Chapter 2 Lexie comes Out

After they had left, I sat down with a coffee to think about what I had committed to. It had all just started off as joining my cousins at the pub quiz, but somehow it now appeared that I had joined them in a lot more than that. I was on the point of deciding that it had all gone too far and ringing Julie to say that I had changed my mind when there was a knock on the door. I was in two minds as to whether to answer it. i was not looking forward to being seen as a man in a skirt and the humiliation that would follow. However I could not hide myself away forever. the girls had told me that I was quite passable as a woman and I had to face the world sometime or just give up.

I looked out from behind the net curtains and saw a supermarket delivery van and decided that it was as safe an option as any other for a test, after all, these guys were normally in a rush and usually just wanted to get the delivery over and done with and get on their way.

“Grocery delivery Pet, where do you want it all put? Some of the bags are quite heavy, I can carry them through to the kitchen for you if you like.”

In a bit of a panic I managed to squeak out “That’ll be great, just drop them on the kitchen table and I’ll sort them out. Sorry for the mess and all the clothes lying around, I’ve just had some friends round and haven’t sorted things out yet.”When he had brought all the bags through I had regained my composure somewhat and with a forced but genuine-looking friendly smile thanked him in what I hoped was a reasonably feminine tone.

“My pleasure Pet, I’ll maybe see you again next week. Enjoy the rest of your day”, he left and went on his way to his next delivery

That seemed to go ok, no shouting of “bloody pervert “or anything like that, no giggles or rolling of the eyes, and I said to myself. “Maybe this will work out.”. Feeling a little more relaxed I stored the groceries away in the cupboard, cleared some space in my wardrobe and drawers and put away all my new clothes. I was soon getting used to the feel of the skirt brushing my legs and my breasts bouncing and swaying as I moved around.

My mind was still a bit on edge, and thinking that I couldn’t concentrate on work, despite what Julie had said I changed into a pair of leggings and some flat walking shoes, put on my anorak and took myself off for a walk up the hills to the top of Chapel Fell.

After the trek to the top I found a big rock to sit on, took off my jacket and admired the views of Teesdale and North Yorkshire to the South, and North over Weardale and the Tyne Valley to the hills of Northumberland beyond. This was a world away from the large urban Midlands conurbation where I had been brought up. I was away from the hustle and bustle and cares of the real world, or so I thought.

“Are you alright bonny lass, you look in a bit of a daze, we were worried about you, sometimes the heat and the exertion can take it out of you?” I looked up to see a middle-aged couple, dressed for a days walk over the hills, carrying backpacks.

“ I’m fine thanks, I was just lost in a bit of a daydream, thinking things through and trying to make sense of my life. Are you heading far?”

“We are generally heading North over to Alston to pick up the Pennine Way again, to end up in border country, but are in no rush and taking it day by day. We were thinking of taking a break soon, do you know anywhere decent to stay the night?”

“You could try the Maltby Arms down in St Johns Chapel, it’s about an hour away, but it’s mostly downhill. It’s run by my cousin Julie and her husband Kelvin. Tell them Lexie sent you and they will see you right.”

“Thanks Lexie, we’re Jan and Mark, we run a guest house down in Lincoln. we’re having a bit of a break, getting lots of fresh air, no stress, and letting someone else look after us for a change. If we get a room at the Maltby Arms, maybe we will see you down there later. Enjoy the beauty and calm of the fells and the peaceful atmosphere up here, sort out your problems and the world will be a much better place.”

I sat there for about and hour, staring at the clear blue sky peppered with fluffy cumulus clouds, listening to the distinctive calls of the Peewits, coming to terms with my life, at least for the next week as a woman, and how I felt about it.

I remembered what Julie had asked about whether I had ever wondered what it would be like to be a woman and decided that, although it had never crossed my mind previously, this was a good opportunity to find out. Except for my cousins, nobody in the village really knew me, even the quiz regulars in the pub walked past me in the street without acknowledgement , not really recognising me.The delivery driver had just accepted me and called me ‘Pet’, Mark had called me ‘Bonny Lass’ and Jane and he had talked with me as if I was another friendly woman they met on their journey. I decided to just accept where I was and get on with things as normal, except for how I was dressed and looked.

I strolled back down to the village and was soon at home, a lot less stressed and confused than I had been when I had left for my walk. Back at home there was a missed call on my phone from Julie, so I gave her a ring back straight away.

“ Hi Julie what are you after?”

“ Firstly, thanks for sending Jan and Mark to us, they liked the room we gave them and booked in for a couple of nights. I was going to ask you how you were getting on, we may have steamrollered you a little bit and pushed you too far too quickly, but Jan was full of talk about the charming girl that they had met on the fell, and they wondered if you wanted to come over and have dinner with them tonight.”

“ I don’t think that is a good idea, it’s one thing having a few minutes casual chat with someone, but it will be a lot harder to be convincing for a couple of hours talking over dinner. Besides, they’ll be asking questions about who I am, where I am from, what I do for a living, and things like that, what am I going to tell them?”

“ Just tell them the truth, except for the fact that you are really Alexander, not Lexie. The more you keep to the truth, the less likely you are to slip up. They seem a nice couple and I am sure that you will be alright with them. If you get uncomfortable or flustered I will just be behind the bar and can come over and rescue you.”

“I suppose that you are right, what harm can it do, they are strangers passing through, please tell them that I will be down there later. I’ve been up on the fells, so I’ll need to have a shower and get changed. I’ll be ok with Jan and Mark, but what about the regulars, won’t I get recognised, I don’t want any embarrassing scenes.”

“You’ll be fine, don’t worry, you are so like me and my sisters that anyone will probably just think that you are another one of us.”

“ I’m new to all this, what should I wear?”

“ You are definitely adjusting to life as a woman asking that. Put on that sky-blue peasant top and the cream summer skirt, and don’t forget fresh underwear too. If you are walking down to here you need comfortable shoes, just wear the sandals you had on earlier.”

I stripped off, put my hair up and wore a shower cap to try to keep the style that Jane had done for me, cleaned off my makeup and was soon feeling relaxed and fresh in the shower, washing away all my cares and worries. It was too early to get ready to go out, so I put on a fresh pair of panties and a towelling dressing gown that they had left me, while I sorted myself out.

I decided to have a go at painting my nails, as far as I could remember, the girls always had theirs done, and it would look odd if I didn’t bother. I gave them a good file to try to get a decent shape to them before covering them with a soft red polish they had left me. The first two goes were streaky and a complete mess, so I just cleaned them down and had another try. This time they turned out not too bad and I decided to do my toes too, they were a lot easier and turned out fine first time.

I tried to remember all the make-up tricks Jane had used on my face, but it did not turn out nearly as good as when she had done it. I thought “That is good enough, it will do.”, but then had second thoughts that “If i am going to do this, I need to learn to make a good job of it.”, cleaned it all off and started again. I suddenly realised that the time had flown by and that I needed to get dressed and make my way down to the pub for dinner. I quickly put on a clean bra, my skirt, top, and sandal, sgrabbed a handbag, put in my wallet, keys, phone and a few feminine essentials and set off .

I nervously walked down to the village, keeping an eye out for anyone who might recognise me, and stopped for a few minutes outside the door to the pub to catch my breath and build up the nerve to go in. I almost turned back, Julie however must have been looking out for me and rushed over, took my hand and tried to lead me in,

“ Come on in Lexie, it’s no good just standing out here.”

“ I can’t Julie. I am not ready for this and don’t feel comfortable.”

“Don’t be daft Lexie, Jan and Mark are waiting for you. You’re looking gorgeous, just like the rest of the Robson lasses, just get in there and act as if it is completely normal for you, something you do every day,.walk slowly and hold your head up high, come in, smile, and enjoy yourself.”

I was greeted with a hug from Jan and a light kiss from Mark. “We’re so glad you could join us, this is a delightful little country inn and Julie and Kelvin rhaveeally made us welcome, thanks for suggesting that we stay here. Would you like a drink before we order the food?”

I was just about to tell him what I would like when Kelvin came over with a large glass of Sauvignon blanc. “Just your normal Lexie, Pet, sit yourself down and Julie will be over in a few minutes to take your food order.” he said with a sneaky wink on their blind side.

I sat down and made myself comfortable tugging at the hem of my skirt as girls always seemed to do to ensure their modesty, and was struggling to think how to start the conversation.

“What do you recommend, Lexie, you must know what is best on the menu?”

“ Whatever you fancy really Jan, it is all tasty and well cooked. The dish of the day, the lamb casserole, is always good, the meat is from all the free-ranging sheep you have seen on the way down from the fell, and the veg is either home-grown or from someone in the village, no food miles and no big processing plants involved,.”

I waved over to Julie, and ordered three lamb casseroles, and as she left she gave me a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and mouthed silently “You are doing great, just relax.”

It was a pleasant meal, most of the conversation about walks they had covered and where they planned to go next, as well as general chat about who we all were, and what we did. As Julie had suggested I was quite open about my background, keeping as near to the truth as I could..

“You are obviously not from round here Lexie, Midlands I reckon, what led you up into the wilds.” Jan asked.

“Call of my genes really, my forefathers lived in the village and when I was looking to move I thought that I would like to see where they moved away from, and find out a bit more about them. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I’ve found long-lost family and been accepted into the community, I’m beginning to feel this is home already.”

“ What exactly is it you do?”

“ As I have told you, I’m an artist, mainly commercial technical stuff, but since coming here I have been doing a few landscapes as an escape and to satisfy my more artistic leanings, some of the paintings of the village hanging around the bar area are mine.”

“Did you do the one near the door, the ‘Cathy and Heathcliffe’ one? It really shows the stark grandeur of the fells around here and the two lovers rushing to meet really bring the scenery to life. I think it’s just lovely”

“ Yes, that is the first one I did when I settled here. Thank you so much, I really appreciate you saying that.”

“ This may sound a bit crass, but is it for sale, we would love to have it?”

“ That one actually belongs to Julie, the Landlady, you will have to ask her. However I assume that she will want to keep it as it has family significance, the girl in the picture is her great grandmother, and a great aunt of mine, a few generations back.”

“How wonderful for you all, you haven’t made any prints of it have you?”

“ No but my cousins want copies, I was going to just paint new ones, but it is getting to the stage where a print run might be easier. One way or another, I will get a copy to you, I assume Julie has your address and everything.”

“ We look forward to it.”

“I understand that you are staying for a couple of nights before continuing your walk,. There are some charming villages further down the dale, Frosterley , Stanhope and Wolsingham, it may be worthwhile having a look around while you are here.”

“Thanks for your company Lexie we have enjoyed meeting you, we may see you around tomorrow, if not take care and enjoy your new life here.”

“ Thank you for the meal and drinks it was a kind thought to ask me to join you, maybe we’ll see each other again before you move on.”

I want over and said goodnight to Julie and Kelvin and he took me aside. “Julie and the girls have done a really good job on you, but don’t let them push you too far, I know how persuasive they can be when they get bees in their bonnets. You actually look quite attractive, you certainly have a lot of the same genes as them, and you seem relaxed with people, but don’t forget who you really are.”

I left the bar a lot happier and more confident than when I had entered, and really pleased at how I had done, made my way home, thinking about what Kelvin had said to me..

I noticed when I had unpacked all the things that Julie and Jane had included a couple of light nighties. I thought that as I was stuck with my breast forms that I would strip off to just my panties and wear one of them, a light cotton mid-thigh floral patterned material with a sweetheart neckline and half sleeves. It fitted me well and was quite comfortable as I walked around to put everything away and go off to the bathroom to clean off all my makeup and tie up my hair in a high pony tail to try to keep it tidy overnight.

Probably with all the excitement of the day, the walk up the fell and the stress of my first time out in a skirt, I was exhausted and fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. That night I had a dream of Aunt Charlotte walking up to me, smiling with open arms outstretched, embracing me, before walking off into the mist.

I woke with a start, hearing someone at the front door and slowly made my way to see who was there. I saw Jan, and still half asleep and forgetting how I was dressed, I opened the door to her.

“ Hi Lexie, you left your bag at the pub last night, I told Julie that we were heading out this way and would drop it off for her to save her a trip.”

My brain had now come into focus and I suddenly remembered about last night and the way I was dressed and luckily answered her in what was my new female voice.

“Thanks ever so much Jan, I would have been wondering later what had happened to it. Apologies for answering the door to you dressed like this but I was still asleep when you knocked. Do you want to come in for a coffee or anything?”

“ No thanks, we had breakfast at the pub, we’ll be on our way for the day, and leave you in peace to get yourself together.”

I had been in the middle of another vivid dream about Charlotte up on the moor, but with the sudden shock awakening, I couldn’t remember many details. I quickly dressed, it felt strange to be putting on a bra and skirt, with a linen gypsy blouse, but as Julie had said, it needed to become second-nature to me. Whereas yesterday I had been constantly aware of what I was wearing, today it was becoming unremarkable and I got got on with things, oblivious to what I was had on.

To be continued.