It was fast approaching Christmas and the office manager, Alex was forever pestering me about who I’d be bringing to the Company Christmas Party the weekend before Christmas.

Let me introduce myself, my name is Stewart Briggs or Stewie to my very few friends. I’m 26 going on 27 and I’m a sort of ‘Estate Agent’. Hold on. Don’t stop reading. Not all of us are boring and only think about selling houses.

I manage the repairs and maintenance of the properties that are let through us. I couldn’t sell a house even if my life depended upon it but I seemed to be able to get repairs done to a both a standard and a cost that keeps everyone happy.

I work in a branch of a national company in a really out of the way place called Skegness. Never heard of it? Well, you aren’t alone. It is on the east coast of England in the county of Lincolnshire. It is in the back of beyond on a road to nowhere. A lot of people retire to Skeggie and never leave. It is that sort of place.

Luckily, I’m not a native. I was raised in a variety of Army homes in England, Germany and Cyprus. My Mother was a Captain in the British Army. Dad’s a Chef. Well, that was what they were doing the last time I saw them.

That was nigh on five years ago. I still get the shudders when I remember that night. That was the night I told my parents I was a transsexual.

Dad was slightly more sympathetic about it than Mum. She was used to order and discipline. She was in line for promotion to Major. That was probably the only thing on her mind when she gave me my marching orders. Dad knew better than to interrupt. He would have been following me out of the door if he had.

That was then. This is now.

*

“Come on Stewie, who’s the lucky lady?”

“Gwen, I’m not even sure that I’m coming to the Party.”

Gwen Charles is the office assistant come general dogsbody. She is also one of those people who could be standing in the middle of an empty room and you would not notice her. This probably explains why she’s in a place like ‘Skeggie’. Nothing of even the slightest significance ever happens in Skegness.

As a mark of friendship, I did allow her to call me ‘Stewie’. The only other person in the office who could call me that without getting a look that could kill was the current sales star of the branch, Sandra Brown.

Sandra could make a damp hovel seem worth a million quid. She just had to flatter her eye-lashes or expose a bit too much of her frankly drop dead gorgeous legs and the deal was done.

Sandra called me Stewie on my first day and I didn’t have the nerve to correct her so it stuck.

Gwen was still waiting for an answer.

“Gwen, I really have not given it any thought and that’s the truth.”

To be honest, I’d have loved to be going with anyone. Gwen was going with Pete. He worked in the Chippy down the road. Sandra? Well, the other top salesman in the office, a complete bastard by the name of Jeff ‘with a J’ Cook had announced to everyone on the day the event was announced that he was taking Sandra.

I saw Sandra visibly shiver at the thought. It was common knowledge that Jeff was the son of the area manager and on his way to head office very shortly. I guessed that her lack of argument about going with him was more down to wanting to keep her job than anything.

“Don’t leave it too long. All the best people already have dates.”

I picked up my phone and began to dial a non existent number in an attempt to get rid of her.

“Ok. I get the message.”

To be honest, the whole thing was making me very irritable.

[Two days later, a Friday]

“Well Stewie, one week to go before the big event? All the regional offices are coming to us this year and the word from on high is that everyone is to attend or there won’t be a bonus this year,” announced Gwen.

Just what I needed. A whole evening surrounded by people wearing dresses. Dresses that I’d rather be wearing than some stupid suit and tie.

[The following day]

As it was a Saturday and as I don’t work on Saturdays, I decided to indulge in a bit of retail therapy. Skegness is the back of beyond so got up early and took the early train to Sheffield.

I had to change trains at Grantham. As I waited for my connection, a London train stopped on the other platform. It was a freezing cold day and the train looked so warm and inviting, I almost abandoned Sheffield and headed for London instead.

I resisted the temptation and took the train to Sheffield where upon, I took the tram to the Meadowhall Shopping Centre.

Christmas is actually a great time to be a tranny. It is the one time of the year that no one questions or even gives a second glance to men buying women’s clothes.

In a fit of madness, I bought myself a LBD. Not a ‘Little’ but a ‘Long Black Dress’. If I didn’t go to the Christmas Party, then at least I could get dolled up and enjoy myself. I already had a new pair of heels that would go fine with it.

My second indulgence was some perfume. I even tried a few different ones. The smile on my face must have given whom it was for away. The Assistant smiled at me and said,
“By the smile on your face, I guess this is for you?”

I had to own up.

“Yes… Yes, it is for me.”
She grinned back.

“If you want someone to share it with, you know where I am.”

You could have knocked me over with a feather. My mouth fell open in amazement.

“T…Thank you for your kind offer but I live a long way from here.”

She didn’t blink at my statement as she wrapped up my purchase.

“I’ve written my phone number on the back of the receipt. Just in case you are back in this neck of the woods.”

I mumbled a thank you and hoped that my bright red face wouldn’t be noticed too much as I hot footed it out of the shop as fast as I could go.

After a bite to eat for lunch I’d recovered my composure somewhat. The more I thought about it, the more I began to appreciate the comment she’d made.

I bought a few presents for a selected few in the office and then headed to my final destination, a shop that rents DJ’s. I was determined to look the part next Saturday. Somehow I’d come round to going to the party even if it were without a date.

With a DJ ordered and to be collected from their branch in Boston, I headed home very satisfied with my days work.

At 17:29 precisely, my euphoria disappeared in a flash. My train from Grantham to Skegness had stopped at Boston already a good seven minutes late. I guess I am pretty anal about timekeeping.

The train was already pretty busy and I could see a lot more passengers waiting on the platform. The next train was not for another hour so I fully expected a bit of a crush.

What I wasn’t expecting was that the first person to get on the train was Gwen.
My heart stopped. I really hoped that she wouldn’t see me.

No such luck.

“Stewie? What on earth are you doing on this train?”

Without waiting for an answer, she plonked herself down onto the seat next to me.

“Been shopping I see?” She commented at the various bags with store logos that were balancing on my lap.

“Yes,” I mumbled.

Once she’d gotten herself comfortable she tried to peer into those very bags. This was a different person to the one I worked with. I wondered if she could have been drinking?

“Gwen? What are you doing?”

She smiled back at me and said,
“I’m wondering what you have bought me for Christmas?”

I swallowed hard and replied.

“If I might have bought you a present, you won’t find it here. Besides, who has given you something for the past two years and never even received a Christmas card in return?”

That little bit of truth stopped her inquisitiveness, or so I’d hoped.

The reality was that there was ‘Fat chance of that’.

Sadly, Gwen didn’t know when to give up.

“Isn’t that a bag from Jones & Harris?”

“Yes? So?”
I groaned to myself and tried to prepare myself for then inevitable inquisition that I was about to face.

“That means, you’ve either been to London, Leeds, Sheffield or Birmingham. Which is it?”

I sighed and tried to shrink back into the corner.

“Oh come on Stewie. Don’t be a spoilsport. We’ve got more than forty minutes on this ‘rattlebus’ of a train until we get to Skeggie. We have to talk about something now don’t we?”

I stayed tight lipped.

My silence didn’t deter Gwen.

“Ok, so you won’t say where you have been. We’ll come back to that.”

For someone who normally wouldn’t say boo to a goose, this was a side of Gwen that I’d never seen before.

“I’m guessing that some lucky lady is going to get a nice present this year. That bag from Jones & Harris is a big one.”

I’d had enough.

“Will you give it a rest Gwen? I’ve had a long day and I’m tired. I’d like to finish the journey in peace if you don’t mind.”

She glared at me but eventually she got the message.

*

When the train arrived in Skegness, I deliberately waited for Gwen to get off and start walking among the platform before I alighted. I really didn’t want to talk to her any more. What had started out being a really nice day had turned sour in a big way.

To compound this the weather had turned nasty and an easterly wind was bringing sleet in off the North Sea and the Taxi rank was empty.

I waited in the increasing cold for some 20 minutes but no cabs turned up so I started walking the long mile home, my promising weekend totally ruined by a not very ‘Brief Encounter’.

*

I was still in a grumpy mood when I arrived for work on Monday. As I suspected, Gwen was already in the Office and telling anyone who’d listen about our little encounter on the train.

I headed for my office and tried to get on with planning my day.

Sandra soon came in looking totally delectable as usual.

“What’s this I hear about you doing some fancy shopping at the weekend? Jones and Harris eh? I once visited their store in Bond Street. It was really hard to leave without buying at least some of their wonderful clothes.”

She sighed at the memory. Then she added.
“So who’s the lucky girl?”

I nearly mumbled ‘me’ but I managed to stop myself just in the nick of time.

“Is it for your date on Saturday?”

I shook my head but said nothing.

“Oh Stewie, you are a dark horse. A very dark horse indeed.”

She looked at me smiling.

“There is a lot more our Stewie than first appears. I must get to the bottom of this.”

With that, she left me alone. The feeling of dread that things are about to get a thousand times worse.

I didn’t get much work done that day. My shopping trip was the single topic of gossip in the office for several days.

To avoid hearing this gossip, I spent a lot of time out of the office at the various properties in the area making sure any final maintenance jobs were all wrapped up before the Christmas Holidays.

The downside of this was that the weather had really turned bad. Snow showers were coming in from the dull grey North Sea on a stiff Easterly wind. More snow was forecast for the end of the week. Luckily I had a decent car to drive courtesy of the company. However by the end of the week, I couldn’t hide any longer and besides, the incessant playing of ‘Christmassy music’ on the radio was starting to drive me crazy.

The week before Christmas is ironically the busiest time of the year for moving house. Even with the depressed state of the housing market, the office was busy with people coming to collect the keys to their new homes.

Christmas is stressful enough for many families so quite why so many people would want to add the stress of moving home to that was quite beyond me. That part of the business was pretty separate from mine. I dealt with houses and flats that were already let to tenants. Most of them wanted their repairs done yesterday. I was trying my best to get the backlog reduced to a minimum before the holidays. To some extent, being on the road for a few days was a good way of achieving that goal which made me a bit happier than I’d otherwise have been. I even found time to get to Boston and pick up the suit I’d rented for the Company ‘Do’ at the weekend.

When I returned to the office on the Friday afternoon, to my dismay, only Sandra and Gwen were there. Everyone else had buggered off down the pub for a long lunch several hours earlier.

It didn’t take long before the ‘hot’ question was being asked by Sandra once again.

“Well Stewie? Are you coming tomorrow night? And what delicious babe are you bringing?”

I didn’t answer but felt myself go red in the face as I headed into the back of the office and my little hidey-hole.

*

I spent most of the following day cleaning my flat and making it look at least slightly festive. I’d bought a small Christmas Tree and with a few decorations it looked quite nice in a very understated way.

One of the things that had made me buy the place was that despite it being on the floor over a betting shop, the place was by modern standards huge. I had three large rooms on the 1st floor and a small bedroom in the roof above. Whilst the kitchen was by comparison tiny, there was more then enough room for me. All of this at a price I could afford because of the business below.

Once I had moved in, I’d spent the next six months decorating it to my tastes. As a result, it was not the sort of place that you’d normally associate with a single man yet it wasn’t all pink and soft. In fact, I hated pink. I much preferred stronger colours. Red curtains contrasted nicely with the white walls.

With the place all neat and tidy, I allowed myself a long bath. The bath was a delight. I could just about float in it, it was so long and deep. It was then that I made the decision not to go to the ‘Do’ that night. The ‘girly’ part of me too over and said ‘bugger off’ to the male part.

By 6pm, I was transformed into my alter-ego, Louise. I’d taken my shoulder length hair out of its normal pony tail and styled it a bit. In truth, I would have loved to colour it but was a bit scared of what everyone in the office would say.

As I was going to be ‘Louise’ for several days and the dress I’d bought a little revealing, I glued on my false breasts. These had been my present to myself the previous year.

While the glue was drying, I remembered the mess I’d made of it the first time I’d tried. Putting them on was ok. But I soon found out that unless you are careful, removing them could also remove considerable amounts of skin at the same time.

With them firmly in place, I sat down at my dressing table and applied some makeup. I’d been taught how to do it by a very understanding Landlady when I was at University. Well, her and her 16yr old lesbian daughter. It was their influence and understanding that eventually persuaded me to tell my parents.

I felt myself shudder at that particularly hurtful memory.

It didn’t remain long in my mind as I put on the dress I’d bought the previous weekend in Sheffield.

I added some earrings, a necklace and a couple of bracelets. Lastly, a dab of perfume and I was done.

I paraded myself before the full-length mirror in my bedroom.

Ok, to my eyes, I still looked like a ‘man in drag’ but I felt happy with myself and frankly at that moment, that was all that counted.

Just as everyone else was arriving for the Office Party, I was sitting down to my own. I’d bought some very nice steak and some Ox-tail pieces. I’d made it into a casserole. It had been cooking slowly for most of the afternoon. It was done perfectly and with a bottle of full bodied red wine to go with it, it was certainly going to eat a bit better than the inevitable rubber chicken that was going to be served up to everyone else on the other side of town.

*

A few miles away at the party, things were not going very well.

Gwen’s date had cried off at the last moment. He was needed at the Chippy. Then Jeff (with a J) had a case of the wandering hands. From the moment they’d all sat down, his right hand had been trying to work its way up Sandra’s leg towards her crotch.

No matter how many times she removed it, it soon returned. More than once she’d been tempted to stab the back of the hand with her fork but if she made a scene, it would probably rebound on her no matter what Jeff was doing.

Finally, she got an idea of how to stop his wandering hands.

She simply poured her glass of water over his crotch. It looked like he’d peed himself as he dashed for the toilets.

That left Sandra and Gwen alone at their table.

As soon as he was out of sight, Sandra said,

“Fancy going to find out where Stewie is? It can’t be any worse than this disaster.”

Gwen was not someone who made impetuous decisions. In fact, she hardly made any decisions at all especially if it could be delayed but she’d been knocking back the G&T’s all evening so all her normal inhibitions had been somewhat overshadowed by a new bravado.

Even so, Gwen hesitated. The thought of going out in the cold without another G&T was not all that appealing.

Sandra was not going to let this defeat her so she grabbed Gwen’s hand and almost dragged her away from the table.

After a little bit of resistance she gave in and went with Sandra. As they retrieved their coats, Gwen began to hope that she could slip away from Sandra at some point and head for home.

Much to Gwen’s disappointment, there was a taxi waiting outside the venue so less than a minute later, they were safely in the back and heading for Stewart’s home.

*

At the very same moment, Louise had finished her meal and had just cleared everything away. She was looking forward to an evening watching a number of romantic comedies that she’d recorded from TV in the past few months accompanied by the remainder of the wine, some of her favourite chocolates and a few tissues. Bliss!.

*

The Taxi containing Sandra and Gwen arrived outside Stewie’s flat.

As it drew away, Gwen complained,
“What if he’s not in? This place is a long was from a bus route.”
Sandra sighed.

“Look up. There are lights on. He’s at home.”

“How do you know this is his place?” Said Gwen looking for a way out.

“Don’t be silly Gwen, I sold it to him. That’s how I know.”

Without waiting for Gwen to raise any more objections, Sandra rang the bell to Stewie’s flat.

As soon as Louise heard the bell, she froze and a pit of despair opened in my stomach.

Her immediate thought was, “Who on earth would be ringing my bell at this time on the 23rd December? Everyone I know is at the Company Party.”

She was going to ignore it and hope that whoever it was would soon go away.

It didn’t. The bell rang again.

Louise stayed put determined to see it out.

Next the banging of the door-knocker announced the determination of whoever it was to not going to go away anytime soon.

Before Louise could even react, a voice shouted through the letterbox,

“Stewie. Come on. Be a love and let us in. The party sucked big time and it’s freezing out here.”

That bottomless pit opened wide and the bridge I was standing on was burning from both ends.

“Us?” she’d said. Who could be with her? I sincerely hoped that it was not her date for the night.

“Stewie! We know you are there. Come on, let us in it is really freezing out here.”

At that moment, the bridge collapsed. I was done for and heading right into the abyss below.

“Ok. Ok. Hold your horses,” I shouted back.

I stood up and went to the top of the stairs and ‘buzzed’ them in.

As the door opened, I stepped back into my sitting room wishing that for real that the earth would open up and swallow me whole within the next five seconds.

Sadly it didn’t.

I heard two pair of shoes resonating on the wood as their wearers climbed the stairs.

“Stewie? Where are you?” said Sandra as she reached the top of the stairs.

“I… In here” I replied.

Then Sandra saw me.

“Stewie?”

Then Gwen saw me and burst out laughing.

“Shut the fuck up Gwen,” said Sandra angrily.

“That must be the dress he was carrying when I saw him on the train last week,” replied Gwen totally ignoring Sandra’s outburst.
“I told you so!” She added triumphantly.

Sandra stopped being angry with Gwen and turned her attention to me.

She took off her coat and threw it onto one of the chairs that were by the dining table.

“I must say Stewie, that this is not what I expected to find when I suggested to Gwen that we come over and cheer you up.”

Gwen started to protest but as usual, Sandra ignored her.

“Are you going to offer your guests a drink?”

Her sudden switches of conversation had thrown me completely.

“So...Sorry. Please take your coats off and sit down. What can I get you to drink?”

Sandra settled for a Red Wine while Gwen decided to have some Cranberry Juice once I’d explained that I didn’t have any Gin or Tonic.

I went off to the kitchen to prepare them.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I could hear some frantic whispering going on behind my back.

The two minutes I spent preparing us all a drink, gave me time to at least think of something to say about me and who I am.

*

I returned to the sitting room and as soon as I appeared, the whispering stopped.

“Here you go,” I said trying to sound cheerful as I handed the drinks out.

Then I sat down and looked at my two guests.

“Yes ladies, I’m a trannie. I’ve been one for as long as I can remember. I was born in the wrong body. I’m one of those sad men who think that they can be a woman in real life. There I’ve said it, I’m a sad tranny.”

“Now that you have found me out, I’d really like you to finish your drinks and leave me alone. I’ll be emailing my immediate resignation from the company in the morning so you won’t have the pleasure of exposing me to that bunch of morons in the Office after the holidays.”

There was silence.

“In fact, I’d like you to leave now if you don’t mind.”

To my surprise, it was Gwen who spoke up.

“I’m not going to leave. In fact, there is nowhere I’d rather be at this moment.”
She saw the look of astonishment on my face.

“If you are going to resign, then I’ll do the same. Stewart needs friends who will stick by him. I’m going to do just that.”

Sandra’s mouth dropped open. She was speechless.

Gwen piped up,

“Well Sandra, are you with us or against us?”

Slowly a smile appeared on Sandra’s face.

“It appears I’m outvoted besides, I think you are right. Stewie does scrub up rather well as a member of the fairer sex.”

I was not really interested in frivolities but the support of Gwen and a somewhat reluctant Sandra started to hit home.

“Ok. You can stay.”

There was an awkward silence for nearly a minute.

Then Sandra broke it.

“Oh for gods sake, isn’t someone going to ask Stewie what he calls himself when… when he’s dressed as his female better half?”

“Louise,” I answered quietly.

“Louise it is then. No more Stewie. Agreed?” Asked Sandra looking at Gwen.

She was sitting quietly and observing me. She just nodded her head in agreement. Then she said,

“I’m so sorry Ste… sorry Louise, for all that ribbing about your shopping last Saturday. You really must hate me for that?”

I gave her a small smile.

“No, it’s all right Gwen.”

I paused for a second before adding,
“But there were times when I wanted to strangle the living daylights out of you there and then. You just wouldn’t shut up.”

That relieved the tension considerably.

We all were more relaxed. So relaxed in fact that we spent the rest of the evening talking about all sorts of stuff apart from me. Eventually, I had to go and pee.

As I stood up, I saw the time. Then I noticed the four empty wine bottles on the table.

“Oh god. It’s well past one o’clock.”

I disappeared towards the toilet hoping that my hint about the time might get them moving.

When I returned, I found two quite drunken women trying to stagger towards the door. Neither of them was in a fit state to go home that much was obvious.

“Ok girls, I think you two had better stay the night. You are both far too pissed to get home safely.”

Gwen managed to say thanks. After her early reluctance to drink anything alcoholic, she’d relented and imbibed with the rest of us.

“I’ll make up the bed in the spare room if you don’t mind sharing?”

“Let me help?” Asked Sandra.

“No. It will be quicker if I do it myself.”

While they sorted out going to the toilet, I slipped off my shoes and started making up the bed. As it was my spare room, I didn’t have the heating turned on so it was a bit cold. I just hoped that it would be warm enough for them.

I made up the bed and also retrieved two warmish nightdresses from my room.

“There are a couple of nightdresses on the bed. I hope it will be warm enough. There is an extra blanket on the chair by the window,” I announced to them when I’d finished.

“Thanks Louise,” said Sandra as she flopped down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Gwen shook her head and started to get undressed totally ignoring the fact that I was standing in the doorway.

I closed the door and beat a hasty retreat to my room.

*

Sleep was very hard to come by that night. So much was going on in my mind. Eventually, I must have dozed off because I was woken up sometime later.

I felt two bodies getting into bed with me.

“What are you doing?” I said in an urgent whisper.
“It is so cold next door. We came in to get warm,” muttered Sandra.
“But…”

“Feel my hands,” she said as she touched my face. They were ‘like ice’.

My protests were in vain because Gwen was already lying beside me with her arms wrapped wound me. Sandra got in on the other side and did the same. I realised that no amount or protesting was going to make a blind bit of difference.

I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

Sleep was impossible. I felt so on edge. Here were two women in my bed. Not one but two. I’d never had even one in my bed before. Relaxing was impossible.

It was Gwen who noticed the tension in my body.

Her left hand found it’s way to my very erect penis. She massaged it gently and said.
“Relax darling. We are just three women in a bed so go to sleep.”

*

I came too with the sun streaming through a crack in the curtains. The gentle breathing of my ‘companions’ told me that they were still fast asleep.

I was rather nice to be sandwiched by two warm bodies but eventually the call of nature started to prove impossible to ignore. The problem was the sandwich. How could I get out of bed without waking the two sleeping beauties?

In the end, I slid down the bed and out the bottom. As I tiptoed out of the bedroom, I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the pair of them still sleeping.

When I went into the kitchen to put some coffee on to brew, I stopped in my tracks. The view over the rooftops towards the sea was one of white. It had snowed in the night. We had a white Christmas but I was not really in the festive mood. I had a bit of a hangover and would have to start looking for a new job in a few days. Not the sort of Christmas present I would have wished on anyone.

I walked over to the window and peered out. The whole town was quiet. I could see a few vehicle tracks in the road below. A milkman was treading carefully as he went about his deliveries. I guessed that at least 3in of the white stuff had fallen in the night.

As much as the view pleased me, I groaned at the thought of my two guests being totally ill equipped for the current weather situation in the footwear department.

I had distinctly mixed emotions as I sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and waiting for my guests to wake up.

After an hour without a sign of movement from my bedroom, I gave up and went into the spare room. This was where I kept my male wardrobe. Despite the heating being on for the last two hours, it was distinctly chilly in there. I opened up the radiator to full in the hope that it would warm up. It was a faint hope as this room had two outside walls and with the weather as it was, it was only too evident that the one tiny radiator was going to struggle.

I quickly got dressed in jeans, shirt and sweatshirt. Then I saw a reflection of myself in the mirror. I stopped dead with my mouth open. I’d neglected to remove my makeup the previous night and my guests hadn’t said anything the previous night. Add to that there were two obvious mounds sticking out of my chest, I most certainly didn’t look male at all.

I sighed at the thought of trying to get the marks out of the bed linen. I’d put a set of rather nice dark green satin bed linen on as a special treat for Christmas. Another best laid plan up in ruins.

*

It was nearly midday when my guests stirred themselves. I was anxiously looking at the clock for the umpteenth time when I heard the bedroom door crack open.

“Hello? Louise? Stewie?”

It was Gwen.

“I’m in the kitchen Gwen.”

She waved at me and headed for the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged and joined me in the kitchen.

When she saw the time, she gasped.

“Oh fuck. Is that the time. Why didn’t you wake me? I should be going home.”

I giggled.

“Have you seen outside?”

“What?”

Then she saw the snow covered roofs stretching away to the sea in the distance.

“I really need to be going.”

“You won’t get very far in the shoes you were wearing last night.”

“I’ll have to get a Taxi.”

“Why don’t you have some coffee first? Is Sandra awake yet?”

Gwen shook her head.
“Nah. She’s snoring like a good trooper.”

“Should I go and wake her up?”

“I think so. I have a feeling that she was going to do her food shopping today. I’d expect there to be very little left on the shelves by now.”

Without thinking of the consequences, I said,

“Why don’t you spend Christmas here? I have plenty of food. Far more than I’d get through.”

Gwen’s mouth dropped open.
“Do you mean it?”

“I guess I do now that I’ve said it.”

“Wow. I didn’t expect that. I really didn’t.”

“I didn’t either. It just sort of came out.”

[To Be Continued]

This story has five parts.