Chapter 3

Saturday morning, Willow and Wendy carried the Yamaha to the club, making another trip to collect the stand and stool. Malcolm had put the amp in place and set out three microphones. Willow took a dining chair from the back room and set one microphone in front of it, at a level to pick up a seated singer.

Ending of Book One

Christmas day, it was just Willow and her grandmother who walked to the church, arm in arm with their breath steaming. Willow played to a church full of joyful villagers, singing the carols as she played them. Afterwards, there was a lot of hugging, kissing and love being spread around. Willow was happy that she was fully accepted by the villagers, but more so by her grandmother’s joy at being with her.

Chapter 22

Willow couldn’t help herself. She just had to laugh.

“I’ll say the same thing that the Head said when he suggested we add ‘Danse Macabre’ in May. That man!!! He’s not a person one would tell that he’s wrong, so we’ll just have to go with the flow. It will be a powerful concert, though. I’ll have to go to the Cathedral to rehearse before the show. I could perfect it here on our organ, but there are more options on theirs.”

“That will be all right. I think that he just likes hearing you play.”

Chapter 20

Finally, Willow and Gina could take their leave and go to the club to collect the keyboard. They were greeted by Malcolm, who gave each girl an envelope, with notes in them.

“That was a great show you put on, last night, girls.”

“Even the Bishop mentioned it in the service this morning.”

“We had the Bishop in here, last night?”

“We did, and he told everyone how much he had enjoyed it. Can we have a quick look at the back room, please? We’re thinking about your idea of a Christmas party.”

Chapter 18

On Monday morning, Willow felt better. She had dreamed about life back in Bristol and had pictured herself in a bramble bush after being bullied. The word ‘stoic’ stayed in her mind. She went down for breakfast, determined that life continues, whatever had happened, and you just have to adapt. She was even able to speak about things when Wendy asked what had happened.

Chapter 16

The rest of the orchestra sat quietly as Willow played the Saint-Saens piece, with fingers over strings and hands on the percussion, to dampen any resonances. When she had finished, a couple of the percussion players pushed the organ to one side as she went back to her seat. Alec smiled and made a kissy face as she sat down.

Chapter 14

He was back quickly.

“Right, let’s get this opened and turned on. It’s electric in a traditional instrument. Here’s the hymns for this morning. Thank you for sitting in.”

Chapter 12

Sunday morning, they were up and ready for church. Willow showed her parents the pathway across the field, and it was a pleasant stroll in the morning sun. At the church, they saw Maisie and Gina arriving, so the girls left the adults to talk and went up to prepare the organ for the morning service. Willow asked if Gina wanted to play the arrival music, and she sat at the keyboard and started doodling Bach and Beethoven piano pieces.

Chapter 10

On Sunday morning, the Rose family were at the church as the bells started their peal. Today, because it wasn’t a special occasion, the Reverend Russell was wearing a grey suit and his clerical collar. He welcomed them when they arrived.

“Good morning, good people. A little bird told me that my organist was tickling the ivories in a den of iniquity last night. One of my wardens rang me from the club to let me hear some of the festivities. It sounded like a good time. Are you ready for today, Willow?”

Chapter 8

Willow told her mother about her day on the way home, then allowed Wendy to tell her how her day at work was. They arrived home before Ashley and started preparing dinner together after they had changed. Willow was finding soothing to be preparing vegetables and learning how to cook, something that most girls go through well before they reach their teens.

There are five completed books of this story, with a total of 114 chapters. I figure that if I post them every few days, it will take the rest of this year to complete. Hoping that you all stay with it.
Marianne

Chapter 6

Chapter 4

Backstage was organised chaos. The theatre had been built with this kind of event in mind, so there were individual rooms for the different acts, with make-up mirrors and sinks. They joined Dianne and Barbara in their room, and the four of them went next door to the singing group. Willow was introduced around, and the leader told her that if she didn’t fit the rest of them to just mime. Zara insisted that Willow was perfect.

Chapter 2

The next morning, his mother was busy writing a list while Bill played the violin in his room. Around mid-morning, her mobile rang, and her husband told her that the two of them had an appointment at the clinic at two that afternoon. She went up to Bill’s room to tell him that she was going to get them sandwiches for lunch as they were going out after that.

They had some time together as she made their lunch and Bill looked at the list that his mother had left on the table.

Chapter 3

Walter drove us back to the agency in the bigger car, with me in the front and the others in the back. Before I got out, he gave me his business card and I told him my mobile number, which he entered into his own phone, ‘so we can coordinate the shoot details’. I stood on the pavement, and we watched him drive away. Janice laughed.

“I wonder if there are more like that at home?”

End of ‘The Girl with a Curl
On the day I left to go home for the holiday, I packed my bag and looked at the one I had done for my wall. It was next to the catalogue picture I had bought, and was a picture of Gloria, Judith, me, Monica, and Sally, as I remembered us on the first day that I had told anyone my secret. We were all in our jogging outfits, in the park, with me in the middle. I had straight hair and no make-up, but I still looked like a tomboy. That day was the first day on the journey that had brought me here. They do say that every journey begins with the first step, and that was the day that I had taken a leap of faith, on the way to becoming a ‘Girl with a Curl’.

Chapter 6

Before I left the doctor, I made an appointment for the following Friday to get my results. I would have to hang around for the opening sale if all the others were anything to go by. I went back to the hotel and had dinner there. I had an early night but didn’t sleep quickly. I kept wondering if I had done the right things today.

Chapter 2

I followed the girls to the café on a shopping mall called Above Bar Street. It wasn’t very far, and had everything you would need, especially banks. There was a branch of the one I used, just five minutes from the office.

We all had a light lunch, with me following the girls to try the salad. It would not have been a good look if I had ordered a burger. I did note the range that they had, for when I was here on my own. There! I was already thinking about being here for real.

This is a little story I wrote, before I started on a two-story set of serials. It introduces the reader to a place that appears in the following posts.
Marianne

The Flip Side

I didn’t get caught up in cross dressing until I was in my late teens. It was a slow, but inexorable process. I suppose it came about from my choice of work. I wasn’t good enough for university, so left school when I was sixteen.