Hawaiian Retreat: 3

 

Last minute preparations and lots of doubts as Donnie gets ready to go to Hawaii
with Mitch. Finally, the day arrives and Mitch gets to find out if all that money
he spent was worth it!

I cannot thank you enough for the great comments I have received about this story!
I am so happy that it is being well received and I particularly appreciate the
critiques I get as well.

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Author's Note: Please toss me a review? I promise I do not bite! (Except when eating.) ~Clara.
 
This version of Hawaiian Retreat: 3 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 3
 
 

 

When Marie arrived at ten the next morning, I had poached eggs, toast and coffee ready for her. When she let herself in, she found me in the kitchen, still wearing my new, dark blue nightie, the one that looked like a man's pajama top.

"Well, look at you, looking so cute and acting so domesticated." She teased as she took off her coat. I smiled and placed two plates on my kitchen table, one for each of us. Each had two poached eggs, two pieces of oatmeal bread toasted and buttered with Irish butter and two ripe strawberries. "Fancy!" my sister teased. "I guess all your fancy clothes are inspiring you to be fancy in other parts of your life."

"That's not too far from the truth." I smiled. "I woke up this morning feeling inspired to clean things up around here and start living a little better. So, I started with a nice breakfast."

Marie smiled at that.

We enjoyed our meal and planned the day -
- The tanning center at eleven
- A stop at the mall for nighties
- Mid-afternoon lunch with Hilda
- Hilda would take me to pick up my luggage (Marie would need to leave to get ready for work)
- Home in time to get together with Mitch

Most of that was fine, but the purchase of nighties was an issue I wanted to discuss. I liked what I was wearing and wanted to find more like it. When Marie mentioned the lingerie department at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom's I thought that was ok. I could get some nice silk PJs or maybe something like I was wearing only nicer, but then she mentioned Victoria's Secret, and I needed to say something. I pointed out that there was nothing untoward going on between Mitch and me and there'd be no reason to dress in a sexy nightie from Victoria's Secret just to go to bed.

Marie countered that argument by pointing out that the point of the sleep-lingerie was not to impress Mitch, but to maintain an illusion. "What if someone comes to your room late in the evening or early in the morning and they find you dressed in a 'cute' nightie? How is that going to look? You're on your first big vacation with your boyfriend and he takes you to one of the most beautiful places on earth and you dress 'cute' for him? No, you don't. You need to be a princess during the daytime and a sex kitten at night. That's the truth you have to present and that's what they'll believe."

I grabbed my new iPad and opened the tab that showed the suite in which we'd be staying. "Look," I said quite knowingly, "we have two king sized beds. One for me and one for Mitch. If anyone comes in, they'll see that we're sleeping separately, right? So, cute is fine."

"Or -" Marie persisted, "you sleep in one bed and have sex in the other. Either way, if you're wandering around your suite late at night, going from point 'A' to point 'B' and there is a knock on the door and it's one of Mitch's colleagues or one of their wives and they just want to touch base with Mitch or you about something or another, when that door opens, that person needs to find you dressed in a sexy nightie with a shear, little robe covering it. As Hilda would say, it's just set dressing, but it needs to be there."

I started to argue, but Marie reminded me that I'd agreed to do whatever she told me to do, so that ended my battle.

Then Marie said, "Is this a new iPad? Where did you get this? You can't afford something like this!"

"Mitch gave it to me," I said in a small voice.

"Wow," Marie checked it out. "Cellular data, too. This cost a few bucks."

I nodded.

"Mitch isn't usually this much of a spendthrift, is he? If I recall correctly, for your last birthday he gave you a gift certificate to the movie theatre, didn't he?"

"That was last year," I said, staring at the table top. "This year he gave me three tee shirts. One with the 'Abbey Road' album cover on it, one with 'Let It Be' and one with 'Revolver.'"

Marie nodded. "That must have totaled up to forty five or fifty dollars. Now, a thousand dollar iPad? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

In fact there was, but how?

"Look, Rie," I said as I stood and cleared the table, "this is all getting pretty weird between Mitch and me. The way the clothes make me look is making him act weird and the way that they make me feel is making me feel weird."

"How so?" Marie was just not going to drop this.

I sighed. "I... I like how I feel when I'm dressed up and with Mitch, ok? I feel... pretty. I know that's not how a guy should feel, but that's the truth."

Marie nodded and waited. I filled the silence.

"And Mitch looks at me... differently. Like... like a guy looks at a girl. And when we kiss - which you made us do, incidentally" - I couldn't even think about how to phrase this, "...I feel... different. Not like when I used to kiss Nancy, but... different. Like... I feel like there's an emptiness in me and that his kiss... fills it. Does that make sense?"

Marie let out a long breath. "Yeah." She thought for a moment, then said, "Can I ask you a question?"

I just nodded from the sink where I was rinsing the dishes and pots from breakfast.

Marie was trying her very best to be tactful, I knew that, but the question still hurt to hear. "Do you want to advance your relationship with Mitch to a sexual one?"

I stared at the sink for a few seconds before I spoke much more softly than I'd intended, "No."

Marie asked the obvious question, "Why?"

I shrugged and turned to face her. Marie and I knew each other better than anyone else in the world knew us. I could share anything in the world with her, Hell, I'd shared my mother's womb with her. I shrugged, "Because I don't have any interest in touching another guy's..." I stopped. That wasn't it and I knew it. I looked around the room for a few moments before my eyes met my sister's. "Because I'm too scared to."

Marie nodded, knowing I'd been honest. "So? What now?"

I sat and shook my head. "Rie... I'm not gay, I swear it. I know that's one hundred percent true. I really and truly am not gay. When I jerk... fantasize, I don't think about men, I think about women. Beautiful, soft, sweet smelling women and now I AM ONE and I don't know what to do about these feelings and about the fear, Rie. I'm in uncharted waters and I'm getting lost in everything that I'm doing and I love it all so much more than I should and I'm scared, Rie! I'm so fucking scared! I feel like I'm losing myself! Like everything I've ever known about myself was a lie and I'm petrified that that's the truth!"

I was shaking by then and trying to stop the flow of emotion and the flow of words. What the hell was I even saying. Had I even thought these thoughts! Is this why I was feeling the way I was feeling?

"Okay, okay, okay." Marie moved from her end of the table to sit next to me and rub my shoulders as my head sunk to rest in my arms on the table top. "You need to take some deep breaths and calm down, Donnie, or you're going to pass out."

I did and it helped. I got control back.

Marie continued to rub my back, but she laid her head on my shoulder. "Hey? Are you ok?"

I nodded, but didn't raise my head.

She kissed my sleeve covered arm a few times. "Do you know how Mitch feels about this?"

I lifted my head and sat back. "About the same, I think and I think he's just as confused as I am. I think the iPad was a way to tell me that, but... Rie, how am I going to survive a week alone with him?"

Marie smiled. "Well... maybe you should both use that week to sort things out. I'm not saying that you ARE gay, Donnie, but there's obviously something going on that you two need to consider. Take it slow and talk things out and don't do anything you'll regret later, ok? And, besides, I'm only a phone call away, right? So's Hilda. If things are getting too heated and you're not ready to move to the next level, just step into another room and call your sister." She paused for a moment. "And I'll tell you all about my period again and that will cool things right down."

We both laughed at that.

Then she asked, "Do you still want to do this?"

"I have to." I nodded. "I promised Mitch and he's already spent a fortune, besides, it would crazy to waste all this hair and everything." Marie waited until I was ready to stop talking. "Besides... I need to see this through to find out what I really am."

Marie shook her head. "You're a great guy, Donnie, that's what you are."

I nodded. "You know what I mean. Come help me get ready and we can get going."

Marie picked a green sweater dress for me to wear that day. It had a modest V-neck, three quarter length sleeves and a straight, loose skirt. Nothing fancy, but very pretty and very comfortable.

When we reached the tanning salon, I found out that not only would Marie be tanning in the same private room as I was, but that we'd be tanning in the nude. Obviously, this concerned me. I mean, with my... thing... taped up between my legs, from the front, I looked perfectly passable, but what if I hadn't done a perfect job? Marie. Calmed me down, though, "Don't worry. They'll just close the door, let us undress and they control the beds from outside the room."

The attendant showed us to our tanning room, all the while chastising us for not having come sooner. "You're leaving in two days? You really should have come a couple of weeks ago to have built up a nice tan. This will just give you the most basic tan."

"This opportunity just came along the other day," Marie defended my lack of tanning knowledge. "I just want her to not look too pale when she arrives."

The woman looked a bit snotty as she opened the door to the tanning room. "There's a changing room in the back of the tanning area. You'll find lotions in there. When you're ready to start, push the green button on the wall and I'll talk to you through the speaker system. If you need to stop the session for any reason, just push the red button on tanning bed's cover, the unit will shut down and I'll be notified. The session will last approximately ten minutes. A bell will ring at the end of the session. At that time, feel free to take your time to clean off and get dressed. Any questions? Enjoy your session."

The speech was rehearsed and delivered with a robotic quality, something I normally would have commented on, but I guessed that she must have given the same speech a few dozen times a day for several years, so I just said 'thank you' and entered the room. Marie and I disrobed together and helped each other with the lotion before climbing into the tanning beds. I got in first so that Marie could help clear my copious mass of blonde hair from my face - It wasn't just the amount of hair I was carrying, but my lack of dexterity in dealing with it.

The whole tanning bed process was a bit of a surreal experience. It reminded me of a suspended animation chamber in a sci-fi film and when the tanning lights came on, there was a smell, not an unpleasant smell, but a smell none the less, that gave me a bit of anxiety. Was my skin burning off? Probably not. It was probably a combination of the heat and the lotion, but it was noticeable. It was a nice, warm feeling, though, laying on the heated bed for as long as it lasted.

When we were properly cooked, we climbed out of the beds, helped to clean each other off, got dressed and headed to the mall. Our first stop was actually an accessories store where Marie grabbed a whole variety of hair clips - some quite large and some quite small. When we were back in the mall's common area, Marie had me sit and pulled a small section of hair from the edges of my forehead and brought them to the back of my head where she clipped a very small clip into them so that my hair, for the most part, stayed away from my face.

"Now that you've had a few days to deal with your new hair, you can use clips for a little respite," Marie explained. "You may find these useful for a daytime look, but never, never, never use these for a nighttime look. Is that clear?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'm," I joked and we headed for Nordstrom's.

"You know," Marie said, as we walked - she'd obviously just coming up with an idea, "there is a salon at the resort. If you wanted to try an updo for one of the fancy events, I'm sure that Mitch would pay for that." She smiled as she toyed with my hair. "It would make you feel sexy." She smiled, playfully, knowing that being sexy was not really my goal.

I snickered. "Just what I need."

We were pretty quick shoppers for a change. Marie chose two silk nighties. Both were rather plain, just silk slips, really. Spaghetti straps with no real ornamentation. I thought they were very pretty.

From there, we hurried to Neiman Marcus where she found one more that she liked. It was the same kind of silk slip with spaghetti straps, but this one was more colorful and had some mesh areas that showed a lot more skin than I wanted to show. She also bought two short, silk robes.

Before we left, I pointed out that I had been hauled around by people for the last few days and that I hadn't even been carrying a wallet. I would need a wallet and a purse of some kind for the trip. Marie agreed and we purchased a very small, black clutch made by Yvette Saint Laurent that I would have guessed might have cost somewhere between sixty and a hundred dollars, but in fact set Mitch back another thirteen hundred and fifty dollars! There was no logic to the cost of women's clothes and I found that frustrating, but Marie just laughed at that. "It's not the cost of the materials that you're paying for, Donnie, you're paying for the prestige of the logo. That little gold 'YSL' will make an impact. That's the world you're entering. Things like that matter."

Then we entered the dreaded sanctum known as 'Victoria's Secret.' I knew that I looked like a typical customer, but I felt more conspicuous than I'd ever felt before. Almost none of the clothing I saw on display was designed for work or even comfort. It was all designed for titillation. Even the sweat pants fit in such a way that they emphasized the curves of the wearer. Just the thought of being that much of a spectacle gave me the creeps. I mentioned it to Marie who shook her head and said, "That's why you liked that wool skirt and sweater that you wore last night! You want to be a good girl, and that's great, but every now and then, you need to loosen up. Look around. That's what these clothes are all about. It's not about being slutty, it's about having fun. We've got beautiful, supple bodies with soft skin and nice curves. These clothes celebrate that. I promise you, the first time you feel your breasts being caressed by a sexy Victoria's Secret nightie, you feel like the sexiest girl on earth."

I rolled my eyes, but when we started looking at the very low cut, very lacy nighties, I did get a little excited at the prospect of wearing one of them. We only bought one, a blue, silky, slip style in a really pretty shade of light blue with very transparent lace edging on the low cut cleavage and colorful and pretty bouquets of flowers decorated the tempting item.

Satisfied with her rather meager haul, at least compared with the previous days' hauls, we headed down the mall to meet Hilda for lunch, but along the way, we stopped in a jewelry store. Marie assured me that she would not go crazy buying me jewelry I probably would wear only once anyway, and she was pretty well behaved. I left with a tiny, gold watch, an amethyst pendant on a gold chain and a Claddagh ring for the third finger of my right hand. All in all, she'd spent less than twenty five hundred dollars at the mall, which made me feel relieved.

As we were entering the chain restaurant where we were to meet Hilda, Marie stopped and said, "I've thought about it, Donnie, and I want you to take mom's pearls to wear in Hawaii."

Now, our mom had passed away very suddenly a few years earlier and it seemed to hit Marie and me much harder than our older sisters. Mom hadn't updated her will in decades, so the house we grew up in, the little saving that mom had, her life insurance, everything went to our sisters. At the time, both Marie and I were doing fine in our careers and we chose not to make our relationship with Claudia and Angela even more stressful than it was, and we agreed to not contest the will - WITH ONE EXCEPTION. Marie wanted my mom's string of pearls. You'd think that would be a pretty simple request, but Claudia and Angela went head to head with Marie until she ultimately won. Those pearls meant an awful lot to her, I knew that and I knew that this offer was a huge deal for Rie.

"Rie..." I was truly overwhelmed by the offer, "... I couldn't. What if something happened to them?"

"Just don't let anything happen to them, Donnie. It's my way of saying that I've really enjoyed having a little sister, even if it's just for a little while. When you wear them, remember that I love you."

All I could do was hug her and say, "Thank you, Rie. I love you, too."

When we entered the restaurant, Marie spoke to the hostess. "Hi. We're meeting my wife. I believe she's already been seated. Tall. Thin. Beautiful. An accent like a Nazi."

The hostess let out a nervous laugh. "Oh... yes. Right this way."

We sat by a window and had a nice, light lunch. Hilda informed me that she'd bought me some additional makeup and brushes to take with me, just to be sure that I have everything I might need. How can you not love a sister in law who is that nice, right?

After dinner, we said goodbye to Marie who headed off to work with the final admonishment that we would be packing on Tuesday.

Hilda and I went to pick up my luggage. I have to admit, having my initials embroidered on them was pretty cool. We loaded them into Hilda's Land Rover and unloaded them into my house when we got there. Then, suddenly it was already five o'clock and I was starting to focus on seeing Mitch. Hilda understood and headed to my door.

Before she left, she stopped to kiss my cheek and asked, "Have you thought about what we discussed the other day?"

I nodded. "I haven't thought about much else."

Hilda wiped a hair from my face. "And what do you think?"

I sighed. I'd kind of used the activity of that busy day to not think about how I felt about Mitch, but Hilda wanted an answer. "I love Mitch, Hilda, but... I don't love a guy's body. I don't want to be with a guy. It doesn't appeal to me. I think we're destined to be friends that share a weird week together."

Hilda hugged me. "Ok. But it doesn't have to be that way. You know we're both here for you if you need us. We love you."

"I know," I answered, "I love you, too."

She kissed my cheek again, then, as she headed out the door she said, "I'm working out of town tomorrow morning, but I'll be by in the afternoon to set up your makeup case for you."

"Drive safely!" I called after her. It had started to snow. It wasn't sticking, but black ice is always a problem on nights like this.

Mitch and I had tentative plans to go to dinner, but with the snow, I was concerned, and not just concerned about driving in that weather. The snow didn't seem all that bad, but I didn't have any boots and if Marie were to find out that I messed up a pair of new pumps walking in the snow... well, I didn't even want to think about that lecture.

I called Mitch and he insisted that he was at least coming over to my place. "I have something for you and, besides, we seem to be able to behave ourselves in public. We need to get passed being alone."

Ok, that was definitely true, but could we get through an evening together without doing something stupid? We were about to find out.

I'm not a gourmet cook, not by a long shot, but I make a great mac and cheese with Spam chunks in it, so that's what I prepared for Mitch and me for dinner. I didn't change into 'evening' clothes, but stayed in my green dress, and I set up a couple of folding tables in the living room, hoping that watching a movie might keep our minds off of the elephant in the room - the elephant would be me.

Mitch arrived just as I moved the pot of mac and cheese off of the hot burner. "I'm in the kitchen!" I called when I heard the door open and close.

Mitch said 'hi' as he came into the kitchen, taking off his slightly damp suit jacket and putting it over the back of a kitchen chair. I asked about the roads and he replied, "I don't think it'll amount to much. Just a flurry. Boy, Donnie, every time I see you, you look more beautiful."

I smiled and blushed as I spooned dinner into two bowls. "Seriously? I didn't even get changed or redo my makeup. I've been wearing this all day."

Mitch loosened his tie and came up behind me laying an affectionate peck on my cheek and giving me a hug. "In all the time we've known each other, I've never once expected to hear my best buddy give me the classic 'What? This old thing?' speech. But, yes, seriously, you look amazing." He reached into his pocket and pulled something out saying, "Here."

He handed me an envelope. When I opened it, I found a new driver's license with my name listed as 'Dawn' and my sex as 'F.' "How did you get this?" I asked, surprised.

"I work with people at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and I mentioned that I had a friend who needed some help getting a new license in a rush. They were happy to help."

I was confused. "But... after we get back...?"

"Your old license is still valid, don't worry. This is just for the trip, or for as long as you need it."

Whew! That was a relief. There was an end to this, after all.

I led Mitch to the living room and the folding tables. I put the bowls down, then we sat, which was a bit of a challenge for me. The dress necessitated that I sit with my rump near the end of the cushion and that I turn slightly to the left, cross my legs at the knees and pull my table up against my right hip so that I could eat. As I placed my napkin on my lap, I noticed that Mitch was watching me and smiling.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Nothing... it's just that you're... such a girl!"

I shrugged at that. "Well, isn't that what you wanted?"

"Oh, you're so much more than I wanted," he laughed and turned his attention to his dinner, such as it was.

I felt like I needed to put an end to this discussion, so I grabbed the remote, turned on the TV and called up the most un-sexually-stimulating movie I could think of: 'Rogue One, A Star Wars Story.' If you haven't seen it, you should, it's great, but in summary, it's a typical Star Wars storyline, except with no love story and the acting is better. The end of the film is a blood bath of Shakespearean proportions, so I assumed that there would be no sexual tension brought on by this movie, and I was right.

I ate about a third of what I'd normally have eaten. I don't know why, but I felt like I just needed to watch what I ate, now that I was in dresses full time. I guess that Marie had gotten into my head. Mitch, on the other hand, ate all of his, what was left of mine and then had an ice cream sandwich for dessert.

Typically, when Mitch and I ate in front of the TV at either of our houses, the dirty dishes stayed on the folding tables until we were ready to call it a night. This night, though, I cleared the dishes, rinsed them and loaded them into the washer, brought Mitch an ice cream sandwich and folded and put away the tables.

By the time Princess Leia had the plans for the Death Star in her weirdly CGIed hands, my shoes were off, my chilly feet were tucked underneath my butt and I was curled up on the other end of the couch from Mitch. Let me tell you something that you probably don't understand. Some of the mannerisms that we think of as 'feminine' are one hundred percent clothes related. My house is kept reasonably warm in the winter, but these clothes were just not warm enough! The snuggling and cuddling that women do isn't just a hormonal based need for affection, girls are freaking cold!

When the movie ended, Mitch stood up and went to the kitchen.

"Are you leaving?" I asked. It wasn't quite nine o'clock yet.

"Nope," he called back, "just grabbing your iPad. I saw it out here charging."

When he came back into the living room he stopped and looked at me. "Are you cold?"

"I'm freezing," I admitted as I rubbed my biceps.

Mitch went to my hall closet and retrieved a large wool blanket that I kept in there. "Why didn't you get this out before?" He shook his head as he shook the blanket out, then sat down beside me and pulled the blanket onto both of us. "Come on. Lean on me and get warm."

"Mitch," I sighed, "I really don't want things to get weird with us. Last night, it kind of felt like we were going to take things a little too far..."

Mitch held up his hand to stop me. "I know and I'm really sorry, Donnie. I've been thinking about this a lot since I left and I've been trying to figure out what happened. I think I was just kind of caught up in, well... how you look. I know that's a kind of a cop out, and I don't want you to think I'm blaming you for it or anything, I just mean... Look, Donnie, you know how I am. I'm great in a job situation, or on the golf course or with the guys, but with a girl... you know, in a dating situation.. I can't do anything. I can't talk, I can't think straight, I'm just a big idiot, but with YOU as the girl... I guess I felt comfortable for the first time and... I got carried away and I'm really sorry."

Everything he said was true and was similar to how I'd felt the previous night, too. "Yeah, me too," I muttered.

"So, come on. Lean into me and get warm. I promise I can control myself." He raised his arm and I cuddled underneath it feeling safe and happy that we both felt the same way.

We spent an hour or more looking at things pertaining to the trip that Mitch wanted to share with me. Things about the flight and about the resort and about things that were being planned for the 'wives' - apparently even the girlfriends were considered 'wives.' It all seemed very elegant and much nicer than any vacation I'd ever taken before and now that Mitch and I both seemed to be on the same page, I was very excited about going.

As it approached eleven, Mitch said he needed to get going. "I don't think I'll see you tomorrow," he said and seemed to regret it. "I need to get my things packed and ready to go. If you need anything, just get it, or give me a call if you need me to do anything for you."

I smiled and straightened out his rumpled suit jacket. "My knight in shining armor, huh? Always willing to help out a maiden in distress."

He pulled me closer. "Donnie... even before you became Dawn, I wanted to help you out. It's not because you're a maiden... it's because you're my friend and I love you. It's not just something I say when I leave, Donnie, I mean it sincerely. I love you and I want to help you out."

"I know," I smiled up into his eyes and - it was weird. I'd been with Mitch on more evenings than not for most of our lives, but I never noticed how blue his eyes were. They were really striking - Like as blue as Chris Pine's or maybe Paul Newman's. Now, that should have been information that I kept to myself, but for some reason I blurted out, "I never noticed how blue your eyes are."

He chuckled. "Really, because more than once, I've given you ties that match the green of yours."

"Really?" I was surprised.

He smiled. "You never noticed? What kind of an artist are you?"

"An unemployed one," I laughed. "Maybe now I know why."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments until Mitch asked, "Would it be ok if I kiss you goodnight?"

"Of course!" I smiled. "We need to be comfortable doing this, right? So, go for it."

He stared into my eyes for a good few seconds, then bent and kissed me and, I swear, it was such a warm and romantic kiss that I felt shivers running from my lips to the tips of my toes.

When our lips parted, he almost looked smug about how he'd kissed me, but now, instead of wanting to be cautious and go slow, I just wanted Mitch to stay with me and kiss me like that a million more times.

But that didn't happen. Mitch headed out the door. I stopped him from closing the door, though, and I stood and watched while he brushed the snow off of his Lexus and then got into the car and drove away.

That was that, I guessed, so up to bed I went to do my nightly regime then climb into a cold, lonely bed, once again. I still couldn't get a handle on what I really wanted and I think I found that more frustrating than anything.

Tuesday was mostly a day of preparation. Marie and I never left the house and I never actually got out of my pajama-top-nightie. We packed my suitcases in an amazingly organized manner. Marie put a tag with a number on it on the hanger of each of my dresses/skirts/blouses as we hung them in a garment bag and then she slipped the corresponding lingerie into a one gallon sized ziplock baggie, wrote the corresponding number on the baggie with Sharpie and put those baggies into a suitcase. "This makes everything idiot-proof," Marie smiled while I worked our whether or not she thought I was an idiot. The numbers were only for organizational reasons and I was advised by Rie to make sure that I asked some of the veteran wives about dress code for each event, including non-scheduled time. She assured me that the more experienced wives would appreciate my desire to conform.

One entire suitcase was dedicated to just shoes and those shoes were each still in their boxes. By one in the afternoon, Marie was satisfied with the way that everything had been packed and protected. Every dress was in a dry cleaning style bag and hung perfectly in a garment bag. Every piece of lingerie was labeled and laid neatly in a suitcase. Every shoe was in a shoebox and every shoebox was in a suitcase. Every nightie was folded neatly and laid on top of its corresponding robe. Every pair of stockings was in an interior pocket in the suitcases. Every piece of jewelry, including our mother's string of pearls, was in a baggie and tucked into my carry-on. My hair products, perfumes, powders, antiperspirants, hair clips were all in baggies and packed away.

That only left my makeup.

Hilda arrived at two thirty with a very welcomed chicken salad wrap for each of us. She looked at the packed, but still opened luggage and laughed. "Are you MOVING to Hawaii?"

As we ate, Hilda said, "I do pity poor Mitch having to push a cart with all of that luggage through the airport."

"No, no," I explained. "We're traveling first class, so there's a concierge/porter service at the airport. When we arrive, they'll take all of our luggage, except our carry-ons, and we won't see it again until it arrives at our hotel suite."

"Suite?" Hilda smirked. "Your hotel SUITE? Are you serious?"

I set about showing Hilda all of the pictures that Mitch had shown me. "Look, because we're in a suite, the resort staff will even unpack my bags for me, then pack it all back up before we leave. Isn't that great?"

Hilda shook her head. "He's spoiling you."

I laughed at that.

After lunch, Hilda packed all of my makeup correctly so that it looked very organized.

We were a little vexed about how to handle the change of clothes I would have to do on the airplane. Marie was all for running downtown and buying a new garment bag, but Hilda called Mitch and asked if he'd be carrying a garment bag on the plane for himself. He said that he was and that I could pack my blouse, skirt and a bag of undies in that. I could fit my shoes in my carry-on without much effort, as long as they weren't in a shoebox, so that worked. Hilda did make it clear to Mitch, though, that I would need to have my carry-on and a makeup case with me. He assured her that he would carry whatever the concierge/porter service wouldn't be carrying for us.

I was surprised when, in the late afternoon, the 'Nail Girl' from Renee's salon showed up and redid my finger and toe nails for me, this time in a bright, but dignified crimson. Apparently, Marie had called a Renee when we packing and asked for the girl to do an emergency house call since there was no way we'd have time to get there. "That's a much more fun color for a vacation," Marie said, inspecting the girl's work. "They're eye catching enough to let the other trophy wives know that you're confident, but still fun and young, like you're trying to catch a man's eye.

By dinner time, I was all alone. Marie and Hilda promised to come see me off the next day. I used up the cold cuts in my fridge and made a salad with some sliced turkey in it. I showered and spent an hour drying my hair and preparing for bed, and by eight thirty, I was in bed watching a rerun of Big Bang Theory and doing a crossword puzzle on my new iPad.

My phone rang and I saw that it was Mitch calling me in FaceTime. That was a first!

"Hi," I smiled, strangely happy to have him call me.

"Hi, beautiful," he said with a big grin on his face. "All packed?"

"I am. I'm really sorry, but there's an awful lot of luggage."

"No problem," he shook his head. "If that's what you need, then I'll take care of it."

"Thanks. Oh, my God! I just realized! This is the first time that you've seen me without makeup since I became a girl! Ugh! You shouldn't be seeing me like this!"

Mitch laughed at that. "I'm going to see you without makeup tomorrow night. What difference does it make?"

"Yeah," I giggled, "but that's in real life. This is in bad lighting, bad angles and in high-def! Do I look terrible?"

"You look absolutely amazing! I swear!" He laughed. "I just wanted to check in and see you. I know this is going to sound stupid, but I really missed being with you, today."

I felt a little sad at that. "Yeah. Me too."

We stared at each other long enough to think that maybe our screens had frozen.

"Ok," he said, "I should let you go, I guess. I'm going to be working for a couple of hours in the morning, then I'll go home and get my luggage and stuff. How about I come by in the early afternoon and I'll bring some ham and cheese croissants from Lincoln's. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," I said, "but could you get some for Hilda and Rie? They're coming by to say goodbye around lunch time, too."

"Sure," he smiled and once again, those eyes cut right through me. "I'll see you, then. Good night, Dawn."

"Good night, Mitch," I answered, not wanting the call to end.

"You know I love you, right?" There was something different about the way he said it tonight that I really liked.

"I do. I love you, too."

"Alright," he blew me a kiss through the phone. "See you tomorrow."

The call ended and I spent most of the next nine hours rolling from side to side with a mixture of trepidation about where this trip might lead for Mitch and me, loneliness from not having seen Mitch that day, and excitement about the trip and being able to be with Mitch pretty much nonstop for the next week.

Wednesday morning I got up and used the last of my eggs, my last two pieces of bread and the last of my milk to have breakfast, then dressed in one of my more casual dresses that I planned to wear on the plane. It was a knee length, black cotton dress with bright red and bright blue lines intersecting at seemingly random angles. It buttoned all the way up the front. The cotton was thick and stiff, but very comfortable. I liked it.

Around ten thirty, Hilda and Marie showed up and checked each of my bags, closed them and took them downstairs. Well, truth be told, Hilda was the one who carried the bags downstairs. My makeup case and carry-on were placed near the front door, but away from my other luggage, and the clothes into which I'd be changing on the plane were hung in a dry cleaner bag from my railing waiting to be added to Mitch's garment bag when he arrived.

"That's a lot to take with us," I said looking around. "When Nancy and I flew, we always crammed everything into one big, communal suitcase to avoid paying extra fees."

"The only place that you and Nancy ever flew," Marie pointed out, "was to Disney World to stay at The Pop Century Resort. Two pairs of short, five tee shirts, some socks and underwear doesn't take up a lot of room. What was the fanciest restaurant you ate in while you were there?"

I shrugged. "Usually we just ate at the counter service places. Once we ate at Tappan Eto, the hibachi place at the Japan Pavilion in EPCOT. It was kind of nice."

"Un huh," Marie nodded. "I don't think you're going to see any chefs making volcanos out of a pile of onion slices in Hawaii."

"We had a good time, even though we weren't rich." I pointed out.

"I'm not arguing that," Marie smiled and kissed my cheek, "but you're about to enter a new world. Make the most of it, Donnie. Enjoy it while it lasts."

At that moment, Mitch came in with a bag from Lincoln's Bakery, one of the best bakeries I've ever been to. He kissed my cheek and looked at all the luggage that was piled an waiting.

"Wow!" He laughed. "That's a lot of luggage!"

I put my arm around his torso and he put his on my shoulder. "I know," I said. "I'm sorry."

He kissed the top of my head. "No need to apologize. I'm sure that you'll make good use of all of it." He turned to my sister and her wife and said, "I brought ham and cheese croissants."

Hilda clapped her hands and took the bag from Mitch. "Ach! There is a God!" She hurried to the kitchen and began plating the food.

"Should I bring in my garment bag now, or later?" Mitch asked Marie, knowing that she was, as always, in charge.

"Let's have lunch first, then we can deal with the final preparations and Donnie can get changed."

"Changed?" I asked. "I was going to wear this on the plane."

"No, you're going to wear the light brown, straight skirt dress. That's more distinguished."

"But this is more comfortable," I said, really not wanting to change dresses.

Marie glanced at Mitch. "Mitch, will there be any other people from your firm on this flight?"

"A few," Mitch said. "Most left yesterday or earlier today."

Marie looked at me and smiled. "There may be other trophy wives on the flight, Donnie, so you need to dress to impress. The light brown dress is obviously a Diane von Furstenberg. That will impress the wives, so that's what you'll wear on the flight."

I shrugged in defeat. "Ok, boss. You know best."

"Damn straight," she smiled. "Let's eat."

We sat and chatted about old times and old friends for a couple of hours during which Marie and Hilda each ate two croissants, I ate half of one and Mitch ate three, plus my discarded half. At three o'clock, Marie sent Hilda with me to get changed and she sent Mitch to get his garment bag.

"She's only trying to help you do your best for Mitch, you know," Hilda said. "You don't mind, really, do you? You're not mad, right?"

"No. I don't mind and I'm certainly not mad." I hung up my comfortable, stiff cotton dress and took out the light brown Diane von Furstenberg dress. The dress itself was a fairly plain, sleeveless dress with a pencil skirt and a separate, matching, short jacket. The jacket was what Randall had referred to as an Eisenhower jacket. It barely reached a woman's natural waist. The sleeves bloused a bit making me sure that it would not fit comfortably under the leather coat I was still borrowing from Marie. Man, with everything that we'd bought, why hadn't I bought myself a winter coat!?

Just a side note - I'm pretty darned sure that Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander In Europe during World War Two and Thirty Fourth President of The United States never wore a jacket as cute as the one I was wearing that day. Just saying.

I buttoned the only two buttons on the jacket, at the waist, and turned and presented myself to Hilda. "What do you think."

She smirked and shook her head. "I hate to admit it, but Marie was right. There's no way that they can see you wearing that and not think that you mean business. They'll know that you are there to do what ever you need to do to help Mitch make partner."

I glanced in the mirror. I definitely looked good. "Should I wear jewelry?"

Hilda shook her head. "No. That would be gilding the lily. You look lovely, just as you are." She kissed my cheek. "Look, Donnie, if you need anything and... well, if you don't think that Marie will understand... call me. Ok?"

I hugged her to thank her, her shoulder pressing into my cheek. "Thank you, Hilda. Thank you for everything."

She nodded. "Take good care of yourself."

Before we knew it, a big, black town car was in front of my house. Mitch and the driver loaded up all the luggage and an hour and a half after I kissed my sister and sister in law goodbye, we were unloading it all at Logan Airport in Boston. We had pulled up in front of the Hawaiian Airlines concierge area. A porter helped our driver unload all of the luggage and loaded it onto a cart while Mitch checked us in. I carried my makeup case and my ludicrously over priced hand bag while Mitch negotiated both carry-ons and the garment bag.

I was a little concerned with getting through the TSA security gates, but my license was legit, so we walked right through and headed to the Hawaiian Airlines VIP Lounge. Along the way, a porter from the airline spotted Mitch and took one carry-on and the garment bag for him, lightening his load.

The buffet in the VIP Lounge was unbelievable. Hawaiian specialties as well as pretty much any other food that you've ever heard of! I wished I could have eaten more, but I was content with the little bit that I was able to enjoy.

After dinner, we sat in the VIP Lounge's bar area and watched planes take off and land on the runways through the wall of windows. Mitch went to the bar and got himself his usual Sam Adams and brought me a sangria. I'd never tasted the fruity, mixed wine drink before, but I really liked it and I particularly liked the fact that it didn't taste like wine, or like any alcohol at all, really. It was a bit like Hawaiian Punch with a little kick to it.

As I sat and sipped and began to relax a bit, I felt a hand touch my shoulder from behind and someone's cheek was suddenly pressed against mine. "There she is! Are you excited to finally be going on your trip?" The unseen person kissed my cheek, then moved around my chair and sat in the one opposite me.

"Jodi," I smiled and reached out my right hand to squeeze her left. "Mitch, you remember Jodi Elliot from the restaurant the other night."

"Yes, of course, I know Jodi well," Mitch stood, then bent to kiss Jodi's cheek. You know, I've known Mitch pretty much my whole life, and in any social situation, he is always the guy with the goofy smile that tells a good story. He was never the 'social butterfly' kind of guy, but when he was in a work situation, he was a different person. Strong and confident and he always knew how to smile in just the right way so as to make the person to whom he was speaking smile back. "How are you, Jodi? Are you you all set for a week in paradise?"

She waved his remark off. "Oh, I like Hawaii just fine, but if I want paradise, then the French Riviera is where I'd be headed. And as for a week, well that's hardly enough time to unpack, am I right, Dawn, dear? I had hoped to have left the day before yesterday with Oscar and Beverly, but... you know Bob! He just has to deal with every little problem himself! Look at him over there, trying to find me. Honestly, he's so absent minded when he's not in the office. Bob! Bob! Over here, dear. Look, I've found Mitch and Dawn!"

Bob Elliot came over with glass of some sort of brown liquor for himself and a champagne flute for his wife and sat down in the chair beside her. "Greetings, all," he said as he huffed and puffed his pudgy sixtysomething body into the seat. "It looks as if we're going to be taking off before the snow comes in. Good thing, too, I'm not a fan of flying in bad weather."

"Or good weather, either," Jodi teased in a very posh manner. She leaned over and touched my knee, "Robert just HATES anything that takes him away from the office. He's quite the workaholic. See that Mitch never gets that way, dear. It makes a man quite boring."

"Nice of you to say, dear," Mr Elliot said, jokingly, but I got a sense that this was a bit of a sore spot between husband and wife. "So, Dawn, Jodi tells me that you and our Mitchell here have known each other quite some time."

Really? My relationship with Mitch was actually a topic of conversation at the Elliot house? Why? "Oh, yes. Mitch and I grew up together. We went to all the same schools, right through college. Then Mitch went off to Suffolk and then Harvard for his law degrees."

"And then came back to you, huh?" He gave a phlegmy cough at that. "Childhood sweethearts reunited."

"No, no," Mitch laughed and sipped his beer. "We were just buddies until recently, when we started dating."

"Buddies?" Jodi said, dubiously. "A tall handsome man and a beautiful woman are never going to be buddies, Mitch. I bet there was always some kind of a spark there."

Mitch took my hand and squeezed it. "Maybe. I don't know, Jodi. Maybe we were just too young and stupid to see it, but we're very happy that we eventually found a way to be together, right Donnie?"

I blanched when Mitch used my real name, but it didn't seem to matter because Jodi seemed to love it. "Donnie! Oh, how sweet is that, Bob? Oh, and it fits you so nicely. You have that kind of 'free and easy' way about you and Dawn is such a stuffy name. 'Donnie,' yes, I just think that's so adorable!"

I just smiled. How do you respond to something like that?

The announcement came that it was time to prepare to board the plane. First class passengers in rows A through F were called to board first. "Well," Mitch stood, "That's us!"

He offered me his hand which I took and stood. Jodi stood, too, and made a big show of kissing both of my cheeks. "Aloha, my dear." And before we could leave she said, "Oh, good God, Donnie, that dress is just divine! The two of you are just a picture! Mitch, you look so handsome in that sweater and tie, and Donnie in that perfect, traveling ensemble! Most people you see on these flights are wearing sweat pants or dirty old shorts. It's disgusting. Oh, well, you should go, now! We'll talk more on the plane."

"Oh, that will be wonderful," I smiled. We walked to the door where the porter who'd been keeping an eye on our luggage, handed me my makeup case and then helped Mitch carry the other bags to the plane. Because we had had our tickets scanned when we entered the lounge, we just walked right onto the plane and took our seats - Row C, seats F and G, on the right hand side of the plane. It was a big plane, too. Two seats on the left side, three in the middle and two on the right in the first class compartment. I did notice that in the economy class section of the plane, there were three seats on either side and five in the middle. Normally, that's where I would have been flying, if I'd ever been able to afford a flight to Hawaii, but I was very grateful to be enjoying the spaciousness of the high end accommodations.

There was ample overhead space for our carry-ons, garment bag and makeup case and the seats were enormous! Even six foot two inch Mitch had plenty of leg room.

"Wow," I said quietly to Mitch as I sat crosslegged in the wide, comfortable seat and swiveled it from side to side, "class-eeee."

He chuckled, "Yep. Only the best for my girl." He squeezed my knee.

It took about a half an hour to get everyone on the plane, then another twenty minutes or so taxiing to the runways and waiting for takeoff and then, finally, we were in the air. I know that this is foolish, because we all know how an airplane works, but I have always found flight miraculous! The feeling of leaving the ground excites me in a very visceral way and then looking down at the ground as we soar above it is something I have never grown tired of.

We leveled off and the flight became smooth. Mitch pulled out his iPad and began reviewing some paperwork.

"I thought you were on vacation," I teased.

"No, YOU'RE on vacation. I'm on an work retreat." He laughed. "Actually, I only have a couple of things to take care of and then I'll be done with paperwork for the week. I'll leave it till later, if you'd rather talk." He closed the cover of his iPad and took my hand. "Are you excited?"

I smiled, "Actually, yes. Now that we're on the way, I'm really excited. I think I'll be ok with the others wives. I mean, I did ok with Jodi, just now and with her and Bev at O'Connor's the other night. As long as I stick with my own life story and don't make up a lot of lies, everything seems to go smoothly."

Mitch squeezed my hand, reassuringly. "I think Jodi likes you."

I laughed at that. "She's ok, I guess, but... how old is she, like thirty five? Thirty six? Bob has to be thirty years older than her!"

Mitch shrugged. "That's kind of a rich man's issue, you know? They spend their twenties and thirties building their business and their fortunes and by the time they're in their forties, their marriages are falling apart. Divorced and alone in their fifties, they find a young woman looking for a leg up to a better life... Honestly, I think that Jodi and Bob love each other more than most of the autumn/spring relationships I see among my colleagues. They tease each other a lot, but they seem pretty happy."

I took a deep breath. "Wow. So, I'm not just joining The Trophy Wives' Club, I'm joining The Second Wives' Club?"

Mitch laughed. "Not all of them, but... there are plenty."

I shook my head. "That's awful."

Mitch patted my hand. "Don't worry, Donnie. I'll never divorce you." He laughed and I pushed his hand off of mine.

"You had better not, mister! Argh! Men!"

As we laughed, Jodi suddenly appeared in the aisle beside Mitch. "How are you two kids doing up here?" She asked.

Mitch was still laughing. "We're good, Jodi. How about you?"

"Well, to tell you the truth," she smirked, "Bob is boring me to tears going over paperwork on his iPad and ignoring me. Honest to goodness, this whole Rand case needs to end. I am tired of being ignored." She did giggle at that, so I assumed that she understood the situation.

Mitch laughed. "That's funny, because I was starting to do some work on the Rand case, too, but Dawn made me put it way."

"Oh, Mitchell, PLEASE do me a favor!" Jodi was being overly theatrical. "Please, please, PLEASE, go back there and help Bob get through this paperwork. If you help him, he can talk through it and he'll be done in a few hours. Otherwise, I'll be listening to his hemming and hawing all week!"

Mitch looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Do you mind? If I do the work with Bob, I'll probably get it done pretty quickly. Then it'll be done and I'll be free to focus on you."

What I wanted to say was, 'No! Don't go! I did all of this for you and now I just want to be with you! Stay with me, Mitch! Don't leave me alone with Jodi!'

But what I said was, "No, I don't mind at all. I'll be fine, here with Jodi."

"Thanks," he said, then leaned over and gave me a kiss. "I won't be too long."

He was gone about ninety minutes, which wasn't long, but it did seem much longer. Jodi was fine, but she got to be a bit much. She was rather nosy, but I think she was just making conversation.

"So, tell me about yourself, dear," she said. "How did you become an artist?"

I told her how I was a reasonably good artist in high school and then found that I could do creative things on a computer, so while I was in college I found that graphic artistry called to me. I enjoyed it and when I found that I could make a living at it, I stuck with it.

"How interesting," she said, implying more excitement than my story warranted. "Would I have ever seen any of your work?"

"More than likely," I said, with a bit of pride. "If you ever saw a city bus with advertising decals covering it, you know, the kind that cover it from front to back with huge graphics on it, that was more than likely my design."

"Oh, lord, how dreadful!" Jodi twittered, crushing me a bit. She must have noticed that I was hurt, because she immediately back pedaled. "Oh, no, dear, I don't mean that your work was dreadful, I just mean... well... to go through all that work to become an artist and then have your work displayed on a dirty, old city bus... well, I'm sorry, dear. I shouldn't have been so judgmental. I imagine it paid well, though?"

I shrugged. "It paid pretty well."

"How well?"

That seemed awfully personal. In fact, I had been paid ok for the work I had done. After eight years with the company, I was making about fifty five thousand dollars a year - nothing to be ashamed of, right? But I was ashamed at that moment, so I lied and said, "I made about seventy thousand a year."

"Oh," Jodi puffed the word as if she was choking back a laugh. "Well, that's better than a paper route, I suppose, but... may I offer you a little advice?"

"Of course," I said, growing a little cold to this woman's opinions.

She looked me straight in the eye. "Donnie, I see how Mitch looks at you. That boy is bat-shit-crazy in love with you and wants to marry you. I mean, let's face it, someone who USED TO MAKE seventy thousand dollars wouldn't be able to dress as well as you do without Mitch's support, right? Anyway, my advice to you is - Don't let that boy get away from you. He wants to marry you and, trust me, you want the life that he can provide. Use this week to make sure that he knows that you're ready to settle down and become a wife and maybe even a mommy. If you let him get away, you will regret it."

I felt a warmth rush over me. When Mitch looked at me, I could see that he felt new and different feelings for me, but... a wife and mommy!? Those two words directed at me shook me to the core. That wasn't going to happen. I knew that Jodi's advice had a mercenary quality to it - find a sugar daddy and live off of him - but she was definitely being sincere. I needed to respond in kind.

I sighed and shook my head. "I just don't know, Jodi. I'm not sure that I'm ready for marriage."

"Ok," she shook her head, "but I think you need to figure that out pretty soon, because I think that Mitch might be."

As we continued to talk, a hostess came along and handed us two pairs of pajamas, one for me and one for Mitch. Jodi asked for hers as well and the hostess found them and gave them to her. Jodi looked about and saw that no one had headed for the three changing rooms to get ready for bed. "Come on," she smiled, "let's get into our pjs before there's a line."

We stood, I grabbed my makeup case from the overhead and we walked to the front of the plane where the changing rooms were located. I had never been in a first class restroom before and it was a revelation! It was almost the size of my master bath at home, and it had no bath tub, so there was room for several people to get changed comfortably in that space.

I opened the door and marveled at the space and cleanliness, especially in comparison to the airplane restrooms to which I was accustomed. "Wow," I said to Jodi as I stepped in, assuming that she was going into another room, but when she responded, she was in the room with me, locking the door behind her.

"First time in first class, Donnie? Well, get used to it. As long as you're with Mitch, I guarantee that you'll be in first class all the time. Unzip me, will you?" Jodi turned her back to me and expected me to help her to undress!

"Oh... um..." I sputtered, ".... Are we doing this together?"

She turned and looked at me. "Well, why not? There's no need to take up two rooms when there's plenty of room in here for both of us." She turned her back to me, again.

"Oh... ok," I was truly dumbfounded. It was bad enough when Marie suddenly stripped in front of me, but Jodi? What the heck could I do? I lowered her zipper and then helped her to step out of her lovely, casual, dress.

She was wearing sheer pantyhose that rode up nearly to the underside of her breasts. An odd fit, I thought.

"Oh, now you know my deepest, darkest secret," she smiled. "Control top pantyhose. Sadly, I've eaten too much lobster dipped in butter over the years. I need to do something about that this year. Either start exercising or get a tummy tuck or a little liposuction." She pulled down her stockings and stood, gripping a very slight ring of extra fat around her middle in her hands. "What do you think? Lipo should take care of this, don't you think?"

I answered honestly. "I don't know."

She looked at me, still wearing my brown ensemble, and smiled an oddly judgmental smile. "No, I don't suppose you do, do you? But you will my dear. I'll be forty in six months. Liposuction is a part of my life, now. Do you do yoga or Zumba or anything like that? If not, you'll be wearing control top clothing in a few years, too."

Ok. Warning heeded. I needed to get my flabby ass to a gym. Look where being flabby had gotten me so far!

"Jodi," I said sincerely, "I would never have guessed you were forty. I would have guessed mid thirties at the most."

Jodi smiled. "Thank you, dear. How old are you?"

"Thirty one," I answered.

"Really!?" she said surprised. "I have a step daughter the exact same age."

Ok, what must it have been like for that girl to have grown up with a step mom that was only nine years older than her. It must have been weird!

"Undo my bra, too, please," Jodi asked. What was this, some kind of bizarre initiation into The Trophy Wives' Club or was Jodi just this comfortable with other woman and her own body? Because, let me tell you, I was not comfortable at all!

I undid her bra and I was grateful that she didn't didn't turn to face me until she had her pajama top on - not buttoned, but on. "Aren't you going to change?" She asked me, looking shocked that I hadn't started to strip. "Here. Take off your jacket and turn around and I'll unzip you."

Once my jacket was off and my zipper was down, I stepped out of my dress and then decided to try to find a way to not take my bra off in front of Jodi. See, even though my breasts were very well defined, my nipples were quite small. One might say - 'man-ish.' I wasn't sure that she should see them. Not a problem a lot of you have had, I know, but it was a genuine concern for me at that moment!

So, I grabbed my makeup case and pulled out my makeup remover and started in on my face. Jodi came to the countertop as well and asked if she might borrow some remover. Of course she could. Hilda had provided me with gallons, so I said 'of course' and we both cleaned our faces, Jodi in her pjs and me in my undies.

I caught Jodi glancing at me in the mirror and she smiled. "What?" I asked, afraid she'd spotted something.

"I was just noticing that even your lingerie is elegant and expensive. Mitch must dress you completely. I must say, he has lovely taste."

I laughed. "Mitch has never seen these. I admit, he paid for them, but my twin sister picked them out."

"Twins!?" she said, excitedly in a way that I had heard my whole life! Other people seem fascinated with the idea of twins and triplets, etc. "Are you identical?"

I shook my head as I continued to use the makeup remover on my face. "Not in the least. She's dark haired, slightly darker skin and a real beauty. I'm not even in her league."

Jodi dropped her hands to her side and looked at me, shocked. "Oh, my God, Dawn, how can you say that!? Look at you! You're gorgeous!"

To prove this point, she grabbed my right arm and turned me towards her, then grabbed my left arm as well and spread them wide, leaving me very exposed.

Now, a little side note about the underwear I was wearing. It was sheer. Very sheer. Diaphanous, one might even say. My nipples were barely covered by a lace inset in my nearly see through bra and on my panties, the same kind of lace barely covered where one might expect my hoo-hoo to be! So, although I was essentially clothed, I was, in reality, as naked as a burlesque dancer.

"I don't care how beautiful your sister is, there is no way that she's as beautiful as you are." Jodi declared. I thought it was odd that the same woman who had demeaned my artistic achievements and my massively inflated income level just a few minutes ago, was now trying to build up my self esteem, but I guess that everyone has their own sense of what's important in life.

I blushed and smiled as much as I could, feeling that exposed. "Thank you, Jodi. That's very sweet of you."

"Imagine someone who looks like you thinking anyone else is better looking! That's ridiculous!" As she was speaking, Jodi was also appraising my body to a level that made me very uncomfortable. I was about to tell her how uncomfortable I was when she spotted something and smiled. "Has Mitch seen that?" She asked.

Uncertain of her meaning, I followed her gaze to the front of my panties where, as clear as day, my little heart shaped patch of pubic hair was visible through the see through material of my undies.

"Oh, my God!" I gasped as I jerked my hands free and turned away, using the counter top to hide the ornamentation.

"Oh, stop it." Jodi waved away my shyness. "I think it's adorable." She went back to cleansing her face, but a knowing smile remained. "Well? Has Mitch seen it?"

I shook my head. "No. Not yet." God, how humiliating. The funny thing was, though, Jodi was completely unfazed by it. She thought the heart was adorable and was happy that she saw it. As if it was something that women should share with each other in a sisterly way. I have to say, she was not like any other woman I ever met, but she definitely seemed very comfortable in her social role.

"Well, don't worry." She smiled as she finished removing her makeup. "I won't tell him. I'll let you surprise him, but you have to tell me what he says when he sees it."

"Ok," I agreed.

I finished my cleaning regime and had no choice but to put on my pajamas. I pulled them from their plastic bag and found that they were, in fact, real silk, not nylon. I pulled the pants on as Jodi complained that Bob would never spring for silk pajamas just for a plane ride. Then I turned my back to the mirror and to Jodi and undid my bra, slipping on the pajama top as quickly as I could.

When we exited the dressing room, as Jodi has predicted, there was a line of people waiting to get into the rooms to change. When I reached my seat, I was relieved to see that Mitch was sitting there, waiting.

"Oh, hi!" He grinned. "I thought that maybe you two had gotten off of the plane."

He stood so that I could get into my seat, then said goodnight to Jodi, who wished him a goodnight as well, then, as she departed said, "Oh, and Mitch... Happy Valentines Day." Then she smiled at me and walked away.

Mitch sat and looked confused. "What was that all about?"

I looked at him and sputtered. She'd just told me that she wouldn't tell him about my heart shaped patch of pubic hair, and then she'd said that! I looked down the aisle where Jodi was walking away, but looking back at me with a mischievous smile on her face. Finally, I got out, "I... I have no idea."

Sleeping on a plane is always tough for me. I hate those neck pillows, so my head always rolls to the side and I wake up with a stiff neck and my sinuses feel terrible from the air conditioning hitting me in the face, but that was my experience sleeping in economy class - That was not how sleeping in first class was. The first class chairs folded flat and sat at an angle so that you didn't hit the people behind you. Before Mitch was even changed, I was sprawled comfortably on my 'bed' with a warm blanket and a comfy pillow. I had my iPad out and after I sent a few texts to Marie and Hilda, briefly relating my changing experience with Jodi, something that they found very amusing, by the way, I had turned on a movie to watch. Originally, I saw that a fairly recent James Bond movie was on Netflix and I was going to watch that, but then I figured that might look odd. So, I settled on a recent version of Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women.' It really doesn't matter what sex you are, if you grow up in central New England, you know the story of 'Little Woman' and you've seen at least one film version of it at some point.I was actually enjoying this new version, though, but somehow, I drifted off to sleep before Mitch returned from changing.

I woke when he took the iPad from me and slipped it back into my carry-on bag. "Sorry," he smiled. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"That's ok." I smiled. "I'm sorry I fell asleep. I was just exhausted. I didn't sleep much last night."

Mitch leaned over me and looked me in the eyes. God, those blue eyes of his! Now that I'd noticed them, I couldn't stop thinking about them. He pushed a few stray hairs from my face and asked if I needed anything. I didn't, so he leaned down and kissed me. Then he whispered in my ear, "According to Bob, Jodi thinks that you and I need to get married ASAP."

I chuckled. "She mentioned that about fifty times."

"If only, huh?" Mitch said as he sat up straight, then said, "I love you," laid down and rolled onto his left side, facing away from me.

'If only!?!?' What the hell did he mean by that!? I wanted to explore that statement with him, but too many people would be able to overhear if I tried. 'If only!?!?' I was sure that those two words were going to keep me awake all night, that I'd not sleep a wink, but within a few minutes, the sound of the plane's engine lulled me to sleep and I didn't stir at all until the next morning.

When I awoke, Mitch was already dressed in a very smart looking button down shirt and pair of khakis, watching a network news show on his iPad.

"What time is it?" I asked.

He looked at the clock on his iPad. "Nearly ten o'clock Boston time. Nearly four Hawaii time."

"Four in the morning?" I asked as I sat up and saw that nearly everyone else was dressed. "What time do we land?"

"About five thirty or six, Hawaii time," he said casually.

Suddenly, I was in a great rush.

"What's the matter?" He laughed.

"I only have an hour and a half to get ready!" I said in an emphatic, but rushed voice.

He laughed harder. "Relax. You have plenty of time."

Suddenly, I was a bit angrier than I should have been and I snapped at him. "You're a man. You have no idea how long it takes for me to look good for you!" I grunted as I grabbed his garment bag, my cosmetics bag and the shoes from my carry-on. "Ninety minutes! Are you crazy!? You should have woken me up an hour ago!" As I stormed off, I heard the man seated behind us laugh and say to Mitch, "Don't worry, son. After a few years of marriage, you'll figure her out."

Argh! The nerve of these people! I had a lot of work to do and very little time to do it. When I reached the changing rooms, no one was waiting, but all the rooms were taken. I bounced on my bare feet, anxious and chilly.

Finally, a door open and who do you suppose came out? Jodi, of course! "Good morning," she beamed at me. "You certainly looked like you were sleeping soundly when I went by."

I couldn't hide my irritation. "I know. Mitch should have woken me a long time ago. I need to get ready."

"Oh." Jodi seemed thrilled. "I'll help you."

"No, no," I said, getting a hold of my irritated attitude. "I'll be fine. Besides, I need to use the lav and everything... I'll be done in time. Thank you, though."

Jodi nodded. "Of course. Go right ahead. I'll see you after we land."

Thank God! I did need to pee, but there were other things I needed to do, too. Not what you're thinking, though - come on! I needed to remove the tape on my penis and redo those restrains. I'd never slept with my shaft confined before and I certainly didn't want to go an entire day with it wrapped up in binding that had absorbed my sweat all day and all night.

I had everything I needed in my makeup bag. I worked quickly and within about forty five minutes, I was re-bound, wearing clean underwear, my makeup was on and my hair was brushed. Now, I just needed to get dressed.

I pulled out the outfit that was set aside for the day. It included a full slip that hung to mid thigh. The bodice of the slip was heavily decorated with lace because the blouse I was to wear was very light and the slip could be seen through material.

Let me explain this ensemble carefully, because a lot of thought on both Marie and Randall's part went into what I should wear to arrive in Hawaii.

First, the blouse: It was a very thin satin, as I mentioned, bright white and had small shoulder pads built in. The collar was about three inches high, one button with a keyhole opening in the front and two long, three inch wide straps of silk that tied into a loose, floppy, feminine bow. The long sleeves - long sleeves in Hawaii? Yes, because we'd be arriving in the morning before dawn and this blouse was not, under any circumstances to be covered by a jacket - had full, blousing sleeves that ended in long, mock-French-style-cuffs. It was a remarkably beautiful and elegant top that could never possibly be eclipsed by any other article of clothing, except for the amazing skirt into which it was going to be tucked.

The skirt: It was made of a gold, jacquard material with an amazing pattern of gold flowers woven into the silk. The buttoned waist hugged my torso snugly and then the material hung moderately stiffly in the classic 'A' line pattern. I know I've described several skirts as 'A' line, but that's the style that Marie and Randall chose for me because the shape of the skirt hid my boyish hips, but, to tell you the truth, I kind of loved how I looked, how they made me feel and to call them 'classically feminine' was a gross understatement.

To complete the look, I had a pair of gold, four inch, spiked heels that stretched out my body to look long and elegant. When I looked in the mirror, I can't say that I liked the look because I adored it! I packed everything away and organized how I was going to carry it all, took a deep breath and opened the door and stepped out with a calm that I had lacked when I'd hurried through the plane in a huff an hour earlier.

Let me tell you, the effort was worth it, because I heard actual gasps as I walked through the plane. Several ladies stopped me to tell me how beautiful I looked and the look on Mitch's face made it all worthwhile! He stood, his jaw actually hanging slack in amazement. I handed him the luggage to put back in the overhead as I waited in the aisle with women actually getting up out of their seats to come tell me how good I looked.

Think about that. How would that make you feel? A week ago, I was a skinny and mostly ignored guy who now was receiving compliment after compliment because I looked so unusually beautiful. I'll tell you how it made me feel - it made me feel special in a way that I have never felt in my entire life.

As Mitch finished stowing the carry-on luggage, Jodi appeared with her eyes wide and a huge smile on her face. "Well, well, well," she shook her head, "if your intention is to impress the wives, Donnie, then, believe me, you will succeed." Then she looked at Mitch as she patted my back, "My God, Mitch, what is it going to take for you to marry this woman? Look at her! I mean, my God! I didn't look this good on my wedding day!"

The man and his wife who sat behind us joined in encouraging Mitch to make an honest woman of me. I just stood and smiled as prettily as I could. To be honest, I loved this situation. Mitch was the one who felt uncomfortable for a change!

Finally, I was allowed to scoot past Mitch and sit in my seat, which had been converted back into a seat while I'd been dressing. Mitch sat and stared at me. Finally he said, "Jesus Christ, Donnie, is this how you're going to be dressing all week?"

I misinterpreted his remark as criticism and said, "You don't like it?"

"Don't like..." he started in amazement, "... are you kidding!? I'm in shock! You've looked great all week, but... this is... this is above and beyond! I never imagined..."

I smiled and patted his leg. "Ok, Mitch, calm down, I get it. You like how I look."

He took a breath. "That doesn't even come close to describing it Donnie, but we'll settle on that." He touched my skirt and felt the the material. "Is this a little itchy to wear?"

I giggled. "No, Mitch. I'm wearing a slip underneath. The slip is very soft."

"Huh," Mitch muttered, seeming to have never considered the material of a woman's slip before.

The plane began its descent pretty quickly and before we knew it, we were on the ground and walking through the airport till we came to a man in a black suit carrying a sign with Mitch's name on it. He took my makeup bag from me and led us to another beautiful town car. We didn't have to worry about our luggage. The airline and the resort had an agreement and our luggage would be forwarded to our suite within an hour or so.

It took a good long while to reach the resort, but there was plenty of scenery to take in along the way. The sun was just coming up and it was turning the water a bright orange and the hillsides reflected that beautiful color as well. I wasn't all that well traveled, of course, but I couldn't imagine that a more beautiful sight existed anywhere in the world.

Then we pulled into the resort and, well... the pictures I'd seen did not do the place justice. Everything about it was amazing! Everywhere I looked I saw palm trees and white sand and hibiscus... I was truly in awe of the place.

We were dropped off at the main entrance . The driver bent over backwards to run around to my side of the car to help me out. Mitch checked us in and the clerk told us that there was a breakfast setting for his firm in the Kauai Ballroom, but that it didn't open for another half an hour. She did offer us the opportunity freshen up in our suite if we desired, but we both agreed that we were fine until our luggage showed up. So, we headed out to the grounds of the resort and we walked about, hand in hand, taking in the beauty of the place.

"Wait until 'the wives' get a look at you." Mitch smiled as we walked. "They adored Dawn at the Halloween party when she was dressed as dumpy, old Velma from Scooby Doo. You are going to be the talk of the office for years, Donnie! Thank you for all of this."

I smiled. "It was your money, Mitch. I'm glad it's making you happy." Then I sensed an insult in there and said, "And Velma was not 'dumpy.' She was just uncomfortable with her beauty."

We stopped walking and he stepped in front of me, looking down into my face. "What really makes me happy is that we're sharing this whole thing together, Donnie. I know this is... unorthodox, and I really felt terrible to ask you to do all of this, but I can tell you're enjoying it almost as much as I am. Thank you."

Before I could answer, he planted a wonderfully warm kiss on my lips. And then there was that feeling, all over again. It wasn't just a feeling of affection, it was feeling of longing. Of needing. I hated it when the kiss ended. I'd lived thirty one years as a man and never once felt anything like this, but as a woman, I was feeling it every time Mitch kissed me. I found it exciting and romantic and scary as hell.

"They'll be serving breakfast in ten minutes," Mitch said, looking at his watch. "I need to use the men's room. Do you need to 'powder your nose?"

I smiled. "No, but I'd like to send a couple of pictures to Marie and Hilda, if that's ok."

"Sure."

Mitch led me back to the lobby and offered me a luxurious chair on the veranda that looked down the hill to the beautiful, blue ocean below. I kissed Mitch goodbye and sat down, selected a few pictures I'd taken with my phone and began writing a text to Marie and Hilda.

HI. HAD A GREAT FLIGHT. SO FAR EVERYTHING IS GOING GREAT. MY SILK BLOUSE AND GOLD SKIRT WERE THE HIT OF THE AIR PLANE. THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FIRM AND HIS WIFE WERE ON THE FLIGHT, TOO, AND HIS WIFE AND I BECAME VERY CLOSE FRIENDS. MITCH IS THRILLED, SO ALL IS WELL! LOVE YOU! I'LL SEND MORE PICTURES SOON.

I sat on the edge of the chair with my legs crossed at the knees, in that beautiful scene, knowing that I looked great and that I was going to win over the wives. Honestly, as I typed my text back to New England, I don't think I'd ever been happier in my life.

"Excuse me," a woman said as she came up beside my chair.

I said, "Yes?" But didn't immediately look up because I was finishing my text. I did smile, though, and half turned to her so she knew that I was not ignoring her.

"I'm sorry, but I believe I know you," she said.

I turned to meet her gaze, expecting to see a face that I'd seen at Halloween, but I didn't.

The woman gasped. "Donnie!??"

I couldn't even breath for a moment, but finally I was able to choke out her name. "Nancy?"
 
 
To Be Continued...