. That should give him enough time to grill me about the date while you finish getting ready."

"Umm, okay." Dad actually questioned the boys I went out with? Was this the same father who didn't even ask me what day I'd be home when I was a guy? It was hard to believe.

"Hey, did I hear that you two are going out on Saturday?" It was Stacy. She and Jeff must have hung around while Mel and I talked.

"Yeah," Mel said. "We're going to hear the new band at Shell Game."

"They're pretty good," Jeff said. "Stacy and I went last weekend. Hey, how about we double? I wouldn't mind hearing them again, and I know that Stacy liked them, too."

Mel looked at me. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but I figured that I needed some sort of support for my first date as a girl. "Sounds okay to me."

"Done," Mel said. "And maybe Jeff and I can sneak away for a few minutes and try out that new Pirates' Cove video game they've got."

"Just watch out for the skeleton on level three," I blurted out. Oops! Now the three of them were staring at me. How did a girl like me know about the traps in a new video game? I knew because a boy like me — like I'd been — had been playing that very game with my cousin Vince, a few days before.

Vince! I tried to giggle and look sheepish. "At least that's what my cousin, Vince said. He, umm, couldn't stop talking about it when he, umm, came over a few days ago." Vince had been over the apartment on an errand, and we'd gone to the Shell Game afterwards. He was two years older than me — or any of the others — and he lived across town. They weren't very likely to know him.

"Sounds like a real gamer," Jeff said. "I'd like to meet him some time."

"Same here," Mel said. "I've gotten to the third level a couple of times, but I haven't run into the skeletons yet. I'd like to compare notes with him."

"Well, you boys won't be playing it on Saturday," Stacy said firmly. "The idea of a date is for the boy to pay attention to the girl he's with, not to run off and feed quarters to some dumb video game."

Jeff cocked an eyebrow and raised Stacy's hand as if he was going to kiss it. "And just how much attention should I pay to you, my dear?"

She giggled. "Oh, about what you're doing now; that's pretty good." Before anyone could say anything else, the five-minute warning bell rang.

"See you at lunch," Mel said to me. He gave me a little kiss on the cheek and ran for the south entrance to the building. I stood there for a moment, smiling and lightly touching my cheek where he'd kissed it. Then I grabbed my book bag and ran for the east entrance, where my first class was.

* * * * *

I'd checked my schedule the night before. A lot of kids taped theirs in their notebooks during the first week of school. Frankie-girl, it seemed, was one of them. I was mostly in the same classes as before.

Only now, it was different. I didn't spend half the time in class daydreaming about some girl or planning some new scam. I was paying attention. I enjoyed the classes, and I even found myself participating. In fact, when somebody in the back of the room made a wisecrack, just the sort of joke the old me might have made, I actually felt a little annoyed at him for disrupting things.

Like so many other things, I decided to "go with the flow," like Felicia said. It occurred to me that I'd be a girl while I was taking my final exams. It might be nice to get a grade higher than D or the very rare C for a course; kind of a payment to make up for having to be a girl in the first place.

The big pay-off, though, came right before lunch, or so I thought. Having fourth period gym always gave me a chance to work up an appetite for my fifth period lunch. Today, though, I wasn't thinking about food. I was thinking about getting naked with the other girls — other girls? — in my gym class.

At our school, the boys' and the girls' gym classes work out at opposite ends of the same big gym. I knew that there were some real babes in my new class: Susie Shay, Felicia, and, best of all, Janie Serrano. Janie looked like a younger version of her aunt, Ms. Serrano, the gym teacher. Ms. Serrano looked enough like Lucy Lawless that her nickname around the school was "Xena", though never to her face, of course. I figured I was in hog heaven.

I figured wrong.

By the time I walked into the girls locker room, there were a half dozen naked or near naked girls standing around. Nothing. 'Darn,' I thought, 'I'm no more interested in looking at these girls than the old me would have been at looking at a bunch of naked guys.' Then I felt my body tingle a little, and I realized that the new me might be interested in looking at some naked guys.

I shook that thought out of my head, as I realized that I was interested in the girls — or rather, in what they were wearing. I was in that plain cotton bra and panty set. A few of the other girls — other girls? — anyway, a few of them had on the same sort of plain undies, but most of them were wearing a lot fancier and a lot sexier stuff: panties and underwire bras trimmed with lace, lycra bras so sheer that you could see their nipples and areola, thongs barely wide enough to cover their vaginas. A couple of girls were even wearing garter belts and stockings instead of panty hose.

I actually felt a little embarrassed to be seen in such old-fashioned underwear. 'Daddy,' the voice said. I was definitely going to ask Mom about it. I switched my regular bra for a sports bra, put on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and headed out into the gym.

"Hey, Frankie," somebody called. I looked over. Felicia was standing near the bleachers with Tina Feldman, and both were waving at me. I walked over.

"What's up," I said.

"I'm taking Tina to Bikini Beach after school. Her dad's thinking of buying her a membership for the summer. I thought you might want to come, too."

"I — umm — I don't know," I said. I wasn't sure that I wanted anything to do with the place, nothing, that is, except to get changed back to my male self as soon as possible.

"Oh, c'mon," Tina said. "Your job doesn't start until school's over. You might as well get to enjoy the place a little before you have to start working there."

Did everybody know about this job except me? "Let me think about it," I said.

"Okay," Tina said. "Hey, speaking of 'work', there's Susie Shay. I want to see if she's coming to my sleep over tomorrow, or if she has to help out at that bar her uncle or somebody owns. Talk to you later." She waved and ran over to talk to Susie.

I turned to Felicia. "What's this job I have that everybody seems to know about but me?"

"Call it 'background' detail," Felicia said. "There had to be a reason for you — the girl you — to be at the park. She normally goes straight home from school to study or something, especially now, when you have to help your step-mom fix dinner."

"How did you know that?"

"Like I told you last night, I've got memories of both realities. We were already on the way back to your place when I, umm, remembered, so I didn't think that there was any reason to tell you."

"I guess not. I probably wouldn't have believed you anyway." I took a breath. "But what about this job?"

"Grandmother — that's what the lady who owns the park likes to be called — always hires a few extra people during the summer. You were interviewing for one of the jobs. You got it, by way. If you decide to stay a girl, you'll start the day school lets out."

"If I decide — you've got to be kidding. There's no way that I want to be a girl one minute longer than I have to."

"Well, it's an option. Hey, here comes Serrano. We'd better get in line with the others." We both hurried over. Even the boys had heard about how Ms. Serrano punished anybody who wasn't ready to start class on time, 10 push-ups for every minute they were late, 20 if they argued.

Ms. Serrano was worth hurrying for in any event. Like I said, she looked a lot like Lucy Lawless, 5 foot 10 inches of lush, feminine curves in one tight hard body. Even the baggy, gray sweat suit she was wearing couldn't hide that fact. She was well tanned, with her dark blonde hair in one long braid that hung halfway down her back.

She blew a whistle twice and yelled that class was starting. The girls, including me, formed quickly into two rows. The whole gym was quiet, even on the boys' side, because of what was going to happen.

Ms. Serrano slowly unzipped her sweat suit. The zipper went from the neck almost to the crotch, and no sweat suit ever looked so sexy coming off. She shrugged it off her shoulders and let it fall to her waist. Then she sort of wriggled it past her hips. It fell to the floor, and she stepped out of it. Underneath she was wearing a bronze colored lycra gym suit that almost matched her own skin color. It looked like it was painted on — no, it looked like she was naked.

It didn't do a thing for me — darn it! — except make me feel inferior. I had a pretty good body as a girl, but next to her, well, I felt as if I were an under-developed 10-year old. I could hear the groans drift over from the other side of the gym. When she bent over to adjust her sandals, three dozen pair of gym shorts over there suddenly got tighter. Maybe even more, since I thought I heard Coach Goodman's voice among the groans. We heard a few more when she started doing a set of bending and stretching exercises with us.

A couple of girls did show up late. One of them got 20 push-ups; the other got 50. We went through a 30-minute aerobic workout that had us all sweating. I was drenched and achy, but it was a "good tired." My new body was as much in shape as my old one. It felt good to put it through its paces, get to know what it could do.

We all headed back to the locker room. It was time for a quick shower, then off to lunch. As I took off my own T-shirt and shorts, I looked around the locker room. I was in a room with 30 girls, 30 sweaty girls, who were bending and stretching their pretty bodies as they stripped out of their clothes. Frankie-boy would have been hard as nails and ready to grab any one of them who came close. Frankie-girl just wanted to get into the shower.

I finished stripping and grabbed my towel. There was a long line, just like in the boys' showers. I just stood and waited my turn. Yeah, I just stood there, while a line of naked women walked into showers. I watched them slowly lather their breasts and their legs; then stand there, head back, eyes closed, and let the water washed it off. I watched Janie Serrano, the 16-year old twin of her aunt, run a soapy washcloth over her nipples, then down past her stomach to that sweet pussy of hers.

And it bored me.

My only concern was to get in there myself, so I could get to lunch. After all, Mel was waiting for me.

Now — as I thought about Mel — my nipples did begin to tingle. Felicia, what did you do to me? I seemed to be as much a girl inside as outside. I was definitely beginning to regret whatever it was that I'd done to Felicia, whatever had made her want to change me into a girl. I wanted my old life back so much that I could almost taste it.

"Hey, Frankie," somebody behind me shouted. "It's your turn. Move it or lose it." I looked up. There was a free shower. I stuck my towel on the hook and hurried to claim it. A girl's shower after gym class isn't that different from a guy's. Sure, the geography is different, but the action's pretty much the same. You get wet, lather up quick, and rinse off. I was in and out in a couple of minutes and patting myself dry. Five minutes later, I was dressed and out the door heading for lunch.

"Enjoy the show?" Felicia had come up behind me. She'd changed in a far corner of the room. I guess she didn't want to put on a "show" herself for someone she knew was really a boy.

"Knowing what the old you was like, the locker room must have been quite an experience," she said, "especially the showers."

"Very funny. I've never been so — so frustrated in my life."

"Frustrated?" Then she giggled. "Yes, I expect that you were. After all, the new you is hardly the sort of girl to get turned on by other girls."

"No — thanks to you — I'm not. I wanted to be, I really wanted to be," I sighed, "but I wasn't, not in the least."

"Are you upset about that?"

"Yeah, darn it, but I'm not as mad as I think I should be. I guess it's more of that stupid spell."

"It is. The way Grandmother explained it to me, the shower changed you into pretty much what you'd have been if you were born a girl... changed you physically and mentally."

"So?"

"So, when you were a boy, would you have been very upset to find out that you weren't gay?"

"Heck, no. I'd have been happy about it."

"So, as a girl, you're happy to find out that you aren't a lesbian, even if you remember who and what you used to be. Those feelings work against the frustration you feel for not getting turned on by the other girls."

"I suppose it makes sense, but I'm not sure that I'm happy about it."

"Yeah, but you can live with it — for the rest of the week, I mean."

"I suppose so."

"Well, you'd better learn to live with it. You'd better start acting like a girl, too, because there are our boyfriends." She pointed towards the cafeteria. I looked and saw Mel and Ed Nathanson wave, smile, and begin walking towards us.

Ed kissed Felicia gently on the cheek. Mel just took my hand. On an impulse and before I realized what I was doing — maybe it was just leftover frustration — I kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, that's a pleasant surprise," Mel said, smiling and rubbing his cheek. "You must have had a great morning."

What had I done? "I guess I'm just a little keyed up from gym last period," I said. I could feel my cheeks get a little hot, and I looked down at the floor, instead of looking at him. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't be. I liked it." His smile broadened into a full grin.

I was so embarrassed. I was acting like a girl. I wished that the ground would just open up and swallow me.

"Hey, guys," Felicia said. "We can either stay here and talk, or we can go in and have lunch. I vote for lunch."

"Me, too," Ed said. "How about you guys?"

"I'm with Frankie, whatever she wants," Mel said.

Aww, I almost felt like kissing him again... darn it! "I'm kind of hungry," I said. "Let's go in." We stuck our book bags in the storage racks along the wall and walked, Mel and I walking hand in hand, into the cafeteria.

Lunch, well, it was lunch. Felicia tried to talk me into having a salad like she was, but I wasn't ready for rabbit chow. I bought a couple slices of pizza. Mel ended up eating most of the second slice. I couldn't finish the large diet coke I bought, either. Along with everything else, my stomach was smaller now.

"You never did say if you could come to Bikini Beach with Tina and me today," Felicia said while we ate.

"I, umm, know." I still wasn't sure that I wanted to ever get anywhere near the place, except to change back, of course. "I need to check with Ni... with my Mom. She was kind of upset when I got home so late yesterday."

"Late! I dropped you off just a bit after 5."

"Yeah, but she expected me to be home earlier. I'm supposed to help her with supper." I had a thought. "Look, I don't have a suit with me, so I'd have to go home anyway. I'll ask Mom when I go in. If she says, 'Yes', I can be in and out in ten minutes. If not, I'll come right out and tell you. Okay?"

"Umm, okay. I suppose we can do it that way."

I don't know why I was so concerned about Mom. When I'd been a guy, going off swimming with some friends, well, I probably wouldn't even have had to leave Dad a note. Now, I was asking permission. Okay, things were different. It wasn't Dad I was worried about; it was Mom. She was counting on my help. And don't they say that you're supposed to pamper a pregnant woman? Sure, that was it. After all, that was my kid brother or sister she was carrying.

"What are you smiling about all of a sudden?" Mel asked.

Was I smiling? "I guess I was just thinking about my Mom being pregnant. I'm gonna be somebody's big sister pretty soon. It's — it's kind of nice." It was, too. I always got on with my younger cousins pretty well. I guess I liked kids, especially my cousins, even when I was a guy.

"We'll see how nice you think it is when you get stuck changing diapers — or having to stay home and babysit on a Saturday night." It sounded mean when Felicia said it, but she had a silly look on her face when she said it, so I figured that she was kidding.

"If I have to, I have to," I said. "It goes with the territory."

"Besides," Mel said. "There's no rule that I couldn't come over and keep her company while she's babysitting." He was so sweet that I wanted to — what was I thinking? — I wanted to kiss him again. Instead, I just took his hand in mind.

"Yeah, right," Ed said. "Like her folks are going to leave the two of you alone in their apartment. You know how they worry about her."

"They won't worry." Mel arched his eyebrows and did a pretty good Groucho impression. "They can't worry about what they don't know."

"Oh, you... you." I punched him in the arm, but not too hard, and giggled.

"Ouch! Okay, okay." Mel held up his hands in surrender. "But it's no big deal if she has to help out. I helped out a lot with my kid brother, Lenny, when he was little."

Before anyone could say another word, the bell rang. We all grabbed our books and ran off to our classes.

* * * * *

Afternoon classes were like the morning ones. All of a sudden, the teachers were actually interesting. I guess, in this reality, I'd been paying more attention, too. I could follow along a lot better. I even surprised myself by answering a couple of questions in Ms. Gorki's math class.

Felicia and I were in the last class together, English. "I park in the east lot," she whispered, "in case you... forgot." It wasn't much of a walk from where the class was. Tina was waiting for us by the door. On the way to the car, Felicia explained to her about having to stop at my place. Tina just shrugged.

* * * * *

"Hi, Frankie." Mom was sitting on the couch with her feet up, reading the paper, when I got home. 'How had I known she'd be there?' I suddenly thought. Then I "remembered" that Samuelsohn's had let her take a split shift because she was pregnant. She got home about twenty minutes before I did.

"Hi, Mom. Could, umm, could I go back out to Bikini Beach this afternoon with Felicia and Tina? I promise I'll be home in time to help with supper."

"I do want you home on time, but you don't have to worry about tonight's dinner. They loved your Dad's ideas. He's running the 'College' promotion and getting a big bonus for the extra work involved. Best of all, when Mr. Blish retires in the fall, he'll be the new head of the department. We're going out to Giordano's for dinner to celebrate."

"Wow, great!" Dad always told me that he could never be a regular working stiff. Now he was, and — almost to my surprise — he was a success at it. I was really proud of my old man. I mean, after all, whatever else was going on, he was still my Dad.

"It does seem a shame," Mom continued, "that you and your friends will only get an hour or so in the park before they have to bring you home." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I know, you can change into your dress now and take along a pair of pantyhose. The park isn't too far out of the way. We can pick you up there."

"A dress." Geez, I knew I was a girl, but I still wasn't ready for that.

"Of course, a dress, Hon. We're going to a fancy restaurant, and your Dad doesn't want you to be in jeans." She smiled. "Go pick a pretty one. Now, scoot. Your friends are waiting."

I really didn't have time to argue. Felicia and Tina were waiting. I was going to have to wear a dress eventually, and a part of me was actually looking forward to it. Besides, I was happy for Dad, and I didn't want to do anything to spoil it for him. Still, I wasn't smiling as I walked to my room.

I stopped in the bathroom. My suit was dry, and I wrapped it in a towel. I grabbed a brush, too, for my hair. I tossed them both on my bed along with the book bag. Then I remembered what the old lady had said about wearing a different suit. Sure, enough, I had a pretty one-piece, bright yellow with red and orange flowers all over it. I put it in the towel replacing the bikini from yesterday.

Now to find a dress. I looked through my closet, uncertain of which dress — or even how to choose. When I got to a short-sleeved dark green number, the voice in my head said, 'Yes.' I took out the dress, still on its hanger. It had a wide collar that closed with three dark gold buttons. It looked like it came down to my knees.

I pulled by blouse off over my head and wriggled out of my jeans. I stepped out of them, and my shoes. Then I picked the clothes up and tossed them in the dirty clothes hamper.

I took the dress off the hanger, put my arms through the shoulder straps and raised it over my head. It fluttered down onto my body. The material felt soft and cool against my skin. The dress hung loose on me. I noticed a narrow belt wrapped around the hanger. I took it off and put it through two narrow loops that I hadn't noticed on the dress. I buckled it, pulling it tight at my waist.

Too tight; when I looked in the mirror, I saw how it seemed to emphasize my narrow waist and my oversized breasts. It was a vivid reminder of the girl I'd become, a reminder I didn't want or need. 'Besides,' I thought, 'Dad would have a fit.' I loosened it a notch. 'Better,' I thought, and the voice added, 'but still pretty.' Part of me hated that thought, but another part of me was glad to be pretty.

I pulled out my hair from under the dress. My St. Francis medal hung below the collar, too. I pulled it out, and it hung down to just above my breasts. The silver chain didn't work with the gold buttons. I quickly switched it over to a dark gold chain that was hanging out of my jewelry box. I grabbed a gold bracelet, as well. There was a rack of shoes in the back of the closet. I pulled out a green pair that would go with the dress. They had a low heel, but I walked easily in them once they were on.

I tossed the brush, the bracelets, my suit and towel, even the hanger, in my swim bag and all but ran out of the bedroom. "Thanks, Mom," I said, stopping just long enough at the couch to kiss her on the cheek.

She looked up at me. "We'll pick you up at the park about six o'clock. Please be ready."

"I will be, Mom. Bye." I headed out the door and ran for the elevator.

* * * * *

"What's with the fancy get-up?" Felicia asked. "You don't have to dress up for us, you know."

"I kind of like it," Tina said. "I saw a dress like that in Teen People — fancier maybe, but close." She reached for the belt. "You should really notch it tighter, so it shows off your figure better."

"No," I said, stepping back. "We-we're late enough already." What was the matter with me? I was too pretty now not to want to show off. Was it because I was really a boy, or was there something else?

"C'mon," Felicia said with a laugh. "You know Frankie doesn't like to look too fashionable. We keep you around to balance that out."

"Well," Tina said. "I can work on her at the sleepover tomorrow. You are coming, aren't you, Frankie?"

"Yeah, sure, I guess," I said. When the voice didn't contradict, I assumed that I really was going.

We got back into Felicia's car. "You never did say why you were so dressed up," she said as we pulled out from the curb.

"My Dad just got a promotion," I said, "and he's taking Mom and me out to celebrate. This way, they can pick me up at the park, and you guys don't have to leave early to drive me home."

"Good idea," Tina said. "I'm looking forward to scoping this place out."

"Yeah," Felicia said. "Frankie's mom must have thought of it; she never would have." She stuck out her tongue and giggled. Tina and I joined her. We just kidded around the rest of the way to the park. I found myself giggling at the same jokes that they did, even though I needed that voice in my head once or twice to understand what I was laughing at.

Since it was a warm, sunny afternoon, the Bikini Beach lot was pretty full. Felicia let Tina and I off by the entrance and went to park at the far end. Tina took a look at the gate and peeked through, though she couldn't see very much. "Impressive," she said.

"Wait till you get inside," Felicia said as she joined us. We walked over to the entrance. A pretty full-bodied brunette, her dark brown hair cut short, was on duty. "Hi, Felicia," she said. "Which of these girls is Tina Feldman?"

"I am," Tina said. "Why?"

"I'm Norma Greene, Tina. Your father faxed over his credit card authorization for your one-day pass, and I want to make sure it got to the right girl. Do you have any ID?"

"Sure," Tina said. She reached into her purse and pulled out her school ID. Norma looked at the card and handed it, and the pass, back to her.

"Thanks, Tina," Norma said. "Sorry for the hassle. I hope you enjoy the park." Then she turned to me. "Are you a member? I don't think I know you."

"She's Frankie, Frankie DiAntonio, a friend of mine," Felicia said, joining us. "I bought her a one-week pass yesterday, but I forgot to give it to her." She pulled two plastic cards out of her purse and handed me one. "Just slide it through the reader like this." She slid it through a slot like the one for a credit card machine. Tina and I did the same, and we walked into the park.

"Frankie, what are you doing," Tina giggled. "That's the Men's Lockers."

I froze. I had been about to go in — purely from force of habit, I swear. "Well, you can't blame a girl for trying," I said, trying to make a joke of it. If I could go to the Girls' Locker Room at school, I guess I could change in the Women's Locker Room here. I followed the other two in.

We picked lockers near one another and changed. It was the same as at school. Watching those two pretty girls stripping and putting on their suits didn't do a thing for me. Felicia was on the far side of Tina from me, so I couldn't see a lot of her, except when she was already in her suit, the same one as yesterday. I did notice Tina's tankini, but only because it was so pretty, slate gray with a thin black edging.

I took off my dress carefully and put it on the hanger, which I hung in my locker. Then I stripped down and put on my own suit. I walked over and looked at myself in the mirror. The suit clung to my curves, the bright flowers calling attention to my breasts and the swell of my hips. I turned, posing this way and that. I looked good, and — so help me — I liked it!

"Hey," Felicia said. "You gonna spend the afternoon string at yourself in the mirror, or you gonna come with us and have some fun?"

"Duuh! Go with you," I said.

We headed back for the slides Felicia and I had ridden on yesterday. We went on Pele's Race first, just to get Tina used to the rides. She wound up beating both Felicia and me to the bottom. She gave us both a smirk and climbed back up for another ride.

We went on the Pipeline next. I was in a one piece, and Felicia knew what the ride was like, a forty-foot drop to the bottom. We didn't tell Tina, and we both got a laugh when her top wound up twisted up around her neck.

"Nice boobs," Felicia said.

Tina tried to look mad as she pulled the top down and re-tied it. She tried, but she failed. "I guess we're even. What else has this place got?"

Felicia showed her — and me. We stayed on the slides for a while, riding the mats down the Lava Run and the tube raft through the Polynesian Plunge. Then we walked over to the wave pool. We half-swam, half-walked out to where those big waves came out of the machine. If you jumped at just the right time, you could body surf those suckers all the way back to the shallow end where the little kids were playing.

We'd been in the Wave Pool for a while when I realized that I was getting hungry. Felicia was wearing her diver's watch again. "Hey, Felicia," I called just as a wave hit us. "What time is it?"

I had to wait till the wave settled us in the shallows for an answer. "About 5:40," she said. "You'd better get going."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll see you guys in school tomorrow." They both said goodbye and headed back towards the deep water. I realized how much fun I'd had just hanging out with them. I didn't have that many friends as a guy; most of the guys I'd hung with were wannabees or patsies — or both. I was a little sorry to leave the girls, but Mom and Dad were going to be waiting for me.

I dried myself and changed into my clothes quickly. There was a counter in the Women's Locker Room with a couple of blow dryers and a big mirror. I dried and brushed my hair, letting it hang loose down around my shoulders. As I put on my make-up, I was kind of sorry that I hadn't brought along earrings. 'Next time,' I thought. Next time? Man, I was really getting into this girl stuff. It worried me, but what worried me the most was that part of me liked the idea.

Mom and Dad were waiting by the gate as I came out of the lockers. "My daughter's going to be working here," I could hear Dad saying to Norma. "Why can't I take a look around?"

"I'm sorry," Norma insisted. "This park is for women only. Men aren't allowed inside. There are no exceptions."

"Then why do you have a Men's Locker Room? Don't deny it. I can see the sign from here."

"I don't deny it, sir. But that's as far as any man gets. Only women actually go into the park itself."

"That's the craziest — may I talk to your boss?" Dad was just mad enough to insist on going in. If he did, I'd be the girl with two mothers. It was not a happy thought.

"Look, Dom," Mom said. "I thought you said that our reservation was for 6:20. We really don't have time for a tour." Then she noticed me watching them. "Besides, there's Frankie now." She pointed in my direction, then waved. "Yo, Frankie, over here." I waved back and walked towards them.

"Mr. DiAntonio," Norma said. "Why do you want to see the park, I mean really?"

"Well, to tell the truth," Dad said. "My Frankie starts here as soon as school gets out, and I wanted to make sure that there wasn't going to be no hanky-panky with any boys while she was here." Aww, Dad was being protective again; a little too protective maybe, but it felt nice.

"And if I won't let you, her own father in, what makes you think that any boy who might want to do 'hanky-panky' with her will have any better chance of getting into the park?"

"I suppose that there's something to that," Dad said.

"You can put it in the bank, Mr. DiAntonio." We all turned. It was the old lady. She must have heard the commotion and come to see what was going on. "I'm the owner. I founded the park as a place where women could relax without having men ogle them. You have my word that nothing untoward will happen to your daughter."

Dad wasn't completely convinced, but he was a lot closer to it. "Okay, ma'am," he said. "I'll take your word for now." He stepped over and put his arm around me. "But you better take good care of my little girl."

"Oh, she'll be properly taken care of," the old lady said. She said it pleasantly enough, but it still scared me a little. She came over and gave me a little kiss on the cheek. As she did, she whispered in my ear, "There really is a job here for you, if you want it."

"Th-thank you, ma'am," I said, not feeling very sure of the situation. If I wanted it? If I wanted to stay a girl after the pass ran out? Was she crazy?

She shook Dad's hand and gave Mom a little kiss on the cheek, too. "So good to see you again, Nikki. My Anya loves that blouse she bought from you."

Mom thanked her, and we headed off for dinner.

* * * * *

Giordano's was about fifteen minutes from the park, a fairly expensive Italian restaurant. We got there with about five minutes to spare. Dad insisted on making a grand entrance, though, saying, "When a man walks into a place with the two prettiest women in town on his arms, he walks in slowly, so everyone can see just how fortunate he is."

I blushed a little and gave him a peck on the cheek. Mom gave him a longer — a much longer kiss right on the mouth. Awww, I blushed again and looked away. Dad offered each of us an arm, and we walked in. The maitre d' made a big fuss and led us to a nice table. The waiter was right behind him and took our drink orders, wine for Dad and me (well, it was a special occasion) and a sparkling grape juice for Mom because Dr. Pearce told her no alcohol with the pills she was taking.

"Dominick, Dominick DiAntonio, why haven't you been back to my place in so long?" It was Mr. Giordano. He was a tall men, bald except for a ring of black curls around his head. He and Dad had known each other since grade school. "It's been three months easy."

"What are you talking about, Barto," Dad said with a broad grin. "I was in just about a month ago." He motioned for Mr. Giordano to sit down.

Mr. Giordano pulled a chair over from the next table and sat down in it in one fluid motion. "I'm not talking about business, old buddy. You was in a month ago to sell me those new jackets I got for my people. I mean here for a meal with these two lovely ladies of yours."

"If you didn't charge so much," Dad said. "We could come back more often."

"If suppliers like your store didn't charge me so much, I could charge you less for a meal."

"Hey, you pay for top quality."

"And so do you, my old friend, so do you." Then he laughed, "But enough about business."

He turned and took my hand in his. He raised it to his lips and gently kissed it. I tried very hard not to giggle, but I was tingling down to my toes. "Francesca, you look more like your late mother every day." He turned and did the same thing to Mom. "And, Nikki, you just look more like a mother every day. How is your pregnancy going?"

"Not as easy as I'd like, Barto," Mom said, "but smoothly enough."

"May it all be well," he said. "And what, by the way, brings you into my restaurant this fine evening?"

"We're celebrating Dom's promotion," Mom said.

"Promotion," Mr. Giordano said. "Hey, congratulations."

"Yeah," Dad said with a laugh, "and it comes with more money — that's how I can afford your place."

Just then, the waiter came with the wine. Mr. Giordano took the bottle, opened it, and poured a little in Dad's glass. Dad nodded, and Mr. Giordano began to pour some for Mom.

"None for me please, Barto; doctor's orders."

Barto shrugged. "Doctors, hah! Still you do gotta take care of the little one." He looked over at Dad. "How about Frankie?"

"Sure," Dad said. "It's a celebration, and she's old enough for a glass of wine now and then."

"You drink for me, Hon," Mom said, "and you can tell me how good it is."

"Then, she'll be drinking for two," Mr. Giordano said, and we all laughed at his joke. "And because of the occasion, the wine's on me." He filled Dad's glass; then he took a glass from his jacket pocket and poured some for himself.

The waiter came over with a carafe of grape juice for Mom. Mr. Giordano went through the whole wine tasting routine again. "You know, Dom," he said, "I've really got to hand it to you. I never thought you'd make it as a salesman."

"Thanks, Barto," Dad said, "but what choice did I have? They wanted to take away my Frankie."

"What," I said, almost spraying everybody with wine. "Dad, what are you talking about? Who wanted to take me away?"

Dad sighed. "After your mama died, her Aunt Julianna — you remember her — she said a little girl like you shouldn't be living with a guy like me, a guy who made his living as a gambler."

"But that's not fair," I said almost at the verge of tears. "You're a good father; you always were."

"Thanks, Cara, but she didn't think so, and right then, I wasn't too sure that I could manage raising a girl by myself."

"That's when I got into the act," Mom said. "I knew your mama since we were kids, and I knew how much she loved you and your dad and wanted you two to be together after... well, after." She put her left hand on Dad's hand and her right hand on mine. "I knew that there was an opening in the Men's Department and Samuelsohn's, and I talked your dad into trying out for it."

"She stayed up three nights coaching me on how to be a salesman," Dad said. "I wouldn't have gotten the job without her help."

"Sure you would have," Mom said. "You were so handsome, and you always dressed so nice. Besides... Gina was up in Heaven putting in a good word for you, too."

"And the rest," said Mr. Giordano trying to lighten the mood, "is history." He turned to me and whispered. "Nikki and your poppa used to meet for lunch every day at the store. At first, he was asking her to help him at the job or for help with you, but then they found other things to talk about." He laughed and winked at me. I giggled, and both Mom and Dad looked kind of guilty.

The waiter came back to take our orders, chicken parmesan for Dad and chicken in a wine sauce for me. (And, no, I wasn't hung over the next day.) Nikki had trout almandine.

"I'd love to stay and talk some more," Mr. Giordano said, "but I've got a restaurant to run. I'll try to get back over for another short visit before you leave, okay." He stood up, bowed politely at Mom and headed off.

I'd never heard of any trouble from Aunt Julianna after Mama died, so I was curious. "Was what he said true, Dad? Did Aunt Julianna really want to take me away from you?"

"Yeah, Cara," Dad said, "but that was years ago, and I'm not too mad at her anymore." He scratched his head. "I sort of guess that I can't blame her. I really didn't know how to raise a girl. If you'd been a boy, she probably wouldn't have made near as big a fuss." He put his hand on my arm for a moment. "Not that I was ever unhappy that you were a girl. In a way, I think I'm kind of grateful to Julianna."

"Grateful," Mom said, "for all the grief she put you through?"

"Yeah, because if she hadn't, I wouldn't have been working at the store with you, Nikki, and we wouldn't have gotten together." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

I was about to cry; it was all so sweet. Instead, I lifted my glass. "I'd like to make a toast. Here's to the new head of the Men and Boys' Wear department at Samuelsohn's, Dom DiAntonio." Mom and Dad lifted their glasses and clinked them against mine.

Then Dad raised his glass. "And here's to the three reasons that keep him going every day, his wife, his daughter, and, umm, the baby." We both clinked Dad's glass.

Then Mom raised her glass. "And here's to your Aunt Julianna, who made it all possible." She stuck out her tongue. We laughed and we clinked our glasses with hers.

Just then, the waiter brought our dinner. It smelled great, and it tasted even better. Mr. Giordano came back while we were having desert, and he and Dad talked about old times growing up together as best friends. Mr. Giordano really had taken the wine off the bill. "My gift in honor of the promotion," he said when Dad tried to argue with him about it.

* * * * *

I felt kind of happy and excited when I woke up the next morning. It wasn't just that the weekend was coming. I mean, nobody gets that happy over Saturdays. I waited for the voice to tell me why; nothing. My girl's memory was getting coy on me. Well, I'd find out eventually.

I found out at school. Felicia and I were in study hall just before lunch. "Ready to 'boldly go where no man has gone before'?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"The sleepover tonight at Tina's. You're going to spend the evening listening to a half dozen girls talking about all sorts of personal stuff while they do each other's hair." She smiled. "That's information any boy in the school would love to have, and you're getting it almost for free."

"Almost," I said warily. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to have to take part in all that juicy talk. Do you think you can manage it?"

"If I get stuck, I'll just make something up. I'll be me again in a few more days, so what can it hurt?"

"You, if you're not careful, but I think you'll do okay. Do you know what to bring with you?"

"Umm, I guess. PJs, a toothbrush and comb, oh, yeah, and a sleeping bag and pillow, right?"

"Half right, since that's only about half of what you need to bring."

"What else am I going to need? It's just for overnight, isn't it?"

"Well, for a start, you'll need a complete change of clothes for Saturday, undies, a blouse, pants or a skirt, and socks or hose. Some girls bring a couple of outfits, so they can see what the other girls think, or in case somebody wants to borrow something. You might want to bring some jewelry, just to fool around with. I've even known girls to bring more than one nightie — oh, and don't forget make-up."

"Anything else?" Did girls really take all that stuff just to spend the night at a friend's house?

"Well, you might want to take a robe, too. Tina's mom and dad are going to be in the house, and you might not want Mr. Feldman to see you walking around in your nightie."

"No, I guess not, but that's sure a lot of stuff."

"Hey, don't forget, we'll all be spending the day together, too. You don't want to wear the same clothes and, especially not wear the same undies two days in a row; not when we're going to be spending the day roaming around at the mall."

"The mall? What the heck is there to do all day at the mall?"

"Didn't you ever go to the mall on the weekend when you were a boy?"

"Sure to look at all the girls out — oh, no, we're not going to be shopping the whole day, are we?"

"You better believe we are. And you'd better ask your dad for some cash, so you can buy something if you want to."

* * * * *

Felicia came by to pick me up after dinner. I was still putting away some of the leftovers and Dad, well, I still had trouble believing his doing the dishes. "You ready to go?" she asked.

I looked at Mom, who nodded that it was okay for me to leave. Felicia followed me into my bedroom. My suitcase was on the bed. I'd packed it with all the stuff that she had suggested, though I was sure that she was kidding about it. She rummaged through it quickly. "Looks like you've got everything," she said. "It's a shame you don't have fancier clothes, though." She held up the blouse that I'd worn the first day. (Mom had washed it and some other clothes that afternoon.) "I'm glad you remembered to pack this. I'd like to borrow it tomorrow if you don't mind."

"I was sort of planning to wear it myself," I said.

"Hey, c'mon. Part of the fun is swapping clothes. I've got a couple of really cute tops in my suitcase. You pick one you like, and we'll be even."

"Umm, I guess." I wasn't sure if I hesitated because I really wanted to wear that pretty blouse or because the idea of swapping clothes with a girl still sounded strange. I tried not to think about that as I shut the suitcase and lifted it off the bed. With my new body's reduced strength, it took both hands to carry it. "Could you take my sleeping bag," I said.

"Sure," Felicia said. She grabbed the bag under one arm.

Mom and Dad met us at the front door. "Want me to carry that for you, Cara," Dad said.

"Thanks, but no. I'll have to manage it at Tina's, so I might as well get used to it now.

Mom handed me my purse. "I put a little inside for you to shop with tomorrow," she said as she kissed me on the cheek. I put the suitcase down just long enough to put purse strap over my shoulder. When I checked it later, I had $28 and some change.

Dad opened the door for us. He kissed me on the forehead as I walked past. "Have a good time," they both called as we walked down the hall toward the elevators.

* * * * *

We got to Tina's place about fifteen minutes later. Her older brother was home from college for the weekend, and he helped Felicia and me get our suitcases down to their basement. So much for "managing" the suitcase myself. Jake Feldman was a muscular six foot two, with curly brown hair, big green eyes, and the cutest grin. When he smiled and offered to help, I somehow didn't feel like arguing.

I just stood there, posed my best pose, and said something really dumb about how strong he was. 'Just like any girl with a crush on some guy,' I thought to myself, a little disgusted about the way I was acting — and the way my body had started to tingle when he smiled at me.

"Forget it, Frankie," Tina whispered as I followed her down the stairs. "Jake's got a girlfriend his own age. He's planning to spend most of the weekend with her. He only came home to give Mom his dirty laundry."

I sighed, but I still posed a little for him when we got downstairs. "Thank you ever so much," I gushed. Corn! I admit it, pure corn.

Jake did look — at least, I think he did — and he smiled at what he saw. "Glad to help out," he said before he ran upstairs, two steps at a time no less, and left for his girlfriend's place.

Tina's folks had a really big, well-furnished basement with a stereo CD rig and a forty-inch TV against one wall. Three overstuffed couches formed a "U" around the TV, and there were a couple of other sets of chairs or couches in the room. At the far side, there was a big dining room table with about a dozen chairs around it. One wall had glass doors that led out to the back yard. There was a door nearby that lead to the bathroom and to a small storeroom with curtains that doubled as changing rooms for the backyard pool. The whole room had a plush carpet.

There was an ice chest on the table and two big bottles and a bunch of cans of soda as well as a couple bags each of chips and pretzels on the table. Paper cups, plates, and napkins and plastic knives and forks were stacked nearby. A large plastic serving plate was full of veggies with a small dish of what looked like onion dip in the center.

Jake had put my stuff down near the table. There were a whole bunch of suitcases there already. I picked up my sleeping bag and brought it over near the couch, throwing in a pile with the others.

Stacy Brenner was sitting with Tina on the center couch watching JEOPARDY. "Hey, girls," Tina said. "Grab some couch."

We sat down on the side couch. "Is everybody here?" I asked.

"Susie Shay had to help out at her cousin's bar during their dinner shift," Tina said. "She and Rita Sandowski will be here about 8:30." I remembered that bar. They were a lot tougher than I liked about checking IDs. Still, the small restaurant they ran in the place was pretty good.

"While we waited for the others to come, we watched TV. After JEOPARDY, which I stank at, by the way, some show called SABINA THE WITCH, I think, came on. The girl who played Sabina was hot, but I kept noticing that cute guy who played her boyfriend. The best thing about the show was the attitude her talking cat had. The plot was lame, though. The witch girl uses magic and gets in trouble; then she gets out of it.

Towards the end of the show, Susie and Rita came in. "Oh, I love this show, Susie said. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if there really was magic like that in the world?"

Rita coughed on something like she was choking, and I looked at her in surprise. Did she know about — nah, it couldn't be. Felicia smiled and said, "Maybe there is, and most of us just don't know it."

"Yeah," Tina said, "but it'd be great for the ones who do."

This time, I almost choked. "Maybe, but not all magic is good, you know," Felicia said with a bit of what I thought was a malicious smile.

'Yeah, Tina,' I thought, 'how would you like getting turned into a boy, waking up and looking like a junior version of your brother?' I felt a tingle run through my body. Now why did I have to think of him and that cute smile of his? Drat!

"I guess, but it's all just imaginary anyway," Stacy said.

"Probably," Rita said, "but we'll never really know, will we?" It sounded to me like she knew something and didn't want to admit it.

"Hey, where are we going to sleep?" Susie said. "Assuming we do sleep."

"There's room for one of us on each of these couches here," Tina said. Then she pointed. "Same for those chairs over there. Everybody pick one and put your sleeping bags by it to stake your 'claim.' And, by the way," she stretched out on the couch she was sitting on, "this one's mine."

The girls spread out. Stacy and Rita grabbed the other two couches by the TV. Susie took one near the food. Felicia walked over to a couch near the stereo rig. I hefted my bag and went over to join her, putting my bag on a couch nearby.

"Okay, now what?" I said, walking back over to the couch by the TV.

"How about something to eat?" Susie said. "We got a big crowd tonight, and I didn't have a chance to get much of a dinner."

"Gee," Tina said, "I thought you got to eat pretty good, working in a restaurant and all, even if it's just part of a bar."

"Not if we get busy," Susie said. "There're only two waitresses, but they work the bar, too. I'm not allowed to handle alcoholic drinks. So if we get real busy, I have to wait the tables as well as bus them — that means clean them after the people leave. Usually, I grab something at the end of the shift, but tonight I had to pick up Rita and come over here."

"Hey, nobody goes hungry at my parties," Tina said. "How about a couple pizzas for everybody?"

Everybody agreed, but we must have spent twenty darned minutes arguing about toppings. When Tina finally called in the order, she asked for one plain with extra cheese; one half Hawaiian (bacon and pineapple) and half pepperoni; and a third, half mushroom and half "garbage" (ground beef, onions, red and green peppers, and mushrooms). I wasn't sure where the six of us were going to put it all, but, what the heck. I figured that there would be plenty of food at the party, so I'd eaten a light supper at home.

While we waited for the pizza, we decided to change into our nightclothes. Felicia changed quickly, putting on a beautiful lilac nightgown, floor-length, no less, with a matching peignoir. I think she was still a little self-conscious about changing in front of me, since she did know who I really was.

After the pizza came, we did the sort of stuff I'd heard girls do at sleepovers.
We watched some rock videos and gossiped about boys. I even joined in, much to my surprise.

Rita had long, beautiful dark blonde hair that went almost down to her waist. Tina spent about an hour working it into two long braids that she then twisted up around her head. It was so pretty that I gave some thought about letting my own hair grow out. Then I realized what I was thinking and had a looong drink of diet coke, wishing all the time that it was something stronger.

After that we watched some movie with Matt Damon and Ben Afflec, WILL HUNTING, I think it was. I'd seen it before, but now I found myself thinking about Matt Damon and how, umm, cute he was. I actually tingled when he talked about how much he loved that girl, Minnie Driver, or something like that.

Everything was going okay, I suppose, until somebody suggested that we play "Truth or Dare," that dumb game where you either answer embarrassing questions or agree to do something stupid. Even that was okay until it was Susie's turn.

Susie looked squarely at Tina. "Okay, Tina, 'Truth or Dare,' which of us — besides you — has the best fashion sense for her clothes, and who has the worst, and you have to say why?"

"Do I have to answer, I mean, do you guys promise not to get mad?"

"Well," Susie said, "I guess I have to promise since I asked the question, but I don't know about anybody else."

"You could always take the 'Dare,' you know." Stacy had a really nasty look on her face. I wasn't sure I'd risk whatever her dare was.

"Oh, okay, I guess," Tina said. "Best would have to be Felicia. She's got a good sense of style and her Dad's got the money to let her buy the stuff she wants to wear."

"Not all of the stuff I want," Felicia said. "But enough. Okay, who's the worst?"

Tina sighed and looked right at me. "I — I'm sorry, Frankie, but it's you."

"Me? What's the matter with the way I dress?" Why was I defending myself? I didn't want to be dressing like a girl — did I?

"It's nice enough," Tina said, "but there's no 'zing' to it. You dress so modestly. It's like you were always getting ready to go visit your grandma or something. You never wear really pretty — really sexy clothes."

"Yeah, and both your folks work at Samuelsohn's," Rita said. "It's not like you couldn't afford better stuff. So why do you dress that way?"

It was a question that I'd asked myself a few times since the change, and now, all of a sudden, I knew the answer. "It's — it's my Dad. He thinks I'm still his sweet little girl, and he won't let me get anything really fancy."

"Aww, how sweet, her daddy still buys her clothes for her," Stacy said.

Everybody laughed, and I found myself getting mad. "No, but, well, it was just him and me for the longest time after my Mom died. He got kind of, no, he got real overprotective. I don't always like it, but I don't know how to tell him to stop without hurting him."

I could feel tears in my eyes. I was going to cry, darn it, just like the girl that I had become. But it was true. I liked the feeling of having Dad protecting me instead of just letting me go run off on my own. I felt, well, closer to him somehow than I had been as a boy.

Felicia and Tina both came over and put their arms around me. It was nice being hugged. Stacy walked over slowly, her head down. "I — I'm sorry, Frankie. I didn't mean to get you so upset. It's just a game."

I smiled and hugged Felicia and Tina back. Then I hugged Stacy. 'It was okay,' I thought. 'I'm with friends.' I let go of Stacy and stepped back a couple paces. "I know 'it's just a game,' and you and I are going to do the next round. 'Truth or Dare,' Stacy, have you ever French-kissed a boy, and, if so, who was he?"

A couple of the girls giggled. Stacy looked very unsure if she wanted to answer. "Dare," she said. Then she stopped and said, "Oh, the heck with it. Jeff Hogan and I did it when he brought me home from the 'Anti-Prom.' He asked me to go steady with him. I said 'Yes', and we sealed it with a real kiss."

"And," somebody said. Gad, I think it might have been me.

Stacy blushed. "I liked it. I liked it a lot, but we — we haven't done it since." She giggled. "But I hope that we will again... real soon."

Everyone giggled then. Stacy gave me an odd look. "Now it's my turn. 'Truth or Dare, Frankie DiAntonio, how far have you gone sexu... no, for you, let's say 'romantically,' with Mel Haywood?"

How far had I — hey, no way, Stacy! I'm — well, I was a guy. Only, now I wasn't, and from the way my body was tingling maybe we had done something. I waited for the voice in my head, my memory of this other reality, to tell me the answer. Only it didn't want to play. I heard nothing, nada, absolute zero. I did the only thing I could. "Dare," I said.

"Boy, you two really must have done something if you won't tell us." Stacy smiled; it was the sort of smile a cat does when it gets a mouse. "Okay, 'Dare' it is. Let's see if I can come up with a good one." She closed her eyes for a moment to think. Felicia leaned over and whispered something. Stacy giggled. "Perfect. Thanks, Felicia."

'Yeah, thanks, Felicia.' I thought. What did she have planned for me now?

"When we go shopping tomorrow," Stacy began, "your 'Dare' is that you are going to buy yourself a couple of sets of really, and I mean really, sexy undies. The rest of us will help you pick them out. Then, you have to wear one of the sets on your date tomorrow night with Mel."

"She has a date tomorrow?" Rita asked.

"Yeah," Stacy laughed. "And Jeff and I are going to the Shell Game with them. I can check on her in the Ladies' Room while we're there, to make sure that she does it."

That was it? Buy some fancy underwear for my date? No big deal — except. "But what about my Dad?" I said.

"Aw, c'mon," Susie said. "It's not like he was going to check out your undies before the date. Hey, it'll be a chance to get away from that 'worst dressed' title Tina just gave you."

"I guess it'll be okay." I hoped it would be okay. It was just underwear. I felt a little relieved. Dad would never see it. Of course, neither would Mel. 'Stop that,' I thought to myself. A part of me was actually a little disappointed that Mel wouldn't see how pretty I looked. Boy, I wished we would go another round. I could think of a lot of good 'Dares' for Stacy. And a few for Felicia, too.

* * * * *

I'd pretty much forgotten about being angry by the next morning. We set up an assembly line in the kitchen for breakfast, mixing up a big batch of French toast for us all. I didn't know the recipe, but I did know how to cook. All those times I'd had to make my own breakfast or supper because Dad wasn't around paid off for once.

Then we went back down and spent the rest of the morning getting dressed. I'm serious. We didn't swap undies; girls have some weird thing about underwear. They don't want to wear somebody else's if they don't have to, and they don't like the idea of somebody wearing theirs, either.

But those were about the only clothes they wouldn't trade.

Felicia did manage to talk me out of that white peasant blouse, but I borrowed a pretty blue one with lace around the collar, and from Stacy, no less. I'd packed a pair of jeans to wear, but Rita had these Capri pants that were just about the same color as Stacy's blouse, so, sure enough, that's what I wound up with. I don't think any of the girls were wearing their own clothes by the time we left the house.

We headed for a mall a few miles from Tina's house. It wasn't the one that Samuelsohn's was in. That was just as well, I guess. I was stuck with that stupid "Dare," and I was going to try to keep my word — if I had to. The last thing I wanted, though, was for Mom or Dad — especially Dad — to find out. And I thought I had an idea.

Stacy, Tina, and I were in Felicia's van — her dad's actually, with our suitcases and sleeping bags in the back. Rita was in Susie's car, which had room for their stuff in the trunk. We found a couple of spots near each other and not too far from the entrance and went in through the food court. "Anybody want to stop for a soda or something?" I said, but everybody was still too full from the late breakfast we'd had.

The mall was shaped like a fan with four spokes. The food court was at the base. There was a video arcade near the start of the western corridor, and I headed that way out of habit.

"What are you heading down there for?" Susie asked. "There's nothing much of interest that way."

As a boy, I would have disagreed, but from the conversation that morning, I knew that things "of interest" to these girls probably didn't include the arcade. Or the bank, the outdoor gear, the wooden craft store, or the comics shop that were also in that corridor. There was one chance, though. "I thought I'd see what they had at B. Dalton's," I said.

"Since when are you such a reader?" Tina said.

"Well, I... umm... I wanted to see if they had anything about coping with a new kid brother or sister. My Mom's pregnant, you know."

"I guess that's a good reason," Tina said. "Let's go see."

We headed for the bookstore. After what I'd said, I had to go over to the "Health" section to see if there were any books about being an older sister. Rita came with me for some reason, and she stayed to look over the titles even after I found one book to buy. Stacy and Susie headed for the "Young Adult" section, and Stacy wound up buying a BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER story. Tina, of course, got a fashion magazine.

We paid for the stuff and headed to the next corridor. A store called Topside was having a sale on blouses and such. I slowed down as we passed. Tina and Susie walked over, and we all spent a while looking. Felicia found a peasant blouse like the one she had borrowed, only in yellow. When I said that I liked it, she offered to trade it for mine. I said "No," but asked for dibs on borrowing it. Borrowing it? What the heck was I thinking? I'd be a guy again in a few days, thank Heavens. I decided not to worry about it; let it add to my "cover" of having always been a girl since that was what everybody but Felicia thought was the case. I did buy a white fake silk blouse that looked a bit like a man's shirt and was marked down to only $5. Rita bought a pink sweater that I thought looked a little big on her.

Now what? I looked down the corridor. There was a pet shop off to the right. I strolled over. Yes! There were kittens in a display area in the window. I let out a loud "Aaawwww," and the others ran over. We spent a good ten, maybe fifteen, minutes watching the kittens, tapping the glass to get their attention, and saying how cute they looked.

Just as one kitten, a little gray tabby started moving towards where I was tapping the glass, I felt a pull on my arm. I looked up. It was Stacy. "I know what you're doing, Frankie, and it won't help."

Busted! "What do you mean, Stacy?"

"First the book store, then Topside, now this pet shop."

"Yeah, they have a nice bunch of stores in this mall, don't they?" Maybe I could talk my way out of it.

"You're stalling, Frankie."

"I don't know what are you talking about, Stacy.

"I'm talking about somebody who's going out of her way to slow us down or distract us. You don't want to get those fancy undies, and you're hoping to sidetrack us until there isn't time."

She had me. "Okay, I admit it. Are you guys really going to make me buy that stuff to wear tonight?"

"Yep. Maybe if you do, you'll get up the nerve to dress a little better."

"Is that why you're making me do this? What's the matter, are you ashamed to be seen with me."

"Oh, come on, Frankie. I've known you since we were little kids." That was true. Stacy and I had been in third or fourth grades together. Of course, back then, I'd been a boy, and no self-respecting boy that age wants a girl for a friend. Now the past was temporarily changed, and we had become friends.

"Okay, you've known me all these years. What does that have to do with my underwear?"

"I've seen you look at the other girls like you wished you had nicer stuff. I saw how quick you swapped with Felicia and me this morning. I figured that if I made you wore some nice, sexy undies for once, it would give you the courage to try to get your folks to let you wear more stuff like that."

"So, you're embarrassing me out of friendship?"

"Yep." She winked at me. "What are friends for, if they can't embarrass each other every once in a while?"

I couldn't quite figure out an answer to that. Might as well get it over with, especially since Stacy was likely to blab anyway. I took a deep breath and said, "Hey, guys, these kittens are cute, but weren't you all supposed to help me buy some new undies?"

"That 'Dare' from last night," Susie said. "I'd almost forgotten."

"There's a Victoria's Secret down the next corridor," Felicia said.

"And I know a couple of other places in here if they don't have what we want," Tina said. "Let's go."

We waved goodbye to the kittens and headed straight for Victoria's Secrets. Oh, joy. What had I gotten myself into?

* * * * *

I must have walked past the Victoria's Secrets a hundred times. Maybe once in a while, I'd take a peek; imagine what the girl I was going with at the time might look like in the bra or panties or whatever they had in the window.

Now I was going in.

It was a nice place, all white with pictures of clouds and birds on the walls. There were racks and racks of pretty underwear and nighties all over the place. There didn't seem to be a teens' section, but there was a section marked "Petite," which I guess meant me now.

We walked over as a group, a couple of the girls giggling at the overt sexiness of some of the fashions. "Do I have to do this," I asked, trying to look as pitiful as possible.

"Great pout," Stacy said sarcastically. "It's just sooo sexy; Mel will just love it."

Great. That was the last thing I needed, to be told I looked sexy. "Okay, let's get this over with."

"Let's see," Tina said, looking at me appraisingly. "I'd guess you're about, um, 36-C, medium panty, right?"

"Yeah," I sighed. I'd checked my underwear out of curiosity that first night.

"Whoa, a big girl," Susie said and giggled. She made a gesture as if hefting her own breasts, which, as a guy, I had always thought looked pretty good.

"Down girls," Tina said. "Let's see what sort of an outfit we can find." She began pawing through racks of panty and bra sets. She'd stop every so often to look at me, as if she were checking something, then start off again. She picked three or four sets, handing each one to Stacy.

Finally, she said, "Okay, that's enough for a start." She grabbed my hand and pulled me after her to the dressing room. "Strip down and let's see how you look in those bras." She handed me the sets, still on their hangers, and all but pushed me in.

I was definitely stuck. I took a look at what she'd handed me, four-bra-and- panty sets. They were all a lot fancier that the sort of stuff I'd been wearing since I changed.

I took off my blouse and hung it on a hook. Then I unhooked the bra I was wearing and put it over the same hook. I carefully took the first bra off its hanger. It was a satiny thing, strapless with a tiger print.

I leaned forward, holding out the ends, and then reached behind me to hook them. Once I did that, I gently adjusted my breasts within the bra. Then I looked in the mirror. I looked pretty good. This bra was definitely sexier, and it seemed to shape my breasts making them look rounder. But the bra also felt a little tight, like it was a bit too small. I didn't know if that meant that it didn't fit right or if it was just because the bra was new.

I decided to try another one. I took off the first bra and stuck it back on the hanger. The second bra was yellow satin, a demi-bra according to a little note on the strap. I didn't know the difference till I put it on. I don't know how, but the thing made my breasts look even bigger. It was like the cups pushed them up or something.

I posed in the dressing room mirror and did that same pout Stacy had accused me of. She was right; I did look sexy, especially in this bra. Heck, I looked like some kind of sex kitten. "Hi, I'm Bambi," I whispered in a kind of throaty growl. Then I giggled. This was ridiculous. What was I doing?

The third bra was a strapless like the first. It was black lycra, so sheer that I could see my nipples through it. I looked hot, so hot that I actually turned myself on. I felt my nipples pushing the material out. The thing was that I wasn't sure that I liked the way the black fabric looked against my tanned body.

The last one was light blue, another demi-bra. This one had an embroidered pattern of lace all over both cups. There was a similar pattern on the front of the panty. The back was a thong, but then so were the other three.

I decided to pick the last two sets. I looked good in them, the bras felt good on me. It was settled. We'd — I'd buy them, and then I was done with this nonsense.

Wrong.

I put my original bra on, followed by the blouse, and pushed the curtain aside. The whole group was waiting for me. "Well, Frankie," Tina said. "Did you find any you liked?"

I held up the two I'd picked. "Yeah, I'll take these. Now can we go?"

"No way," Stacy said. "There's still a whole store full of stuff to look at."

"Aw, c'mon, Stacy," I said. "You said two sets, and I've picked two. Are we going to waste the whole day making me try on this stuff? What about everybody else? They want to shop, too."

"We do," Rita said, "but you do have to do a little more looking. You can't just pick based on only the first four bras you look at."

"Yeah," Susie said. "How about one extra rule, the two sets of undies have to be different styles."

"Wait a minute," I said. "You can't go changing the rules now."

"All in favor," Tina said, "raise your hands." Five girls raised their hands.

She looked at me. "All opposed?" I raised my hand. I raised both hands. I'd have raised a leg if I thought it would help.

"Passed," Stacy said. "Okay, Frankie. Do you want any of the four you just tried on?"

I looked at the two I'd picked. I still wasn't sure about wearing black. "This one," I said, holding up the light blue pair.

"Okay," Susie said. "Give me the other three, and I'll take them back." I handed her the three small hangers, and she ran off. She was back a minute later holding another hanger. There was something on it that looked like it matched the bra-and-panty set I'd picked.

"Wha-what's that," I asked.

"What do you think it is," Susie said. She held the hanger up so I could get a better look. "It's the matching garter belt for the set you picked out."

"What!" I hadn't planned on a darn garter belt.

"Sure," Tina said. "Didn't you know. These are all three-piece sets. Since all you were going to try on was the bra, there was no reason to give you the garter belts before you picked out the set you wanted."

"Garter belts are a lot sexier than pantyhose," Rita said. "Do you need stockings to go with them?"

I wasn't sure. Maybe I could say "yes", then tell Stacy tonight that I had been wrong. At least that would get me out of having to wear the garter belt.

But before I could answer, Rita tossed me one of those plastic eggs. "I thought you might, so I got these on the way back. They should go with the undies."

'Oh, joy,' I thought. I sighed and took the garter belt from her. "Thanks, Rita," I said.

"Okay," Tina said. "Now let's see what else they've got."

We wandered over to a section that had what looked kind of like girls' T-shirts, "Camisoles," the sign said. There were all sorts of styles, sheer, flowered or tiger-striped. One even had stripes like a zebra. Some had wide straps, like a guy's shirt, and some had thin — what did they call them — spaghetti straps. A few of them had straps you could actually untie.

"Cute," I said, lifting the zebra-striped one.

"Yeah, but not really sexy," Tina said.

"I don't know," Rita said. "I kind of like it."

"Yeah, but, no offense, Rita, you aren't the 'fashion geek' here. I am. The dare wasn't 'cute'; it was 'really sexy,' and I don't think that these camis make the cut."

"So what is," Rita said.

Tina walked over to a rack that looked like it had some sort of swim suit with garters on it. "These are. Bustiers and merry widows really turn guys on."

"Yeah, they... umm... I guess they do," Rita said. "Okay, Frankie, come on over and take a look."

I walked over to where she was standing. "Okay, you said 'bustiers and merry widows.' What's the difference?"

"Boy," Tina said. "You are naive."

"Hey, we can't all be 'fashion geeks,' can we?" Stacy asked.

"Only the lucky ones," Tina said. She spoke slowly, as if she were explaining to a kid. In a way, I guess she was. "Okay, bustiers and merry widows are like bras, but with a section of material under the bra that goes down to the hips or waist. Merry widows have built in garter belts, so they go a bit lower. You wear them with a separate pair of panties."

"Or not," Susan said with a giggle. Then she blushed a little. So did a couple of the other girls.

Okay, I looked through the rack and picked five things to try on. I picked a bunch, so I wouldn't get a lot of grief from the other girls. However else I may have changed, I still shopped like a guy. I'd picked the two I wanted, and I was going to buy whichever one fit better.

It turned out to be the purple merry widow ("champagne-colored," the tag said). It had a demi-bra that made my breasts look really great, a lot more than a handful. The material was almost transparent; with cute little embroidered flowers on the cups to kind of hide my nipples. The embroidered flower pattern continued all the way down to the cute little flowers on the four garters.

The matching panty was a v-thong. The front was only a few inches wide and almost transparent except for the embroidered flower pattern. I looked sooo hot in it. If the old male me had seen a girl dressed like this, he'd have been hard as a rock and on her in a New York minute.

The girls were more than satisfied. Susie and Tina were making snide comments about what Mel was going to say when he saw whichever one of the sets of undies I was going to wear. I didn't say anything, even though I felt a little like slugging them.

There was just one little problem. When I took the stuff to the girl at the register, the price came to about $45. I only had $23, and that was including the money Mom gave me. "I'll have to put one set back," I said. Part of me felt relieved, but part, just a little part of me, I swear, was disappointed.

"No way," Tina said. "You agreed to get two sets of undies."

"I can't buy what I can't pay for," I said.

"She's got you there, Tina," Stacy said.

"Tell you what," Felicia said. "I'll put it on my plastic, and Frankie can pay me back later."

"No," Rita said. "We should all pay. "Everybody else kick in, umm, $7, and Frankie will pay the rest. That okay?" Everybody nodded, and Tina, to her credit, was the first one to kick in her share.

"Just make sure we get it back," she said with a smile.

"Oh," Felicia said, "you'll get it back so quick, it'll be like you never gave it to her."

I paid for the undies, putting in $10 of my own. The cashier put them in a couple of boxes, then put those in a Victoria's Secrets bag. By the time she handed the bag to me, most of the others had wandered off to look at clothes. Susie actually wound up buying a panty and bra set herself.

As I left the counter, Felicia touched my arm. "Frankie," she whispered, "you do plan to change back next Wednesday, don't you?"

"Are you crazy?" I whispered back. "Of course, I do. You don't think I like being a girl, do you?"

"Well, I wasn't completely sure. You seem to be adjusting so well."

"Yeah, well, I still want to be a boy again."

"That's what I thought. That was why I said all the girls would get their money back so fast."

"What do you mean?"

"When you change back, none of this will have happened. We'll all have our money back because we'd never have loaned it to a boy."

I felt a little better. I had been concerned about paying them back. Now I wouldn't have to worry about it. Then another thought hit me. Why was I so eager to change back? It seemed like part of me resented the fact that I didn't want to be a girl. Part of me was actually happy to be a girl. 'No way!' I thought. "If that's settled, then let's get out of here," I said.

* * * * *

By this time, it was almost 2 o'clock. We headed for the food court for some lunch, salads mostly, though Rita had hamburger with a side salad and a small shake. "You put on weight," Susie teased her, "and Ken's gonna lose interest." Ken Geller was Rita's boy friend. They'd been dating steadily for over a year.

"I'm not worried," Rita said. "I don't have to worry about Ken."

"Must be nice," Stacy said sarcastically.

"Oh, it is, it really is," Rita said.

"Ain't love grand," Tina said with a laugh.

"Sure is," Rita said with a smile that went from ear to ear — and maybe a little bit beyond. There was no doubt how she felt about Ken, and, in a way, I think I envied her. I think all of us did.

We finished our lunches and headed back for more shopping.

The others tried to talk me into getting my ears pierced at one booth, but I said, "No." I wasn't ready for the pain, even if the holes would be gone in a few days. I did buy a small gold bracelet, though, and I wore it the rest of the day. Tina and Felicia both got themselves earrings.

We tried on skirts at Amber, a teen dress shop, but none of us got any. I liked one, a brown jumper, but I felt like I'd spent more than enough. We hit a couple of other clothing stores after that, looking again, not buying. I'd have been bored to tears as a guy, but now it was interesting — kind of. I think girls shop for the thrill of the hunt, at least that's what it seemed like.

We were all at a PayLess, looking at shoes, when Felicia happened to look at her watch. "Hey, it's almost five," she said.

Susie was putting on a pair of green pumps. She looked up from the chair and said, "Yipes, I've got to get to work!"

"Yeah," Stacy said, "and some of us have dates. Let's go."

We waited just long enough for Susie to buy the shoes. Then we ran for Felicia's van. When we got there, she told me to go around to the back.

"How come," I asked.

"How do you think your folks would react if you came in with that Victoria's Secret bag?"

"They'll — they'll freak," I said. Now, what was I going to do?

"Take the stuff out of the boxes and stick them loose in your suitcase. I'll keep the bag and the boxes in my van and get rid of them at home." It was a great idea, and I did just that. I was careful to keep out the book and the blouse I'd bought, so Mom and Daddy wouldn't get suspicious.

* * * * *

Daddy was just going into the building when Felicia pulled up. "Hi, Cara," he said. "Did you have a good time?"

"I jumped out of the van and gave him a little peck on the cheek. "Yes, Daddy. How are you?"

"Hungry, to tell the truth. Your Mom figured you wouldn't be hungry, with your date and all, so she sent me out for burgers." He handed me the bag. "Here, you take this, and I'll get your suitcase and sleeping bag."

He walked around to the back of the van. Felicia opened the door, and he took out my stuff. I held my breath, half-expecting him to ask me about the new undies, as if he could tell just by lifting the suitcase that they were inside.

But he didn't.

I waved goodbye to Felicia and the others as they drove off. She was taking Stacy home next, and we'd be getting back together for that double date in a few hours, her and Jeff Hogan, Mel, and me.

* * * * *

Mom was in the living room watching TV. She'd cleared off the coffee table and put down place mats and paper plates, so she and Daddy could have their supper there. "Hi, Hon," she said as I came in. "How was your sleepover?"

"Great, Mom," I said. "Here's supper." I handed her the bag just as Daddy walked in.

"I'll put this stuff in your room, Cara," he said, disappearing down the hall.

"What did you buy?" She pointed at the bag from Topside. I showed her the blouse and the bracelet. "Nice," she said. "Are you going to wear it tonight?"

"I... I haven't decided yet," I said.

"You'd better decide soon. What time is Mel coming for you?"

"Oh, I've got lots of time. He won't be here till about 7."

"About 7," Mom said. "Hon, get moving. It's after 5:30." She almost pushed me towards my room. It suddenly occurred to me that it might take me longer to get ready as a girl.

My suitcase was on my bed, unopened, thank heavens. It had occurred to me that Daddy might open it when he put it in my room, but I could hardly go running after him yelling, "Don't open it." I might as well just confess to buying the undies and save time.

I shut the door and stripped down to just my panties and bra. My outside clothes went into the dirty clothes hamper. I opened the suitcase and got out my new undies. They went under the bed. The clothes I'd worn yesterday went into the hamper, too, and I left the suitcase opened on my bed.

I was thinking with Frankie-boy's devious mind. If I made it obvious that I hadn't bought anything else, then they wouldn't go looking for anything else. I might not look like the old Frankie, but I was glad to know that I could still think like him.

Only why did I have to feel guilty about it?

I stripped off my panties and bra. As I did, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror by my dresser. Boy, I was pretty. I'd seen myself as a girl, naked several times since I changed, and it never failed to amaze me just how pretty I was — and, darn it, how glad I was of the fact. It bothered me, but there really wasn't time to think about it now. I tossed my undies in the hamper, wrapped the robe around me, tying it tight, and headed for the bathroom.

My first thought when I took off the robe was to run water for a bubble bath. A bubble bath? What in the world was I thinking? I didn't have time for anything like that. Then I realized that it wasn't the idea of doing anything as feminine as taking a bubble bath that bothered me. It was the fact that I was in a hurry. This girly stuff was definitely getting to me.

I ran the water till it felt hot, then turned on the shower and got in. There was a small shelf hanging from the nozzle. I picked up a small bar of perfumed soap and began to lather up. I'd showered a couple times at home, besides that one shower in gym, so I had sort of gotten used to having ti — to having breasts to wash.

Funny, though, I kept thinking about hurrying to get ready for Mel, and my breasts starting feeling more sensitive as I lathered them. I slowly ran my fingers over them, enjoying the tingling feeling if my skin. Back and forth, sometimes rubbing the nipple as my fingers glided past. My head went back; my mouth was opened, my eyes half shut. I was beginning to moan. I was — just what the heck was I doing?

Whatever it was, I stopped doing it.

I turned off the hot water and let the cold water "cool" me down. Then I shut off the water and just lathered myself as quickly as I could — being careful how I touched certain places on my body. As soon as I was lathered, I turned the water back on and rinsed myself off. I dried myself, again, being very careful where I patted and where I rubbed.

Then I dusted myself with flowered body talc. I'd found the stuff the first time I showered at home after my change. I always liked girls who smelled like that. Now I got to be one.

When I was back in my room, I locked the door and pulled the packages out from under my bed. I had agreed to the "Dare," so I had to wear one of these outfits tonight. I was a, umm, man of my word. Besides, I knew that Stacy was going to check somehow.

I picked up the panty and stepped into it, pulling the thin straps up around my waist. The lace on the front felt a little funny against my groin, definitely different than the plain cotton panties I'd gotten used to wearing. The thong in back definitely felt different sliding in between my asscheeks. An old joke about "anal floss" popped into my head, and I giggled at it.

Now for the merry widow. I took the thing and stretched it around my waist. If fastened behind the wearer. That little voice in my head had taught me how to do bras that worked that way, so I knew how to hook the thing up. I started at the bottom, and then worked my way up the row of hooks. I had to stop when I got near the top to adjust my breasts in the cups of the bra.

I couldn't believe how I looked when I glanced in the mirror. Hot? That was just a start. I was a darned wet dream. My body tingled. I could see myself smiling at what I saw. Aw, no, don't tell me I was getting to like looking like this, like being a girl. I grimaced and tuned away to finish dressing.

Stockings were next. After pantyhose, they were kind of easy; you only had to worry about one leg at a time. I slid them up carefully and fastened them to the garters. When I stood up and walked over to the closet to get my dress, I could feel the material pulled tight against me. It was like a second skin; different from hose because I could also feel the garter straps against my bare thigh. I felt, well, kind of vulnerable. There was really nothing to stop somebody from reaching under and actually touching me there, certainly not the thin material of the panty. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, and I sure hoped that Mel wouldn't try.

'He won't,' the voice said. 'Even if he wants to.'

Ever hear your own mind giggle at you? It's not a fun experience.

Now that I had all this pretty stuff on, I had to cover it up. Daddy would never let me out of the house if he knew what I was wearing. I put on a dark blue sleeveless top. It had a low-cut collar, but not low enough to show the top of my breasts. I stepped into the skirt I'd already picked out, a plaited number that came down almost to my knees.

I buttoned it at my waist and turned to check myself in the mirror. There was no sign of the pattern or shape of the merry widow. 'Look again,' came the voice. I looked. Rats! I couldn't see the merry widow, but I could sure see how nice it made my breasts look. Daddy might not notice, but Mom sure would. I needed something to cover me. 'Sweater," the voice suggested. I agreed. I reached into my closet and grabbed a dark blue sweater. I put it on without buttoning it. The loose shape was just enough camouflage for my new figure.

I put on my St. Francis medal, this time with the gold chain, and tucked it under my blouse. Then I used the stuff on the make-up tray to fix my face; a demure pink lipstick, just a little blush, and some eye shadow, blue for the dress, with a bit of purple for my new undies.

"Frankie," came Mom's voice from down the hall. "Mel's here." I took one last look in the mirror. I looked good, and I liked that I looked good. And I didn't care; heck, I was proud of it. I grabbed the shoes I'd already picked out, strapless pumps with a wide, one inch-heel, perfect for dancing. I slipped them on and went out to greet him.

Mel was just sitting down on the couch across from to Daddy. "The Inquisition begins," Mom said. I just sat there, while Daddy asked Mel about where we were going, what we would be doing, that sort of thing. He didn't seem to mind, and he looked so handsome in the sport jacket and tie he was wearing.

Finally, Daddy stood up and said we could go. Mel actually shook his hand and promised — for the third time, at least — that he'd have me home by 11:30. I kissed Daddy on the cheek, hugged Mom, and headed out the door.

As we walked to the elevators, I said, "I hope you didn't mind all those questions Daddy asked."

"Well, I did... a little," he said. Then he took my hand in his, "but I figure you're worth it.

I melted, I swear the girl in me just melted. I'd have given him a kiss right there, but I was afraid that Daddy might come out and catch us. So I waited until we were in the elevator. Then I leaned over a little and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Not that I mind, of course," he said, "but what was that for?"

"For being so sweet with Daddy, and for saying that I was worth putting up with Daddy's questions."

"Any time, Frankie," he said squeezing my hand just a little. "Anytime."

Stacy and Jeff Hogan were waiting outside in the front seat of his dad's car. We climbed in the back. "Sorry we took so long," Mel said.

"That's okay," Jeff said. "We didn't mind the wait." From the embarrassed looks on their faces, I'd say that they'd found something interesting to do while they were waiting. He started the car, and we drove off.

"Besides," Stacy added. "We all know about Frankie's dad."

"What about my Dad?" I asked.

"You know, Frankie, what we kidded you about last night at the sleepover. How old-fashioned he is."

"Maybe so, but I kind of like this old-fashioned girl," Mel said.

"Hmm," Stacy smiled. "She may not be quite as old-fashioned as you think, Mel."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing; just some girl talk. We'll finish it in the ladies' room at the Shell Game later. Right, Frankie?"

So that was how she was going to check on the undies. Okay, I'd play her little game. "Right, Stacy," I said.

"You girls and the bathroom," Jeff said. "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in there, don't you, Mel?"

"Jeff," Mel said. "I didn't think that you... or I really want to know."

Jeff shrugged and changed the subject. We were still talking about summer vacation plans when he pulled into the Shell Game parking lot.

The place looked pretty busy, but we'd gotten there earlier enough that there was still room. Mel, Stacy, and I got out near the entrance while Jeff parked the car. He came back in a couple of minutes. The boys paid — naturally — and we went inside.

The new band, Izvestiya, was going full guns. We just headed out onto the dance floor. They were playing a fast number, so we just stood near one another and began moving to the music. The band was loud enough that I could feel the sound going right through me. I started matching Mel's movements, turning or twisting the way he did.

After three or four fast dances, the band switched to a slow number. I stepped forward into Mel's arms. It felt nice, very nice. We were still moving together, but now I could feel him against me. I looked into his eyes, and he was smiling at me.

"What are you smiling about," I asked.

"The fact that I'm here, dancing with you," he said. "It's real nice."

"I... I'm enjoying it, too," I said. That was the problem, I was enjoying it. I was definitely starting to like this female life I'd been popped into. I was actually worrying a little that I might be having second thoughts.

Of course, being there in Mel's arms was not the best place for me to be worrying about things like that. 'Well,' I thought. 'I have three or four more days to worry about second thoughts on changing back. This is probably the only chance I'll have to be here with Mel. I might as well see how the other half dates — lives.' I put my worries on hold, and moved in a little closer to Mel.

The band played another slow dance. By the end of it, I was leaning against him, resting my head on his chest. I could hear his heart beating, and feel his body moving with mine. I felt something else, down below his waist, pressing against me. Good heavens, I was turning him on. Then I felt my own nipples tingling. I... he was turning me on, too.

I was saved by the band. They finished the slow number that they were playing and started another fast one. Mel dropped his arms, and we moved a couple steps apart. We began moving to the music, again. We danced a couple more dances, but then Stacy and Jeff came over to where we were dancing.

"Hey," Stacy said. "How about stopping for a bit and getting something to eat?"

I realized how hungry I was. "Sure, if Mel doesn't mind."

"Mel's hungry, too," Mel said.

We followed them off the floor and over to an empty table. "So, what do you all want?" Jeff asked. "They've got pizza, burgers and fries, nachos, pretzels and chips, and soda, of course. Take your pick."

After a bit of dickering, we settled on burgers all around, fries and nachos, and sodas. Mel went with Jeff to help carry the stuff.

"Enjoying the evening, so far?" Stacy said.

"Yeah, Mel's a great guy."

"I saw how you guys were dancing out there — the slow ones, I mean. You really like him, don't you?"

Did I? I barely knew Mel, when I was a guy. He was one of the squares, somebody to be considered only in terms of how to get something out of him. Now, I... I wasn't quite sure how I felt, but I knew that I liked him. I probably wouldn't be able to think of him as just a "square" when I changed back.

"I guess so," I said, trying to sound non-committal.

"Boy, now, there's an understatement! I told you, I saw the way you guys were dancing together."

I figured that I might as well tell her what she wanted to hear. "Okay, I... sort of do... like him."

"I thought so. I just wanted you to say it. You're such a shy girl, you need to admit you can have feelings about a guy."

"Gee, thanks for caring." Shy? Yeah, as a girl, I guess I was.

"I do, Frankie, honest I do. I'm not trying to force you to do anything you don't want to do — "

"You mean, like wear this fancy underwear?"

"Okay, maybe that was a bit overboard."

"A bit? I'm wearing stuff that looks like my picture should be up on some guy's wall." My own - Frankie-boy's, for instance; I was hot in this stuff.

"You'll have to show me later — just so I can tell the others you did, I mean. Seriously though, doesn't it make you feel, well, special... pretty — like a real grown-up woman, I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"That's what it's supposed to do. Because when you feel that way, you've got the confidence you need to act like you're somebody special — and to make the guys treat you that way."

"So, then, you're wearing stuff like that?"

"Hmm, not as... as sexy as yours, but they are a little fancier than I wear to school during the week." She looked up. "Okay, change the subject. Here come the boys with the food."

Jeff and Mel passed out the burgers and cokes - veggie burgers and diet cokes for Stacy and me. They spilled the fries into a pile in the center of the table and put the nachos next to them, so we could share. We would. I would, at least. You can take health food only so far.

We didn't talk much for a couple of minutes, while we ate. Then Jeff said something about school, and we made small talk for the rest of the meal. Stacy and I were full, smaller stomachs and all that. Jeff and Mel were polishing off the rest of the nachos.

Stacy stood up and put her napkin on the table. "While you guys finish, Frankie and I are going to the ladies' room. Okay?"

"Hey," Jeff said. "How about if we meet in the game room?"

"Aw, c'mon," Stacy said. "Frankie and I didn't come here to watch you guys play video games. Right, Frankie?"

"Oh, I guess a few minutes wouldn't hurt." I felt like I wanted to play those games as much as the boys did.

"Thanks, Frankie," Stacy said. "Okay, we'll meet there, but we won't stay too long." She actually looked a little hurt. I felt like I'd betrayed her somehow, and, maybe, I had.

I stood up and followed her towards the ladies' room.

"What were you doing back there?" she said as we walked.

"They've been so sweet to us tonight. I thought we should give them a little reward for it."

"You don't date much, do you, Frankie?"

"Not a lot." Not boys anyway.

"I do. Boys can get caught up in a game. They could be in there for hours."

I had an idea. "They won't. I'll get them out if I have to drag them out."

"I'll believe it when I see it." We got to the ladies' room. Stacy opened the door for me. "In the meantime, there's other stuff I want to see."

I went in and looked around. There was nobody else in there, not even in the stalls. (The doors were all opened.) I heard a click. Stacy had locked the door behind us.

I stepped back a few feet from Stacy and took off my sweater, laying it on one of the sinks. "Okay," I said. "You can tell from the way my breasts look that I'm wearing the thing."

"I can tell that you're wearing something," she said, "even if you are trying to hide it with that sweater. Anyway, lift up your blouse."

I did as I was told. I lifted the thing up almost to my neck, so Stacy could see the merry widow. I counted to "ten," then tucked the blouse back into my skirt. "Satisfied?" I said.

"Umm, I suppose. Let's see the stockings."

"You really don't trust me, do you?" I was beginning to get a little angry. Why was I putting up with this? I lifted the front of my skirt. "Can you see them now?"

"A little bit higher, please."

I clenched my teeth and lifted the skirt even higher, practically to my waist.

"Okay, I wanted to see if you had on those panties, too. You can drop the skirt, now."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm sorry. You're mad, and I guess I don't blame you. I didn't realize how upset you were." She lifted up her own blouse. She was wearing a sheer lycra bra that was almost transparent, with just a bit of swirled material around the center of each cup.

"Stacy, what are you doing?" I was embarrassed now. Worst of all, even though a little bit of me was still male, I was definitely not enjoying the show.

She smiled and tucked her blouse back into her own skirt. "I figured that I owed you one."

Now I had to smile. "Well, we wouldn't really be even till you showed me your panties, too." She nodded and actually started to reach for the bottom of the skirt. "Hey, no, that's okay," I said. "Yeah, we're even."

"Okay, then." She went over and unlocked the door. Just in time, too, because a couple other girls came in almost as soon as she stepped back. We freshened up our make-up and headed for the game room. As we walked, she said, "Just remember what you have on under that demure, little girl's outfit. In fact, just to remind you, why don't you take off your sweater and tie it around your waist? It's too hot to wear it in here anyway."

I didn't see the point, so I did as she suggested. Then, as we walked, I did see the point. I could feel the weight of the sweater on my butt, and it was making me walk with more of a wiggle. It also pulled my blouse tight at my waist, showing off how small it was. But, most important, there was nothing hiding the way the demi-bra made my breasts look. I felt like every eye in the place — every male eye, at least — was watching me.

Stacy saw the look on my face. "Okay, so I tricked you again — sort of. But we'll need every trick we've got to make the boys want to leave those video games. The way you look will be a big help."

"I told you, Stacy. I promise that they won't stay at them very long."

"We'll see what happens, but, even so, don't you feel great knowing how hot you look this way?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." I hated to admit it, but I really did. At least, the girl part of me really did.

By now we were at the game room. It was almost "boys only." The few girls that were in the place mostly looked bored. They'd probably been dragged in by guys who wanted to show off or who just promised "a few minutes." A lot of those guys had blown it. They may have had the fun of the game, but they also had their girls mad at them for ruining the evening.

That wasn't going to happen to Stacy and me.

As I expected, the boys were at the Pirates' Cove game. Jeff was playing. He was almost finished on the second level and looking for the rope bridge that took him to third. He made a wrong turn, and one of the cannoneers got him.

Mel took over. His man was on the third level already. He managed to get past a couple of the simpler traps, a sandpit and one of the tangletree groves. He made it to the hollow tree and began to look around. I wanted to tell him to climb the tree, that the map was on an upper branch. But you have to learn stuff like that on your own.

He didn't, but he spent enough time looking around that one of the skeletons showed up. It got him. It was his last life.

Jeff tried again. He made it to the third level, but he got caught in a sandpit. He tried using the rope from his supply sack, something I hadn't thought of when I'd played. It worked. He got out, but the time he'd taken had triggered one of the pirates. They fought, and it got him; end of game.

Both boys pulled out a quarter. They were about to put them in, when I said, "Hey, guys, we're back. You ready to go?"

"Just one more game," Jeff said.

"Yeah, just, umm, one," Mel said. From the way he was looking at them, I think he noticed how my breasts looked. Gee, he had a cute smile.

"You promised you wouldn't be in here long," Stacy said. "We'd like to dance some more, right Frankie."

"One game isn't very long," Jeff said.

"I'll tell you guys what," I said. "I'll play, too. If I win, we leave. If not, Stacy and I will treat you boys to one last game. Agreed?"

Stacy looked at me like I was crazy, but the boys both agreed. Jeff had noticed my breasts now, which didn't help him any with Stacy. I took a quarter from my purse. "Who goes first?"

"You can go first," Mel said.

"No, you guys have been playing it for a while. I'll watch how you do." I tried to sound like I didn't know the game.

"Okay," Jeff said. "Mel, I died last, so you can go first."

We all put in our quarters and hit the code so three players could go in turn. Mel went first. He was doing fine till he happened to glance over at me. I took a breath, and a cannoneer got him. Well, I never said that I'd play fair.

Jeff went next, studiously ignoring me. He did fine until he lost his man at a hidden sandpit. Like I said, the rope was on the second level.

Now it was my turn. I just made it to level two, when I was attacked by three pirates. I hadn't quite figured that one out, yet, and I died.

Jeff and Mel both made it to the second level. Jeff took the rope again. I think he was going to try it with a sandpit, if he got caught again. He also managed to find a couple of chests of treasure that I hadn't known about. Treasure's nice, but it can weigh you down. There's a few places on each level where you can trade it for supplies or healing. One of the guard wolves got him just before he got to one of those places.

Mel headed straight for the rope bridge, stopping to fight only when he had to.
He did stop for some rope. I guess he liked Jeff's idea. I did, too. He was almost to the bridge, when a zombie pirate got him.

I tried a little of both their strategies. I took one of the treasures and the rope. That second treasure had slowed down Jeff during his turn; that was how the wolf got him. I made it to the trading post with just the one. I used it to get a torch and five extra life points.

I grabbed the rope, too, when I had the chance, and almost made it to the bridge. Three wolves were waiting for me. It took them longer to get me, thanks to those extra life points, but they finally did. I did take two of them with me, though.

Both guys got to the third level. Jeff got stuck in a sandpit, and he used the rope again. This time, he let go of the rope a bit earlier, and he was able to get the pirates. Mel managed to miss the pit. They both found the pearl necklace, and they both got killed by that stupid skeleton.

It was my turn, now. I deliberately walked into the sandpit to try out Jeff's strategy. It worked, and I thanked him for it. I went for the necklace, too, but I didn't take it. I just triggered the skeleton. I turned and let it chase me. I went right for the sandpit. I used the buttons to leap at the last minute. The pit was too big to jump over, but I was more than half way across. The skeleton followed me in. It sank, and I used the rope a second time to get free. I grabbed the necklace and got past three more traps. I'd picked up enough treasure to go to a trading post, but this one had zombies for guards, and they got me.

The game was over, but I had over 100,000 points more than either of the boys. "I win," I said to them. "We can go now."

"How... how did you know how to do that?" Jeff said.

Mel put his arm around my waist. It felt kind of nice there. "Because she's brainy, as well as beautiful. And now I'm going to dance with her." I smiled at the compliment, as he started to lead me out of the room. Jeff shrugged, and he and Stacy followed us.

We went back out onto the dance floor. Izvestiya was playing another fast dance. Mel started to move to the music. I did, too, but this time, I didn't match his movements. I was psyched from my success at the video game. I'd spent way too many quarters trying to figure out how to kill that skeleton.

I began to sway to the music, letting it get inside me. I smiled and licked my upper lip with my tongue. I'd always thought that was real sexy, when a girl did something like that. I decided to give in a little to Frankie-girl, give him a treat for what he'd said at the game room. I let my movements get more sensual, more sexy. I practically caressed myself to the rhythm of the music. I could see how much Mel was enjoying it by the way he was smiling at me.

I looked over at Stacy and Jeff. She was watching me, too. She looked a little surprised, but then she gave me a "thumbs up". I guess she approved of how I was acting.

When Izvestiya switched to another slow number, Mel took me in his arms. I moved in closer than I had before. I pressed my breasts up against his chest. They began to tingle. I began to tingle. I definitely liked feeling this way, which scared me a little. I leaned my head against his chest. "So how does it feel to get beaten by a girl, Mel?" I whispered.

"Well, it wasn't the easiest thing for me to take. You did beat us both fair and square. I think your cousin — what was his name — Vinnie, did more than tell you about the game. But I figure, what the heck, who says a girl can't play a video game? In a way, I think I'm a little proud of you."

"Right answer," I said. I lifted my head and kissed him on the cheek.

We danced for a while longer, taking a break at one point for sodas. Stacy and I sat at an empty table while they braved the lines at the food concession. "You look really good out there," Stacy said.

"Yeah, I don't know what it is," I said. "I just feel so jazzed!"

"I think it's the undies. You know how pretty you look, and you can't help acting like the person they make you feel like you are."

"That has got to be the silliest idea I ever heard." That wasn't entirely true. I wondered if they did have something to do with it. I felt incredibly feminine, and I liked it.

"Well, whatever it is, Mel sure likes it."

"I know," I said, and I giggled. "I hope he doesn't think I'm leading him on, promising him something."

"Nah, I think he's cool with it. I think he actually respects you too much to try anything that would risk it."

"Gee, I hope so." I did, too, because I wasn't quite sure of how I'd act if he did try anything.

Just then, the boys came back with our drinks. We sat for a while and just listened to the music. Izvestiya was a great band to dance to, and it was also a pretty good band to just listen to. Especially, when I was leaning up against Mel, who was sitting next to me.

"Say, what time is it," Mel said. He looked up at one of the big digital clocks mounted at various points around the room. "Damn, it's after 10:30."

"So," Stacy said. "The curfew doesn't kick in till midnight."

"Yeah, but Frankie's dad wants her home by 11:30. I, umm, kind of promised."

"But we'll have to leave, too," Jeff said.

"Yeah," Stacy said, taking his hand in hers, "but I'm sure that we can find something to do till 12."

"Sounds like it's time to go," Jeff said. Just then, the band finished the fast number they'd been playing and started another, a slow one. "Right after this dance, I mean."

Jeff stood up and led Stacy to the dance floor. Mel and I were right behind him, and I have to say that we were holding hands, too.

I moved right into Mel's arms. This time, there was no swaying or pressing against him — well, not too much pressing against him. It was just the two of us holding on to each other and moving slowly, in place, to the music.

We left right after that song. It wasn't all that far back to my house, but we wanted to go by way of Dixon Park. The park is just a little one, a stretch of woods that the developers had left when they built the neighborhood around twenty-five years ago. It wasn't much, but it had a lot of nice shady places to park for a while.

Jeff drove into the park, and then pulled over onto the grass on a side road. There wasn't another car in sight. He turned off the engine and the lights. Then he reached over for Stacy.

I was too busy to see what they were doing after that. Mel and I were busy ourselves. He put his arm around me and pulled me to him on the seat. Our lips met, and we kissed. Oh my, it was nice, so very nice. Then I opened my mouth to moan, and he stuck his tongue in. That was even nicer. My whole body was tingling by now.

We hugged and kissed that that for, well, for I don't know how long.

"I've been wanting to kiss you like that all night," he whispered. "You look so beautiful. The way you were dancing, and — and when you pushed up against me..."

I felt very shy all of a sudden. I kissed him again and slid up next to him on the seat. His arm was around me, now. I felt it reach down while we kissed, and he begin to touch my breast through my blouse, kind of fondle it.

My breath got a little short, now, and the tingling got better and better, like electric jolts all through my body. I put my arms around him to pull him even closer to me, and I kissed him harder.

Mel had his one hand under my blouse now. He ran his fingers along the top of it until he found my nipple. Then he began to play with it, stroking it kind of. I felt like I wanted him to do it forever.

Then I realized where that thought could lead. I reached up and put my hand over his. "I like what you're doing, Mel. I like it a lot, but, please, that's as far as I want to go."

He kissed me, but this time on the cheek. "All right, Frankie. I guess I was rushing things. We'll take it one step at a time." He slowly pulled his hand out from my blouse.

I took his hand in mine. "Thank you, Mel. Thank you for understanding." I was holding his hand gently, trying to decide if I wanted to put it back onto my breast. Before I could decide or could say anything else, I heard the bells at St. Martha's Church, only a few blocks from the park.

"11:15," Jeff said. "We'd better get moving if we're going to get Frankie home on time." He started the engine and drove to my place as quickly as he could.

I used the time to fix my blouse and to put my sweater back on. I glanced over at Mel. He was sitting there trying to hide the lump on his pants with his hands. 'Did I do that?' I thought, and I stifled a giggle since I didn't want to embarrass him.

We got to my building at 11:28 according to Mel's wristwatch. We jumped out of the car while the motor was still running and ran for the elevator. We just got to the door at 11:30.

"Thank you for a nice evening," I said, hoping that I didn't sound out of breath. I kissed him on the cheek.

"My pleasure," he said with a smile. "I'll call you tomorrow."

I was fumbling with my keys when the door opened. Just as I expected, Daddy was waiting for me. "Good night, Frankie... Mr. DiAntonio," Mel said. He walked back down the hall, waving as he pushed the button for the elevator.

"11:32," Daddy scowled for a minute, then he smiled. "Well, you were at the door on time. I suppose it's only fair to let you say good night to your date."

"Stop teasing her, Dom," Mom said. "Did you have a good time, Hon?"

"Yes, thanks, the band was great." I suddenly yawned. I guess staying up late at Tina's and all that dancing was catching up with me. "I think I'll go to bed now. G'night." I kissed them both and hurried off to bed. Yes, I was sleepy, but I also didn't want them to get a good look at me — or, at least, me in the merry widow.

I closed my door and quickly took off my sweater, blouse, and skirt. I slipped off my shoes and sat on the bed. I unhooked my new stockings and carefully rolled them down my legs. Then I reached behind me and unhooked the merry widow. My new panties were last. Everything went into the hamper with the blouse and skirt on top. I figured that I'd hide them away in the morning.

I put on the panties from that afternoon and the sleep-T I'd worn last night. Then I went into the bathroom and washed up. I really was tired, so I tuned off the light and went straight to bed.

But not to sleep.

I kept remembering how much fun I'd had at the Shell Game, especially dancing close with Mel. I remembered what else I had done with Mel. My body, especially my breasts, began to tingle again. I reached down to touch them, to rub them, but that just made the feeling get stronger. The tingles spread through my whole body, but especially towards my groin.

Without thinking, I reached down and touched myself. It was like scratching a mosquito bite. The touching felt so very good, but it made the itch seem even worse. One hand was squeezing my breast. The other — my heavens — I actually had a finger in my pussy. I was acting from memory — male memory, and I could feel the sensations growing in me. I wanted to stop. I knew I should. But all I could think of was Mel; his sweet, goofy smile; how great a kisser he was; and how nice it had felt to have his hands on my breasts.

I could feel something coming, something wonderful and terrifying. I let go of my breast just long enough to grab a pillow and throw it over my head. A few seconds later, I felt as lit up as a Christmas tree. I let that wave of pleasure run through my body. I hugged myself for a while as it faded into a gentle sort of afterglow. Then, with a sigh, I pulled the sleep-T back down.

The next thing I knew it was morning.

* * * * *
Normally, according to the voice in my head, I would have helped Mom with some of the chores, like the laundry, on Sunday morning. But when I offered, Daddy said he'd help, so I could study for my finals.

"Do I at least get to read the Sunday funnies?" I asked.

"Sure," Daddy said. "As soon as you finish studying." Then he added, "Or when you take a break for lunch."

I was in my room about a half hour later, going over some of the notes for that oceanography course. "Francesca Maria DiAntonio," Dad yelled. "Get out here. Now!" No Cara, no Frankie. I knew Dad, and if he acted at all like he did when I was a boy, it meant that I was in big trouble.

Mom and Dad were in the back room, where we kept the washer and dryer. They were sitting at the worktable with piles of dirty clothes in front of them. He must have gotten the dirty clothes from my room while I was having breakfast. He was holding my new merry widow. I'd meant to get that stuff out of my hamper this morning, but, well, I sort of forgot.

Now Daddy was holding it like it was a dead snake or something.

"What is the meaning of this?" he said, almost too calmly. "Why are you wearing clothes like this?"

Caught! I looked down at his shoes. I was so embarrassed. Then it hit me. I wasn't embarrassed because I was a boy caught wearing girl's underwear. I was embarrassed because I was a girl who'd been caught wearing "naughty" underwear.

"Just what have you and that Haywood boy been doing? I thought I could trust him. He's never going to...”

"Daddy, please. You can trust him. We — we didn't do anything more than hold hands — well, and he kissed me a couple times." I sure wasn't going to tell him about Mel touching my breasts, at least not now.

"Nothing?" Dad looked straight at me, and I felt like an animal caught in somebody's headlights; frozen with a truck heading right at me.

"I — okay," I said. "I kissed him goodnight, too, but that was all."

"A likely story. A girl dresses like this, it can only mean one thing."

"Oh, really, Dom," Mom said, frowning. "And what does it mean?"
"Nikki, please. You know what kind of girls dress like this."

"What kind, Dom? You tell me. I was with Gina, may she rest in peace, when she bought her wedding trousseau. I helped her pick things out, so I know just what she bought. Your Gina, what kind of woman was she?"

"But that's…" Dad said, his voice trailing off.

"And me. You didn't have any problems the last time I wore something like this." She gently patted her stomach. "That's how I got something like this. Am I that kind of a girl, Dom?"

"But you... and Gina... you were grown women, married or about to be. Frankie is just a baby, just my little Cara."

He looked so sad that I wanted to hug him. And I wanted to hug Mom for the way she stood up for me.

I hugged Dad first. "I'll always be your Cara, Daddy, but I'm — I'm growing up. Please, please understand that."

Mom put her hand on Dad... Daddy's shoulder. "Dom, sometimes a woman wears clothes like that to show herself off for her man — as an act of love and acceptance. But sometimes, she wears it just to remind herself that she's a woman, to look pretty for herself, and to be proud of who and what she is."

It felt so wonderful to have Mom standing up for me like that, and I realized that I had felt pretty, felt like a real woman in those undies, and, so help me, I'd enjoyed the feeling. I felt like crying — for a lot of reasons.

"I... I don't know," Daddy said, "but I want to be fair, I guess." He stood up and walked out of the room. "Let me think about it a little."

Mom and I talked for a bit, while I helped her sort the clothes. I was sorry for getting her so upset, and I told her all about the "Truth or Dare Game" we'd played at Tina's.

"Those things are supposed to be fun, Hon," Mom said. "Nobody's supposed to be hurt — least of all, somebody who wasn't even playing, like your Dad."

"Daddy? What about me? I'm the one he dumped on."

"Frankie, your Dad's a very old-fashioned man. It's important for him to want to take care of his 'little girl', and he expects you to be an innocent about things like sex. He knows how impractical that is these days, but he still feels that he has to try. Try to understand what he's going through, okay?"

"I... I guess. I'll try, Mom."

"I know it'll work out. You'll see. No matter what happens, I know how much you two love each other."

Love Daddy? Yeah, I guess I did. I put a load of whites in the washer for Mom. "I'm going to get back to my homework now," I said. I kissed her on the forehead as I walked by. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"Hey, Hon, that's what mothers do."

I smiled at that, smiled all the way back to my room. It was nice having a Mom.

About an hour later, there was a knock at my door. "Can I come in, Cara?"

I rolled over on the bed where I'd been studying and sat up. "Yeah, Daddy, come on in."

He came in slowly, still frowning a little. "I — I thought about what your Mom said, Cara. Is that — is that what it was, Cara?" Dad was almost crying himself. "So you could feel that you were pretty?"

"Yes, Daddy."

I felt his arms circle around me. "But how can you not feel pretty, when you look so much like your Mama?" He hugged me. "You sure you didn't do anything more than just kiss that Haywood boy?"

"Nothing more, I promise." I had wanted to, especially when he'd touched my breasts, but the thought had scared me, what little of the male me was left. It had scared the female me, too. She — I liked being a good girl. But I had to admit that I felt a little disappointed.

"Then, if you'll forgive your old man for being the biggest idiot of the week, he'll forgive you for growing up."

"Deal," I said, shaking his hand.

Daddy tapped his cheek. "No handshake, Cara. A kiss, right here."

I giggled. Then I kissed him on the cheek.

"Nice," Daddy said. "You should kiss the Haywood boy just like that." Then he smiled and kissed me on the forehead. "See how nice it is, when you do it like that, too." He looked at me and smiled a kind of embarrassed smile. "I know, I know, but being your father is a tough habit to break."

"I don't want you to break the habit, Daddy, not ever. Just understand that the rules are a little bit different now, for a kid my age, I mean."

He sighed, a little too theatrically, I thought. "I know, Cara. Just try to be as understanding of me as you want me to be of you. Okay?"

"More than okay," I said.

"Good." He kissed me again on my forehead. "Then I'll let you get back to your homework there."

* * * * *

I was having lunch when the phone rang. Daddy answered it. "Frankie, it's him." Daddy wasn't quite as ready to accept my story about my new undies, as I'd hoped.

"Hi, Mel," I said. "Thanks again for last night."

"Hi, Frankie," he said. "I had a great time. I hope your dad will let me take you out again next weekend."

Next weekend? I was going to be a guy by then. I wanted to change back, but I felt a little sad, somehow, about not getting another date with Mel. "I... we'll see. Daddy's a little upset right now."

"I hope it isn't anything I did. We were home on time, weren't we?"

"It. umm, it isn't that." I didn't want to tell him about the undies, especially not while Daddy was standing right there. "It's kind of hard to explain." Then I added something for both him and Daddy. "Even if we both know that nothing happened that Daddy would get upset about."

Daddy was still scowling, just a little, but Mom smiled and mouthed the words, "Atta girl."

"So, could I come over to, umm, help you study for the exams?"

I liked the idea, but I had a feeling that I'd better let Mom work on Daddy a little bit more. "Okay, but if you want to come over so we can study together, let's make it for tomorrow night instead of this afternoon." I looked over to where Mom and Daddy were. She nodded it was okay. Then — and I had to giggle — she jabbed Daddy in the ribs, and he nodded, too.

"Is that all right with you?" I said.

"Fine," Mel said. "Just so we can spend some time together. Even if your dad is going to play chaperone all evening."

"Okay, then. Tomorrow at 7:30, then." I saw Daddy pointing to his watch again. "I have to go now. See you in school. Bye."

"Bye, Frankie." We hung up the phone together.

Daddy started to say something, but Mom beat him to it. "Remember, Dom, you promised that you'd trust her."

"I... I know, Nikki, but, it's hard for this old leopard to change his spots as quickly as you want."

Mom leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You aren't a leopard, Dominick DiAntonio. You're just my big, old pussycat."

Daddy smiled at that. He said, "Meow," and he kissed Mom back.

* * * * *

I got another call around 3:40. Daddy must have been in a better mood because he let me take it instead of telling the person that I'd call back later.

"Hey, kiddo, it's Felicia."

"Hi, Felicia. What's up?"

"I just got a call from Stacy. She's calling the others that were at Tina's place on Friday, too. She said that you kept your word and wore that merry widow last night."

"Good. I'd been wondering if she'd let the other girls know." I glanced over to where Daddy was sitting, timing the call as always. How was I going to talk about stuff like that with him there? I took a deep breath. "Daddy, could I please have some privacy? You can come back in if I'm not off the phone in... in ten minutes."

He actually looked kind of hurt, but he stood up. "I guess I owe you one, Cara, but remember, ten minutes." He walked out the door.

"Good for you, Frankie," Felicia said.

"Umm, thanks."

"So which set did you wear, and, more important, how did Mel like it? I hear that you two were really going at it in Jeff's car."

I actually felt my cheeks get red. And my body started to tingle just a little. "The merry widow, but he... he didn't get to see it or anything. We did, well, kiss a little." I was talking softly, just in case Daddy was listening from the next room.

"Did you like it? The kissing, I mean."

Why lie? "Yes, yes, I did. It was... nice." Darn, I'd sighed in the middle of that sentence.

"'Nice', huh? Are you sure you're still going to want to change back on Wednesday? It sounds to me like you're getting to enjoy being a girl."

"Of course, I still want to," I said. Didn't I? It sounded to me like I answered just a shade too fast. I'd enjoyed last night, but I didn't think it was enough to make me change my mind. Only why wasn't I as absolutely certain as I had been before?

I heard a chuckle over the phone. "Well, we'll see. It's a long ways yet to Wednesday, and it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I'll change my mind."

"Like I said, we'll see." She paused for a second. "Hey, I heard you tell your dad ten minutes. It's just about that. See you in school tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye," I said even as I heard her hang up.

Daddy was standing near the door, but not near enough to have been able to listen. "Nine minutes, thirty-five seconds. Thank you, Cara." He smiled and kissed me on the forehead, and I went back to study some more.

* * * * *

Bill Gerhart was the big news at school on Monday. "He got busted trying to pick the lock into the auto shop room yesterday," Mel told me when he met my bus. Mel was in that course; so was Felicia, come to think of it.

"What was he going after?" I said.

"Those new diagnostic disks Mr. O'Keefe got. He says that they're worth a lot of money because they're good enough for a garage to use."

I'd heard that, too. In fact, when I was a boy, I'd been trying to think of a way to get my hands on them. Bill must have come up with something. That was probably why he'd been looking for me. I knew a guy who knew a guy who could... well, you know the story.

"You heard about Bill Gerhart," Felicia said as she walked over to join us. "Those disks are nothing but trouble."

Mel gave Felicia a real strange look, like they had some kind of secret between them. "Yeah, but sometimes it works out for the best."

"I suppose," she said. "What do you think of Bill and the disks, Frankie?"

"I, umm, I don't know", I said. "I'm — I'm not even sure what you two are talking about."

"Well," Felicia said. "Do you think it was okay for him to try to steal them?"

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe he had a good reason."

"Maybe," Felicia said, "but would you do it, Frankie?"

"No," I blurted out. What was I saying? Of course, I'd try — if I was sure I could get away with it. I wouldn't want to get caught because it would just break Daddy's heart. Oh, for the... .There I was, thinking like a girl again.

"Of course, she wouldn't," Mel said. "Frankie's a good girl. She'd never get involved in something like that.

It wasn't the truth, but Mel didn't know that. I felt good having him defend me like that, and I thanked him with a little kiss on the cheek just as the five-minute bell rang.

* * * * *

Tina and Felicia were waiting for me in study hall.

"I hear you two were at it hot and heavy last Saturday," Tina said.

I blushed. "Well, we did kiss a little bit."

"And did he like your undies?" Tina said.

"Why does everybody ask that?" I said. "Yes, I admit it, we did kiss, but he never saw my underwear."

"Yeah, but from what Stacy said, he did enjoy them, or the bra, at least. Stacy said he kept looking over at your breasts and the way they looked. She was a little pissed because Jeff was staring some, too."

I blushed again. I wasn't sure what was worse, the way the boys had looked at my breasts or the fact that I'd, well, that part of me, at least, had enjoyed them doing it. Especially, Mel.

"What did you do with the merry widow when you got home?" Tina said. "Your dad would freak if he knew you were wearing something like that."

I swallowed once. "He does know. He found it in my room when he was helping my mom get stuff together for the laundry."

"So how long are you grounded for?" Felicia asked. "Did he tear it up?"

"I'm not, and, no, he didn't," I said. "My mom stood up for me when he started yelling about the merry widow. She got him to back down — sort of. He doesn't like it, but he's willing to accept the fact that it's okay for a girl my age to wear stuff like that."

"No way," Tina said.

"Yeah, she told him that it doesn't mean I'm, umm, fooling around with guys or anything like that."

"That is so cool," Tina said. "When are you going to wear it again?"

"Well, the merry widow is a little too fancy for school," I said. "And I'm not sure I want everybody staring at me if I wear the bra."

"So all those nice things stay in a drawer until your next date," Felicia said. "Does Mel know how lucky he is?"

"Not all of them stay in the drawer," I said. "I've got the panties on now."

"Hey, if your folks are letting you wear that sort of stuff, now, you should get some more of them," Tina said. "Get your mom to go shopping with you at Samuelsohn's; she can use her employee discount."

"Yeah, Frankie," Felicia said with a little bit of a smile. "I can just see you and your mom going shopping for bras and panties."

"Do it," Tina said. "They have some really nice stuff at Samuelsohn's."

Somehow, it didn't seem like such a bad idea, which scared me a little. "Umm, maybe after exams. I really don't have time right now."

Tina stared at me. "You'd rather stay home and study than go shopping for pretty clothes. Are you sure you're a girl?"

"No, I'm really a guy!" I wanted to say, but I didn't. I stalled. "Well, I can't go tonight; Mel's coming over to study with me."

"Well, that explains everything," Tina said. "Staying home with a cute guy beats going shopping with your mother any day."

* * * * *

Mom was lying down on the couch, when I got home.

"Are you okay, Mom?" I asked.

She smiled, but she didn't sit up. "Yes, I guess I'm just tired. Pregnancy does that to you."

"Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine, Hon, but could you do me a favor and start on dinner? It's kind of hot, so make something light, a salad maybe."

"Sure, Mom. I'll put something together quick and then go study for a while, okay?"

"Fine. Maybe use some of that leftover chicken from the other night. You know your dad. It has to have some meat in it. No 'rabbit chow' for him."

I'd put my own supper together often enough as Frankie-boy to know what to do. Besides, I had that little voice in my head giving me suggestions. I took some of the leftover chicken and cut it into small pieces. Then I mixed it into a bag of salad greens and tossed in some Chinese noodles. I put it back in the fridge and set the table.

I poured myself a glass of iced tea, pouring a second glass for Mom. She must have been tired; she was asleep when I came back into the living room. I just set the iced tea on the table where she'd see it and went to study.

By the time I finished reviewing my business math notes, it was almost six. Mom was still sleeping, only now she was holding a pillow by her stomach as if her stomach hurt. I was trying to decide if I should wake her, when I heard a noise outside in the hall.

"So how are my girls, tonight?" Daddy said as he came in the front door.

"Shh!" I said. "Mom's asleep."

"Not anymore," came a groggy voice from the couch.

"I'm sorry, Nikki," Daddy said. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Mom smiled. She still looked a little tired to me. "Dom," she said. "There's no voice in the world I'd rather be woken up by."

"Likewise," Daddy said. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Are you okay? Do you want me to send out for some supper, so you won't have to cook?"

"It's taken care of, Daddy," I said. "I made supper while Mom napped. I even had time to get some studying in."

"Good for you, Cara. Do you need any help setting the table or such?"

"No, thanks. You can just keep Mom company, while I finish getting everything to the table."

Daddy sat down on a chair next to Mom, while I went into the kitchen. I got the salad and the pitcher of iced tea out of the fridge and put them on the table. Some rolls and a tub of butter, and dinner was ready.

"Come and get it," I called out. Mom and Daddy came in, holding hands. It looked to me like she was leaning on him a little. 'Still sleepy,' I thought... I hoped.

"Looks good," Mom said, sitting down. "I knew I could count on you to fix supper for us." She took some salad onto her plate and passed it to Daddy.

We sat and had a quiet supper. Mom asked a couple questions about school and how my studying was going. Daddy and I tried to get some idea of how badly she felt. She claimed it was just a touch of flu, but I don't think either of us believed it. We made jokes and pretended that we did, so she wouldn't worry about us.

After supper, she went back into the living room to watch TV, while I cleared the table. Daddy started in on the dishes, though there really wasn't much for him to do.

"You think Mom's okay?" I said, handing Daddy some dirty silverware.

"I'm not sure, Cara. She says she is, and I hope she's right. I'll tell you what. We'll both keep an eye on her. If she doesn't seem any better by Wednesday, I'll call Dr. Pearce."

"Should... should we wait that long?" I felt a little scared.

"I've got his phone numbers — his pager number, too. If anything happens — not that it will," he smiled and took my hand, "but if it does, I can get in touch with him — get him over here — in five minutes."

I felt a little better hearing him say that — and feeling him hold my hand. It was funny, but I couldn't remember the last time he'd shown this much concern. And I realized how much I'd missed it. "Thanks, Daddy," I said and kissed him on the cheek.

"All part of the DiAntonio service," he said with a big, silly grin.

I finished putting the leftovers and all away and went into the living room to sit with Mom. She was watching WHEEL, and we just sat there trying to guess the puzzle. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the front door. I looked at my wristwatch, 7:10. I wasn't expecting Mel till 7:30.

It was Mel.

"You're early," I said. "Anxious to see me?"

"Yeah," he said, "but I came over early to see your dad."

Daddy came in from the kitchen. "To see me, son. Why?"

"Well, sir. You always ask Frankie's dates to come for her early, so you can talk to him. Since this is a sort of date, I figured that the rule applied. Besides, I understand that you're mad at Frankie about something that happened Saturday night, and I, well, I thought that I could, umm, maybe clear up whatever the problem was." He looked like he was about to stick his head into a lion's mouth.

And Daddy looked like the lion was about to take a big bite. "So you came over to give me some sort of garbage that nothing happened, that it was just a nice, platonic date."

"No, Mr. DiAntonio. I'll admit that I kissed Frankie. I liked it — I like her, and I hope that she'll let me kiss her again some time. Right now, I just didn't want her to be suffering because you're mad for something that's probably my fault and not hers."

"So, you don't know why I am — why I was mad at her."

"No, sir. We really didn't talk about it at school today." We hadn't. Everybody was so busy talking about Bill Gerhart and those dumb disks. We hadn't had a chance to talk about anything else.

Daddy glowered, or tried to. Then he smiled and stuck out his hand. "Son, what I was mad about had nothing to do with you. And I don't think that I'm mad about it anymore. What I am, is proud that my daughter has a friend," he sighed, "okay, a boyfriend, who's as good a boy as you are." He smiled and shook Mel's hand.

"Thank you, sir. I just figure I'm very lucky to have Frankie as my girl."

"Hey," I said. "Girl in the room, here. You two can stop talking about me like I wasn't."

"Sorry, Cara," Daddy said. He smiled, but then he sort of faked an angry look at Mel. "Of course, that doesn't mean that I won't be checking up on you two while you're studying in the kitchen."

"Mr. DiAntonio," Mel said, "I never doubted that for a minute."

They both laughed. I got my books and notes from my bedroom, and we went into the kitchen.

* * * * *

"Where's DiAntonio?"

I getting my blouse out of my gym locker, but I turned when I heard my name, "Yes, Ms. Serrano?"

The older woman put her hand on my shoulder and looked at me like she wasn't happy with what she had to say. "Don't get too upset, dear, but the school just got a call from your father. I'm afraid your mother's at Mercy-Women's Hospital." She handed me a folded piece of paper. "This excuse will let you out of classes. Do you have a way of getting to the hospital?"

"I can drive her, Ms. Serrano," Felicia said. "If I can be excused from my classes, too, that is."

"Always an angle, eh, Ormand. Well, this time I approve." She pulled a second note out of a pocket in her sweat suit. "Call me when you get to the hospital, and, Frankie, I'm sure everything will be all right."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said. I got dressed as quickly as I could, while a thousand horrible thoughts kept running through my mind. Was it the baby? Had there been an accident? Was Mom going to be okay?

Felicia dressed quickly and quietly, not wanting to waste time making conversation. "Besides," she told me later, while we were waiting at the hospital, "you probably weren't in a mood for talking, anyway." We were dressed and at Felicia's car in well under ten minutes, and we got to the hospital ten minutes after that.

Felicia pulled up in front of the hospital, and I jumped up and ran for the door. There was a desk with a directory just inside. "My Mom — Mrs. DiAntonio, please, where is she?"

The woman at the desk checked some sort of computer. "Is that Nikki DiAntonio, dear?" I nodded. "She's in the level 2, obstetrics unit. Take that elevator over there to the third floor and make a right."

I thanked her and ran for the elevator. Felicia must have found a place near the door to park. She was right behind me as I got into the elevator.

"Any word on your mom?"

"She's in obstetrics, something called a level 2, whatever that means."

"I don't think it's good," Felicia said, just as the elevator stopped. "But, hey, here we are."

The doors opened, and I took off with Felicia behind me. I ran through some glass doors that said "Obstetrics: Level 2." There was a nurse's station just inside. "I — I'm looking for my mom, Mrs. DiAntonio."

The nurse on duty looked at some kind of roster sheet. "She's in radiology having some tests. You'll have to wait. There's an area just down the hall and to the left."

"But... but why is she here? Is she okay? The baby, is it okay?"

"I'm sorry; I don't know. The tests she's having now are going to help the doctors find out just what is going on. You'll just have to wait." She turned back to what she'd been doing.

Felicia put her hand on my shoulder. "Frankie, she's right. All you can do right now is wait. Let's go sit down." She took my hand gently and led me down to the waiting area.

As we got to the waiting area, I saw Daddy sitting in an overstuffed chair trying to read the newspaper. He jumped up when he saw me and came over.

"She was working in the office — they have her doing that now, so she can sit down more. All of a sudden, she — she got this terrible pain in her stomach. It wouldn't go away. They called me and the paramedics at the same time. Cara, I think... they think she might have gone into labor."

"Labor? But she's only, what, about six and a half months pregnant."

"I know, but the doctors say it sometimes happens. They're checking it out now; checking a bunch of other stuff, too."

"When will they know?"

"When they know, they'll know. Until then, we just wait." He looked at me for a minute. "How'd you get here? Do they know at school that you left?"

"Mr. DiAntonio," Felicia said. "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Felicia Ormand. I drove Frankie over — with the school's permission, too."

"Yes, yes," Dad said. "I remember you. Thanks for bringing her."

"I was glad to. I have to go back, but, umm, can I get you anything? I know that you two aren't going to want to leave here till the doctors come for you."

"That — that's okay, Felicia," Daddy said. "I'm not really very hungry."

"Well, it's lunch period for Frankie and me. I'm going to get something for her, at least." Before Daddy or I could say another word, she turned and walked back the way we came.

"Nice girl," Daddy said.

We sat down on a couch. I was scared, and, somehow, being right there next to Daddy helped. He picked up the paper he'd been reading, or trying to, and I took a Newsweek. I was afraid that, if I tried to talk, I'd begin to cry. I think he felt the same way.

"Ahem," somebody said. I looked up from the page I'd been reading for the sixth time. It was Felicia with a big tray, piled high with sandwiches, soda cans, and bags of pretzels and cookies. "I thought you might be a little hungry after all, Mr. DiAntonio," she said as she put the try down on the low table in front of us.

Daddy smiled — well, a little, anyway. "I guess it would be impolite not to join you." He took a sandwich and a coke. "Thank you again, Felicia, very, very much."

Felicia took a sandwich, a diet coke, and a bag of cookies, but she stood up, instead of sitting down. "Frankie, I have to get back to school. I'll tell them what little I know, and I promise to come back later." She came over and gave me a big hug. "It'll be okay, you'll see."

Daddy unexpectedly leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, Felicia. Thank you for everything. I'm glad Frankie has you for a friend."

Now I hugged Felicia. "Yeah," I said. "So am I."

"I'll see you two later," she said with a wave and headed back.

* * * * *

That was probably the longest afternoon of my life. I started that story in the Newsweek so many times that I began to memorize it. Daddy wasn't doing much better. He'd try to read or he'd get up and pace. A couple of times he walked over to the nurse's station. They said that Mom was back in her room, but that she was resting, and we had to wait.

That didn't help. A little bit later, Daddy and I snuck down to Mom's room. We opened the door quietly in case she was sleeping. She was, and with a peaceful look on her face that made us feel a lot better. That is, until we saw that the covers were pulled back and that she was hooked up to more gadgets than NASA.

"All right, you've had your look. Now, please leave." We turned around. It was a rather stern looking nurse, a woman in her mid-thirties with her dark brown hair up in a bun.

"Can't we stay for just a minute?" Daddy asked. "I'm... we're her family."

"I wish I could, sir; really I do, but Dr. Kelsey specifically said she shouldn't be disturbed."

"She's asleep. How can we disturb her if we're quiet?"

The nurse took a good look at Daddy, then at me. "Two minutes, no more, promise?"

"I promise," Daddy said. "We promise."

"Very well, then. Just stay over here and, please, don't talk to her. After all the tests, she really does need her sleep." She smiled; it was a gentle smile. "I'll wait outside."

We just stood there watching Mom sleep. She didn't move, but once, just for a second, she groaned. I could see that she was hooked up with tubes going into both arms and three or four monitors. There were monitors on her stomach, too, for the baby. I felt like I wanted to cry. Then I felt something squeeze my hand. I looked down. Daddy was holding my hand, squeezing it, so I knew he was there with me. I felt a little better, somehow, knowing that.

The nurse came back in. It seemed like she'd only been out there for a couple seconds. "I'm sorry, but this time I have to insist."

I didn't want to leave; neither did Daddy, but we had promised. We slipped out and carefully closed the door behind us. "Thank you, ma'am, for letting us see Nikki."

"Yes, thank you, ma'am," I added.

"Sometimes," she said, "the family needs a bit of care, too, and I think it helps our patients if the family knows what's going on."

"Well, for whatever reason, thank you."

"You go sit back down. I'll let you know when she wakes up."

We headed back to the waiting area. It was later than I thought. We ran into Felicia on our way back to the waiting area.

"How's your mom?" she asked. "We got here as soon as school got out."

"We?" Who else had come, Stacy, Tina? I didn't think the hospital would want a crowd of people.

"Yeah, is she okay?"

I spun around. "Mel!"

"Of course," he said, smiling that lopsided grin of his. "I had to wait until school was out, then I came over with Felicia."

I couldn't stop myself. I smiled and ran over to hug him. "Thank you, thank you for coming."

"Hey," Felicia said. "I came, too. Don't I get a hug?"

I had to smile at that. I let go of Mel and hugged Felicia. "Thanks, Felicia, and thanks for the lunch, too."

"Now that the pleasantries are over," she said. "How is your mom? Everybody wants to know."

"We — we don't know yet. At least, the doctors haven't told us. We just took a look. She's sleeping."

"That's a good sign, I think," Mel said. "If they're letting her sleep, then they must figure that nothing's going to happen for a while."

"Do you really think so?" I said, desperate for any encouragement.

"Well, no, but I certainly hope so." He took my hand in his. "In the meantime, we're here to wait with you until you do know."

"Or, at least, till Stacy and Rita relieve us after supper," Felicia said. "We're going to keep you company in shifts."

We all sat down. There were still some munchies left from the stack Felicia had bought before. I had some cookies, so did Daddy and Mel. Felicia and I had sodas, too. We sat, not saying much of anything.

Mel gave me a note from Mr. Snitter, the Vice Principal, saying that I was on excused absence. He had my books down in Felicia's car with assignments from all my teachers, probably the last assignments before the exams. "They just said they hoped your mom got better real soon," he said. "Felicia or I will turn in your homework. Mr. Snitter said not to worry about your exams; you can take them when she's better."

I — I didn't know what to say. I smiled and hugged him again. Felicia reached over and squeezed my hand. "Hey, Frankie, that's what friends do." I had to smile. She was my friend, so was Mel — in a much different way, perhaps, and it felt real good.

We sat a while longer. Than a tall, gray-haired man in a doctor's smock came over. "Mr. DiAntonio?"

Daddy nodded and pointed to me. "Yes, and this is my daughter, Frankie."

"I'm Dr. Kelsey, and, before you ask, your wife is still sleeping. She should be awake in about a little while, and you two may see here then."

"Doctor," Daddy said. "is she — is the baby okay?"

"We think so. It will be a day or so before we're absolutely certain. She went into labor very early — it happens sometimes, but we think that we've stopped it. The baby doesn't seem to have been affected; again, we want to keep her here so we can check on her — just for a couple days."

"Then she can go home and everything will be okay?"

"If there are no complications, she can go home in two or three days. We will want to keep a close eye on her, though. Dr. Pearce, her obstetrician, will be wanting to, that is."

"Yes," Daddy said. "He had her on some kind of medication."

"I know. We've discussed it already. He'll monitor how she does and keep me posted. The baby will probably have to be delivered cesarean, by surgery."

"But... but she'll be okay — they'll be okay, right?" I asked.

"Mr. DiAntonio... Frankie, we'll be watching your mother closely. Everything should be all right, but I can't give you some sort of magical guarantee. Things, well, they just don't work that way."

Magical? I looked at Felicia, and she nodded. "Daddy," I said. "Can I go out for a little bit with Felicia? I'm going stir crazy in here. I just want a little air. I promise to be back in time to see Mom."

Daddy looked a little confused — and a little hurt.

"Daddy, I — I love her as much as you do. I just, well, I just need to do something. Please, please say it's okay."

"I don't know, Cara." Then he saw how serious — how desperate I was. "I don't know what you're doing, or why I'm letting you go do it, Cara. But, somehow, I think it's something that you need to do. Just hurry back."

"Do you want me to come, too?" Mel asked.

"Umm, thanks, Mel, but this is something for girls only."

Mel nodded. "There, huhnh. Okay, I'll wait. Good luck."

I got the very distinct feeling that he knew exactly where I was going and why. I wanted to ask him about it, but there was no time. Felicia and I raced for the elevator. We must have broken a dozen traffic laws getting to Bikini Beach as fast as we did.

There was a blonde at the gate. Felicia didn't waste any time. "We need to see Grandmother immediately. It — It's an emergency."

"What sort of an emergency, Felicia?" We both turned to the sound of the voice. I'd have sworn that she wasn't standing there a moment before. Come to think of it, maybe she wasn't.

"It's my mother," I said. "Please, you — you've got to help her."

"We'll see," the old woman said. "But we should talk about this in a more private place. Please follow me." We walked a few feet to a low white building. There was a sign, "Office," over one of several doors. The old woman made a gesture at the door, and it opened. We went in and sat down, she behind a large wooden desk covered with papers. "Now, umm, Frankie, what's the problem with your mother?"

"She went into early labor — it's only her sixth month. The doctor says they've probably got it under control, but he wasn't sure, and he couldn't say it wouldn't happen again. Mom — Mom and the baby could...” I had to stop. Tears were running down my cheeks.

"And you thought I could fix things, sort of give a 'magic guarantee' that they'd be all right."

"Yes, yes, ma'am. Can you?"

"In a way I can. Do you know what time, what day it is?"

"It's Tuesday, about 5:30 in the afternoon, but what has that got to do with anything?"

"In about 24 hours your pass ends. The spell that changed you will be over a few hours after that. You'll be a boy again. Nikki and your father will never have married, and she'll never have been — "

"No," I blurted out startling myself. "I — I don't want it to end."

"What!" Felicia said. "Frankie, what are you saying?"

"I — I lost one mother. I don't want to lose another. I don't want to lose the family that I have now." I took Felicia's hand. "Or the friends."

"Are you sure, dear?" The old woman looked at me like she was looking down into my soul. When she'd quoted Dr. Kelsey, I'd realized that she could read minds. Now, I got the feeling that she was reading my soul.

Was I sure? My life as a boy had its good spots, but it was empty. My friends were just a bunch of idiots like Bill Gerhart, impressed by what I managed to get away with. They'd cheerfully sell me out, just as I'd have sold out any of them. And I seriously doubted that any of them would have come to the hospital the way Felicia had.

As for Daddy, back then, he was 'Pop', an adult I happened to be related to and sort of lived with. I'd tried to get him to notice me. That was part of why I acted the way I did. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I guess he loved me, but he never really showed that he did.

Now, well, he showed it too much, being overprotective and all. But we were working that out. He loved me just for being me. And he loved Nikki, and it had made a better man out of him. Nikki loved me, too; enough to stand up to Daddy for me, and I loved her for it.

I had a family, now, and friends, too, good ones, and Mel, who seemed to be more than just a friend.

I closed my eyes and took a really deep breath. "Yes, ma'am. I — I'm sure."

The old woman smiled. "For a price, I can upgrade your pass to a lifetime membership."

Felicia opened her purse. "I'll put it on my plastic. I know Frankie's good for it. She'll pay me back when she can."

"She won't have to." She turned to me. "A while back, I told you that there was a summer job waiting for you here if you wanted it. I can take the cost out of your salary a bit at a time, if you like."

"Yes," I said. "Oh, yes. Thank you, ma'am — Boss — but what — what about my Mom? Can you do anything for her? Please?"

The old wo — the Boss — reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out something that looked kind of like a chess piece. "Every culture has amulets and statues, magic items, to help a woman get through pregnancy and childbirth. This one happens to work. Put it in your mother's purse. She'll never find it, but it will work with the medicines that the doctors give her, so she doesn't deliver now. It will help her through the rest of the pregnancy, too, so she won't go into early labor again. It will also help her when it is time for the baby to be born."

"The doctor said she'd probably have to have the baby cesarean," I said taking the piece and putting it in my own purse for now."

"She'll probably still need the cesarean. So much has already happened to her body, but this will help the surgery go well, and she'll recover faster, too, I think."

I couldn't help it. I threw my arms around her. "Thank you, thank you for everything. What do I owe you for the little statue?"

"Your hard work this summer and a promise to be invited to see the baby when it's born."

"I promise," I said.

"Good. Now you'd better get back to the hospital. Your father's probably a nervous wreck."

"Daddy! How will I ever explain running off like I did?"

"Just tell him that you needed to get away for a little bit. Felicia drove you around for a while to clear your head, and you came right back. He'll accept that. After all, you're his Cara, his little girl."

"Yes, ma'am. I am now."

The End

One last note: lest anybody think that I abused my status as one of BB's current "protectors" to add to the staff list, Frankie's job was just for the summer, as stated in the story, which was set during last May and June. Frankie quit just after Labor Day, last September, to help her mom with her new baby brother, Dominick DiAntonio, Jr.

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Comments

wonderful story

it wasnt even close, her female life was a thousand times better. Nice story.

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Bikini Beach: A Punk's Story

Nice sequel, good story

++++++++++++
Cartman: A fine day of plundering we had boys. What about yourselves? Here you are lads, plenty of booty to go around. A round of grog for me boys. A round of grog for everyone!

This is such a rich verbal

elrodw's picture

This is such a rich verbal tapestry you weave in these stories. I like Purse Snatchers, Punk's Story, and Teaching Sally as among my favorite BB tales, and I defined the universe! Bravo. Very, very good. I wish there were more Ellie Dauber BB tales - I could read them all day!

Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein

A Punk's Story is a most

A Punk's Story is a most wonderful way to help a friend realize a new life that is way better for her as well as her family.

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine