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

She made a long face. "My damn brother has the nicest ass in the family."

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The Boston Bubble: Lora's Story

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Chapter 6
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"Yes sir, I'll take care of it. I know exactly who to call with this. I'll set it up for this morning."

Hanging up the phone, she looked down at the front page of the newspaper sitting on her desk. "Boston's Heroine Addiction." Catchy headline. That, plus the picture of a beautiful, slightly rumpled girl sitting up in her hospital bed... this would probably be a record sales day for the Herald. She picked up her phone and pressed a single button.

"Betty, could you get me someone in the director's office at Massachusetts General Hospital? Thank you."

She hung up the phone again and picked up the newspaper. She was captivated by the girl in the photo with her open, honest smile. After a few moments, she flipped the paper over and scanned the story below the fold. "How in the world does someone go through all that and still smile for a camera? Absolutely amazing." Startled by the telephone, she reached over and picked it up on the first ring.

"OK. Beckett? Thanks Betty." There was a click on the line as the call was connected.

"Good morning Mr. Beckett... I'm fine, thank you. I'm calling on behalf of Governor Bingham. Yes sir. He's concerned that there might be some lingering fears among the general population about non-existent health risks associated with the bubble affectees. Yes, sir, I've read the report from Atlanta. The Governor is concerned that unfounded prejudices might form, in spite of the "all-clear" from the CDC. He would like to help reassure the citizens, and he's decided that the best way to accomplish this is to give a press interview jointly with one of the affectees. I understand you have a Miss Lora Williams there as a patient. Yes, I understand. Very low key. The Governor, myself, a reporter and a camera operator. Eleven o'clock. No sir, it would be best for security if no one else knew we were coming. I would appreciate it if you could do your best to see that she isn't discharged before we get there. Yes sir. Thank you for your help. I'll see you at eleven."

She hung up the phone and looked down at the front page photo again. "Let's just hope you voted democrat last year, Miss Lora Williams."

She pulled out her cell phone and speed-dialed the personal number of the news anchor at the Boston CBS affiliate. You don't become the press secretary to the Governor of Massachusetts without having a few good contacts. "Hi, Bob? Claire Evans. How would you like to have a little chat with the Governor this morning?"

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My hair was still damp from the shower when she shyly eased into the room. I was expecting Kelly with some clothes, so I was a bit surprised to see someone else coming in.

"Miss Williams?"

"I suppose so." I smiled. "Please, call me Lenny."

"Oh, I'm sorry. The newspaper called you Lora... so I assumed..."

"No, that's fine. The reporter came in yesterday just as my nieces were... well, anyway, you can use which ever name you're comfortable with."

"OK, thanks. I'm Donna." She stuck out her hand. As I shook it, I could feel her grip quivering slightly. "I just wanted to say thank you." When she saw the look of confusion on my face, she added, "Oh, ... I'm sorry. You don't..." She hitched in a breath. "I'm George's daughter."

"Oh. Hi." I stood up. "George was saying he lives with you?"

She nodded.

"They won't let me in to see him. How is he?"

She pulled in a deep breath. "They still have him in a coma. They say he came through the first twenty-four hours without any problems, so it looks as good as it can right now. But we won't know anything for sure until they start waking him up tomorrow."

Trying to make small talk, I offered, "He told me about coming home after the change. He said you wouldn't let..."

I stopped talking when I noticed that she was struggling to maintain her composure.

"My daughter told me about the video on the computer. I wasn't interested at first, but she made such a big deal about it." She paused. For a few seconds, I thought she was done, but she swallowed a lump in her throat and continued. "I saw... I saw what you did. Oh, Lora, I can't..." She put up her hand. With her jaw trembling, she tried to go on. "I can't thank you enough for..."

That was all she got out before she lost it. Looking into my eyes, her face contorted into a mess of emotions. I couldn't think of what to say, so I stepped up and pulled her into a light, one-armed hug. It didn't feel awkward; it just felt like the right thing to do. When I thought she was ready, I let go and took a step back.

She was embarrassed by her tears and sniffles. Offering her a box of tissues, I asked "Are you going to be OK?"

She took a tissue, wiped her eyes, then pulled in a slow, deep breath. "Oh, I'm fine. Really." She smiled. "I'm just so grateful for what you did for Dad."

"I wish I could have done more."

"More?" A teary giggle popped out of her. "You silly little thing. An army of firemen couldn't have done more." She dabbed at her eyes again. "You know, Dad was right about you. He called me the night before he got hurt. He said I shouldn't worry about him, that he'd met a good person, everything was going to be OK."

I was a little choked up at that. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. I just wanted to come up and ..."

Kelly picked that moment to walk in.

"Lenny?"

"Oh. Hi Kell. Yeah... c'mon in." She walked into the room, all big eyed and smiling. I went on. "This is Donna. Her father was hurt in the fire, too. Donna, this is my sister Kelly."

Kelly pried her gaze away from me long enough to look at Donna. "Hello. How's your father doing?"

"He's improving." She reached out and took Kelly's hand. "You have an amazing sister." She looked back at me. "I'll get out of your hair now. I just wanted to meet you and tell you how grateful we all are." She smiled and turned to leave.

"Donna, wait a sec." I went over to the night table and got out a pen and paper. I wrote my down cell number and handed it to her. "Call me as soon as you know anything about your father."

"OK, I will. It was nice meeting you Kelly."

"You, too."

Once she was gone, I turned my attention over to my sister. One look at her face was all it took. The scene with Donna had pushed it right out of my mind... I forgot, this was the first time Kelly had seen me.

"Holy shit, Lenny, look at you." She was gaping. "Jess told me you looked good, but I just couldn't imagine it. I was expecting something that looked like my brother in drag, not... not this!" She scanned me from head to toe. I really felt naked, standing there in the hospital gown and slippers.

Again I found myself stumped for words. Her reaction to me, plus the 'brother in drag' comment left me ruffled. So I just raised my eyebrows and shrugged my good shoulder in a sort of what-are-you-gonna-do expression.

We just stood there looking at each other for a second until I broke the moment by asking, "Are the clothes in the bag?"

"What, oh yeah." She didn't even try to hide the fact that she was staring at me. "Lenny, I'm sorry, but this is really weird. It's kind of like I'm bumping into someone I went to school with thirty years ago. You know, the old I-recognize-the-name-but-I-can't-place-the-face sort of feeling."

"OK, if it'll help, I can play along with that." I turned my back on her, then slowly turned to face her. When we made eye contact, I changed my neutral expression to one of surprise. "Kelly? Kelly Williams? Oh my god, it is you! Wait, you don't have any idea who I am, do you? Remember, we sat beside each other in grade six breakfast... in Mr. and Mrs. Williams' kitchen. Oh, c'mon... how could you forget me? I was the one who was always making those farting noises! Yeah, that's right, it's me! Your brother Lenny!"

Kelly's grin slowly grew into a real smile. "You really are in there, aren't you?"

"Kelly, I understand how you feel. I've had days to get used to this, and every time I look in a mirror, it still startles the hell out of me."

She sat the bag of clothes down on the bed, walked up and hugged me. "Aah aah, watch the arm, watch the arm."

"Oh, sorry." Letting go, she stepped back, looked me in the eyes and smiled. "Let's get some clothes on you and see if we can get you out of here." She picked up the bag and started reaching into it. "When Jess showed me what she was sending, I laughed in her face. I told her there was no way my brother Lenny was going to fit in these jeans. But look at you."

She was right about the jeans, they looked tiny. "They're a little too big for Brenda, plus they're stretchy. See?" She pulled on the waist band. "I don't think you'll have any trouble slipping in to these. If anything, they might be a little too long for you." Along with the jeans, there was a plain white T-shirt, some underwear and a sweater-coat. "We weren't sure what to do about shoes, so I brought these." She pulled out a pair of mules that looked like a pair of white tennis shoes from the front.

"Thanks, Kell." I picked up the jeans, T-shirt and underwear with my good arm and headed for the washroom. "I'll be out in a sec." Thinking of something, I walked back up to her. "Can you do me a favor? Can you undo the strings on the back of this. I always seem to be pulling them into knots."

She reached up and pulled the slip knots undone. As I felt the cool air on my back, she said, "Aw, shit."

I turned to face her. "What's wrong?"

She made a long face. "My damn brother has the nicest ass in the family."

I looked over my shoulder at her and grinned as I wiggled my butt, then headed off into the washroom.

To my back, she said, "I am soOo glad I didn't have to grow up with you looking like this. I never would've gotten a date."

Getting dressed was simpler than I thought it would be. The T-shirt was stretchier than the jeans and it had a scoop neck, so sliding it over my cast and then pulling it over my head was easy. The jeans fit pretty good, but I couldn't get the button done up with just one hand. When I came out of the washroom, I drafted Kelly for button-doing-up duty. Just as she finished, the phone on the night table rang.

"Hello."

"Hello, Miss Williams?"

"Yes."

"Good morning. How are you today?"

"I'm fine.... ?"

"Wonderful. My name is Morris Beckett. I'm the hospital's assistant director."

"What can I do for you, Mr. Beckett?"

"Miss Williams, I'd like to ask you a favor. Do you think you could you spare about a half an hour to help us out?"

"Well, that depends on what you'd like me to do. You're not going to ask me to shovel snow, are you? Because I do have a broken arm, you know."

He chuckled. "No, nothing like that. There is some concern about how the affectees are going to be accepted in the community now that the quarantine has ended. We're filming an impromptu public service announcement this morning, and the people setting it up have asked that you appear in it."

"Why me?"

"I take it you haven't seen a newspaper this morning?"

"No, I'm sorry. So that reporter got his article in this morning?"

"Yes, Miss Williams. His article made it into the paper." He sounded like he was grinning. "That's how your name came up. Anyhow, do you think you could help us out?"

"How long would you need me?"

"We expect to have it all wrapped up by noon at the latest."

"OK, just a second." I looked at Kelly. "Are we in a hurry?" She shook her head.

"All right, Mr. Beckett. Where should we go?"

"Wonderful. They're waiting for you in one of the conference rooms. Just go to the main reception desk in the lobby and I'll meet you there."

"OK, we'll be there as soon as we can."

We said our good byes and hung up. I looked at Kelly. "Well, that was out of the blue."

"What's going on?"

"They're filming a public service thing downstairs and they want me to be in it. Something about the folks caught in the bubble."

"Right now?"

"Yup. I said we were on our way."

Kelly smiled. "I guess this proves that you really are Lenny inside that head."

"What makes you say that?"

"Only a guy would agree to being on camera without spending a few hours in a hair salon first."

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As is true in almost every hospital in every city, getting lost would have been easy. It seemed like we were following Mr. Beckett along a maze of corridors for at least ten minutes before he opened a door for us and said, "Here we are."

As soon as Kelly and I walked into the room, an efficient looking woman left a small group of people sitting at the front of the room and came walking up to us. She smiled and offered me her hand. "It's Miss Williams, right?"

"It's going to take some getting used to, but yes, I suppose I am." I shook her hand. "This is my sister Kelly."

She turned to Kelly and greeted her. "Hi, pleased to meet you." Looking back at me, she glanced at my sling and asked, "How is your arm?"

"There's a bit of a throb there, but it's not so bad."

"Good. Miss Williams... Can I call you Lora?" I tilted my head slightly and nodded. "Thank you, Lora. My name is Claire Evans. I'm the press secretary for Governor Bingham."

She started leading us toward the others in the room. As we walked, she continued. "He's concerned that rumors about the affectees might lead to difficulties for them. He would like to do everything he can to help prevent this from happening."

As we approached, the three men stood up. One of them walked away and started fiddling with some camera equipment. The other two looked at us and smiled.

Claire made the introductions. "This is Lora Williams and her sister Kelly. Lora, Kelly, this is Governor Bingham, and this is Bob Goodale from CBS news."

After a round of hand shakes and pleased-to-meet-you's, Claire indicated three chairs set up in front of the cameras. "Governor, Lora, Bob if we could get started?" She looked at me. "OK, Lora, there's no real plan for this. The cameras are going to start, Bob will open with an introduction, and then everyone will just have a friendly chat. We just want people to get the idea that there's no reason to avoid contact with the affectees. OK?"

I definitely felt more than a little out of my element. "OK. But I have to tell you, I've never done anything like this before."

"Just act like it's three people having a chat, and you'll do fine."

I smiled. "All right, but you've been warned."

Once we were comfortable, the camera guy gave us the thumbs up.

"Hello, I'm Bob Goodale. I'm here today with Massachusetts Governor Jack Bingham. Good morning, Governor."

"Good morning Bob. A few days ago, thirty thousand men, women and children were caught up in a unique event in downtown Boston. Since this event occurred, every available expert has been trying to determine two things. First, what mechanism caused this event, and second, are the results contagious in any way. Although every effort is still being made, no one has yet been able to determine what caused this. But I can tell you with certainty that since the original event, no one anywhere has been affected. Every test has proven that there is no risk whatsoever that this is contagious in any way. Yesterday, the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta ended of the quarantine in Boston.

Now, the good people who were affected by this are going to need our support in their efforts to get on with their lives. Remember, they are the same friends, neighbors and family members who we have always known. Please treat them the same way that you would want to be treated. Thank you. Bob..."

"Thank you, Governor. Also with us today is one of the people affected by this, Miss Lora Williams."

"Hi Bob."

"Lora, I understand you've had an unusual week."

That drew a crooked grin out of me. "It's certainly been one for the books, Bob."

"You seem to be coping pretty well."

"Well, a good friend of mine recently gave me some wonderful advice. She said I should look on the bright side of things. And she's right, it really is that simple. I'm healthy, I have a family that loves me, and hopefully I have another eighty years to live. If I can't find a way to be happy with all that going for me, then I can't blame it on the bubble."

The Governor chimed in. "Miss Williams, you certainly have a way with words. How would you like a job writing speeches?"

I gave him a surprised looking smile. "A career in politics... now there's something you can blame for an unhappy life."

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Hey everybody, Lora here.

I'd love to stick around and chat,
but chapter seven is writing itself
and I really should be there to watch.