Chapter 2

A couple of weeks after my birthday party, I was sent a letter telling me that the College was moving to contract cleaners in the next term and gave me a contact number if I wanted to apply to work for them. I had enough experience now to know that they worked you all hours, paid a pittance and were very picky about your work.

That was one job down. I could get by, just, on what Uncle Don paid me, but I’d have to start looking around for something else. I’d talk to the Steam Museum, but most of their internal work was done by volunteers. No. I needed something that paid. The summer break had been good, as it gave me free time in the middle of the day. Sometimes I would go home and do my housework or garden, what little there was, but I would often do a couple of turns around the Village.

It was funny how long that took me, some days. There were shop assistants with time on their hands, standing at the doorways and happy to share a word with a familiar face. They all knew what I did in Krispy Kreme by now, and some would go there in the lunch period for an instant sugar hit, something I did, but not often. I would be given the out-of-date stock with a very sweet shake.

There was one girl at the sports outfit store who I spoke to a bit. Abigail was a fit young lady who had looked after me when I bought a pair of sneakers for working and walking. She sometimes volunteered with the walking group who came to the Village three days a week, and they often ended their walk at the Krispy Kreme, just before opening time, to put back any calories that they had walked off. I was almost ready to ask her out, but I was working seven evenings a week, starting as she was finishing.

One day, I was finishing off setting up for a new day and talking to the girls getting ready to sell our slice of heaven, when Uncle Don turned up, asking me to go and wash my hands, then come back. I did as he asked, and he led me to an area I had never been before. It was the office where the Village was administered. I was wondering whether I had done anything wrong but was happier when the Village Manager shook me by the hand and asked me how I was.

“Hedley, Don has brought you here because there’s something we both think that you’re ready for. As you know, we have a small team of assistants who help the public find their way around and also help with shops that are doing special events. One of them, Otto, is retiring next week and we’re asking if you would take the job.”

I knew Otto, and had spoken to him, as I had with all the concierges. I was a little overwhelmed by the suggestion that I could do something so public.

“What about my job with you, Uncle Don?”

“It’s summer holidays, lad. I can get any number of young fourth formers to do that work. No, Hedley, I won’t stand in your way if you move onwards.”

“Can you tell me the hours?”

“You will work the full opening times, five days a week, with Tuesday and Wednesday off. That means a fifty-hour week. If there’s a holiday on the day you should be working, you will get paid for it at your normal rate. All work after six is on overtime. If there’s a special event happening and you need to be in on your days off, you’ll get overtime for those. The job entails you standing at the kiosk in the area you look after, handing out maps and answering questions.”

“Otto has been working the boutique area. Will that be my place.”

“It will. If you say that you’ll do it, we can pair you with him for his last week, then start the next week as the man who has the answers to everything. I’ve stood in a few times, and you have no idea what people ask you. Telling them where to go is the easiest part.”

I looked at Don and he nodded as he smiled.

“I’ll do it. Thank you for the opportunity. I won’t let you down.”

“I’m sure you won’t, Hedley. A lot of the shopkeepers have asked me who was going to take over from Otto, and most of them suggested you. You have made a lot of friends in the Village.”

Don left us to organise the paperwork, putting me on the payroll. He needed my government numbers, and I was also measured for my new uniform. Before I was set free, I was taken to the special entrance I would be using, that came into the locker rooms and toilets that the concierges and security men used.

He left me with a couple of the security men, who showed me the CCTV control room. I had never realised that I had been under such constant surveillance. One of the operators told me that it was good to meet me in person, seeing how often he had seen me on the screens. They gave me a small radio unit and clip-on microphone. They also had a new earbud for me to put in my locker when I took over. We spent a little time with me wearing the unit and listening to the constant chatter.

“There are a few rules. Keep the microphone muted, we don’t need to hear you peeing. If someone asks you something you can’t answer, unmute the microphone and get them to repeat it. We will look up the answer on the computer. You just look as if you’re thinking about it, and we’ll give you the information. We expect that you can tell them how to get to every shop and the eating area. If there is an alarm, unmute and keep it that way until the alarm is over. That way, you can tell us something on the run. The conversations in your bud will let you know what’s going on over the entire site. You’ll get used to it pretty quickly.”

They showed me where the radios were kept on charge, and mine would be marked ‘Hedley’ when I started. I gave them back the unit and put the bud in a pocket. I walked back into the retail area in wonder, now knowing that I was being watched. It was hard not to give them a wave.

I strolled along my usual path, with a lot of the store managers asking me if I had taken the job. When I told them that I would start after Otto had retired, several of the women gave me a hug and welcomed me to the village proper. When I got to Abigail, she didn’t just hug me but gave me a kiss.

“I hope that you have Tuesday and Wednesday off, Hedley. Now you can ask me out.”

“I would love to, Abigail. I have a week doubling with Otto, then I’ll have the next two days off before I start on my own. I hope that I can be as good as he has been, I’ve never done something so public before.”

“You’ll be great, Hedley. Just be the person that we see every day and you can’t go wrong.”

She gave me another quick kiss and went to serve a customer. I carried on in a bit of a daze. I worked my usual times up to Monday night, Uncle Don telling me that I had better get used to having a couple of days off. On Tuesday morning, I didn’t have the alarm on and slept late, cleaning up after breakfast and wondering what I would fill the day with. I went into Swindon and walked the city area, making note of all the cafés and restaurants, cinemas, and theatres that I could take Abigail to. I picked up fliers for upcoming events and made sure that I knew the nearby parking areas.

On Thursday, I arrived at the new entrance at nine, to give myself time to try on the uniform and look presentable. Otto was there, with a twinkle in his eye. He gave me a man-hug and helped me put the uniform on. It was really just a hard-wearing suit and comfortable shoes, with the radio clipped to the waistband, the microphone behind the lapel, and the bud in the ear.

I followed his lead as we tested the comms, and we went into the Village. We made sure that we were now on mute, and he spoke about the good years he had spent doing this job. At his station, there was small desk and a seat. In a drawer, there were maps of the Village and some fliers for various outlet events. We sorted out those that had passed and put them in a bin.

“Now, young Hedley, we take a walk as the retailers are opening, have a chat and find out if they have anything for the coming week that we should know about.”

It took us until about half past ten to see everyone and get back to the desk, to answer our first questions of the day. When we got to half past twelve, he pulled out a sign which said, ‘Gone for lunch, be back at one’, and went to the eating area to get something. It wasn’t as long as I had usually taken, but I would get used to it. It would also stop me dithering over what I wanted to get. Later in the afternoon, we put out the sign, ‘Gone for tea, be back at six’. At closing time, we put everything away and headed back to the locker room to change. Otto told me that it had been good how I was accepted by the shop owners and managers, and the few questions I had been asked we answered in a properly helpful manner.

Over the next four days, we did it all again. The weekend was very busy, as usual, and he let me do almost everything, going off to say his goodbyes to the salespeople. On Monday, we gathered in the administration area at five thirty, to give him a going away present and a round of hugs and handshakes. For the first time, from then until closing time, I was master of my own little world.

As I was tidying up, Abigail visited me.

“In charge now, Hedley?”

“Certainly am, Abigail. Just me to keep the clamouring masses under control.”

“Have you thought about where you’re taking me?”

I had a flier in my pocket, along with two tickets for the show on Wednesday evening. It was a local band who were breaking into the charts, and the tickets were very hard to get. She put her hands either side of my head and gave me a proper kiss. I said that I had a scooter, and she said that she had a car, so I gave her my address to pick me up. She said that she would be early, so I could take her to a place she knew, and we could eat before the show.

I spent most of Tuesday cleaning the house and making sure that it was fit for inspection. I hadn’t had a real visitor before. Not even my uncle and aunt, as I had never had the free time to entertain. I was on tenterhooks all day Wednesday and she was true to her word, arriving early. She pulled up in the driveway a little after two, and I let her in. I got her a drink and she sipped it as I showed her the house, the back garden, and then we were upstairs, in my bedroom.

“So, you live here, all alone?”

“Yes, I was able to buy it with money from my mothers’ insurance, after my parents were killed in a car crash, a bit over two years ago.”

“So, nobody is liable to walk in if we go to bed, then?”

“The only ones likely to knock on the door would be witnessers.”

“Then we won’t let them witness anything, will we. Are you a virgin?”

“Yes. I had a very cloistered upbringing, and since then there’s been no time except work time.”

“I thought so. You have that scared look in your eyes, right now. I’m not a virgin, but don’t let that put you off. I can tell you what to do. Don’t worry, it’ll all be all right.”

As we were talking, she was disrobing both of us. When we were naked, we held each other close. Well, as close as the thing that had grown between us would allow. I lost my virginity with a girl who knew just what she wanted, and what I needed. We were so successful, we rested, cuddled together, and did it again, a lot slower.

She drove me to the place she had picked for dinner, and we had a nice meal before going to park close to the theatre. During the show we danced with a lot of others in the aisles. When we got back to the house, we made love again before she left me, a smile on her face, and I needed to change the sheets before I could get to sleep.

It was lucky that I had put the alarm on for Thursday morning, as I didn’t want to get out of bed. But beggars can’t be choosers, so I had a shower, breakfast, and got dressed to ride into the Village and start my first full week on the job. It was odd, seeing Abigail in the familiar place and knowing that we had been to bed together. She just gave me a bright smile, a peck on the lips and we carried on as usual.

I worked through the week without any problems, and we arranged for her to come to my place on Tuesday morning, without any planned outing. She arrived, we went to bed, and she didn’t leave until Wednesday evening, phoning for take-aways when we wanted to eat. By the time she left, we had agreed that she would move in the next week. She reminded me of my mother, not in any physical way. No, she had that forceful air that some teachers have twenty-four seven. We did go out for a walk on Wednesday morning, so that I had some recovery time, and we explored some of the nearby streets, which she declared would be a good circuit for our morning runs.

So, the following Tuesday, she turned up in a van and we moved her things into the house, where they fitted, or behind the scooter if they didn’t. She had a bunch of clothing and underwear to go into the bedroom, and my bathroom now sported a shelf full of cosmetics. My nearly empty shampoo went into the bin and was replaced by a sweeter smelling one and a conditioner. I had got some supplies in, so cooked us lunch before she drove us in the van to where she had borrowed it, introduced me to her friend, and we left in her car, which now went into the second garage. We didn’t get out of bed until Wednesday lunchtime.

Over that session, my lust became love. Now, we could both get up together and get ready for work. It was so new, so different, and so right. She drove us to the Village, where she was a little earlier than usual, but I needed to get the uniform on and check that I had everything I needed. When we went home, that night, she told me that she had negotiated with her store manager to open up and tidy up before opening time.

We settled down like an old married couple, reducing our sex to just once a day. The job worked well for me. I was able to answer the questions, give sage advice when asked what store would suit the teenage girls that were asking, and I also was able to help out with crowd control when some of the stores had special events which required organised entry.

As the time passed, I was happier than I had ever been. We hosted my uncle and aunt for a dinner one Wednesday and it went well. They were happy for me. As the weeks went by, I became more than just a helper in the Village, I became a trusted employee and friend to many. Willing to lend a hand anytime, happy to stand in for other concierges if they needed time off. We got into October, and I was getting ready for my day, when I saw a notice in my locker. It was for a general meeting after the close that night. When I saw Abigail, I asked her if she was having a meeting and she said she wasn’t but would wait with me until mine was over.

At eight, we gathered in the eating area, as the other shopkeepers were leaving. The meeting was about the Spooktacular for Halloween. We would be having a four-day event, with a spider hunt for the kiddies, and the shops would be having their own specials. There would be a crew coming in, overnight, to spray fake spiderwebs and hang pumpkins with battery-powered LED lights in them. We concierges were to be wearing spooky outfits for the four days. The list was read out, and I was down to be ‘Deadly Hedley’ with an exaggerated undertakers outfit, which would be supplied.

Abigail could hardly stop giggling on the drive home, calling me ‘Dead head’ a few times. That night I produced one head that certainly wasn’t dead. The next day, she found out that she was set to play a witch during the four days. We both found out that we would be bringing the costumes home and were expected to arrive in character each day. As it got closer to the event, we concierges were given more information, along with a big bunch of informative leaflets. When I took the costume out to the car, Abigail already had hers hanging in the back.

In the morning, we dressed in character, and Abigail gave my face a ‘deadpan’ effect, then did hers with creepy eyes and an exaggerated lip line, accentuated by a long black wig that she had obtained. We got a few funny looks from other car drivers as we went to work. When we arrived, it was to a different place, with festooned webs, hanging lanterns, skeletons, and most of the shop staff in costume. Today, we would be inundated with children and stressed mothers.

It all went as expected and was a lot of fun. The other three days went as well, with the actual Halloween day the highlight, with a big party in the eating area and prizes given out. I spent all the time trying to sound like the tall guy from the Addams Family, with a lot of laughter. Abigail slightly altered her make-up to look like the wife and would come over and be suitably sexy.

When the event was over, and we had taken our costumes back to a now normal village, the manager came out to me and we went to the sports shop, where he gave the two of us a Village voucher for being such good sports. That’s when he told us that we would be seconded to help out when Santa visited. I asked him where I stood with the Santa event.

“Right there, at Santa’s Grotto, looking good in your outfit. Abigail will be able to tell you how to make it work for you and do your make-up in the morning. You’ll have plenty of time to get into character, and your day won’t start until Santa arrives, at eleven. You will finish each day at five and can go home. I’ve already cleared it with Abigails’ manager.”

Later in the day, I found out who was going to play Santa. It was one of the security team with the body to suit the job. I asked him if he had done it before, and about having a bloke playing a helper.

“Done the job a few times, Hedley. It’s a good gig if you stay focussed on the kiddies. The little beggars get into the strangest places. We have had guys playing a helper in the past. Most do it as a panto dame, all exaggeration and queer voice, to make it fun. I remember one that nailed the feminine persona, and he went on to be on TV a year later, in that show with Danny La Rue. You play it as feel most comfortable with. To do the dame, you need to be a comedian, to do it femme, you need to believe in yourself. I just sit there and go ho ho ho a lot. Money for jam.”

I spoke to Abigail about in when we were in bed. She thought that making me female would be easier than making me funny. As we were into November, we had about six weeks to transform me.

The first thing I did was to look up pictures of the other years, in the Village files. The costume was not something that I thought I would look good in, but Abigail took a picture of me naked, and then used a program on her computer to see how I looked in it, then to alter my hair and the make-up until we were both surprised at the result.

Working where we did, Abigail was able to shop at the lingerie outlets to get shapers for me. When she dressed me in them and I looked in the mirror, I was amazed at the difference they made to my shape. She measured me and gave those measurements to admin for the costume. In the third week of November, I had an appointment with her favourite salon. She had let them know why I was there.

If I wasn’t with Abigail, I would never have thought about doing this. If I hadn’t generated the person that I now was, from the wimp I had been, I wouldn’t have even considered submitting my body to the process of being made hairless. I was told that one thing makes people think that you’re a girl, beyond a bubble butt and boobs, is make-up and earrings. So, I walked out of there hairless, and with a stud in each ear. I had a wig in a bag, similar to hers.

I can’t pretend that I didn’t feel different, that, somehow, these changes were creating a new Hedley. Abigail must have been reading my thoughts because she smiled.

“Way to go Medley, we’ll make a babe of you yet.”

We had done most of the things we could, without the costume. One day, when we left the Village, Abigail had a garment bag and a shoe shop bag. She hung the garment bag in my side of the wardrobe. When I queried that, she told me that I’ll know the answers on Tuesday. I could hardly think as we worked through the weekend, and I was not looking forward to our days off.

On Tuesday morning, Abigail was extra attentive with me and made sure I washed my hair twice before we dried it and put a skull cap on me. I had to shave twice to show a smooth face. She gave me the shapers I had worn before. The gaffe to hold me in and give me a bubble butt, the panties to hide the gaffe, the corset to thin my waist, and the bra with inserts to give me boobs.

What came next was new, a pair of stockings that made my legs look wonderful and would have made my hair stand on end, had I still had some. They were attached to suspenders that were hooked to the corset, and she opened the shoe box to give me red shoes with a three-inch block heel, which had straps around the ankle. When I stood up, I nearly fell over, and she had me walking up and down the upper corridor to get used to them.

I thought that things couldn’t make me feel more different, but there was more to come.

Marianne Gregory © 2024