By Lora Guy
Cross dresser is caught up in a sudden, massive group transformation in downtown Boston.

"Len, this is gonna take some getting used to. You sound so damn... pretty."

The Boston Bubble: Lora's Story

Chapter 3

I was introduced to one of the little pleasures of being a member of the fairer sex right in the middle of the Charles river. Downtown was a crowded mess, what with the road closures, news people from everywhere and the just plain curious. After ten minutes of inching across the Longfellow bridge, I couldn't deny nature any longer. I got up, walked the ten feet to the back of the bus and for the first time in my life, I waited in line for a bathroom. What a joy.

When we finally got to the far end of the bridge, a police car opened up a hole for us and escorted us to the barricades. Inside the quarantine area, things moved a lot easier. There weren't many vehicles moving around; after all, who had anywhere to go? So within a few minutes, we were stepping off the bus into the confusion of city hall plaza.

Normally in any large scale emergency, the first response would come from the local police, fire and medical systems, all being coordinated through the city government. But city hall was smack in the middle of the bubble. The mayor and everyone who worked for him couldn't even recognize each other any more. So it was a bit of a surprise to see any kind of organization at all.

The plaza was a bee hive of teen girls milling about; some alone, others in small groups. Someone had put up a large hand-made sign beside the front door to city hall announcing "REGISTER HERE." I suppose they needed to start somewhere, and getting together a list of the people affected by this would be a bureaucrat's first instinct. At least two hundred girls were waiting in a long, snaking line, plus who-knew-how-many already inside. George and I walked half way there, saw the length of the line-up and stopped beside the entrance to a large Red Cross tent.

George shook her head, looked at me and said, "looks like this might take a while. Did you have any plans?" The sun was getting low in the sky, and it was already getting cold.

I looked at the Red Cross tent, then back at George. "I haven't eaten anything since this morning. We could probably get a meal in here and find out about a place to spend the night."

George gave me one of her big-eyed smiles. "I can do better than that. My sister has a place over on Province Street. She's been laid up in the hospital since she took a bad tumble a few days ago, so I've been coming down here to feed and water her cat. We could head over there, have a bite to eat and spend the night... That is, if you don't mind bunking down on the couch. It doesn't look like anyone here would miss us if we didn't show up until tomorrow."

"George, you sure know how to sweet talk a girl." We left bedlam behind and headed off down Tremont, making small talk as we walked.

"So tell me Lenny, how did you wind up out in Belmont this afternoon?"

"I used to live down here until a couple of years ago. I was planning on going for a walk around the old neighborhood, but 'it' happened before I got out of the car. I just panicked and drove straight home."

"Sounds like you must have been right on my bumper." George stopped walking and turned to face me, smiling. "Listen to this. I live with my daughter and her family out on Concord. When I pulled her father's car into the driveway looking like this, she came flying out the front door with her phone in one hand and a can of furniture polish in the other. She said she was going to spray me in the face if I didn't toss her the car keys and tell her what I did with her father. After half an hour of answering questions and two calls to 9-1-1, she still wouldn't let me in the house."

"What finally convinced her?"

"I asked her if she was still mad at me for wetting the bed last night." We both started giggling. Then she added, "Just one more reason why I'm not going to miss that useless dick."

I don't know why that seemed so funny to the two of us, but we both started laughing so hard, we had to lean on each other to keep from falling down.

Most of the businesses in the area were closed. I guess the people that worked in them either couldn't get here because of the road blocks, or if they were downtown, they had other things on their minds besides going in to work. But there were a few entrepreneurs who recognized an opportunity when they saw one. I noticed people inside a little hole-in-the-wall pub on Chapman, so I stopped and pulled the door open. It didn't take any effort at all to get George to follow me inside.

There were about a dozen girls scattered around the place. Walking up to the bar, I asked for a couple of Buds. The thirteen year old girl behind the bar asked in a little pixie voice, "You two twenty-one?"

George shot back, "Since before Viet Nam. And I want the seniors discount, dammit." That got us a smile and two beers.

Paying for the beers, I asked, "any chance of getting something to eat?"

"Cook called in sick. I hear there's some sort of bug going around." Smirking, she put a bowl of pretzels on the bar and added, "I've got some buns and cold cuts in the back. You want me to slap together a couple of sandwiches for you?"

"That sounds great." George smiled and tapped on her front teeth. "Been more than twenty years since I've had teeth in my mouth. Can't wait to try them out."

Sitting down at a table, my phone started ringing. I checked to see who it was, then told George, "I've gotta take this."

George got up. "I've gotta go powder my nose anyway."

I answered the phone. "Hi Kelly."

"Holy shit, it's true!"

"What's true?"

"On the news, they just said that everyone caught in the bubble this morning was turned into a girl, and no one has any idea how. I didn't believe it, who would? But they're not bull shitting, are they? It's not just your voice, is it?" I took a deep breath, thinking about how to say this, but I wasn't quick enough for Kelly. "Well, do I have a little sister?"

"Yeah, the news was right."

"Holy shit! Are you OK? Did it hurt?" Without letting me answer any of that, she popped out with, " Wait, what do you look like?"

"Kelly, listen. I don't know how long I'm going to be down here, and I don't have any way to charge up my phone. So I'm gonna make this quick, OK? I'm fine, I'm safe, I think everything is going to be OK. I'm a little shorter, but I haven't spent a lot of time in front of a mirror... I guess I look like me."

"So what the hell happened?"

"I don't know much more than anybody else. There was a flash of white, then it was done. I didn't feel anything, OK. Now listen, can you take care of the restaurant without me until I get done down here. It might be a day or two."

"Sure. Business was dead today anyway; I think everyone in town was staying home glued to their TV's."

"Okay, thanks. Can you call Jess and let her know I'm OK?"

"Will do. Oh, and Len, you sound... " She paused, as if thinking something over. "Len, this is gonna take some getting used to. You sound so damn... pretty."

"Aw, Kelly, do you really think I needed to hear that right now? Just take care of stuff and I'll see you as soon as I can, OK? I gotta go before I kill this battery."

We said our goodbyes just as George was sitting down. She looked at me and asked, "family?"

"Yeah. One of my sisters. I didn't really explain this to them, but she just heard on the news what happened to us. She was babbling away so much, it was hard to get a word in. I'm glad she called though. At least I know she's taking care of the business until I can get back."

"What business are you in?"

"I own a restaurant out in Belmont."

"Whereabouts... oh hey, you're that Lenny? Lenny's on Leonard?"

"Yeah, you know it?"

"Holy smoke yeah! I used to bring my grand daughters in there for a frappe every Thursday after school. Best damn frappes in Boston!"

"I think I remember you. The old guy with the two cute kids. One black cherry and two strawberries, right?"

"Yeah, that's us. Well ain't it a small world. I'm sitting here having a beer with 'the' Lenny."

"So what happened? I haven't seen you around in a while."

"Girls grew up. I guess going for ice cream with their Poppy wasn't at the top of their list of social occasions any more."

The pixie bartender walked over with our sandwiches and another round of beers. George pulled out his wallet. "This is on me." Handing a few bills to her, he added, "Keep the change, Honey."

The bartender looked down at George, pulled her lips tight and started nodding her head. "I guess I'm gonna have to get used to that. Enjoy." With that, she turned and left.

Maybe it was because I was so hungry, but that simple meal was incredible. Every taste, every texture... even the bread was alive in my mouth. It was as if I was eating everything for the first time. And in a way, I guess I was.

The amazing food and the smooth conversation just naturally led to the third, and then the fourth beers. Put that together with our suddenly smaller sizes, and I have to admit that George and I were quite drunk by the time we giggled our way through the door into her sister's place. As soon as we were in, the cat rushed over and started rubbing against my legs. I almost fell flat on my face trying to avoid stepping on it.

George snickered. "Sorry about that. I guess he's been a little lonely the last few days." Locking the door behind me, she continued "Sorry, Lenny, but I'm done in. I'll see if I can find you a blanket, then I'm going to hit the hay." She wobbled her way down the hall, hands touching the walls with each step.

I sat down on a bench beside the door and took off my shoes. Wiggling my toes, I just sat there fascinated by how tiny my feet were.

George came back and tossed a blanket and pillow on the couch. "The bathroom's down the hall and the kitchen is in the kitchen. Sorry, but you're on your own Lenny. I have a date with the sandman." And with that, she was gone.

I walked over to the couch and managed to pull off my hoodie and sweat pants before I plopped down and put my feet up on the coffee table. While I sat there contemplating those little feet at the end of my skinny legs, the cat jumped up on the couch and curled up in my lap. I started nodding off just sitting there like that, but the four beers had other ideas. Eventually, they ganged up on me and insisted that I get up and make my way down the hall.

As the toilet flushed, I washed my hands and splashed some water on my face. For the first time, I took a long hard look at myself in the mirror. "What in the world could do something like this?" The face looking back at me was pretty. Very pretty. It was the kind of face that looked perfect framed by my three inches of dark brown hair. I looked like I was about eighteen years old. I didn't mind losing a few years, but I sure didn't want to be treated like a kid again. Then the cross dresser in me stepped up and took over. Yeah, the right make-up and accessories and this face could pass for someone in their early twenties. I reached behind me and gathered up the slack in my T-shirt. Flat stomach, nicely shaped breasts, tiny waist, well proportioned hips, shapely legs... the kind of body that would look good in anything. All that, plus this winning smile... I whispered to myself, " Shit, you're going to have to beat them off with a stick. Make that two sticks." I really let that sink in for a moment. "Well isn't this just perfect, Lenny boy. You spend all your spare time trying to be pretty, and now that you're a knock out, you're not sure if it's such a great thing?"

I turned and sat back down on the toilet lid, resting my elbows on my knees. I let my mind wander over all of the things that I hadn't wanted to think about. How is everyone in my life going to react to this? Kelly and Jessie will probably try to act like it's no big deal. What about the girls? The most fulfilling thing in my life was my relationship with my nieces. How are they going to take it when I show up looking more like their sister than their uncle?

After twenty minutes of letting things stew in my mind, the reality of it came to me. I realized that what ever had the ability to change people like this could have done a million different things to me. So I guess being a good looking, healthy, intelligent woman wasn't such a bad thing to be. "Just stay positive and get on with it, Lenny old boy." I stood up and glanced in the mirror again. "Or maybe I should say Lora."

-----

I was lying naked on a beach. I wasn't worried about my nudity; I was the only person there. It was calm; no wind, no waves. A bird was circling silently in the blue sky, high above me. I was thirsty, but I wasn't thirsty enough to do anything about it. I was just enjoying the feeling of lying there with nowhere to go, nothing to do. The sun was shining on me, but it was pleasant. The heat of the sunlight started building a warmth in my belly, and then it slowly bled out into the rest of my torso. The air flowing in and out of my lungs was keeping me cool, so as I got warmer, I started taking deeper breaths. It helped, but the sunshine was becoming uncomfortable. My feet began to feel like they were burning, so I pulled my legs up and buried my feet in the sand. Face sweating, I threw my arms up over my eyes. My groin was becoming an oven now; pulses of heat rushing through my body. I had to open up and breathe through my mouth to keep from bursting into flames. I tried crying out for help, but words wouldn't come to me. I wanted the heat to stop; I didn't want the heat to stop. Heart pounding, I could hear the blood rushing through my veins. There wasn't enough air to keep me alive. With a deep moan and every ounce of strength I had, I forced my eyes to open.

Daylight. The cobwebs began to clear. This couch. The sister's place. Yesterday. I looked at my hand; still tiny. I lifted my head to look down at the rest of me and came face to face with the cat. He was just sitting there, gently purring away on my stomach, tail whisking back and forth between my legs. With a shudder I pushed him off, rolled over onto my side and sat up. Shit, if a cat could do that to me...

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Me before the bubble :-)

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Hey folks. Lora the feedback addict here. Thanks for all of the wonderful comments so far; every one of them is a cherished treasure.

And again, I want to thank AJ James for creating this universe. Use this link to read the story that inspired me to start writing:

http://www.fictionmania.tv/stories/readtextstory.html?storyI...

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