The Haven: 1

 

Alex, a concert pianist, is engaged to Veronica, an up and coming opera singer, who
happens to be the granddaughter of one of the worlds most famous divas. When her
grandmother passes away and leaves her vast Berkshire estate to Veronica, she finds
a storage room with dozens of steamer trunks filled with her grandmother's touring
clothes from forty to sixty years ago, all of which fit Veronica beautifully.
Surprisingly, there are also some clothes that will fit Alex, as well. Alex is
dubious about wearing the clothes, but Veronica's enthusiasm gets the better of him.
A very different premise than my last story, but hopefully you will enjoy it.

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Author's Note:Please comment to let me know what you think of this story, good or bad, I read them all! ~Clara.
 
This version of The Haven: 1 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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Chapter 1
 

"Just a moment," the woman at the rent-a-car desk said, looking at Alexander's license with suspicion. "I need to speak to my manager for a moment."

Alexander shook his head. 'Great. Just great. Here we go again,' he thought. It was almost two in the morning and after nearly a day and a half on airplanes flying from Hong Kong to Japan to Dallas/Fort Worth to Chicago, then , finally to Bradley International Airport in Hartford. He was exhausted and wanted to get on his way to his fiancé's newly inherited home in The Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.

The manager, an older man with a half-tied tie and a look of someone who had been awake for about three years, looked in Alexander's direction, then looked at his license, again.

When you travelled by yourself, everything was a hassle, but when your were a twenty-two year old, renting a car was a huge falderal. Most automobile rental companies wouldn't rent to someone under twenty five, but Alexander was registered with this company. The computer had just told the clerk that he was a steady client, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he didn't look twenty-two and he knew it and he hated it.

The manager came over and cleared his throat. "Mr Claremont, I am sorry to keep you waiting, it's just that my assistant, Lorraine, wasn't aware of your..." he cleared his throat again. "Your car will be ready in just a few moments, Mr Claremont. The adaptations you requested only take a few minutes, but... well, it should have been ready and waiting for you, but... I've had a very busy shift, sir and I am sorry. Christmas week and all... I hope you can understand."

"It's fine," Alexander said with a wave of his hand. "If that's the only issue, that's fine."

The manager nodded, but continued to look at Alexander in an odd way. "Umm, Mr Claremont... may I just say..." he seemed to be stuck, as he looked at Alexander very closely. Alex just waited and eventually the man continued. "Sir... I am an armature pianist myself, and I have to say, I just downloaded your recording of Chopin Waltzes and... I found it truly astounding, sir."

Alexander blinked. That recording was released before his tour of smaller concert venues in Asia and the only sales he was really aware of were the CDs that he signed and sold in the theater lobbies. Was this man an actual fan!? Wow! That was a first. "Well, thank you, very much," Alex smiled. "That's very kind of you."

The man smiled, tiredly. "My pleasure, sir, but... if I may say as well... Having meet you... well... your key span..." Again he paused.

Alex prodded. "My... 'key span?' You mean how many notes I can span with my hand?"

The man cleared his throat, yet again, "Yes, sir. It's just that... well... after seeing how... petite... you are... Your key span is quite impressive."

Petite. Seriously? This guy working at a car rental desk in the middle of the night just called him, petite? Alexander just shook his head. He had two choices - 1) Tell this guy that he was being rude and write a complaint to the corporate offices, or 2) Get his car and get the hell out of here. He chose the second. "Thank you," Alex said. "How long will it be until my car is ready?"

Just then, the man's phone buzzed and he glanced at it. Then he looked up and half smiled. "It's ready now, sir. Just out that door. Here is you paperwork, license, passport and credit card. Thank you, sir and safe travels."

Alex grabbed the items and headed to the exit. "Thank you," he said as he left the counter.

When Alex reached the rental car, he tossed his small carry-on into the trunk and checked the driver's seat. The seat was as far forward as possible, the pedal extenders had been installed and there was a sticky note on the steering wheel indicating that the air bag had been disabled due to Alexander's size and weight.

He got in and adjusted the mirrors and took a moment to pair his phone with the car's Bluetooth system. He always got the same model, a Toyota Yaris. Most people complained about the cramped interior of the small car, but it suited Alexander perfectly.

He took a moment to enter his fiancé's new address in Lenox, Massachusetts and saw that his travel time was going to be one hour and ten minutes. Not too bad. He sent Veronica a text, 'LEAVING BRADLEY NOW. BE THERE IN ONE HOUR AND TEN MINUTES. LOVE YOU.'

Ready to go, he pulled out of the parking space and headed for the exit. Just as he hit the Highway, his phone rang. "Hello."

Through the radio's speaker's Veronica's voice spoke. "Hey there, big guy. You're back on terra firma, huh?"

He laughed. "I am. I'll be there before three thirty. Don't wait up. Just let me know what door is unlocked."

Ronnie's laugh filled his car. "I didn't really have the opportunity to fill you in on this place, babe, but... well... not only is it huge, I have a staff. My Head of Household knows that you're on the way. Pull into the driveway, follow it around back and June, that's my Head of Household's name... June... will meet you at the garage. She'll guide you from there to the master bedroom, ok?"

"Wow!" Alex laughed. "Aren't you a big shot!?"

Ronnie tsked. "Oh, stop it. My grandmother's will left The Haven to me, but also left a ton of money in trust to maintain the house and staff. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Just drive safely and I'll see you when you get here. Love you."

"Love you, too," Alex said and the call ended.

'Big guy.' That was Veronica's playful, pet name for him. He knew that it was a miracle that he and Veronica were a couple at all, let alone preparing for marriage. They'd met when Donnie was a twenty one year old junior at Julliard and Alex was a lowly sixteen year old freshman. Younger and smaller than his classmates, Alex should have been the very last person to have responded to Veronica's bulletin board post looking for an accompanist, but Alex knew his abilities well and decided to audition for her, anyway.

Everyone at Julliard knew about Veronica Harrington, of course. Granddaughter of the great opera star, Sophia LoContore, and already a rising opera star in her own right. Veronica was tall, gorgeous and had a demeanor about her that told the whole world that she was going to be a star, one way or another. And now, at twenty seven, she had starred in productions in the US, France, Spain, Russia, Italy and Australia. Alex was still her recital accompanist and worked with her for rehearsals, too. He only toured on his own when Ronnie had a prolonged performance commitment, such as the recent ten week run of 'La Traviotta' in which she received rave reviews as Violeta.

The large estate and household staff were probably inevitable, given Veronica's talent and drive, but to have it handed to her so young was a big surprise to everyone - especially Veronica's mother, Sophia's daughter. She'd expected everything to pass to her, of course, so there was a bit of friction between mother and daughter over this situation.

Veronica and Alexander had a plan to settle things, though. Christmas was just a few days away and both Veronica and Alexander's mothers were coming to The Haven, as the estate had been named when it was commissioned by Florence Adele Vanderbilt at the height of the Vanderbilt family's wealth and power during 'The Gilded Age' in the late nineteenth century, and they would announce their engagement. Veronica hoped that the possibility of a wedding might defuse her mother's jealousy. She also planned to offer her mother a wing of the estate to have as her own home.

As Alex passed through the town of Lenox and followed the directions his phone was presenting on his media screen, a moderately heavy snow started falling. This concerned Alex a bit, but he had less than three miles to go, so he persevered. It did slow him down, though, and he was nearly a half hour late as he pulled onto the long drive that lead from the main road to the estate, proper.

"Holy mother of Pearl," he whispered as he caught his first glimpse of the building. It was enormous! It looked as if a small village had been smooshed together into one mammoth building. It was dark and snowing, of course, but Alex could still make out the outline of the structure and he was shocked by its stature. Were they really going to live in this place? God, they could fit a thousand people in there and still have plenty of room!

As the driveway rounded the east side of the house, Alex saw a large flashlight being waved at him near the north corner, so he headed in that direction. When he reached the person signaling him, he found a formidable looking woman in her fifties who smiled as she knocked on the passenger window and asked him to roll it down. "Alexander?" The woman asked. When he confirmed that he was, indeed, Alexander, she said, "My name is June. I am the Head of Household here at The Haven. Please pull into the open garage bay and I will show you to your room."

Alex thanked her and pulled his little rental in beside some very impressive looking automobiles. He didn't know enough about cars to guess at the manufacturers, but there were cars that looked fairly new and some that looked very, very old. This was certainly going to be an interesting new life.

June opened his door for him and he slipped out of the car. He immediately noticed that June was surprised by his appearance.

"Is there a problem?" Alex asked, slightly annoyed, but probably due more to fatigue than anything else. He certainly was used to the shock on the faces of people who met him.

June shook her head. "I am very sorry, sir. No, of course not. Umm... Welcome to The Haven. Ms Harrington suggested that we we deal with your luggage tomorrow and just get you to bed right now."

Alex reached in and grabbed his his small carry on bag. "No worries," he smiled. "Most of my luggage was shipped and won't be here for a day or two. This is all I have with me."

June nodded, took the carry on by its side handle, rather than the roller handle, saying, "Allow me, sir. Please follow me."

He followed June through what appeared to be a few large pantries, then the kitchen and down a long hallway until they reached a massive foyer with a grand staircase. Just before going up the stairs, June asked, "Are there any articles in you bag that need laundering, sir?"

Alex laughed. "Yes... I suppose it all needs to be laundered at some point."

June placed the bag to the side of the staircase and said, "I shall have it taken care of tomorrow, sir."

As she continued up the stairs, Alex said, "Umm... I do have a few things I may need that are still in the carry on."

"I think you will find that everything you need is waiting for you in your room. Toiletries, toothbrush, even a pair of pajamas that Ms Harrington chose for you are all waiting for you in your room."

Alex shrugged. What difference did it make? If he needed something, he'd just go get it out of the bag. Besides, he really just wanted to crawl into bed next to Veronica and sleep for at least a day or two. He followed June up the stairs and down a long hall.

"This is your room, sir," June opened a door and indicated that he should enter.

He did, but stopped when he saw that the bed was empty. "Where is Veronica?"

June smiled. "Just across the hall, sir. Ms Harrington felt that, with both of your mothers joining you later in the week, it might be appropriate for you to have your own room.

Alex laughed. "I suppose so." He figured that he would just brush his teeth, put on the pajamas that he saw on the end of the bed, then cross the hall and join Ronnie in her bed. Later in the week, when the mother's were there... well... then he would resign himself to sleeping in his own bed.

June entered behind him and showed him where his en-suite lavatory was and offered to help him change.

Alex snickered. "No thank you, June. I can handle that just fine."

She nodded. "I will just wait in the hall until you're all set, sir." Alex was about to argue, but June held up his hand and said, "It is my job, sir. When you are ready, please just say my name and I will come back in to see if you need anything else."

"Ok, fine," Alex shook his head.

He washed his face and brushed his teeth, took off his travel clothes and dropped them into the hamper, then returned to his bed.

The pajamas were a bit odd. Light blue, cotton, big and a bit loose fitting, different than he was used to. Much more expensive looking and just... nicer.

Alex pulled the bottoms on. They were a bit loose, but the elastic waist would hold them up. Oddly, they did not have a button fly, but he could certainly drop them if he needed to pee. The top was the same color and material as the bottoms. He pulled it on and buttoned the small button at the top. It wasn't as comfortable as the bottoms were. The neck line chocked him a bit.

He was about to cross the hall when he remembered that June was still waiting. He sighed and said, "June. I'm ready."

The Head of Household walked into the room with her consistently officious manner and nodded. "Everything fits, then, sir?"

"Yes," Alex said, "I guess. The collar is a chocking me a bit, but..."

June hurried to inspect him. "I see the problem, sir. If I may..." she held one sleeve, then the other, having him retract his arms from the sleeves. Then she spun the shirt one hundred and eighty degrees on his body and helped him to get his arms back into the sleeves. "How's that, sir?"

Alex moved his neck a bit and felt how well the top fit now. "Much better. Thank you."

"My pleasure, sir," she nodded. "Is there anything else you need...?" When Alex didn't respond, she continued, "... then I shall be getting back to bed myself."

She turned to leave, but Alex stopped her. "June... look... I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I am... a bit sensitive about my height... well, my lack there of, I guess. Anyway..."

"Sir," June held up her hand, "none of this is my business."

"Four foot, ten and one half inches," Alex said, stopping June's words. "And eighty two pounds. I'm small, but mighty - at least when I'm at a piano."

June smiled. "I'm sure you are, sir. For your information, there is a Steinway in the old ballroom and a Chickering in the salon. Both have been well maintained and are tuned once a month. I'm sure you will enjoy them, sir."

Wow! That was impressive! "Thank you, June. Good night."

She smiled. "Good night, sir."

She exited the room, closing the door behind her. Alex listened as the clack of her heels on the hardwood floors disappeared down the hall. When the sound was gone entirely, he opened the door, crossed the hall and opened the door to the master bedroom.

It was dark, but he could sense that the room was large and he could hear Veronica breathing softly in the huge bed to his left. He closed the door and walked over to the bed. He literally had to climb up into the bed, pulling back the covers and pulling them back on top of him.

He felt the body next to him roll towards him and lay an arm across his torso. "Hi," Veronica whispered, sleepily. "You found me."

I kissed her cheek. "I did. You were well hidden, though."

Donnie moved herself closer and gently turned Alex away from her so that she could snuggle more closely and spoon against him. "I missed you. I'm glad you're home."

"Me too," Mitch whispered. "I love you."

She kissed his neck. "You didn't cut your hair, did you?"

He laughed. He'd always had longer hair, but Veronica liked it longer than he had worn it before. "No. It's in a bun."

"Good," she giggled. "Good night, big guy."

"Good night, little lady," Alex smiled, feeling her pull his small body tightly to her larger form. He was truly happy to be back home. Even if the behemoth of a building wasn't exactly 'home,' anywhere that Veronica was was home to him.

Alex slept like a bear in winter. He didn't stir at all when Veronica got out of bed and only finally started regaining consciousness when he heard a conversation taking place in the room. He may have even slept through that if it were not for the fact that the conversation was in Russian, a language in which he only knew about twenty words. The strangeness of the chatter made him open his eyes.

He squinted and saw Veronica sitting across the room in a chair that looked similar to a styling chair in a woman's salon with a much older woman standing behind her. The older woman spoke Russian in a fluent and fluid manner while Veronica replied more slowly, searching for words as she spoke.

Veronica noticed that Alex was stirring and she put her hand up to indicate to the woman that she wanted to speak to the person in the bed. "I'm sorry, babe," Veronica said. "I wasn't supposed to see Natasha until later, but the snow is coming down hard, so she came early and this where Sophia put her mini-salon. I was trying not to wake you. " she sat back in the chair and let the woman continue her work.

Alex sat up. "What time is it?"

"Just after noon," Veronica apologized. "I really wanted to let you sleep longer."

He sat up and adjusted his pillows so he could sit up. He looked around the huge room, which was probably bigger than the house he grew up in. "Nice little place you have here," he joked. "Intimate. Cozy."

Veronica laughed as the hairdresser leaned her back into an actual hairdresser's sink. "I know. It's pretty massive, but we can make it our own, any way we want to. Wait till you see the recital hall and the rehearsal room, though, babe! You're going to flip!"

The hairdresser said something in Russian and Veronica responded with, "Da."

He nodded. "Your aide-de-camp told me that there were a couple of impressive pianos. I'm looking forward to seeing them. I've been working on a few pieces by Liszt and I'm hoping to put together an entire 'Evening with The Hungarian Phenomenon.'" He held up is fingers to indicate that the last part would appear on a marquee.

"Wow!" Veronica said from her reclined position. "That's ambitious! If any one can do it, though..."

The hairdresser spoke to Veronica again, who replied in a manner that indicated that she was confused by what had been said. A few more clarifications and Veronica said, "If you'd like, Veronica could give you a shampoo and trim your split ends."

Alex considered the feeling of a profession shampoo, the massaging nature of it and that sounded like a great idea.

"Ok, sure," he nodded. "That sounds nice. I can shower tonight."

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, more to get attention then to request entrance, and June came into the room followed by a young lady carrying a tray with tea, toast and jam on it.

"What's this?" Alex asked.

"Your breakfast," June smiled. "I heard you speaking, so I called down and had Melissa bring this up."

The young lady smiled and said, "Here you go, sweetheart. Eat up so you grow up nice and pretty like your auntie."

Alex was about to correct the girl when he realized that she was a bit... simple. Instead, he smiled and just said, "Thank you."

"Thank you Melissa, that will be all." June said, dismissively. When the young woman had left, June looked at Alex. "My niece," she smiled. "She's a good girl. She can learn to do anything if you're patient."

Alex thanked June and said he understood. Then she nodded and left the room.

"Umm, Ronnie...," Alex asked, coyly, "can you really afford to live this way? I mean the house is massive and how many people actually work here?"

Veronica shrugged. I really don't know if I can, yet. My accountant says that the trust to maintain the house is pretty big, but Sophia's estate is pretty complicated. There's only four people on the staff right now - June and Melissa, then there's the woman who cooks and the woman who takes care of the grounds. My accountant is still figuring things out. For now, though, I intend to enjoy it."

"What about Natasha?" Alex asked, prompting the hairdresser to glance in his direction.

"Not an employee," Veronica laughed. "She has a salon in town and she was Sophia's hairdresser for over a decade. I thought I'd give her a try, too. She did my hair last week for a meeting in New York and I loved it. I asked her back to get me ready for meeting 'The Mothers' tomorrow. I'm having her redo my color. It was getting a bit dull."

Alex nodded and nibbled on the toast. "She doesn't speak English at all?"

"Nope," Veronica replied. "There's actually a pretty big Russian community out here, so she's never needed to learn. Sophia was fluent in like a dozen languages. I'm struggling with the Russian, but it's forcing me to learn."

Natasha interrupted, saying something to Veronica and indicating Alex. Again, Veronica had to ask for clarification, but then she laughed. "Natasha says that when you finish your tea, you should brush out your bun. She says it's not healthy for hair to be wound up in an elastic like that.

Suddenly, Natasha reached for something, then brought a very large, very ornate, very old fashioned brush to Alex in the bed. She held it out to him and said something that sounded angry, although all Russian sounded a little angry and dropped the brush on the bed and then said in a harsh voice. "Brrrrush.... Forrr.... Hairrrr..." Her 'R's rolling as she spoke.

"Da," Alex replied and nodded. Natasha smiled and returned the nod. When he was finished with his tea, he set his tray aside, pulled out the elastic that held his bun in place and began brushing. The brush he'd been given though was so ornate and heavy that he eventually gave up and waited his turn in the shampooing seat.

Eventually, Natasha sat Veronica back up, saying something Alex couldn't catch. Natasha nodded and looked at him. "I have to let my color set. She says that you should come over and get into the chair."

Alex stood, but held up one finger. "Just a second. I have to use the little cossack's room." He heard Veronica explaining this to Natasha as he scurried into the lavatory to relieve himself.

When he returned, he heard Veronica finishing saying something in her broken Russian.

"Da. Da. Da." Natasha said, indicating the front of her face.

Veronica stood as Alex approached the chair. All five foot ten of her was perfect to Alex, even with her hair wrapped turban-like in a towel. "I asked her is she could try combing your bangs over to the side for a different look."

Alex blinked as he sat. "I've always parted my hair in the middle, then just pulled it up into a bun."

"Hence my use of the word 'new,'" Veronica laughed. "We've both been in a rut, babe. Let's use this new house and everything as a chance to break out of the rut and start over, brand new. What till I show you all the recital gowns I've found in a storage room. Steamer trunk after steamer trunk full of amazing performance gowns and since Sophia and I were the same size, they all fit! I'll never have to wear the same dress twice! Isn't that cool!"

Alex smiled as Natasha brushed his hair a bit more forcefully than he would have liked. "That's great, Ronnie. Hey, speaking of clothes, where did you find these pjs?"

Veronica gave him a coy smile. "Do you like them?"

He shrugged. "Sure. They're very comfortable. Where did they come from."

"One of the trunks," she giggled. "I figured they'd fit you nicely. Sometimes, when Sophia was going on tour for an extended time, she'd take her kids along. Most of the trunks are Sophia's clothes, but some are smaller. It's so cool, babe! Every trunk is filled with clothes from the tours. They were all laundered and ironed then hung or laid neatly in the trunks in case they had to go back out on the road again."

Alex nodded. "Well, if the gowns look as crisp and new these pjs do, then you'll have a good selection to choose from."

"They are," Veronica said, excitedly. "Wait till you see them. Some of them even have noted pinned to them - 'Ed Sullivan Show' and the date. 'Carol Burnette Show' and the date. It's really cool."

"Very cool," Alex agreed. "So, did these pjs, like, belong to one of your uncles or something?"

"Nope," Veronica picked up a bound opera score that sat on the table and began thumbing through it. "Sophia only had two kids. My mom and my Aunt Kitty. Aunt Kitty died in a car accident when she was like six or seven. It was the same accident that killed Sophia's second husband - my grandfather."

"Sooo..." Alex was getting impatient. "Who's pjs am I wearing?"

"My mom's I assume," Veronica smiled.

Alex shot Natasha an embarrassed look, but it was obvious that she was not understanding the conversation. "Are you telling me that I am wearing a set of women's pajamas?"

"No, don't be silly," Veronica laughed, keeping her face directed at the score, but making sure she could see her fiancé before she dropped her big joke. "According to the date on the trunk, my mother hasn't worn those since she was eleven. You're wearing a set of girls' pajamas and you look adorable in them."

Alex had a thing about masculinity. He found most forms of it toxic and unappealing, but being as small and thin as he was, he hated being mistaken for a girl. He glanced, again, at Natasha and then back at Veronica. "I can't believe you did this," he hissed.

"I can't believe you didn't know," she laughed. "I mean, the bottoms don't have a fly and the top has a keyhole opening that buttons in the back. You must have noticed!" She was laughing, but the laughter was playful, not mean spirited.

Alex thought back to the wee hours of that morning when June had helped him spin his shirt around so it would fit better. Damnit, why hadn't he realized that the button he'd assumed was meant to be at his throat, had spun around the back as well?

"Yeah, ok, very funny," he said as Natasha said something and lowered his head towards the basin. Veronica responded in her halting Russian, then Natasha said something further and held up a curling iron.

"Da," Veronica nodded.

"'Da' what!?" Alex asked, feeling a bit out of the loop.

"Nothing, babe," Veronica said calmly. "She's just going to use the curling iron on you a bit. I think she wants to straighten out the permanent line in your hair that you created with the elastic you use for the bun."

By now, Natasha was wetting his head with warm water.

"No," Alex called to Ronnie. "No burning my hair! Just a shampoo and the split ends."

Veronica sighed. "Come on, babe, just roll with it, please. She's not going to make you look like Shirley Temple or anything. She's just going to do some repair work with it. Ok? Besides, I don't have the energy to try to try to speak Russian much more today. It is exhausting."

"I beg your pardon, mIss," June was suddenly at the door, "but Rebecca, the grounds keeper, would like a word with you about where you'd like her to put the snow when she's plowing. Do you have a moment?"

Veronica touched her turban and said, "I have about forty five minutes." Then she looked at Alex and said, "I'll be right back."

Alex laid in the chair with his head in the sink. "No English at all, huh?" He asked the hairdresser, who didn't respond. "I can say 'piano,' 'welcome,' 'thank you,' and 'you're too kind,' in Russian, but that's about it." Still no response. "Oh, and 'vodka,' of course."

Suddenly the woman stopped her work and looked at Alex, ranting about something in Russian. She pointed at his chest and his belly and then his groin, all the while shaking her head and continuing her nonstop flow of angry sounding words. Finally, she wrapped up with, "Wodka - Nyet! Nyet! Nyet!"

Alex gave his head a small shake. Whatever she thought he had said about vodka had obviously upset her. So much for international relationships. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the massage-like motions of her shampooing.

In the kitchen, Veronica met the grounds keeper. Rebecca was a big woman in her fifties. She'd worked in landscaping her whole life and enjoyed the work. She was broad, had short cropped hair and her skin was ruddy and wind blown.

Rebecca's concern was with the amount of snow that was falling. "I always keep up with it, Miss, plowing regularly. We never want to risk getting stranded up her, but when we get this much all at once, the question becomes where do you want the snow to be put. I have small pond over in the north west corner of the estate and when it gets this bad, I usually push the snow towards the road, then use the front end loader on the tractor to put it into the dump bed of the plow, then drive it up and dump it in the pond. How does that sound to you, Miss?"

Veronica stood and stared at Rebecca for a moment and tried to process what she'd said. "I'm sorry," she laughed, a bit nervously, "but I honestly cannot think of a response to that question. I mean, I appreciate you wanting to keep the driveways all cleared, but isn't it awfully cold to be operating a tractor? And isn't it possible to just build up snow bankings rather than haul the snow all over creation?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes, Miss, but Miss Sophia never wanted to see snow piled up in an unnatural way, so I would haul it to the pond."

Veronica folded her arms and thought before asking, "Given your own prerogative, how would you handle the snow?"

Rebecca was surprised by the question. "Well... I guess I'd just build up the snow bankings and let it all melt in the spring."

Veronica nodded. "Ok, then let's do that."

"Oh, ok," The grounds keeper nodded. "Thank you, Miss. That makes things much easier." Then she walked back towards the servants' entrance.

After dealing with a few questions about the menu for Christmas Eve, signing some forms that her lawyer had dropped off while she was with Natasha, and dealing with some other questions about how she would like this piece of minutia or that piece handled, Veronica turned to walk back to the master bedroom with June walking with her. She glanced at her watch and realized that she'd been down stairs nearly forty five minutes. She was hoping that she hadn't messed up her hair color.

As they headed to the stairway, Veronica asked, "Was my grandmother a tyrant of some kind?" She asked it only half jokingly. "Rebecca seemed very concerned that I'd yell at her."

June smiled. "Not at all, Miss, but she did want things to always be just so." They walked up the stairs. "She was of a different generation, of course, and she didn't always consider how difficult her requests may be. She just wanted them done."

Veronica nodded. "I see. There is one thing I'd really like to see happen, though."

"Yes, Miss?"

"Could you, maybe, call me Veronica? Or Ronnie? This 'Miss' stuff is getting on my nerves."

June was surprised by the request. "Well, yes, Miss, if that's what you'd prefer."

Veronica just shook her head and rolled her eyes. It was going to take some doing to get everyone comfortable with a new owner around here.

Just as they reached the top of the stairs, they heard a commotion coming from the master bedroom. People were shouting and there was the sound of feet shuffling on the floor. Veronica picked up her pace until she was moving at a quick jog and June was jogging right behind her.

"Are you out of your tiny Russian mind? What the hell were you thinking." Alex was screaming.

Then there was a burst of shouting in Russian followed by Alex screaming, "What the hell? Let me go! Stop it!"

There was the sound of a hand slapping flesh followed by Alex shouting and that repeated itself several times before Veronica and June arrived in the doorway of the master suite to find Alex sprawled across Natasha's lap, his pajama bottoms lowered enough to expose his rear end and Natasha winding up for yet another spank on his hind-side.

"What is going on in here?" Veronica screamed.

Natasha began spewing angry words in Russian but it was coming at Veronica so quickly that she couldn't understand a word of it. She asked Natasha to slow down, but the woman kept ranting.

"She says that she is not going to put up with that kind of behavior from a child and you shouldn't either," June said.

"You speak Russian?" Veronica asked, surprised.

"Yes, Miss. She says that the girl was very rude and started screaming at her. She says that she will not tolerate being treated that way by a little girl."

Veronica shook her head trying to make sense of this. "Wait. Wait. What little girl?"

June barked back the question in Russian. Natasha responded and June translated. "She seems to think that your fiancé is a little girl."

It was at that point that Veronica realized that Alex was still laying across Natasha's lap, being held down by her left arm, her right arm still cocked and ready to spank again.

"Well, for God's sake, tell her to let him up," Veronica said as she crossed the vast room to help him to get free and stand.

June barked out an order in Russian and Natasha released the little man she was holding.

He turned and faced Veronica who covered her mouth as she half laughed, half screamed, "Oh, shit!"

"You think this is funny!?" Alex yelled. "Look what she did to me!"

Veronica couldn't help but look at what Natasha had done. Alexander's shaggy, long, dirty blonde hair was still its same just-shy-of-mousy brown color, but it had been shaped - to say the least. He had bangs, now. Beautifully curled, evenly trimmed bangs that separated straight strands of hair falling beside both sides of his face, softening and youthening it a great deal. The rest of his hair seemed to have acquired a great deal of body and, even though it still hung to just below his shoulders, the bottom of his hair was flipped under to make it look even more full bodied.

There was something else about him, but she couldn't figure it out at the moment.

"Ask her why she did this?," Veronica said to June.

June said something in Russian, then spoke over Natasha's response. "She says that she thought that he was a girl. She says that she asked you if you wanted bangs and you said yes."

"I said," Veronica insisted, "that I wanted her to comb bangs across his forehead, not give him little girl bangs, for crying out loud."

June related that to Natasha, who stood and looked upset. "She says that she's sorry, but she thought she'd explained what she planned on doing. She also says that she thought that he was a girl. She points out that he is, after all, wearing girl's clothing."

Veronica shook her head and looked at Alexander. "Why on earth didn't you stop her?"

"W..." Alex found the question absurd. "Why didn't I stop her? I haven't slept more than a few hours in three days, Ronnie! I fell asleep when she was massaging my scalp and I woke up when she used those little pieces of cotton to pull my eyebrows out by the roots!"

That was it! That's what was different! His eyebrows! They weren't pencil thin or overly arched, but they were clean and thinner, in much the manner of a middle school girl who was just starting to take on womanly appearances. She'd done a lovely job, but... it was unfortunate that she'd done a lovely job on Alexander's face.

Natasha spoke again. June continued, "She says that she can give him a real boy's haircut if he'd like."

That was out of the question. A four foot eleven pianist in a perfectly tailored tuxedo with his hair flailing as he played was an exciting sight. A four foot eleven pianist with a boys' haircut looked like an awkward thing that was stuck somewhere between boyhood and manhood. His hair was part of his marketing, but now he had bangs - like a child - like a little girl - cut into his trademark locks. It was a disaster!

"No!" Alex shouted. "Under no circumstances is she touching my hair again. Look what she did to me, Ronnie! What little bit of manhood I could project is gone now! She stole that from me!"

Natasha said something else and June explained, "She also says that she needs to take care of your hair, Miss, or your scalp is going to start burning from the dye."

"Oh, yes, of course," Veronica nodded and headed to the salon seat.

"What? That's it?" Alex was irate. "She does this to me AND THEN SHE SPANKS ME and that's it?"

"Honey," Veronica said with a shake of her head and a shrug, "I don't quite know what to do about this. There was a miscommunication. She thought that we were on the same page, but... and then she thought that you were a misbehaving adolescent and, in her culture, she treated you as she would a child. I mean, I am upset, too, love, but I don't know what the solution is beyond letting it all grow out and if I don't get this dye out of my hair, then my hair is going to be falling out. Let me deal with my hair for now and we'll figure out what to do from there. Ok?"

"No!" Alex looked around for support, but no one offered any. What could they have done, anyway? "Oh, fine," he fumed and stormed across the room. "I'll be in my room." Seconds later, the door to his room slammed shut.

Veronica sat and June shut the door to the master bedroom. Throughout the rest of Veronica's hair procedure, Natasha continued to apologize and June translated. Veronica did her best to speak directly to the hairdresser, but it had become apparent to her that her Russian was no where near as good as she'd thought it was.

When she was done, Natasha insisted that she could drive home in her four wheel drive vehicle, so she walked downstairs, leaving June and Veronica alone in the master suite.

"What a mess," Veronica muttered.

"She didn't mean to embarrass him," June said.

"I know," Veronica nodded, "and he is awfully small. I probably shouldn't have put him in the pjs, but I just knew he'd look adorable in them. And he certainly did." She chuckled, but she was still sympathetic.

June smiled and nodded. "Yes, Miss, he did."

"You know what the worst part of all this is?" Veronica asked with a sigh. "I kind of liked the way he looked with his hair done. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I think he looks adorable as he is."

June just smiled and nodded.

About an hour later, Alex heard the door to his room open, but he didn't look up or in any way acknowledge that someone had entered his room. He just laid on his side, facing away from the door, his blankets pulled up to his chin.

Whoever it was, presumably Veronica, sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his hip for a good few moments before she spoke. "I'm sorry about what happened, babe. I didn't expect her to do that to your hair... or your eyebrows. You know, that, right?"

"You laughed at me," he grunted. "I needed your support and you laughed at me."

"I didn't laugh at you, babe. I laughed at the absurdity of the situation. You know I love you. I don't care how you look, babe, I'm still going to love you. Come on, honey. Forgive me and let's move on. It's just hair. It'll grow back. Six months from now, you can comb those bangs across your forehead and it'll look great."

Alex sighed. "What about our mothers? They'll be here today or tomorrow. What will they think?"

"Not to worry," Veronica moved her rubbing to his shoulder, pulling down the covers just a bit, revealing the soft blue material of the pajamas she'd left out for him the previous night. "According to the news, the roads are impassable and probably will be through Christmas. They won't be coming. In fact, most of the areas around here have no power and people are trapped in their houses. No power, no heat, cell phones towers are down... We have generators here, and a large underground fuel tank. We could live off of the generators until spring if we needed to, but the priorities in the towns are to get the wires repaired and the power back up. There's no way that we'll be seeing our mothers this holiday season, I'm afraid."

That did take a good deal of the pressure off, thank goodness.

Alex rolled to face Veronica, but halfway through the turn, he stopped and gaped at his fiancé. "What are you wearing? And your hair and make up... you look like your on your way to a concert."

Veronica's long, thick, dark red hair had been curled and styled so that it was off her face, moderately high on the crown of her head and then flowing in gorgeous ringlets down her back. She was also wearing an astounding, bright red, velvet gown with rows and rows and rows of pearls hanging from her neck, to her ample and well displayed cleavage. She stood so that Alex could see the entire look. She struck a pose as if she was in a portrait and asked. "What do you think? Nice, huh? It's one of Sophia's from her trunks. It's not even the nicest one, but I really like it, don't you?"

The dress, the gown, really, started as two, somewhat wide straps of elegant red velvet on her shoulder, then dove down into a very daring neckline that covered her ample breasts, but seemed to make them look even more... ample. Below her breasts, the bodice clung tightly to her fit abdomen before flowing across her hips and rear end before bursting into a wide skirt with an amazingly long train that followed along behind her.

"Yeah," Alex mumbled. "Yeah, I like it a lot, but... what's the occasion?"

"The occasion," Veronica smiled, teasingly, as she slowly pulled the blankets off of the tiny man in the bed, "is that I wanted to apologize to my fiancé and the best way for me to do that is to make myself beautiful and let him know just how manly I find him."

Alex smelled a new fragrance on her slender neck. He didn't recognize the scent, but it smelled amazing and expensive.

Veronica gently pushed Alex onto his back, then slowly lowered his pajama bottoms, revealing his manhood, which was already half erect and quickly rising. "Ohh," she smiled. "No underwear."

Alex shook his head.

She bent low and kissed his lips. "Me neither," she whispered.

Taking great care to gather her skirts, she climbed onto the bed and straddled him, lowering herself onto him with a shiver and a sigh. "See? That feels nice, doesn't it?"

Alex was trying to concentrate on the warm, tight grip her vagina had on his penis, just whispered, "Yes."

Veronica relaxed her grip on her skirts, letting them spread across both the bed and its occupant. Then she picked up his little hands and placed them on the soft, plush velvet that enshrined her breasts. "It's soft, isn't it?" She asked, but she knew that he was already lost in the feelings at his core. So, she began her soft, slow, steady process of rocking him towards ecstasy.

She looked down at the beautiful little man below her. A man who, despite all reasoning, she loved deeply and passionately. He'd always been somewhat dainty, but as she looked down at him now, with the nicely trimmed eyebrows, the bangs forming a cute, youthful fringe above his brows and the under-flipped hair spread on his pillow below him... it was different, that was for sure and with the baby blue pajama top peaking out in the space between the base of his neck and billows of her red velvet skirts, he looked... soft. Pretty, even. And little in a way she'd never considered him before. Like a child.

She tightened her vaginal muscles and increased her movement, feeling pride in the way that she was able to reduce this talented man to a puddle of desire.

The weight and movement of the copious number of pearls on her chest felt exciting and unusual. They made her feel almost regal and that glorious French scent that she'd found in Sophia's bureau made her feel even more wonderfully, more powerfully feminine.

She increased her pace. Faster, more aggressive and she could tell by his breathing that she was about to bring him to orgasm. It didn't take long. She felt him stiffen below and within her. She felt his body, trapped beneath her own, more powerful form, attempt to rise and press even more deeply into her and the she felt his spasms and those set off in her a sense of, not excitement and not quite a orgasm, but shivers of sheer joy.

"That's good," she purred to him. "That's a good boy." She slowed her movement but kept him within her until he was, once again, small and soft. She reached for a box of tissues on the night table, lifted it and placed it on the bed, drawing several tissues from it. She lifted her skits and knelt taller, raising herself off of Alex, then wiped herself dry. Alex blinked at her. She smiled down at him and giggled, "No panties does cause some issues."

She stood and adjusted her skirts, then extended her hand to her fiancé. "Come on. Let's go see your pianos."

That sounded good to Alex. He pulled up his pj bottoms and stood up. He felt not only underdressed, but a bit silly, standing next to his elegantly bedecked fiancé. He looked around the room. "Where are my clothes from last night?"

"I don't know," Veronica shrugged. "Hang on." She opened a small door in the wall by the door and pulled out an old fashioned phone. She waited a moment, then said, "Yes, June. Have you seen Alexander's clothes from last night?" Another pause. "I see. Alright. Thank you."

She hung up the phone, closed the door and shrugged. "Sorry, babe. June gathered them off the floor and now all of your clothes were in the washing machine. When the power went out and we switched to generators they were still wet. I guess the dryer is so old and draws so much power that it can blow the breaker on the generator. Your clothes need to air dry. It'll be a day or so before they're wearable."

"Wonderful," Alex shook his head. "What do I wear for now?"

"Ok, my little friend," Veronica shook her head as she walked quickly to the closet and pulled out a robe that matched his pajamas, "things aren't as bad as you pretend. You've got those pjs for now and here. Put this on. There are scuffs next to your bed. Yes, they were my mother's when she was a girl, but they are no different than the scuffs that men wear everyday."

Alex huffed and shook his head. "Except that they're baby blue."

"Lord, almighty, it must be hard to be you," Veronica teased. "You have this incredible home to live in, a fiancé who loves you to death and two beautiful pianos to get to know more intimately. Your life really sucks."

"And," Alex pointed out, "I am dressed in a little girl's pajamas, about to put on a little girl's robe and slippers AND I was given a little girl's hair cut."

"None of which should be keeping you away from a beautiful Chickering and an incredible Steinway just a few hundred feet away from you."

Alex thought for just a second. "Ok." He slipped his feet into the scuffs, then allowed Veronica to slide the robe onto his shoulders. She had not noticed before that the sleeved were slightly puffed at the top, but since he hadn't noticed, she wasn't going to mention it. Instead, she freed his hair from the collar of the robe and straightened his hair so it fell nicely off of his head and shoulders. Lord, he just looked adorable this way.

Veronica led him through the hallway, down the stairs and into a fairly large room with a beautiful, dark brown Chickering grand piano in the middle of it. He sat on the edge of the bench, thinking that he would need to order a custom stool for each of these instruments. He thought for a moment, then touched the ivory covered keys and played the opening strains of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody Number Two. The slow, rhythmic opening echoing the through the room, the deep resonance of the old, well used wood was solid and powerful beneath his fingers. He played only a few bars, then stopped and smiled.

"What do you think?" Veronica asked.

"It's a beautiful instrument," he smiled. "I've always liked Chickerings, but this is one of the best I've ever played."

Veronica smiled. "What till you try the Steinway."

She took his hand and led him to the concert hall, which had been the ballroom back when the Vanderbilt Family had lived there. It could easily seat several hundred people and, according to June, when Sophia was alive and performing, it frequently had been a place where standingroom -only was a real thing.

"Wow!" Alex said, as he took a slow spin in a circle, taking in all the grandeur of the room. "This is amazing. And look!" He pointed to a huge portrait of Veronica's world renown grandmother on the wall. "You look just like her! Even the dress and all the pearls!"

Veronica put her arm around his shoulders and joined him in gazing at the portrait. "I know. I've been told that my whole life, of course, but now it's getting a bit freaky. I mean, these portraits actually look like they could be of me and her clothes fit me perfectly. It's uncanny, isn't it? I haven't found that exact gown, yet, but when I do, I want to get dressed up and do my makeup just like Sophia's and have my picture taken standing in front of that portrait. Won't that be cool?"

Alex agreed.

"Ok, my little prodigy," Veronica laughed as she gave him a noisy, but playful swat on his bottom, "up on the stage and try out your new toy."

Alex needed no further prodding. He hustled across the parquet floor and up onto the stage. The thing was, though, between the scuffs and the long robe, his movements were just a bit limited. Combine that with his height and his new hairdo and to Veronica, he looked like an excited child on Christmas morning.

Again he reminded himself of his need for a custom bench as he perched on the edge of the Steinway seat and prepared. Again, he started playing the Hungarian Rhapsody Number Two and again, the world faded as he immersed himself in the beautiful sounds that the instrument allowed him to play. The rich, heavy wood resonated beautifully and the large, wood and plaster space was perfect for an instrument of this caliber. This time, he played all the way through the piece, his breathing synchronized to the music and his eyes closed in concentration as he found 'the zone' that he always strived to find.

He stopped and thought for a moment. "Who tuned this and set up the action?"

Veronica smiled. "Who's your favorite piano tech?"

"George!? Are you kidding me? How on earth did you get George to come all this way and set up this piano?" Alex was shocked. George could make a cheap Wurlitzer spinet sound like a beautiful instrument, but when he set up a real high quality instrument, then he could work miracles. And when he knew the player as well as he knew Alex, then he could make the instrument an extension of that person's body.

But George lived in Manhattan, a two hour drive away.

Veronica gathered her copious skirts and crossed to the stage, climbing the stairs on the far end of the stage, talking all the way. "It may surprise you, Alex, but George works for a lot of different people - not just you. He is the piano tech for The Boston Symphony's Center at Tanglewood, which is only a few miles away. So, he is in the area fairly frequently. Besides that, The Great Diva Sophia also took advantage of George's talents. I did call and tell him that these were your Christmas presents, though, so he spent a couple of hours on each of them last week. Do you like them?"

Alex smiled. "They're amazing. Thank you, but do you know what would make it even better?" Without waiting for an answer, he began the quiet, gentle introduction to the very first piece he'd ever played as Veronica's accompanist, 'Marietta's Lied' from Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera 'Die Tote Stadt.' It was Alex's favorite piece to play as her accompanist. It wasn't flashy and filled with the usual operatic leaps and flourishes. It was controlled and introspective and filled with love - just like Veronica.

Ronnie stood slightly taller as her entrance approached. She smiled at the man she loved - the man in the baby blue robe with the slightly puffy sleeves, the curled bangs, the under flipped hair and the sculpted eyebrows and she let out the first controlled, beautiful notes of the piece. Her eyes never leaving his and his heart joining hers to create the sound, the pure, loving sounds that filled the acoustically wonderful room.

This was it. This was how they fell in love. This symbiotic existence they had that allowed them to join, to meld, to create this beauty. Each had played with dozens of other people, but none of them could do what they could do together. They became one and they became greater than they were on their own. The song rose and fell, but never really soared. It wasn't that kind of song. It was a song that allowed Veronica to draw all who heard her to her and she wrapped them in warm affection.

When the song ended, they heard applause. June and the cook and Melissa, the girl who assisted them both all stood in different doorways and all wiped a tear from their eye. Veronica made a big show of taking huge, theatrical bows - the kind that were almost a combination of a bow and a curtsy - giving a royal wave, blowing kisses and saying, "Thank you. Thank you." The she looked to her left and indicated Alex, who stood and took one deep bow as well.

June walked over to the stage and said to Veronica, "Thank you, Miss. We have not had music in this room for almost a decade. That was beautiful."

Ronnie smiled. "Thank you."

June then turned to Alex and held a hand up to him. "And thank you. That was gorgeous."

"Thank you," Alex smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

As June spoke to Alex, Melissa spoke to Veronica. "That was amazing, Miss," she said with a huge smile. "You sing so pretty. I loved it."

"Thank you," Veronica smiled and took a very playful little bow. She was glad that Melissa was able to appreciate the song.

Melissa then turned to Alex. "And you... oh, I have to give you a hug!" She ran to the stage left stairs and climbed them in a big rush. Alex looked at Ronnie, eyes wide in surprise, but not about to insult the twenty-something girl by saying no.

Melissa hugged him tightly. "You are amazing!" She said. "You know, I played piano when I was a girl, too, but I never got as good as you! Not by a long shot."

Alex smiled. He'd been given this same odd compliment many times before, but coming from Melissa it seemed more sincere than usual. "Thank you," he said.

"My God," Melissa continued, "imagine how good you'll be when you're all grown up! How old are you, now, honey?"

Alex sighed. This had happened before, too. Someone giving him huge compliments, then being embarrassed when they realized that he was not a child. So, he gave the answer that he'd found worked the best in this situation. "Thank you. I'm older than I look, though."

Melissa looked at Veronica and smiled with enthusiasm and admiration. "Isn't she awesome, Miss. She plays piano so beautifully. Just like a grown up."

Not wanting to make a big scene out of an honest mistake, so she just smiled and said, "Thank you."

Melissa gave Alex one more squeeze and hustled away.

Alex looked at Veronica and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry," Veronica said, with a smile.

He shrugged walked around the piano to be beside her. "It's probably just the haircut."

Veronica gave him a hug. She always loved how, when she hugged Alex, his head always pushed deeply into her breasts. Right now, feeling as feminine and strong as she did in this gown, having his cheeks pushed into the red velvet that covered her breast, left her feeling even more strong and in charge than she did when she'd engulfed him in bed.

That evening, they had dinner in a small room near the kitchen. Originally, the room was a coat room for guests coming to balls at the Vanderbilts' 'cottage.' When Veronica moved from Queens to this house, she'd brought very little furniture with her, but one of the few items she brought was a little dinette set from IKEA. When she saw the vastness of the dining room, she knew that she and Alex would be lost in there, so she set up the dinette in the coat room and she enjoyed her meals in there.

She had, of course, changed out of the red velvet gown and now was wearing a peach colored, casual dress from one of Sophia's trunks. It was a simple, sleeveless dress with a square neckline, two three quarter inch wide pieces of white piping running down the bodice and a loose fit around her breasts. The piping ended in a small, white bow at the arrival of a wide, tight fitting, waist area. Below that waist, the dress' skirt burst into a wide circle with lots of pleats near the top, allowing the dress to be shaped like an inverted blossom. The two rows of piping began again below the wide waist, with a similar little bow.

As they ate one of the best chicken stews that either of them had ever eaten, Alex looked at his fiancé and smiled. "So... are we going to be living sixty years in the past, from now on?"

Veronica dabbed her very red lips and spread her napkin back across her lap. When she spoke, it was in a pretentiously posh manner. "Well, whatever do you mean?" She smiled. "I believe this lovely dress is only fifty three years old." Then she giggled and said, "I'm having so much fun with all of Sophia's clothes. It's like I can make up a whole new life for every dress that I put on. I'm sure I'll get tired of it, but right now," her posh accent returned, "I am so enjoying my little lark."

Alex smiled and returned to his stew.

Veronica looked at the little guy opposite her and smiled. "You know... you could have some fun with it, too, if you'd like."

Alex smiled and said, "I'm enjoying it quite a lot, Ronnie. You look amazing in everything you wear. It's much nicer than your usual jeans and tee shirt. You look sexy as hell in those dresses. I love it!"

She smiled. "Well, thank you, babe, but what I meant was... Alex, there are at least five trunks of clothes that will fit you. Why don't we have some fun with them?"

"Because I don't want to look like a little girl," he laughed.

Veronica sighed. "Babe, with your hair cut like that, you all ready look like a little girl. Melissa already thinks that you ARE a little girl. Why don't we have some fun while we can?"

"Because I would rather be a man who," he looked around to be sure they were alone, "has lots of sex with his fiancé."

She smiled a wolffish smile and leaned forward. "Well, now... even that could be a lot more fun if you were willing to be a little girl who has lots of sex with me."

Alex squinted at her. "That's kind of gross, isn't it?"

"It's playful and exciting," Veronica licked her very red lips. "Come on. After dinner, come with me and let's look through the trunks. I bet we can find something fun for you to play in."

"I really don't..." Alex began to protest, but Veronica interrupted.

"I'll do oral"

"What?" Alex blinked at her, not just uncertain of what she said, but not believing what she'd said if she'd actually said it.

"You heard me," Veronica smiled. "I'll even let you be on top tonight."

Alex took his napkin from his lap, dabbed his own lips, placed the napkin on the table, pushed the remainder of the stew to the side, stood and walked towards the door. "Are you coming?"

Veronica stood as well. "My, my, aren't you the anxious little girl."

She led him through several long passages. They walked so far that it didn't seem possible that they were still in the same building. Finally, Veronica turned into a large room and turned on the lights. The room was absolutely filled with steamer trunks of various vintages.

"All of these," Veronica motioned to her right, "are filled with Sophia's concert clothes. All of these," she used two hands to indicate the middle section, "are filled with her day-clothes. An these five," she indicated some smaller trunks to her left, "have my mother's clothes from tours when she was between nine and twelve years old. A lot of those will fit you."

"Have you seen more pajamas in there?" Alex asked.

"No such luck, stud," Veronica laughed. "I did see something that I'd love you to wear to bed tonight, though."

"Such as?" Alex was dubious, but also eager to get back to the room and get down to business.

"Such as... if you want to have fun in bed with me, then you will follow me back to the room and try on what I take with me for you to wear." She smiled and winked.

Each of the items in the trunks were encased in an inexpensive garment bag, but it was obvious that Veronica was familiar with the contents of each. She grabbed six bags and turned to Alex and said, "Ok. Let's go."

"Wait, wait," Alex laughed. "Why so so many bags?"

Veronica kept walking, forcing Alex to begin following to catch up. "Because you'll need something to wear tonight, something to wear in the morning, something for Christmas Eve tomorrow night, something to wear tomorrow night, something for Christmas morning, something for Christmas dinner, something for Christmas evening and something to wear to bed on Christmas night."

"But..." Alex was taken aback by her determination. "...what if my clothes dry?"

"I am going to be dressed up, my dear," she said in that silly posh accent again, "so you will need to dress up, too. I sincerely doubt that the clothes you shipped home will get here before the twenty sixth. They say the snow is going to keep coming down at least until Christmas morning."

"Yeah, but," Alex had a sinking feeling in his stomach, "do at least some of those outfits include trousers?"

"We shall have to wait and see," Veronica giggled.

When they got back to Alex's room, Veronica went directly into the walkin closet and hung up the garment bags. Alex tried to see what she'd brought with her, but she shooed him away and said, "Strip to your skin, my little muffin. Then I'll get you dressed.

Alex laughed and shook his head as he untied the belt of the robe, then tried and failed to pull the baby blue pajama top over his head. Veronica stepped over to him and unbuttoned the little button on the back of the pajama top. Once he had that pulled off, he dropped the bottoms to the floor and stepped out of them.

"What now?" He asked, standing naked and waiting for his fiancé to do something.

For her part, Veronica smiled and looked at her little guy. Small, unmuscled, mostly hairless except for a cute tuft of pubic hair... just adorable. "Ok, cutie. Turn around, raise your arms over your head and close your eyes."

Alex shook his head as he followed her instructions. Moments later, he felt soft fabric being dropped over his head.

"Keep your eyes closed, now. Don't open them until I tell you."

She let him lower his arms as she adjusted the garment. "Oh, I like this, babe. I think we have found your look. Yeah. This is nice."

"Can I open my eyes?" Alex asked.

"Not yet," she giggled as she led him to stand in front of the standing mirror that stood near the room's dresser.

"Ok. Open them, now," Veronica said cheerfully.

Alex smiled as opened his eyes, but that smile turned to a shocked dropped jaw.

To call it just a nightgown would have been a gross understatement. This was... a confection in two layers. The silk underdress of the nightie was a pink, round necked sheath. On top of that, though, was a pale white cloud of lace and frills.

Around the neckline, the lace fringe made a feminine statement and also seemed to make his neck look longer and more slender. Below that was a bib of sheer lace that hung down about eight inches and completely encircled his upper-chest, arms and back. The pretty pink bow at the front and center of the neckline let everyone know that the little creature wearing this creation was 'mommy's little angel."

The three quarter length sleeved gathered at the cuffs, but came nowhere close to a tight fit around his tiny arms, and then blossomed into wide, loose bells of lace that reminded Alex of rich old lady handkerchiefs. The underdress' hem ended right at Alex's knees, but the lace over dress hung down an additional four inches in a band of elaborate, delicate lace.

All of that combined with his hair and eyebrows made it clear to the world that there was nothing manly about the person wearing this nightgown.

"Holy shit," Alex whispered. "I look like..."

"A Princess," Veronica giggled. "A beautiful, little princess and I think that you are the cutest little princess I have ever seen."

"You can't really want to have sex with me, looking like this?" Alex asked, sure that she couldn't possibly find this attractive.

"Are you kidding!?" Veronica laughed. "Right now, little girl, all I want to do is go to town on you, and..." she licked her lips and raised and lowered her eyebrows, "I do believe I owe my little girl a blow job, don't I?"

Alex, amazed that this was actually exciting her, looked from Veronica to his virginal reflection in the mirror, then back at Veronica again and he nodded. "Yes, you do."

Alex was about to cross to the bed, but Veronica stopped him. "No, no. I want you to stay right here and I don't want you to take your eyes off the little girl in that mirror for a second while I nibble on that little wiener of yours."

Things had just gotten even weirder for Alex, but he stopped thinking about it as his fiancé knelt in front of him and lifted the hem of his ludicrously girlish nightdress. She took Alex's left hand and had him hold his skirts for her. He was already a little stiff, but certainly not hard, so Veronica began by massaging his organ and smiling up at him. "Feels good, doesn't it?" She teased as she kissed the tip of his penis.

Alex nodded.

Veronica realized that her fiancé was looking down at her. "Keep your eyes on the mirror, my pet," she cooed. "Here," she took his right hand and guided it to his manhood, "help mommy make you harder."

More role playing. Great. Ronnie seemed much more comfortable with this than he did, but he did as he was told. He stared at the girl in the mirror and began to masturbate himself to a stiffer erection.

Ronnie leaned in closer and kissed all around the area where Alex was tugging on himself. He looked so cute, it was giving her the chills. Yes, when she found her mother's adolescent clothing in the storage room, she had immediately wanted to incorporate them into some kinky playtime, but with the change in the weather, their mother's not being able to come for Christmas, Alex's clothing issues and Natasha's misguided hairstyling... well, it was almost as if the fates had conspired to make this all possible.

And the thing that she found most fascinating was how exciting this was for her. He looked so much smaller this way. So much more innocent. So... submissive. Yes. Submissive. He hadn't really put up any kind of a fight at all. Just one temper tantrum, and that was more to do with being spanked by Natasha. Veronica had always been the bigger, stronger, more aggressive, more successful member of the relationship, but they had just taken a massive step in a new direction and, as she watched her little lover become more and more turgid under his own ministrations, a thought occurred to her. Yes. Her thought was a good idea. She would do it and he would like it. She was sure of it.

She gently caressed the back of his legs for a moment, tickling her way to his tiny, plump rear end. She gently kneaded those fleshy mounds as she licked his shaft, then took all of him into her mouth, pushing his hand out of the way with her lips.

She'd never done this before. Not to anyone. The very idea of 'servicing' someone in this way was antithetical to her desire to always be in control - but this wasn't the same. She wasn't kneeling before some big, hairy man who looked down at her. No, she was gently caring for her tiny lover who needed her care. And his organ didn't choke her or push down her throat. No, it was a small part of her little lover that fit perfectly into her mouth. She was caring for her little love. Her beautiful, submissive love who needed her care.

Alex's breathing changed, became more shallow and rushed. He was about to orgasm and she was ready. She felt the first, anticipatory twitch of his climax and she prepared. As his orgasm began in earnest, Veronica thrust the middle finger of her right hand as deeply as possible into Alex's rear opening, causing him to let out a surprised, high pitched squeal. His little, girly noises continued as she wiggled that finger and prodded even more deeply.

He seemed to twitch within her mouth for much longer than a usual orgasm, and when the spasms finally ceased, Veronica gently pulled her lips from his penis and her finger from his rear, lowered his nightie back around his little legs, then stood tall, looking down at the feminine looking creature before her, turned Alex's face to finally look in her eyes, then leaned down, kissed him on the lips as deeply as she could and returned all of the fluid she'd taken from his penis to its owner.

He didn't even fight her. He accepted it without hesitation. "Didn't that feel good?" she asked. Alex could only nod. "Come on, then, my little Princess, let's go to bed and have some more fun."

It was around eight the next morning, while Alex was showering and Veronica was getting his clothes organized for the day, that the Lenox Police Department car pulled up to the kitchen entrance, surprising June as she oversaw the breakfast prep.

Melissa became a bit agitated at the sight of a police officer knocking at the side door. "Aunt June," she said from the hallway. "Why are the police here? Are we in trouble?"

"I don't know, dear," June said as she approached the entrance, "but the police rarely bring good news."

She pasted on a smile, though and opened the door that separated the warm kitchen from the bitter cold outside. "Good morning, officer. What a terrible morning for you have to drive way out here. How may I help you?"

"Good morning," the officer smiled. "I have something that belongs to you."

Upstairs, Veronica was shaking her head at Alex's reticence to cooperate. "Look, babe, it's Christmas Eve Day, I'm dressing up for the day, and I'd like to you dress up as well. June is going to be discreet, Melissa thinks you're a little girl, and even if she knew you weren't a little girl, she wouldn't say anything, anyway, and you've never met the cook and the grounds keeper... besides, I made it all worth you while, did I?"

"Yes, but..." he started.

"Please, babe, please, please, please. Let's just have some fun, ok? It's Christmas and... to be very honest, seeing you dressed up in these clothes... it's really exciting to me. Like... REALLY exciting. Come on. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!"

"Alright, alright," Alex shook his head at the silliness of all this.

"Yay!" Veronica cheered, handing him a pair of lacy little panties.

A few minutes later, in panties, a training bra (which he did complain about briefly), and a slip with a subtle petticoat built into it, Alex was seated as his fiancé used a blow dryer and a curling iron to rebuild his cute hairdo. This time, though, she flipped the bottom of his hair outward. It was a bit different, but still adorable and would be more fitting with the style of the dress she'd chosen for him.

When his hair was curled and well sprayed, Veronica topped off his look with a head band that had a large, stiff, white bow that sat at the crown of his head.

Veronica knelt and and ran sheer, ribbed, knee socks up to his knees. She added a pair of low heeled, black pumps, then had him stand as she lowered a navy blue and white sailor dress over his head. It had long sleeves that gathered in a small puff at his wrists and slightly exaggerated puffs at his shoulders. The classic navy collar that included the small 'cape' that hung off the shoulder and a foot or so down the back of the dress, with dual white lines that looked manly on a navel uniform, but young and feminine in this application, led adorably to the floppy, white bow at the center of the neckline. The bodice was not tight fitting and led to a pleated skirt that hung in a lovely manner with the help of the subtle petticoat.

"Look at me," Veronica instructed before letting him stand. She pulled a wand from a tube and spread it across his lips. "Just a touch of pink lip gloss for a girl your age. The boys will love that."

"Ha, ha, ha," Alex scoffed. "Are we ready to go down, now?"

Veronica looked at Alex as if he was crazy. "I need to put on my dress."

"But," Alex looked at how beautiful she looked in her black lace dress, "you look great in that."

"Well, thank you, my pet, but this is a slip. An elaborate and beautiful slip, to be sure, but a slip none the less." She laughed as she stepped into a slender black dress and raised it to her shoulders. "Zip mommy up, honey," she giggled as she turned her back to Alex who drew the zipper up her back.

She turned to face Alex. The dress was simple and elegant and clung sexily to her curvy form. "What do you think?"

"You're beautiful, but I liked the slip better." He said, honestly.

Veronica took his hand, smiling. "Come on. Let's go down stairs."

Veronica noticed Alex was swaying a bit as they walked. "You like the way that feels, don't you?"

He smiled. "It feels very different to not have the material touching my legs, but the sway of the skirt is really noticeable, anyway. It's just interesting."

As they started down the stairs, Veronica said, "Bounce down a few steps. It's a nice feeling."

Alex tried it and she was right. The word 'flounce' occurred to him as he watched the material bounce and relax again. Veronica watched him with rapt fascination. God, he was so cute!

Just as they reached the bottom step, June came hurrying out of a hallway. "Miss," she was a bit flustered, "I'm sorry but breakfast has been delayed."

Alex looked to his right where the ballroom with the Steinway was located. "Hey," he said as he began to hurry towards the ballroom, "since we have a few minutes, I'm going to work on my Cliburn."

Veronica understood what he meant and just nodded.

As Alex turned into the ballroom, he heard June say, "We've had an unexpected occurrence. I tried to call your extension in the master suite, but you didn't answer."

"I was across the hall in Alex's room," Veronica explain, but Alex didn't hear any more.

Alex sat on the edge of the piano stool and took a deep breath. When Alex said he wanted to work on his 'Cliburn,' he actually intended to work Chopin's 'Waltz No. 1 in D-Flat,' also known as 'The Minute Waltz.' It was a piece he'd played a million times and even played in concert with some frequency, but one that always frustrated him because, although he played it very well, he felt that his version was grossly inferior to his favorite recording of the piece by the pianist Van Cliburn. Alex felt that his own version lacked the clarity and depth of phrasing that Van Cliburn brought to the piece. Van Cliburn's dexterity had become Alex's 'White Whale' and as he sat with his fingers in D-Flat position and took several deep breaths, he heard the Van Cliburn version in his head. Then he took a deep, purging breath, released it and began.

Out in the kitchen, Melissa had been pouring coffee for the policeman and the people who'd accompanied him when she heard the sound of piano echoing down the hall, she stopped and said, "Oh! The little girl is playing!" She put the coffee pot down and made excited 'come on' hand gestures to the three adults. "Come with me! Come hear her!"

The four of them hustled down the hall and entered the ballroom from a service door.

"Good God," the policeman muttered. "I don't know who that child is, but she is extraordinary!"

The woman beside him shook her head. "I don't know who she is, either, but I think she's wearing one of my old dresses."

The other woman folded her arms and shook her head. "I know who she is. That little girl is my son."

Just as the short piece reached its end, Veronica burst into the ballroom, ready to call out Alex's name and hustle him back upstairs, but she noticed that a small audience had assembled. She gasped just loud enough for the four people in the audience to hear and they turned to look at her, revealing their faces.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit," Veronica said, a bit louder than intended before regaining some sense of composure. She glanced at the stage where a horrified, petrified Alex stared, unspeaking, and Veronica adopted a sense of her training as an operatic actress. She stood straighter, held her arms wide and said, "Mother! Mrs Claremont! Thank goodness you made it! Welcome to 'The Haven.'

I've included links to the music I've mentioned. I hope you may have a few moments to enjoy some of it.
 
 
MUSIC LINKS:

Here is a beautiful rendition of Liszt's 'Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by one of his descendants. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LdH1hSWGFGU
 
If you'd like to hear the piece that Veronica and Alex performed together, here is a link to a performance by the wonderful American soprano (I know a lot of my European friends will be horrified by the phrase 'American Soprano') Renee Fleming singing Marinetta's Lied - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVlyymK8vLI
 
Again, a reference to an American performer. I don't mean to irritate my European readers, but Van Cliburn is one of my favorites. Here is his rendition of The Minute Waltz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjdXDUFsMYs
 
 
To Be Continued...