The Bet
by Karen Singer
Chapter 38 (Monday – week 6 Part 3 of 7)
Mel was angry! So angry that she had hung up her phone before he could make any other reply. He had been very insolent. She didn’t care if his friend Robin was standing right next to him or not. He knew he was only supposed to use his sissy voice from now on!
Well, he was in big trouble now! And all because of the Robin woman! She could just picture them together, walking hand in hand all through that building they were in as they headed to break together. Sissy, dressed in the very nice skirt and blouse outfit he was wearing today, and Robin – the tripe! Did she find him attractive dressed as a woman? She was sure of it! Some women were just that way and obviously Robin was one of them!
Yes, it was definitely time to do something about the Robin woman… but what? It was a while before just the right idea came to mind. The idea actually satisfied her in so many ways and just thinking about it made her smile. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. With more enthusiasm than anything else she had done all day, she opened her calendar again and selected the day she wanted. Then she began making another entry – “Take care of Robin!”
That done, she turned her thoughts back to Chad – Sissy. Damn him for being so insolent! She thought she had him under better control than that. Another idea came to mind and she picked up her phone again to redial Cassie’s number. For once, she actually got right through to her. “Hi Cassie. It’s me again.”
“Hey Mel. Did you forget something earlier?”
“No, but I have something I need you to do for me this morning.”
“Sure. What?”
“Phone Sissy later this morning sometime. I want to know afterwards if he talked in his masculine voice at all, or in his sissy voice.”
“Uh… Okay. What am I supposed to call him about?”
“Anything. Nothing. Make something up or just don’t talk to him and see how he answers. I don’t care. I just want to know if he uses his sissy voice when he talks to you or his old male voice.”
“Okay,” Cassie replied, somewhat surprised. “I guess I can do that.”
“Good, and let me know afterwards. Oh, and Cassie, if you can, don’t tell him that I called you okay?”
“Okay. Will do!”
Mel’s next phone call was to Sandy. “Hi Sandy,” she said as soon as her call was answered.
“Hi Mel. What can I do for you?”
“I need you to phone Sissy for me, sometime after lunch today.”
“You can’t do that yourself? Is there a problem?”
“I’ve already talked to him and I’ve just asked Cassie to phone him too.”
“So why would you need me to call him?”
“I need to find out if he talks to you in his Sissy voice or in his old masculine voice. And Sandy, don’t tell him what it is I’m trying to find out. Don’t even tell him that I called you. Can you do that?”
“I guess so. I don’t really see why not. I’ll ask him how he liked the designs I did.”
“That should work just fine. Thanks Sandy.”
That taken care of, Mel finally forced herself to turn her thoughts back to work – and her next client.
“So who was on the phone?” Robin asked as they headed toward the break room together.
“Just a friend,” Chad replied, a bit sullenly.
“A friend? It didn’t sound like it to me. It sounded more like you were taking to somebody dangerous, like a loan shark or something. Hey! Was it a loan shark?”
“Geez! Where do you come up with some of these ideas? Of course it wasn’t!”
“Then who? Because whoever it was, clearly has you scared of something. And what is it that you can’t do right now?”
Chad was getting upset. Women! They always ask too many questions! Especially Robin! Once she started, she couldn’t seem to stop! “It was just a friend,” he repeated more firmly.
“Anyone I know? Or anyone I know about?”
Why couldn’t she leave it alone? “I don’t think you know her.”
“Her? Was it your friend Mel, your makeup lady, the one who sent you the flowers?”
Chad was beginning to panic a bit. “Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well you were clearly afraid of something. So what was it that you can’t do? Anything I can help with? And why should you be afraid of her?”
Chad wanted to scream! Why couldn’t she just leave it alone! “Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it!”
Robin dropped the subject, but only for the moment. It was another mystery amid the many mysteries that surrounded him! And she was determined to dig them all up – one way or another!
There were four people in front of Chad as he stood in line to get coffee. Standing there in a skirt and blouse with high heels on his feet was beginning to feel more normal for him. And better, he finally realized that he needed to pee again and was now holding back. He glanced further down the counter, past the coffee, then turned back toward Robin. “No doughnuts again,” he lamented.
“I shouldn’t be eating them anyway,” she replied. “They undo all the good work I put in at the gym.”
“You’re still going?” he asked, hoping that she would quit.
“Tuesdays and Thursdays. And I intend to keep at it… for once.”
Chad did his best to smile, but he would rather she quit before she could find out more about him.
He finally got his coffee and waited till Robin got hers, then together they headed over to the table where the women usually sat. The table was filling up fast.
“Sissy!” One of the women exclaimed before he even sat down. “You finally got your ears pierced. I like them. Very colorful.”
“Thanks,” Chad replied, slightly embarrassed – although he didn’t really know why.
“He had it done at the mall,” Robin added.
“I had mine done there,” one of the women replied, “in one of the big jewelry stores. I think they were very good. At least, I never had any problems. Is that where you had it done?”
Chad shook his head. “No, I had it done in one of the smaller stores that sell a lot of junk jewelry.” He held his new necklaces up to show them.
“You’re kidding?” another woman said, obviously shocked. I think I’d be afraid to have it done there. No telling what kind of equipment they use or how clean it is.”
“It just kind of happened,” Chad explained. “It wasn’t totally my idea.”
“So who helped you?” Robin asked. “You’re friend Mel?”
“Um… Yeah. Kind of.”
“Kind of? Either she was there or she wasn’t! Which is it?”
“Uh… Yeah, she was definitely there and she did definitely help.”
But Robin wasn’t about to leave things alone just yet. “The same Mel who called you a few minutes ago? The same Mel that has you suddenly afraid?”
“Afraid?” One of the women chirped in. “Do tell girl. What’s going on? Come on, spill it! Maybe we can help.”
But that was the last thing that Chad wanted to do. “I don’t want to talk about it!” he told everyone rather firmly.
But Robin still wasn’t about to let things rest. “There’s something that Mel wants him to do,” she told everyone. “Something he thinks he can’t do. And now he seems to be awfully nervous about it.”
“Who’s Mel?” one of the women asked.
“Just a friend!” Chad replied.
“She’s been helping him dress like a woman,” Robin added. “From what little I’ve been able to drag out of him, she seems to be his main source of help. I know she’s been teaching him makeup and a few other things.”
“Well if she’s been that much help to you, what is it that you think you can’t do?” someone asked. “It sounds to me like she’s been an awful good friend to you.”
“I would think so!” another woman added. “I doubt there are really many women around who would be willing to… um… you know… like, take you under her wing, so to speak.”
“And considering how well you seem to be doing so far,” yet another woman added, “I would think that you would be anxious to follow any of her suggestions.”
“So what is it that she wants you to do?” one of the first women asked.
Chad wanted to scream! “Like I said,” he replied, carefully controlling his voice, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I wonder if she wants him to see a doctor now,” someone suggested. “Talk to him about getting some hormones.”
“Sounds reasonable,” someone else replied. “I would think that would be the direction he’s heading in.”
“No, it’s not hormones!” Chad said, trying to quickly squash that idea before they could take it any further.
“So what could possibly be so bad?” one of the women asked again. “Look, if you’re brave enough to wear dresses in public all the time, then I can’t imagine what could be that much worse.”
But Chad simply refused to give them any more details. “I’m not going to talk about it!” he said one more time.
“You’ve got a long way to go towards being a woman!” one of them said in rather a huffy tone of voice. “Women talk about these things. We have to! We help each other out!”
But Chad just shook his head and said, “I can’t.” Help each other out? It was more like just wanting to spread the gossip!
Chad was disappointed when he got back to his cubicle. Things at break hadn’t gone anything at all like he expected – mostly because of Robin. Nobody had even mentioned his new necklace or bracelet. All they wanted to talk about was his problem – his latest problem, with Mel. Women! Why did he have to envy them so much?
He sat back in his chair and stared at the cubicle walls around him. He missed the colorful flowers he had enjoyed all last week. They had added a lot of brightness and color to his drab little workplace. But mostly, his mind was fuddled with thoughts of how Mel might punish him later. He knew he was in for it – big time! But he simply wasn’t about to go around talking in that silly sissy voice everywhere. No way! While he wasn’t looking forward to the beating he would probably get tonight, it would eventually be over and done with. And hopefully, by tomorrow, things would get back to normal again – his new normal anyway. He hoped.
He was startled to hear his phone ringing again, still inside his purse, still inside of his desk drawer. Panicking that it might be Mel calling again, he tore his phone out as fast as he could. Why had he put it back there again? He took half a moment to glance at who was calling. Cassie, not Mel – fortunately. “Hello?” he said as fast as he could. Since it was just Cassie, he wasn’t worried about running anywhere and having to use his sissy voice where no one could hear him.
“Hi Sissy,” Cassie’s voice replied. “I just wanted to let you know that there’s a slight chance I could be late today when you get here. Most likely I’ll be here, but I just wanted you to be prepared, just in case.”
“Oh. That’s fine,” Chad replied. “I’m just glad you warned me. Do you need me to come a bit later, or not come at all?”
“No. It would really be best if you came at your usual time. Like I said, I should be here.”
“Oh, okay. No problem. Thanks for letting me know.” Chad closed his phone, but he set it on top of his desk instead of putting it back in his purse. It was considerate of Cassie to warn him like that, even if she should be there on time.
“Was that your friend Mel?” Robin called over the wall between them.
“No… It wasn’t,” Chad called back in a very exasperated tone of voice.
But Robin’s only reply was, “Oh.”
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