Authors note - This story is in the format expected for the new 25th anniversary contest. I enjoy writing these stories, but I am not too fussed about entering or winning contests. I hope this may act as a stimulus for other authors to enter when entries are allowed on 1st May.

Nu-U-Inc

by Columbine

What it is to have leisure time just browsing idly on the Web. Not so good with a constant flood of emails and messages from companies who are utterly convinced that you are going to love their products. Occasionally there is a message that tickles the fancy and you have to decide whether to click or not.

One such rainy afternoon I was browsing when a message came in suggesting that I had been looking for plus size clothing. Yes, it was true that I had been. My waist had swollen to 40” and my chest to 52” in recent months and most of my clothes did not fit with any sort of comfort.

The message said that as I had been searching for large size clothing I might like to lose the weight permanently. Well, yes of course I would like to lose the weight permanently. Who wouldn’t. It was a no brainer.

The advert said that the procedure did not use any drugs, or punishing exercise regimes or starvation.

Just how would it work if it didn’t involve exercise, or diet or drugs?

It was worth an enquiry at least.

The Nu-U-Inc web page was simple. There was no hard sell. The person buying the product had to make an appointment online and then turn up at a particular address in an industrial complex with $200 in cash.

There was no evaluation by others, no testimonials, nothing. Losing weight in an afternoon was like a dream come true. I had been thoroughly depressed about my weight for years and it seemed the solution to all my prayers.

The company existed, that was easy to confirm online. The two directors were endocrinologists working for a well known university. Their academic credentials were excellent. I decided to take it further and made an appointment for about a week’s time.

Two $100 dollar bills were in my wallet as I approached the rather uninspiring building. The suite was on the fifth floor and there was no elevator, so I had to walk up the stairs. It reminded me, if I needed reminding, how overweight I was.

The door to Nu-U-Inc swung open when I pressed the buzzer. A pretty girl of about 25 was sitting at a desk. Her straight blond hair was down to her shoulders and she had clearly spent some time over her make-up. She got up, or rather uncoiled, from her desk and came over to me. She smoothed down her miniskirt with well manicured hands and I noticed the bright pink nail varnish. Her heels clacked over the tiled floor.

“Mr. Brown? “

I nodded.

“Welcome" she said, with a mellifluous voice. Quite low pitch for a woman, but very feminine in her body language.

“You are here to lose some weight, I understand?”

“Yes. You can see that I am rather overweight, and it would certainly help me in all sorts of ways if I was lighter.”

“How much lighter do you want to become?”

“I would like to achieve a BMI of 25, at the moment I am about 32.”

“We can certainly do that. We do not take anyone below a BMI of 22, here.”

“Please take a seat and we will record your particulars.”

The woman, whose name was Claire according to her name badge, recorded all the usual things like name, address and medical history on her computer and I signed the bottom of the online form to accept the procedure.

She also gave me a receipt for my $200.

“The procedure is entirely automatic. In a minute I will ask you to go next door and remove all your clothes and lie on the couch with your head on the pillow. The fat that is removed will be anonymised before disposal. You you have any objection to this happening?”

“No, no objection.”

When you go through the procedure none of your clothes will fit, so we offer a service where a set of clothes from one of the cheaper chainstores is provided in your new sizes. This costs an extra $150. Would you like us to provide that. You will look very odd if you try to dress in your old clothes. Alternatively, you can go out and get a new set of clothes and come back with them, but I am not sure exactly what sizes you will be. We have a full range of clothes in almost every size possible.”

I paid the extra $150 by credit card.

“Please go through that door and get completely undressed and as I said before. Please put your head on the pillow. You will be played calming music. Have you any particular taste in music?”

“I enjoy Baroque music.”

“Baroque music it is, then.”

I went through the door alone and inside was just a couch, with a pillow and a rail with several clothes hangers. As instructed I undressed, hung my clothes up and lay with my head on the pillow.

A large screen on the wall lit up as soon as I lay down.

A figure in a white coat spoke to confirm my details and that I had agreed to a fat reduction procedure that would reduce my BMI to 25.

I was asked to speak aloud to agree.

“Agreed”, I said.

“Please relax. The procedure will take about two hours and you will be asleep for much of that time.”

I did feel a prick in my thigh, and then everything went dark.

Some time later I woke in a different room. There was sunlight streaming through the window and the clothes on the rail were different. I wouldn’t have chosen the very cheap looking garments, but they would cover my nudity until I could get something better.

The screen in this room lit up when I started to move, and the same person in a white coat spoke to me.

“Welcome back. You now have a BMI of 25. In five minutes or so you can get up and dressed in your new clothes. You will feel sore because there are many small puncture wounds all over your body where the fat has been removed. These will not need any attention, but please do not scratch them. Showering is fine, but please do not have a bath for 48 hours.”

“Once you have dressed, please press the button by the door and Claire will bring you a coffee.”

"During the next five minutes, please watch our video. It will show you the procedure you have gone through and also show you the range of body modifications we can offer for you in the future.”

I watched the video with amazement. It showed me with cannula in my arm with anaesthetic, then being held in a sort of cage where numerous needles penetrated my skin and fatty material was drawn out. Long needles even went deep into my body cavities and drew out the fat round my kidneys and other organs. The fatty material was drawn off into large glass vessels. My body gradually shrank. Even my hands and feet had small amounts of fatty fluid drawn off.

The video continued with other options. There was a height enhancement programme, and breast enhancement or diminution and penis enlargement, as were a whole range of cosmetic procedures that did not use implants. Heavens knows how they worked?

Amazingly there was an age reduction procedure that enhanced the flexibility of the skin to rejuvenate the appearance of the person.

Finally there was a section on transgendering; both male to female and female to male. The male to female was particularly effective with a short video of a slightly built and nondescript man turned into a quite lovely girl.

My mind was buzzing by the end of the video. The possibilities were endless for someone with some money.

I looked in the mirror for a minute of two before finally getting dressed in the basic outfit I had been provided with. My wallet and other documents were beside the bed, as were the glasses that I didn’t appear to need any more.

Claire brought in the coffee on a small tray.

“How much do all those procedures cost, Claire?”

“They vary, obviously, but the most expensive is the female to male transgendering which is $78,000, but that includes a week at a residential centre where there is a full staff able to help with clothing and mannerisms.”

“The male to female transgendering is cheaper at $70,000 but again you get a week in a residential centre learning about mannerisms, makeup and other behaviours necessary to carry off the transgendering. This also involves you being taken out to a neighbouring Shopping Centre to buy a new set of clothes. That is at your expense of course, except for a very basic set of clothes to cover your nakedness.”

“How functional are the transgendered people?”

“Both transgendered men and women can live their lives as normal people of that gender and can have a full sexual relationship, but the semen the men ejaculate has no sperm in it, and the women do not produce eggs, although they do have light periods. She can have a fertilised egg implanted into her womb and it will develop there if she has some extra hormone injections to maintain the pregnancy.”

“Why is this not more widely known. I would have thought that there would be a queue outside your suite here if it were.”

“We don’t want the procedures we use to be more widely known at present. It would attract the large businesses, who are interested in profit rather than providing a service for people who need us. We need to cover our costs, but our methods could be stolen easily and it is in the interest of both ourselves and our customers for this facility to be kept private.”

“How do I keep my weight loss private?”

“That is up to you, but most people really don’t notice what happens to others, particularly if they only see them down to their chest during on-line calls. As you work from home you can say that you have been dieting and working out for months before the big reveal.”

“That is not so easy if I turned up as a girl rather than the me, that everyone knows.”

“No, obviously not, but we would always suggest that a person being transgendered should prepare very carefully. The transgendering process does not change your finger prints or your retinal pattern, for instance and your muscle memory writing your signature will not change. If you change your signature to just initials and your surname, then institutions like banks will recognise you and your money and documentation will remain active. Even getting a new driver licence in a new name and gender is not difficult these days. It just takes careful preparation.”

“Are you tempted to transgender?”

“Part of the reason why I get depressed and eat too much is because I have felt for many years that I ought to have been a girl. I have never felt suicidal or wanted to self harm. I am particularly ineffective as a male and whilst becoming female is not a magic bullet to fame, fortune and a successful love life, I do feel that given the option, I would give it a try. What I do not want to become is a fat, depressed woman. Probably worse than staying how I am, particularly now I have shed over nearly twenty pounds of useless blubber that just reminded me of my poor diet every time I went to have a shower.”

Claire said quietly, that she had once been a man.

“I cannot believe it. You look stunning. Your lustrous hair and beautiful face. Your wrists and hips are normally a give-away for anyone transgendering male to female, but you are just perfect.”

“Thank you. I do like the way I look. I wasn’t overweight, but had inherited a sizeable chunk of cash and I felt that I wanted to get the best out of my life, and this is the way I wanted to spend my inheritance. I work here and am an example of what the treatment can do. Would you like to see a photo of me before I underwent the procedure?”

“Yes, of course I would. I am amazed that such a natural looking woman can be produced by these procedures.”

Claire showed him a photo from her purse of a youngish man in swimming trunks. Longish hair and a rather uninspiring body lacking any obvious manly features.

“That was me as Clive. I lived as him until I was 30.”

“But you look younger than 30, now, perhaps 23 or 24.”

“That is the age reduction process as well as M-to-F transgendering.”

“How much could reduce my apparent age by. I am 42 now.”

“The age reduction can make you look about ten years younger, so 32, at best.”

“What you would need to do if you are thinking about going through this process is to allow your skin to shrink, so it is no longer saggy, then make detailed preparations of how you will move into your new preferred gender. What we do not want is for you to become a sensation where every tabloid newspaper wants your story with all the salacious detail, then for the World and his wife queuing up outside here for the elixir of life.”

“If you go ahead you will need to sign a confidentiality agreement with us. It has very heavy penalties if you go to the Press or other media to give or sell your story. That compensation is for us to move from one anonymous industrial block to another, and from one city to another. We have even moved from one country to another when the Press have tried to invade our space.”

“I must also mention that there is a provision in the contract for every procedure except weight reduction. This means that if you choose to make your changes, whatever they are; public, then it just takes a prick with a needle from an anonymous person in the street to start an irreversible enhanced ageing process that would give you perhaps a month or six weeks before you would die of old age. This will not happen under any normal circumstances, but it would mean to the Press that the procedure was flawed and could not be relied upon and everyone would forget about it.”

“I would find it very difficult to contain myself about changes like those proposed, but I accept your need for privacy, and would certainly not go to the Media.”

“Could you pay for the procedures?”

“It would need some carful thinking and planning to bring the finances together, but I can do almost unlimited overtime. In the past I have often felt too lacking in motivation to earn more. I think I could save between $80,000 and $100,000 in a year or so and would be motivated to do it.”

“All I can say is ‘Go Girl’ … see you in a year. Keep to a healthy diet, and keep to a sensible exercise regime so we do not need to do any repair work before your transition. I will keep you on file. Anthony Brown soon to be Antonia Brown. How does that sound?”

“Sounds brilliant!”

… and so it was. Doing bespoke programming from home was as lucrative as ever. There was an insatiable demand for my services and the money rolled in. With the high level of motivation, I managed to eat better and joined a gym where I could be found in the early hours when I could drag myself away from work. My skin tightened up and I looked fitter than I had done in years.

I changed account names to just initials and surname with all the financial institutions I was associated with, and bought female clothes judiciously. Not too tight fitting in case my sizes were not the same as now. I didn’t wear bras except to try them on, so didn’t buy prostheses, and all the other clothes were just worn at home. I allowed my hair to grow and wore it tied in a pony tail. This was not unusual for male computer programmers. I allowed my nails to get longer and coated them with a clear varnish. In a year I had saved the money and had made as much progress as I could without undergoing the procedures I had promised myself.

I looked out the Business Card Claire had given me. The web address did not work, neither did the telephone number. My heart sank. I tried the mobile number. Claire answered.

“I have been trying to contact you, but your web address and land line phone number are no longer active.”

“No, we have had to move because of some prurient interest.”

“I have saved up the money and have done everything that I can to make my transition successful. Are you still able to do the procedures we discussed a year ago.”

“Yes, but we are several hundred miles away from your home now. Are you ready to start now?”

“Yes, I have everything in place.”

“Arrange a three week vacation from work. Get into your car next Wednesday and a satnav code will be sent to you by text at 8am. Put that code in and you will be taken to an old farm well off the main roads. This is where we operate now. I will send the contracts via email to you. Please return them signed and scanned by email before next Wednesday or you will not receive the Satnav instructions. Please arrange for a money transfer facility to be available but you will not be required to pay anything until you have been medically examined. Bring clothing for both genders and a credit card for your shopping trips.”

…and so it was. A three week vacation was arranged and on the following Wednesday morning a message was received giving a code that the Satnav understood. The address was about 230 miles away. It took me most of the day to get there, but I arrived at the old farm after driving the last 20 miles on dirt roads.

I had already eaten en route so was shown my room and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Claire woke me gently with a hot drink at 7:30 and I was told to shower and then dress in a surgical gown before walking to an examination room where an Asian doctor gave me a full examination and various phials of blood were taken for testing. He had a pleasant manner and pronounced me fit to undergo both procedures. In a couple of hours the blood tests came back and supported his approval.

I was allowed breakfast after the examination and dressed again in my male clothes. I was listed to receive the procedures the following morning, so could only eat lightly that day. A cosmetics lady came to look at me and offered various suggestions as to how to make my transformed self look my best. She was charming and supportive, and I learned a lot in the couple of hours she spent with me.

The rest of the day I read parts of two novels I had brought with me, but was progressively anxious about the following day. After the light evening meal I was offered and accepting a mild sedative. I went off to sleep easily.

In the morning it was fluids only, then a pre-op injection and I was ushered into a room not unlike the one I had been in for the fat reduction. There was no one there. I was asked over a speaker system to undress and lie on my back on the bed with my head on the pillow. The system remembered that I liked Baroque music and I felt a needle in my thigh and was soon asleep.

It must have been the following morning when I awoke. Claire brought in a cup of iced tea and suggested that it was time I was up and about. She called me Antonia, and that woke me up properly. I was still dressed in surgical gown, but there were no drain tubes or anything like that that one might expect after having major surgery. Just what appeared to be a very female body under the light covering of the surgical gown.

I needed to use the toilet badly and there didn’t seem to be a problem getting up and going to use the toilet. No dizziness, no soreness no nothing, just a change of my equipment and a much younger body. I remembered that standing to pass urine was no longer an option, but that was hardly rocket science. The movement of my quite significant breasts was obvious as I walked over to the bathroom and it brought a smile to my lips. The wider hips I now had made walking slightly different, but not so very different. Just a slightly greater swing of my new hips.

The extraordinariness of the situation was complete. I couldn’t even begin to think how such a transformation could occur in just a few hours.

Over a light breakfast I asked Claire about the procedure.

“I don’t know much about it. Obviously it is a professional secret. There are I understand, comparisons with butterfly larvae becoming chrysalises and then emerging as a butterfly.”

“So all this took place in a day.”

“No, ten days. You have catheters in almost every blood vessel for most of that time. After a few days you almost seemed to have lost all your shape as your bones softened, then the infusions seemed to reconstruct you from scratch in your new shape. It is really only the circulatory system and nervous system that remain unaffected. All your skills and memories remain the same. No one is turned into a blond airhead, unless they were a male blond airhead before the procedure.

“If I say so myself, I think the cost has been worth every penny. You look both beautiful and about 30 years of age.”

I stood up, dropped the surgical gown and looked in the mirror. Looking back at me was a woman who had some vestiges of my former self, but had breasts in proportion to my size and a well formed groin area with no pubic hair. My waist was narrower and my hips larger in proportion to my size.

“Will I grow pubic and arm pit hair?”

“I never have.” said Claire matter of factly.

"Get dressed and have some breakfast. You will feel extra hungry for a few days. Do you need any help with putting on a bra?”

“No I think I can manage, but thanks all the same.”

Claire sat on the edge of the bed while I dressed. She chatted about her shopping trips recently and how her boyfriend had bought her a bikini that she absolutely loved and had even gone to bed in!

The clothes I had brought fit, more or less. I was the same height as before and the size of my rib cage was only a little smaller. My hips were bigger, but I had taken that into account with elasticated joggers. My feet seemed the same, a size seven.

“Right lead on to the dining room.”

Claire led me down a series of corridors to a dining room lined with artisan sawn wood panelling. The meal was set out as a breakfast buffet on what appeared to be a hand sawn table with a shine that must have taken years of hard polishing to create.

I chose just cereal, milk and a little sugar, plus of course a big mug of coffee.

“Is there anyone else here receiving treatment?”

“There are two others, but they are still going through their treatments, and you will not see them for the time being, if at all. I think you will be on your week long orientation week before they awake.”

“In about three days you will be discharged to the reorientation venue. It is about a two hour drive from here so you need to be reasonably fit to do all the exercises and go shopping for all the things you will need to function in Society as a woman, and you need to be reasonably close to a good Mall as well.”

“Will I be able to drive myself?”

“Yes, like coming here, you will be given a name of the venue and a Satnav code. Your car now has a full tank of fuel. It was a bit low when you arrived. I got it filled up for you. I do think that you might like to exchange it for something a bit more feminine in time, and it could do with a good internal valeting. All the old sweet wrappers and other junk are not going to fit with your new lifestyle.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” I agreed. I don’t think a passenger seat covered with wrappers of one sort or another and the smell of half eaten pizza is a good start.”

And so it went on. Medical examinations, sleeps, meals and gentle exercise.
In three days I was used to being called Antonia. The last item was a certificate of successful medical gender reassignment.

“This will allow you to change all your documents like your passport and driver licence to your new name. You cannot change your age, but someone looking at your date of birth will think that you have just looked after yourself very well. The team at the venue will help you fill out all the forms to get a new birth certificate and all the other documents. That is all planned to take place in a single seven-day period. After that you are on your own, but you will be given a list of gender coaches within easy travelling distance of your home. You may like to employ one of them.”

And so it was. Apart from the doctor, and Claire, Antonia saw no one and she drove off to the venue, which turned out to be a large country house in a fin de siècle style, almost a mansion.

A pretty girl manning the reception desk welcomed Antonia by name. She clearly knew that her arrival was imminent and guided her to the dining room as it was lunch time when Antonia arrived. The girl was not at all surprised that Antonia had no luggage to speak of.

“After lunch you will be taken to our local town to buy some of the basics, like night wear and a change of clothes, but tomorrow our personal shopper will take you to a Mall about ten miles away and you will be able to shop till you drop or the credit card reaches its maximum! … which ever comes first.”

“We have a hair stylist here who will style your hair this evening after dinner.”

Lunch consisted of salad and a portion of cold ham. Antonia seemed to get full more quickly than before and with a glass of orange juice, was comfortably full.

She was shown to her room, then whisked off to the local shops to get just the basics for the night and the following day. The personal shopper measured Antonia before they left. “You remain 5’ 7” , but are now 34C with a 27 inch waist and 34” hips. On the petite side for a transgendered person.”

Gayle, the personal shopper drove into the local town and they bought some skin care products, a simple dress with shoulder straps and a flared floral skirt, then a short nightie set with matching knickers, and a further bra and knicker set for use the following day.

It was dinner time when they returned and Antonia was ready for her meal.

As soon as she had finished she was ushered up to the hairdressing salon and the stylist looked her over before taking out a brochure filled with women’s styles.

“You have plenty of hair for most of the styles shown here, but not the ones that are very long. I will point out those I think would suit you face and colouring.”

After twenty minutes or so, Antonia and Julie, the stylist had whittled the list down to five styles, and then to just two. Eventually it was just ‘stick a pin’ in to choose between them. Julie said that one was easier to maintain, and that was the deciding factor.

Two hours later, and Antonia emerged even more feminine than before with an A-line Bob. Julie made her turn round and seemed very happy with the results of her hard work.

And so to bed.

8am and the alarm went off and the residents were attended by staff to help them dress if that was needed. Those later in their week were helped to apply make-up. Antonia only needed help with her hair. She used a little foundation and blusher then some mascara, together with a coating of lip gloss. It was more a protection for her skin than something that could really be called make up.

Breakfast followed. Antonia sat with two other transgendered people. They both had stories to tell, but Antonia felt that their surgical transformations were crude by comparison with hers. They seemed neither male or female in her opinion. Both were flattering in how well she had been transgendered, but Antonia stayed close-lipped about how her transformation had been completed.

Gayle, bounced into Antonia’s room after she had finished her after-breakfast tasks. She wanted to know about Antonia’s lifestyle. What sort of social life she had, and what sort of colours and styles she chose.

She was dismayed when Antonia said that she had no social life, but brightened up when Antonia described all the very feminine clothes she liked to see women dressed in.

“So many of the trans-women we have here want to buy slacks and tops, and not much else, apart from undies that are sturdy rather than pretty.”

“No I want to be pretty, really pretty. I feel girly through and through. I want clothes that are well made and timeless, and my one absolute is my first little black dress with black patent leather stilettos.”

“Wow. You really are going all in with the girl thing. It will be a pleasure to dress you. Much of the time I am trying to dress people to look more like women, rather than dress a person who looks like a beautiful person to start with.”

“Do you really think I am beautiful?”

“Yes, certainly you are beautiful and part of that beauty glows from within you because you are so clearly delighted with your transformation. Enjoy it.”

“What is your budget for today?”

Antonia gave Gayle a figure that was double what she had previously decided.
“Yes, that should cover most of your immediate needs, but you will need a winter coat in time and more woollens than we will be able to get today. It is the wrong season for them.”

And off they went …

Cosmetics first. A stylish cosmetics salon where a beautifully coiffed staff member berated Antonia for not looking after her nails and the skin of her hands. Semi-permanent nails were glued on to her own and they were coated with multiple layers of ever more glowing coatings until the nails glittered in the sunlight and extended a good half inch beyond the end of Antonia’s fingers. She was given instructions how to prevent them chipping.

Next came the perforation of her ears.

“Why, the stylist asked had such beautiful woman never had her ears pierced?”

Gayle got out her ID card from the mansion, and showed it to the stylist, who immediately shut up when she recognised the name of the mansion.

Gayle had simple gold loops put in, but bought two other pairs. One was a stud with paste diamonds in, and the other was a pair of droplets with a green semi-precious stone hanging from the gold fitting.

Next was a visit to a lingerie emporium, where Antonia was re-measured and her measurements of the previous night confirmed. Eight sets of bra and matching panties were bought together with socks and packs of tights. A bikini was added in electric blue. Not too risqué but fairly revealing from the side. Sexy enough to turn heads at the beach but rather uncertain if one was actually going to swim! The store assistant assured Antonia that it would still cover her after a swim and that the fabric would remain opaque. A beach wrap in a different blue could be used as a shawl or tied as a sarong.

A major retailer of women’s clothes supplied three dresses in different styles and different degrees of formality. The little black dress was one of them. It was both short and showed a lot of cleavage. It followed her curves to perfection. It needed a strapless bra and Antonia was delighted with the whole ensemble. She swirled round and the skirt flared out to show that she also had black knickers. Two short skirts were added in bright colours and several blouses which matched the skirts. One of them was off the shoulder and made Antonia look very sultry when she pursed her lips.

A couple of belts, and a denim skirt were the final items before they headed to the shoe shops.

Gayle was surprised that Antonia did not want any jeans or trousers of any sort. “They are part of most women’s wardrobes.” she said.

“They may come later, but I enjoy the freedom of wearing a dress or skirt. It is the swish of them round my legs and I enjoy the wind on my bare legs and the feel of a miniskirt which is both revealing and concealing. I also need to learn to manoeuvre myself in a very short skirt without the World being able to see more than they should.”

Two pairs of trainers that matched the knee length denim skirt, one fairly formal pair of leather shoes, and two pairs of light weight sneakers in bright colours, and the bank was finally broken.

It was a good thing that Antonia had brought her mixed clothes from home in a large suitcase that was now almost empty. Her new purchases would barely fit in that case when she returned home, but for the time being the bags were piled into the back of Gayle’s car for the trip back to the mansion.

The following five days were filled with makeup tips, feminine mannerisms, and speaking with a head voice to sound more feminine. There were deportment classes and lectures on where women’s finances differed from men’s, and illustrated talks on skills of the bedroom. Finally Antonia was taken through the procedure for her legal gender reassignment and her documents were taken by courier to the appropriate authorities. When she returned home a few days later a new passport and driver licence was in her post box, and a few days after that a new birth certificate in the name of Antonia Beryl Brown arrived.

Antonia was offered a chance to explore her sexuality with a male prostitute who would be as much an instructor as a performer. She accepted the offer and a stunningly handsome young man called George arrived at the room in mid-evening and proceeded to undress her with grace and aplomb, praising her beauty and applying small kisses on every bit of skin he exposed. Antonia was not allowed to undo even a button on his clothes until she was entirely naked and he had used his tongue to great effect on her. He explained how to stimulate a man and how to help him to avoid premature ejaculation. Where he was sensitive and where he was not. He eventually left in the small hours. Antonia was left sore with her maidenhead in tatters, but very fulfilled.

In so short a time, Antonia Beryl Brown was released onto an unsuspecting World. Her neighbours in her condominium took her change with really no problem, although she had to gently discourage one of her neighbours who was too friendly too soon.

She returned to the programming work that provided a very good income. Her bank balance was as low as it had been since she was a student, but the benefits she had purchased were enormous in her opinion.

Initially her company online chats were carried out with sound only, but after several days she made a particular effort with her clothes and makeup and at the end of one meeting she made an announcement and switched on the camera on her laptop. Her colleagues were both amazed and very complimentary. She was asked to stand and do a twirl for everyone to see. There were more compliments. Her photo was replaced on the staff online noticeboard and more compliments followed.

Her documents were scanned and copies sent to the personnel department of her employer. No one seemed to find her change of status difficult to deal with, and her name and pronouns were changed as appropriate in a variety of documents available online.

Really there was only one change that had to happen. That was that she had to get a new plug-in keyboard for her laptop. The keys on the built-in keyboard were too heavy for her nail extensions. The new one was designed for people with longer nails and the action of the keys was very light.

Next came the quite challenging matter of family. Neither of Antonia’s parents was alive, but she had two sisters, one older and one younger. Beth was the older one and was married with two children in their teens. Charlotte was the younger and had a long term partner, but no children. Antonia rang them every few months, but they didn’t have great deal in common, but the subject of gender change had to be dealt with before it caused embarrassment all round.

Antonia decided to send a full length picture of her fully made up and dressed in one of the pretty dresses she had bought with an brief explanation of the transformation she had gone through.

Charlotte was the first to read the email and respond.

It was about five minutes after sending the email that the phone rang.

Caller ID showed that it was Charlotte calling from her home several hundred miles away.

“We must meet.” was Charlotte’s first comment.

“I had no idea that transgendering was something you were even toying with. I can see something of the old you in the picture, but you look fantastic, and younger than before.”

“I like Antonia as a name. It suits you. Not so sure about the Beryl, but you don’t have to use that, do you?”

“Hang on a moment. Beth is ringing. I will open this call to a conference call for the three of us.”

Beth was not so accepting. “What have you done?” I had no idea that you were thinking of this.”

“Let me explain. I was forty-two and very overweight. I sat in front of a computer screen all day and part of the night. I was earning good money, but had no social life. I would call myself a recluse. You two see each other much more often, and I get the impression that you have a good social life. The last time we met was at Christmas three years ago.”

"I could go for days working in an old T, and sweat pants eating lots of things that did me no good. I needed a complete change of life, and this emerged over several months after I had had some weight reduction surgery. I felt so much better about myself and my feelings about my gender just bubbled up inside me until it was like a compulsion.”

“The same company who did the weight loss have done the transgendering and I am very happy with the result. My paperwork is now in order with my new gender and I am officially Antonia Brown. My work colleagues are very supportive, and my employer is quite happy as long as my work does not suffer.”

Antonia acknowledged another call trying to access her phone. It was Sophie, Beth’s teenage daughter. Charlotte accepted her into the Conference Call.

“What have I missed? I saw your image on Beth’s computer when she left it to call you. I think you look amazing. I want us to meet up. You must look fantastic in a bikini!”

Antonia blushed a little. “I have a bikini, but haven’t dared to wear it in public yet. It was a bit of a flight of fancy and is rather revealing.”

“Bikini’s are always revealing. That is the point.” came Sophie’s response.

“I thought you would like to meet. Can you accommodate us all, Beth?”

“Who are you thinking of inviting?” Well you four, me, and Charlotte with Jake.”

“Jake cannot come, he has to work this coming weekend and is flying to British Columbia on Friday.”

“In that case it is easier because auntie Charlotte can share my room, offered Sophie, and Antonia can have the guest room.”

“I think Sophie has made the decision for all of us.” said Beth with a smile in her voice.

“Let me say that I was shocked by your appearance a few minutes ago, but Sophie is obviously more accommodating. I really do like the new version of you, but it will take some getting used to.”

A time for arrival was sorted out with everyone gathering for a late meal on the Friday evening. Charlotte only lived a hundred miles from Beth so it was easy for her. Antonia would have a three hundred mile journey by road, so decided to fly most of the way then hire a car with her new licence for the last 50 miles.

“Don’t hire the car”, Beth retorted. I will pick you up from the regional airport and it is likely that Sophie will come too.”

As a passing shot, Sophie said. “I expect you to bring that bikini. I want to see Auntie Antonia at her most revealing.”

Charlotte ended the call with the comment that she might like to see Antonia without even the bikini. Laughter rang out as the call was ended.

The rest of the week passed very quickly. Antonia was engrossed in her work for much of the week, but made more time to eat properly and dressed well each day. Moisturisers and other basic skin products became a familiar part of her routine. As the week went on she succumbed to a pair of quality jeans that flattered her figure and fitted like a glove. Luckily the store stayed open until 9pm on a Thursday so it didn’t interfere with her work.

Friday saw her packing. This was done with care, but Antonia’s wardrobe was not so large that the choices became difficult.

So, weekend bag in hand, and a short drive to the regional airport that was close to home, and a plane that was more of a bus with wings than a proper plane, saw her at another regional airport after less than 45 minutes in the air.

Beth and Sophie were full of anticipation as Antonia headed to the terminal building, pulling her case on its wheels. She waved to the two women who appeared to be bubbling over with excitement. Sophie was jumping up and down and rushed forward into a hug as Antonia reached the gate. They blocked the entry gate with the exuberant welcome and Antonia had to apologise to a man who could not get out and coughed politely behind them.

Beth expected a twirl before a hug, and Antonia was happy to oblige.

“My God you look beautiful. I have never seen any transgendering that has been anything like as good. I would never have known you were a man previously.”

“Lets talk more in the car, I am not allowed to give details of what was done, and I certainly cannot talk freely here.”

The walk of about two hundred yards was carried out in silence except how Sophie had blossomed since they had last met.

“It is you who should give a twirl, Sophie. You have become a beautiful young woman since we last met.”

In the car the two women asked for an explanation of how the transformation had been carried out.

“All I am allowed to say is that it is an experimental procedure that both transgenders and makes the person seem younger by up to ten years. It is based on insect hormones that guide the insect through the changes that take place in the chrysalis.”

“That sounds fairly drastic. The caterpillar effectively liquifies and reforms in the chrysalis.”

“Yes, Beth, it does sound drastic, but this procedure does not go that far and only takes ten days. Undoubtedly things can go wrong, but the receptionist at the clinic was one of the first really successful patients and it was her experience that convinced me to go ahead.”

“Didn’t it cost an awful lot of money?”

“Yes Sophie, with the new wardrobe it cleaned me out.”

“Yet you think it was worth it?”

“Yes, Beth, I haven’t felt this good in years. I sleep well. I eat well. I can concentrate for longer at work. My skin is clear and I think a lot about men!”

“I was going to ask about that.” Sophie added rather precociously for a sixteen year old.

“I had a vague desire to have a relationship with a woman before, but being very overweight, with greasy hair and skin and probably bad breath, I was not an attractive proposition. As I am now, I am chatted up regularly. People who knew me as Anthony are reticent, but I seem fair game for anyone who I meet afresh. I had a week at a residential centre to teach me as much as they could about being a woman, and my guide Claire was excellent to help me choose clothes that suited my colouring and style preferences.”

The fifty miles back to Beth and Sophie’s house took 90 minutes, but the time passed very quickly.

As they parked in the drive, Charlotte stood outside to welcome them. Tom and Glyn, Beth’s husband and son stood a little further back.

Charlotte was as enthusiastic as Beth and Sophie had been at the airport, but everyone was ushered inside before the party really got going. Antonia had to repeat much of what she had said in the car and she had to try on several of her new outfits to satisfy her audience.

Beth and Charlotte went with her as she changed and approved of Antonia’s choice of lingerie. They insisted on inspecting Antonia’s body in detail, and because Sophie protested so much, she was allowed to see Antonia completely naked as well.

Back downstairs in a knitted top and mini skirt, the story continued. Antonia’s driver licence and other documents were viewed, and they were just ordinary. There was nothing special about them. In fact apart from Antonia’s new body and voice, there was nothing very different. Everyone seemed to accept the new woman without question. It was as if it always should have been that way.

Everyone joined in with making the rather late evening meal, and then to bed. Antonia could hear Charlotte and Sophie giggling late into the night in the room they were sharing, but the morning appeared soon enough.

It seemed that Charlotte and Sophie had already decided that Saturday morning needed a visit to the swimming complex. A soak in a hot tub and a few lengths of the main pool would do them all wonders and the new bikini would get its first outing.

And so it was. Breakfast of waffles and honey or other conserve, and lots of fresh coffee The morning routine was completed soon, then there was a rush to the cars.

About half an hour later they arrived en masse at the leisure centre with its pool and various water features.

Five minutes after that the women emerged. Antonia was rather self-conscious in her skimpy suit, but it fitted her well and covered all the bits that needed to be covered and the three other women were very complimentary. Even so, Antonia folded her arms over her bosom until Charlotte said that she needed to accept that she was a very attractive woman now, and didn’t need to stand so defensively.

Sophie was adamant that what was good enough for Aunt Antonia was good enough for her, and wanted to abandon her rather concealing one piece costume in favour of a bikini that enhanced her charms very effectively. She had already spotted a bikini in the swimwear shop next door. It was lovely, but Beth was torn between allowing her daughter to be a young woman, and wanting her to be the child she had enjoyed so much. In the end she relented and Sophie was bedecked in an eye turning creation in golden yellow to match her hair. The price per square inch of fabric was astronomical!

The men were trying to keep their eyes of their new sister-in-law or aunt, but both showed a healthy interest in her that could not be hidden inside Speedos! Having the big reveal of Sophie in her new bikini certainly didn’t help.

The family went their separate ways. Tom and Beth headed for the hot tub, and Antonia decided to join them. The hot water jets were pleasurable and the threesome stayed there until Sophie chided them for not having a swim.

One might think that Sophie was being a ‘right little madam’ ruling the roost in the household, but she did it with such good humour and a personality that was constantly on the boil and bubbling over, combined with her obvious joy at seeing her erstwhile uncle so beautiful, that one couldn’t take umbrage for too long.

Antonia had been a good swimmer as Anthony when he had been at school. His overweight body had been a difficult thing to reveal in swimming trunks that looked more like the sail of a yacht than a garment, so she went into the pool with some diffidence. The effect of the water creeping up her body was a new sensation, and the flotation effect of the water was not unpleasant on her breasts. She did a few strokes of a sort of doggy paddle, and then a couple of lengths of breast stroke. Muscle memory returned from all those years ago at school and Antonia moved into a quite skilful front crawl. She was aware that she was no longer as streamlined as she once was, and settled for a lazy crawl that was not impeded too much by her chest.

The family got bored quite quickly, and were soon dressed in day clothes in the entry lobby waiting for the last member to emerge from the dressing rooms. No one could imagine why Glen was taking so long to get dressed, and his father was just about to go back into the changing rooms when the lad emerged rather red faced.

“What took you so long?” his father asked.

Glen looked rather shamefacedly and his father had the sense not to press the boy too far.

Good company and good wine punctuated the remaining twenty-four hours before Antonia was whisked back to the airport by her sister. The flight home was a let down, but how could it not be? There were promises to meet up more often, and Antonia intended to keep her promises.

On the journey to the airport Sophie asked if Antonia could have children.

“The answer is yes and no. I take a version of the contraceptive pill to give me a sort of menstruation.”

“Why would anyone want to have periods if they don’t need to?”

“If I didn’t take it, the lining of my womb would get thicker and thicker until there were real problems. I need to renew the lining of my womb as all people born women have to do.”

“What about the babies?”

“I cannot produce any eggs of my own, but a fertilised egg from another woman can be implanted in my womb and it will develop normally there and I will give birth as any person born as a woman would do.”

“And breast feeding?”

“Exactly. Breast feeding as normal.”

“Mom, would you donate some of your eggs to Antonia?”

“I am forties now, and getting towards the end of my reproductive years. It would be better if someone younger donated the eggs. Charlotte would be better as she is only 32 now.”

“What about me?”

“I don’t think we need to consider you as an egg donor yet awhile, as I don’t have a partner and you are not old enough to give valid consent. Who knows what will happen when you get to 18 years old. I must get my apartment looking decent before anything else.

Antonia felt the emptiness of her apartment when she got home. It was untidy and drab. The computer and associated furniture were the only things of importance.

“Next weekend I will start on revitalising my apartment.” she said to herself, but before she became any more morose, Sophie rang. Can I come and stay with you next weekend? I can help with the revamping of your apartment.”

“I would love it, but what does Mom say?”

“She says it is ok by her, if it is ok by you!”

“Then it is ok by me. I would love to see you and we can search through second hand places together to refurnish the apartment.”

“I will pick you up from the airport on the flight that arrives at 18:00 this Friday.”

… and so it was. Sophie arrived in the big city. Her irrepressible enthusiasm lifted Antonia’s spirits and the two never stopped talking and chose second hand pieces of furniture of good quality. The apartment was vacuumed and polished as the new pieces of furniture were added and old pieces discarded. A tired Sophie caught the flight home on Sunday evening, and apparently she had to be woken at the destination, then snuggled down into the back of her mother’s car for another sleep on the way home.

It became a regular event where Sophie arrived in the big city and she and Antonia spent the time together doing all sorts of things. Sometimes it would only be for a weekend, and during vacations it was often longer. Sometimes Beth would come as well, and the three became firm friends as much as close relatives.

Sophie never mentioned about becoming an egg donor for her aunt, but she never failed to point out dishy men as they visited places around Antonia’s district.

In fact Antonia had the habit of visiting a coffee shop only a short distance from her home when having a break form the computer programming. One time she was sitting in the venue when it was crowded, and a mild mannered man asked if he could share her table.

They got talking, and found that they had a great deal in common. He asked her out to a J.S.Bach concert, and she was delighted to accept.

He was a gentleman throughout, and both enjoyed the evening. The following week they went to another concert and Paul came back to the apartment for coffee. Again he was the gentleman, and gave her a peck on the cheek as he left.

Another week went by, and Antonia felt bold enough to invite Paul to dinner. He came with wine and flowers and the meal was a real success. They watched an old romantic comedy on the television, and Antonia felt confident enough to put her head on Paul’s shoulder.

That small intimacy became more, and to cut a longish story short, Paul spent the night there.

The next time Sophie came to stay, Paul was introduced. Later Sophie confided in her aunt. “I like Paul, he is good for you. You can start a new life with him! Can I be a bridesmaid?”

“If it goes on, then of course, but he hasn’t asked me to marry him.”

“Let me know when to get my eggs flushed!”

“SOPHIE !!!!!!!!”