The Housekeeper - Chapter 67 Part 2 of 2

The Housekeeper

By Karen Singer

Chapter 67 Part 2 of 2

Overly feminine?  Overly girly?  Candy stood in the middle of the department store and literally turned around in a circle.  Everything around him was overly feminine.  But when you picked just one item to look at, it just looked… normal feminine.  So how the heck was he supposed to look – overly feminine… or overly girly?  Not that he expected there was any difference.

Why couldn’t all the clothes be easy, like the pile of new jeans he was carrying in the bag in his hand?  Well, okay, they hadn’t been all that easy.  It was amazing how many styles and different cuts of jeans there were for women… and how many he had to try on to find the ones that fit the best – without being too tight!  He wasn’t out to look like a sex model, he was a construction worker.  Although he had no doubt the guys he worked with would rather see the too tight jeans.  Except for Fitz.  He still wasn’t too sure about that guy.  The rest of them had been okay though.  Even fun at times.  Trying… but fun.  Sort of.  He wasn’t exactly used to the kind of jokes they were banting about now.

He shifted the heavy bag of jeans in his hand.  Ugh!  If he had to carry the thing much longer his hands were going to give out.  Why did he have to lose the strength in his hands of all places?  He needed that strength to work!  While the other guys picked up three or four boards at a time, he was now diminished to picking up two… and wishing each time he could only grab one!  It was… embarrassing!  He shifted the heavy bag in his hands again.  Damn it!  Time to take it to the car and drop it off!  He couldn’t very well shop with that getting in his way. 

Fifteen minutes later he was back in the same spot, with the same dilemma.  He stared all around him.  How did you do overly girly?

“May I help you?”

He turned quickly.  He hadn’t seen the salesgirl walk up.  “Um… I’m looking for…  I’m supposed to find…”  But he was too embarrassed to say it.

“You need something for a special date?” the girl asked.

“Uh… something like that,” Candy replied.  “Actually, uh… believe it or not, my therapist told me I had to dress overly feminine or overly girly when I go to see her tomorrow.  And I haven’t a clue.”

The girl was obviously surprised by that.  “Okay,” she replied.  “That’s different.  Shouldn’t be a problem though.”

“For you, or me?” Candy asked.

“Why do you have a problem with it?” the girl asked as she slowly headed back between the racks of clothes.

“I do construction work.  I’m not exactly very girly.”

“Ooooh!” the girl breathed.  “I guess that explains a lot.”

What it didn’t explain to Candy though, was why the salesgirl wasn’t picking up at all on the fact that he was a man dressed as a woman.  Was she blind?  Or just being nice?  Maybe he should hope for nice.  Blind might not help him find anything decent to wear.

“Do you want to go formal, or just fun?” the girl asked.

“Um… I don’t think I’m ready for formal yet.”

The girl smiled.  “Good!  Fun is much more… fun!”

Okay!  That much sounded obvious to Candy.  But just how did you do “fun?”

The girl stopped at a rack of colorful dresses and started pawing through them while Candy stood back.

“Oh!” the salesgirl said as she pulled one out.  “This one should look great on you with your skin coloring.  I wish I could tan like you do.”  But when she turned toward Candy, Candy was looking elsewhere.

“Like it?” she asked when she saw what Candy was looking at.

Candy quickly pulled his head away from the mannequin he had been looking at.  “Oh, sorry,” he said as he looked at the dress she had in her hand.

“No, I mean the sundress you were looking at.”

“Oh, no.  I don’t think that would work for me at all.”  He lowered his voice to a whisper.  “I need something I can wear a bra with.  I’m not built all that… big yet for something like that.”

“Ooooh,” the girl said.  “You’re still working on it.”

Candy immediately realized that the girl had figured out that he wasn’t a woman.  She was just being nice.  But he could handle nice.  He also realized he had a long way to go.  “Um… yeah,” he admitted embarrassedly. 

“Well if it’s any consolation,” she whispered back.  “I think you look sensational!”

“Thanks,” Candy whispered.  “Um… what gave me away?”

“Actually I didn’t notice at all at first.  And after that, I wasn’t really sure,” she said softly.  “But you mentioned you worked in construction, and then I noticed your Adams apple, and then I was wondering if your hands and feet were… um… a bit big.”  Candy looked at her and saw her cock her head and shrug her shoulders.  “Sorry,” she whispered apologetically.

“Don’t be,” Candy replied.  “I’m just glad you’re being nice.”

She smiled.  “No problem.  And like I said, I think you look pretty sensational!”

Candy let out a deep breath.  “Thanks.  I think I needed that.”

The girl held up the dress in her hand.  “Now, how about something to party in?”

Ten minutes later, the salesgirl had three dresses in her hands that she claimed should be fun to wear.  As she started to lead Candy toward the changing rooms to try them on, she saw Candy again looking at the mannequin.  Saying nothing, she walked over to another rack, searched through the sizes and pulled out one of the sundresses that she thought would fit him.  Then she led him back to the changing rooms.  “Do you want to try these on privately, or do you want my opinion on them?” she asked.

Candy was a bit surprised by the offer.  “Would you mind?” he asked.  “I’m… kind of new to the girly stuff.”

“Sure,” she said.  “At this time of day we’re not busy anyway, and I’d much rather do this than put stock back where it’s supposed to be.”  As Candy disappeared into the tiny changing room with the dresses, she called in to him.  “So how come your doing this kind of change if you’re not that interested in the girly stuff.  I would have thought that most people like you would be.”

Candy was more than a bit surprised that she would be so bold to ask a question like that.  The problem was, he couldn’t tell her the real reason.  He had to rely on his standard supply of… reasonable sounding answers.  “I don’t think,” he called back as he pulled the top he was wearing over his head to get it off, “that being a woman has anything to do with what job you do or even with the fact that you prefer dresses or pants to wear.  I think it has more to do with your heart and what you really feel you are on the inside.  I’m just trying to make my outside come closer to matching my inside.”

“That sounds… profound,” the girl replied. 

Candy was just glad she didn’t continue that conversation.  He slipped into the first dress and checked his image in the mirror.  Bright pattern.  Lace around the neckline.  Full skirt – short skirt!  And the sight of his bra straps running over his shoulders.  Not going to work!  He stepped out of the changing room anyway.  “I don’t think this one will work for me,” he said as he let her get a good look at him in that dress.

“Why not?” she asked.  “Other than the fact that I think you need a smaller size.”

“Smaller?”

“Yeah!  That dress is supposed to be a lot tighter than that.”

Ugh!  “I must have lost more weight,” he decided. 

“Good for you!  Why don’t you try on one of the others while I go back and find some dresses in a smaller size?”

“I need something that won’t show my bra straps too,” Candy called after her.

“Don’t worry about the straps!” the girl called back.  “You just need a smaller size.”

Candy couldn’t see why, but he headed back into the changing room to do as she suggested.  When he came out again, he didn’t see her anywhere around.  He had to nervously wait a few minutes until she came hurrying back again with an armload of more dresses. 

“I was able to find a lot more in the smaller size,” she declared as she handed off the armload of dresses to him.  Then she disappeared into the changing room and pulled out the other dresses he hadn’t tried on yet. 

Candy didn’t even ask about the dress he was currently wearing, he just headed back into the changing room to try the ones in a smaller size. 

Five dresses later, the salesgirl declared, “You really ought to get three.”

“Three?”

“Yeah.  That way you have several to choose from and you’ll be ready for any party that comes up.”

Candy looked at her dubiously.  “I think I’ll just go with one this time.”

The girl looked slightly disappointed.  “Then I suggest the one you’ve got on… only without the bra.  They all look great on you though.  Just bring out whichever one you like the best.”

She was suggesting the one he had on?  Yeah, she had said don’t wear it with a bra, but could he?  He supposed the way the cups of the dress were made they would probably support his breast forms along with his own breast fairly well.  In fact, with the bra on it was more than a bit tight in there.  But that dress?  It hugged his stomach like a glove!  And then the top of it just came up over his breasts and tied around the back of his neck… leaving a good portion of his back totally exposed!  The mottled red and white material hugged his body and then suddenly flared out at his hips into three tiered layers of wide ruffled skirts… with the final bottom skirt being nothing but several inches of the netting underneath that was holding the skirts so wide in the first place.  And as far as he was concerned… that netting ended a lot shorter than any of the other dresses he had tried on.  His legs were mostly exposed… and he was sure the rest of it just barely covered his backside!

“Are you sure about this thing?” he asked uncertainly.

She shrugged.  It looks really great on you,” she replied.  “And you did ask for something really girly.”

Candy looked down at what he could see of the dress.  Yeah, he couldn’t imagine anything more girly than this.  “Okay,” he decided, I’ll go with this one.”  He just hoped he wouldn’t be too embarrassed wearing the thing.  He headed back to the changing room and put his clothes on.  When he was ready, he grabbed the dress he was buying and carried it out.   

“How about that sundress that you liked?” she asked.  “I found one of those in a smaller size for you too.  Did you even try it on?”

Candy shook his head.  “No.  What would be the point?  I’d rather have something that hides my bra a little more.”

“You don’t wear a bra with that dress.”

“Then it’s really no good for me.” Candy replied.

The girl rolled her eyes and grabbed Candy by the arm and pulled him back into the changing room.  “Strip,” she commanded as she searched through the pile of dresses in there for the sundress he had liked.

“Here?  With you?”

“Don’t worry,” the girl replied.  “I don’t bite and I won’t tell.”

Dubiously, Candy got undressed down to his bra and panties again.  The girl handed him the sundress and he pulled it up his body.

“Hold on,” she said as she moved behind him.  Before he knew it, she had unfastened his bra in the back and was sliding it off his shoulders.  He had to catch his breast forms to keep them from falling on the floor.  As she came around to the side of him to grab the top straps of the dress, she said, “I don’t know what you’re so worried about with the size of your breasts.  I know lots of girls with breasts only half your size.”

Candy was a little surprised to hear her say that, even though he knew that many women did have very small breasts… and he was very aware of how much his breasts had grown already.  But Janice had been making him wear the “C” cup bras for a long time now.  Would she let him wear something smaller?  “Um… I think I just need all the extra illusion I can get,” he told her.

“Why?  Like I said earlier, you look sensational!”

“Thanks, but that’s only because of the extra padding.”

“Not at all!  Not even close!  You really ought to consider trying to be a little more natural now.  I’m sure you would be a lot more comfortable without having to worry about that extra padding all the time.”

“Um… I’ll think about it,” Candy told her, then after a moments reflection – looking at his reflection in the mirror he asked, “You wouldn’t be willing to help me find some better bras, would you?”

“Sorry,” she replied.  “They won’t let me out of this department.”  She lowered her voice to a whisper.  “Victoria’s Secret is having a sale.  Go there instead.  But you didn’t hear that from me!”

“Got it,” Candy whispered back.  “Thanks.”  He looked at his reflection again.  The dress was amazingly light, almost as if he wasn’t wearing anything at all!  Could he even feel comfortable in such a thing?  But then he realized that maybe that was the whole point.  “I guess I’ll take it,” he told her.

“Good!” she replied happily. “I knew you liked it, so you may as well get it and enjoy it.”

Twenty minutes later, carrying a bag with his two dresses in it, Candy forced himself to walk boldly into Victoria’s Secret.  There were signs for their sale everywhere.  He was immediately lost amid that much femininity.  Was this something that Jessica had meant about overly feminine?  If so, he didn’t get it.  Underwear didn’t show.  At least, it wasn’t supposed to – as far as he was concerned.

“May I help you?” and older woman asked as she walked up to him.

“Um…” Candy lowered her voice to almost a whisper.  Summoning up his courage he said, “I’m in the process of transitioning from male to female.  And I need a little help with some bras and panties that fit better.” 

The woman stepped back from him to look him over better.  “Oh!  Oh my goodness.  I hadn’t realized.”

A blind one, Candy decided. 

“You look lovely though,” the saleswoman added.

“Thank you,” Candy replied, honestly pleased by the remark.

“So what did you have in mind?” the woman asked as she turned and headed toward the back of the store.  All of our thongs are on sale this week.”

“Um… no thongs please,” Candy replied.  “I need something a bit more practical.”  He decided to amend that thought.  “Actually, I need a few other things too.”

“Anything at all,” the woman said.  “I’ll be happy to help.”

Candy lowered his voice again.  “You don’t mind helping someone like me?”

The woman appeared surprised.  “Are you joking?  Do you have any idea how many men walk into this store every day looking for lingerie to wear for themselves?”

“You’re kidding?” Candy replied.

“Not only that, but we get a lot of transvestites and transsexuals in here as well.  This store doesn’t cater to just genetic women.  We sell lingerie and intimately feminine things to whoever would like them.  Why shouldn’t the men be allowed to enjoy those feelings as well?”

“Uh… I guess I hadn’t thought about it before.”

The woman lowered her voice, “I’m guessing you’re a transsexual?  I mean, I couldn’t tell that you weren’t a real woman when you first walked in.”

Definitely blind!  “I’ve been on hormones for a while now,” Candy replied.

“Good!” she stated a bit louder.  “Then I’m guessing your breasts are all real then.”

“Um… not entirely,” Candy admitted.

“Oh.  Okay, maybe it we should go into one of the dressing rooms and take a look.  We may as well measure you to see what we’ve got to work with.”

As embarrassing as it was, Candy was soon surprised to find out that he was halfway between an “A” and a “B” cup already.  The woman recommended that since he was still “growing” he was close enough to it that he should go with the “B” cup size.  And after going through such an embarrassingly “intimate” bra fitting, Candy told the woman that she wanted not only a few “B” cup bras, but also more “C” cup ones as well... along with more panties in a size that weren’t threatening to rip apart every time he stretched them over his ever growing butt!  And since he had gone that far, and since he was already way over his budget, he decided to go for broke.  “Um… my therapist gave me this assignment,” he said.  “I’m supposed to show up there tomorrow night looking overly girly.  Any suggestions?”

The woman just smiled.  “This whole store is dedicated to girly!  I’m sure we can manage that pretty easily!”

Forty five minutes later, Candy walked out of the store with another big bag in his hands.  This one full of more underwear and “intimate apparel” than he ever dreamed he could want.  He was now a little nervous about the state of his credit cards.  And he still figured he needed shoes to go with the dress he was going to wear tomorrow night.

A short while later, with two bags in his hands, he walked into the shoe store.  As he was staring around trying to figure out where to go, one of the saleswomen walked up to him.  “May I help you?” she asked.

“Um… I need some girly shoes to go with a dress I just bought,” he replied.

“Oh!” the woman replied with a smile.  “You have the dress there?”

Candy opened the bag and awkwardly tried to pull out the party dress, pulling out the sundress in the process.  The woman grabbed the sundress.  “Oh, this is lovely,” she stated as she held it up.

“That’s not the one I need the shoes for,” Candy replied as he extracted the other dress from the bag and held it up.

“Oh!  I love it!” the woman declared as she pulled on the tiered skirts a bit to see the dress better.

“Do you have something girly to go with it?” Candy asked.

“Oh, absolutely!” the woman replied.

Red shoes.  Red high heeled shoes.  Red very, very high heeled shoes.  Red very high heels with a strap that wrapped around his ankle… and a bow decoration over his toes.  And heels that were so tall and thin he was having trouble just standing up in them.  But they definitely matched the red in his dress. 

“Oh!  They look wonderful on you,” the woman declared.  She lowered her voice. “If you don’t mind me saying it, I’m glad to know I’m not the only woman around with big feet.  I get so jealous dealing with all these girls with such tiny petite feet all the time that it really is nice to be able to help someone who is normal for a change.”

Candy almost fell over when the woman used the word “normal.”  Of course, just then, standing up in those shoes was a battle.  Didn’t this woman realize what he was?  Was she another blind one, or another nice one?  He decided not to enlighten her.  “I’m just wondering if I can walk in these things?” he said.

“Oh honey, with a dress like that, you need shoes like those.  And think of the attention you’ll get!”

That was one thing that Candy didn’t want to think about.  “Okay,” he said hesitantly.  “I guess I’ll try them.”

“Excellent!  Now, what kind of accessories do you have and what kind of bag are you going to carry with it?”

Accessories?  Bag?  Maybe he should have just stayed home!

After work, Sid Forsyth drove to the prison and went through the elaborate check-in procedures.  Half an hour later, he was ushered into a room where Ted Jacobs had been put to wait for him.  At Forsyth’s request, the guards left them alone to talk.  Forsyth hated to see his friend stuck in prison.  He hated seeing the orange jump suit on him just as much.  “How’s it going?” he asked as he sat down in front of Jacobs.

“So-so,” Jacobs replied.  “I won’t lie and say it’s a barrel of laughs.”

“I’m sure,” Forsyth replied.  “If I had a way to get you out of here, I’d do it in a New York minute!” Forsyth declared.

“I know you would, buddy,” Jacobs replied.  “So what’s new on the outside?”

Forsyth shook his head.  “Rumor has it that your friend Janice Brinkley finally got her settlement. I don’t know how much it was but I’m betting it was a lot since it took so long for them to settle.  And she’s been officially declared ‘hands-off’ by the Bureau.  I don’t think they even care if there’s a chance she was involved with those robberies.”

Jacobs grunted.  “She’s involved alright.  I just couldn’t ever find the proof.”

“Well I heard from one of the guys that he saw her coming out of one of Atlanta’s fanciest hotels yesterday.  I’m guessing she quit her job as a housekeeper now and is staying at someplace nice until she can find somewhere else to live.”

Jacobs grunted.  “No doubt!  Hey, if she’s so hands-off, why were they following her?”

“They weren’t.  There’s this big-deal drug lord, a Maria Alverez, staying in the same hotel.  The guys are trying to keep a close eye on her while she’s in the country.  My friend just happen to noticed Janice coming out of the hotel while they were watching for Alverez and he recognized her from that drug deal you happened to set Stokley up for a few years ago.”

“Janice?  And a drug lord?” Jacobs exclaimed excitedly.  “In the same hotel?  How much you want to bet they’re working together!”

Forsyth shook his head.  “I doubt it.  Besides, we’ve got no proof!”

“Find a way to watch her!” Jacobs insisted. 

“What does it matter to you anymore anyway?”

It was a moment before Jacobs answered.  “It matters. She’s a criminal!  Proof or not, I know she is!  So trust me… it matters!”