Chapter 3

Next morning, after breakfast, he loaned me a gown and slippers and I crossed the garden between number two and number six, carrying my clothes. I was sure that I would be seen by the others but, today, I didn’t care. I had done what Jenny and Aggie surely did. My mind was full of memories of last night, a perfect way to lose my virginity.

Chapter 1

I was told that when you reach the end of your tether, you either fall off in despair or start climbing back in hope. My slide on the tether started the day my wife, Zena, came home early to find me in my office, slaving over a spreadsheet, dressed in a slim skirt, lacy blouse, stockings, heels and fully made-up under a strawberry-blonde wig.

The Devil You Know

It was Halloween, and the usual crowd had gathered in the pub to be safe from ‘trick or treaters’. They weren’t heavy drinkers, just steady drinkers, and were all mildly happy by nine. As usual, none of the talk was about the particular reason for the evening, until Harry suggested that it was a nice evening, if a bit foggy, perfect for the kids roaming the streets.

“You think that the kids like wandering around in the fog, Harry?”

“No, Bert, it’s just that it’s the one night of the week they can have fun and dress up.”

Sorry about the delay. I haven’t been able to get to the site for several days, with the message URL Not found.
Chapter 10

We arranged a date for the signing on a day the banks would be open. Then we left again, while Geraldine took a very confused Judy by the hand to lead her into the inner sanctum, to meet, I expect two women that she had never spoken to before.

Chapter 8

The only break, the following Wednesday, was when we had the Mayor come along to cut a ribbon to declare Harrison Industrial Steelworks open for business. I took Carol and the girls in that day all of us dressed to the nines, and we met up with Janet, Gerald, and the rest of the Board, with their families. Geraldine turned up, with Bobby driving her and Astrid. Cyril and the rest of the office were there, along with some of the other union representatives.

Chapter 6

As I drove south, I was very mindful of the speed limits, something that I now took very seriously, not wanting to have my licence being checked while I was in a skirt. Being a nice day, I had opted for something casual but well made and we had bought a couple of good skirts, suited to a businesswoman.

I had a good collection of blouses that we had bought to go with the skirt suits that were in the garment bags hanging in the back of the car, alongside the new dress that had cost almost as much as a month’s salary.

Chapter 4

After that, Albert and I talked a bit of shop, but I tried to keep Raylene in the discussion, adding bits of information for her to add to whatever knowledge she had about running a Union. When I had paid, we stood and went to fetch our coats. Raylene gave me a hug, and then I did the same for Albert. I was happy that he didn’t recoil or flinch. Our time, tonight, had allowed him to think of me as a woman.

Chapter 2

After the others had left, I started making calls. If the girls I wanted to talk to weren’t at home, I’d leave a message for them to call before six-thirty today or tomorrow. By the time I put the phone down at a quarter to seven, I had a list of nine girls, who were all happy to be kept informed about a new site with female welders.

This was originally written as a contest entry, but has - shock, horror - a sex scene. So, it's just a short story about going too far.
Marianne

Family Ties

It was early evening, I was on my bed, and I was in trouble. It was purely of my own making, and it needed me to think clearly and work out how I was going to get out of the trouble I was in.

Part 8

On Sunday, we were visited by Sandra and her parents. They wanted to know just what they were letting themselves in for. They had signed the contract after hearing the two songs, and were now having second thoughts.

Part 6

Sunday, we had a day at the beach at Lyme Regis, with the parents. It was the first chance that Dad had to be where we could talk quietly. He spoke to Angelica as we walked along the foreshore, eating ice-creams. Whatever he told her, it must have been good, as she gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Then, he walked between us while Mum steered Angelica away.

Part 4

“Girls, I wouldn’t have spent it if we couldn’t. You know I do the books for the business, and I can tell you that we do very well. We owe nothing on the house and land because they’ve come down through the family; the original truck fleet were bought just after the war for next to nothing, and the tank transporters came out of a military auction. The Burrells cost about fifty pounds each, so I was told, and are now worth over a quarter of a million, each.”

Part 2

The stage was set up with a bank of speakers on either side, where we would come out from behind. The backing tape went through those, with our voices going through a PA system. As we emerged, with Angelica singing the first lines, I was almost pushed forward by the impact of the sound.

View from a Bridge

The old tune was on constant repeat in my head as I walked, slowly, across the bridge, carrying a heavy knapsack. The view was particularly stunning this bright early summer day. Following the lines of the song, though, I couldn’t take any more.

This one started as an idea for a longer story, but the team was so good they solved the case before it went too far. It wrapped up just in time for Christmas.
Marianne

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Going back into the house, I helped with the dinner, and we sat to enjoy the meal. Mum had found a bottle of white wine which had been in the fridge, and we had a glass, each. It wasn’t bad. I had baked a cake, during the week, so we each had a slice, covered in custard out of a carton.

Chapter 1

I’ve heard it said that Bob Dylan intended his ‘The Times, They Are A’ Changing’ to be a protest song. The first version I remember hearing was sung by Simon and Garfunkel, and it sounded more like a ‘progress’ song, when sung without the nasal whine. The first verse that relates to the water rising until you have to swim to survive must be a metaphor for the reality of growing up and making your own way in life.

Chapter 38

By the time we got near Christmas, again, there had been another shift in focus. Ali had been invited to apply for the Juilliard School in New York, a singular honor for one so young. She, however, wanted none of it. In the middle of the year, she would have finished high school and was certain that if Wayne County was good enough for her Aunty Pet, it was good enough for her.

Chapter 5

After we had cleaned ourselves, he went back out into the corridor, smiling to himself. I did an enema sluice, then got up into my bunk and tried to sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he had given me a soft ejaculation during our love making. I wondered if it was the pills that I was taking.

Chapter 4

I was another few days in that ward, moving better and finding my new balance. I ate well and began to feel good about myself. I felt a lot better after a visit by a ward hairdresser. I was now issued with a whole new outfit, plus a bag with two complete spares. The dress wasn’t just one altered from a jump suit. No, it was from the women’s prison and shaped to fit a woman with my attributes.

Chapter 3

I forced myself to be aloof, to block out the sight of casual murder, and to make sure it wasn’t going to happen to me. Back in our part of the prison, Dirk gave Cloe a hug and a kiss, and then turned to me, to hold me close and deliver a kiss as gentle, but more urgent, than the one that Spike had given me last night.

Bull, who had stayed in the cells to keep guard of our little section, then spoke.

Chapter 34

I waited for the rejection, but she swallowed and smiled and asked if the plain was much different. I told her that they were just “fishier” and picked out a small one for her to try, taking one for myself and showing her that these are eaten straight from the shell. She made a face when it was in her mouth and didn’t chew much before swallowing. She thought for a few moments and then reached for another.

Chapter 33

Wilhelm led the three of us off and the orchestra followed. Over some refreshments Kelly announced that tomorrow afternoon was a full-dress rehearsal with the press attending, starting at three so that we could stay dressed for the Friday night performance, if we didn’t spill any drinks on our outfits.

Chapter 5

They didn’t get to talk to the daughter on Friday. When Sally rang her in her shop, she refused to discuss anything over the phone. She would only talk to Sally, and only on Sunday, in Saint Georges Park, near the centre of Manchester, by the slide. She said that she would be there at one and have her toddler in a black stroller.

Sally asked who had Sunday free, and Ben put his hand up.

“My partner, Anne, has a toddler, about five years old. We could take some recreation time there, after a fast-food lunch. Is it on overtime?”