Introduction: I’m sure everyone has come across a story or two about someone finding that bottle or lamp that after the appropriate action releases a genie who will grant a certain number of wishes for the lucky person who happens to find it. Quite frequently, the person finding the genie doesn’t read the ‘fine print’ and the results are frequently not what the person making the wishes desired. The greedy and the dishonest seem to get the worst of it. In the case of this story, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Well, it’s back to the big date. Without question, Sandy is looking forward to it. She’s still a bit puzzled about why she is so looking forward to it. Becky puts it in very simple terms. Sandy is growing up.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 5

I was a nervous wreck. I had realized that this ‘official’ date was very important. I’d also come to realize I wasn’t as gay as I had been projecting over the last nearly 16 years. Yes I was physically attracted to women. That would never change. I had reviewed my list of 77 addenda to the second wish. There was not one thing that related to my sexuality, i.e. being gay, heterosexual, or bisexual. There were all the little details Becky and I had worked out, but not one thing about my sexuality; only my gender, and I was extremely happy about that.

Becky was coming over to help me get ready for my date with Rick. She was more than happy to. I had already picked out a dress that I felt would test his ability to look only into my eyes. I’d worn it only a few times, and only once on Mars, if I remembered correctly. She worked on some details that she felt would seal Rick’s and my fates. I thought she was joking when she asked if I had any protection. I didn’t. She ran down to the ladies room on the ground floor, and brought back a package of condoms and placed them in my purse while giving me a wink.

“Becky, I don’t understand it. I always thought I was gay, and here I am thinking about seducing Rick.”

Becky chuckled her cute little laugh. “You don’t get it do you? Your wanting to make love to women is just a residue left over from your time as a male. How old are you?”

“Officially, 45. Why?

“How long have you been a woman?” she asked.

“Sixteen years.”

“Therein lies the problem. You never went through childhood or adolescence as a female. You never got to hang out around girls and talk about boys, talk about handsome men, talk about making love for the first time. Honey, you are just a 16 year-old teeny bopper getting ready to test the waters for the first time. You are mentally a woman, and always have been. It’s just that you’ve finally matured.”

She sprayed some perfume that hung like a cloud in the low gravity, and had me walk through it.

“You know he loves you. He told me that a few days ago. I didn’t tell you that by the way. I think you love him. Just follow your heart.”

We were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you to your fate,” Becky said as she opened the door.

“She’s all yours, Rick. Good thing it’s Friday.”

Rick’s eyes went from my face, to my boobs, took in my form fitting dress, back to my boobs, then back to my eyes.

“So, what do you think?” I asked as I spun around.

“My god you are beautiful. But I always knew that.”

“Thank you. Would you like a drink before we go?”

“We’d better go. The cab’s waiting,” Rick said as he took my arm. I never did drugs in my life, at least not the illegal ones; however, I’d never felt the elation before that I felt at that moment.

I had never ventured to the Ares club during my time there. I never saw any point in it. This was different. A handsome, intelligent man was taking me there as his guest. This had never happened to me before. I just went with the flow.

There were two chilled Margaritas waiting for us at the table. Mine was wonderful, as was dinner. Yes, I was intoxicated, but the intoxication wasn’t all due to alcohol. I came to many realizations that night. One brought me back to the time I had proposed to Becky. When she accepted my proposal, I was complete. Regardless of my gender issues, Becky completed me. Now there was Rick Andrews, and I was a different person.

Rick paid the driver when he let us off at my place. I had gone to the restroom after desert while he was taking care of the bill. He rose as I approached the table and extended his hand to me. He raised his eyebrows briefly as I deposited a small wrapped item imported from Earth into his hand. There would be no misinterpreting my intentions.

We swapped spit on the way back to my flat. I know, that’s crude, but truthfully, I couldn’t get enough of him.

“Would you like some coffee?” I asked.

“Maybe tomorrow morning. Right now, I would like to make love to you. I had an image of you in my mind for a long time. When you met me in California, I knew my fantasies were justified. I just had to find a way to get your attention. I shouldn’t have waited so long, but I finally got up the courage to ask you out for a drink. I knew that night you were the one.”

“I think I knew it that night, too. Look,” I said as I turned around, “do you think you can pull that zipper down? It’s rather difficult for me to reach.”

Rick embraced me, and put a wonderful lip lock on me that, as before, curled my toes. His hand gently pulled the zipper down, and the dress puddled at my feet. I was wearing a thong and my stockings. He easily picked me up, carried me to my bedroom, and placed me on my large bed.

“I don’t think this is fair. You are far more clothed than I.” I slipped off the bed and gradually released his clothes from his body. I was not disappointed. I wasn’t sure about having something that size in me; but I was damn sure going to give it a try. There were a few apparati in the drawer next to my bed, but I had a feeling I would never use them again.

Of course I had no comparison; however, I didn’t need any. He was good, far better than I ever expected or deserved. We made love three times; twice before we fell asleep and again in the morning.

“So, where do we go from here?” I asked as I gave him a second cup of coffee.

“I’m probably being presumptuous, but I was thinking about asking you to marry me. I was hoping this meant something to you.”

“You have no idea how much this meant to me. You are the first man I ever made love to. It was beyond any expectations I may have had. It wasn’t just the sex thing; which I must admit was fabulous. It’s the fact you confirmed my sexuality. I have thought a great deal about you ever since we first met. It just took a long time for me to realize the effect you had on me. I can’t think of any reason not to accept your proposal. I think we have a lot to learn about each other, and I think what we did last night and this morning is a great way to continue to learn about each other.

“I feel it’s very important for us to continue our bonding. I would suggest you move in here as quickly as possible. That will free up your unit, and we can continue to learn more about each other.

“There’s one other thing, If we are to be together, we need to be looking at a conflict of interest. I’ve been here for more than 12 earth years. It’s time I returned to Earth. EM Industries needs to give someone else the experience of managing this place. The second and third colonies will be ready to come on line soon, and they will have to get more experienced personnel to manage those operations.”

I advised HQ that I would be coming home. I’d been here for more than twelve years as I said, and it was time. Secondly, I told them that Rick and I would be married shortly, that it would be improper for him to be in my chain of command. Of course he would be coming with me back to earth. Thirdly, I hoped that EM Industries had positions for us that were appropriate for our experience and pay grade. They didn’t have any problem with it.

EM Industries could send supplies year round with their robot transports; however, the only decent time for human and animal transport was when Mars and Earth were fairly close in their orbits. When I began to realize something was going on, I seriously considered communicating with Sylvia. Then as I said it before, it would just take too long. Besides, Becky had explained things so well, and there was no question she was absolutely correct. I had finally grown up. I was so happy, and there was no question Rick was too. I did my best to keep him happy.

It would be several months before we could catch a ride back to earth, and I had a lot to do in the meantime. I figured my second in command was the logical choice to replace me; however, I thought she would also be the logical choice to take over the second colony. HQ agreed. Instead, we promoted Rick’s supervisor. Rick thought the world of him, as did I.

Perhaps I should explain a bit about the transportation between Mars and Earth, and Earth and Mars. Our ships at that time were able to accelerate at only a small fraction of G. Travelling was never in a straight line. There was an orbit that had to be calculated. Fortunately, the computers took care of all that. At the closest, there were about 55 million kilometers between the planets. There was this problem, though. Earth was moving about twice as fast as Mars because of its smaller orbit. There were a lot of orbital mechanics to be considered, but I didn’t have to worry about it. What was available was what was available. One other thing about our spacecraft. It had a counter rotating midsection that allowed the passenger area to simulate approximately 0.5 G, and that was more than we experienced on Mars. Rick and I had a passage scheduled, and we would be on it.

In the meantime, we had quite a bit to take care of. We were married three months after he proposed. Of course, Becky was my maid of honor, and Arnold was Rick’s best man. We had a wonderful non-sectarian ceremony. A few weeks later Becky and her family bid us farewell at the elevator. She and Arnold had decided long before they would remain on Mars. Their children were developing in the 0.38 G environment. They would always be tall and rangy. They did visit us on earth over the years, but the gravity was always difficult for them.

The trip for us would take seven weeks. We accelerated at very small G for several weeks, then decelerated at the same for the remainder of the trip to the elevator. It was a wonderful vacation. I was thoroughly pregnant by the time we arrived on earth. I couldn’t believe how happy I was. Rick was wonderful as he supported me through the good and bad times, mostly good, as my pregnancy advanced. We were going to have a little girl. Her name was Rebecca. There would be no doubt about that. By this time I had become the Director of East Coast Operations. This included the launch facilities in Florida for near earth orbit launches. EM Industries handled most of the operations there; however, there wasn’t really that much going on. My group also managed the two elevators. We currently had one in Ecuador, and another in Africa. We’d install another in Indonesia.

To say things went well would be an understatement; however, there is quite a bit that needs to be cleaned up in the figurative sense. There are still questions to be answered.