The Lucky Charm

Chapter Four: A Journey Started

Dinner passed quickly, and for the most part quietly. They each made comments about how assertive I had been and how
atypical it was for me. Though my new eating habits seemed to be gathering approval.

After we finished eating, Darla and mom did the cleaning chores, it was their turn. Keara and I went to the family room for
her to do her homework while I watched the TV, though I was more into trying to help Keara with her school work. Tonight I
even found that I understood her work better than I normally did. Thank god for small wonders.

Since I understood better, I seemed to be more helpful to Keara, she got done much sooner than most nights. Feeling like she
owed me something in return, she asked if she could play around with my hair a little. I said if it would make her happy,
then, sure, go ahead.

As she brushed my hair out, she said she wanted to try a few things to see how it worked, saying it was easier to see how
something looked on someone else to see if she wanted to do it to her own hair. I just nodded, closing my eyes and relaxing.

It was very comforting, having her play with my hair.

With my back turned to her on the sofa, I let her have her way. At some point, mom and Darla had come in and sat down
quietly. I didn't notice till I heard the sound of mom's coffee cup as she replaced it on the end table. I opened my eyes to
see mom looking at me intently with a smile on her face.

Mom said, "You girls enjoying yourselves?" There was no hint of malice or condemnation in her tone, just being silly.

I smiled in return. Keara said, "Yes we are! Georgie is helping me try some things to see if I like them. Plus He helped me
so much with my homework, I got done way early." Smoothing my hair down my back with her hand, she says, "God, how can you
stand these itchy shirts? If I wore one of these it would drive me crazy. And forget about going bra-less, my poor little
girls would be rubbed raw and sore in minutes."

It took me a moment to realize what she was saying. I blushed a little bit, you get used to these kind of things being said,

when you live in a house of nothing but women. And I really shouldn't bother me, after all, I have bathed Keara, and changed
her diaper when she was a baby and as a little girl. She and I were very close, and I had made her a promise a long time
ago, that she could ask me any question about anything, and I would never lie to her. I did say, that if I felt it was a
subject I didn't feel was appropriate that she should ask her mother.

Now then, Keara was neither flat chested or overly endowed, for her height (5ft-7in), she had a very athletic build, I know
from having done enough laundry in this house, that depending on what brand she bought, she wore a 34-b or 34-c. So she
could get away without always wearing a bra. But it was seldom that she did.

I let the comment pass without saying a word, I knew that was always the safest thing to do. That was a lesson that I had
learned from watching dad for the most, and from seeing Darla's occasional boyfriends crash and burn over something so
insanely stupid. Most of the time once a subject was commented on, it was like, 'In for a penny - in for a pound', they just
never learned when to keep their mouths closed.

After some tugging and more brushing, Keara stopped and asked, "So, what do you think?" Putting a mirror in my hand, as she
held a second one. I had to admit that it looked pretty good, at least to me. It had a tight braid on both sides starting at
the temples going back and joining in the center holding the lower half in order with a ponytail cascading over the whole
thing."

I said the first thing that came to mind, "I think it looks fantastic! You should definitely use this style, it looks
elegant and playful, it also seems that it would be easy to keep without much fuss."

Keara was very pleased, "I think so too!" Thinking a little bit, she said, "You know, if your face was just a tiny bit
softer, a little rounder, with your hair like this, you could... " Looking to see if I would react, "... almost pass for a
girl. Just saying Georgie."

That really didn't bother me like she may have thought. Actually, it made me feel even better about myself. I smiled to let
her know that it didn't cause me any harm that she had said that, "Yea, you're probably right about that. Except, I'm a
little too tall, and absolutely no figure, but yeah, I agree."

She seemed relieved that I hadn't taken any offense to her words, "Hey, if I show you how to do it, do you think you'd like
to try doing my hair the same way? Please!" She tried using those puppy-dog eyes on me and I just had to laugh, she was just
so comical.

I laughingly said, "What? Now I'm your BFF or one of your girlfriends?" Then it kind of dawned on me that I really had no
close friends my own age. Except for the people at work, I hated my job, and they weren't really friends, just people I had
to deal with, most of the people I got along the best with, were Keara's friends from school and her team. My heart suddenly

warming to the idea, "Sure, Why not? Anything for my BFF."

That seemed to make her very happy, and that made me very pleased. We spent the rest of the evening together with her

showing me the ins and outs of doing the hair style. I actually was having a lot of fun. I wished I didn't have to go to
work tomorrow. I wished that I could do high school over, at least the last two years or so, so that maybe my life could go
in a different direction than it had.

When it was time for bed, I had managed to do a very good job at making Keara's hair like she had made mine. She asked me if

I wanted her to undo my hair so I could go to work in the morning. I just said, "No, leave it like it is, I like it, and I
don't care what anyone at work thinks."

She gave me a hug and kiss, "Night Georgie, I love you!" I returned the hug and kiss and told her I loved her too. God, that
was so sweet of her, she hadn't said that for a couple of years. I know that children get out of the habit of saying things
like 'I love you', afraid of being ridiculed by their peers, but it really felt good.

I headed for bed, taking the shirt off, I realized how right Keara had been, that shirt was just too scratchy. I found
something a little softer, an old PJ top that I thought I had outgrown. I had to admit it felt pretty good. Not bothering to
close the door, I hit the sheets and was out almost before my head hit the pillow.

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

I was back in Doctor F's office, sitting in the chair across from her and feeling very comfortable. She smiled and said,
"You look like you're feeling better. What has you in such a good mood?"

I looked at myself as best I could, even feeling my hair. I was just about the way I had laid down in bed. Wow, I just
realized that I knew this was a dream. That would explain the PJ's I had on, they were a soft blue with yellow, pink and
green bears, mixed with silver stars. God, they were so soft too.

She gave me that smile again, like she knew that I had realized something very important. "I feel very good right now, I
feel safe whenever I come here, yet, I know it is a dream. Am I wrong?"

"No, you are very correct, this is your dream! Does that bother you?" Looking for some sign that I was upset.

Without a second of thought, "No, I'm fine with that. Why shouldn't I be fine, I'm dreaming of talking with a very beautiful
woman, the only problem is that you're not real. Just my luck, I finally meet the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and
it's all in my head."

This time, her smile took on a sense of amusement, "Oh, and who said I wasn't real? You may not have met me in the waking
world, yet! But I assure you, I am just as real as you are, my dear." Whatever she meant by that, she didn't care to
elaborate. I tried to hide my annoyance as best I could.

I could tell she knew everything there was to know about me and I could not hide from her. "So, let's continue from the last
time, shall we? What would you change next?"

I seemed to recall everything that had happened between Keara and me before going to bed, I told the doctor all that we had
talked about and did. It seemed like we talked all night long. Before I knew it, Doctor F says, "Well, that's all the time
we have for now, I'll see you soon, Georgie."

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

I woke up feeling just plain fantastic. Stretching and sitting up, before getting out of bed, just as Keara stuck her head
in the door saying that breakfast was almost ready. I followed her to the table thinking about my dream last night and tried
to remember what it was about. Never could remember my dreams, maybe someday I will.

As we passed through the door frame into the dining area, I noticed the marks, you know, the marks you put somewhere to
check how much you or your kids have grown, yeah, that one. Since Keara seemed to have gotten a little taller, again. I compared
her height against her last mark, just made the morning of her 16th birthday a few days ago. And she was right, she wasn't
any taller than before, so what gives.

I looked closer at the marks, paying more attention to my own marks, the last one being from my 20th birthday. It was five
and a half inches above Keara's at 6ft-1/2in, but now I was shorter than my last mark. I grabbed the ruler hanging on a cord
next to the frame with one hand and the pencil with the other. Stepping up to the frame, marked my height with the ruler and
stepped back to mark it with the pencil. I marked the date first, then measured the difference with the ruler, and wrote it
next to the date, 5ft-10 1/2in, I had lost two inches.

I took my seat next to Keara. Turning to look at me, she said, "Your hair has grown out some more, it looks really good on
you!" I told her thank you! And then she noticed the new mark I put on the frame, comparing those top two marks, "OMG,
you're two inches shorter today!"

Looking down at the bracelet I gave her for her birthday that still was locked on my wrist, I started to get the feeling
like I knew what was happening to me. And if I was right, then soon I was going to be a very happy person. I said to Keara,
"I think you'll get your bracelet back in a few days, if we're lucky." As I played with the green clover charm which still
pulsed with my heartbeat.

End of Chapter 4

Thank You for reading!

Mopar

Goddess Blessings!