Zapped! -15 – The Hornet’s Nest

Zapped! Chapter 15 — The Hornet’s Nest

Zapped - Chapter 15 — The Hornet’s Nest By Bob Arnold

This is a work of fiction, with a few real life experiences added in. All of the characters in this story are fictional, and any resemblance to anyone else living or dead is probably a coincidence. Please notify me if you are archiving this and the other chapters of the story on a web site. Permission specifically granted to Sapphire’s Place and Crystal’s Story Site to archive this. If you intend to publish this story in magazine or book (paper or electronic) format, please contact me for arrangements. Additional information on this story may be found at: http://www.stardustr.us/zapped .

Thanks to Lynn Jennings for editing and proofing assistance with this chapter. Any errors remaining are mine after a few last moment changes to the story.

Jennifer's Diary entries
Monday, January 20, 2003 -

The phone was ringing off the hook when I made it into the office after sleeping a bit late this morning. Barb was answering the lines while furiously scribbling notes. She looked up at me just after putting down the telephone from the most recent call. As the handset hit the phone the line started to ring again. She politely answered the phone and asked the caller if they would please hold for a few moments. She hit the hold button and turned toward me with a weary smile on her face.

"Well, Jen, you've really gone and done it now."

"Done WHAT?"

"Stirred up a hell of a hornet's nest you have. Here, look at these!" She shoved a large stack of telephone call slips into my hands then went back to the telephone lines.

The stack was arranged with the oldest call on top. The first group was from the casting people from each of the major evening and late night talk shows. Every one of them wanted me to come on and perform a few songs and talk about the radio show and anything else I was doing. The rest of the stack was from various entertainment publications and media shows requesting interview time. As I leafed through the pile Barb answered at least ten more calls. There was finally a momentary break in the activity and she hit a code on the phone that busied out all of the incoming lines temporarily. Callers would get a busy signal or our voice mail system until she released the lines. She seemed frazzled as she slumped back in her chair.

"I was wondering when you were gonna be able to come up for some air."

"It's been like this since eight this morning when I took off the auto answer function, Jen. Even the voice mail system can't handle it. The display on my phone says that it's full. I haven't had any time to check it yet."

"Why don't you let the lines stay busy for a while longer and take a break. I think you need one."

"But what about…"

"Them?" I pointed to the telephone with all the incoming lines blinking busy. She nodded with a worried look on her face. "Barb, if they want to talk to me that bad they'll keep trying to call, okay? If they give up because they get a busy signal for a few more minutes they really didn't want to talk to me did they?"

"Well, when you look at it like that, I guess you're right. Come on, then. I need CHOCOLATE!"

"Right! … To the kitchen!"

Barb followed me into the kitchen and waited patiently at the table while I made up two large mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows and an extra-large dollop of chocolate syrup. I placed a mug in front of Barb.

"There you are, Barb, my own creation. I call it 'Chocolate Overload'. Drink up and relax! Take all the time you need.” I nodded my head toward the office. “They'll wait." I took a long sip from my cup and smiled as the flavor saturated my taste buds.

Barb took a long sip from her cup and almost purred with enjoyment. "Oh… that's great, Jen. Just what I needed!"

We sat together in silence for a couple of minutes as we both relaxed. Barb put her cup on the table and wrapped her hands around it.

I pointed to her hands gripping the cup tightly. "Cold hands, Barb?"

"Just nerves I guess. I'm worried about the surgery next week."

"Whatever for? I thought you wanted it."

"I do but…" She paused with a confused look on her face.

"But what?"

"Well, there are things you don't know about me that maybe you should know, Jen. Like my background… I used to be…"

"A police officer that got a 'make-over' that he didn't want from a very nasty group of people?" Her jaw dropped wide open. "Yes, I know all about that, Barb."

"But how?"

"Like you, I have a few secrets of my own, Barb."

She took a long draw from her mug. "I didn’t know."

"And, like your background, let's keep this between us, okay?" I used one hand to take a long sip from my own mug while I used the other one to squeeze Barb’s hand.

"I can buy into that, Jen. I never would have suspected that of you. How did…?"

I raised a hand to cut off any more questions. "That's a long story best left mostly untold, Barb. No ‘cloak and dagger’ stuff or secret missions, I assure you. I can say that I detected and prevented a break-in attempt on some extremely sensitive data on some very private government computers. The hackers were trying to use the systems where I used to work to make the attempt. I shut them down and backtracked where they were. Because of that I have and still maintain contacts in a few government agencies that, for various reasons, have no names.”

“So how did you find out about me?”

“It was as simple as a call to my friends in the police department to have them do a background check on your current name. A few things turned up that didn't sound quite right. A little more digging turned up the truth."

"But if you found out that means that THEY'LL find out!"

"No it doesn't. I know the old you still has a price on her head with a very pissed-off group of people. I didn't want my best office staffer have to keep looking over her shoulder all of the time. I had those friends of mine in the right places take care of the problem. It'll take more than an act of Congress to unlock your secrets now. You still need to be careful and probably always will, Barb. I'm not certain if anyone discovered your secret before I did but then I had help most people would never have."

"Thanks, Jen. I owe you for this."

"No, you don't. You just keep doing what you've been doing for me each day and try to enjoy life. You deserve it."

A few tears streamed down Barb's face as I pulled her close for a long hug. Her tears slowly subsided then I handed her a tissue to mop her streaked face.

"Well, what do you think? Have we kept 'em waiting long enough?" I nodded toward the office down the hallway.

"I think so. Let me clear the voice mail backlog and then I'll open up the lines again, that way anything I miss will at least get answered by the voice mail system."

"Sounds good to me. Now go fix your face and dive back into the chaos on the phones. I'll look over the pile I have already. Can you bring in the voice mail messages when you get them? If you can date and time them like you did with the messages this morning I'll start with the oldest ones first."

"What about anything affiliated with MouseWorld? You do have a contract with them."

"I'll give them priority of course. I owe them that much."

"All right. See you in the office in a few minutes. Umm… Can you make me another one of these?" Barb pointed to her empty mug.

"Sure! Overload again?"

"Is there something beyond Overload?"

"Think you can handle it?"

"Well, at least let me try it."

"All right. Be right there." Barb left for the office as I made two more mugs of Overload. I put about a dozen of the new OREO cookies with the chocolate cream in the middle on a couple of small plates and wrapped each of the plates in plastic wrap. I loaded everything on a tray and went back to the office.

Barb was busy copying down messages from the overloaded voicemail system as I put the tray on her desk. When she looked up I made the motion of taking a cookie and dunking it into the mug then eating it. She smiled and winked as I took my plate of cookies and mug into my office.

Around twenty minutes later Barb brought in another stack of message slips from Friday and the weekend. Many were the original calls made by the same people that had called this morning. Of course, over the weekend the booking staff at each of the nighttime talk shows had upped the ante and offered more and more to get me on their respective shows. I would give the show on the network run by MouseWorld the first right of refusal after telling them what the other shows had offered and that if they could at least match it I was theirs.

Since the booking person for the show on the MouseWorld network called at least once already this morning I assumed that their office in Los Angles was open at this hour despite the three-hour time difference. I found the call slip with the number on it and dialed it. It rang several times before someone answered.

"Thanks for calling Around Midnight. Normal office hours are eight AM to 6 PM Pacific time. You can leave…" The line clicked then a human voice came on. “Can I help you?"

"Yes. I'd like to speak with Tandy Martin please. I'm Jennifer Stevens."

"Good morning, Jennifer. I'm Tandy. Thanks for calling back. That was a great performance on Friday morning by the way. We'd love to have you as a guest on Around Midnight. Are you interested?"

"I might be, Tandy. The other shows have made better offers though. Because I have a contract with MouseWorld for another unrelated project I decided to contact your show first since you're on their network."

"I do appreciate that and I can work with you to reach some kind of an agreement.”

We spent the next half an hour or so talking over an agreement for me to perform in March on the seventh. That was the first weekend that I didn't have to do the play. It turns out that I had guessed wrong when I thought that the last full weekend was totally in February. The last weekend of the play was on the last day of February and the first two days of March. The seventh was a Friday and to make the appearance I would have to do the radio show from Los Angeles on the following Saturday morning. Since the radio network affiliate in Los Angeles let me use their facilities a few times before, I was confident that I could make arrangements to broadcast from there again.

"Well, Tandy, I think we've about covered everything. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the sixth ahead of the show."

"Me too, Jennifer. Oh, I didn't think to ask before, will you need hotel arrangements for your band?"

"Band? I don't have a band, Tandy."

"No band? Isn't that kinda unusual for a singer?"

"I'm not really a singer, Tandy. That all happened recently."

"That's going to be something of a problem. I suppose you can send along some sheet music and I can arrange for you to perform with the studio band. It would be much better if you had your own band along with you."

I thought for a few moments. "Tandy, how long before you need to know about arrangements for a band to travel with me?"

"I need about a week's notice, Jennifer. Do you think you can find a band to work with you?

"Maybe. I used to do sound for a band but I haven't seen them for quite a while. I don't know what they're going to say about this if I ask them."

"Well, just let me know as soon as you can then. I'll see you in Los Angeles on March sixth one way or the other, right?"

"We have a deal, Tandy. Please draw up the agreement we talked about and fax it to me. I'll turn it around as quickly as I can."

"You'll have it later this morning, Jennifer. Thanks for calling! Bye!" The line clicked then went dead as I put the telephone down. I looked up to see Barb standing in the doorway.

"Another trip to LaLa land, eh?"

I shrugged then smiled back at her as she sat down in the chair next to my desk. "I guess. That was just the first of the late night shows. The one on the network MouseWorld owns."

"Well, before you make any other calls you might want to make this one." She put a call slip on my desk. It was from Jason Stockwell at the division of MouseWorld that handled the recording artists. "He really wants to talk with you and fast."

"All right, Barb. Where is he located anyway?"

"I think he's located at corporate in Florida so you can make the call right now, Jen. No procrastinating on this one, okay?"

"Can I at least go to the bathroom first, Momma?" I pouted like a little girl then looked at the floor as I squirmed slightly in my chair like a little kid trying hard not to do the pee-pee dance.

Barb giggled then shook her head at me. "I suppose but no dawdling young lady!" She waggled a finger at me.

"I promise!" I headed for the bathroom in the office next door and quickly emptied out after drinking those two large mugs full of hot chocolate. A trip to the kitchen and I had a mug full of ice-cold milk with ice added to keep it cold in my office. I also grabbed the rest of the bag of chocolate cream OREOS.

I refilled Barb’s cookie plate and watched for a few seconds as she efficiently dealt with the overloaded phone lines. I took the rest of the bag and headed for my office. The bag of cookies wound up on the corner of the desk as I picked the call sheet from the studio then dialed the number.

"Hello. MouseWorld Records… If you know the extension of..." I grimaced at the automated system then pressed the numbers for Jason's extension.

"Jason Stockwell, can I help you?"

"Hello, Jason, Jennifer Stevens returning your call."

"Jennifer! Thanks for calling! Do you know you've got the brass around here almost ready to bust? Everyone is so excited that you're going to do some recording for an album! I've been assigned to help you."

"All right, Jason. I hadn't expected to have to record something for a while yet though."

"Well, we'd really like to get started as soon as possible. Our test samples for your song 'The Future Is Now' are simply off the charts. If we had something to release right now we think it would go platinum as a single in a space of a few weeks. "

"I guess that I'll have to take planning for a recording session seriously then. What time frame did you have in mind?"

"The sooner the better as we see it. I'd be deliriously happy if you could start next week."

"Hmm… I can't make it happen that fast, Jason. How about around the middle of March after I get done with the play? It will have to be scheduled around my work with MouseWorld in Florida though."

"Is that the earliest you're available?"

"I'm afraid so, Jason." I heard him sigh softly to himself.

"Then that's what I'll have to work with. Is your band ready? How much time will you need to get ready?"

"Band? That's the second time today someone has asked me about a band."

"Really? Who asked first?"

"The folks at Around Midnight. I have a guest appearance scheduled on March seventh. They wanted to know if I was going to bring my own band with me."

"And you said…"

"That I didn't umm... don't have a band, Jason, at least not yet anyway. I do have a possibility in mind though."

"Please let me know as soon as you have something lined up. Otherwise, I'll find some studio musicians and we'll need a lineup of songs you might like to do so we can get arrangements done. Because of the time we need to get ready, I have to know by the end of this week."

"All right, Jason. I'll let you know as soon as I know anything. Okay?"

"Thanks, Jennifer. Gotta dash. The work of a studio manager is never done. Bye!" The line clicked as I put the phone down again.

The ice in my glass of milk had melted a bit leaving a film of milky water on top. I twirled the glass a little to get the water and milk to mix as I stuffed an OREO into my mouth and sipped a bit of milk. As the cookie began to disintegrate, I leaned back in my chair pondering the last two phone calls.

Both the Around Midnight folks and the recording studio seemed to expect me to have a backup band of my own. A backup band was, until now, something I never considered. Until now I had never even considered myself anything more than someone lucky enough to be doing a radio and a TV show. Now it appeared the rest of the world was starting to view me as a singer as well.

The guys in Pleasant Valley Sunday had always wanted me to perform with them. The one time they did try to set up a date for me to work with them I had to be elsewhere for a public appearance. The band seemed to be mad at me and as a result I hadn't heard much, if anything, from them in weeks. I wasn't certain how much they knew of my own activities either. I owed something to them and decided to give them first shot at being my backup band. I could afford to add four new employees to the payroll now so they could give up their day jobs if they wanted to pursue their music with me. It took a few minutes to find the CD that the band had recorded in my garage. I popped it into the bookshelf stereo system behind my desk then called Barb into the office.

"What's up, Jen?"

I pointed to a chair. "Take a seat and listen to this for a little while then give me your honest opinion. No bullshit on this one, Barb, just tell me the truth, okay?"

"If that's what you want, that's what you'll get, Jen. You know me well enough by now."

"Good! That's why I asked you in here." I pressed the button on the remote control to start the CD playing then turned my chair so my back was toward Barb and closed my eyes as the music started to play.

Somewhere around thirty minutes later the eighth song ended and I switched the player into the pause mode. "Well, I know you recognized my voice as the singer. What did you think of the band? Could they be good enough to record and perform with me?" I stayed with my back to her, as I didn't want her to read anything into her criticism from the expression on my face.

"It's going to take some work but, yes, I think that they just might be good enough to back you. Where was that recorded anyway?"

I turned my chair around to face her. "In my garage during the summer. The guys asked me to sing with them that day and didn't tell me the CD recorder in the sound rack was running. They intended that it be a demo CD of us so they could get some jobs with me singing with them. It never worked out that I could though."

"Why didn't you ever work with them, Jen? You sound pretty good."

"Time or at least lack of it, Barb. The band and I could never seem to get together to perform. I haven't heard anything from them lately."

"I guess that you have to find a band to back you pretty quickly, right?" I nodded in agreement. "Then you need to talk to them as soon as possible. Who's the most laid-back one in the group?"

"Tom Sutkoff, I guess. He's married and was always the most level-headed one."

"Then call him and find out what's happening with the band and sound him out about working for you."

"Thanks, Barb. You've been a big help."

"You're welcome. By the way, I loved the Overload hot chocolate and the OREO chocolate cookies. Quite a combination!"

I popped another OREO into my mouth and drained my mug of the remaining milk. By now it was about half water and half milk from the ice but it was still ice cold. I smiled as Barb stood up to return to her office. "I always loved chocolate before but now I find that I absolutely crave it quite frequently. At least it's a nice vice to have. I can think of many things that are a hundred times worse to be hooked on."

"I feel it too even though my body isn't fully female as yours is. Must be the hormones I think. I'm going to make another mug full, want one?"

"Pass, Barb. I'm saving room for lunch later." I patted my tummy gently. "Gotta watch the waistline these days. There's a clause buried somewhere in the MouseWorld contract."

“SHEESH! With your weird metabolism you have to worry?” She smiled as she left my office headed for the kitchen with her mug in her hand. I turned back to the CD player and started it again letting the rest of the CD play as I thought over what to say to Tom when I called.

The CD played the last two songs then cycled back to the start before I pushed the stop button. I put the CD back in the jewel case and put it away in the desk where I found it. My trusty Palm m105 PDA yielded Tom's work number and his home number. Tom's regular job was with one of the local TV stations as an engineer on the tech crew taking care of the all the equipment.

It was nearing lunchtime and I knew that Tom would be taking a break from the activities at the station. I picked up the phone and dialed the number then punched in Tom's extension into the system.

"Tom Sutkoff, Can I help you?"

"Hi, Tom, Jennifer Stevens calling. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Jen! How are you? I always have some time to talk to you, darlin'" His Texas drawl sounded great since I hadn't talked to him in what seemed to me to be years.

"I'm doing fine, Tom. How are you and Darla? I know by now she's had the baby, right?"

"Yup. It was a girl like we hoped, almost 7 pounds too, and healthy. Darla had some problems with the delivery like we thought she would. The docs say she shouldn't have any more kids."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Tom. How did Darla take the news?"

"She took it just fine. According to her, delivering a baby is kinda like trying to pass a bowling ball through there so she's willing to pass on any more kids. She even had her tubes tied after the delivery. Strange thing is I'm having a hard time keeping up with her in bed now that she doesn't have to worry about getting pregnant again."

"Sounds like she's wearing you out at night."

He chuckled a bit. "Almost, Jen, almost. I have to take extra vitamins to keep up with her."

"I'm glad to hear she and the baby are doing well. I'll have to call her when I can get sometime free and go over for a visit."

"I heard you're really busy these days, Jen. We had quite a few requests to have you perform with us but we know your schedule is pretty busy these days."

"That's true, Tom. Just how much do you know about what I'm involved in?"

"Only what I read in the papers, why?"

"Well, there's more going on than most people know about. Something of interest possibly to you and the band is that I have a recording deal with MouseWorld and I'm scheduled to do a late night talk show tour next month."

"Really? And what made you think of calling me?"

"I need a backup band, Tom, and I thought of Pleasant Valley Sunday first. Do you think the guys might be interested?"

"You mean guys and gal don't you?"

"Did Jack go through with the plan to try living as a woman?"

"Yup. The rest of the band talked it over and it really doesn't matter to us. Jackie as she calls herself now is still a great drummer and her voice sounds more natural as a woman than it ever did as a man. She's doing fine. She looks so convincing that we have to beat the men away from her with a stick wherever we play."

"I'm glad to hear she’s doing well. So is there any interest in talking to me about what I have in mind for the band?"

"I'm certainly willing to listen, Jen. Let me talk to the others and I'll let you know."

"I'm on a kind of tight schedule, Tom. Can everyone come over to my house tonight? I'd like to talk to everyone at the same time if you don't mind."

"Umm… I think I can arrange that."

Over the next few minutes we worked out the details of the time then said our goodbyes. Just as I put the phone down Barb came into the office.

"Lunch is ready, Jen. Just sandwiches today since we stuffed ourselves this morning. How about a nice bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich?"

"Sounds good to me, Barb. I think I'll just eat at my desk today though. There's still a lot of calls to return."

"All right but don't drive yourself too hard. You'll pay for it eventually if you do. Remember that you have to take better care of that body of yours than you did before."

I looked up at Barb and smiled. "Okay, Mom! I promise!" I made a crossing sign over my heart and then giggled as she shook her head at me.

"Keep working at it, Jen. You've almost got that ditzy blond act down right!" She spun on her heel and headed for the kitchen giggling quietly. I had to admit that Barb gives as good as she gets and giggled to myself.

Minutes later Barb returned with a sandwich and a tall glass full of diet soda for me. I turned on the television in my office and settled in to watch the noon news and eat. There wasn’t much of interest on the news until the station did their short entertainment segment. I turned up the volume when the logo for Space Quest popped up on the screen.

“ … and producers announced today that Space Quest has been officially canceled by the network. The remaining episodes will be shown over the next several weeks until a replacement is found to put in the show’s time slot. Moving on to other Entertainment News…”

After turning the volume down I continued eating my sandwich. At least I knew now that the offer of doing the two episodes of Space Quest was a moot point in any of my future plans. While I had been looking forward to the experience of working on a television show, it really didn’t upset me that the chance was gone. I knew that I’d find something else to take the place of the missed opportunity.

My plate was now empty so I drained the last of the soda from my glass and took the dirty dishes back to the kitchen. After a stop in the bathroom to refresh myself, I went back to the office to dive back into the growing pile of call slips. Barb had added a couple more stacks through the morning hours.

The slips got sorted into piles based on priority. A few I had to handle myself while I could have Barb handle the rest with either a polite refusal or to set up an appointment time when someone could call and talk to me or visit me for an interview. Fortunately, most of the callers were willing to take a phone interview over a personal visit. The television folks, however, wanted to meet me in person.

It seemed that I was also now on the radar screens of a few of the larger tabloid newspapers. Several had called to ask about interviews. I decided for the time being to decline those interviews and concentrate on what appeared to be the more reputable publications and media outlets. It crossed my mind momentarily that the tabloids would make up stories about me anyway if I became a much larger media target. So far, with the news of my change of sex being public information, I had remained out of their slimy spotlights. Until now there had been little for anyone to speculate on and little information available for someone to twist into the type of story they seemed to like. I knew that wasn’t going to last and that I would have to vigorously fight any incorrect information they published. I made a note to have Barb start picking up a few of the larger tabloid rags and keep watching for anything printed in them about me.

One of the call slips was a message from Mark at MouseWorld asking that I call him as soon as possible. It was in the last batch Barb brought in just before lunch. I hit the speed dial button on my phone and moments later Mark picked up the line.

"Hi, Mark, Jennifer Stevens calling. What's going on today?"

"Hi, Jen. I need to let you know that the Space Quest show has been cancelled."

"I already heard about that on the noon news here, Mark. It really wasn't much of a surprise."

"Sorry I couldn't get through before you heard the news another way. I really wanted to be the one that told you."

"Not a problem, Mark. Since you're on the phone do you want to solidify my schedule now for the attraction opening and the TV show? I really need to get something in place so I can plan around it."

Over the next hour we worked out a schedule up through the television show that would open the exhibit at MouseWorld. It seems that they had decided to call the exhibit "The Future Is Now" after the song I wrote. I was quite flattered and more than a little concerned that if the whole thing was a flop that I was being set up to take the blame. There wasn't time right now to worry about that though.

"Well, Jen, it looks like we have a workable schedule then. Is there anything else you want to change in it?"

"No, nothing at the moment, Mark. It might need a little fine-tuning here and there but overall I can handle it."

"Great! One other thing… umm… are you maybe up for doing a movie after the exhibit opens?"

"A movie? Hmm… tell me a bit more about what you have in mind?"

"Well, the network is looking to do a re-make of an old John Wayne film called 'Donvan's Reef' to air around Christmas time this year. We think you'd be great as the Amelia Dedham character. Are you familiar with the movie?"

"I am, Mark. I'm a big fan of many of John Wayne's films. I may be interested. Is there a script yet?"

"Yes. Want me to send a copy?"

"Sure. I'll look at it and get back to you as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Jen. Is there anything else we need to talk about on this call?"

"No, I think we've taken care of everything, Mark."

"Great. I've got to run. I have a call on another line. When are you coming down again?"

"Tomorrow, Mark. That's when I do the voice-over for the animation. I'll be there for a couple of days then I have to come back to do the play."

"See you tomorrow then! Bye!" The line clicked then went silent. I put the phone back on the desk then slumped in my chair.

The schedule I had just agreed to would have me in Orlando at least two or three days a week until the play was over then, after the round of nighttime show appearances, I would be in Orlando until the TV show was broadcast. The sole break would be the time needed to record an album for release unless the production was moved to facilities in Orlando to reduce my travel time.

The possibility of the Donovan's Reef re-make was intriguing too. I suspected that it would involve an on-location shoot in Hawaii since the original film was set on a South Pacific island in the late fifties. I wondered if they intended to update the film time-wise or to simply shoot it as originally scripted. Mark said he would send a script so I put it out of my mind until it arrived.

Before I had much time to dwell on what I had just gotten myself into Barb called from her office. "Jen, there's a Tom Sutkoff on line 2 for you. He says he's returning your call. Do you want to take it now?"

"I got it, Barb!" I picked up the phone again and hit the button for line 2.""Hi, Tom. What can I do for you?"

"I got in touch with everyone else and they can come over to meet with you around seven tonight. Is that all right, Jennifer?"

"That's good for me, Tom. No instruments are needed since we're just talking things over."

"All right, I'll see you at seven. I'll let the others know. Gotta get back to work now! Bye!"

"Bye, Tom, and thanks!" I put the phone down again then started to make some notes on a pad of paper of things I needed to talk over with the band. The list grew to three pages before I ran out of things to talk about. Anything on the last two pages wouldn't matter a bit if the big question weren't settled first. I wondered if they would be willing to be my backup band for both the album and the TV shows?

The rest of the afternoon was spent arranging several more talk show appearances up until I had to do the TV show from Orlando. When I glanced at the clock it was nearly half an hour past quitting time and the lights were still on in Barb's office.

I wearily slumped into the chair beside her desk. "Ah… Barb… GO HOME!"

"I know. I'm almost done. I'll be just a couple of minutes more."

"GO HOME, Barb. I have the excuse that I live here. YOU don't. This will all be here tomorrow morning. Now go home and get some test. I don't want you to get yourself all run down before your surgery."

"Thanks for worrying about me. Mom!" She started shutting down her computer and straightening her desk.

"It's been a heck of a day hasn't it? I thought that the phones were never going to stop ringing."

"They haven't yet. I just turned on the auto answer after I cleared out the voicemail system again. It'll be full again in the morning. Ready for round two?"

"Nope. Remember that I have to fly out in the morning for Orlando for the voice-over work. I'll be gone when you open the office in the morning."

'Damn! I was so busy I forgot all about that. Good thing I scheduled all of that last week wasn't it?"

"I'll say it was. Now GO HOME and get some rest. I'll be back on Thursday afternoon. I'll take my cell phone so you can reach me for the big stuff. Anything else can wait until I get back."

"I promise not to call unless it something real big, Jen. Do you want to check in with me at home each night?"

"Not really. I trust your judgment, Barb. You haven't let me down yet so go ahead and run with things. I'll be on the plane out of Orlando on Thursday so I should be back here in the afternoon."

Barb put on her coat and grabbed her purse from a drawer in her desk. "Then I'll see you then, Jen. I left a couple of sandwiches for you in the fridge and the dishwasher is loaded and all set to go when you're done."

I followed Barb to the door then locked it after I watched her car pull out of the driveway. The pile on my desk was still there and I decided that it would still be there but somewhat larger on Thursday when I got back. I grabbed the pad with my notes for the band and headed for the kitchen to have supper.

The sandwiches were great. I had both of them and then finished up with a slice of a Sara Lee Devil's Food Chocolate cake I found in the fridge. The dirty dishes were dumped into the washer for a cleaning run. A glance at the clock told me that there was almost an hour left until the band was supposed to arrive for our discussion. I headed for the living room and got comfortable on the couch to study and revise my notes.

The clock on the VCR read ten minutes before seven when the doorbell rang. When I answered it I saw a woman bundled up in a heavy parka wearing jeans and heavy boots. "Can I help you?"

"Well, I must be doing something right. You don't recognize me do you, Jennifer?"

"Jack, err… Jackie?" She nodded in agreement. "Come on in. It's freezing out there!"

She stepped inside and I closed the door behind her as another blast of frigid air hit the porch. She took off her parka and scarf letting her long hair flow down her back. "So how have you been, Jen?"

I took her coat and put it in the closet then hugged her tightly. "I've been busy, Jackie. I see you've been busy too!"

"I want to say something right now, Jen. Whatever happens tonight I want to thank you for making me realize that I had another option. I think I might have done something to myself if I'd gone on as I was. You made a big difference in my life and I wanted to see you in person to thank you." A few tears started to stream down her face.

I hugged her tightly as the tears subsided. I wanted to say more but as I was about to speak the doorbell rang again. When I opened the door it was the rest of the band. "Come on in, guys, Jackie got here a few minutes ago."

When their coats were tucked away in the closet they followed me into the living room and we all got comfortable on the couch. "So what have you all been up to in the past few weeks? I've been so busy I really couldn't follow what's been going on with the band."

Tom glanced at the others almost as if to ask their permission to speak. "Well, we've been lucky enough on our own to get an offer for a record deal of our own. It's with a local company but it's a start, Jen."

"Really?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "I hope it all works out for you. I do need to talk to you about something though."

Tom glanced nervously at the others again. "Go ahead, Jennifer."

"Here's the deal, folks. I have a recording contract with MouseWorld for an album based on the song I wrote plus other material. I really want Pleasant Valley Sunday to be my backup band on both the album and for a series of guest appearances on a few of the late night TV talk shows in a month or two."

Tom answered for the band again. "So what's the billing supposed to be if we went ahead with this, Jennifer?"

"I've gone around and around with the record company but they're adamant on this. They want the title to be 'Jennifer Stevens with Pleasant Valley Sunday' or something similar. They feel since I have the name recognition that my name should be in the group's title. To most people Pleasant Valley Sunday is the title of an old tune by the Monkees."

"What's in it for us?"

"All I can offer is fifty thousand dollars each for the duration of the guest appearances and the time it takes to record the album. Where my career goes beyond that I have no idea. While there's no guarantee that the album will get any kind of response from the public, I've had enough requests for a copy of "The Future Is Now" that the MouseWorld folks want to release something. I should also tell you that you'd most likely appear with me on the TV special in June when the new attraction at MouseWorld in Florida opens."

Tom looked at the other band members. I saw a few shrugs from them before Tome spoke again. "Can we have a few minutes alone to talk about this, Jennifer?"

"Of course, Tom. Is there anything I can get for you while I'm waiting in the kitchen?"

He glanced again at the others. "I don't think so, Jennifer."

"All right. Please come and get me when you're finished talking." I picked up my note pad and headed for the kitchen closing the door behind me.

The case of the shakes I had demanded that I apply some chocolate to try to calm my jangled nerves. I made a large mug full of hot chocolate, Overload style, and waited at the kitchen table. The minutes on the clock slowly ticked by and I had almost drained the mug when Tom stepped into the kitchen.

"We're ready."

"I'll be right there, Tom. Do you want anything? I have soda and …"

"No, thanks." He turned and went back to the living room leaving me wondering what had gone on in there.

The mug got rinsed out and deposited in the dishwasher before I headed back to the living room. When I looked around the room the expressions on the faces of the band didn't tell me a thing.

"Here's what we've decided, Jennifer. The band has voted to decline your offer. We all feel that we want to try this on our own. I… we… know that this could be a big mistake for us. What you've offered would certainly give the band an incredible boost. The down side is that we'd be riding on your coat tails and we don't want to do that. If we're good enough to make it as a band we want to do it under our own name, not someone else's."

At that moment it felt like someone had punched me in the gut. My thoughts drifted back to the phrase Adam had used several times when I offered to help him. "I DON'T want to be known as 'MISTER Jennifer Stevens', Jen. I want to make it on my OWN!" As much as it pained me to hear something similar coming from the band, I knew where they were coming from.

"All right, Tom. I do understand and I want to thank everyone for coming over to hear what I had to say tonight. There's no point in going on with the meeting since the rest of the items I had to talk about were based on the band working with me. Unless you have something else you want to talk about I don't think we need to take up each other's time tonight. I do want to stay in touch in the hope that maybe we can work together at some time in the future, Tom."

"I think we'd all like that, Jen. Sorry we couldn't come to an agreement tonight. We'll be going now." Tom and the rest of the male band members got up to leave. Jackie stayed on the couch. "Coming, Jackie?"

"No, I'm going to talk to Jen about some girl-stuff. You guys go ahead. I doubt that you'd be interested in our conversation, but you're welcome to stay."

Tom nodded then turned to leave. "See you later, Jackie. Don't forget the gig at the bar tomorrow night, okay?"

"I'll be there, Tom." We waited until the guys had collected their coats and departed.

"So what happened in here anyway, Jackie?"

"Just what Tom said, Jen. The guys aren't mad at you or anything like that. They just want to do it on their own. Typical male mindset." Jackie giggled softly. "Listen to me already. I've been living as a woman for less than two months and already I've adapted to the female viewpoint."

"It took me a while too even though I wound up completely feminine physically. I guess it's common no matter what the reason for the change." I turned the conversation away from the band and we spent the next half an hour or so catching up on what each of us had been doing and comparing notes on our changes. When Jackie started to yawn I suggested that we end the evening.

"Thanks, Jen, for taking the time to talk with me. It means so much to have you as a friend."

"I'll be there as much as my schedule will allow me to be, Jackie. Just call."

We hugged then she gathered up her coat and left. When I looked at the clock I realized that I had better get to sleep because I had to be up in another five hours to make it to the airport for my flight out to Orlando. A quick run through the shower and I literally fell into bed after setting the alarm for three AM.

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 -

I barely made it to the airport on time for the flight to Orlando. Security precautions were tight and it seemed like it took forever to get through check-in and board the plane. This time I had to use a commercial airline since the corporate jets owned by MouseWorld were all in use elsewhere. Barb was able to get me a seat in business class on the only flight directly from Syracuse to Orlando without a stop somewhere along the way.

I knew I should have worn some type of disguise when several passengers asked me for autographs as the rest of the passengers were boarding. I had hoped to get a little more sleep during the flight but a constant stream of people passing by and stopping to say hello prevented that. Several of the male passengers even left business cards if I wanted to consider going out on a date with them. I was pleased with myself that I had adapted well enough to be of interest to men but another part of me didn't quite know how to handle the situation. I guess I still had work to do when it came to dealing with most men from a woman's point of view.

The plane got in on time in Orlando and I had no trouble meeting the limo driver that was supposed to take me directly to the studio. At the studio I took a few minutes to let Mark know I arrived and then called the hotel and confirmed that they should hold my reservation for a room until I got there.

With my bags stored away at the studio temporarily, we got started. First I went to a wardrobe area where several costumes were fitted and some alterations were made. I learned that these were the costumes I would use to film the introduction that was to be a part of the exhibit. The same costumes would be used on the television special and my digital self would be wearing the same thing to tie it all together.

The first costume was a body-hugging lycra suit that looked almost like it was sprayed on me. When I looked at myself in the mirror there was a strong resemblance between the way I looked and the way the character Seven-Of-Nine looked in her duty uniform on the old Star Trek Voyager series. The look was very sleek and sexy without being completely revealing. I learned that my usual ponytail hairdo was to also be a part of the character.

After trying on several more outfits, including one composed of a very low cut midriff revealing tank top, an extremely short skirt and black, high heel, over-the-calf boots, I changed back into the original outfit and followed one of the production people to a large room. All of the walls in the room were covered with bright green background material. In the center sat a treadmill and around it were four TV cameras all pointed at the treadmill.

"Umm… what's all this for?" I looked over at the production person as he pushed the buttons on some equipment.

"We're going to tape you walking, jogging and running. It turns out you're got a gait that's quite difficult to animate properly."

I put my hands on my ample hips and scowled at the guy. "What's WRONG with the way I walk?"

He smiled and walked toward me with a handful of white dots on a sheet of paper. "Absolutely nothing! In fact we all find it quite stimulating and we want to make sure we get it right. I'm going to stick a few of these white dots on your outfit in strategic spots. Hold still."

I watched as he placed the white dots on each of my joints including my hips and shoulders. As he worked he explained that the video we were about to shoot would be fed into the computers and analyzed to add the proper gait to my digital character. The white dots were so the computer could find the appropriate joints in each frame of the video to properly follow the motion. He was going to place dots on my breasts over my nipples but hesitated and looked at me. I nodded for him to proceed.

His hands brushed my breasts as he applied the dots. He had to push a little harder to get them to stick because of the contours and the feeling that the pressure generated almost made my knees buckle. I must have been blushing as he motioned for me to get on the treadmill.

"Ready?" I nodded as I tried to get my heartbeat back to something approaching normal again. "Let's start you out at an easy walk, okay?"

"I'm ready." He started the video recorders rolling then set the treadmill in motion.

Over the next few minutes I went from a comfortable walk, to a slow jog, to running almost as fast as I could. When he had enough he slowed the treadmill to a stop. I stood there panting slightly while he removed the dots from the costume. I stopped him just before he started to remove the dots from my breasts and peeled them off myself. Now it was his turn to blush. I thought it looked cute to see this huge hunk of a man blush like a teenage girl.

The next stop was another room where I sat in front of a bank of scanners. They scanned my face from each side and from straight-on. I found out that it was to further refine my character in the computer generated graphics so she looked even more like me. When they were finished they would have a digital version of me that looked and moved almost exactly like I did in real life. The only thing that remained was to record my voice.

After changing out of the 'cat suit' costume and back into my street clothes I found that the morning was long gone. We agreed that things were to resume after lunch and ordered some pizza and sodas from a place close by. When the pizza arrived it looked wonderful and I proceeded to put away four slices and a large soda without even thinking about it. I realized that, in my haste to get to the airport, I'd forgotten to have any breakfast. When the pizza completely disappeared we cleaned up and headed for the recording studio.

First I worked on the sound track for the greeting that would be used at the attraction. It took the better part of two hours to finish that to the producer's satisfaction. Then we started on the dialog for the animated pilot. It seemed very strange to say my lines as if the other characters were there. I had to force myself to imagine they were actually there to get the proper mood and energy levels. It wasn't anywhere near as easy as I thought it would be.

Somewhere along the way I learned that Adam had won the part of the nasty villain in the story. His own recording session was scheduled for the following week. I was a bit mad at Adam that he hadn’t said anything about it to me but then I wasn’t around much to give him a chance to do it either.

We barely got a third of the way through the script when time came for me to leave and get settled in the hotel room for the night. I said goodbye to everyone with the promise that I would be back bright and early the following morning. The same limo that picked me up at the airport was waiting to take me to the hotel.

The hotel was one of the theme-based places on the MouseWorld grounds. Since I was working at MouseWorld's request they had arranged a top of the line room for me in the most luxurious hotel in the complex. Well, room wasn't quite the right word. Suite would be better. There were four separate bedrooms each with a king-sized bed and their own bathroom and a larger common bathroom with a huge hot tub. There was a small kitchen complete with restaurant quality appliances and a large living room area with a large screen television, DVD player and theater quality surround-sound system. I was about to call the hotel management to ask if the suite was an error when I heard someone knocking on the door. I left the security bar in place and cautiously opened the door.

Mark's smiling face peered around the edge of the door. He thrust a hand with a bouquet of flowers through the crack in the door. "These are for you, Jennifer."

I took the flowers and set then on a table next to the door. "Just a moment, Mark." He pulled his hand back so I could close the door and remove the security bar. I opened the door again and motioned for him to come inside.

"Thanks for the flowers, Mark. They're lovely." I picked up the bouquet and buried my nose in them inhaling the fragrance deeply. He followed me to the kitchen and watched as I found a small vase and placed the flowers in it. I brought them with me and put them on the coffee table in the living room then got comfortable on the couch.

"I have to ask, Mark. Is this suite an error? It seems an awful lot for just me for a couple of days."

"There's no error, Jen. This suite is yours for the duration of your contract with us. When you're not here it will remain empty so if you want to leave extra clothes or anything else here please feel free to do so. We thought it would make it easier for you since you'll be coming and going for several months. You won't have to find a place of your own unless you want to."

"That's great, Mark. I don't know what to say other than ‘Thanks!’ I really wasn't looking forward to condo hunting."

"We're happy we could do it, Jen. Now, have you had supper yet?"

"No. Did you have something in mind?"

"How about another of those sandwiches you had last time you were here?"

"I'd like that, Mark. Give me a few minutes to get changed and I'll be ready to go." Mark nodded in agreement as I headed for my bedroom.

Since we were going out into the park, I changed into a skirt and blouse from the jeans and sweatshirt that I wore for the trip. I took a few moments to brush out my hair and sprayed on some lilac scent, then I put on a pair of low, wide heels since we'd probably be walking on the somewhat uneven ground in the park. Mark smiled as I walked back into the living room.

"All set?"

"Yes, let's go. Are we walking again?"

"We could but I have a cart waiting in the tunnel system below the hotel. It's the one we've reserved for you while you're here."

"Really? That's great. Thanks, Mark!"

"You'll also be interested to know that you have complete access to the entire park while you're working for us. We want you to be able to have some fun while you're here. Since you're one of our official ambassadors now it won't hurt for you to be seen in the park either. All of the park staff will help you with whatever you need. Just feel free to ask!"

"I don't know what to say, Mark It's all so wonderful!" This was really leaving me searching for something to say. I never expected to be treated like this.

"You don't need to say anything, Jen. Follow me!"

We left the suite and walked to an elevator at the end of the hallway. As we got in he pointed to a card slot. "Run your hotel room card through then press the 'B' key to go to the basement." I did as he asked then the elevator started for the trip four floors down.

The doors opened moments after the elevator stopped. In front of us was a large hallway with the golf cart parked in a special slot marked with my name. The cart also had my name emblazoned on it. I started to climb into the passenger side when Mark stopped me.

"Nope, YOU drive. You have to learn your way around here by yourself. I can't be around all the time to chauffer you. Just start off slowly and follow the map on the dash. You remember where we went the last time?"

"I think so, Mark." I pointed to a restaurant marked clearly on the map. "That's it, right?"

"Right. Let's go when you're ready."

I took a deep breath and slowly pressed down on the pedal to start the electric powered cart. Since we were between shift changes the tunnels were less crowded than normal. I was glad I didn't have to deal with the rush hour traffic. I made it to the underground parking area nearest the restaurant and left the cart in one of the reserved spaces. Mark gave me a small card with the lock and unlock codes on it for the cart. I tapped the lock code into the keypad and put the card in my purse after memorizing both codes. I took Mark's arm and we walked up the stairs to the ground level.

The meal was wonderful and after finishing Mark and I strolled along the area looking at the sights and sounds in this part of the park. Mark had turned on the charm from the start and I found it hard to resist. I did resist however with the knowledge of Mark's conquests that I learned from Rose on my previous visit. I simply enjoyed the attentive company and spent the next hour watching as the start of the nightly parade moved past us.

"Umm… Mark, is there another fireworks show tonight?"

"Sure. Want to go see it again?"

"I think I'd like that. Let's go." He offered his arm as we headed back to the underground parking garage to get the cart. I headed the cart around the end of the lake to the spot we had visited before then took the cart up the ramp and out onto a small hill overlooking the lake.

The night air had started to cool off considerably and Mark pulled a blanket out of a compartment on the cart to help me get warm. I wish I had remembered the last time I was here better. I should have remembered the cool night air and dressed differently. Mark and I huddled together under the blanket and waited for just a few minutes until the show started. I expected to be fending off advances from Mark but he was a complete gentleman and there were no problems with his hands roaming where they weren't welcome. I began to wonder just how much Rose told me about him was the truth and how much was fabrication. Until the facts presented themselves otherwise I decided to be cautious around Mark anyway.

When the fireworks show was over we headed back to the hotel. Mark made no move to come with me to the suite after I said goodbye to him in the basement. Instead he went to another cart and left. I went back to the suite and used the giant tub in my bathroom to get warm and relax in a sea of lilac scented bubbles.

After making sure the door was secure I literally fell into bed and snuggled under the satin sheets.

Wednesday, January 22, 2003 -

I had no problem getting up. In fact, I was looking forward to my time in the recording studio this morning. I found the voice over work yesterday quite challenging despite the time it took. In the studio they had set up a couple of video cameras to record my expressions and hand movements while I delivered the lines as they requested. I was told that they wanted to include as much of my mannerisms and personality into the computer generated character as they could in order to heighten the realism of the animation.

I got up early enough that I had time to eat breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. They had all kinds of fancy breakfast foods available but I went for the basic pancake, bacon strips and an egg. A couple of cups of coffee helped to chase the last of the cobwebs out of my head.

I waited patiently in the lobby for the limo to arrive. When it became clear to me that the limo was late I asked what happened at the front desk. It was then that I learned that instead of a limo the MouseWorld folks had arranged for a car for me to use instead. Of course, if I preferred, I could always request that a driver be provided. I decided that I could handle the driving myself since it meant that I could go where I pleased when my business for the day was over. The trip to the studio took just a few minutes and I pulled into the parking lot just a couple of minutes before I had agreed to be there.

The rest of the recording went about the same as yesterday. I had to repeat each line several times with different inflections and different timings. Since I knew what to expect this time, the session went much faster than yesterday. I finished the recording just after lunchtime and, since there was nothing left for me to do at the studio, I headed back to the hotel.

With several hours left before nighttime arrived I decided to go out exploring the park. The elevator ride to the basement of the hotel took just a few seconds and the golf cart was waiting right where I left it last night. The unlock code brought the cart to life. I picked a destination from the map and headed out.

The trip to the new attraction took several minutes to transverse the huge tunnel system. The cart and I popped up out of the tunnels on the ramp that ended inside the mechanical area of the new building. Sure enough, I found a spot marked with my name and a hard hat and work over-alls in a locker next to the spot for the cart. The crew working on the construction had changed a bit but many of the people there recognized me from my first visit. The welcome was incredible and I spent the afternoon learning all about the attraction from the worker's viewpoint. I even helped diagnose a few new problems that had been driving the crews crazy. It pleased me greatly to be able to help out and it felt good to know that my basic repair and service skills hadn't deserted me with my change in gender. I could truly say now if someone asked that I had a very small part in building the place apart from my job as hostess for the attraction.

The construction crew may have been on an extended schedule to be able to complete the building on time, but my body was on it's own normal schedule. My tummy growled indicating that I had probably waited too long to get something to eat for supper. I said goodbye to the crew, stashed the hardhat and the over-alls in the locker and left to try one of the other restaurants. I had my fill of fancy food and found a small hamburger place not far away from the hotel inside the park.

The hamburgers were positively huge and were loaded down with almost everything you could want. I just managed to put one away and finish my glass of soda before my tummy started complaining that I had eaten too much. The staff of the place knew whom I was when I set foot inside the door and they took care of everything I needed and then some. I didn't even have to pay the check since I was informed that the management had arranged for me to eat anywhere in the park for free. I promised to return whenever I was in the area to sample more of the excellent food there.

Since this was my last night in the hotel before I had to return home I decided that a session in the hot tub was in order. A growing hunger had been building up inside me and I knew that the right combination of bubbles and water jets could give me the stimulation my body was craving. I settled into the hot tub and started adjusting the jets, bubbles and water flows until I found the right combination. The next twenty minutes were shear heaven as orgasm after orgasm coursed through me. When the safety timer kicked the jets off I floated down slowly from the orgasm-induced overload in my brain. It took another twenty minutes before I had enough reliable control over my body to be able to carefully crawl out of the tub. The towels were warm and ever so soft as I patted myself dry. I managed to make it into the bedroom before I collapsed naked in a heap on the bed.

Thursday, January 23, 2003 -

Fortunately for me Barb had the presence of mind to schedule the flight out of Orlando for much later in the morning than the flight that brought me here. The sun was streaming in the window and right across my eyes. I brushed my hair out of the way and looked over at the clock on the nightstand. Three hours to go until the flight left.

There was just enough time to make a quick run through the shower and get myself ready for the mad dash through airport security. This time when I arrived in the hotel lobby there was a limo waiting for me. We got everything loaded and then sped off toward the airport.

It must have looked very strange as the huge limo pulled through the drive-through lane at that Burger King. My stomach had started to complain that it needed filling and the quickest way I knew was some fast food. The sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches served on a croissant at Burger King were always a favorite of mine. An order of hash browns and a large OJ completed the meal. I paid the bill and devoured everything as the limo worked its way through the morning rush hour traffic heading toward the airport.

It turned out that I was early and had to wait in the public waiting area for the flight to board. It wasn't long before someone recognized me then a crowd started to form around me asking for autographs and to just talk to me. That caused the airport security folks a bit of concern as they waded into the crowd to find out what was going on. After being 'rescued' from the mass of people I got escorted to the private waiting area. Even there a few people waiting with me struck up a conversation when they realized whom I was. The time passed quickly and the flight was finally called for boarding.

The flight crew gave me the royal treatment when they connected my face with my name on the passenger list. This flight was on a 747 aircraft so I wound up with a fairly secluded seat on the upper deck after the plane took off. I must have dozed off because the next thing I remember is someone gently shaking my shoulder and telling me to buckle up for landing in Syracuse.

The plane made a normal if somewhat bumpy landing then taxied over to an unloading ramp. It took almost an hour for me to work my way through the luggage pickup then haul everything out to my van in the parking garage. The garage wasn't heated but it did keep the freezing rain and snow off the windows so I had only to wait a few moments before I pulled out onto the access road to head for home.

The roads were glazed over with a layer of ice and hard packed snow from the latest blast of lake effect snow. The salt and sand they put down wasn't very effective since temperatures lingered in the single digits during the daytime. The all-wheel drive on the van paid for itself in just that trip back to my house, alone. It had cost a few thousand dollars above the normal front wheel drive Caravan but I was glad that I spent the extra money.

The driveway of my house was all shoveled out and the sidewalks clear. There was no sign of Barb's car as I pulled the van into the driveway. I piled the bags on the front porch then dug out my keys to open the front door.

The house was warm and the lingering scent of fresh baked bread drifted toward me from the kitchen. I left the bags in my bedroom then followed my nose. There, setting on the kitchen table, was a loaf of bread wrapped in aluminum foil with a note under it. The note simply read, "Be back soon. Out on errands. Until then, enjoy! Hugs, Barb."

The loaf was still quite warm to the touch. I hurried to the fridge and got out a tub of soft margarine and a gallon of milk. I got a bread knife, butter knife and a glass from the drawers and cupboard then sat down at the table. I was working on my second slice of bread when I heard the outside door to the office open the close again. "Is that you, Barb?"

A voice drifted out to me from the office. "It sure is. Be there in a moment!" I heard some scuffling like she was changing out of her boots into shoes then she walked into the kitchen. "I see you found the bread!"

"Barb, you couldn't have given me a nicer welcome back present. This brought back some happy memories of my childhood at least forty years ago. My grandma used to make fresh bread every few days and we'd get a phone call for one of us to go over to my grandparent’s house to pick up a fresh loaf or two. Since we lived about a quarter of a mile away from them at the time, either my sister or I would go running as fast as our feet could carry us to get it and bring it back hot. The smell and taste of fresh, hot bread with butter or margarine on it will always bring back memories of those carefree days of my youth."

"I didn't know, Jen, but I'll remember that. I just wanted some good bread for sandwiches later. I'm glad I made more than one loaf." She opened the bread keeper and pointed to two other loaves all wrapped up tightly in foil.

"Thanks! I hope you're going to take at least one of them home with you. I don't think I can eat all of those by myself."

"I was going to do just that." She plunked down in a chair at the table and cut off a slice of bread for herself. "So how was the trip anyway? You didn't say much when you called in."

"It went okay, Barb. It seems that I won't have to go condo hunting unless I want. MouseWorld set aside a suite in one of their hotels for me for the duration. Four bedrooms with a bathroom each, a huge hot tub and a kitchen and living room area, I couldn't ask for anything better. I also have the complete run of the park. I did a little exploring last night and found an incredible hamburger joint down there. You've got to try one when you go down with me, Barb."

"I'd like that. How did the voice-over work go?"

"Fine. It was a lot more complex that I thought it would be. It took longer than I thought it would for just twenty-two minutes of actual running time. From all the pictures and video they took, they're going to put a lot of me into the character's appearance and mannerisms too."

"Well it IS supposed to be a digital version of you, Jen. Forgive me for asking but were the any problems with umm… HIM… while you were there?"

"No, no problems at all. I thought Mark was really going to go to work on me again but he was a gentleman every time we were together. I'm still going to be careful around him though. Well, enough about the trip. What went on around here while I was gone?"

"The script for the movie came. I hope you don't mind but I looked it over."

"I don't mind a bit. In fact I was going to have you look at it anyway. What's your take on it?" I finished my second slice of bread and cut one final slice.

Barb smiled then shook her head. "My take on it is that if you have much more bread you aren't going to want any supper tonight."

"That's probably true but I was talking about Donovan's Reef."

"Oh… that! The script seems to follow the original movie pretty closely. To be politically correct, all the smoking has been taken out but otherwise everything is pretty close. The lead male character smokes a cigar now and then where the script needs it, like the scene on the beach where he asks her for a match, that kind of thing. The female lead doesn’t smoke at all."

"No nudity?"

"None that I could find. Remember the time frame the movie is set in."

"That doesn't stop them from slipping it in these days, Barb. I at least expected a bikini instead of the one-piece suit in the scene where she challenges him to a swimming race back to shore."

"Oh, they DID go that route. A small red bikini if I remember it right. Does that bother you?"

I thought for several moments. "No, not especially; it would if they try to make me wear a sting bikini with postage stamp sized bra cups but that wasn't the style at the time when the movie is set. The one-piece would be better but I know that's NOT what people want to see."

"True. Skin sells these days. Let's see, what else… oh, yes! The stream of phone calls has trickled back down to normal. Nothing really new to add to the list of people that called. I left the call slips on your desk."

"Thanks, Barb." A big yawn worked its way out of my mouth. "I think I'm going to call it a day and go take a nap. I'm going to suggest that you close up and take the rest of the day off. The roads are getting a little slick out there. I was almost ready to move to Orlando when I heard the weather forecast for here last night."

A visible shiver ran up Barb's spine. "I haven't been able to get warm all day long. I think I'll take you up on that, Jen. Thanks!"

She got up to leave. "Hold on a minute, Barb!" I went to my stash of hot chocolate mix and got out a new box of at least a dozen packets and grabbed a bag of the marshmallows I used. I stuffed them into a paper bag and added a new bottle of the chocolate syrup I used to make Chocolate Overload.

I walked back over to Barb and felt her forehead. "Hmmm… you DO feel a little warm to me, Barb. I prescribe frequent applications of Chocolate Overload as needed to lift your spirits. If you still feel like this in the morning I DON'T want you ANYWHERE near this place, do you understand me?" I waggled a finger in her face as I handed the bag to her. "You need to be healthy for your surgery next week!"

"Thanks, Jen. I'll remember that."

"And if the Overload doesn't fully help add a little vodka to it. After enough of them you won't care how bad you feel!" I swatted her on her rear and led her back to the office. I watched as she shut her computer down and tidied up a few things before putting on her coat and leaving. The taillights of her car faded off into the growing whiteout as I closed and locked the office door.

The stacks of call slips on my desk were ordered into neat piles. I glanced through them noting the Barb had set things up so that I wouldn't have to return any calls today. I switched off the office lights as I headed for my bedroom.

It took about half an hour to unpack the bags and put the clean clothes away. The used stuff wound up in the laundry hampers. I decided that a session in the bathtub would help warm me up considerably since I was still shaking a little from the cold. I got the water as hot as I thought I could stand it and then eased into the steaming tub.

When I finally managed to get out, my skin looked very much like a prune or raisin. The wrinkles were nearly everywhere, even on my fingers and toes. I dried off, then wrapped myself in a thick terrycloth robe. My favorite ‘bunny’ slippers were on my cold feet. I know they looked a bit silly on a grown woman of twenty-five or so but they were the warmest shoes to wear in the house. Only my ski boots were warmer but I hardly wanted to clomp around the house in them for the rest of the night.

A glance at the clock in the bedroom told me that it was nearly suppertime so I made my way into the kitchen. The fridge yielded some roast beef that Barb must have cooked yesterday. I sliced some in rather thick chunks and went about making two huge sandwiches using the fresh bread. Instead of cold milk I made a large mug of hot chocolate and then took my supper into the living room.

The evening news was coming on as I plunked down on the couch. By the time the evening national news was over I finished the sandwiches and almost drained the mug. The thick ceramic mug still held a little of the heat from the hot chocolate and I wrapped my hands around it trying to get warm again. Little shivers kept running up and down my spine as I sat there on the couch. The last time I felt like this was almost a year ago when I was a man. Back then when I felt this way it was almost certain that within a day or two I’d have a serious cold raging in my body. I inwardly prayed that it wasn’t the case in my ‘new’ body. I hoped that it was only the bone-chilling cold outside and not some bug trying its best to make me sick.

The dirty dishes got deposited in the kitchen sink to be dealt with later. Another huge mug of hot chocolate traveled with me back to my bedroom after I got the script from my desk in the office. One of the very few pieces of my old male clothing that I kept were some socks. While my feet were a couple of sizes smaller now, the old socks were very thick and much warmer than the type I now used as a woman. I found two pair and put both pair on my freezing feet. It made my feet feel quite a bit more comfy as I got in bed under two thick comforters. I propped a pillow behind me and sipped at the steaming liquid in the mug as I started in reading the script for Donovan’s Reef.

I think I managed to make it most of the way through the script. At least when I woke up a few hours later it was open to the last three pages. I lifted it off my lap. The clock read nearly two in the morning. The bathroom beckoned to me and I had to give in. I barely made it back to the bed before I fell asleep again.

Friday, January 24, 2003 -

It was hard to tell if the pounding was coming from the bedroom door or the inside of my head. It felt like a couple of football teams were trying to do their practice tackling in there while my nose and sinuses felt like they were blocked with quick setting concrete. The room took a few strange twists and turns as I tried to stand up to open the bedroom door. I didn’t even make it off the bed.

“Jen, are you all right?” Barb opened the door only to find me sprawled out on the bed holding my aching head.

“Do I LOOK all right?” Just that little bit of effort made my head feel like it was spinning. “I feel like I wanna die. What scares me is that I know I won’t. Why do I have to get sick NOW?” I pulled a pillow up over my head to shield my eyes from the lights that Barb just turned on. Light DOES hurt when everything else in your body does.

“Think you can eat something, Jen? It’s almost ten in the morning.”

“Just the thought of food turns my stomach right now. Maybe a cuppa hot chocolate? No marshmallows, just plain?”

“You sure?”

I tried nodding my head yes but it hurt too much to move. “I’m sure, Barb, and can you cancel anything I had scheduled for today? I need to try to feel better for the performance tonight. There’s still no understudy available for my role.”

“I’ll take care of it. Be right back…” She quietly closed the bedroom door as she left.

The room was spinning as I wobbled my way to the bathroom. I made it safely despite the world spinning around me and got seated on the toilet moments before I could hold it no longer. I put my hands over my ears because the noise I made sounded like Niagara Falls in the tiled bathroom. Sound, like light, DOES hurt when everything else in your body hurts.

As I was finishing up, I turned on the water to fill the tub. I got it just as hot as I could stand it then eased myself into the steaming water. I even turned on the showerhead as hot as I could stand to provide some additional humidity in the room. After about five minutes I started sneezing. That blew big gobs of green-tinged mucous out of my nose. I still felt like crap but at least I could breathe a little easier. I heard a knock at the bathroom door.

“Come on in, Barb.”

“You decent in there?”

“I’m ALWAYS decent, Barb.” As she stepped into the bathroom her mouth dropped open in shock. There were no bubbles in the tub to hide my lower regions. “Don’t worry about it, Barb. Next week you’re going to look just like I do down there.” She slowly handed me the mug of hot chocolate. I took a big sip and let the hot liquid melt the glob of stuff at the back of my throat. “I needed this! Thanks!”

She smiled then shrugged. “I’ll NEVER look like you do down there, not exactly anyway. I’d give anything to have hips and thighs like those.” She sighed. ”I better get back to the office, I have to make a bunch of calls to clear your schedule today.” She closed the door behind her.

The water in the tub was starting to cool by the time I finished the mug of hot chocolate. Between the hot liquid in the tub and the hot chocolate in the mug, most of the congestion in my head and throat had cleared. Not completely, but enough that I felt much better. This time when I stood up to towel off, the world remained steady instead of whirling around me. Since my bathrobe and slippers were back in the bedroom I went back there naked.

The bra I put on helped to keep the cool bedroom air off my tingling nipples while the silky panties I put on tenderly caressed my more sensitive parts. I’d gotten used to and even appreciated the sensual nature of the undergarments I now had to wear. The bathrobe was thick and warm as I tied it around my slim waist. The bunny slippers on my feet looked strange but I didn’t really care. They were warm and soft and felt great against the smooth skin of my feet.

Barb found me nearly twenty minutes later sitting at the kitchen table nibbling at a bowl full of Saltine crackers and milk. “Is that an old family remedy? Crackers and milk?”

“Not exactly. If I can keep this down then I’m ready to ease into more solid food. This isn’t as bad if it comes back up again.”

‘I never thought of it like that, Jen. I made the calls, you’re clear of everything you had scheduled today. Everyone said to get well soon. Seems there’s a nasty flu bug going around.”

“Thanks, Barb. I’m feeling better now.”

“I think you should go see your Doctor, Jen. Maybe he can give something to you to help with the symptoms while you’re performing tonight.”

“But I’m feeling better…”

“What if you start feeling bad during the play? Are you going to be able to handle it?”

“Good point. His number is in the Rolodex on my desk, Barb. Can you call and see if I can get in today? I’m going to get dressed.”

The bowl and spoon found their way into the dishwasher after I put the crackers and milk away in the fridge. By the time I was finished dressing in a pair of my warmest jeans, a wool shirt and a sweater, Barb came back into the bedroom.

“The office got through to him at the hospital. He’s seeing some of his post-op patients today. They told me to tell you that he’d see you in the emergency room in an hour or so. Are you ready to go yet?”

“Almost, Barb. Can you drive me? I don’t think I should try it myself.”

“I was going to fight you if you had insisted on driving there yourself. We’ll even take the van. It’s got a better heater than my car. I have it warming up in the driveway now.”

“That’s great! Can you give me a few minutes? I’ll be right here.” I pointed toward the bed,

“All right. Ten minutes, no more. You need to get that looked at!”

I stretched out on the bed for a few minutes thinking that I’d just rest a few moments. The next thing I remembered was a hand shaking my shoulder.

“Time to go, Jen. I gave you a half an hour. We’ve GOT to go now.”

I sat up quickly and swung my feet of the bed. The world took a little spin and I saw what looked like fireworks on the ceiling. “WOW! Who set off the fireworks show in here?”

“What fireworks show? I don’t see any fireworks show!”

“You do when you sit up quickly in my condition!” I wobbled quite a bit as I stood up.

“Here, lean on me. We’d better get moving. I think you’re sicker than you think, Jen.”

“I’m NOT going to argue the point with you right now, Barb. Just lead me and I’ll try to follow.” I staggered out into the hallway with Barb’s help. She helped me put on my heavy parka and bundle up as much as I could.

The wind howled as we walked to the waiting van. The coldness seemed to creep into every pore of my skin no matter if it was covered or not. I managed to get into the passenger seat of the van and get the belt buckled before I drifted off again.

When I woke up again the van was parked close to the emergency room entrance at the hospital. Barb’s hand was gently shaking my shoulder. “Jen, are you okay?”

“I’m here, Barb. I can’t say I’m okay though.”

“Can you make it inside or should I get someone to help?”

I stretched a little feeling the sluggishness leave my aching muscles. “I think I can make it. Let’s go.” I opened the door and stepped out into the howling wind and shuffled over to the entrance. The door popped open and I hurried inside as fast as I could manage with Barb right behind me. I plopped down in a chair in a small waiting area while Barb talked to someone at the desk. She plopped down beside me when she came back.

“The Doctor will be here in a couple of minutes, Jen. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay so far. I just feel very light-headed and a bit disoriented, that’s all.” Another sneezing fit prompted Barb to hand me a wad of tissues from her purse. More green tinged mucus wound up in the tissues as the fit subsided.

“Better hang onto that to show the doctor, Jen.”

“I think you’re right, Barb. Green stuff isn’t normal. It’s a sign of an infection, if I remember things right. My mind is kinda fuzzy though.”

A few minutes later a nurse came to take me into one of the examining rooms. She poked and prodded me for a few minutes then left. Another few minutes went by until my doctor came in.

“You’ve got it bad.”

“Got what bad?”

“The flu. At least with that enhanced body of yours you should shake it off in a few days or so instead of a couple of weeks like everyone else.”

“Fat lotta help THAT is, doc. I have to perform this weekend, remember?” I blew my sore nose into a tissue and sniffled some more.

“About the only thing I can do is to give you something to help relieve the symptoms on a short term basis, there’s no direct cure for the flu other than to let it run its course.”

“I’ll take any improvement in the way I feel as a blessing, if you can help.”

He took out a pad and wrote a prescription then tore it off the pad and handed it to me. “This should help, Jen. Get it filled on the way home and try to take it as easy as possible, okay?”

“I’ll try, doc, I’ll try.” The world started to spin a little as I hopped off the examining table. I held on for a few moments until the world stopped spinning.

“Want a ride out, Jen?”

“I think I can make it. Where’s Barb?” The doctor returned a few moments later with Barb following him. With me supported between them I just made it outside to the van. Unfortunately, while I was inside the emergency room, a couple of newspaper reporters and at least one TV news crew had turned up following an injured person from a roll-over on one of the local highways. As soon as I was recognized I became the focus of their attention.

The questions bombarded me faster than my muddled mind could handle them. Fortunately Barb and the Doctor were able to answer most of them without me getting involved with anything more than a shake of my head yes or no.

I remember very little of the trip back to the house other than Barb going into a drugstore to get the prescription filled. I do remember being stripped naked and tucked into my bed after being given a pill and a glass of orange juice to drink.

Saturday, January 25, 2003 —

When I drifted back to the conscious world again the room was almost black. As I looked around the dimly lit room I saw Tammy curled up in a chair they must have brought in from the living room. I managed to make a bathroom trip to relieve my nearly overflowing bladder without waking her up. I padded quietly back into the bedroom wrapped in my bathrobe and gently shook Tammy’s shoulder.

Her eyes blinked a few times as she woke up. “Hi, Jen. Feeling better?”

“I don’t know about better. Different, yes, but better? I’m not certain.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Umm… how long have I been out?”

She glanced at her watch after hitting the backlight button. “Well, it’s about five AM on Saturday morning.”

“That long, eh? I missed the performance last night didn’t I? What did Greg say?”

“He said what everyone in the cast said, ‘Your health is more important than the play at the moment.’ With everything that’s happened so far to fill the bank account missing a few more performances isn’t the disaster it might have been. They all want you back but ONLY when you’re feeling up to it, Jen.”

“Thanks, Tammy. Umm… Do I have a computer show to do this morning?”

“No. I called the station and told them to make an announcement that you had the flu that’s going around and then run the emergency tape we made for things like this. The network isn’t very happy. Seems as though over half of the hosts of their various shows are feeling just like you. What sealed it was when I told them you went to see a doctor yesterday and gave them his number if they wanted to check.”

“I’ll have to talk to them next week I guess. Tammy, why don’t you head home? I think the worst part is over now. You really don’t need to keep an eye on me.”

“I think so too, Jen. Besides, Barb said she was coming over this morning around nine AM to take over from me.”

“WHAT?”

“You heard me.”

“I said I can get along by myself now.”

“Ya, SURE! Like you could yesterday?”

“But yesterday I was…”

“So you’re NOT sick today?”

“But I’m feeling…”

“Go back to bed and don’t fight it, Jen. You can’t win you know.”

The tone of Tammy’s voice told me that the ONLY answer she was going to accept was me getting back in bed and staying there. “All right. I give up. I doubt that I could do the play anyway with the way my throat feels. It’s like I’ve been gargling with ground glass or sand. It feels all scratchy.” The strange feeling made me start coughing again.

Tammy disappeared for a few moments then returned with a large glass of orange juice and some ice. “Here, sip some of this. It should help to cut the mucus in your throat.”

The juice was really cold and the chill helped to reduce the soreness I felt. I put the glass on the nightstand and slipped back into bed after taking off my robe. “I won’t fight it any more, Tammy. The way I feel I don’t think I want to. You run along home and spend some time with your mom. I’ll see Barb around nine, okay?”

“That’s just what I wanted to hear, Jen. I’ll see you later.” She turned out the lights and closed the door of my bedroom behind her. A couple of minutes later I heard the engine of her car start then fade out as she headed home. I briefly contemplated getting up and staying up but before I could reason out why I should do that, sleep overcame me again.

Several hours later the sunshine was streaming in the window right across my pillow. The bright light turned my eyelids a brilliant pink as I drifted back to reality. The wonderful smell of sausage cooking along with an unmistakable aroma of fresh bread called to my now rumbling tummy. It had been more than a day since I even remotely felt like eating anything and now I thought I might be able to eat everything in the fridge in a single sitting.

The room did tilt just a little as I sat up on the edge of the bed. I made my way to the bathroom and took care of the usual morning ritual, then walked naked back to the bedroom. The robe was just where I left it along with my fuzzy slippers. I wrapped myself in the robe and then slid my still cold feet into the slippers. I followed my nose to the kitchen. I coughed a few times in the hallway. As I stepped into the kitchen Barb handed me a glass of orange juice.

“So I see you’re still alive. Feeling better?”

“Marginally, Barb. Better than yesterday anyway. I’m feeling hungry too. It smells wonderful in here right now!”

“That’s MY breakfast. I thought I’d start you out on something a bit safer than sausage and French toast.”

I pouted and stomped my foot almost instantly regretting the jarring motion that sent to my head. “I shouldn’t have done that.” I wobbled over to the table and dropped into a chair. “That HURT!”

Barb put a plate in front of me. A couple of slices of lightly buttered toast and some dry scrambled eggs apparently were my breakfast this morning. “If you can keep that down, I’ll roast a chicken for lunch. That shouldn’t be too hard for you to digest.”

Between the toast, the eggs and the orange juice, I managed to fill up enough so that I didn’t want any more to eat. A few scraps of egg and a bit of toast remained on the plate as I pushed it away.

“Had enough, Jen?”

“Yup. Don’t want to push my luck. Right now I feel fine. I didn’t want to get too full.”

“Go crawl back in bed, Jen. I’m going to roast that chicken, then clean up and head back home. I think you can handle things on your own now. I’ll leave the chicken in the fridge. You can microwave it when you’re ready to eat it.”

“Thanks, Barb. I think you’re right. The best thing I can do is to sleep it off. See you Monday?”

“Yes, but not the rest of the week. I have my surgery scheduled, remember?”

“Of course I remember. In view of what I’m going through and what you’re going to go through I don’t think I’m going to try visiting you. I don’t want to expose you to this any more than you have been already.”

“That’s okay, Jen. I have to admit that I’ve been lucky so far. Hopefully my luck will hold until well after the surgery. Now off to bed with you!”

Reluctantly I made my way back to the bedroom. Sleep must have been what my body wanted because for most of the next two days that’s pretty much what I did. Other than the occasional trips to the bathroom and kitchen I spent the rest of my time in a darkened room with my eyes closed.

Sunday, January 26, 2003 —

Finally just after lunchtime on Sunday I woke up and felt completely rejuvenated. I still had a slight stuffy feeling and a bit of a cough but the overall malaise that had gripped me for the past few days seemed to be gone. After deciding to stay up the rest of the day I wound up in the kitchen fixing myself a meal of spaghetti with sauce and meatballs along with fresh baked bread. I found some frozen dough in the freezer earlier in the morning and took a loaf out to thaw and rise before I put it in the oven.

It was sort of a combination lunch and supper because I really overdid it and stuffed myself far beyond my normal limits. After putting the leftovers away I literally waddled back into the living room to watch the DVD of Donovan’s Reef again while comparing it with the script for the remake. By the time the movie was finished, I made the decision to go ahead with the project. I saw a wonderful opportunity to do something different and, for once, nothing related to my change from male to female.

The script wound up on my desk in my office. The pile of call slips was still where I left it on Friday so I picked them up and looked through them again. I made a few notes on each slip then returned the pile to the desk to go through on Monday morning. The message light on the phone was blinking so I listened to the voice mail and did a call slip for each one. Most were from fellow cast members wondering how I was doing with one of the last messages being from Greg.

Greg’s number was programmed into the phone system so I hit the dial button. A few moments later the line was ringing then I heard a male voice. “Hello?”

“Hi, Greg!”

“Jen? Is that you? Your voice sounds a little different.”

“Yes, it’s Jen, Greg. I guess all that coughing took out my voice more than I thought it did. Good thing I didn’t try to perform last night or today I guess, huh?”

“I’d have to agree. With the way you sound right now you could probably break that glass with your voice but it wouldn’t be all that pretty to listen to. Are you feeling better?”

“Mostly, yes. I wanted to tell you that I think I’ll be back for next weekend’s shows, Greg. Um… just how much did the theater group loose this past weekend anyway by my being sick?”

“Jen, don’t worry about that. We…”

“Greg. Don’t evade the question. How much?”

“I told you not to…”

”GREG! Don’t try to Bullshit me. We go too far back for that crap. How much?”

“Okay, no bullshit” I felt myself get a little light-headed as Greg quoted me the figures over the phone.

“Greg, I didn’t realize that it was that much! Since it was my fault that you had to cancel this weekend I want to make a donation to the group to make up the shortfall.”

“Jen, it’s NOT your fault. You don’t have to do this.”

“What do you mean it’s not my fault? I’m the one that couldn’t be replaced.”

“Like I said, it’s not your fault, well not your fault totally anyway.”

“Greg, you’re babbling again. Not totally my fault? What the hell does THAT mean?”

“Look, Jen, you were just one of almost half the cast and crew that came down with that damn flu bug this weekend. Even if you were well I doubt that we would have had enough people or replacements for key people anyway to go on this weekend. Haven’t you been watching any TV this weekend? The outbreak is all over the news. So much stuff has been cancelled that the whole city is almost shut down.” He sniffled several times then coughed a bit.

“Sorry, Greg. I’ve been sleeping it off most of the weekend. I’ve only felt good enough to stay up a while for just a few hours.” I heard Greg try to stifle a cough then he started in on a coughing fit that lasted almost twenty seconds. It left him gasping for breath. “DAMN! Not you too?”

“Me too, Jen. Now if you don’t mind I’m going to go back to bed. Like I said, this isn’t your problem. Just remember that if everyone else felt like this just how much of an audience would we have had this weekend anyway?”

“I guess there’s something to that line of thought, Greg. You crawl back into bed and I’ll talk to you later in the week. Right now, if I continue to feel better, I’m a go for next weekend.”

“Thanks, Jen. Catch up with you later.” Just before the line went dead I heard him start in on another coughing fit.

After that I spent the rest of the day puttering around in my office with the servers. After supper, which was leftover spaghetti, I dozed off in front of the TV on the living room couch. When I woke up a few hours later it was almost midnight. I had to leave for Orlando in the morning again so I took a shower then went to bed.

Monday, January 27, 2003 —

As usual the pressure in my bladder was what woke me up out a very sound sleep. Most days I enjoyed the body I now inhabited, other times like this morning I cursed it. I always had to use the bathroom at the wrong time. Why couldn’t it have waited another hour anyway?

With the morning ritual completed, I dressed in jeans and a warm flannel shirt. Of course I wore my usual panty hose, soft, silky panties and a bra to support my ample breasts. This time when I packed my suitcase, I traveled lighter than normal. Since I had the suite at the hotel at my disposal I had sent several boxes of clothing and other essentials ahead when I got back on Thursday last week. They would be waiting for me in the room when I arrived. I only packed what I would need for the colder weather of the return trip and enough just in case the boxes weren’t there yet. Instead of three suitcases this trip it would only be one carry-on bag.

Barb was in the office when I walked in. “Morning, Barb!”

“You seem pretty happy this morning, Jen.”

“Any time I can get out of upstate New York and head for a warmer climate I’m happy, especially after my change. I just don’t handle the cold weather like I used to. All my ‘extra padding’ is gone.”

“Well, what little remains is arranged very nicely, Jen. Don’t ever try to change that.”

“I couldn’t change it even if I wanted to, Barb. I didn’t ask to look like this but I’m learning to accept it and even enjoy it. I have a life now that I could never have had before.”

“That’s great, Jen.” Barb looked at the clock built into the phone on the desk. “Umm… shouldn’t you get moving for the airport?”

“I think so. Checking through takes longer each time, partly because of the security and partly because I keep getting recognized. I’m not certain that I’ll ever get used to that.”

Barb smiled and shook her head. “Fame does have its price, Jen. Now get moving or you’re going to miss your flight.”

“I ought to miss it anyway. I really wanted to be here when you had your surgery, Barb. I’m so sorry I can’t be with you.”

“I know. Just come and visit when you get back if the schedule will allow it. I know that your time isn’t always your own to do the things you want to any more. If I don’t see you I should be back in about two weeks. That’s the earliest they said I should be ready to resume work on a light schedule again.”

“Okay, Barb. I’ll see you as soon as I can.” I hugged her as hard as I could. With a bit of a tear in my eye I trudged through the snow to the van and left for the airport.

The ride to the airport was uneventful as was the flight to Orlando. Once again, when the flight crew matched my face to the name on the passenger list, I was given a semi-private seat and the best service they could muster despite the fact that I didn’t expect it or ask for it. Another one of the little perks of my growing fame that partially offset the down side of being recognized all the time.

The warming effect of the sunshine and the eighty plus degree air gently blowing across my face made me smile. For a few days I was free of the gloom and doom that was central New York in winter. Others living there may look at it as a winter wonderland but since my transformation it had become a forbidding place where I was almost never completely warm. The cold winter winds sucked the moisture out of my skin and made my lips dry and cracked no matter what I tried. The constant battle to exist in the ice and snow takes its toll on anyone living there.

The limo delivered me to the doorstep of the hotel in just a few minutes. After checking in I headed for my suite and settled in. The boxes I sent ahead were stacked neatly in the center of the living room area. I decided to leave the un-packing for tonight. I then changed into the shorts and modest tank top I had packed in my single suitcase. In a matter of minutes I was out the door headed for the waiting golf cart in the basement.

My destination was the attraction. On my previous visits I was warmly welcomed by the construction crews and given every courtesy as I toured the building. When the crew found out who I was and the abilities I had, I got conscripted into helping solve the many problems that the groundbreaking work involved in building the place. Much of the electronic, electrical and mechanical systems were unique creations never tried before. That meant a lot of problems that no one had ever seen before.

I quickly fell into a routine of visiting the job site to see how things were going and help resolve any problems that the crews were having. When I wasn’t occupied in meetings, voice-over work or anything else that was needed I spent a great deal of my time working side by side with the technical crews working on the building. It brought back great memories of working on other construction jobs years and years ago. The feeling of satisfaction in bringing the various systems online and seeing the building take shape was quite gratifying.

The sense of bonding with the crew was so great that I was quickly accepted as just another one of the ‘guys’ and was accorded the normal amount of ribbing and having practical jokes played on me. I gave as good as I got and looked forward to my weekly visits to Orlando. Each Thursday I had my favorite burger joint in the park supply us with lunch. I know the crew appreciated it and it just brought us together even more.

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into a month rather quickly. I was having a great time until the last week in February.

Thursday, February 27, 2003

It all started to go to hell as we finished lunch. The whole project was running a few days ahead of schedule and as far as I knew it was coming in a bit under the budget. Any time that a job can run ahead of schedule and under budget was a cause for celebration and high spirits among the crews working the job. Everyone was feeling great and we were all ready to make the final push during the three weeks remaining on the main construction phase of the building.

I was deeply involved in diagnosing a problem with an interface between the lighting system and the motion control systems of one of the rides built into the attraction. Everything the crews had tried to get the lighting cues to sync up with the motion of the cars in the ride had failed. I had just located what I thought was the source of the problem was when Freddie Troyer, the electrical crew foreman, came over to me.

“Umm… Jen, You have to come with me. The union stewards are here and they want to talk with you.”

“Okay, Freddie. Something wrong? You don’t look very happy.”

“I’ll let them tell you, Jen. Come on. We’re meeting in the theater.” As I walked behind him he stopped momentarily to talk with a couple of other crewmembers. I couldn’t hear what was being said because Freddie was whispering. The crewmembers dropped what they were doing and sped off down the hallway.

Three men were seated at a folding table on the theater stage. One motioned for me to take a seat on the other side of the table.

“I’m Jason Trask, steward of the electrical union on the job. These other fellows are Tim Jackson and Mortimer White from two of the other unions. Miss Stevens, I must insist you to cease and desist from working with the crews on this job. You are clearly in violation of our respective union’s rules for non-union labor in this workplace. If you refuse to stop then we will be forced to start legal action against you and possibly MouseWorld as well for permitting this.”

My heart was breaking at this unexpected development. I took a few moments to try to compose myself before I spoke. “I understand, Mister Trask. Have I done something that a crew member lodged a complaint about?”

“No, Miss Stevens, not at all. It’s just that we have noticed you here whenever we have visited the job site and investigated your status on the job. According to MouseWorld you’re going to host the audio and video presentations concerning the attraction but other than that you have no business being here. We must ask you to leave and not return to the site unless you are escorted by one of us.”

That statement hurt me very deeply after all that the crew and I had done on the job. “I understand your concern, Mister Trask and I’ll comply with your request. If you’ll excuse me I’ll leave now.”

I ran off the stage heading for the lockers and the golf cart. After stripping out of the cover-alls and hardhat I tossed them in disgust into the locker and slammed the door. The sound echoed through the room and out into the rest of the building. I made it as far as the seat of the golf cart before I collapsed in tears.

There was no way for me to know how long I sat there crying. My emotions were not easy to contain now and I found that if I tried to hide my true feelings that I paid a higher price later. Before my transformation I would just have walked away from the situation with very little feeling one way or the other. Now my emotions were always just below the surface waiting to erupt. I had little control over a laugh or a tear. At the moment I really didn’t care either.

I dabbed at my face with a tissue making a half-hearted attempt to clear up some of the makeup streaming down my cheeks. I tapped in the unlock code on the keypad on the cart and just started to back out when I heard someone yell.

“JENNIFER! WAIT! Don’t go!”

The voice belonged to Bill Davidson, the clerk of the works on the project. “I heard what happened and I want to get this straightened out right now. You’re too valuable to us to let you get away that easy.”

Bill made me to pull the cart back into the slot and lock it. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him back to the theater.

By this time the rest of the crew gathered around the table. The noise was deafening and from what little I could make out an extremely heated argument was under way between the union stewards and the crew. From what I could understand through the roar, the union stewards were being informed of my value to the project in no uncertain terms and that they (the stewards) had royally um… screwed up… when they insisted that I stop. Of course the language used was entirely appropriate for the job site but as a woman they weren’t terms that I tended to use. I did, of course, agree with the sentiment.

It made little headway with the stewards though. “I KNOW ALL THAT! What qualifies her to be here? Can anyone tell me that? What right does she have to work here?”

Bill pulled a dog-eared copy of a thick paperback book from his back pocket and slammed it on the table. “This is the book you wanted us to use as the bible for this job, right Trask?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with her qualifications?”

“Didn’t you say to pay special attention to a chapter called ‘Theory and Methods for Interconnection of Diverse Control Systems’?”

“Yes, I did. It’s an excellent reference for this job because of the complexity we’re dealing with here.”

“Who wrote that chapter, Trask?”

He picked up the book and flipped through the pages. “Robert Stevens. Why?”

“Remember a story in the news a few months ago about a guy that got hit by lightning and changed into a woman?”

“Yes but…” He glanced from the open book to me then back at the open book again. “ … But that can’t be…”

I looked at him then shrugged my shoulders. “I didn’t like ‘Roberta’ so I chose Jennifer as my new name, Mister Trask. I can give you the number of my doctor if you want to confirm who they say I am.”

We watched as the color drained from his face. It looked like he was going to throw up or maybe pass out from the shock.

“Well, Trask, does THAT qualify her or not? Or do you want to refuse the help of one of the leading experts in the field? Someone who has been working on this project for free? Be careful now, Trask, do you really want to toss aside the main reason this project is likely to come in on time and under budget?”

Trask looked out over the crowd of angry people massed around him. There was a bubbling tar pot outside that the crew was using to seal the roof and for a few moments I thought that he just might be dumped in it. Every eye in the room was on him and I suspected that his future as union steward rested on his next words.

“Well… I certainly have no objections now that I recognize Miss Stevens’s qualifications. However, the rules don’t leave me any room to maneuver. They say that everyone on site must have proper union credentials to work.”

Bill smiled then winked at me. “Then GIVE HER the credentials, Trask. Make her an honorary member if you have to. All of us support her and won’t object to whatever you have to do to let her keep working with us.”

“That’s what you want?”

The crowd roared in agreement.

“Then the case is closed.” Trask turned toward me. “Miss Stevens, welcome to the union! Consider yourself an honorary member. I’ll make sure Bill gets your paperwork in time for your return next week.”

The crew let out an even bigger roar of approval as Trask gathered up his things and turned with the other stewards to leave. I really wasn’t certain if the cheering was for me or for the fact that Trask was leaving. It really didn’t matter though because I got big hugs from almost all of the construction crew before I had to leave to catch my flight back to Syracuse.

Friday, February 28, 2003

A gentle knock on the bedroom door roused me out of the half-awake/half asleep mode I was in.

“Jen? Are you awake yet?”

“I am now, Barb, come on in.”

The door opened and Barb entered carrying a tray loaded with food. “I brought you a combination breakfast and lunch since it’s just after noontime.”

“Thanks for letting me sleep in.”

“According to the note you left for me it was a hell of a night you had. Not one but two delays due to bad weather along the way. First the thunderstorms over Orlando before the flight left then the lake effect snow that diverted your flight to Rochester. At least you got a break with a rental car to drive yourself back here.”

“Yup, I finally got in around one in the morning. I’ll have to get the car back to the local rental agency today on the way to the theater.”

“I’ll follow you over there then drop you off at the theater. When I talked to Tammy earlier this morning, she said she’d bring you home after the play tonight. She was going to come over and pick you up but we decided that it’s better if she meets you at the theater.”

“Thanks for arranging it all, Barb. There are times I don’t know what I’d do if you and Tammy weren’t around to try to keep me out of trouble. Um… I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be with you after your surgery. I really wanted to be there for you like you’ve been around for me. I’m so sorry, Barb.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jen. How were you supposed to know that they’d change the script totally for the animation pilot? You didn’t know it would take another five days to re-record it all either. On top of that you’ve been running yourself ragged with public appearances when you weren’t in Orlando. That doesn’t leave much time for personal things does it?”

“No, I guess it doesn’t. I haven’t even been able to spend any time alone with Adam lately either.”

“I know, Jen. You’ve been moody and more than a little upset these past few days. I know it isn’t that time of the month yet either.”

“Sorry. Umm… am I that bad, Barb?”

“Not really. It takes someone that knows you like Tammy and I, to notice it.”

“I think when this whole mess is over I’m going to invite Adam to spend a week with me on vacation somewhere where its nice and warm. Not that I’d plan on seeing much outside of the hotel room unless we find a nice secluded spot.”

“JEN!”

“Well… I can’t help it. It’s this damned body of mine. It has urges I just can’t ignore.”

“Then go take a nice long bath when you’re finished with your meal. And be sure to use the jets in the tub. I think you know what I mean!”

“Yes, I do know what you mean. Good idea, Barb. If I can’t have Adam I’ll have to settle for the next best thing.”

“The only thing on your schedule today is the play tonight. I suggest you rest and relax until then.”

“Thanks, again, Barb. Like I said, I don’t know what I’d do without you and Tammy.”

Barb giggled a bit then closed the door behind her as she headed for the office. The food tray was loaded with goodies and I stuffed myself until I couldn’t hold another bite.

The bathroom was toasty warm and so was the water as it filled the tub. I eased myself into the lilac scented bubbles then hit the button that started the jets. Unlike other tubs, this one was all set with the jets adjusted in the proper positions. I even made a special program for the little computer that controlled the jets to bring me to the verge of an orgasm and keep me there until just before the safety timer expired. A minute before the timer turned off the jets the program gave me the final burst of stimulation that drove me over the edge into sexual overload.

Eventually I recovered from the blast of ecstasy that overloaded my hormone soaked brain. The water in the tub was getting cold and my fingers and toes looked like prunes again. While my little session in the tub wasn’t a complete substitute for a wild evening with Adam it went a long way to making the feelings my body sent to my brain a lot more tolerable.

The towel was soft and warm as I dried off by patting my smooth skin. Rubbing it sometimes irritated my skin and made rough, red spots. I had to be careful especially around my more sensitive parts. The towel wound up in on the handrail in the shower as I padded back to the bedroom.

The weather outside was typical for central New York at the end of February. Much of the worst of winter was past but the occasional blast of Canadian cold air still visited us. Today was one of those times when the temperatures dipped into the single digits and stayed there for a few days. I decided that being warm was far more important than being stylish and settled on a pair of jeans in black and a red satin blouse with a nice warm liner. When I discovered the pleasures of feminine clothing I had several of these special blouses made for me. The lining added quite a bit of warmth to the blouse.

A pair of cotton panties hugged my lower regions while a slightly padded bra caressed my breasts and nipples. The padding was there more for added warmth than to expand the size of my breasts. A glance in the mirror convinced me that my breasts were already more than ample and that further padding would only exaggerate an otherwise fine figure.

The panty hose slipped over my hairless legs quite easily, their silky embrace making them feel like a second skin. I really didn’t need to wear them with the jeans, but I completely enjoyed the feel of them. They also tended to keep the cold air that seeped up the legs of the jeans off my skin making my legs a little warmer, at least that was my excuse. A pair of western style boots completed my outfit. They came halfway up my calves and had a two-inch high wide heel with a thick treaded sole. I didn’t want to take a chance on slipping on the ice and snow outside and maybe twist an ankle. It took almost half an hour to finish drying my hair and then brushing it until it gleamed. I kept the makeup very simple since it would all come off at the theater anyway.

We left my house about an hour before I needed to be at the theater. The rental car was retuned then Barb dropped me off at the theater. I was the first to arrive so I unlocked the place and turned up the heat. Almost another hour passed before Greg arrived with the rest of the cast and crew trickling in behind him.

The excitement among the cast and crew was something that anyone backstage could feel. We had all worked doing the performances for almost two months to nearly sold-out houses each time. While the demand for tickets was still there the energy level and willingness of the crew and cast simply wasn’t. We were all looking forward to the final curtain closing on Sunday afternoon.

Things got rather busy and I suppose that I went into mental meltdown because I honestly don’t remember much about the performance. Saying the lines and singing the songs wasn’t a new experience any more. In fact it took a bit of effort on everyone’s part, including me, to keep the performances fresh for each new audience.

I do remember convincing Adam to spend the evening with me. He took me home but neither of us had the energy or the desire to have some bedroom fun. We both settled for cuddling in each other’s arms as we drifted off to sleep.

Saturday, March 1, 2003 —

The feeling was great! I was warm and snuggled in the arms of someone I cared deeply about. When the alarm clock went off I was severely tempted to hurl the damned thing across the room. Reluctantly I pried one eye open.

“Morning, beautiful!” Adam’s face was a few inches away from mine and he was smiling from ear to ear.

“Morning yourself! We don’t have to get up do we?” I snuggled deeper into his arms after he turned the cursed alarm clock off.

“No, we can stay in bed all day, love. You can blow off your radio show and the two performances today. The rest of the world won’t be mad at you for more than a couple of years or so.” Adam brushed my hair out of my eyes and gently kissed me.

“A couple of years. Is THAT all? I guess I can live with it.” I started to burrow even deeper under the covers and tried to pull Adam with me.

“But you don’t get off quite that easy, Jen. You promised to have lunch with me today and I’m going to hold you to it. Besides, I’ll bet you’re going to have to get up in a few more minutes anyway. By the way you’re squirming I’d say you were nearly full to overflowing.”

“DAMN! Betrayed by my body again. Well, I guess if I have to get up, you do too. How about we go out for breakfast before I do the radio show this morning? I really don’t feel like cooking and last night I told Tammy not to come over this morning since you’d be here.”

“That works for me, love.” Adam kissed me passionately on the neck and started working down toward my breasts.

“STOP THAT! Keep that up and we’ll never have breakfast this morning!” He reached a nipple and teased it with his lips.

“I’ll take YOU for breakfast any day.” His tongue traced lazy circles around my swollen nipple.

Reluctantly I gently pushed him away. “Can I take a rain check on this until Sunday morning? If you can wait I can guarantee you an evening like few others we’ve had together.”

He pulled the covers aside then sat up on the edge of the bed rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Jen, we haven’t that that many evenings together. So far I can count ‘em on one hand. Your schedule doesn’t leave much room for us these days.”

Now that the blankets were off me the cool air in the room brought me fully awake. I slid across the bed and sat beside Adam. “I know, love, and we do need to talk more about that. I’d just like to get this darn play out of the way before we talk about where we’re going with this relationship.”

“I can agree with that. Now go get your business done in the bathroom before you have an accident. We need to get moving if we’re going out for breakfast.”

The hug and kiss Adam planted on me left my head spinning slightly as I stumbled to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later I had completed the morning ritual including a very quick run through the shower. Adam must have used the bathroom in the office since he was completely dressed as I walked naked back into the bedroom.

“Putting on a show for me?”

“If that’s what you want, yes!” I opened the drawer and brought out a garter belt and a pair of silk stockings along with a satin thong and a lacy low cut bra. “This is for you, love!”

I put on the garter belt first then made a big show of sliding the stocking up each leg and smoothing them in place before I attached the straps from the garter belt. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Adam shifted about uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. I tossed the thong to Adam.

“Help me?” With a lot of added sway in my walk I sashayed over to Adam and placed my hands on his shoulders. My breasts were within inches of his face at eye level. I lifted one foot off the floor as Adam pulled the thong over it. I switched feet and giggled as Adam pulled the thong into place against my crotch. The back of the thong settled between my cheeks and disappeared.

After taking a couple of steps back from Adam I turned around and bent to straighten the stockings making sure Adam had full view of my ample bottom. My breasts swayed gently away from my chest as Adam gave a slight groan and shifted again on the bed.

“Something wrong, love?”

He responded in a rather strained voice. “No, nothing a long COLD shower wouldn’t solve right now.”

“Sorry, Adam, this is just an example of what you can expect later.”

“If this is just an example I don’t know if I can handle the real thing.”

“Okay, I’ll stop teasing you. Go out into the living room while I get dressed the rest of the way.”

“Thanks, Jen. I don’t want to start something now that we don’t have lots of time to finish.” He stood up then walked very stiffly out of the bedroom closing the door behind him.

Ten minutes later I finished dressing in another pair of jeans and a heavy work shirt. I decided to leave the sexy lingerie in place as in inducement for Adam to accompany me home again tonight. I didn’t bother with any makeup after I put my hair in my normal ponytail style.

Adam had my van started when I locked the house up for the day. I got in on the passenger side quite happy to let Adam play the chauffer role. Everything after that marvelous relaxed breakfast with Adam at the International House of Pancakes turned into a blur. The day went by so fast that I barely had time to think about the pleasures of the evening to come. When I did catch a moment or two to myself, the feeling of the thong on my behind and the constant rubbing of the rough jeans on my sensitive cheeks served as a reminder of the evening I so desperately wanted.

The radio show went smoothly. Many of the listeners kept pumping me for details of my latest activities and I related the story of the union problems. Most of the callers were supportive of my efforts at the attraction. A few others took me to task for even turning up on the job site and began with telling me that it wasn’t a place for a woman to be. I tossed the whole incident aside and steered the discussion back onto the computer related topics that had become the cornerstone of the show.

The cast and crew started to loosen up and enjoy the final performances of the play. We still acted as professionals and gave the audience the best performance we possibly could but there was a growing sense of something coming to an end, something that we all felt slightly sad about. Each of the performances got at least eight curtain calls before the audience started to file out.

Sal outdid himself with the buffet too. It was the finest shrimp and lobster he could find with beef so tender that it simply melted away in your mouth. I doubt that the food would have been any better in any five-star restaurant anywhere. I shuddered when I thought of the bill I was going to receive for this final buffet. When Sal pulled me aside to talk with me I learned that this was his way of saying thanks for all of the business that the catering had brought to him and that there wouldn’t be any bill. I got so excited I gave Sal a huge hug and kiss right in front of all the cast and crewmembers. That created a bit of a problem until Greg finally admitted in front of everyone that I was the one that had arranged and paid for the buffet each weekend. My face turned a brilliant shade of pink as everyone gathered around me to hug and thank me.

Adam and I hurried to get back into our street clothes to leave for home moments after the curtain closed on the last performance of the day. I told Tammy that Adam was taking me home again.

“Again, eh? I take it you two are spending the night together?”

“Am I that transparent, Tammy?”

“Yes, from the way you’ve been looking at him all night. You look like someone that’s been stranded on an island with nothing to eat but cocoanuts. Then you get rescued and you see a table full of normal food for the first time in ten years.”

“You have to admit, there’s LOT of beef there to look at.”

“Yup but that wasn’t where you were looking!”

My face felt hot, as it turned pink again. I shrugged and smiled. “My body made me do it! See you tomorrow, Tammy.”

“G’nite, Jen. Have fun!”

“Thanks, Tammy. That’s exactly what I have in mind!” Adam had my van all warmed up and ready to go as I got in. I looked over and smiled at him. “Home, James. We have an interesting evening ahead of us.”

Sunday, March 2, 2003 —

Sunday was a day that I think I’ll remember for quite a while. Adam and I totally exhausted ourselves in the wee hours of the morning to the point that neither of us could move after our last orgasm. I collapsed on top of Adam in the bed with him still inside me.

I woke to the pleasant sensation of Adam’s manhood growing rigid again inside me. Our waking hours turned into a much shorter version of last night. Neither of us wanted to get out of bed only because we were both recovering from the lovemaking activities of the past few hours. We stayed in bed as long as we dared then got up and prepared to leave for the theater. We made a quick stop for lunch then hurried to the theater go do our final performance of Victor/Victoria.

With it being the last performance, the cast and crew was on a natural high. Everyone had a great time and the audience called us back onto the stage at least a dozen times after the final curtain closed. I couldn’t believe the huge bouquet of flowers that Greg presented to me, or the thunderous applause of my fellow cast and crew as he did it.

We attended the wrap party at a local restaurant about two hours after the play closed for about an hour then Adam took me home. He couldn’t stay and after the incredible time we had overnight I wasn’t certain that I could handle any more bedtime activities anyway.

Monday, March 3-5, 2003

Monday through Wednesday turned into a whirlwind session of press interviews in several cities. I bounced around from city to city never staying in one place more than an overnight stay in a hotel. I started in New York City then wound up in Chicago on Monday, Dallas on Tuesday, and finally Seattle on Wednesday. I made appearances at MegaComp stores in all three cities along with interviews on local radio and television stations. Tammy stayed behind in Syracuse to prepare for a few tests she had to take. She would join me in Los Angeles on Friday for my appearance on Around Midnight then to do the radio show with me on Saturday morning before we flew back to Syracuse.

I found I was beginning to enjoy being out and about. Before my change I was often alone and quite withdrawn. I usually went out only when I was forced to do so by the few friends I had or by circumstances beyond my control. Now I actually enjoyed meeting my fans and the travel to new places that was now so much a part of the new life I made for myself.

Thursday, March 6, 2003

I flew into Los Angles on Thursday and finally had a few hours to myself in the hotel before I had to meet with the production staff at the Around Midnight studios. I took advantage of the down time to get a nice hot bath and try to relax the tensions of the last three days away. I mostly succeeded in that effort in the few hours I had before a limo picked me up and whisked me away from the hotel.

I got an extended tour of the studio facility then met with Wayne Zachary, Around Midnight’s immensely popular host of the last fifteen years. I guessed that he was in his late forties from the slight graying of his wavy black hair. His deep blue eyes and warm, friendly manor put me at ease almost instantly. Our meeting lasted a little over half an hour as we talked about my appearance on Friday’s show. The show was done live five days a week starting at eight thirty in the evening local time. That put the show on the air just after the local stations finished their newscasts on the east coast at eleven thirty at night. The show lasted for an hour.

Each show started with Wayne doing a topical monologue touching on the day’s events and whatever else the writers could think up. The rest of the show was filled with interviews with whomever the staff could book for the night. The Thursday night show would be a visit from some animals from the Los Angeles Zoo, a star promoting a new movie and a new rock group called Blue Lightning. The group was familiar to me, as I’ve been trying to get more interested in the music someone of my apparent age would normally be listening to. One of their tunes, a song called “The Me Inside”, dealt with the feelings of a person going through a life-changing experience. Just having the most life-changing experience anyone could have made the song special and it was very close to my heart.

My next meeting was with Jay Wilks, the band’s leader. We settled on some music from the sheet music he had available plus the copy of the sheet music for “The Future is Now” that I brought with me. I would be doing about six songs scattered through out Friday’s show. I also agreed to stay until after tonight’s show to do a run-through with the band. My day on Friday was booked solid with media visits and an appearance at the local MegaComp until just before the show.

With a little more than an hour and a half left before airtime I made myself comfortable in the show’s green room waiting area. I had a most pleasant time chatting with the zoo’s representative and members of Blue Lightning. The band was rather surprised I was visiting the show and I, in turn, was quite shocked to learn that “The Me Inside” was inspired by the news of my transformation. The band was impressed when they learned how much that song meant to me. It meant so much that I completely wore out a tape I made of it from the CD as I listened to it in the old truck.

My conversation with the band was cut short when one of the show’s production assistants came into the green room and asked me to follow her out into the hallway. Out in the hallway I met up with a very worried looking Wayne Zachary.

“What’s wrong, Wayne? You don’t look too good.”

“Jennifer, I just got word that my wife and child were involved in a car accident. They’re both on the way to the hospital. I don’t know what condition they’re in. I wanted to ask if you’d host the show tonight since I have to leave.”

“What will you do if I don’t host? Everyone’s here now?”

“If you can’t, we can run a repeat show instead. My staff will just have to re-schedule.”

“You’re not going to get Blue Lightning again for nearly six months. They start a tour tomorrow.”

“Those are the breaks I guess. Well, what’s it going to be? We have to know now.”

“Are you really sure about this, Wayne? There’s never been another host of After Midnight in the fifteen years you’ve been doing it.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure, Jennifer.”

A quick glance at my watch showed just a bit less than forty-five minutes until airtime. “All right, Wayne. I’ll do it. Where do I start?”

Wayne motioned to the woman that I followed out of the green room. “Sarah here will get you started. I’ll see you tomorrow if everything is okay, Jennifer. Just tell the viewers that I had a family emergency that came up, okay?”

“I will, Wayne. Call and let us know what’s going on please?”

“If I can, Jennifer. Break a leg kiddo!” Wayne gave me a big hug before leaving the studio. I turned to Sarah.

“What now?”

“Let’s get you together with the writers of the monologue. It may need a bit of tweaking.” I followed Sarah down a long hallway to the office area of the building. We entered a large room with a few big tables and some chairs. The show’s writing staff was seated around the largest table furiously scribbling on some note pads. “Guys, this is Jennifer Stevens. Wayne just asked her to substitute for him tonight. You heard about the accident?”

A tall man with dark brown hair stood up and offered his hand. “Hi Jennifer. I’m Bart Fields, head writer of the show. We’re just going over the script for the monologue to make sure there’s nothing out of place due to the gender change of the host. Making sure the references to things are correct since you’re a woman.”

“Can I take a look at the script as it stands now, Bart?”

“Sure!” He handed me about ten sheets of paper stapled together in one corner. “We’ll have a corrected version in a few minutes.”

I sat down in a chair and started reading the monologue. I laughed myself silly in spots and groaned in others. Bart must have been watching me.

“Like it? That’s about the reaction we expect from the crowd tonight.”

“You’ve got some great stuff here, Bart but why the groaners?”

“Wayne always wants a couple of jokes that fall flat. Gives him a change to do an ad-lib or two and the audience gets a big kick out of it. Want us to take ‘em out?”

“Nope! Just play along with me when we get to them. I know you guys are always watching from the side. I’ve watched the show for years. I think I can handle the bad jokes just fine.”

“Okay. I’ll get the corrected version on the prompter for you. Have fun out there, okay?”

“I’ll try, Bart. This is my first time doing anything like this you know.”

“And I’m certain that you’ll do a great job, Jennifer. Go knock ‘em dead for us!”

I wandered back out into the hallway and headed back toward the studio. I found Sarah in the green room.

“Sarah, do I need to do anything about my clothes?” I had come to the studio in a sleeveless medium blue dress with a plunging neckline. It revealed a fair amount of my cleavage along with a heart-shaped necklace on a gold chain. The hem of the dress was about halfway between my bottom and my knees leaving several inches of my legs exposed above the knee. The red three inch heels I wore shaped my calves to perfection and made me sway a bit more to walk comfortably. A single narrow strap at the toes and another around my ankles held them on my feet.

“No, you’re dressed just fine for the show. We do need to freshen your makeup and do a bit with your hair though.” I followed Sarah to the makeup area backstage.

It took about ten minutes for my street makeup to be stripped off then heavier makeup was applied to stand up to the bright television lights. They also combed out my ponytail and added something to make it flare out even more than it did normally in back. When I looked in the mirror I was amazed at the difference it made.

With less than three minutes to go until airtime I was escorted to a spot behind a large curtain across the center of the stage. From watching the show I knew that this was the spot Wayne used to walk out on the stage and begin his monologue for the evening.

I heard the floor manager standing next to me count down to the start of the show. The band played the theme music as the announcer did his part to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Just before the curtain opened I heard, “… and substituting tonight for Wayne, here’s Jeniferrrrrrrr Steeeeevens!”

The curtain parted and I looked out to the studio audience clapping and whistling. As I took my first step the band abruptly switched to a tune by David Rose called “The Stripper”. Playing along with it I wiggled my way out onto the stage and over to the band. I was quite familiar with the music and timed my arrival at the mark on the center of the stage to allow the band to end in just the right spot. The crowd went wild as I went into a Marilyn Monroe imitation with my chest and bottom pushed out in a sexy pose.

The applause died down as I held up my hands. “There are cold showers in a tent outside for those of you in the audience that feel the need for them.” I loved it when the audience roared with laughter. It made me feel so good!

“I have to let everyone know that Wayne had a family emergency arise about an hour ago and he’s left to take care of it. At the moment we expect that Wayne will be back tomorrow night and we hope to be able to update that for you by the end of the show.”

I launched into the monologue and as predicted the audience laughed in the same spots I did. The material was so good that it was no problem at all to get laughs with it. My timing got better as I went along until I came to the first bad joke.

As Bart predicted it bombed miserably. I looked over at the writing team s the stood off to the side of the stage. “Umm… Bart? I told ya that that joke was gonna bomb. Now pay up!”

The audience howled as Bart walked over to me looking like a little kid that had just been yelled at for stealing cookies out of the cookie jar. I held out my hand until he took out his wallet and fished out a dollar bill. I made a big show of stashing the bill in my bra then gave Bart a little hug and a kiss on the cheek to make him feel better. The audience was applauding as he marched off to rejoin the writing team.

I launched back into the rest of the monologue again until the second bad joke came up. When it bombed I simply turned with a frown on my face and motioned for Bart to come over again by holding out my hand. The whole process was repeated again to the howls of laughter from the audience.

At the end of the monologue the audience really howled with laughter at the closing joke. As the laughter faded, Bart marched over to me with his arms crossed over his chest. He stood beside me with his hand out. The look on my face was one of minor annoyance. I simply shrugged then pulled a dollar bill out of my bra and handed it to him. He stashed the bill in his shirt pocket and then gave me a big hug then swept me into a classic movie kiss pose. I could hear the audience howling with laughter as Bart whispered in my ear “Go with it!”

As he lifted me back to a vertical position I feigned being a bit dizzy and disoriented from the kiss. Just as Bart turned to leave I grabbed his arm, spun him around and fished the other bill out of my bra to offer to him. He took it with a huge smile on his face then proceeded to give me another stage kiss lasting over thirty seconds. After he returned me to the standing position Bart marched offstage to the applause of the audience again. I waited just long enough for the applause to die down so I could be heard again.

I looked over at Bart in awe. “When he’s not using those lips any more I swear I’m gonna have them bronzed and put in the International Kissing Hall of Fame!” The audience was howling again and clapping. The roar was nearly deafening.

The stage manager motioned for the band to start playing again as the monitors in the studio faded to black. Someone announced, “CLEAR. Two Minutes!” over the PA system.

Wayne’s desk seemed positively huge when I dropped into the chair behind it. I had to hit the pneumatic lever to raise the chair quite a bit before I felt comfortable sitting in it. The stage manager indicated that about fifteen seconds remained until we came back live. I took a big gulp of cold water from a mug on the desk then got ready again.

I was fanning myself with the stack of note cards when the cameras came back on. I looked over at the stage manager and asked, “Is that tent still set up out there? I think I might need to make a trip out there myself during the next break!” When the laughter died down I introduced the representative from the zoo.

The animal spot went pretty well. I got to hold a baby lion cub and had a small spider monkey in a diaper sitting on my shoulder as I fed her grapes. The change from male to female hadn’t altered my dislike for spiders and snakes at all. I gulped back my fear and let them put a twelve-foot python around my neck and shoulders. I was extremely relieved when they lifted it off of me moments after a commercial break started.

When the break finished I introduced Jay Wilks and the show band. They did a couple of awesome tunes to the delight of the audience in the studio.

Next on the schedule was Ashton McRory, a young and upcoming star of a new movie. He looked to me to be about twenty-two years old with medium brown hair and dazzling green eyes. We talked about the usual things; his current activities, dating, his adventures in Hollywood and then we got into the movie promotion. He set up the clip that he brought then we watched it on the screens in the studio. It was a comedy based on the adventures of three friends during a wild spring break vacation in Florida. It turned out that Ashton was an accomplished surfer and had done the majority of the surfing stunts himself after the bulk of the shooting was completed. The audience roared with laughter as Ashton came up sputtering after a particularly funny wipeout. We chatted for a few more minutes before the stage manager called for another commercial break.

Ashton wanted to stay on the guest couch since he also had an interest in Blue Lightning. Seems he was a rather big fan of the band too. As the break ended I held up the group’s latest CD and introduced them. The audience clapped wildly as the first notes of a tune from the band’s new CD rolled across the studio. No lip-syncing for these guys either, they played live in the studio preferring the energy and spontaneity in a live performance to something on tape.

They were scheduled to do four numbers so it was something of a shock when the band stopped after the third tune. Tad Jackson, the band’s lead vocalist, looked over at me at the desk as he spoke.

“We were going to do one more tune from our new CD but instead we’d like to do a favorite tune of the woman hosting the show tonight. “The Me Inside” was written shortly after the news of her accident as a tribute to her spirit. Tonight we’d like to ask her to come over and perform it with us. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jennifer Stevens!”

I must have gone into instant panic mode since my mind was screaming “RUN!” to my body as loudly as it could. My body just wasn’t paying attention because I couldn’t move a muscle. The audience was applauding loudly and roaring for me to sing. It sounded like thunder in my ears.

After several seconds of my mouth hanging wide open on national TV, Ashton gently pushed up on my jaw to close my mouth. Then he gently grabbed my hand and coaxed me over to another microphone placed in front of the band. The audience roared even louder as the first notes of the song started. The thin guitar solo blended into a bouncy bass line and driving drum beat three measures into the introduction. I took a deep breath to try to steady my jangled nerves and started to sing the lyrics from memory.

I truly wish I could remember my performance. I must have been on autopilot or something because the next thing I remember is the audience applauding wildly as the last notes of the song faded out. The stage manager was frantically waving for me to go to a commercial break as the audience continued the applause.

When the break was over the cameras came on again as I stood in front of the band with Ashton and the zoo representative holding the spider monkey. It was time to wrap up the show for the night.

“Fortunately I was handed a note during the break from Wayne. He wanted me to let everyone know that his wife and son received minor injuries in a traffic accident just before the show tonight.” A huge gasp went up from the audience. “Don’t worry folks, according to Wayne they’ll be fine and will be released from the hospital shortly. Wayne will be back tomorrow night with a whole new show. Goodnight everyone!”

The huge round of applause from the audience scared the spider monkey, who promptly jumped onto my shoulder and hugged me around the neck tightly. A camera zoomed in for a close-up of me with the monkey around my neck as the credits rolled.

About a minute and a half later a voice boomed, “CLEAR!” over the PA system and the band abruptly stopped playing the show’s theme music. The zoo representative tried to pry the spider monkey from around my neck but the poor thing seemed to be terrified to leave me. She howled and snapped at the handlers every time they tried to reach for her.

I waited patiently for nearly twenty minutes until the monkey calmed down enough to relinquish its hold around my neck. During that time I had a pleasant conversation with the band and found we had several common interests. Ashton seemed to be hanging around waiting to talk to me after the band left.

He plopped down beside me on the guest couch moments after the band departed. “Umm… Jennifer? Would you like to go out and have something to eat?”

“Gee, thanks for asking but I have to stay and rehearse my musical numbers for tomorrow’s show.”

“You? Rehearse? Whatever for? You were fantastic out there tonight!”

“I was so scared I couldn’t really remember what I did just then, Ashton. I’m NOT a singer or at least I didn’t start out that way.”

“Really? I’d never have known if you didn’t tell me. How did you get involved in all of this anyway?”

The whole story took around a half an hour to tell. Most of the studio band had gathered around the couch along with a few of the show’s staff. Ashton and everyone else were blown away by the story.

“All that happened to you in just the last six months or so?”

“It’s all true, Ashton. A lot of it made the news much to my surprise.”

“You carry off the illusion of being a woman quite well then.”

“It’s no illusion. I am exactly what you see before you. I have to be, Ashton. If I tried to be anything else I’d probably be insane by now. Every time I take a deep breath my chest expands pushing my breasts together in my bra. Every step I take makes them jiggle. Every time I move my head I feel my long hair on my back and shoulders. Every time I speak I hear a voice that wasn’t my own six months ago. Every time I look in mirror I see a face that wasn’t mine six months ago. Every time I walk into a restaurant or anywhere else heads turn and eyes follow me everywhere. That NEVER happened before. Back then I was almost invisible.”

I paused while I took a drink of water and let the words sink in a bit. “If this were all part of an illusion those things would be quite easy to dismiss. This, however”, I swept a hand over my body, “isn’t an illusion. If it were I could easily ignore my nasty little monthly visitor or the wide mood swings or the thousand and one other things that go with being a woman. No, Ashton, this is FAR from being an illusion.”

“Sorry, Jennifer. My poor choice of words I guess. If you had never told me your story I would never have suspected who you used to be.”

“And there are days that scares the hell out of me. Have I lost so much of who I was? I just don’t know any more.”

The silence was almost deafening. The show’s bandleader broke the quiet. “Umm… Jennifer, we need to go over your numbers. It’s getting a bit late.”

“Sorry, Jay. Thanks for bringing me back to reality there. Let’s get this done so we cal all go home. Ashton, thanks for the offer of supper but I think I’m going to pass tonight. Please do ask me again though. I’d be delighted to spend a pleasant evening chatting with you.”

Ashton smiled then handed me a small business card. “I’d love to. Just call my cell phone next time you know you’re going to be in LA and we’ll get together for some linguini at a great little place I know of.”

With no pockets available I tucked the card inside my bra. “I’ll do that.”

Ashton gently kissed my hand then waved to the band as he left. The stage was partially dark as I walked over to the band area and got comfortable on a stool next to the keyboards.

“Let’s do this, Jay.”

He simply nodded then counted the band into the first of the six tunes I needed to practice. What surprised me the most was how easy I found it to sing with this highly talented group of musicians. Every note was perfect and flowed easily like fine wine into a crystal glass. Their excellent performance only served to spur me on to be that much better in my own performance.

By the third song the show’s staff had found seats in the audience section and was hanging on every note. The applause between songs lifted my spirits considerably. As the notes of “The Future is Now” faded even the band was applauding.

“Jennifer, that was incredible. Are you sure you’re not a singer by profession?”

“Positive. Jay. I’m completely positive I am NOT a professional singer by any definition. I’m just very lucky.”

Jay chuckled then shook his head. “I know a few super stars in the music industry that would sign a deal with the devil in a single heartbeat if they could get just a tenth of the talent you have.”

“Thanks, but I’m not going to give up my ‘day job’. I know how this business works, Jay. One minute you’re the hottest thing around and the next minute you’re so cold that ice starts to form around you. I enjoy the experience of making music but I’m not foolish enough to make it my career.”

“It’s a shame too. You have a great voice.”

“I didn’t say I was going to ignore it completely, just that I wasn’t going to make it my career. It’s not general knowledge yet but I have a deal with MouseWorld for a CD and some music videos. I go into the studio in a few weeks.”

“Well, count me first in line at the record store for a copy when it hits the streets, Jennifer.”

At that moment a huge yawn interrupted what I was going to say. “Sorry, guys. I guess I’m still on New York time.” I glanced at my watch. “It’s almost three in the morning there now and I’m beat. I’ll see everyone tomorrow night for the show. Can someone point me in the right direction to get back to the hotel?”

Jay offered to drop me off since he was headed in that general direction anyway. The ride back to the hotel was spent in pleasant chitchat with Jay about California life and the show band.

When I finally got to the room I noticed a small pile of bags off to one side of the common living room area between the two bedrooms. That meant that Tammy had flown in earlier for the appearances on Friday and to do the show with me on Saturday morning. It took just a few minutes for me to change out of my clothes into my birthday suit and crawl into the inviting bed.

Friday, March 7, 2003 —

“Just one more hour, Tammy, that’s all I want.”

“No, Jen. Ya GOTTA get up NOW! You know we have appearances all day long!”

I pulled the covers over my head and burrowed deeper in the bed to shut out the bright light entering through the windows.

“It’s seven in the morning and you have to get up NOW!”

“But I only got to bed just before four in the morning, Tammy. I’ve only had three hours of sleep.”

“Nice try, professor but your bizarre math isn’t going to work on me. You got in bed just before one in the morning California time, its now just after seven California time. That means you had at least six hours of sleep, not three. Now UP damn it!”

The blankets flew off the bed leaving me lying there naked. I popped an eye open to see Tammy standing there in her nightie with one hand on her hip and the other holding a corner of the blankets. As I grabbed for the blankets, two very cold hands started tickling a very private and highly sensitive spot on my body.

“TAMMY! STOP or I’m going to pee myself!”

“Are you going to get up now?”

“All right! I give! Now let me up!” I barely made the bathroom in time. As I finished my business I saw Tammy leaning on the sink.

“Am I always like this on a west coast trip?”

“Just the first day, Jen. After you get used to the time difference you’re fine. Now get yourself into the shower. The first of the media interviews is supposed to start at around nine this morning.”

“Okay. I’ll be about half an hour then we’ll go down to the restaurant and get breakfast.”

The rest of the morning went pretty much as it was planned with a series of media interviews that I had promised to do after the morning show appearance a few weeks ago. The afternoon went as planned with a public appearance at a local MegaComp store. The crowds were even larger this time because of my unscheduled hosting of Around Midnight the night before this appearance. The mall where the store was located had to call in extra security personal to handle the huge crowd. They estimated that nearly ten thousand people had tried to visit us in the store.

Tammy and I needed an escort when we left the store to return to the hotel. I needed to get something to eat and gather my clothes for the appearance on Around Midnight. As we were eating I finally had a chance to fill Tammy in on everything that happened yesterday.

“That’s incredible, Jen. You mean Wayne Zachary just up and asked you to host the show?”

“Yes. Don’t ask me why though. Maybe he saw the morning show a few weeks ago and liked it.”

“And then Blue Lightning asked you to sing with them on live national television?”

“Yup. Why do I get the feeling that my life is the dream of some third rate writer somewhere desperately trying to experience his or her fantasies through me?”

“I don’t know, Jen. Does it really matter?”

“No, I guess not. I just keep going from one adventure to another so fast I’m not certain just who is pulling my strings. Do I even have control over my own life any more?”

“Let’s not get THAT started again, Jen. You told me you knew all about the price that fame was going to extract from your life. Now you’re telling me that you’ve had enough?”

“Well, if I do still have any control over things I’m going to take a week off just for myself and if I can talk Adam into going on vacation with me that will be even better!”

“So when is this vacation going to start anyway?”

“Next week I think. Now let’s get to the studio. I want to get this over with and go home tomorrow after the radio show.”

“I’m with you, Jen.”

The limo arrived about two hours ahead of airtime for Around Midnight. Tammy went with me to see what the facilities looked like. Her professor was waiting for a full report and some pictures that Tammy was supposed to present to the class on her return.

For this appearance I changed into a silver sleeveless dress much like the one I wore yesterday. I wore black four-inch heels with one wide strap just behind my toes that kept them on my feet. This time my makeup was a bit more dramatic while my ponytail was fluffed up even more than yesterday. I got several wolf whistles from the stagehands as I walked back to the green room. A familiar wave of feelings washed over me, pride that I looked as good as I did mixed with more than a little confusion that I did look this way. Despite the effort I put into adapting to my new life there was still enough of the old me left inside to register that feeling. I didn’t know if I should be happy that I had changed as much as I had or upset that I hadn’t changed quite enough.

My time in the green room didn’t last very long. I wound up being moved to the first slot after Wayne’s monologue after the first commercial break. My heart leapt into my throat as I heard the roar of the audience after Wayne’s glowing introduction. The studio band started the first of the songs I was supposed to sing.

This time, unlike my appearance with Blue Lightning last night, I remember the feelings as I stood in front of that audience and several million people on live TV. My heart was racing wildly as the first notes echoed across the stage. I think I missed a few notes as I started singing but as soon as I hit the chorus of the song I calmed down enough to regain control. I just poured my emotions into the song and gave the best performance I possibly could. I must have been doing something right since the audience was screaming for more as I walked over to the guest couch.

It must have taken nearly a minute for Wayne to get the crowd under control.

“First, Jennifer, I have to thank you for stepping in for me last night.” He pulled out at least a dozen roses from under the desk and handed them to me. “Without you we would have had to do a re-run show and all of our guests would have to have been rescheduled.”

“I had fun last night, Wayne. I’m glad I could help out when your family had the accident. How are they by the way?”

“My wife and son are doing fine. Both are back home now. They just got shaken up pretty badly with a few cuts and scrapes.”

“That’s great, Wayne.”

“I think so too! You know what else is great was your impromptu appearance with Blue Lightning last night.” Wayne turned toward the audience. “Did you folks see it?” The audience clapped loudly. “Well for those of you that didn’t see it we’re going to show it again. Watch the monitors…”

I looked mainly at the floor or my red-painted toenails while the video of my performance last night was running. As the clip ended the applause from the audience was nearly deafening.

“Wasn’t that great! Ladies and gentleman, we have an unexpected visitor tonight. I want to introduce Tad Jackson of Blue Lightning!”

Tad bounded out onto the stage with the largest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen. I stood up to let him sit in the spot on the couch closest to Wayne. I got a huge hug from Tad and then he motioned for me to sit back down in the same spot.

“Well, Tad, you’re the one that requested an appearance here tonight. What brings you here?” The look on Wayne’s face was enough for me to know that he already knew what Tad wanted. Wayne was just setting me up for the audience.

“I wanted to come back tonight and ask Jennifer a question, Wayne. We’re opening our concert tour tomorrow night at the Staples Center and I wanted to ask Jennifer if she would open for us on Saturday and Sunday night.”

The look of shock on my face was enough for Wayne to cover for me by going to a commercial break.

The break was about three minutes long and I needed every second of it to compose myself. I managed to put a smile back on my face just seconds before the cameras were live again.

“We’re back. So, Jennifer, can you appear with Blue lightning this weekend?”

I had several concerns that ought to stop this idea cold. “Well, Wayne, I’m not certain that contractually I can. One song last night is one thing; opening for someone else is quite a different thing. I’d have to talk with my recording label first.’

“Well, we took the liberty of checking for you when Tad came to us this morning with the band’s idea. Jack, please roll that tape we made.”

I heard a voice coming from the studio’s PA system. “Hi Jennifer, This is Jason Stockwell at MouseWorld Records. After talking with Blue Lightning and the folks at Around Midnight we’d be delighted to have you open for the band this weekend. In fact, we’re arranging to have it recorded. See you there!”

The audience applauded as Wayne looked over at me. “Well, Jennifer, that takes care of that problem. Anything else?”

I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I don’t have a band to sing with and what do I do about costumes, hair and makeup anyway? I can’t pull all of that together in less than a week.” THERE! Let ‘em figure that one out.

“How ‘bout if you use our fine studio band. The guys were so impressed with your practice session last night that they told me you wouldn’t have a problem. As for the rest, we have a great wardrobe and makeup department right here all set top help out.”

Now I was painted into a corner with no way out. “All right, Tad. I’ll open for you on one condition. You and the rest of Blue Lightning have to come on my radio show tomorrow morning and talk about how you guys produce your music.”

His face lit up in a huge smile as he held put his hand. “We got a deal!” The audience roared their approval and it took nearly a minute for things to quiet down again.

“So there you have it folks. Tickets are still available at the Staples Center box office. If you miss the concert we’ll have a camera following Jennifer around and you’ll see the highlights on the show Monday night. We’ll be back with more music and entertainment in just a few minutes.”

From here on I figured that the rest of the show was all downhill. As the show neared the end I realized that I was right. Even my performance of “The Future Is Now” didn’t cause me the mental anguish that the surprise visit from Tad did.

Inwardly I sighed in relief as the last notes of the Around Midnight theme echoed through the packed studio. The roar from the audience was deafening for just a couple of hundred people. Hmmm… there was a time when I thought a couple of hundred people were a huge audience. How fast things have changed!

Tammy was with me in my dressing room while I was finishing the change back into my street clothes when someone knocked on the door. “Come in!”

Wayne Zachary poked his head around the door. “I hope you didn’t mind our little surprise, Jennifer.”

“Well, I did have some plans for this weekend but nothing I can’t re-arrange, Wayne. I just wish I’d known about it this morning, that’s all.”

“Sorry. Is there someone I can talk to for you to get you out of any trouble on this?”

“No. Its something I have to take care of myself. So, what do I need to do tomorrow anyway?”

“Just go over to the Staples Center right after your radio show is over in the morning. Since the band is going to do your show tomorrow they’ll have transportation ready.”

“I’m going to have to arrange something with my hotel. I wasn’t planning on staying past tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jennifer. My staff has already taken care of that and they even booked you on a flight out of LAX on Tuesday morning. We made it a late morning flight so you could go out after the show if you wanted without having to worry about flying on the red-eye.”

“Umm, why Tuesday morning, Wayne?”

“We want you back on Around Midnight on Monday night to talk about your experience. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine!” I figured that a proper thanks was in order so I gave him a big hug and tossed in a kiss on the cheek for good measure. “That saves me a lot of problems.”

“I hope you don’t mind a camera crew following you around. Your record producer suggested it. He figured that it was good publicity for you.”

“If he wanted it I’ll just have to accept it. I’ll need a bit of private time before I perform though.”

“Not a problem. Just tell the crew to leave for a little while and they will. I’ve got to get going. My wife and son came home from the hospital earlier today and I want to get back home to be with them. That accident made me realize how special they were to me.”

“All right, Wayne. Are you coming to the concert too?”

“You couldn’t keep me away.”

“Then all I ask is that YOU’RE the one that introduces me tomorrow night. Sound fair to you?”

“You want it, you got it! By the way, that was a great bit collecting the bets with Bart last night. Wish I’d thought of that one!”

“It did work out pretty good didn’t it? I got away with pulling it off with Bart’s help, that’s all.”

“Well, thanks anyway, Jennifer. See you tomorrow night!” I watched Wayne close the door behind him.

“Umm… Jen, weren’t you and Adam supposed to spend the weekend together when you got back?”

“Yup and it really pissed me off. I promised to spend the weekend with Adam and then I go and get stuck opening for Blue Lightning at two concerts. What am I going to tell Adam? I have to call him when we get back to the hotel.”

“Just tell him the truth. I’m certain that he watched the show tonight so he already knows, Jen.”

“Is this going to be the end for us? I know he’s been upset with me because of all the traveling to Orlando these past few weeks. I know that his job is just as important to him as my career is to me. Do I give all of this up and become the ‘happy homemaker’? DAMN! I wish I knew what to do.” I buried my head in my hands as the tears flowed freely.

Tammy held me tightly as the tears slowly subsided. The crying session managed to relieve some of the tension but it did absolutely nothing to help me resolve the problem of trying to keep a relationship between two people with vastly different careers going.

The message light was blinking on the phone when Tammy and I got back to the hotel. I was right that Adam was more than a little upset at the unplanned change of events surrounding our weekend together. Calling him wasn’t something I was looking forward to but I had to do it.

“Hi, Adam.”

“Hi, love. I saw you on the show tonight. You were fantastic!”

“Thanks, Adam. Sorry about the change of plans for our weekend. I got blindsided on that.”

“I understand but I’m not very happy about it.”

“Adam, I’ve got an idea. We can still be together this weekend.”

“How? You’re in Los Angeles, I’m in Syracuse.”

“Want to come out here instead? You can even go to the concerts with me!”

“Now that’s a thought. I don’t know if I can get a flight out of Syracuse in the morning though.”

“I can call the charter service and arrange something for you if you want.”

“No, I’d rather do it myself, Jen. You know how I feel about that.”

“All right but at least call Barb and ask her for help, okay? She’s a wiz at dealing with travel arrangements. Don’t worry about a place to stay. I have the hotel room for the rest of the weekend. Can you get Monday off from the mall?”

“I don’t know, Jen. I’ll have to make a phone call to my boss to find out. If I can get a flight out I’ll at least be there for your opening on Saturday night’s show. I’ll have to come back on Sunday if I can’t get Monday off.”

“I’ll take any time we can spend together, love. Just call and let me know what the plans work out to be, okay?”

“I will, Jen. G’nite, love.”

“Bye!” I waited until I heard him put his phone down before I put my phone down.

“Well, that went better than you thought didn’t it?”

“It did, Tammy. You heard?”

She nodded her head. “Enough to know that he might be out here tomorrow if he can arrange a flight. What do you think his chances are?”

“Good if he calls Barb for help. I know she’ll be able to book something for him. I just hope that stupid male pride of his doesn’t get in the way of him asking for expert help.”

Tammy giggled softly. “Did you just hear yourself? Stupid male pride! YOU were a male yourself barely eight months ago!”

“My changing viewpoint came with the body, Tammy. Now let’s get to bed. I’m beat and I know that tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”

“I know. Were you going to use the hot tub before you turned in?”

“I was thinking about that, yes. Might get the kinks out of my muscles. I’m all tense.”

“Those jets do work miracles don’t they?”

It felt like I blushed three different shades of red. “Well, I…”

“Don’t worry about it, Jen. I do it too. Now go and enjoy a good soak. I have to agree with you about tomorrow, it IS going to be quite a day.”

Saturday, March 8, 2003

My session in the hot tub last night had the desired effect leaving me at least partially satisfied and mostly relaxed. I wished I could stay in bed longer. My radio show didn’t leave me the luxury of laying around in California like it did in New York. The three-hour time difference forced me out of bed much earlier than I was accustomed to on a Saturday morning. Tammy and I managed a very quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant before the limo spirited us away to the studio.

When we arrived the members of Blue Lightning had been waiting for about twenty minutes. The station staff was falling over themselves over the band since their FM rock music station was airing the band’s music rather heavily. The staff had the band in a studio recording some promotional spots as Tammy and I settled into the studio for our show. A few minutes later the band settled in as well.

The show started right on time and within twenty seconds of my announcing who was with me, all twelve of the incoming lines were jammed. Try as I might I just couldn’t keep the conversation on computers and technology. Every caller wanted to know about either my experiences on Around Midnight or what the band was doing. The hour passed before I realized it.

“That’s a wrap, Jen!”

“Thanks Tammy! So how was it for you guys?”

Tad was the one to speak for the band. “Are all your shows like this one, Jennifer?”

“No, Tad, not all of them. Just the ones with hot rock bands who appear as guests.”

“Well, we all sure had fun didn’t we guys?” The rest of the band agreed. “We’re supposed to do a concert in Syracuse in a few weeks. If you’re in town then we’d be glad to come on the show again.”

“Thanks, guys. Judging by the response today I’d be a fool if I turned you down. Depending on how well tonight goes I might be talked into opening for you there too. Tammy, are we all set here? I think we need to get to the Staples Center.”

“All set, Jen. Ready any time you are!”

“Well, gentlemen, do you have room for two more in your limo?”

“No. But we do have lots of room in the band’s road tour bus. After you, ladies.”

When we walked out to the parking lot a huge silver bus with a stylized blue lightning bolt had appeared. Everyone piled on for the trip across town to the concert site at the Staples Center.

The size of the building and its modernistic look left me absolutely speechless. The guys in the band must have noticed, as we pulled up to the entrance reserved for the show’s staff.

“Kinda intimidating isn’t it?”

“I’ll say, Tad. I’ve never played in anything this size before.”

“Neither have we. It’s a first for all of us. Let’s go take a look at the stage shall we?” Tad extended an arm and I willingly accepted it as the building continued to overwhelm me.

We walked down a long tunnel that could easily handle a loaded tractor-trailer rig onto the huge playing field area of the building. It looked like the building was normally used for football and basketball games from the way the seats were arranged. The artificial grass had been removed from the concrete floor to be replaced by a layer of sound-dampening carpet. The stage was placed in the center of the field. A huge grid of steel girders towered over the stage to support row upon row of lights and special effects hardware. Towers of speakers were placed at all four corners of the stage facing the seats. Hundreds of folding chairs had been set up in the space left over on the field. The fixed seats in the stand area started at a level near the floor. They went up so high I thought I’d get a nosebleed if I sat in one of the last seats near the top of the building.

“How many people fit in here anyway?”

“According to our manager this place seats about twenty thousand for a football game. With these extra seats on the field its closer to twenty five thousand. Scary isn’t it?”

“I’ll say, Tad.” The stairs leading up to the stage must have been fifteen feet tall with rails on both sides. The stage itself was huge. It filled the field from the seats on one side to the seats on the other. On the long dimension of the field it extended at least fifty feet on either side of what would have been the fifty-yard line. The lighting grid must have been at least fifty feet above the stage supported by a large tower-like structure at each corner of the stage.

A large truck with the Around Midnight logo was parked on the far side of the stage. Several people were unloading musical instruments and supplies. While I watched they unloaded two racks of costumes then returned to unloading the instruments. Two racks of costumes seemed like overkill since I thought I was only going to need a single costume for the show.

Shelly Ryan, Around Midnight’s coordinator, caught up with me while I was headed for my dressing room.

“Hi, Jennifer. What do you think of the place so far?”

“It’s kind of daunting to me. I’ve never performed in front of more than a thousand people at a time.”

“Don’t worry about it. The lights on the stage are going to be kind of bright and the house lights will be on very low. You probably won’t even see much of the audience.”

“No but I’ll hear them.”

“True. I saw the guys in the band coming in a little while ago. I think everything will be ready for you to practice in an hour or so. Want me to come and get you when they’re ready?”

“Sure, Shelly. I’ll be in my room.”

The dressing room matched the rest of the place for size. It wasn‘t simply a single room; it was more like a suite. A large living room type area with a couch, a few chairs and a kitchenette setup had several smaller rooms leading off of it. One was a bathroom complete with tub and shower. Another was the usual dressing and makeup area while a third room was a small bedroom. The bedroom, dressing area and bathroom all connected to each other with doors.

As Tammy and I settled in, the guys in the band left to find their own dressing rooms. “Jen, do you want some bottled water? I found some in the fridge. There’s some fruit in there too along with what looks like a cold-cut platter.”

“I’ll take a bottle of water and an orange if there’s one in there.”

Tammy handed me an orange and the bottle of water as she plunked down beside me o
the couch. “So how are you holding up?”

“Does the fear I feel inside show that much Tammy?”

“No, but then I’ve been with you long enough to know you. Scares the hell out of you doesn’t it?”

“I keep asking myself what I’ve gotten myself into. I don’t have a choice now. I can’t back out of this.”

“Well, you were the one that wanted to go on the grand adventure after you changed.”

“I can’t argue about the adventure part, Tammy.” I popped a segment of the orange into my mouth as I finished peeling it. “Great oranges by the way.”

“Before things get too far out of control I wanted to tell you that I got a message from Barb this morning. Adam did call her and she got him booked on a flight out of Syracuse. With a little luck he’ll be here in time to see you go on tonight. I already let security know that he’s coming.”

My heart soared at the thought that Adam was going to be able to see me perform. “Thanks Tammy! That means so much to me. Did Barb say how long he could stay?”

“Nope, nothing more than that message, Jen. Sorry.”

About half an hour later I got the call to go back to the stage for rehearsal. What I thought was going to be the usual ten-piece band that appeared on the show had turned into a thirty-piece orchestra. There was also a bunch of other people stretching off to the side of the stage.

“So what’s all this, Jay?”

“The band as we promised.”

“All this?”

“Well, with the numbers on that list you gave me last night of the songs you wanted to do I just had to add a few more people to do the music justice.”

“So who are they?” I pointed toward the extra group of people.

“Your dancers.”

“Dancers?

“Yup. Have you ever seen a concert performance without at least a few dancers?”

“But a dozen or so?”

“It’s what Wayne wanted, Jennifer.”

“Well, I’m not going to argue the point. It’s his money. Are we ready to give this a try?”

“All set, Jennifer.”

The practice session lasted almost three hours for just eleven songs, ten for the actual show and one as an encore. I even got in a little practice with the dancers for a couple of the songs including my opening number. Everyone was quite pleased that everything had come together so quickly. I was nearly exhausted from the session and headed back to the dressing room to rest during the three hours left until the show started. The cold-cut platter made for a good if not good-for-me lunch since I wound up working straight through the normal lunchtime. The bed looked so inviting that I managed to doze off for about an hour.

The hand I felt on my shoulder turned out to be Tammy’s. “Come on, Jen. Time to get changed.”

The Around Midnight wardrobe folks provided me with quite a costume for the performance. A dazzling pure white single piece swimsuit with a low plunging neckline and high-cut sides that would leave every inch of my hips exposed. A translucent white wrap-around skirt with a cut in the side that extended nearly to my waist completed the costume. They included some seer to the waist panty hose and a pair of two-inch heels with straps at the toes and ankles. I was glad that I had practiced the dancing in my three-inch narrow heels. The actual heels were going to be that much easier to deal with and I needed all the help I could get.

The suit had a built-in bra since the plunging neckline went to a bit beyond my navel leaving my cleavage visible. A single silver chain stretched across the opening at about the level of my nipples to keep the suit from spreading even further as I jiggled and danced on stage. The suit was so white that it almost hurt to look at it even in the lights of the dressing table. The skirt left my left leg almost completely uncovered while the swooping hem of the skirt came to a point about halfway down my calf of my right leg. The panty hose made my legs shimmer in the bright light.

The makeup and hair crew left my ponytail is its normal style except for fluffing it up so it almost stood up on its own. Thanks to an insert it swooped up high in back of my head then flared out to cover almost the entire width of my back. The makeup highlighted my eyes and lips giving me a smoldering sex goddess appearance even without trying to look that way. The red polish on my nails was buffed to a mirror like finish after any chips and dents were repaired.

I was staring at myself in the mirror when Tammy came in to get me. “All set, Jen?”

“I think so. Any word about Adam yet?”

“No, but he should be here by now. He was supposed to arrive directly from the airport. Barb set it all up for him.”

“Damn! I really wanted to know he was here before I went out there. Guess the show must go on anyway, right?”

“Yup. Everyone’s waiting for you. Now go out there and break a leg, Jen.”

“Thanks, Tammy.”

I followed Tammy out into the packed arena through a shielded passageway to a spot under the stage. From there a lift built into the stage would make me appear out of a large white cloud of dry ice fog. Tammy gave a thumb up to a stage hand when I was in place on the lift.

The crowd stated to go wild as I heard footsteps on the stage above me. “Ladies and gentleman, I’m Wayne Zachary. Welcome to the Staples Center Arena and the opening night of Blue Lightning’s first national tour. Tonight and tomorrow night we have a special treat for you. We have a very special guest opening for Blue Lightning. Please put your hands together for Jenniferrrrrrrrrr Steeeeeeeeevens!”

The first few notes of “Can’t Stop Dancin’” by The Captain and Tennille echoed across the arena as I slowly rose into the cloud of mist. I took a few steps to clear the rapidly dissipating mist, then began to sing…

“Can’t stop dancin’ just because the music’s gone…
Can’t stop dancin’ NO! Just because the band’s packed up and gone home
Can’t stop dancing just because the music’s gone…
‘cause if you keep on dancin’ , if you keep on dancin’, if you keep on dancin’
They’re gonna turn the music back on…”

Somehow Jay and the band found a way to turn the thirty-second instrumental bridge in the song into a three minute extravaganza letting the dancers really cut loose. I had no hope of keeping up with them and watched in amazement at the moves they displayed. As the song came to an end the dancers all struck poses around me in a wash of brilliant white spotlights. It must have taken at least a minute for the applause and whistling to die down enough that we could continue on with the rest of the show.

Each song received similar applause until the last song of the planned performance, “The Future Is Now”. That song earned a standing ovation from the packed arena.

“And now lad…” Before I could even complete the sentence introducing Blue Lightning the audience was clamoring for one more song.

I held up my hands to quiet the crowd so I could speak. “Are you sure?”

The roar nearly blew the top off the hall. “All right… Jay?”

The first sizzling notes of the opening of Xanadu by Olivia Newton-John blasted out of the speakers as eight female dancers joined me on stage. Each was dressed in a similar outfit to mine so we looked like the nine muses of mythological fame. The audience went wild as we danced.

About halfway through the number I sensed something was wrong. The stage felt all wrong like it was the deck of a slowly rolling ship. Moments after I sensed it, the stage took a big jerk to the side knocking everyone over. Someone in the band yelled out “EARTHQUAKE!” as the dancers and I fought to get off up.

The stage was shaking so badly that I barely got to my feet before being thrown back down again. I wound up on my back this time and heard someone scream. I looked at the source of the scream and followed to where she was pointing. The lighting support structure above us was swaying back and forth. I watched in horror as bolts started to break and metal started to tear apart.

A lighting beam was breaking loose from its mounts directly above me. Explosions sent a shower of glass everywhere as the lamps in the lights popped. I had just enough time to cover my face with my arms before the lights went out and my world turned to black.

* * * * * * * * *

Saturday, March 8, 2003 — A dingy apartment on the south side of Syracuse

The leggy brunette wiggled her way across the linoleum floor of the kitchen with two paper plates in her hands. She placed both of them on the kitchen table then slid into one of the well-worn chairs.

“Jimmy, when are we gonna end this scam and move on? It’s been weeks and weeks!” She munched on a mouthful of the Chinese food she had just bought for both of them.

“In about two weeks, Sue. We scored big on this one, love. All I have to do is to take care of some loose ends and lead the police away from us before we can slip off into the night with a big bag of money.”

“How much, Jimmy? How much are we gonna get outta this job?”

“I figure somewhere around five million dollars, give or take a few hundred thousand.”

“OH JIMMY! I can’t wait to get out of this hellhole and start living the good life again!”

“Me too, baby, me too.”

They finished their meal in silence. Then Sue cleaned up the leftovers. A few minutes later she called to Jimmy from their shared bedroom.

“Jimmy, I’m gonna take my bath now. Do you need to use the bathroom first?”

“No, Sue, go ahead. I can wait.” Jimmy watched the gorgeous girl slink into the bathroom in nothing more than her birthday suit. He sighed and shook his head. “If only she wasn’t so wrapped up in the glitz on these jobs,” he thought. “I have to keep reminding her all the time not to wear her designer labels and jewelry.”

He plopped down in one of the worn overstuffed chairs in their living room and thumbed the remote to turn on the TV. A few seconds later, the telephone rang.

“Hello? … Yea, Ralph. … What do you mean you’re being watched? … Yeah, I know … What was that name again? … Okay, I’m gonna end this now. … Yeah, I know you’re out of it! You’ll get your cut. STOP WHINING!”

Jimmy slammed the phone down and cursed softly to himself. Their man inside the bank just reported that he thought he was being watched by a private investigator named Rebecca Stewart. He also reported seeing a check processed from Jennifer Stevens’ real account to the Stewart agency, a rather sizeable check too.

Suddenly the perfect plan to end this scam popped into place in Jimmy’s head. He picked up the phone again and dialed a number.

“Hello? Tony? … Look, man, I got a job for you. I need you to take care of a couple of people. … Yeah, gone as in not breathing any more. … Yeah, I know it’s gonna cost me big time. … A hundred thousand for two? Not a problem, Tony. … Yeah, we’ll work out the details in a day or two. I gotta work out a couple of things. … The names? Well, one you probably don’t know. … The other? … Jennifer Stevens.”

< To be continued in chapter 16 of Zapped! >

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Zapped

Thanks for posting Zapped also here on BCTS. It's nice to read it again after a few years. And also after a few weeks. When you started posting it here I could not wait for the next chapter. I had to go back to your site to read the remaining chapters. :-)

Martina

Zapped! -15 – The Hornet’s Nest

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