One night in a small town

Its not always easy to be a small town lawyer. Unlike the big city, I actually know most of my clients away from the courthouse, and it can create some very embarrassing moments. But nothing had prepared me for this particular night.

I got a call to come to the jailhouse, and found James Mallery, who was normally a deputy, behind bars. But that wasn’t the most shocking thing. It was how he was dressed. What he was wearing would have looked good at a fancy dress dance, assuming the wearer was a girl.

On him, it just looked ridiculous. I mean, it looked like he had tried his very best to make himself as feminine as possible, but that just wasn’t saying much. But the laugh I had started to give was cut off when I looked in his face, and realized he had obviously been crying.

“James?” I asked, “What’s going on? Why are you in jail, dressed liked that?” “You won’t believe me. The sherriff didn’t.” He said. “Come on,” I said, “You called me down here, and you obviously need my help. I am bound by client privilege, so I wont be sharing anything you tell me unless you tell me its ok. So spill.”

He sighed, and said, “Okay, but I warn you, its pretty unbelievable. I mean, I don’t believe it and it happened to me.” And after taking a deep breath, he told me the story.

James’ story:

“I was doing a normal walkabout patrol, you know, just keeping visible. Sometimes, just seeing a cop in the neighbourhood keeps the crime down. Anyway, down a couple of blocks from here, I heard a noise, and went to check it out.

I went up to this house and knocked on the door, and heard a crash inside, and what sounded like a woman scream, so I kicked the door down and went in. I found what at first looked like a lady, but when I got close, I realized it was a guy. I tried to be respectful, and I asked him/her ‘you ok? I heard you scream.’

‘Sorry’ he said ‘I dropped a glass, and it cut me. I am ok’ It was at that point I recognised him as one of the guys who work at the army base, just out of town. I told him, ‘look, what you wear around the house should be your own business, but if you work for the military, you need to tell them what’s going on.’

‘I mean, if I can found out, anybody could, and next thing you know you are being blackmailed to trade our country’s secrets to the Russians or somebody. ‘ ‘But they will let me go, and I am very close to a major breakthrough in telepathy.’ he said.

‘you got to be kidding me. Telepathy? Like being able to read minds?’ I asked. ‘no, but I can project my thoughts to others’ he said. He got up, and went to his bedroom and pulled out what looked like a tinfoil hat and said ‘I could give you a demonstration, if you like’

I said, ‘look, you might need to have a long rest, but it doesn’t matter. You have to tell them, or I will have to.’ He said, ‘you have no idea what its like to feel like I feel. But I can change that’ and then, he pushed a button on the hat, and suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I knew the feelings weren’t mine, but I couldn’t resist them, they were overwhelming. I was caught in a tidal wave of emotions, and felt like I was going to drown in them. They were a hurricane, and I was knocked flat by the force of it.

I looked down at my uniform and felt like if I had spend one more second dressed like that I would die. I started ripping off my clothes like they were made of poison ivy.

I found myself looking at the outfit he was wearing, and wanted something like it more than I wanted my next breath. I begged him, downright begged him to let me borrow something feminine from him.

I didn’t start feeling human again until I was dressed like this. By that time, the guy/girl had left, but before he did, he said something about sharing his feelings with every man in town. I curled up in a ball for a while, trying to regain control of myself.

I forced myself to get up, and staggered on the heels out the door. I figured I had to stop him, before he did to someone else what he had done to me.

But, just my luck that day, the sheriff saw me, and arrested me on general principals, and put me in here. I am not sure what he thought I was doing, he was almost too broke up with laughter to speak.

After a while, he calmed down enough to offer me a chance to get back into my uniform, but I was still struggling with the thoughts and feelings he had pushed into me, and I refused.

He then offered me a phone call, and I called you.

Somehow, you have to convince him I am not crazy, and find out what that guy is going to do. I have a feeling its going to be very bad for all of us, unless we can stop him.”

“Listen,” I said, “ assuming I believe you, I am not sure what you think I can do. Can you give me any idea where he would go, what he would do?” “Well,” he said, trying to think, “when he left, he had something in his hand. It was … a flyer, I think.”

He thought hard. “Oh, my, it was the new TV station they built on the hill above town. “ “Ok. Let me try our other deputy” I said. “No guarantee, but I will try.” So off I went.

I had a feeling about our other deputy, because, she was female. Maybe she would have some sympathy for James, or at least be willing to go over to the TV station and check it out. I found her, and persuaded her to come back to the cell with me.

When we got there, she actually put her hand to her mouth in shock at the sight of him. He was leaning against the bars, and whispering to himself. I approached gingerly, and asked him, “Is he . . . Still ‘broadcasting’ at you?” He shook his head, and said, “No, this is worse.”

“Worse?” I asked. He shook, and spoke, taking a breath between each word as though speaking was exhausting, saying, “I know people don’t see me as smart, but I do know things. “

“I know that we are made from sperm and egg, so we carry in us parts of both our mothers and fathers, both male and female within us. “

“What he did to me, its . . . Strengthened the female side of me, given her a voice, a voice I can hear getting louder and louder with each moment. She is .. . Demanding a name, a life”

The other deputy said ‘Well, Jamie is a girls name too, isn’t it?” He shook his head. Suddenly I was struck with inspiration and said “How about Jasmine?” He looked at me, and sighed, and said. “Yes, call me . . . Call me Jasmine.”

And it was like a point of no return had been crossed. After that, his voice softened and seemed higher, and when he moved, there was definitely a feminine quality to his motion. The other deputy said, “Okay, I will go and check it out.” and to me she said “stay with him, her,”

And so I sat beside him, and it was like being at a deathbed. I could only watch as the male he had been deteriorated and a woman started to emerge from the ashes. I had no idea how to help, or what to say, so mostly I just stayed as close as I could, lending whatever comfort my presence could give.

I found myself crying, and said at one point “It will be ok, j . .. Jasmine. Being a woman, I mean, its not all that horrible, is it?” She (and I was more and more sure it was she) said to me, “I guess I am going to find out.”

“I will . . .I will ask my sister to help,” I said. “She runs a little make-up shop downtown.” I then tried to smile, and told her “Don’t tell anybody, but sometimes she used me to practice on.”

She managed a smile, and said “Thank you. I wouldn’t have survived this without you.” Just then, the sheriff came in and said, “Okay, lovebirds, break it up. My jail cells are no place for a romance.”

And then he pulled out the key and unlocked the cell, and said to her, “Git. My other deputy found that guy you were talking about breaking into the TV station. She says he confessed to what he did to you, so, you are free to go.” She glided out of the cell, and took my hand.

“Okay sheriff. We are out of your hair. I think I am going to have to resign from the force, but that can wait for a another day.” and she led me out. “Don’t you want to find out if that guy can undo what’s happened to you?” I asked.

“No. He just started this ball rolling anyway. The rest was … in me all the time, waiting for a chance to be expressed. And, like you said, being a woman isn’t all bad.” And with that, hand in hand, we left to meet the rest of our lives.