The Housekeeper - Chapter 59 Part 2 of 2

The Housekeeper

By Karen Singer

Chapter 59 Part 2 of 2

On Sunday after church, Roger quickly tried to figure out what he should wear.  He was going fishing, so that meant one type of clothes, but on the other hand, he was going to a picnic.  What would a woman wear to a picnic?  Could he get away with wearing the same kind of clothes he wore for fishing… the same stuff he wore for construction work?  Or… should he wear something a little nicer?  Or for that matter, should he wear something nicer while fishing?  He supposed it all depended on what something nicer meant.

The sun was out and the weather was pretty warm.  Did he dare wear shorts?  How bad would he look in them?  And would Jessica appreciate the fact that he wore them instead of the jeans he usually did construction work in?  Thinking about Jessica and the fact that she had helped him buy them, he decided to take a big chance and go with one of his new shorts outfits.  He could pair them up with his new flat sandals too.  They would be better than his high heeled boots. 

He had one other disturbing thought as he was slipping the shorts up his legs and over his rear end that seemed a bit bigger than it used to be.  What would Stan think? 

He wanted to choose a more casual top, but he needed something to hide the corset that Janice insisted he leave on (ugh!).  He was forced to go with a new blouse that was a bit more colorful and flowery than he really would have liked.  It was really too nice for fishing, but at least it covered him up better.  As quickly as he could, he was out the door and heading for the highway.

He and Stan had decided on a public picnic area they knew of to meet.  It sat right on a stream where they could fish and had a few picnic tables they could use… as long as they got to one and staked it out before anyone else found it.  He had done his best to relay the directions to Jessica, but if she couldn’t find it, she could always phone him.

When he arrived, the only vehicle in evidence was Stan’s truck.  He found Jennifer sitting in a folding chair down by the water with her drawing pad.  Stan was already fishing in the stream out in front of her.  He waved to Stan who briefly waved back as Roger headed for Jennifer.  “Hi Jenn,” he called as he walked up.

Jennifer turned around toward Roger and spent a moment taking him in.  “Well, don’t you look colorful,” she said.

Roger stopped in his tracks.  “Bad?” he asked.

Jennifer shook her head.  “No. Actually, pretty good.  It’s just… surprising, that’s all.”

“Is what I wore… okay?” he asked.

“Of course!  In fact… it’s great,” she replied.  “Nice blouse by the way.  It’s pretty.”

“Thanks,” Roger replied.  “I just got it.”

“Yeah.  I was guessing that,” she said.

“What are you drawing?” he asked.

“Guess!” she said as she held her pad up for him to see. 

Roger could clearly see that she was drawing Stan fishing out in the stream.  “Nice,” he told her.

“Where’s your friend?” Jennifer asked.

“Not here yet,” he replied.  “I hope she finds the place!  She has my number if she needs help.”

“Are you fishing today?” she asked.

“Of course!”

“I wasn’t sure from what you were wearing,” she replied, “but if you like, I’ll hold your phone and I can talk to her if necessary.”

“Great!” Roger replied.  He quickly ran back to his truck where he pulled his cell phone out of his purse and brought it back to her.  Then he ran back to his truck to get ready to fish. 

He had always worn long pants for fishing, and always had socks on his feet, so just removing his sandals and shoving his bare legs into his waders was something of a strange experience.  He had never been aware before of how strange the inside of the boots felt.  The heavy coarse lining inside them rubbed against his bare legs and felt weird.  His bare feet inside the boots simply felt wrong.  He had felt a bit exposed walking around in just his shorts, so covering it all up as he brought the waders up to his chest made him feel a bit better.  He cinched the safety belt tightly just under his breasts, grabbed the rest of his fishing gear, and headed for the stream.  Two minutes later, he had his line wet in the water and he and Stan settled into their old familiar routine. 

The two of them had worked their way downstream a ways when they both heard Jennifer calling them.  “Sounds like Jessica is here,” Roger said to Stan.

The two of them started making their way back to the picnic area as fast as they could… which was actually very slow since they both attempted to quickly re-fish some of the areas they had already covered.  Before long, they both noticed two kids watching them from the edge of the stream.  “Nice looking kids,” Stan called as he started moving a bit faster toward them. 

“Jimmy and Jasmine,” Roger told him.

“Ya catch anything?” Jimmy asked as Roger and Stan finally reached the picnic area and started climbing out of the stream.

“Not yet,” Roger replied.  He quickly introduced Jessica to Stan since Jennifer and Jessica had already met now.  “Ready to fish?” he asked Jimmy.

“Not yet!” Jessica stopped him.  “It’s way past lunchtime and I’m starving.  You can fish after lunch!” 

Jimmy grumbled a bit, but he had to accept his mother’s decision.  Disappointed, he followed Roger and Stan up to their trucks where they started to relieve themselves of all their fishing equipment.  “Do you need all that stuff to fish?” Jimmy asked.

“Not really,” Roger replied, “but it helps.”

“What am I going to do?”

Roger smiled and reached over the back of his truck and pulled out a pair of his old hip boots.  “I brought these for you.  My waders would be way too big for you, but I think you can manage just fine with these.”

“Cool!” Jimmy exclaimed excitedly.  “What pole am I going to use?”

Roger pulled another fishing rod out of his truck… already set up.  He handed it to Jimmy.  “Don’t hurt yourself,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks!” Jimmy exclaimed, sounding fairly awestruck.

Roger watched him walk off with the pole.  He couldn’t help feel really good and happy about seeing the boy with the fishing rod.  Maybe he’d let him keep the thing.  He had enough anyway. 

He unfastened his waders and peeled them off.  The cooler air on his bare legs felt strange.  He slipped his sandals back on and awkwardly fumbled to fasten them.  When he stood back up again, he saw Stan staring at him.  “What?” he asked. 

Stan just shook his head and turned away, heading for the picnic table.  He didn’t want to tell Roger how feminine he had looked just then.  The different outfit was somewhat of a shock to see.  Before, except for that one time when he had gone to church with him, Roger had been mostly dressed in clothes that were… almost… guy like – jeans and work shirts.  But now, the flowery blouse and the shorts, his bare legs with the sandals, not to mention everything else about him… he just looked too damn feminine!  Yeah, he was doing his best to stand by his old friend, but it was suddenly getting harder and harder to see his old friend when he looked at him.

Jennifer and Jessica were talking like they knew each other for years as they set the picnic table and spread the food out along the middle of it.  Both Jennifer and Jessica had brought all the food.  Roger had offered to ask Janice to make something, but Jessica had told him she wanted no part of anything at all to do with Janice.  So Roger hadn’t brought anything at all… which appeared fine since it looked like each of the two women had brought more than enough for all of them. 

The conversation at the table was light and friendly, mostly revolving around kids and school.  Roger had cautioned Jessica beforehand not to even mention Janice or either of their… afflictions because of the Janice.  But eventually the conversation turned toward Roger… and his transition.  “You can’t miss it!” Jennifer exclaimed to Roger.  “Your whole face is starting to look different!”

“It’s the hormones,” Jessica explained.  “It doesn’t take them long to get started.  His whole body is changing, but you’re only seeing his face.”

“Some of my students already noticed,” Roger added.  “One of the girls said I looked… nicer.”  His comment drew a few chuckles from the two women.

“I know I probably shouldn’t ask about this,” Jennifer said softly, quickly eyeing the two kids at the table, but how about your, um, you know.”

“They hurt like the dickens!” Roger told her. “You wouldn’t believe how sore they are.  I won’t mention anything else about them.”

While Jennifer suppressed a laugh, Jessica said, “You may want to find some different breast forms now… ones that don’t put as much pressure on them.  That extra pressure is only going to make things worse.”

“I had wondered about that,” Roger said.  “I think I’m going to make that a priority!”

With everyone talking about Roger, Stan remained quiet and just listened as he tried to concentrate on his food.  As soon as he was done eating, he wanted to get back to fishing, but the “women” were now all talking about soft skin and lotions to make their skin even softer – including Roger!  Disgusted, he looked over at Jimmy.  “Want to go fishing?” he asked quietly.  Two seconds later, Stan excused himself from the table and he and Jimmy headed for the truck to get set up to go fishing while Jasmine walked down to play at the edge of the water.  When he turned back to the table, Roger was spreading some kind of lotion that Jennifer had given him all up and down his arm.  He saw Jessica and Jennifer both taking some of it and doing the same. 

He found Roger’s old hip boots and helped Jimmy into them and showed him how to hold them up with his belt.  Once he was ready to fish himself, he led Jimmy down to the water and started to teach him how to cast.  They fished in the stream together in front of the picnic area for a short while.  Stan glanced up at the “women” often, and Roger was still there among them talking animatedly.  He told Jimmy to wait a moment while he left the stream and went back to Roger’s truck.  When he came back, he gave Jimmy Roger’s fishing vest to wear, and handed Jasmine Roger’s fishing pole to use from the bank.  It looked like Roger wasn’t going to need any of it anymore.  Stan felt like he had just lost his best friend in the world.

Roger was surprised to find how much he was enjoying himself.  Who ever knew that he could ever enjoy talking about the things he was talking about with the women?  But he was enjoying himself.  He felt guilty for a little while that he was supposed to be teaching Jimmy how to fish, but when he looked back at the water, he saw Jimmy already fishing with Stan.  Knowing that Jimmy was in good hands, he allowed himself to get carried back into the conversation with Jennifer and Jessica. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” Roger said. 

“Now that’s a silly question!” Jennifer stated. “You know you’re going to tell us anyway, and if you don’t we’re going to hound you until you do!”

Roger smiled and braced himself.  “Wednesday is the last day of school,” he said.  “And it’s only a half day.  All the classes are cut real short.”

“Yeah,” Jennifer agreed.  “I don’t even know why they have it on the calendar.  The whole last week for that matter!”

Roger nodded.  “Anyway….”  He braced himself again.  “I think Candy will be teaching school that day instead of Roger.”

“You’re what!” Jennifer exclaimed.

Roger just nodded.  “Some of the kids have already noticed a few things.  And since I’m not moving out of the area, I figured that I may as well explain some things to them before school lets out.  So I’m going to school as Candy.  Just don’t tell anyone beforehand please!” he pleaded.  “I’m worried about being thrown out of the school before my first class starts as it is.”

The looks on the two women’s faces was priceless.  It was Jennifer who spoke first, but what she said totally surprised him.

“What are you going to wear?”

Roger blinked.  “I’m not sure.  Probably not a dress.”

With that, they all launched into a discussion on what would be the best things for Roger, or rather Candy, to wear for her debut at school.

“I guess you’re going to wear that stupid wig again,” Jennifer mentioned at one point.

“I was planning on it,” Roger confirmed.

Jennifer shook her head.  “I still think you’d look so much better without it.”

“Uh… my hair doesn’t look all that good,” Roger replied.

“I mean, get it cut… styled,” Jennifer said.  She quickly got up from her seat and stood behind Roger.  Before Roger knew what was happening, she had yanked his wig right off of his head.  “Look at this,” she said to Jessica as she started playing with his hair.  She started moving his hair around with her fingers, grabbing sections of it and holding them, doing different things with it.  “You’ve got a lot more hair than the last time I did this a few weeks ago,” she noted. 

“More effects of the hormones,” Jessica offered as she watched Jennifer playing with his hair.

“Your hair is nice,” Jennifer noted, “but a good cream rinse wouldn’t hurt,” she said as she continued playing with his hair.  “What do you think?” she asked Jessica finally after she had finished moving his hair around.  Imagine if it was trimmed just a bit into a nice wedge.”

“He’s got plenty of hair for it,” Jessica replied.  “I’m wondering how he’d look with some blonde streaks in it too.”

“Don’t joke about it,” Roger complained. 

“I’m not joking,” Jessica replied. “I’m serious!  It might look good!”

“Maybe I better just stay with the wig,” Roger decided.

“Nonsense!” Jennifer stated.

“I agree!” Jessica added.  “Get it cut!”

“I can give you the name of my hairdresser right now and you can call her first thing in the morning.  I’m sure you can get in to see her right after school on Tuesday.  You’ll look so much better… and you won’t have to worry about that stupid wig anymore.”

Roger didn’t know what to say.  As much as he had been enjoying himself, he was suddenly frightened. 

“Don’t even think about not doing it!” Jessica added.

Roger realized that he was about to get his hair styled into something much more feminine.  Yet another nail in his coffin.  Another thought struck him, what would Janice think?  He realized that was a silly question.  If it involved anything to do with turning himself into a woman, then Janice would be all for it.

“I think I better check on Jimmy,” Roger said, suddenly needing to get away from his feminine problems.  He got up, and noticed that his fishing pole was gone.  There was no sign of Stan or Jimmy, they had moved that far downstream already.  And Jasmine had his pole and was trying to untangle the line from where it was stuck in a bush.  How long had he been talking with the women?  It had seemed like only a few minutes, but obviously it had been much longer.  He headed for Jasmine and untangled the line for her, then he spent some time teaching her how to cast it properly.  At least he had gotten to fish a little bit earlier. 

A short while later, he was standing far behind Jasmine, watching her.  He had purposely not even looked back at Jennifer and Jessica because he was too overwhelmed by the new feelings he was trying to deal with.  He saw Jennifer return to her chair with her drawing pad, and shortly after, Jessica stood next to him. 

“Can I talk to you?” Jessica asked rather quietly.

“Sure,” Roger replied, his eyes still on Jasmine.

“I want to get together with you… soon!” she said.

“Sure,” Roger replied, a little surprised at her request.  “You want to check my hormone levels again?”

“No,” Jessica told him.  “I want to go out with you again.  Alone.  Just two adults out for a nice evening together.”

Roger looked at her, completely stunned.  “I… guess it would be alright,” he replied uncertainly.  “You did say you were going to act as my psychologist as much as you were able.  Do I need that much help again?” he asked.

Jessica only grunted. “More than you know!  But I’m afraid my motives are a little different this time.”

“Oh?” Roger asked.

But instead of explaining, Jessica asked, “How about Friday?” she said.  “I seem to have the most trouble on Fridays.  That’s when I usually… used to go gambling every week.”

Roger thought he understood.  She needed help staying away from the casinos.  “Sure,” he replied somewhat happily.  “That is, if Janice has no objections.”

The excited shrieking coming from Jasmine kept Jessica from saying anything else as Roger had to help the young girl bring in her first fish… and then take the thing off the hook for her.