CHAPTER 3 - The Plan is Exposed

Each day at home, Ellen continued to refine her plan. She would bounce her plan off her Navy Seal Special Op boyfriend. Together they went over every contingency. As George’s one-year anniversary of incarceration neared, his physical and mental health continued to deteriorate. The urgency to break him out became critical. She had made it a point to develop a relationship with the U.S. border guards and took notes on who worked when. In Mexico, she kept a notebook on which prison guards were conscientious, which ones flirted with the ladies, and which ones just went through the motions.

She had noticed that the guards checking the wives in for the day were seldom the same as the ones at night. Thus, an individual woman was just another number on their board. Unless they stood out for some reason. As the time for George's escape neared, Ellen thought about smuggling some basic makeup supplies into the prison and George could hide them in the end of his mattress with his vitamins. She discarded that thought when George mentioned that his cell had recently been searched, even if it was a cursory one. He had just enough advance notice to hide his pills down his shorts.

It wasn’t a critical issue. She found that when she brought cosmetics in her purse during her visits they were never questioned. She decided to wait to carry them with her the day of the escape. After all, a woman always wants to look her best, coming and going. Getting an extra set of clothes into jail was an issue she was still working on.

She had the train schedules memorized and noted the almost total lack of security at the station. She was convinced that, once they were out of the jail, it would be smooth sailing all the way home. If everything worked as planned, they would be home in their bed before anyone even knew George was missing. The simple thought of having George home in their marital bed brought a smile to her face.

As part of her planning, no small detail was overlooked. She paid a lot of attention to the other visiting wives. How they dressed, their makeup or lack of, what jewelry they used, even the typical hair styles for their Saturday visits. She shopped locally for similar items, so Heather would fade into the background on D-Day. She realized Heather’s makeup would, out of necessity, be heavier than the local peasant girls. But that couldn't be helped if he was to pass successfully.

Again, the transvestite web sites were an excellent source of information on transforming a man’s face into a close facsimile of a women. Things such as contouring to make a nose appear smaller were enlightening. During her time on YouTube she came across men that were astonishing. They not only looked passable but some were down right gorgeous. This experience reminded her of English class and a Shakespearian quote that always stood out to her. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio. Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’

During her next visit, Ellen looked at her husband objectively. His body had lost his masculine muscle mass and generally softened all over to a more effeminate stature. His face was an entirely different issue. At first glance, his face was too angular to look like anything but a homely woman. Ellen realized that might not be a bad thing. She would have to work on her makeup skills to turn George into a believable woman. He didn’t have to look pretty. In fact, if he came out attractive it might bring unwanted scrutiny. She realized that his legs and derrière were his best feminine characteristics. She would have to find a way to emphasize those assets to distract attention away from his face. He would need a little help with his hair and up top to pass convincingly.

A wig was the obvious answer for his hair. His lack of a feminine curves is what really concerned her. In her research, she had seen where crossdressers sometimes created faux breasts by filling balloons with water. She mulled over that idea before discarding it. If searched there was no logical reason, she could devise to explain why she would be carrying balloons. Then the brilliant idea occurred to her. Having condoms in her purse would go unnoticed. They were similar to balloons – sort of. In the sense they could be filled with water.

During her next Saturday visit, after a quick romp in the hay. She picked up her discarded underwear off the floor and had Heather put on her bra. While he was struggling with that she went to the sink and filled the rubbers with water. She jammed them into the bra cups, spent some time trying to adjust them properly. She stood back to observe and told him to walk for her. Heather gave his best feminine promenade and Ellen evaluated their effectiveness. Sadly, they proved to be a poor substitute for the real thing, the bra cups were lumpy and uneven. Their movement was less than convincing too. On the spot, she determined the only logical solution were silicon breast forms. Luckily, she had the funds to get the best ones out there. She would go first class and purchase the most realistic forms she could get her hands on. The forms would stretch his bra into a realistic shape. According to the manufacturer’s brochure, they would move with his body like the genuine article. The challenge will be getting them into his cell. A problem she would work on.

Two weeks later after a session of frenzied sex, which had become solely oral, Ellen realized that her husband's cock had not gotten hard enough for penetration in weeks. She wondered why, having no other information she eventually attributed it to stress.

Watching her naked husband recovering, she got the impression that other than suffering from erectile dysfunction his body had undergone some other changes, lying next to him she couldn’t put her finger on what seemed different. His stamina had drastically improved and he was in better overall physical shape, even on the food the prison fed him. Ellen spent some time and energy pondering about her husband's changing physique. "George, stand up over by the door for a minute, with your hands by your sides please." Ellen requested.

Ellen scrutinized George closely for the changes she suspected. Ellen had him stand facing her then turn slowly to display his profile. She examined his body from head to toe and could see that his contour had changed over the last few months. The body before her almost was unrecognizable from the one she slept with those long months ago. His hair was now long enough to reach his shoulders. It was longer than she had ever seen on him. Obviously, he had lost weight. His abs were trim, there wasn’t an ounce of fat to be found anywhere on his stomach. Her eyes drifted to the swell of his hips, and past the soft curves of his ass to his toned legs. As disturbing as that was, what concerned her the most was the George appeared to have gained fat in his upper torso. The muscles in his arms are smaller; but what was of greater concern to her they appeared to have lost definition as well, which only emphasized the excess flab on his chest.

"George have you really looked at yourself in silhouette?"

"Why no, my mirror is too tall for me. Standing in front of it all I can see is from my chin up. Which is good enough to shave and comb my hair. I have never seen my profile, why is there something wrong?"

A disturbing thought occurred to her. She might be the one responsible for his mutation. Even a cursory glance revealed that her man was sprouting prepubescent breasts. She pulled the vitamin bottle she had brought along out of her purse. A detailed examination of the ingredients told her what she suspected. Her heart raced as she did a quick Google search on her phone. The results terrified her. Now she had to break the news to her husband.

"Honey, come over here and sit down," she said, holding a hand out to him. Once he was seated, she turned to him and looked him in the eye. "Have you been feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine dear," he replied. "The food hasn't been outstanding, but it isn't garbage, just repetitious. I'm just glad for the vitamins because I am sure they are giving me the supplements that are missing from my diet. Some of the other prisoners have gotten sick because they are not eating properly."

"Sick how?" She asked.

"From what I hear from the guards, they are nauseous, have to pee all the time and a general feeling of fatigue. Does that mean anything to you?"

Ellen smiled and thought it couldn’t be that – not in a men’s prison.

She picked up her phone and did a couple of additional searches. The results were not encouraging.

She returned her attention to her husband.

Ellen nodded. "George, I have to tell you something. You may not like what I have to say." She paused to marshal her thoughts. "You remember that I had to bring you the vitamins in a bottle that said that they were women's vitamins?"

At his nod, she continued. "Well, those vitamins are intended solely for women. I wanted the strongest I could get. They are prescription strength. I have been getting them from my doctor."

When her voice trailed off, he prodded her to continue. "So, what? Vitamins are vitamins. They have been helping me."

"You don't understand George," Ellen said, pain in her voice.

Seeing that he still didn't get it, she spelled it out for him. "There are natural hormone supplements in them, they are made solely for women. I didn’t notice till just now. They are intended for women going through the change of life. The doses are so low I am surprised they have had such a drastic effect on your body. All I can think of that it is because you have not been getting the minimal nutrition in your food that your body needs. The vitamins have been filling your body’s requirements."

Ellen sadly confessed she had just done did some research concerning his condition. She discovered an interesting article and told George the bad news. "There are a few key factors that cause what I think you have, gynecomastia. It is nothing serious, only a rubbery mass of fat underneath your nipple area. It is commonly called man boobs and is the result of a hormonal imbalance. Normally as a result of high estrogen levels, low testosterone, combined with a low metabolism."

She took a deep breath and went on, "These are like the wheels in a system that turns each other. Excess estrogen signals the body to develop breast tissue, retain more fat in the chest, lower testosterone production as well as reduce metabolism which is how the body burns fat. Pectoral fat act as a secondary gland in the production of estrogen by secreting the enzyme aromatase that converts testosterone to estrogen. This in turn increases estrogen levels and this forms a negative feedback loop."

"So dear, I am speculating the low levels of estrogen in your vitamins were like a snow ball rolling downhill. It just picked up speed."

Now George began to grasp his wife's point. The realization as it crossed his face said it all. "You mean?"

Ellen nodded and said, "I'm afraid so. We will need a doctor's confirmation; but I suspect the flab on your chest is not fat but the beginning of breast tissue. Haven't you noticed that they are more sensitive?"

“My nipples have been itching and my chest is a little tender. I didn't think anything of it."

Ellen trying to reassure her spooked husband said, "In any case it is nothing to worry about. The article says about 3 million men a year in the U.S. have the condition. Usually it resolves on its own with a proper diet and exercise."

George with a depressed expression on his face thought about what this all meant. Not only was he stuck in a stockade, but his manhood wasn’t responding like it should and he was slowly developing womanly appendages. The other inmates would beat him to death when they found out. That was the best that he could hope for.

Seeing the horrified look on her husband's face, Ellen grabbed him into a tight hug. "Things are going to be okay!" She said into his ear. "Think of the positive side. This will just help with your disguise and then we can fix things when we get home again. From what I remember from my biology classes. As long as it has been less than six months, once you stop hormones your body will revert back to its manly shape on its own."

Her words helped to settle him down and his terrified breathing slowed down. Until he calculated he had been taking the vitamins for way over three months.

Then to make him feel better, she made her announcement, "Honey, I have found the perfect date for your escape. Thanks to the Christian church, it is like a gift from heaven. While I was checking my calendar, I realized that next weekend is Easter, which is one of the biggest holidays in this country. The Saturday before would be the perfect time to go. Talking to the guards, I heard that with Sunday being a holiday, the inmates wouldn't have their rollcall until they mustered for the noon meal. That would give us almost a full day's head start."

Ellen thought, 'My Heather is not exactly femininity personified, but his presentation is good enough for what needs to be done. This is going to work; nothing can go wrong; she was almost positive.'

She rationalized that he didn't need to be passible 100% of the time. He simply had to be good enough to get out of the prison, get aboard the train, ride it to Tijuana, and get across the border.

As she was leaving, she gave George his final instructions. "Saturday morning, I want you to wash all over as best you can by using the sink. Do not shave, I will take care of that when I get here. Don't plan on taking any personal items. They will all be left behind."

She headed home on the evening train. During the week, she contacted a lawyer and left him a sealed envelope with instructions for her business and a contingency retainer if things went bad. Then she went shopping. She had a ball, shopping for her girlfriend. First, she got all the cosmetics in George's shades to best complete his conversion into a believable Heather. She already had the Mexican dress Heather would wear to get out the front gate. Then she selected the perfect fashionable garments for the two of them to travel in. The plan was that, once on the train, they would dump the Mexican dresses and travel home in appropriate Yankee outfits. The last thing she wanted was for the two of them to show up at the border looking like Mexican refugees.

George's sister, Beth, had been read into the entire plan. She had gotten into this James Bond stuff and suggested they devise a confidential way to communicate, just in case. They had gone to the library and created a new email account under a name that only they knew. It would be used only in dire emergencies. Either could leave messages and their identities would be untraceable. Beth promised she would do anything she could to help Ellen get her brother home.

Early Saturday morning, Ellen packed everything they would need in a small overnight bag. She drove to George's sister's house and left her car there with Beth for safe keeping. Beth then drove her to the trolley station that would take her to the border and then she would catch the local train south.