Alex: 3

 

The week at the ski lodge in New Hampshire continues as does Alice's tutelage of Allie.
I never know if anyone will like these stories until I post them.

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Author's Note:Thank you for all the kind reviews. They really mean a lot! Please, everyone, Leave me a review? ~Clara.
 
This version of Alex: 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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Part 3
 

“So,” Jill shrugged after Alex told them what Dennis had said, “you get the advantages of a rich woman’s vacation, then you go home and go back to living your normal life. If you have your brows done, they’ll grow out. If you have your hair done, it’ll grow out. If you have your hair colored, you can buy some Clairol and return it to your natural color when we get home. This is a no-lose situation, Allie. You’ll have a nice vacation, see how the other half lives – both the rich half and the female half – and enjoy yourself.”

“Wait…” Alex said, draping the large scarf he’d been struggling with all evening over the back of a chair. “… you think she’s going to want me to go to a salon with her?”

Melody chuckled. “My experience with wealthy women is that they associate relaxation with salons and spas. I would guess that one of those two places is first on her list of ‘Things To Do With Allie.’ But so what? You’ve never been to either and they’re both great!”

“Yeah. You both make it sound so easy,” Alex sighed, sitting carefully on the bed, still dressed in the cocktail dress. “What if I’m found out? I’ll lose the biggest customer I’ve ever had.”

“Then don’t get found out,” Mel shrugged. “Look, Allie, I don’t know how you got into this mess, but you did get yourself into it and now you’ve got no choice but to follow through until we leave. It’s nobody’s fault but yours. It’s just like this trip – you never plan ahead for anything and now you have to pay the price for your lax behavior.”

He nodded and sighed. “I guess.” He stood. “Can you get me out of these clothes? I truly don’t understand why women wear clothes that they can’t get into and out of on their own.”

Jill snickered at that. “You’ll learn how, eventually.”

“I hope I’m not wearing them long enough to get used to them,” he said, as his sister slid the zipper down his back.

“Oh, I hope you never stop wearing them,” his wife said with a broad smile, pulling a short, yellow nightie with short, puffy sleeves from the suitcase that Jill had brought in from the SUV.

“Seriously?” Alex asked.

“Oh, don’t you worry, little lady,” Mel teased, shaking the little nightie playfully, as if she were a matador. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“I’m leaving, now,” Jill said and she hurried back to her room, closing the two doors behind her.
 

~^~
 

“Ahh, we’re all arriving at breakfast at the same time! How wonderful!” Alice said, clapping her hands as she and Dennis arrived in the lobby at the same time that Alex, Jill and Melody did. Jill, Melody and Dennis, of course, were wearing their ski-suits with the tops turned down, while Alice was wearing a casual dress and Alex was wearing a long, beige, wool skirt with a red sweater and knee high, low heeled boots.

“This is fortuitous,” Dennis smiled. “Would you ladies mind if I joined you on the mountain today?”

“That would be lovely,” Melody said with a smile.

“Be warned, though, Dennis,” Jill said, sounding very serious, “Mel is extremely competitive.”

“Oh, ho, ho,” Dennis laughed and shook his head. “You have no idea what competition is until you’ve been been involved in a sport with me.”

“Oh, really!?” Mel laughed.

“Oh, really,” Dennis replied with a nod and a smile.

“Well, we shall see,” Mel said as the waitress showed up and took their orders.

“So,” Jill said when the waitress had left, “we know what the roughnecks are doing today, what are the ladies doing?”

Alex shot his sister a glance, but Jill’s smile didn’t waver. She did flutter her eyes at him innocently, though.

“Well,” Alice said, looking rather pleased with her plans, “I’ve made appointments for us to have makeovers this morning. I do hope you don’t mind, Allie, but I am desperate to try something new with my hair. I’ve had this color for absolutely ages! After that, I have reservations for a late lunch and then… we’ll see.”

“Oh, a salon appointment!” Melody grinned and looked at her husband. “Won’t that be nice, Allie!?”

Alex just stared daggers at his wife.

“Oh… I’m sorry,” Alice said. She sensed some tension and wanted to defuse any problem she’d caused. “Is a salon visit a problem?”

“Well, to tell you the truth, Alice,” Jill said as if she was telling a big secret, “Allie has never been to a real salon before.”

Alice blinked in disbelief. “Ever!? I mean… how is that possible!?”

“Our mom did hair when she was younger and, when we were kids, she always did our hair. To be honest, mom didn’t REALLY give up doing hair because she had kids… The truth is, she really wasn’t very good at it. By the time I was twelve or so, I started going a salon with a friend, but Allie stuck with mom until she moved away a few years ago. Since then, Allie’s just been wearing a baseball cap most of the time.”

Even though Jill’s story was true, it still was embarrassing to have her say it. Alex had never had anyone cut his hair except his mother and he was kind of precious about having anyone else do it for him, but he knew that it had to be done. He might just as well have it done for the first time with Alice. Maybe he could get a reasonably gender-neutral haircut, and if not, at least it would be neater when he finally visited a barbershop for the first time.

“Oh, Allie,” Alice said with dramatic sympathy, “I didn’t know… we don’t have to get our hair done, then. We’ll just focus on our nails and…”

“No, no,” Alex interrupted with a forced smile. “I’d like to get my hair done. I need to have it done and I’d rather have it done with you than have my sister force a haircut on me that I don’t like.” He glared at Jill.

“Alright, girls,” Melody said, tapping both of them on the shoulders. “Let’s not start airing our dirty laundry in front of our new friends.”

Jill looked away from Alex and smiled at both Dennis and Alice. “Of course. I apologize.”

“As do I,” Alex echoed. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I guess I’m just a bit grumpy.”

“Well, a day at the salon will take care of that!” Alice grinned, very satisfied with the conversation’s resolution. “Trust me, honey, once you’ve had ‘the works’ at a good salon, you’ll look forward to your weekly visits.”

“What do you do for a living, Melody?” Dennis asked.

“I’m a Phys Ed teacher,” she answered, surprised by the change in conversational direction.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it.”

“Too bad,” Dennis said, shaking his head. “If Allie gets used to the same kind of weekly salon treatments that MY WIFE enjoys, then you’ll go broke on a teacher’s salary.”

That made everyone at Dennis’ end of the table laugh. Alice and Alex both just sighed and looked at each other, shaking their heads.

“Men,” Alice said, disgusted.

“Exactly,” Alex agreed.

“So… did you bring your bathing suit?” Alice asked, wide eyed.

“My…” Alex was very confused. “Why would I need a bathing suit to get my hair cut?”

“Not to have your hair done, silly,” Alice laughed. “To have your facial and skin care treatments. You don’t want to get your clothes covered in all those things they use on you.”

“I…” he had no idea if there was a bathing suit available to him.

“Of course she has a bathing suit,” Jill said, rolling her eyes. “It’s a darned good thing I packed for you, little sister.”
 

~^~
 

“Whoa,” Alex muttered as he followed Alice into the spacious and elegant salon/spa at the Omni Mount Washington Resort carrying a small bag with containing his shaper and a pair of panties. Currently, under his clothes, he was wearing one-piece bathing suit with shape-wear qualities built into it. He’d never been in a salon before, but he’d seen the insides of the Great Clips, Supercuts, Fantastic Sam’s and Cost Cutters in the malls and they didn’t look anything like this. This had ‘rich people’ written all over it in huge, neon, capital letters.

“Good morning, ladies,” the very attractive, young receptionist said with a wide, perfect grin. “What can I do for you?”

“Good morning,” Alice said, very at ease in this environment. “Cole… party of two.”

“Oh, yes,” the girl smiled, checking her tablet. “I see we’re starting with one hundred minute Mount Washington Signature Facial. Becky, our chief esthetician, and her team will be with you in a moment. Please, have a seat and help yourself to anything from our beverage and nutrition bar.”

“Thank you,” Alice smiled, “but we’ve just had breakfast.”

“Of course,” the girl said, in a way that indicated that a message had been received. She nodded and departed.

“You have to tell these people these things, or else they’ll keep you waiting for hours,” Alice said to Alex.

“These people?” Alex asked.

“The reception people,” Alice explained. “Allie… I want you to pay attention to things as we go through the week. I want you to learn how to carry yourself like a woman of substance. To tell people you expect to be treated a certain way without having to tell them so.”

“How can I tell them without saying anything?”

“Through your movements, Allie. By speaking a certain way. By saying one thing, but meaning another. For instance: I just told that young lady that we just ate breakfast. That means that we have no need of snacking on their fat-filled pastries while we wait twenty minutes for,” she made air quotes, “‘Becky, our chief esthetician’ to arrive. That young lady made Becky aware that we were here and not partaking of the food. Mark my words, Becky will be here within the next two to three minutes.”

Alex nodded. “I see.” He thought for a moment. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just tell her that?”

Alice smiled and shook her head. “No, dear. That would come off as uppity. This way the information was given politely.”

“Oh,” Alex nodded.

“Allie,” Alice said as nicely as she could, “I see the way your sister and your wife team up on you. You need to develop some skills to take control of your life, dear. That’s what we’re going to work on this week. By the time I’m done with you, you will be a more confident woman and they will not feel like they have the right to walk all over you.”

There was a lot of truth in what Alice had just said. Alex loved his wife and sister to death, but they were both pretty pushy and dismissive of his opinions. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from Alice to help him cope with certain aspects of his life.

“So…” he smiled, “… I guess you’re my Harold Higgins and I’m your Eliza Doolittle, then.”

“Oh! ‘My Fair Lady!’ I love that play!” Alice said, excited. “I was in it in high school!”

“So was I!” Alex said, with a bit of a laugh.

“Really! Oh, I wanted to play Eliza so badly. I just loved listening to Julie Andrew’s’ voice on the recording and Audrey Hepburn was so beautiful in the movie… but, sadly… I ended up playing frumpy old Mrs Pearce. How about you, dear? Who did you play? Now, don’t tell me you got to be Eliza?”

Alex was about to blurt out that he played Eliza’s love interest, Freddy Eynsford-Hill who sings ‘On The Street Where You Live,’ but realized what a faux pas that would be, so he he fibbed and said, “Oh, I was just in the chorus. One of the people at Ascot and one of the cockneys. It was a lot of fun, though.”

Alice was ready to continue to reminisce about her days of trodding the boards of her high school stage, but suddenly a stunningly beautiful woman appeared in the waiting area. She wasn’t just attractive, her makeup was astoundingly well done and made an immediate impact on anyone viewing her.

“Good morning, ladies,” she said in a confident voice that quieted them without any real volume. “My name is Becky and I am the chief esthetician here at The Omni. I will be overseeing your experience here, today.”

“Hello, Becky,” Alice smiled, extending a hand with all the poise of a diplomat or a member of a royal family. “I’m Alice. This is my companion, Allie.”

Becky shook her hand and then took Alex’s, but her command of the room faded under Alice’s royal attitude. Clearly, Alice was always in charge of any situation.

“Please, follow me, ladies,” Becky said, leading the way.

They entered a room with beige, stucco walls, small water fountains in two corners, lights dimmed lower than normal and the smell of flowers – possibly hibiscus – just barely present in the air, they found two women dressed in what could have been white nurses’ uniforms waiting for them.

“Ladies,” Becky smiled and introduced the two women, “this is Nadia and Ella. I will be working with them during your visits today. Are you wearing your swim suits already?”

“Yes,” both Alice and Alex confirmed.

“Excellent,” Becky smiled. “Then if you could strip to your suits and sit in the chairs, we’ll begin.”

They stepped behind some elaborately decorated screens to remove their outer clothes. When Alex stepped back into the room, he was wearing a one-piece suit that was rather festively decorated with lots of tropical flowers in bright reds and blues and greens and yellows and oranges. When Alice stepped out from behind her screen, Alex’s jaw nearly dropped. She was in her fifties, but she had the body of an eighteen year old dancer. Slender, lithe, well toned, gravity defying and the skimpy, bright orange two piece she wore drew every eye to exactly the spots she wanted to display.

“Alice,” Alex said, with genuine awe, “you look amazing in that suit!”

“Well, thank you, dear,” she giggled. “Honestly, it’s not that hard to look this good. I could help you with that too. I have a trainer come to my house every weekday. You could join me if you’d like.”

Alex shook his head. “I can’t drive all the way to Natick every day.”

“We don’t live in Natick, dear. That’s just where Denny’s offices are because it’s convenient to the Mass Pike. We live in Jefferson. I believe you live in Greendale, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Alex confirmed.

“Excellent,” Alice smiled. “Maybe our friendship can extend beyond this week, then.”

A hot rush of panic washed over Alex for a moment, but there was nothing to do but to smiled and say, “Oh, that would be wonderful.”

Within minutes, they were seated in the clinical looking chairs, and then the chairs were reclined into a completely flat position. They were both covered in heated blankets and Nadia and Ella began to massage warm, fragrant oils into their faces. It was heavenly.

Becky looked at each of the clients closely and quietly issued instructions to the Nadia or Ella – Since the assistants had only been introduced as a couple, Alex was not quite sure which one was working on him.

“Use a collagen rub,” Becky said as she looked at Alice. “Try something with a bit of toner to prevent crows feet and fill in worry lines. Right here, make sure you work this area. I see a lot of stress marks here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” either Nadia or Ella replied.

Then Becky was looking at Alex with a critical eye and Alex suspected that she did not like what she saw.

“Exfoliate… more than once if needed. Numb this area of the forehead and thread those brows. Go for a classic arch. Use a cream with a bit of color in it. She seems very pale. I’d like to see those lips plumped up a great deal if that’s possible. They’re pretty chapped anyway. Work on that.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The next ninety five minutes were a series of submissions to Becky’s inspections and then wonderful applications of ointments and balms by Nadia/Ella. Many times, his eyes were closed with the relaxation he felt from the treatment. Several times, he nearly fell asleep.

“Alright, ladies,” Becky said, in a ‘time to get up’ voice, “let’s get you ready for your mani/pedis.”

Alex stood up, slowly, blinking as if he was waking up from a deep sleep.

“Did you enjoy that?” Alice asked.

“That was amazing,” Alex admitted. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that relaxed before.”

Alice smiled and rubbed his back. “We’re only just getting started, Eliza.”

The mani/pedi was just as amazingly relaxing as the facial had been. Heck, he’d clipped his toenails a million times in his lifetime. How could it be this wonderful when Nadia/Ella did it for him? It didn’t seem possible!

As Nadia/Ella worked on his hands, Alex chit chatted with Alice, who enlightened him on the importance of appearance and behavior. He did take a bit of note that Nadia/Ella was using a brush on his hand and then inserting his hand into an interesting looking lamp from time to time, but he was listening to Alice and not paying attention to much else.

“Long or short?” Nadia/Ella asked.

“I beg your pardon?” Alex asked in return.

“Your nails,” she smiled and held Alex’s hand up for him to see the gel nails she’d been attaching and smoothing onto his own fingernails. “Do you want me to trim them long or short?”

“I… ummm…” he stumbled, not knowing how to answer.

Alice could see her new friend was floundering, so she jumped in. “Let’s go just a little longer than what we’d call ‘short.’ Say… about a quarter of an inch or so.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nadia/Ella smiled. “Rounded or squared?”

“Rounded, of course.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, ma’am,” and she went to work with an Emory board.

“I’ve…umm… I’ve never had long nails before,” he said to Alice.

She chuckled at his reticence. “They won’t be that long, dear. You’ll get used to them, easily. They won’t interfere with your computer work or anything like that. And most importantly… they’ll be pretty. Allie… pretty is important. You need some ‘pretty’ in your life. Just relax and be… pretty. Ok?“

Alex smirked and shook his head. “‘Pretty’ has never been a part of my life, Alice. I’ve always been… you know… chubby and homely.”

“Oh, my God, Allie! Who told you you were homely!?”

“No one had to tell me that, Alice. I have eyes. I can look in a mirror. I know what my clothes feel like. Why Mel ever fell for me, I’ll never understand.”

Alice pulled her hand away from her attendant and stood. “I need the room for a few minutes, please.”

“Yes, ma’am,” both Nadia and Ella said, standing and shuffling out of the room as quickly as they could, eager to get away from the uncomfortable situation.

When the room was empty except for the two of them, Alice offered Alex her hand and said, “Stand up, dear. I want to show you something.”

He took her hand and stood. She put her arm around his shoulder and guided him to a mirror, pointed to it and said, “Tell me what you see.”

He looked at it and said, “I see a beautiful woman in a very skimpy bathing suit.”

Alice laughed at that. “Well, thank you for that, but who do you see next to that woman?”

Alex looked at himself – short and stout and wearing the bathing suit his sister had loaned him that pushed his testicles up into his crotch, his penis back between his legs, his torso into the shape of a sausage and his extra flab up into breasts that he shouldn’t have and he felt like crying. “Alice… please… don’t make me do this.”

Alice leaned her head to the side so that it rested on the top of his. She rubbed her hand on his arm. “Ok. Ok. But let me tell you what I see. I see a bright, funny, successful young woman, with a wife and a sister who, even though they may tease her a bit, love her very much. I see a young woman who has managed to keep her independent business alive through one of the worst pandemics the world has ever known and still be able to come up with new and innovative ways to promote herself. I see a young woman who just needs to believe in herself a little bit more in order to be able to take the world by storm.”

Alex let out a nervous laugh. “I wish I saw any of that.”

Alice kissed the top of his head. “You will, dear. Trust me. Listen, I raised three daughters and they are all fiercely confident, powerful, beautiful woman. By the time I’m done with you, you will be too.”

“I doubt that.”

“I promise… you will be.” She hugged him with that one arm and rubbed his arm some more. “You’ll see.”

When she released him, she raised her voice and called, “You can come back in, now!”

When their nails were done, Alice called Becky over and asked for a waiter. A few minutes later a woman arrived and Alice said, “I’d like two glasses of Krug Grand Cuvée, a can of Imperia and a plate of toast spears – some dry, some lightly buttered – for my friend and me? Charge that to the Presidential Suite. Thank you.”

‘Yes, ma’am.” The waitress seemed impressed and left.

“We’ll change into our regular clothes now, then take a short snack break before we have our hair done,” Alice instructed Becky.

“Of course,” Becky nodded.

“Come, Allie, dear,” she said to Alex, “let’s get more comfortable.”

The skirt and sweater with the shape wear and boots was, in fact, quite a bit more comfortable and less nerve wracking for Alex to wear in public. It was when he was changing in the dressing room, though that he noticed that his eyebrows were noticeably different than they had been that morning. Thinner, sculpted and arched in a way that no one could ever mistake as masculine. He wanted to be upset about it, but the fact was that they kind of matched his now very smooth skin and oddly plump lips. Huh… he had no makeup on whatsoever, but his face looked very, very much like his sister’s. In fact… he looked a bit more like he could be his sister than his actual sister looked like his sister. How was that even possible?

He stepped out of the dressing room in time to see Alice signing for a tray of drinks and food. She held up a flute-style glass of a pale yellow, sparkling beverage and handed it to Alex.

“What’s this?” He asked.

“Champagne,” she said, matter of factly, as if everyone had champagne at twelve thirty in the afternoon. “Krug Grand Cuvée, in fact. My favorite. Take a sip.”

He did. “Mmmm. My God! That’s delicious! I’ve only ever had champagne at weddings and it’s always…”

“…cheap and bitter tasting,” Alice finished his thought. “I know. It’s horrible, isn’t it. This is what fine champagne is all about. You seem to love wine so much, I’m surprised you’re not more of a champagne drinker.”

“I think I am now,” he said and took another tiny sip.

Alice smiled, put down her flute and picked up a triangle of toast. Then she took a tiny spoon and put a very small mound of black jelly with little balls of something in it. “Now, try this,” she said, holding the sliver of decorated toast up to his lips.

He took a little bite and… it tasted like nothing he’d ever tasted before. Very fresh, light, buttery, creamy, a bit salty and just a tiny bit fishy. Almost like a delicate jelly made from sea water.

“Wow,” Alex muttered quietly as he examined the taste in his mouth. “What is this?”

“Caviar,” she smiled.

“Caviar!?” He took another nibble. “I tried caviar once before and it tasted NOTHING like this.”

“You tasted CHEAP caviar,” Alice said shaking her head. “That might as well be heavily salted fish bait. THIS is caviar.”

Alex glanced down at a copy of the receipt and nearly spit out the delicacy. “Alice! You can’t spend this kind of money every day.”

“Of course I can,” she smiled. “Allie… I know how much we have and how much we’ve set aside for this trip. None of this is going to be a surprise to Denny. He jokes about it, but he knows that making money isn’t worth anything if we don’t enjoy it together. THIS is what life is all about, Allie. Enjoying the good things. Family, friends, good food, travel, the beauty of the world, the beauty of ourselves. That’s why we’re here, honey. Not just to work and slave our lives away. To be who we want to be. And I want to be someone who dresses beautifully, eats wonderful food, gets their hair done by artists and teaches young women to reach their full potential.” She kissed his smooth, soft cheek. “Enjoy the better things in life, Allie.”

His sips and nibbles were so small that he’d barely made a dent in his champagne or caviar before Becky arrived and invited them into the hair salon. Alice stood with a practiced elegance that Alex tried to emulate. He wasn’t sure that he’d done very well, but Alice gave him an approving smile, so he determined to continue to practice and improve.

“Have our tray brought in for us, please, Becky,” Alice said with a polite coolness that was in no way snobbish, but also didn’t offer any sign of friendship.

“Of course,” Becky replied with a cordial smile.

“So, what are we doing today, ladies?” The hairdresser in charge asked.

“For myself,” Alice instructed, “I would just like a little trim, spruce up my color with something new and maybe put my hair up a little fancy for dinner tonight.”

“We can certainly handle that,” the hairdresser smiled.

“For my friend… as you can see, it has been a while since she’s paid any attention to her hair so I think what she needs is something beautiful, but maintainable. You know what I mean.”

The hairdresser did know what she meant. She meant that this woman didn’t know how to take care of her hair and the older woman wanted her to look presentable.

“Oh,” Alice said in her regal tone, “of course, we’d both like our makeup done.” It was odd how Alice’s tone was so warm, friendly and irresistibly inviting with Alex and so cool, superior and irresistibly compelling to people from whom she was expecting services. It was astounding. It was as if she was a true Svengali.

The hairdresser looked at Alex, contemplated him for a moment and said, “You have lovely, thick hair. Do you want to maintain the length?”

“I… I guess,” he sputtered. He assumed that, if he got a ‘haircut’ they’d cut his hair, but if he could keep it long, he’d kind of prefer that.

“How about some color?”

“What did you have in mind?” Alice asked when Alex seemed flummoxed by the question.

“Nothing drastic. She has a nice, chestnut brown color… maybe some bronze highlights. I think that would really make her hair pop.”

“Ohh,” Alice said, touching his hair. “That sounds lovely. What do you think, Allie?”

Alex took a second to think, but it didn’t take long. Alice was the first person who ever saw potential in him. Potential for success. Potential for happiness. Potential for being… well… even remotely good looking. If she thought it was a good idea, then… “Sure.”

“Alright, then, here’s what I’m thinking,” the hairdresser suggested. “You have such thick hair, I think we use a perm to accomplish two things. From your scalp to your shoulders, we straighten your hair, and then from your shoulders down, we create wide, loose curls that will spread – you know – kind of elegantly across your back and give your hair lots of shape and body. What do you say?”

He looked at Alice. “I think I need your advice. I’ve never had anything like this done before. I think… I need to hear your opinion.”

Alice smiled. “Allie, this is your decision, but I think that this sounds like a lovely style. If you’re asking for my opinion, then I’d say to give it a try. The best thing that can happen is you’ll love it. The worst thing that can happen is you hate it and, if you do, then we try something’s else. Ok?”

He nodded. “Ok.”

“Ok,” Alice’s grin broadened.

“Ok,” the hairdresser smiled, too. She looked at Alice. “Your treatment will only take an hour or so. Allie’s treatment – it is Allie, right? Allie’s treatment will be a couple of hours.”

“That’s fine,” Alice smiled. “Tell me, is there still a boutique in the back of the lobby?”

“Yes, there is,” the hairdresser said, happily.

“Ok, let’s do this, then,” Alice said, with everything already decided. “You go ahead and get started on Allie and I’ll go take care of an errand I need to run. I’ll be back before Allie’s shampoo is done and you can take care of me too. Ok?”

“Sounds good,” the hairdresser nodded. “Right this way, Allie.”

The next two hours were a blur of never before felt hair pulls, different sized hair curlers, different smells, unguents and potions and tinctures that were like nothing he’d ever seen/felt/smelled before. It was fascinating and mystifying and amazing and he had no idea what any of it was or what any of it did. He just sat there and listened to the chit chat of the hairdressers, Becky and Alice, after she returned. As they worked, he also nibbled his caviar on toast spears and sipped his champagne.

“This will do very nicely,” Alice said as she examined the work the beauticians had done on her hair and makeup. She turned and looked at Alex and struck a pose. “What do you think? Will Denny be mesmerized by my beauty?” She giggled at her own joke.

Alex, who was still in the process of having his hair blown out and brushed, looked at her with sincere admiration. “Alice, you look amazing! If Dennis has any testosterone in him at all, he’ll be completely mesmerized.”

“Oh, you’re sweet,” she laughed. She grabbed a bag she’d returned with from her errand and said, “I’ll be right back.”

When she returned, she was wearing a new, emerald green, short sleeved dress with a plunging, revealing neckline, wide, knee-length skirt, and tiny white dots scattered seemingly randomly around the entire dress.

It was a simple, but elegant that looked absolutely beautiful on her.

“Oh, Alice! You’re gorgeous!” Alex gushed.

“Now, that’s what I wanted to hear,” she laughed. She sat and waited as the beauticians working on Alex continued working. It was another twenty minutes before they finished.

Just before his makeup was done, Alice whispered something into the ear of Alex’s beautician, who nodded and turned him away from the mirrors, which had been blocked by the beautician’s body, anyway.

Finally, they were done.

Alice offered Alex her hand and said, “Please, dear, come with me. Don’t look in a mirror or anything. Just come with me.”

He did as he was told and Alice lead him into a changing room where she opened a bag and pulled out a new dress. A shockingly bright orange dress that was essentially just an Oxford-style dress shirt that extended down to a very wide skirt.

Alex stared at the dress, shocked by the eye-catching quality of the color. It wasn’t a ‘caution’ orange. It wasn’t a ‘burnt’ orange. It was just… orange. Like the orange that would come out of a Crayola crayon box. A lovely, perfect orange color.

“Don’t you like it?” Alice asked.

“I… I… it’s awfully… bright, Alice. I’m not really the kind of person who wears this kind of color.”

“Correction. You WEREN’T the kind of person who wears this kind of color. Allie… you need to step out of your comfort zone. Trust me, darling, you haven’t seen what you look like with your new hair and make up. Add this dress to that look and when your wife sees you, she’ll know that you are a new person. A strong person. A woman to be reckoned with. Just try it on and if you don’t love it, take it off an go back to wearing your safe sweater and skirt combination.”

Alex nodded his head. She was right. What did he have to lose? “Ok, but… you can’t keep spending this kind of money on me.” He began unbuttoning the buttons that ran all the way down the front of the dress.

“Allie,” Alice said with a self satisfied smile, “I paid thirty nine dollars for that dress. You don’t always have to pay top dollar. You just need to find high quality items at good prices.”

Alex slid his arms into the sleeves of the dress and began rebuttoning the front.

It turned out, the sleeves were just a bit longer than half-length and there was a built in belt at the natural waist-line.

It fit nicely, though, and he buttoned it all the way up. “How did you know my size?” Alex asked.

“When I was waiting for you to put on your swim suit, I peeked at the size of the dress you wore last night. Also, this is a pretty forgiving style, so if I was a little off, it would probably still fit.” As she said all of that, Alice adjusted the dress on Alex’s body and she unbuttoned the top four buttons of it to reveal some cleavage. “That’s better,” she grinned. “Now, take off those boots.”

“You didn’t buy shoes, too!?”

“Of course I did,” she grinned, holding out a pair of classic, pointy-toed, low-heeled pumps in a shiny gold, alligator skin finish.

Alex chuckled. “Even the shoes are ostentatious.”

“I think you mean, ‘Even the shoes make a statement.’” Alice smiled and watched as Alex took off his boots and slipped on the classically feminine shoes.

When the shoes were on, Alice picked up the boots and the clothes that Alex had worn into the dressing room and she smiled at how her companion looked. “Allie… you look just…” she sighed “…I was going to say lovely, but… you look just beautiful.” She shook her head in satisfaction as Alex blushed a bit. “Are you ready to see the new Allie?”

Alex took a deep breath and let it out. “I guess so.”

Alice took his hand in hers and led him out.

When Becky, Nadia, Ella and the beauticians saw Alex in his new dress, some of them actually gasped, but they all applauded. Alex thought that was odd until Alice led him to a mirrors where he saw Alice with a shorter woman beside her. She wasn’t heavy, per se, she was… pleasingly plump. Her dark hair had perfect, bronze highlights that sparkled around her face, as her hair flowed straight down past her shoulders and then cascaded out into clouds of curls to her shoulder blades.

Her face was round and plump and smooth, with rosy, perfect lips and huge eyes with long, beautiful lashes and perfectly arched brows.

Then there was the dress. Simple, but startling and perfect.

“Well?” Alice asked. “What do you think of the NEW Allie?”

“She’s…” Alex gasped. “She’s… so… different.” Alex had never looked in mirror and seen something he liked looking back before. Now… he loved how he looked. He didn’t care that he looked like a woman. He just cared that he looked… attractive. His heart soared at the idea of not being seen as the odd little guy for once. He had the feeling that, looking as he did at that moment, he could go someplace… any place… and, yes he’d be noticed, but he would be noticed for all ‘the right’ reasons. Not for the usual reasons. Not because he was a chubby, little, insecure man in world that didn’t value chubby, little, insecure men. He’d be noticed because he was attractive. That was better. Much better. “I’m not sure what to say.”

Alice smiled and patted his cheek. “Allie… it’s ok to call yourself pretty.”

Alex looked at himself in the mirror for a long time, then looked at Alice and very quietly said, “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, my dear,” she smiled. “Come on. We have another couple of hours before Denny and the others get back. I’d like to teach you a few more things today.”

“More!? Look at me! It’s like you turned me from a peasant into a princess! What more is there to do?”

“We’ll, my dear Eliza, you may LOOK like a princess, but now it’s time for us to discuss… deportment.”
 

~^~
 

“Huh, it looks like we’re all having dinner together again this evening,” Dennis said to Melody and Jill after reading a text from his wife. He and the girls had had a great day on the slopes, had just finished their last run and were calling it a day.

“Well, that must mean that Alice and Allie are getting along pretty well then,” Jill said, with a smile. “I think that’s great. Allie’s not really an outdoorsy kind or person, if you know what I mean.”

“I certainly do,” Dennis smiled. “Alice’s idea of outdoorsy is exiting one store on Newberry Street and walking to another.” They all laughed at that. He held up his phone and showed it to the girls. “It says they’re in the lounge, but not to come until we wash the stink off of us and make ourselves presentable.”

Melody had taken her phone out, too, and said, “I got a text from Allie that says to dress up and be in the lounge by eight.”

“EIGHT!” Jill said, shocked. “Who eats at eight!?”

“We do,” Dennis shrugged. “When we go on vacation, we tend to go to dinner later to avoid being in restaurants with families with younger children. It’s quieter and less crowded and we can take our time and enjoy ourselves.”

“Well, that sounds nice, actually,” Melody said.

“Ok, then,” Jill said, as they dropped their skis at the rental desk and headed back to the lodge. “We’ll see you in the lounge at eight.”

Mel and Jill walked up the flight of stairs to their room and went in, opening the door in between so they could chat as they changed.

“I hope Allie’s day wasn’t too stressful,” Mel chuckled. “We kind of put him on the spot, I guess.”

“Well, I kind of did that on Friday, really,” Jill laughed back. “I guess he’s been ‘on the spot’ ever since. To tell you the truth, though, he looked awfully cute in my old clothes. My older brother wearing my hand-me-downs is kind of a kick for me.”

“For you!?” Mel laughed. She came to the doorway between the two rooms in just her bra and panties and said, “Jilly, I’m going to tell you a secret… since Thursday, when I first went through those bags and took out some clothes for Allie… we have been having the best sex of our marriage!”

Jill, also in her bra and panties put her hands on her hips and smirked. “You think that’s a secret? Mel, my bed and your bed are against the same wall. I heard you two going at it like newlywed rabbits in there last night while I tried to watch ‘The Great British Bake Off’ in here. Eventually, I had to give up and watch something louder just to drown you out! The only thing I could find was ‘Under Siege.’ Do you have any idea how much I HATE Steven Seagal!? A lot, is the answer. I hate Steven Seagal A LOT!”

Melody laughed. “Sorry. Well, not really, but we didn’t mean to keep you awake… so I’m sorry about that… a little.”

“Hey?” Jill suddenly noticed something. “The text said to dress up, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, what’s Allie wearing to dinner? There was only one nice dress in the bags and it’s hanging right there behind you.”

Mel looked over her shoulder and saw the dress on a hanger. “I guess he’s still wearing the sweater and skirt.”

Jill looked skeptical. “I sincerely doubt that Alice Cole is allowing Allie to sit at her table in a nice restaurant wearing a casual sweater and skirt.”

Mel shrugged. “We shall see, I guess.”
 

~^~
 

Dennis met Mel and Jill in the lobby outside of the lounge. He was wearing a very well tailored tuxedo that evening.

“Well, don’t you look amazing!?” Jill said, sounding impressed.

Dennis smiled and blushed a bit. “You both look fabulous as well.”

“We both are wearing the same things we wore last night,” Mel said, sounding a bit embarrassed. “We didn’t pack for elegant dining every night.”

Dennis offered each of them an arm and they headed into the lounge where they found Alice standing by the bar, talking to the restaurant’s maitre’d. She smiled at her husband and his escorts and then nodded to the maitre’d, dismissing him.

“Good evening, everyone,” Alice said with all of her warmth and charm. She kissed Dennis and smiled at him. “You always look so handsome in a tux, Denny. Like James Bond going out to play cards in a casino.”

Dennis smiled at her flattery. “And you look gorgeous, Alice. I love your hair. New dress?”

“Why yes, it is. Thank you for noticing. There’s a lovely boutique here at the lodge.”

“Yes, I recall from our previous visit. It looks lovely on you, dear.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Where’s Allie.”

Alice looked at Melody and Jill who were both looking around the room as well. Alice turned and looked into the interior of the room without committing to any particular part of the room. “She’s right there.”

“Where?” Melody asked, looking around. There were couples seated here and there. Some businessmen and women still in their suits clustered together at a larger area with three couches forming a conversation pit, a man sitting by himself engaged in a game on his phone, a very stylish woman in an orange shirt-dress sipping champagne, sitting on the edge of her chair and looking out the windows at the snow, a small group of men and a small group of women. That was all.

“Oh, please,” Alice said with mock exaggeration, “don’t tell me you don’t recognize your own wife!”

Mel looked around the room once more and shrugged. “I don’t see her.”

Alice shook her head and walked with a sexy saunter towards the group of woman, but at the last second, she turned and approached the stylish woman in the orange dress. She whispered something into the woman’s ear and stepped back. Then the woman rose with practiced elegance, slowly swung her head, first to the left side, then to the right, to swing her incredibly coiffed, chestnut brown hair with bronze highlights to her back. Then the woman positively strutted to where Dennis, Mel and Jill waited with their jaws hanging wide open.

“Allie?” Mel could barely get the word out of her mouth. “Is that really… how?”

“A…Allie?” Jill sputtered. “You don’t even look like yourself. In fact… you kind of look like a prettier version… of me.”

Alex blushed under his makeup. “Yeah, sure.”

“I mean it, Allie. You… you look great!”

“You really do, Allie,” Dennis agreed. He put his arm around Alice’s shoulders. Then, in mock Yankee accent he said “You done good, oh, wife o’ mine.” He kissed her forehead and she smiled at him.

“No, Allie did very, very, very well all on her own.” Alice smiled at her protégé.

“Did you pick out this dress?” Mel asked.

Alex shook his head. “No. Alice picked out the dress and she oversaw the hair and makeup.”

“But it’s Allie that’s pulling it off like a princess,” Alice insisted.

“Excuse me, Mrs Cole,” the maitre’d interrupted politely, “but your table is ready.”

“Thank you,” Alice replied. “Let’s go, everyone.”
 

~^~
 

Dinner was wonderful, as was the conversation, and they were back in their rooms at eleven fifteen.

“This is unbelievable,” Jill said, closing the door behind her, “you even move like a woman, now. How did this happen?”

Alex sat, as he had all evening, in a straight backed chair, but with his back not touching the chair back, his back perfectly straight, his skirt carefully tucked beneath him, then spread beautifully around him and his legs crossed femininely at the knees. “It happened with a team of beauticians and the tutelage of one of the most amazing women I have ever met pushing me to do better all day long.”

“God, your makeup is amazing,” Mel said, touching his face.

“Well, I’m glad you like it, because it’s semi permanent. They covered my face with some kind of primer that’s supposed to keep the makeup adhered and looking fresh for quite a long time and they used a sealant on my lips and eyes, so it’s going to look like this for a couple of weeks at least.”

“What?” Jill seemed shocked. “Why would you let them do that to you?”

“Let them!?” Alex chucked as he folded his hands on his lap, maintaining his poise and calm demeanor. “That’s pretty rich coming from the women who pierced my ears without discussing it with me.”

The room got quiet as Mel and Jill exchanged a look.

“Now,” Alex repeated the move he’d done before where he’d slowly lean to one side and then the other in order to elegantly move his hair to the back of his shoulders, “would the two of you sit so that I can speak with you.”

This was a new attitude for Alex, but… ok. Mel and Jill sat.

“First, I am very glad that the two of you had a good time with Dennis today, because I had a very eye opening day, myself.”

“In what way?” Mel asked.

Alex, still in that poised position, sighed and looked up as he thought. “Well, I learned a lot. I learned that I’m not the homely little troll I thought I was.”

“I never said that you were a troll,” Mel said, shocked and hurt at the idea.

“But that’s how I felt. And I found out what it was like to feel… well… and I know this sounds odd, considering I’m a man,… beautiful. And… I know this sounds even odder still… I really, really, really enjoy it. I like the way I feel knowing that I look good, I like the way the clothes look on me, I like the way the makeup feels, I like the way people treat me and… please don’t think this is weird… I LOVE how the clothes feel and how they make me feel. I have never felt more at home in my own skin than I do in this dress.”

He looked at the two dumbfounded faces looking at him.

“Does that make any sense to either of you?”

Both women looked from one to the other, completely confused, before looking at Alex and nodding dumbly.

“So, how do we proceed from here?” He asked.

Jill shook her head. “Ummm… I don’t think I’m really part of that conversation, actually. I mean… I’m always going to be your sister, Allie. This has more to do with being husband and wife, I think.”

Alex’s hands remained folded in his lap and he nodded and looked to his wife.

“I… I… I’m lost here, Alex. What do you want me to say? Are you saying you suddenly want to be a woman?”

“No,” he said, calmly, “but what I am saying is I have discovered is that I have this new me inside of me and this new me is who I need to be.”

Mel nodded and thought for a moment. “Allie… I don’t think I’ve made any secret of how I feel about you looking pretty. God, Allie, when I realized that it was you in that orange dress, I wanted take you back to this room and throw you on that bed right away. I’ve been looking at you and licking my lips all night long.”

A smile crossed Alex’s lips. “So…” for just a moment, his confidence faltered, “…you can still love me? Like this, I mean?”

“Allie, I don’t care if you’re a buff stud or sexy little tramp, I’ll always love you.”

Alex’s composure came back with abundance. “I will never be a tramp. I am a lady.”

Melody smiled. “Yes you are.”

Jill let out a sigh. “As happy as I am for you two, can I ask a question?”

“Of course.” Alex said.

“What brought about this change in your personality? Certainly not just the makeup and clothes.”

“Change?” Alex asked, leaning and maneuvering his hair again. “I don’t know what you mean?”

“Oh, please. This morning you never would have had a sincere conversation with your wife about anything, let alone wanting to wear dresses. Now, you’re sitting hear like a member of the royal family, holding court and looking like you’ve been a woman you’re entire life.”

Still in that perfect pose, Alex nodded. “I learned a lot from Alice today. She showed me a lot about how to handle myself. I think it shows, don’t you?”

“I do,” Jill chuckled. “Too bad you won’t have her as your tutor after the week ends. It’s a long way to Natick to visit your new best buddy.”

Alex gave a small smile and tiny nod. “Did you know that the Coles don’t live in Natick? They live in Jefferson.”

“You’re kidding,” Mel said.

“I’m not. You know that big horse training facility on the road to the reservoir? That’s part of their land. They rent that section out to the people with the horses.”

“That’s only five or six miles from our house,” Mel said.

Alex nodded. “And Alice has asked me to join her with her personal trainer several times a week, as well as in a few other activities after we return home.”

Jill nodded. “Soooo… even if you wanted it to, this game couldn’t stop now anyway.”

Alex shook his head just a little.
 

~^~
 

“I have to admit it,” Dennis said, crawling under the covers beside Alice, “you are a miracle worker. I would never have recognized that woman tonight as the same woman I met on Friday in my office. You are amazing.” He gave her the kind of kiss on the lips that people who have been twenty seven years give each other. Sincere and loving, but practiced and brief.

“Thank you for the compliment, but there was a charming woman under all that angst and misgivings. I just found her.”

They each grabbed their iPads to play their crosswords and check their emails.

“Oh, no!” Alice said, sounding very concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I got an email… I’m sure you got it as well, but… Janet Myers’ daughter was killed in a car accident down in Florida.”

“Oh, no,” Dennis opened the email as well. It was sent from his executive assistant earlier in the evening. Janet Myers was Dennis’ chief buyer. She’d only worked for him for a couple of years, but Dennis liked her a great deal. She had started working for him during the pandemic, so she’d started working from her home with weekly – or daily – he didn’t know, and it didn’t matter, as long as the job was done – visits to Dennis’ stores to check on stock and sales trends, etc. She did her job very well. Her relationship with Dennis and Alice was strictly business, that was the kind of woman Janet was, but she had a big personality and a great sense of humor.

“Oh, the poor woman,” Dennis muttered as he read the email. “She must be heart broken.” He picked up his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m calling her.”

“Denny, it’s past midnight. You can’t call her now.”

He paused a moment and opened his text app and wrote, ‘JAN – I JUST HEARD ABOUT YOUR DAUGHTER. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW SORRY I AM. TAKE WHATEVER TIME YOU NEED DO WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE. IF ALICE OR I CAN HELP IN ANY WAY, JUST LET US KNOW. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR WHOLE FAMILY.’

“I don’t think I could survive losing one of my children,” Alice said, quietly. “That poor woman.”

Dennis put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her tightly. “I know, honey. I know.”
 

~^~
 

Alex brushed out his hair and removed what makeup he could. He was wearing the nightie the Mel had given him to wear the previous night. It was kind of sexy, in a somewhat playful style. He wanted to get something a little sexier, though. Nothing trashy.

Mel came out of the bathroom wearing a tee shirt and some older, comfy, athletic shorts. She stopped and stared at Alex for a solid minute. The way he looked, the way he sat, the way moved… it had all changed so much in just a day. She wondered how much more he could change and still be Alex.

He put down the brush and stood with that elegance that she’d seen earlier in the lounge. He turned and saw the way his wife was staring at him. He looked back at her and gave her a little smile.

Mel shook her head just a little bit. “Allie… you’re so pretty.”

“Thank you,” he said, his smile growing just a little bit.

Alex took two steps to Melody and stood on his bare tip toes to kiss her softly on her lips. It was a long, slow, soft, passionate kiss. Melody could taste the lipstick, smell the hair products, feel the softness of his skin and the softness of his cheeks and she put her arms around him to pull him tightly to her.

She could feel his breasts contained in what must have been a bra rather than a shaper because she could feel his penis stiffening on her leg. It was amazing to feel, smell and taste this beautiful, feminine woman in her arms and feel that masculine appendage growing in the nylon-silk of her nightie against his leg.

When, at last, the kiss ended, Mel gently moved Allie’s hair off of his neck and she began kissing it. Soft, warm kisses. He closed his eyes and accepted every affectionate display of love and he felt his knees buckle beneath him. He let Mel support him and love him and be… the man.

Eventually, she guided him to the bed and climbed up on top of him. She pushed his legs so that his knees were teepeed and his nightie was settled on his belly.

He wasn’t wearing panties.

His bare, hairless penis was exposed and turgid. Not hairy and manly. Smooth and… maybe boyish… maybe… almost… womanly?… if a penis can be womanly.

She gave his penis the same soft, warm kisses she’d given his neck, then lowered her shorts and pulled herself up so that she mounted him as a man would mount a woman in the classic missionary position. She lowered herself onto him and she let out a low, manly grunt as she engulfed him within her.

He gasped and shivered and gripped the sheet beneath him.

And then she thrust, pulling him deeper and deeper within her. Embracing him. Engulfing him. Consuming him.

She looked down at him as his back arched and he tried to meet her dominant power, but she was in charge. He was her submissive, female partner and she was his male dominate.

She shook with power and excitement as her first powerful orgasm ripped through her like no other orgasm ever had before. Her grunts became louder and lower in pitch and her thrusts became more and more powerful.

Allie’s breathing became ragged. His head lifted off the pillow and his face grew red with passion as his moment grew close.

What must have been Mel’s fourth or fifth earth shaking orgasm struck and she shook harder and more forcefully than ever and that pushed Allie over the edge! She clenched as tightly as she could and shook him with all her might and he let out high squeaks of excitement as she extracted every bit of his essence from him.

And when they were both drained, Mel collapsed on Allie until they both caught their breath.

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known,” Mel whispered.

Allie giggled, then whispered, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”
 

~^~
 

“Sooooo…” Jill said, playfully as she nibbled at her omelette that morning, “…what exactly are you planning to tell mom and dad?” She was wearing her ski suit with the top turned down and her thermal top showing. Melody was dressed the same way.

A small smile appeared on Alex’s lips. “Well, I’ve given this some thought.”

Melody looked from Allie to Jill and back again. “And what did you decide?”

Alex displayed a very contented look and spoke with confidence. “First of all, I am going to live like this no matter what mom and dad think or say. Second, you know that you have always been the favorite child and I was always the failure. The only thing I ever did that they approved of was marrying Mel. As long as we’re still together, I think they’ll forgive pretty much anything else. And third… I will tell them soon… but when I’m ready and on MY terms – not yours. I’ll do a FaceTime call and they’ll figure it out. I think that, if they see that I’m happy and they see that I look nice, they’ll come around.”

“Mom might,” Jill shrugged, “but I foresee an aneurysm in my father’s future.”

“I’m so sorry we’re late,” Alice said as Dennis pushed her seat in for her. “I’m afraid we received some bad news last night.”

“Oh, dear,” Melody said, sincerely. “I hope your family is all well.”

“Our family is fine, thank you,” Dennis said, taking his seat. “This was a member of our work family who lost her daughter suddenly, yesterday. We just got off the phone with her.”

“The poor thing is a wreck,” Alice said, shaking her head. “Such a tragedy.”

Dennis gave them the broad strokes of the story, wanting not to ruin their day with a lot of morbid conversation. Everyone expressed their sadness at Janet Myer’s loss and heartbreak. What a terrible thing to have happened.

“Ok, let’s focus on more up-beat things for the rest of the day – or the week, if we can,” Dennis finally said as he began eating his breakfast. “I was telling Alice last night that I have never skied with better partners before.”

“He did tell me that,” Alice smiled. “He said that you were both up to a challenge, and that you challenged him, and that you both had a great, sarcastic sense of humor that made him laugh all day long.”

“Oh, isn’t that nice,” Jill smiled. “We feel the same way about you, Dennis.”

“Of course, I pointed out that it might just be possible that Denny was enjoying his time with you because it’s been a long time since he’s been able to socialize with beautiful, intelligent, athletic women in their twenties. He will always deny it, but my Denny is a shameless flirt, isn’t he?”

Neither Melody nor Jill was sure as to how to respond to that. They both tittered some nervous laughter and looked at Dennis who was blushing a bit.

“If I am a flirt, honey, it’s because I learned how from years and years of watching you get your way by flirting your way through the world,” he teased, then kissed her. Then he looked at Alex. “Be careful of what she teaches you, Allie. She’s a sorceress and flirtation the magic she wields.”

His wife elbowed him and he over reacted to the nudge. Instead of continuing that line of conversation, Alice looked at Alex and smiled. “You did very well on your hair and makeup today, Allie. You look lovely.”

“Thank you,” Alex replied with a contented smile. “The makeup is just as they left it yesterday. I even washed my face, but it all stayed put. I just added a little lip gloss. My hair was easy, though. All I had to do was give it a good brushing and it bounced right back into place.”

“See,” Alice said with a ‘ta-da’ gesture, “that’s the beauty of a perm! Everyone thinks of a perm as something that only gives you curls, but look how beautiful your hair looks, now! I told you you’d love it!”

“And I do,” Alex giggled.

Jill and Mel exchanged shocked looks. First, they were shocked that he had gotten a perm and not even mentioned it. Second, they were shocked that he was so relaxed and womanly with Alice. It was all very new and very odd.

“So, while we outdoorsy types are conquering the slopes of Mount Washington today, what are you two up to?” Dennis asked.

“We,” Alice beamed, knowing she was breaking the news to Allie for the first time, “are going boutique shopping!”

Dennis nodded and then asked, “Where? There’s only one boutique here and we didn’t bring a car. You had us brought up by limo to make all this a surprise.”

“I have a car that you’re welcome to use,” Jill offered.

“It’s nice,” Melody said, nodding. “A big SUV. It rides very nicely.”

“No, no, I’ve hired a car and driver for the day,” Alice insisted.

“Well, where are you going?” Dennis asked sincerely. “There can’t be that many high-end dress boutiques around here.”

“No, there aren’t, but there are a few between here and Meredith and that shopping area in that lovely inn we stayed in right on Lake Winnipesaukee – what was the name of it…?

“The Inn at Mill Falls?” Dennis asked, incredulously.

“Yes! There were some lovely shops in there and I’m sure we’ll find others along the way.”

“Alice… Meredith has to be at least an hour away from here,” Dennis said, chuckling and shaking his head. “Why don’t we just stop there on the way back to Massachusetts?”

“Because we’re not going back to Massachusetts until the end of the week, Denny,” Alice said, as if Dennis’ question had been absolute foolishness. “Look at her, Denny! She’s a beautiful picture of womanhood, now, but she’s dressed in a fifteen dollar dress.”

Jill was going to point out that she’d actually paid eighty dollars for that dress and it was marked down from one hundred and twenty dollars at the time, but it seemed to miss the point.

“Now, you three can go have your fun and let us have ours. Right, Allie?”

Alex was still sitting as he’d been taught by his teacher. He allowed a small smile at the silliness of the situation across the table from him, and said, “I’d love to go shopping with you Alice. You do need to remember, though, my purse isn’t as deep as yours. I will shop, but I probably won’t be buying very much. It’ll be worth the trip just to learn how to shop from you.”

“Oh, Pooh,” Alice said with a wave of her hand. “If we see something we like on you, then we’ll get it. You need to upgrade your clothes and I’m going to help.”

Alex looked at Dennis and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let her buy me anything.”

Dennis shook his head. “Allie, one time we went to the Bahamas for vacation and I left Alice alone for three days while I went on a fishing trip on a yacht I rented with a guy I met on the beach. That little side trip cost over eighteen thousand dollars. If my wife is having fun, just let her buy you the clothes. I don’t think that Alice plans to dig that all deeply into her pocketbook. Do you dear?”

Alice smirked and looked at the younger people at the table. “See, kids… this is what makes a good marriage. We give and we take.”

“And we have enough money to waste,” Jill whispered to Melody.
 

~^~
 

By the time they got off the slopes, Dennis, Melody and Jill were exhausted. It was only four in the afternoon, but they had pushed each other to go faster, bank harder and they’d even made small wagers on who would get to the bottom of the mountain first. After three days of skiing and then pushing too hard, they needed to call it quits a little early.

“You know what I’d like to do?” Jill said as she and Alice entered their adjoining rooms. “I’d like to go sit in that hot tube down stairs for a little while. I think I need some massaging and I can’t afford the spa at this place.”

“Sounds great,” Melody said.

Ten minutes later, they entered the pool area to find Dennis had had the same idea and he was nearly asleep in the large hot tube.

“Can we join you?” Melody asked as they climbed in.

“Oh, hi!” He laughed, opening his eyes. “Great minds, huh?”

“More like achy muscles,” Jill laughed.

“Yeah, well, wait until you’re in your fifties. It gets a lot worse,” Dennis laughed.

They soaked and chit chatted for a while until Dennis finally said, in a more businesslike manner, “Tell me about Allie?”

“Tell you what?” Mel asked.

“Where you two met? Did she go to college? How long has she been in the wholesale liquor business? What are her plans for the future? I’ve learned a lot about you two over the last few days, but nothing much about Allie.”

“Allie is…” Mel thought for a moment, “… sincere… quiet… loving… insecure at times… eager to please and one of the sweetest people I have ever known. We met in sixth grade when Jill and I were in the same community theater production of ‘Annie.’ I kind of fell for Alex the moment we met.”

“That’s sweet,” he smiled at Mel. Then he looked at Jill and asked, “It didn’t bother you that your best friend had a crush on your little sister?”

That made Jill laugh. “I always say I’m Allie’s big sister because I’m taller and, well, I used to be a lot bigger. The truth is though, Allie is eleven months older than me. We’re ‘Irish Twins,’ as they say, because Allie was so shy as a child, our mom kept her home an extra year so she could start school with me. You should see the pictures of us our first day of kindergarten. I was already a head taller than Allie. In every picture, Allie is holding my hand and I’m leading the way to school, into the classroom… you name it. So, I’m the younger sister, but I’ve always been the big sister.”

“I sensed that you were the more forceful sibling even at our meeting. Allie knows her stuff backwards and forwards when it comes to alcoholic beverages, especially wine that comes from local wineries, but the social stuff… well, I’m not sure we’d all be getting along so well if you hadn’t been at that meeting, too. To tell you the truth, though, I’ve seen a huge change in her since she became Alice’s protégé. I think Alice will do her a lot of good.”

The women looked at each other and nodded.

“Tell me,” he looked at Jill, “what was your home life like?”

“It was great. My dad ran a pretty good sized liquor store in Greendale. Not a big chain, like yours, just a nice mom and pop kind of place. Mom helped out where she could, but mostly she was a stay at home mom. Nice house. Nice parents. Nice life.”

“Is that how Allie got into the liquor business?”

“Oh, yeah. He loved that store. He wanted to take over the business after college, but things got tight for my folks… business feel off because a big chain – not yours – opened just down the street. Eventually he sold the license to another mom and pop store that wanted to add liquor sales to their bodega, and he sold the building to a pot dispensary. Six months later, they were living in an ‘Over Fifty Five’ community in Maryland.”

“So,” Dennis continued, “what did all of you do for college.”

“Umass Amherst,” Mel laughed. “All three of us. Jill and Allie in business school and me in Physical Education. We’ve been attached at the hips since that first ‘Annie’ rehearsal.”

“I only live a couple of blocks away from them, now – and if a house on their street ever goes up for sale, I’m grabbing it.”

“That’s wonderful,” Dennis nodded. “Not all siblings get along that well, and friendships like all of you share are very rare. Hold on to those.”
 

~^~
 

“Not exactly haut cuisine, but pretty delicious all the same,” Alice said as she dug into the Turkey dinner at the Turkey farm up the hill from The Inn At Mill Falls on Lake Winnipesaukee. They had stopped at three boutiques on the way down to Meredith, New Hampshire, but most of the clothing was a little too small for Alex. At the marketplace next to the inn, though, they had hit pay dirt. Alex now had nine new dresses, all more beautiful than anything that Mel owned.

“It is delicious,” Alex said, taking very small bites to ensure that no Turkey gravy ended up on his new, black frock with white polka dots and the little black shrug-jacket that went with it. It was a lovely dress and felt heavenly to wear.

“As soon as we’re back to Massachusetts, you and I are going to make a day of going to bSaks and Neiman’s to get you some lingerie as nice as your dresses. A proper woman is always beautiful from the skin in and dresses beautifully from the skin out.”

Alex smiled at her. Alice seemed to have an aphorism for every thing that came up in conversation.

“So, tell me…” Alice leaned forward just a bit and lowered her voice to a confidential level. She looked around the room, but at that time of day, and on a Monday, they were pretty much alone in the room. An elderly couple sat at the far end and a woman with three noisy little ones sat near them. When she was sure she could speak without being heard, she asked, “… what did Melody think of your makeover?”

Alex put down his fork, dabbed his lips with his napkin and assumed the ‘poised pose’ that Alice had drilled into him the previous day as a mischievous smile formed on his perfectly colored lips. “Well… I think that, at first, she was actually overwhelmed.”

Alice chuckled. “Overwhelmed? Why?”

He thought about how to say the next part. “See… until we went to dinner with you and Dennis on Saturday night, I’d never really dressed up at all before. I never did my hair. I never wore makeup. I never wore stockings. To be very honest, Alice, before that night, I’d never even worn a dress before.”

“What?” Alice blinked at him like he was from outer space. “How is that even possible? Surely, when you were a little girl, your mother must have dressed you up in…”

Alice stopped mid-sentence and looked across the table at Alex. Now, it was her turn to wear a mischievous smile. “No…”

Alex sighed. “Alice… I want to be completely honest with you, but before I say anything, I want you to know that I have never met a woman I have wanted to emulate more than you. In the last three days, I feel like I’ve learned more about being a successful human being and just… I don’t know… finding out who I actually am, I guess… than I have in my entire life.”

“Oh, well, that’s very sweet of you to say, dear, but I have to admit, I am a bit confused by what is going on.”

He nodded and took a deep breath to steel himself. “Ok… this whole thing began because I gained some weight during the quarantine and my clothes didn’t fit…”

Over the next ten minutes, Alex went on to explain why he wore Jill’s clothes to his meeting with Dennis, and continued on to the unfortunate coincidence of meeting Alice on the beginner’s slope while wearing Jill’s ski-suit… finally ending with they’re lunch at Hart’s Turkey Farm that day and his desire to continue to live as he currently looked and to be Alice’s protégé even after they returned to Massachusetts. “I really hope that we can still be friends now that you know.”

Alice reached across the table and squeezed his hand, and with her other hand she covered her mouth to keep her giggling controlled. “Oh, my darling, of course we can still be friends.”

Alex giggled a little, finding Alice’s giggles contagious. “Why are you laughing at me?”

“I’m not. I’m not,” she giggled. “I’m laughing at my own stupidity.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, I mean, if I knew that you were actually a man, I never would have pushed you as far as I did. Oh, my God, I can’t imagine what you must have thought when you finally saw yourself with your hair with those copper highlights, the semi-permanent makeup, and that lovely orange dress.” She started laughing a bit harder. “I thought I was bringing out the best in a pretty little wallflower, and instead I was turning a woman’s husband into a prom queen.”

She was laughing very hard now, and Alex saw the humor in it and was laughing, too, just not as hard.

Alice put her hands on her cheeks and tried to calm down. “Oh…” she laughed, “…I need to stop or I’ll wet myself.” She took a lot of breaths, but her smile never dimmed. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. None of that was directed at you, my dear. I promise. I was just laughing at myself.”

“I understand.”

“Ok.” Breath. “Ok.” Breath. “Ok.” She was finally fully in control again. “I promise, my love, your secret is safe with me. I won’t ever say a word to Denny unless you ask me to.”
 
 
To Be Continued...