Ricky and Jennifer go to the auction. Linda Groveston meets them there and makes Ricky/Michelle an offer. Ricky gets some surprises and turns the will over to Sandra's attorney.

The Diary -chapter 5

By

Paula Dillon

Things happened fast after Mom made up her mind that something needed doing. We packed up the laptop and headed out the door. Jennifer and I rode with mom to a prosthetics shop. Mom explained to the shopkeeper, that I was curious about the transgendered and had ordered the breastforms that I was wearing. Inez, the lady at the shop, just accepted this at face value. Mom told her that I needed smaller breastforms.

“The transsexuals that I have known,” Inez said. “Want to have larger breasts. The reason being, I am told, is that it minimizes their larger waists and a lot of them just like big breasts. That won’t be a problem for Michelle, I don’t think?”

“Well, I don’t like the way that they make Michelle look more mature than she is.”

“Follow me girls,” the shop keeper said.

She led us into the back and asked Michelle to take her blouse and bra off. Inez then measured and fitted Michelle with a set of forms that were significantly smaller.

“These breastforms will give you an average B cup, Michelle. The breastforms you were wearing are closer to a double D on you.”

“That is much better,” Angela said.

“Do you want me to adhere them to her, we have a medical adhesive the will hold them on for about two weeks?”

“I have to wear them for two weeks? What about school, Mom?”

“No, of course not. You just use the solvent to peel them off,” Inez said. “They will be more natural this way. You will avoid having your bra twisting around you and wind up with a breast in your underarm. We have some bras too, not as nice as what you were wearing, but you can’t wear that bra now anyway.”

Inez attached the breastforms onto Michelle and got her into one of their bras. Angela bought another set of breastforms, a couple of bras, some adhesive and solvent. At the mall, they stopped and got a half dozen more panty and bra sets.

*************

The next two hours were a blur. Ricky/Michelle got his truck and headed home. Ricky changed into the faux vagina, clean panties one of his new bras. He decided to dress for comfort, so he selected a T-shirt, jeans and heels. Jennifer took off her wig, and skirt before dressing in her own jeans. Then Angela took her home to pack, while Ricky packed for Michelle and Angela. He selected casual and business clothes. Ricky was surprised to see what he thought he would need. He packed two large suitcases, make up kit and a garment bag, just for him for the two days, instead of his usual carry on bag and small duffle.

Ten minutes after Jennifer and Angela returned, they headed off. Ricky/Michelle started off driving, with Angela sitting next to him and Jennifer in the back. Angela began reading Sandra’s Diary, on Ricky’s laptop. Jennifer showed her the pictures that were stored on the laptop.

Angela took over driving duty after about two hours.

“Sandra does seem to be a nice person. After all she went through; I could see where she could have become bitter and angry.”

“I agree Mom; she just wanted to be herself and everyone else she loved, turned against her, except her Grandmother.”

“Ok, let’s talk about tomorrow. There is an open inspection from nine to noon. The auction will run from one to seven, Saturday and Sunday. They have a large warehouse full of various items. I will get two catalogues and we will split up. I will work from the front of the catalogue to the middle and you Ricky, will work from the back to the middle.”

“How much money do we have?”

“You can spend ten grand; we have fifty grand in cash and letters of credit up to three hundred grand.”

**************

Everyone was up at six to shower and get dressed. Angela did Michelle’s makeup. They all dressed in jeans and sneakers.

They had checked into a motel near the warehouse the night before. They took two adjoining rooms. Ricky/Michelle and Angela took one, while Jennifer took the other. They were so tired they just kissed and crashed in separate beds.

After they ate breakfast, they headed to the auction house. Angela Crawford registered, turned in her letters of credit and bought two catalogues.

Jennifer was excited, she had never been to an auction this size before. There were hundreds of people just wandering around. She and Ricky were going through the isles checking out the various lots as Angela went on her own, so that they could cover more of the in the three hours.

Ricky/Michelle took this time to teach Jennifer more about antiques. She showed her where makers are usually placed their marks on the furniture, which makers made more desirable furniture and such. Ricky and Angela would call each other to talk about this item or that item and they would make notes on which stuff they wanted and which they would avoid. Angela even called Linda Groveston about certain things they found. She was excited to hear about them and told Angela that she might come down for the auction Sunday. They each found questionable items, that may be old furniture, but wasn’t what the item was being advertised as.

At major auction houses, the auctioneers would vet the items that were up for sale. If Christie’s said an item was a genuine antique, it usually was. They have been wrong before and when proven wrong, they usually make it right. It’s their good name at stake, after all.

“Not everything that looks good is valuable, Jennifer and not everything that looks bad is junk. You just have to know what you are looking at,” Ricky said.

“It’s like people then.”

Ricky/Michelle had to stop and think a bit about what she said, “Yes I guess it is. So where does that put me.”

“You are a pretty diamond amongst rhinestones, Michelle.”

“Thank you Jen. I think you are a treasure more valuable than gold too.”

The two of them also took time to measure the other people who were at the auction. It wasn’t hard to tell which people were looking at the lots with a precise eye and which people were just going through the motions of looking at them. Sometimes you had to look very close at the people. Ricky/Michelle saw one lady that most people would dismiss as an air head. She was dressed in a sophisticated gaudy outfit that might have been in fashion fifty years ago on Hedda Hopper and would fawn over a piece of fluff while eyeing the piece next to it.

At auctions it was never a good idea to give away your intent to bid on certain items. Other people would pick up on it and if they thought you were a competent bidder, they would go after the item too. This is what an auctioneer hopes for. Auctioneers get paid a percentage of the sale price. The higher the price the more they make.

They met up in the middle just before twelve. They would have loved to check the things out more closely, but they needed to eat and went out to grab a quick bite.

They sat around and compared notes as they ate. There were quite a few lots that they were interested in and some they wanted to stay away from. They weren’t a big fish in this pond. Together they developed a plan to get what they wanted and what they could at a price that would provide a profit for them. They wrote their limits on certain items, into their catalogues.

The auction began right at one pm. Bidding was aggressive and short. Most lots moved in three to five minutes, with some of the better antiques drawing out the bidding to seven or eight minutes.

Angela and Ricky/Michelle got a few of the items they really wanted. Jennifer kept notes on what they had spent so far and kept them apprised. Where the bidding got hot and heavy, the excitement level of the crowd increased.

The “good stuff” didn’t come up till about three thirty. A 19 th century armoire that came with a provenance and was in excellent condition, was the first of the best. Bidding started slow, at about a third of its value. Angela jumped in with a bid, made to reduce the number of people bidding on the item and bring it to over half of it’s value. A couple of serious bidders came in. The bidding went back and forth till Angela made her limit bid. The bid held through going once and someone overbid her by five hundred. Angela gritted her teeth and bid a thousand over the last bidder and that bid held out.

Jennifer saw a bed, which was a close match to the vanity Ricky had given her. Angela told her, she would get it for her, if she worked at the resale shop over the summer. Jen called her Mom, who agreed to it. The bed went for a little more than they expected, but it already had a good home to go to.

Angela did well on the first day. She had spent about a third of her allotment for this auction, but had a lot to show for her efforts.

They met up with Linda, at the motel they were staying at. She had gotten a room there also. She wasn’t a bit surprised at seeing Michelle. They all changed clothes and met up, to go to a nice restaurant.

At the restaurant, they made their orders and then began to chat about the merchandise that was on auction. Angela went over what was sold, what she bought and what was left for the auction on Sunday.

“So, what are you girls going to do this summer,” Linda asked, as they finished talking about their auction business.

“I am going to work for Mrs. Crawford, at her resale shop,” Jennifer said. “I have to pay her for a bed she bought me at this auction.”

“Really, what is it like?”

Jennifer went on to describe the bed. She had learned from Ricky about how to accurately describe furniture and she liked showing off what she had learned.

“What I like about it most is, that it goes well with the antique vanity that Rick gave me.”

“Really, what is the vanity like?” Linda said, with some excitement in her voice.

Jennifer went on to describe it, in detail.

“That is really nice to have such friends like these. What are you doing Michelle?”

“Ricky will probably be working with his Mom, at her antique shop.”

“How would Michelle like to come to work with me? It might be nice to learn something about Interior Decorating and being an antique buyer for me.”

“You want me,” Ricky/Michelle said, showing that she understood the implications. “Working for you this summer?”

“Yes, I would like Michelle working with me this summer. Michelle can look more mature than a boy her age, and with what she knows about the antiques business, it can only help me. I have a lot of new clients coming here this summer. I really could use some help.”

Ricky felt trapped, he would like to work with Mrs. Groveston, but he didn’t know if he wanted to be Michelle all summer.

“Mom?”

“It is up to you kiddo. You know what it would mean, don’t you?”

“Yes, I would be here all summer.”

“It might help you to appreciate women better and you will get to understand the other side of the business, putting things together that work right and well together. It will also help you to understand what people want better.”

“How would we do this?”

“You can come live with me, if that helps,” Linda said. “I have a home a few miles away from your shop. You will still be in town and be able to see your Mom and Jennifer.”

“Can I think about it for a few days?”

“If you can let me know by Wednesday, Friday I would like to take you shopping for work clothes. I like to dress well for my business, suits, heels and such. You would need to dress for success.”

“Ok, I will let you know by Wednesday.”

**************

Sunday, Angela had Michelle and Jennifer dress in nice skirts and blouses. There would be no crawling around taking close looks at antiques today. Angela wanted them to look more professional. Michelle looked very nice in one of Sandra’s suits. She wore a blue/gray skirted suit, over a white chiffon blouse. The skirt was a little too short for business but looked good on Michelle. Jennifer wore a light rose skirt, and a tapestry vest with a lot of roses over a white blouse. Angela wore one of her business suits, a deep burgundy skirted suit with a matching vest, over a white silk blouse. They all wore pantyhose and heels.

They met Linda for breakfast. She too was attired for work. She wore an azure blazer and a black skirt, over an ash gray silk blouse.

“Hi everyone,” Linda said. “Now, that is how I would like you to dress, Michelle, if you come to work for me. You just need a little longer skirt.”

Things went hot and heavy at the auction. There were more buyers there and many were more savvy buyers. The bids were getting higher by the end of the auction for two reasons. First, some of the best stuff didn’t come up till then. Secondly the bidders didn’t want to go home empty handed.

Angela didn’t get everything she wanted, but due to all their preparation they didn’t get hosed and she did get many of the things she wanted for her antique shop. Linda also selected a few lots to bid on. She had Angela bid on them for her and then bought them from her.

Angela was lost in thought as they got back to the motel.

“Linda, I am a little torn right now. The kids need to get back so they can go to school tomorrow and I want to stay so I can arrange shipment. We are going to need more than my two and a half ton truck to get all this back home.”

“I can take them home for you.”

“Would you, that would be so nice. Michelle, do you have your key?”

“Yes Mom, I have my key.”

“Ok, you kids be good. I will see you all tomorrow.”

The kids packed up and met Linda in the lobby. On the drive home, Linda described what she had in store, if Michelle took her job.

“If you choose to take my offer, you will be working with me, as my assistant and with a few of my other people, learning what we do and working closely with my clients. I want you to meet and greet, and make them feel comfortable. I expect to hear your thoughts and ideas, as much as you will listen to the other people. I expect you to ask questions and help work on solutions. I expect you to read up on interior design in our trade magazines.”

“How much do you do? Do you start from bare floors and an empty house?”

“We do as much or as little as the client wants. We do empty houses, offices, and entire buildings. We help pick out flooring and wall colors, furniture, kitchens and accessories. I have also done accessibility make overs, for the physically challenged. You know ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance, ramps, doors, bathrooms and such. We’ve child-proofed homes, made houses safer and easier to keep up with, for the elderly. The elderly can be a pain to work with. You have to be patient and diplomatic. Often their homes are overflowing with clutter and they don’t want anything to go out the door. It may be good clutter, but even too much of a good thing can be bad.”

“Those things are their memories, they are afraid of losing them. Each item means something to them,” Michelle said.

“Even at the risk of a fall, from too much stuff in their rooms? The elderly sometimes need a lot of room and a safe path to get around their homes. We try to reduce the number of trip hazards and sharp edges, to reduce the danger of injury. A less cluttered home is safer and easier for them to keep clean,” Linda said.

It was well after eleven when Ricky/Michelle got home. Linda just dropped him off, after allowing him to kiss Jen good night.

Ricky undressed and removed the breastforms and placed them back in their box. Cleaned the makeup off his face, making sure there was no trace left and then went to bed.

**************

Monday was a busy day at school, all the teachers were shifting gears and going over all the things that would be on the final exams, which would take place the next week. Students were given a plethora of study material that they would be covering in class this week.

At lunch, Jen and Ricky talked about Linda’s job offer.

“Do you think I should take the job, Jen?”

“It sounds like a good job. It is strange that she wants Michelle for the job, but she seems like a nice woman. I think she may think you act and look more mature as Michelle.”

“Do I?”

“I like you a lot Ricky, but I think Michelle does act seem older, more mature. I know that she isn’t more mature or trust worthy, she gets her maturity and responsibility from you. Everything considered, I think you should take the job. It will be a good experience, learning to decorate a home or an office.”

“What do you think about Michelle?”

“If I didn’t have you, I might have to become a lesbian and seduce Michelle. I love her as much as I love you. There is one benefit I get from having Michelle in my life, I can borrow her clothes and she has some really nice clothes.” Jennifer said, giggling.

Ricky and Jennifer both went to their own homes after school to study. Jennifer’s Mom was the one to insist on that. Ricky studied for an hour and a half, he was pretty well ready for his finals. He possessed the ability to retain and understand much of what the teacher taught and more of what he read. So just going over the study material brought him up to date.

Closing his last book, he pulled the suitcase from beneath his bed and opened it. He picked up one prescription and read it. The first script was for Spironolacetone. He wasn’t familiar with it, so he looked it up. Spironolacetone was a diuretic and an anti-androgen. The next one was Estrace. Estrace was a form of estrogen, a female sex hormone. The next medicine he looked at was Lisinopril. Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor used for high blood pressure. The next medicine was medroxyprogesterone. That was another female hormone. Lastly, there were many vials of Estradiol Valerate, an injectable form of estrogen and a bunch of syringes. He also found a chart that showed the course of treatment. It showed what Sandra took and when.

Ricky had a stray thought about the hormones, wondering what it would be like to take them. He had everything to start becoming more like Sandra, but did he really want to do that. He went to the phone and called the family doctor.

“Hello, this is Doctor Amanda Parker’s office, how may I help you?”

“Hello, this is Ricky Crawford, I was wondering if I could speak with Doctor Parker.”

“Oh hello Ricky, this is Cynthia, what do you need to talk to the Doc about.”

“I bought a suitcase at auction and it has a bunch of drugs in it.”

“Illegal drugs or prescriptions?” Cynthia asked with concern.

“They are all prescriptions, I think.”

“Hold on a minute!” she said.

“Hello Ricky, this is Amanda, tell me what you have.”

“Well I bought a suitcase loaded with a bunch of drugs, prescription drugs, cartons of prescription drugs and syringes.”

“Please bring them by my office, if you could.”

“Ok, I can be there in about twenty five minutes.”

“Ok, I will see you then. Bye.”

It only took Ricky about twenty minutes to close the suitcase and drive to the doctor’s office. He only had to wait about ten minutes to be called back to the doctor’s office.

Dr. Parker smiled when she saw Ricky and hugged him as he came into her office pulling his suitcase.

“Hello Ricky, how are you doing?”

“I am doing alright.”

“You could stand to put on a little weight, you seem a bit underweight to me, but tell me what you have and how you came to possess these drugs.”

“Well, I went to an auction at a storage locker rental establishment. They were auctioning off the contents of the lockers. This case was in the locker.” He said, placing the case on the doctor’s desk and opening it.

“Ok, let me see what you got,” Amanda said, putting on her glasses.

Dr. Parker took out one box and read the label to identify the patient, the medication and the prescribed dosage.

“So, do you know this Sandra Metcalf?”

“Sort of, but not really. I have learned a bit about her, but I never have met her.

Dr. Parker nodded, as she opened one of the bottles and took out a pill. She then took out her PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) and compared it with what it was suppose to be and with what it was.

“What do you know about her?” Amanda asked.

“Well I know that she was born, William Trent.”

“That answers a lot of questions. Do you know what these are?”

“They are hormones and blood pressure medications.”

“Can you get them back to Sandra Metcalf?”

“No, I can’t… She passed away in Thailand. She had gone there for SRS surgery.”

“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that,” Amanda said, showing real concern. “Do you know what happened to her?”

Ricky pulled out the email that he received from Thailand and gave it to the doctor. Amanda read the email and said, “Oh, that is so sad.” as she read it.

“Can you tell me what it was like for her? Dying that is.”

“Well, I don’t know if I would trust what you have been told, but if this is right…” Amanda said, and she explained what had happened. She used a chart of the human body to explain where the aneurysm might have been. She also speculated on what may have caused the hypertensive crisis.

“All of these pills were Sandra’s HRT meds, except for the blood pressure meds. She was taking them to transition from a male to a female. Well, I guess I will dispose of the pills and syringes for you. You haven’t taken any of this medication have you?”

“No ma’am, I haven’t.”

“You won’t mind if I check do you? This is like Detante, trust but verify.”

“I guess its ok.”

Dr. Parker pressed a button and her nurse Mary came in. “Mary, please take Ricky’s weight, temp, blood pressure and order these blood tests,” She said writing on an orders sheet.

Ricky went with Mary as Amanda was removing all the medicines and syringes from the case. She then searched the case to make sure she got them all. There were papers in the lid, but she found that there was a false bottom in the bottom. She opened the bottom up and found many velvet bags. She opened up one bag and found a bunch of pearls. She pulled out a twenty six inch strand of ten or eleven mm pearls and rubbed a couple of the pearls together. “Oh, my. These things feel real.” She said to herself. Looking at the clasp she said, “If this clasp is real and the pearls are real, these are worth a small fortune.” She found three more necklaces, an eighteen inch, a sixteen inch and a three strand pearl chocker, along with several sets of pearl earrings.

Amanda pressed the button again. “Mary, make sure Ricky comes back to my office.”

She opened another bag and found a bunch of smaller bags. Inside the smaller bags she found what looked like diamonds. She took a ring with a multi-carat marquis cut stone and breathed on it and watched her breath quickly fade away. She took the ring and made a short scratch on her glass desktop. She put the ring on one of her fingers and admired it. She would love to own this ring. She quickly took it off, as much as she wanted it, it wasn’t hers. She quickly checked all the bags and just found more jewelry.

A knock at the door preceded Ricky’s entrance. He saw all the jewelry set out on her desk.

“Ricky, it had to have been an exceptional day for you to win the bid on that locker. This is what I found under all the medications.”

“Are those REAL,” Ricky gasped.

“I don’t know sweety, but if I were a betting woman, I would guess that at least most are real. If they are, you might have a half million or more in bling here.”

“Take what you want Dr. Parker.”

“Oh Ricky, I love you,” She said, batting her eyelids at Ricky. “But no I can’t take any of this from you. It’s just too much. I suppose they are yours or your Mom’s now,” she said giggling, holding up the pearl chocker. “This would look so divine on you Ricky,” she teased.

Ricky blushed a bit and said, “I might give Jennifer a piece or two.”

“Jennifer Singleton, right.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“That would be too much in my opinion. At least for right now, wait till graduation time to give her some of the pearls and maybe if you two get engaged you can give her more. How are you two doing?”

“We are doing great; we both went to an auction in Austin with my Mom, this last weekend.”

“You two haven’t had sex yet, have you? You can trust me, I won’t tell your Mom, and I am only concerned about your health.”

“Not yet, we haven’t.”

“But it’s a close thing, right?”

Ricky nodded.

“That’s good, hold off as long as you can and use protection if you do. You don’t want to be a teenage poppa do you? Now get this stuff off my desk before I am tempted to snatch a piece or two and without fail be sure you let Angela know about this stuff.”

**************

At home, Ricky laid out all the bling on the kitchen table. He got his laptop and began making an inventory of the items. He just kept a few items off the inventory: two pair of diamond and pearl earrings, the 16 and 18 inch strands of pearls, most of the gold and silver bangles, a couple of, gold and silver necklaces, and a bracelet that had some pretty colored stones of green, blue and red. He figured that they were emeralds, sapphires and rubies, but he wasn’t an expert. He took those to his room.

The whole top of the dinning room table looked like a jewelry store, when Angela came in.

“What jewelry store did you rob, Ricky?”

“I finally got the last case open from the storage locker, Mom. Inside there was a bunch of … prescription drugs. I immediately called Dr. Parker and took all of them to her, in the case.”

“What kind of drugs were they?”

“Something called Spironolacetone, an injectable estrogen, Estrace, medroxyprogesterone and Lisinopril. Amanda said they were Sandra’s HRT meds and a high blood pressure drug. She said something about detante and trust, but verify, so even though she trusted me about not taking any of the medicine, she had her nurse check me out and took some blood.”

“Trust but verify, Ronald Regan used that term. I learned that it was an old Russian proverb "doveryai, no proveryai" It was good that you called her and I don’t blame her for wanting to verify that you weren’t taking those drugs. They are powerful hormones and they could be dangerous to your health, but where did this treasure come from.”

“Well, beneath all the drugs, there was a secret compartment in the case. She found all these velvet bags and this stuff was in the bags.”

“This makes sense now. I wondered about finding all those high fashion clothes and no jewelry,” She said, picking up a necklace with about, what appeared to be, fifty or so diamonds, from about one eighth of an inch, to a half inch drop. The large stone was cool to her touch, she breathed on it to fog it up, but the fog quickly dissipated. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass jelly jar and scratched it deeply. “Oh my, I think this stuff is real. So what are you doing with all of it, sitting out on the table?”

“I am making a list of it, so you know what we have, in case you take it to someone to appraise.”

“Smart kid, let’s see what you got?”

Ricky went down the list and Angela read over his shoulder. He had done a pretty good job. Angela corrected some of the item descriptions and expanded others. They carefully bagged up everything and took it to her room. Angela had a floor safe hidden beneath her nightstand and under the carpet, in her room. Ricky knew where it was and he also knew the combination, although he didn’t know what she kept there. Ricky printed out a half dozen copies of the inventory. Two copies went in the safe and the rest were secreted around the house.

Over dinner, Angela talked to Ricky about what she had found out.

“That lawyer we are supposed to go to, is legit. I found that he is held in high esteem by some lawyers I know. I called and made an appointment for two pm on Wednesday. I called your principal and told her we had some legal issues to work out. She said you would just miss P.E. and Chemistry that day, coupled with your perfect attendance and A’s in those classes, she approved you missing those classes. Have you thought about Linda’s offer?”

“Yes I have, I just wanted to talk with you alone first. What do you think about it?”

“Well, it would be good for you to learn about interior design. It ties in with antiques business, but it also encompasses so much more. I just worry about you portraying a girl all summer.”

“That worries me and at the same time, intrigues me too. I almost want to do it for the experience alone. I see how learning about interior design could help me later. I think I could hack being a girl all summer.”

“Aren’t you afraid of losing yourself in all that lace and satin?”

“I wouldn’t be losing myself, I would still be me, just in a different package. I would still love you Mom.”

“You have never been a macho manly man, Ricky, but that has allowed you to be a better man than most of the men I know. I will still love you, no matter what package you wear. So what is your decision?”

“I like Linda, I am going to accept her offer.”

“Ok, I will call her tomorrow, if you want?” Angela said, proud of her son. She would have been proud of him no matter what he had decided.

“Go ahead and call her Mom.”

**************

The next day, Ricky walked Jennifer in the front door at school. They talked till the one minute bell rang. Ricky gave Jennifer a quick peck on her cheek and pressed a small velvet bag in her hand, before making a quick get away, as they both had to hurry to get to classes.

At lunch, Ricky saw Jennifer heading his way, with her tray. He couldn’t read her expression, as she kept he face neutral. She would be terrific at poker, Ricky thought, as she sat next to him and moved a little closer than necessary.

“Well?” Ricky asked.

“Well what, Ricky?” Jennifer replied.

“Did you check out the bag?”

“What bag?”

“Stop playing, Jen. Did you look in the bag I gave you this morning?”

“You mean that black velvet bag, you pressed in my palm before home room?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, I thought you gave it to me to throw away. I dumped it in the trash can in Mr. Johnston’s room.” Jennifer said, in a non-plussed manner.

“What!!!” Ricky said, almost jumping out of his seat.

“Sit down Ricky, you’re starting to draw attention,” Jennifer said calmly, as she pushed her hair back a bit, revealing a diamond and pearl drop earrings she was wearing. “I just had to get you. You almost cost me an hour of detention today. Mr. Johnston didn’t like me disturbing his class when I opened up the bag. I gave out a whoop, when I poured out the earrings into my palm.”

“I could always take them back,” Ricky whispered into Jennifer’s ear.

“I am afraid that I would have to hurt you, if your tried that.” Jennifer said, calmly almost aloof, giving a certain body part a squeeze. She turned her head as if to whisper in his ear. She kissed it and said, “Thank you, Ricky. I love them dearly.”

The earrings had oblong pearls, that were almost teardrop in shape, about a quarter inch long and had a .5 carat, princess cut diamond, surrounded by a cluster of two to three point diamonds, in a flower petal pattern, for a t.w. of 1.3 carats, set in white gold.

After school, the two teens changed in to some of Michelle’s more stylish clothes, Jennifer put her hair up in a twist to show off her earrings. They did their makeup for a sophisticated look and headed to the coffee shop with the laptop. Once they got their cappuccinos and biscotti, they settled down and began chatting with some of Sandra’s friends.

@Thebosslady: Hey Micelle, it’s good to see u

MichelleC: Yeah, it’s good being here.

ScreamingCindy: hey girl, where u been

MichelleC: went to an auction with my Mom and also school. Final exams are coming up and I am spending a lot of time studying.

@JolieB: Yeah people, Michelle is still in high school, hint hint. You need to keep your grades up, so we understand.

@Thebosslady: I have a bunch of messages ready for you to send to Khamchanaka.

Michelle: sure, let’s go private. brb people.

Michelle double clicked on the boss lady’s name and opened up the chat window.

@Thebosslady: Hey Michelle, give me an email addy.

MichelleC: Sure, this is one that Sandra used with me.

Michelle typed out the address of Sandra’s account.

@Thebosslady: that one is different than the one I have for her. Can I keep up with you at this address?

MichelleC: Sure, that will be ok. I still need to finish reading Sandra’s diary, before I will put it out to post.

@Thebosslady: When you finish it, send it to me and I will edit it for you and then we will post it on a TG web site I know.

MichelleC: Sounds good. I have been really busy this last week and will be so the next 2 weeks. I will be taking Sandra’s will in to her lawyer tomorrow, finals coming up, helping my Mom buy and sell antiques and getting ready for a summer job as an interior decorator’s assistant.

@Thebosslady: Wow you really are busy. Going back to main chat room.

MichelleC: going to compose and send Khamchanaka the email as soon as I get yours.

They both closed the private window. Michelle opened up Sandra’s email account; she saw three emails there, two from Khamchanaka and one from Thebosslady. She opened and read the two from Kham. In both of them she was wondering if Michelle had gotten the email.

Michelle then began to compose the email she was going to send.

Dear Khamchanaka:

I am so sorry that I didn’t reply sooner. I have been very busy. I am still in school and am having to study real hard for my finals.

I got the email you sent me. I am sorry to hear that Sandra has passed away, but happy that she is finally whole. Please Kham, take courage that what you are doing is important to many girls like Sandra. Although this had a bad ending, please don’t stop doing what you do. I am attaching some messages from a lot of Sandra’s sisters thanking you for taking care of her. I am sure that many would like to keep corresponding with you. I believe that many of them are good people like you are. I will write when I can, so smile for me Kham and thank you so much.

Michelle

Attachements: Sandra.doc

Michelle attached the .doc thebosslady sent her and then sent the email off.

Back in the chat room, Michelle found that she was the topic of conversation. Thebosslady was telling everyone about what Michelle had to say. For the next forty or fifty minutes Michelle and Jen talked about who they were (rather loosely, never giving out detailed information that could identify them or where they were), how they came to know Sandra and what they hoped to do in life. They also listened to the people gathered there and got to know a few of them.

It was getting late, so the kids logged off after saying goodbye and headed home.

**************

The next day, Ricky dressed with panties and pantyhose under his clothes, since he was headed to the lawyer’s office after lunch. He wore a white, button up, long sleeve shirt, a burgundy cashmere sleeveless pullover, that had been Sandra’s, yet wasn’t too feminine, socks to hide the pantyhose, slacks and a pair of loafers. He loved the feel of the pantyhose, even if he had to wear socks to hide them from everyone else.

Ricky picked up Jennifer before school, she was dressed very nicely. She took more care about her looks, since Ricky also strove to dress better. He was never a slob, but then, he didn’t dress like a preppie either. Ricky was beginning to understand what a commitment it was and just how much time it takes, for a girl to dress up nicely. It was more than just slap on nice clothes. Jennifer found it easy to dress up for Ricky now.

At school, there were a lot more girls who looked fondly at Ricky and guys who looked strangely at him. The girls thought that he looked cute, while the guys thought he was a wimp. They all knew that he and Jennifer were an item. He heard not just once a girl saying, “Now why can’t you look that nice for me?” to their boyfriends.

Ricky had a nice lunch with Jennifer and then was met by his mother at the office. Together they headed over to the offices of Brian James Prescott, attorney at Law.

Brian Prescott’s office was ornate, but not overstated. A receptionist sat behind a long desk that had a computer, monitor and an office phone. Angela thought it was strange, as the receptionist looked to be typing on her desk without a keyboard. Ricky pointed out that she was using a virtual keyboard.

The receptionist turned to them and smiled, as they approached her desk.

“Hello, I am Beverly. Welcome to the Law offices of Brian James Prescott. How may I help you?”

“Hello, it is nice meeting you Beverly. I am Angela Crawford and this is my son Ricky Crawford. We are here to see Mr. Prescott about the will of Sandra Metcalf.”

“Please take a seat, while I notify Mr. Prescott that you are here.”

They only waited about five minutes, till two women came out and called their names. They stood and approached the ladies.”

“Hello, I am Angela Crawford and this is my son Ricky.”

Hello Mrs. Crawford, I am Pamela James, I am Mr. Prescott’s legal assistant and this is Cindy Jones, She is his personal assistant. Will you come with us, Mr. Prescott is waiting to see you.”

Pamela led them to a room that looked more like a sitting room, or a living room. The décor was meant to put the people there in comfort and at ease. Pamela had Angela and Ricky sit on a very plush, ornately embroidered couch. She sat in a chair, that was next to a nice leather high back chair.

“May I get you something to drink?” Cindy asked. “Coffee, Tea or Soda?”

“I’ll have a coffee,” Angela said.

“Me too,” Ricky said.

“Just one moment please.”

Cindy Jones was gone for a little over a minute and she returned with their drinks. She had just served them and taken her seat, when a man in his early thirties and a three thousand dollar Italian suit, entered.

He smiled and looked at Ricky and Angela. He extended his hand to Angela first and said. “Hello, I am Brian Prescott, attorney at Law.”

“Hello Mr. Prescott, I am Angela Crawford and this is my son Ricky.” Angela said, shaking Mr. Prescott’s hand in a lady like manner.

“It is good to meet you Mrs. Crawford, you too Ricky,” Mr. Prescott said, shaking Ricky’s hand.

“Now, from our previous conversation, Mrs. Crawford, I understand that you are here in relation to a client of mine, a one Sandra Metcalf, is that correct?” he said, as he took a seat opposite of the pair.

“Yes sir, Mr. Prescott. My son Ricky, bought at auction, the contents of a storage locker. Inside the locker were things belonging to Sandra Metcalf.”

“Please, call me Brian. Mr. Prescott is my distinguished father and sir makes me sound old. Yes, I recall that you claimed that Sandra Metcalf is now dead and that you are in possession of her will. Is that right? Mrs. Crawford.”

“Please call me Angela, if I have to call you Brian. Yes, Ricky emailed a lady in Thailand and she sent back a response that Sandra had died from a ruptured aortic aneurism. She stated that a death certificate was on file with the American Embassy, in Bangkok.”

“Yes, after your call on Monday. I made a call to the Embassy. They verified what you have said and faxed me a copy of the death certificate and copies of Sandra’s identification. I need to wait till I have the originals in hand, before I can execute the will, but I can get some of the preliminaries out of the way. Now which of you was the one that found this will and do you now have it in your possession?”

“I found it, Mr. Prescott,” Ricky said.

“Do you have some official identification, Ricky?”

“Yes sir, I have my driver’s license.”

“May I see it, please?”

Ricky took out his wallet and handed his driver’s license to Mr. Prescott.

“Cindy, please make a copy of it and return it to Mr. Crawford.”

“I know this is unusual, but Sandra was an unusual Lady. I greatly admired her courage and gumption. She made some unusual requests in her will, and being her attorney I complied with her requests. May I now have the will?”

Ricky took the will out of his backpack and handed it over to the attorney. Mr. Prescott opened and inspected the document.

“This is indeed a copy of her will, minus a few codicils. I am still in possession of the original will. It was Sandra’s desire that whoever brought in this will, watch a short video she made. I must ask you though, if you are aware of just how special Sandra was.”

“I know about Sandra having once been a male named William Trent,” Ricky said.

“Good, you know then and this doesn’t offend either of you?”

“No it doesn’t,” they both replied.

“Good, would you two look over to your right. Beverly if you will.”

Ricky and Angela turned to their right. On the wall was the largest flat screen TV they had ever seen. It was well over seventy inches. Beverly clicked a remote and the screen came alive. After a few seconds, the image of a pretty, blonde hair, blue eyed young lady, in her early twenties, appeared. She was dressed in one of the business suits, which Ricky had already worn.

Sandra then begins to speak.

Is this thing on? Of course it is, I see the red light thingy is on now. Hello, I know I sound headspacey, but just bear with me, this is fun. I have never talked to a camcorder before this. Ok, now for the not so fun stuff.

(Sandra then sat up straight and took on a more solemn countenance.)

Hello, I am Sandra Metcalf, aka William Trent. I have always wanted to work aka into a sentence before, I just never got the chance. Anyway, I have legally changed my name to Sandra Metcalf. Metcalf just happens to be my maternal grandmother’s last name. It is also my mother’s maiden name, but I don’t want to think of it that way. Yes, it is better for me to honor my grandmother.

My mother (Sandra’s voice was filled with disdain and sadness), father and sisters have disowned me. At least as long as I am called by and am dressed as Sandra, I am returning the favor. I am disowning them. There, I said it.

If this is being watched by anybody except me for my pleasure, then I guess I am gone. I guess I should be sad, but then I am not around at the time this is being watched, am I and that is not the point of this little video anyway.

Brian, he is such a dear person, is taping this for me. I suppose if he has done his job, or if whoever had the copy of my will, has already read my diary, you should by now already know that I am a pre-op transsexual. Transsexual doesn’t mean any reference to the actual sex act, but that I am a girl trapped inside the body of a boy. I hope that doesn’t shock you too badly. If you haven’t read my diary, I invite you to please read it. Brian has spare copies of it. It will explain a lot to you.

Anyway, that isn’t why I wanted you to see this, but it is background information.

You see, Uncle Frank passed away in 2006, about a year after I left home. He was pissed at my mother by the way treated me. I won’t call her mom, but she did give birth to me. He had no children or family, except his sister, my grandmother. He left all his money to her and stipulated that nothing go to my mother or my family, unless I had reconciled with them.

I called mother and asked if she was reconciled with me. I didn’t get past that point, as she slammed her phone down. So, I guess we aren’t. So, she, my father and sisters are on the out, on this money. Grandmother, God rest her soul, passed away about a year ago, and had a similar request in her will. (“They didn’t know how much money was involved in the will,” Sandra whispered conspiratorially into the camera. “And don’t tell them, if they haven’t already come to terms with me. Brian will tell you if they have.”)

I’ll admit that I went a little crazy with the money, once it was mine. If you could have seen my closet and my jewelry, you would know what I mean. About one third of the jewelry is some really nice paste stuff; the rest is the real McCoy.

Again, that isn’t really the real reason for this video. Getting back to my will, I have one bequest and one request. My bequest is… are you sitting down… of course you are, Brian wouldn’t have you standing and watching this.

Half of everything I have is yours. That should be a little over a million dollars in value. Brian is a very thorough and righteous dude. He will give you a better account of the monies and properties I have left.

Now for my request. I made a lot of friends online. Most are just like me. They are somewhere in their journey to become complete. Many have problems. You see, I am for the most part an exception to the rule. I can walk down the street and people would see what they think they see, a fairly attractive young lady. Only two or three, maybe four, out of ten, are as lucky as I am. One friend, God bless her soul, is about as feminine as Mike Ditka in a dress, but she is such a sweet person. Don’t you dare tease her; I will come back and haunt you. These people find it hard to get jobs that they are qualified for. Some don’t have enough money for food or rent, much less for the medications they need to feel right. Some of them are just barely surviving.

I would like to hire you. I want you to take care of my friends. I have included a list of friends in a letter, which Brian will give you. I want you, or him, to give them some money. I didn’t include them in the will for several reasons. First, it would make the will more open for attack, I believe, from my ex family. Secondly, they might take the money and spend it all, just trying to get right and forget about food or rent. SRS and hormones can drain a bank account. Brian knows what I mean. Many of them don’t want charity and some will take a lot of convincing to accept some money. All of this will take about a third of my remaining money. I would like you to be a life line to many of the girls online. I know they all can’t be saved, I don’t have enough money for that. This will take some wisdom on your part. Not everyone online are what they seem to be. You will be fooled, but use your heart. Also, The-Boss-Lady and a few of my friends will help, if you tell them what you are doing.

So, if Shirley412 needs money for rent, or if LuckyLucy knows that SuzyQ2 doesn’t have money for food, then contact Brian and give him as much information as possible. He will try to find a way to help. He just can’t spend the hours online, and then do the research and such, to help them full time. It will take someone who cares and can get to know the people, and gain their trust, to help them.

If you will keep up with the time you spend online and give Brian a list, then he will pay you thirty dollars an hour for your work. He will make seventy five dollars an hour himself. I tried to insist that he take more, he tried to take less, but I insist. Getting back to you, if you could only spend an hour or two a week, you could mean so much to my friends. I know it is a lot to ask of you and I hope that what I offer is enough for you to do what I ask. If not, let Brian know and he can hire someone to help them, but I would rather you do it. I can’t explain it, but I just feel it in my soul, that you are a good person. Anyway, just think on it and let Brian know after the will has been probated. If you hear about a need before then, let him know too, he will help.

Thank you.

Sandra blew the camera a kiss and winked.

Ricky and Angela were in shock.

“That was the Sandra I know and love. I am going to miss her wit and humor. She was quite a lady.

I don’t have the time to do everything she wants done, I am a busy lawyer, but I can spare a few hours a month to her cause. I do have some damn good researchers though. I can hand off things to them.

Sandra just had this damn crazy idea, in which this will thing would work out the way she dreamed it would. I complained it wouldn’t, but she insisted. If you decide to take up her cause, just tell me whenever you can.

She was wrong about the estate; half will be about one point eight million, not one million.”

“I will do it, Mr. Prescott,” Ricky said, surprising him and Angela. “I have already started chatting with her friends. They seem like they are a really nice bunch of people. I will help them if I can.”

(to be continued)