new opportunities and faces new challenges.
Author's Note: Thank you for all of your comments. Please continue to comment. It really does help me. I apologize for the abundance of typos in the previous chapter. I accidentally posted an unedited version. Frequently, my iPad thinks it's smarter than I am and I have to go back and fix quite a bit.
I was more careful this time... I hope. ~Clara.
This version of Quarantine: 3 - New Challenges 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.
Chapter 3
A week, nine dresses, two nighties and a new set of living room curtains later and Jordie was sitting at the cutting table, staring at a piece of paper that was covered in rough sketches. With a pencil in hand, he was struggling to picture how he'd like his first dress designed from scratch to look. Mary stood beside him, encouraging.
"I can't get this quite right," Jordan mumbled, "I can't figure out how to get the skirt the way I want it. Maybe if I look at the premade patterns I could find something that I could copy."
"No, no, no." Mary rubbed his back, softly, through the soft material of the lilac, cotton dress he wore. "I want this to be an original 'Jordie' dress. That means no cheating. You figure it out." She leaned down and kissed the top of his head.
The design, written on graph paper, looked more like an industrial design than a dress, but Jordan was figuring out the correct amount of material, proper amount of sway to the skirt, the way the dress would hang from the wearer's bosom and hips... everything. He just didn't know how else to express his ideas on paper other than as strict, rigid drawings on the checkerboard paper.
"I don't know if it'll look like I want it to look without using a pre-made pattern, though. What if it doesn't come out right?"
"Then you'll learn what you did wrong. That's ok, isn't it?"
He huffed and puffed about it a bit then mumbled, "Yeah. I guess."
"Good." Mary smiled she kissed his head once more.
Over the past week, Mary had gotten permission from the local board of health to take a few customers into the salon everyday. Only 'essential workers' were allowed to come in to have their hair, makeup, nails, whatever, done and a thorough cleaning had to take place between each customer. She wished that she could accommodate all of these people at no cost, but she just couldn't afford that. She did discount their beauty treatments substantially, though, and many were so appreciative that they tipped very well. It was nice to have some money coming into the house, again - even just a little.
"Listen, baby, I need to go out to the salon. I have two ladies coming in, today - one at ten and one at noon. Robbie's going to come up to keep you company..."
"...And make sure I don't cheat and use a pattern from the files." Jordan shook his head as he finished her thought. "Why is it so important that I do this all myself?"
"It just is, Jordie. Once you've conquered this, you'll be surprised by how proud it makes you. This is good for you, honey. Trust me."
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair to push it out of his face. The constant attention to his hair had made the once ratty looking mess quite lovely and shiny. There were natural highlights in his once drab, brown hair that were not noticeable before. It had become quite lovely.
"I'll have Robbie bring you something to keep your hair back for you, ok?"
He nodded. "Good. I can't even think through all this hair, today."
"I can cut it all off for you, if you want, honey." Mary knew that this would rile him up a bit.
"No! I like my hair! I like it even more now than before. I was just... being frustrated, I guess."
She smiled and left him.
She found Robbie in the upstairs den, playing a video game. "Listen, honey, I have a customer coming, so I need to go out to the salon. Can you sit with Jordie while I'm gone?"
"Sure, mom," she said, happy to have something to do.
"Remember, don't let him use a pattern. Make him think everything through on his own."
"Yes, ma'am!" She giggled as she saluted her mother.
"Good. Where's your sister?"
"You just told me that she's in the sewing room," Robbie teased.
"Very funny. Where's Franny?"
"In her room, I think."
Mary looked into the next doorway and found her oldest stepdaughter seated at her desk, ear buds in use, so she entered and touched her shoulder, making Frances jump, just a little, in surprise.
"Any luck?" Mary asked.
After catching her breath, Frances shook her head. "No, mom, sorry. I've been trying to reach them through email, text message... I even sent an email to Doctors Without Boarders and asked if they could get a message to them. I haven't heard anything back, though."
Mary was frustrated. Her sister and her brother-in-law had not communicated with them for weeks, now. She knew that this didn't mean that anything was necessarily wrong - they were, after all, in China, a country notorious for stiffing communication, and there was a world wide pandemic to deal with - but it was frustrating, nonetheless.
She'd thought long and hard about how to deal with telling Jordie's parents about his recent change of wardrobe and had finally decided that it would be best to let them know about it sooner, rather than later. Unfortunately, that turned out to be much harder than she expected. They remained incommunicado.
"Is there a phone number for Doctors Without Boarders?" Mary asked, willing to do whatever it took to reach her sister.
"Yes, but their head quarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. I can try to reach them, if you want."
Mary scrunched up her face and considered that. "No. I'll call them later. I have a customer coming in a few minutes."
"What are you up to?" Frances asked Robbie.
"I'm on Jordie Duty."
The pun of 'Jordie Duty' sounding like 'Jury Duty' made all three of them chuckle.
"How's the dress coming?" Frances asked Mary.
"Slowly, but surely. He'll get it, but he'll take shortcuts if we let him."
"Hey, you know what?" Robbie was suddenly a bit excited. "We're all wearing dresses that Jordie made."
"Yes, we are," Mary smiled, looking from one to the other.
"I love the dresses he's made for me," Frances said. "I don't think I've ever had clothing that fit as comfortably as the dresses he makes."
"That is true," Mary said as she moved towards the stairs. "I'm afraid we may be taking advantage of him, though. He's in that room six to eight hours a day."
"Yeah, but he loves it!" Robbie shrugged.
"Mary nodded. "I have to run. Robbie - like you said, you're on 'Jordie Duty' until I get back. Oh, and Robbie, bring him something to hold his hair back. Love you, girls," and she hustled down the stairs.
"This has been just terrible," Joan Green said from the styling chair. "I have been a GP for so long, I've forgotten how exhausting being at the hospital day in and day out really is. I'm used to doing my rounds in the morning and again at the end of the day, but I've been working hands-on in the COVID Ward full time since this began. Twelve to sixteen hour days, six or seven days a week... and in an anti contamination suit. I guess I'm really out of shape, but I feel like I'm at least contributing."
"I'm sure you are, Doc," Mary said through her mask to the woman she'd known since fourth grade - the woman who'd followed Mary's sister from high school to Umass to Umass Medical and became a successful doctor herself. Joan was smart, athletic and beautiful and funny as heck. During normal times, Mary and Joan would meet for dinner or drinks at least once a week. Both were single - Mary widowed and Joan divorced - and they had supported each other through an awful lot of hard times. "Thank God we have you guys. You really are heroes."
"Oh, please," Joan laughed. "We're just doing what we're trained to do. All these signs on people's lawns are a bit much. Someone put a sign on my lawn that said, 'A Hero Lives Here.' I took it down within five minutes of seeing it. It embarrassing."
"People are just trying to say 'thank you,' Doc. No one meant to embarrass you."
Joan laughed. "I guess 'embarrassed' isn't quite the right word. I guess I appreciate the thanks, but... you know what I mean."
"I do," Mary agreed. She pulled the cape free of Joan's shoulders and joined her friend's gaze in the mirror. "What do you think? Did I make you beautiful enough?"
Joan smiled. "You did the best you could with what you had to work with."
"Oh, stop it." Mary wrapped the cape up carefully and placed it into a waste basket, then she took off the smock that she'd worn. "I want to hug you," she shrugged, "but... God, this sucks."
"I know, Mary, but it is what it is. It'll all be over at some point. Now, forget about all that, I'm looking at what you're wearing and I LOVE THIS DRESS! Is it new?"
"Oh," Mary made a bit of a show, swaying from side to side, "do you like it?"
"I LOVE it, Mare. Where did you get it?"
Mary took a breath and the smile beneath her mask was obvious in her eyes. "Well... you remember my nephew, Jordan?"
"Of course, I do. He was such a sweet little boy. I haven't seen him in years, though."
"Well, Jordie is staying with us and... well, he was looking for something to do, so... well, the long and the short of it is, he discovered that he not only sews beautifully, but he LOVES sewing! He's made dresses for all of us and every dress is as pretty as this. Isn't this great!?"
"YOUR NEPHEW MADE THAT DRESS!?!?" Joan gaped at her friend. "That's beautiful! Is he taking orders?"
"Oh, no he's not..." Mary started, but then stopped. "You know, I don't know the answer to that. I can ask him, though. What style are you interested in?"
"That looks comfortable to work in. Is it?"
"Funny you should ask. Just as I was coming out here, the girls and I were talking about how comfortable his dresses are."
"And you think he'll make me one?"
"Like I said, Doc, I'll need to talk to him. Tell you what - I'll call Jordie down here and we can ask him. Why don't we go out into the yard and he can put on a mask and come out. You can ask him yourself."
Three minutes later, Robbie and Frances stepped out of the house with a young, prepubescent girl behind them. The child wore a very cute, lilac dress, flip flops and her hair was held back with a large, floppy, white bow. The girls were waving and calling hellos to the doctor.
"Where's Jordan?" Joan asked.
"Oh," Mary grimaced behind her mask. "I forgot to tell you. Jordie has started wearing the dresses he makes too."
Joan looked from her friend to the group of girls and back again. "That's Jordan? That little girl? That's Jordan!?"
Mary was a bit surprised by her friend's agitation. "Please, don't make a big deal out of it. He's going through a lot right now."
Joan shook her head. "No, no, I won't. I'm sorry. I just... I deal with patients dealing with gender dysphoria all the time, but, Mare... that doesn't look like a twenty something year old man. That looks like a child. Like a female child. Didn't his mother ever look into his lack of growth!? She is a doctor, after all."
"I don't really know, Doc, but can we put a pin in this conversation for now? I don't want to upset Jordie."
"Oh... yes..l of course." She turned and smiled. "Ronnie! Franny! How are you!? And Jordan! My God I haven't seen you since you were probably ten years old! How are you?"
"I'm good," he smiled behind his mask. "And you?" He asked out of politeness, not really having any recollection as to who this woman was.
"I'm fine, jordan, thank you, but your aunt tells me that you made her dress. Is that true?"
"He made all our dresses," Robbie said enthusiastically.
"My goodness, Jordan. They are all beautiful."
"Thank you," Jordan said, a bit uncomfortable about being outside and being confronted by the woman.
"Do you think I might be able to convince you to make a few dresses for me?"
Jordan was surprised by the question. "Umm... a few?"
"Yes," Joan said, matter-of-factly.
"I don't know. What are you looking for?" he asked.
"I'll tell you what, Jordan. I usually shop at some pretty high end stores. I'm used to paying for high quality clothes and these clothes look like they are very well made. How about we make a deal? I'd like to have you sew me five dresses. One in each of the styles I see on your aunt and cousins and maybe two others. I'll pay you one hundred dollars for each dress if I can have them in two weeks. How does that sound?"
The girls gasped and both said Jordan's name in surprise. Jordan, though, just stood there in shock for a moment.
"What do you think, Jordie?" Mary asked. "Doctor Green is offering you five hundred dollars for five dresses. What do you say?"
"I... I... I... say 'yes,' I guess. Thank you, Dr Green. I really can use some money."
"Excellent," Joan said as she clapped her hands. "So... how do we proceed from here?"
Jordan stared blankly, uncertain as to how to answer.
"If I could make a suggestion," Frances offered, "maybe we could set up a video call later and Jordie could walk Dr Green through measuring herself. Then you could look at materials over the phone and Jordie could get started from there."
"Great idea!" Mary said. "Joan? What do you think?"
"Excellent!" She said, then reached into her pocketbook and pulled out some bills. "I'll give this to your aunt, Jordan, since she's wearing gloves. It's two hundred dollars as a down payment. I'll give you the other three hundred when the dresses are done. Sound good?"
"Sounds great!" Jordan finally said. "Thank you, Doctor. Thank you very much."
"My pleasure, Jordan. I can't wait to see my new dresses!"
"Alright," Mary sighed as she stood to clear some dishes from the table, "you can do the shopping tomorrow - but I want you to go early, before there are any crowds, you keep your mask on at all times, you keep hand sanitizer with you and use it frequently and it's one stop - Walmart and back. Lord, I wish there was a smaller store in this town. I just don't trust a place that big."
"I'll be careful, mom. I promise," Frances said, rising to help her stepmother.
"Can I go, too?" Robbie asked, knowing the answer.
"Absolutely not," Mary said with finality. "It's bad enough that I'm sending your sister. If we didn't need paper goods I wouldn't even consider this. If you need anything, tell Franny. She can pick up anything you need. That goes for you, too, Jordie. But no one else is going. That's final."
Robbie nodded, glumly. She didn't particularly like Walmart, but the idea of going somewhere - anywhere - seemed like a nice change of scenery.
"Actually," Robbie said, "I do need a few things. Not a lot, but could I give you a list? Mom, I'm sorry, but could I borrow, like, thirty bucks until I can start back to work?"
"Of course, honey, and that goes for you, too, Jordie. If you need anything - within reason, of course - just let Franny know."
"I could get you some boxers or Y-fronts, or even some jeans or chinos, if you'd like," Frances offered.
Jordan just shook his head, "No thanks," but then he thought for a moment and said, "I probably do need a few things to finish the dress I'm working on for Aunt Mary. Can I think about it and let you know later?"
"Yes, of course." Frances smiled at him. "You know where to find me."
Mary smiled at the mention of the dress. "I'd really like to see that dress tonight, Jordie."
He smirked and shook his head. "It'll be done tomorrow. Then you can see it."
"It's really pretty," Robbie confirmed. "You're going to love it, mom. It's the first 'Original Jordie' design."
It was about an hour and a half later that Jordan leaned into the upstairs den a said, "Franny? Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"
"Sure, Jordie. Come sit," Frances replied, tapping the space on the sofa next to her.
"Umm..." He stood and considered sitting for a moment, but then he took in his aunt and Robbie sitting nearby and made a decision. "Umm... no. That's ok. I'll talk to you later."
He turned and started down the hall, but Frances appeared in the door seconds later. "Jordie? What's up?"
He shrugged. "Nothing. I'll... talk to you later." He stepped into his bedroom.
Frances was confused by his behavior. She considered giving him whatever time he needed, but then thought that she'd just check to be sure he was ok. When she entered his bedroom, Jordan was sitting on the side of his bed looking out the window. He was wearing a new light green nightie he'd made for himself. It was very similar to the first nightie he'd made, but shorter and, instead of the straps going over his shoulders, this one had puffy, capped sleeves. He looked very young and very sad.
"Jordie? What's wrong?"
He looked away. "Nothing. It was stupid, anyway."
"What, Jordie?" Frances sat on the bed beside him. Over the past ten days, Jordan had begun making more eye contact with the family, but now his gaze was, once again, elusive. He was embarrassed about something. "What is it, Jordie. You can tell me. You can tell me anything."
He didn't say anything.
"Is this about what you need at Walmart?"
He nodded and Frances noticed a piece of paper folded in his hand.
"Is that your list?"
He nodded again.
"Can I see it?"
He handed it to her and she read it.
"Ok, Jordie. These are all things for sewing. I can get this for you. Ok?"
He nodded, but hung his head a little.
"Is there anything else you need?" She was trying to be patient without sounding patronizing.
He looked at his other hand realized he was holding something else. He held it up and gave the dollar bills in his hand to Frances.
"Jordie, mom said she'd pay for anything you needed." She smiled and then looked at the money. "Besides, there's a hundred dollars here, Jodie. I don't think that the stuff on your list would cost more than fifteen or twenty bucks."
He shrugged.
"You wanted something else, didn't you?"
He shrugged.
"Jordie... did I embarrass you when I mentioned buying boys underwear and trousers?"
Another shrug and, "Kinda."
"Because you want me to buy you some more panties?"
He nodded. "But... maybe... a little nicer. Softer, maybe."
"Silky?" Frances asked.
"Yes," he whispered.
She put her arm around his shoulder. "Ok, Jordie. I'll pick out some very pretty panties for you. Ok?"
"Thank you," he muttered as he nodded.
Frances studied his face. There was something more that he wasn't saying. "What else would you like me to buy for you, Jordie?"
He took several deep breaths, then said, "Could you give me my iPad?"
Frances turned, saw the tablet on the bed and handed it to Jordan, who signed on and opened the browser. "Could you buy me a couple... of these?"
He handed the iPad back to Frances who looked at the screen. It was signed on to the Walmart website and below the corporate banner was a female model in a bra and panties. The name of the item was to the right of the photo. It read 'Wilderness Dreams Padded Bra Mossy Oak Push-up 32a.'
"You want me to buy you a padded bra?" she asked without judgement.
Jordan just looked at the floor for a moment, then nodded. "Can you?... please?"
"Of course, Jordie. I'll buy it for you. Do you want just one style, or do you want several?"
Again, he pondered. "A few different styles, I guess. I think... I think that I'd like to start wearing one everyday."
She nodded and hugged him. "Ok."
They sat in silence for a few moments, then Frances asked, "Jordie? Why the change of heart? Just last week or so, it seemed like you weren't interested in wearing a bra."
She could tell by the sound of his breathing that he found the conversation embarrassing.
"I know, but... the dresses look so much prettier on you and Robbie. I just... I just want them to hang right on me. You know... like they hang on you."
Frances leaned her head onto Jordan's head and rubbed her cheek on his hair. "Ok, Jordie. Let's get you some bras. I'm sure that you'll love how they make you look."
"And Franny...?"
"Yes, Jordie?"
"Could you, maybe, not tell auntie about it until I try one on and see if I like it?"
"Ok, Jordie. It'll be between you and me."
"Thank you."
"Your hair has really started to glow," Mary said as she prepared the water temperature at the shampoo station the next morning. "Do you like how it looks, now?"
"Yes, auntie. I like it much better than the way it was before."
"Yeah? I'm very glad to hear that, Jordie. Now that you've been wearing it this way for a little while, is there anything different that you'd me to do with it? Maybe cut it shorter or shape it differently? Maybe color it a bit differently? What do you think?"
Jordan shrugged. "Auntie... do you think that, if you colored it or something, that people would think that I was a girl? A real girl, I mean?"
Mary pondered. "Jordie... I think that, if you were to meet someone... they'd think you were a girl, now. Would that bother you?"
He shook his head. "I don't think so. I kinda think that's what I'd want them to think."
Mary nodded. This was all new to her. Was she helping him, or leading him down a dangerous road? "Long term, Jordie... how do you plan to present yourself? As a man? As a woman?"
Jordan blinked. "I don't look like a man, auntie."
"I know, honey, but if we style your hair more masculinely and get you some clothes that fit..."
"...and I'd still look like a weak, little boy. At least this way, I look like a regular girl. I thinks that's better."
Mary smiled a sad smile and nodded. "Ok, baby. Would you like me to do something different? I think I could make you look even prettier. More like a regular girl. What do you, say?"
He nodded. "If we do this... could you, maybe, not tell people that I'm your nephew?"
Mary's smile brightened. "You mean like I did with my friend, Dr Green, yesterday?"
He nodded.
"Ok. It's a deal. Lay back and let's get started. I have a client at eight thirty." She wondered if Jordan was thinking more than a few weeks ahead, though. What would he want to do after the quarantine? What were his sexual desires? Did he want to attract a man? A woman? Was he asexual? Did he even have sexual urges? She knew that, eventually, she'd figure all that out, but it did bother her, just a bit, that she was the one walking Jordan through all these exploration - and at this age, too! Why hadn't her sister helped him to find himself long before this? She'd expected more of his parents.
"Hi," Frances said as she ducked into her sister's room. "Here, these bags are yours. I was able to get everything you wanted except the TRESemme shampoo in the red bottle. Sorry. I could only get the black bottle. There are a lot of empty shelves."
"No problem," Robbie bubbled. "You got tampons, right?"
"Yeah. I bought four boxes so we wouldn't run out."
"Great."
"The rest of this is Jordie's stuff. Is he in the sewing room?"
"Yes, and Franny..." She stopped mid sentence.
"What?"
"Never mind," Robbie giggled. "You'll see for yourself."
Franny squinted at her sister and shook her head at her silliness, then continued down the hall.
When she reached the sewing room, she could hear the sewing machine running, so she entered, speaking loudly. "Hi, Jordie. I got most of the sewing stuff that you asked me get and I got you some nice..." she stopped as she stared at the small, auburn haired girl who was sitting at the sewing machine. She had thick bangs and the hair surrounding her face was shaped to enhance the pudginess of her cheeks and, although it sat luxuriously thick and straight on her head, it cascaded in loose curls from just below the level of her face to her small shoulder, which were on full display in a sleeveless sheath dress that hung so loosely from her shoulders that, had she actually had breasts, they would have not been noticeable.
Frances remembered the dress. It had been one of her favorites when she was in seventh grade and the moment she grew out of it, it became Robbie's favorite, too. The dress had a white background with black piping around the crew neck, arms and hem. There were playful, fashionably childish cartoons of rather self satisfied looking, long necked dinosaurs with demure eyelids and girlish smiles scattered about the dress, while in soft baby-pink, the words 'Dream' and 'Big' were written in planned randomness about the cloth. There were also pairs of baby-pink, puffy clouds with baby-pink line drawings of rainbows between each pair of clouds.
The dress style was grown up enough to appeal a girl entering the first stages of womanhood who wanted to look somewhat womanly, while also infantilize the wearer with the graphics, making sure that she still looked girlish and virginal.
After staring for five or ten seconds, Frances muttered, "Jordie?"
He stopped sewing and bowed his head just a little, enhancing the girlish, demure look that the dress had already created.
"Do I look a lot different?" he asked, cautiously.
Frances let out a big breath and smiled. "I'll say! You do look cute as hell, though, I'll give you that!"
"You mean that in a good way, right?" Jordan didn't always read people's reactions well and he wanted to be sure that she wasn't making fun of him.
Finally able to move again, Frances put the bags she'd been carrying on the cutting table and moved towards her cousin, holding out her arms in front of her, inviting him to take her hands. "Stand up for me. Let me see how pretty you look."
Then, the most amazing thing happened. Jordan smiled. Of course, he'd smiled before, but his smiles were always nervous and self conscious. This smile was broad and carefree. It was the smile of a child who wanted nothing more than to be accepted and who had just found the kind of acceptance he most wanted. Someone he loved had just told him he was pretty.
Jordan took Frances' hands and stood, the loose sheath dress flowing freely around his body.
Frances touched his bangs. "I love your hair, Jordie! That color! The bangs! I can't believe how cute you look!"
"I told you you'd see for yourself!" Robbie giggled from the doorway. "Isn't he just the most perfect thing!?"
Frances was running her fingers through his hair. "He is. He really is. You are, Jordie. You look... just perfect. Do you like how you look?"
"I think I do. Do you like it? Robbie said she did."
Frances looked from Jordan to Robbie and back. "I love it, Jordie, but that's not what's important. What's important is that you like it."
He nodded. "I do, but there is something missing. Did you get... I mean... did they have?"
"Oh, yeah!" Frances grabbed the bags and fished for a moment before pulling a small, lace covered bra with cups that were distinctly padded into decidedly feminine shapes.
"Are you ready to become a teenager?" Frances asked, playfully.
He nodded.
"Here," Robbie hustled to his side, "let me help you take this off." She pulled the dress carefully over his head, leaving him in just a pair of yellow boy shorts.
Jordie looked at Frances, then at the bra and a chill ran down his spine. He was feeling an excitement he didn't expect to feel. He knew that some people found dressing in the clothes of the opposite sex stimulating, but he really hadn't thought much about that. Now, he felt a tingling in his groin that was undeniable. His penis was safely tucked, but he could feel that blood was pumping there in a way that he'd never felt before.
"Ready?" Frances asked.
He turned his back to her and she reached around him, sliding the bra straps up his arms. Once it was situated on his shoulder, she gently connected the hook and eyes in the back. "Is it comfortable?"
He smiled and nodded his head.
"Do you want the matching panties?"
Jordan thought for just a few moments before nodding.
Frances fished through the bags once more before producing a lace covered panty that matched the bra perfectly.
"We'll turn our backs." Robbie smiled and both girls turned away.
As soft as the boy shorts were, these were different. The nylon was silky and cool on his hairless skin and when the panties gripped his hips and rear end, they felt like nothing he'd ever felt before. Soft, sensuous... pretty. It took a moment to secure himself into the gusset of the panties so as not to let his cousins know that he was excited by the panties, but he did manage to get his penis under control before the girls turned around.
"All set?" Robbie asked.
"Yes."
Robbie guided the dinosaur dress back over his head, once again being careful of his hair. The material wafted back down around him and, even though his new, shapely breasts weren't all that visible, there was an imperceptible something that was more perfect about the way the dress hung.
"Well?" Robbie asked, her eyes wide.
"Well, what?"
"Well? How does if feel?"
A smile spread on Jordan's face as his cheeks blushed under his make up. "It feels nice. Really nice. Kinda... right... I guess. Does it make me look more like you guys?"
Frances turned her attention back to the bags while Robbie moved behind Jordan and pulled the fabric of the dress taut so that the delicate shape of his new breasts was visible in Jordan's reflection in the nearby mirror. "I think it does, Jordie. What do you think?"
He raised his shoulders as if to begin a shrug, but instead he shook just slightly in a very girly way, pulling the fabric from Robbie's gentle grasp and letting the it shake playfully as it now hung on him - hanging away from his body due to the padded bra's added girth. "I love it. It feels really nice."
"Here," France said, "I got you these, too."
She held out two small, black, cloth flats. They were not in any way ornate, but just simple, classic and decidedly female.
"Oh, wow. Thanks!" He took them, dropped them to the floor, stepped out of the flip flops he'd been wearing and slipped the shoes on. They fit in such a strange and wonderful way. The shape of the base of his toes barely visible before disappearing under the stretchy, black fabric.
He bounced on his toes and said, "I love them, thank you, Franny." Then, very suddenly, and much to her surprise, he suddenly reached out and hugged her, his head nestling on the top of her beast, his arms wrapping around her torso.
Frances looked at her sister with a look of shock on her face, but that look soon changed to a wide mouthed expression of 'wow!'
Robbie was drop-jawed, too, and she laughed, silently.
After a moment of shock, France wrapped her arms around her little cousin and returned the hug. "You're very welcome, Jordie. I'm glad you like everything. See. You can tell me anything. I'm always here to help you."
When they separated, Jordan asked, "Were you able to get the pearl buttons I had on my list?"
"Oh, yes." Frances pulled the small package from the bags. "Here."
"Perfect," he smiled. "It'll only take me a few minutes for me to sew these on the collar of auntie's dress and then it'll be all done."
He hurried to the dress on the dress-dummy and checked the buttons with the collar of the dress. Happy with the match, he quickly threaded a needle and went to work hand sewing the buttons into place.
While he was focused on that, Frances tapped Robbie's shoulder and signaled her to come out into the hall. Once they were out of ear shot, she whispered, "Did you know that mom was going to do his hair like that?"
Robbie shook her head. "I was as surprised as you when I saw him, but he's precious, isn't he?"
"Well, yeah, but... I mean... wow! Robbie, he's a twenty years old. He looked young before, but now... honestly, he looks like a twelve year old. If we ever get in touch with his mom and dad..."
Robbie shrugged. "I don't care."
"What do you mean, you don't care?"
"I don't care what they think. Did you see him, just now? He's happy, Franny. He's finding himself... or maybe he's finding herself... I don't know, but we've known Jordie for what... eight years? Nine years? And how many times have you ever seen him smile like that? To be in the moment like that? To hug you, Franny? I've never seen him hug anyone, before. Sure, mom has hugged him and we've given him little ones, but I nearly cried when I saw him hug you, just now. Franny... that's amazing! I don't care how rich or smart his parents are, they've been pretty shitty parents to him and if we can help him to be happy, then that's great with me. Isn't that what mom wants us to do? Help him become a whole person?"
Franny had to agree, so she nodded. "Man... the crap is going to hit the fan when they see him, though."
At that moment, Jordan stuck his head out into the hall. "Can you send auntie a text and tell her that her dress is ready whenever she has a moment to try it on?"
"Sure, Jordie," Frances said as she pulled out her phone. As she typed, she whispered to her sister, "I don't think that we're going to ever have a big, family Thanksgiving dinner in this house, again."
"Oh, Jordie," Mary gushed, "I just love it!" The top of the dress appeared to be a white, sleeveless blouse fitted loosely around her torso, while the bottom was a wide-bottomed, brilliant blue that hung even more loosely, and ended mid-calf.
Jordan smiled, happy with the way the dress hung on his aunt. "I'm glad you like it. I was going to use small, white buttons on the neck opening, but Franny was able to get me those little pearl ones. I like those better. I hope you do, too."
"Honestly, Jordie, I could not be happier with this dress or prouder of you for having designed and made it. It's absolutely beautiful." She turned and hugged him, tightly, but she immediately noticed the bra straps on his back and the feel of the padded cups. She paused for just a moment, but finished the hug without comment. "I bet Dr Green is going to be very jealous when she sees me wearing this."
"It's almost too nice to wear around, mom," Robbie said.
Frances joined, "Maybe you'll get a hot date when all of this is over and you can wear it then."
Mary chuckled at that. "Oh, yeah. You know how many 'hot dates' I had before I met your father? None. And since he passed way? None. I think it's just beautiful, Jordie, and I'm going to wear it frequently to celebrate your creativity."
"I'm glad," Jordan replied, and Mary could see that he meant it, too. This was a breakthrough. He was smiling on his own. Showing pride in his work. Being creative. Sharing with them.
"How are Dr Green's dresses coming?" Mary asked.
"I've already finished one and I've been cutting out the second one. Here's the first one. I kept it kind of plain so she could wear it to work. I looked up some unofficial guidelines for professional women and I sort of stuck to those."
The dress was pale yellow with small polka dots on it. Again, the fabric design was just a little dated, but could be considered to be 'retro' and 'trendy' in the right application, and this certainly looked like the right application. The sleeveless, form fitting dress would look lovely on the doctor's fit body.
"Do you think she'll like it?" Jordan asked. "The style is kind of similar to dresses I saw her wearing on her Facebook page."
"You went prowling on her Facebook page?" Franny laughed.
"Just to see what she liked to wear," Jordan said without any guilt. "Anyway, I should be able to have them all finished in a week or so."
"That's excellent, Jordie," Mary said, still looking at her own new dress in the mirror.
"I bet she'll be surprised it you're done ahead of schedule." Robbie smiled at her clever cousin.
"Ok," Mary clapped her hands, "how about we call for pizza, tonight? It's already a bit late in the day and I haven't had a chance to prepare anything. I'll call from down stairs. Jordie, you clean-up up here and, girls, meet me in the kitchen to get things ready for supper."
"Get things ready? For pizza?" Robbie seemed surprised. "Isn't it usually paper plates and eating in the downstairs den room for pizza?"
"Yes," Mary's tone indicated that Robbie was not following her train of thought, "but I need you to help me get everything ready."
"Oh... ok," Robbie nodded.
"Help me out of this, Franny," Mary added. "I don't want to eat pizza in a dress this pretty. You know me. I'll get grease on it with the first bite. I'll put on something more casual."
"I assume you bought him that bra, today," Mary said to Frances when they were all downstairs, away from Jordan's ears.
"Well... yes..." Frances shrugged, a little surprised that her stepmother would even ask that question. "He asked me to and I didn't see any harm in it. He's already dressed like a girl. He just wanted to look a little older, I think."
Mary nodded, and before she could speak, Frances continued, "Besides, you colored and styled his hair to look like it does. Bra or not, he'd look like a girl no matter what he wore, now." Her tone was more hurt than accusatory, but Mary understood that the reason for her question had been misunderstood.
"I think he looks adorable," Robbie added.
"I'm not upset," Mary shook her head. "At least not about that. I am curious, though. Did he say WHY he wanted a bra?"
Frances nodded. "To look more like all of us. He said he wanted his dresses to hang better... and probably to look more grown up, too. I think that he thought Dr Green spoke to him like he was a child. And, let's face it, mom... she did."
Mary heaved a heavy sigh. "All of that aside, my sister is not going to be happy about this when she comes home. She's a liberal woman, but Jordie is her only son. She may be less liberal about his needs than she is about the general concept of transgenderism." She thought for a moment, then asked Frances. "Any luck finding them through the Internet?"
She shook her head. "Did you call Switzerland to ask at their headquarters?"
"I did," Mary nodded. "They said that someone would get back to me and hung up on me. It doesn't seem possible that two professionals could just disappear at this point in the twenty first century."
"There may only be limited, or maybe even no internet where they are in China, mom. I'm sure they'll get back to us as soon as they can."
Mary pulled a jug of iced tea from the refrigerator, then opened a cabinet to retrieve glasses. "Has he said anything to either of you about his long term plans? Like, living as a woman? Or becoming a woman? Anything like that?"
The both shook their heads.
"God, I feel like I'm in so far over my head, right now, but... I mean... I did the right thing, didn't I? His hair, I mean. I was just trying to make him feel more comfortable with himself."
By the time the pizza was delivered, all four of them had settled into an old episode of 'Parks and Rec' on NetFlix in the downstairs den.
"I can't believe that Chris Pratt was so pudgy back then," Frances said. "He's so buff as Star Lord in the Guardians movies."
"He's still pretty good looking," Robbie argued. "He's not fat or anything. Kind of a cute dad-body even though he was only in his twenties."
"What do you think, Jordie?" Mary asked prodded, just to include him.
"I don't know," he shook his head. "I like the Guardians movies though, and the Jurassic Park ones he was in. I just think he's pretty funny."
"Yes, he is," Mary smiled.
"Not your cup of though, huh?" Frances teased.
"No," was his brief reply.
"Well, my fantasy actor crush is definitely Rami Malek. I think his eyes are beautiful," Robbie swooned.
"Eww..." Frances giggled.
"Well, who is your fantasy movie star date, then?"
"I'd have to say... Zac Efron. Those pants he wore in 'The Greatest Showman'... Ahh... be still my heart!"
They all laughed at that.
"Mom?" Robbie asked.
"Well... I know that he's getting along in years, but I'd have to say that Tom Cruise is still as hot as hell!"
"No arguments from me!" Frances laughed.
"Oh, ick!" Robbie laughed at her sister. "He's like twice your age!"
"And still hot as hell!" Frances quoted her mother.
"How about you, Jordie?" Robbie asked innocently, but everyone was interested in the answer.
He thought for a moment, then said, "I think Gal Gadot is really pretty. I don't think she'd ever date me, but she's beautiful."
"Well, don't worry." Frances laughed loudly. "I don't think that Zac Efron is going to be asking me out anytime soon, either!"
They all laughed joyfully, even Jordan.
They had placed their paper plates and paper napkins in the empty pizza box and Robbie had taken the glasses out to the kitchen as the end credits to the third episode they'd watched began to scroll past. She was hurrying to get back into the TV room to see the next episode when someone knocked on the door. That had not happened in nine weeks. Everyone froze.
Mary stood and called, "Just a moment," then looked at Robbie. "Grab my mask off of the doorknob of the back door."
They knocked again.
"Coming. Just give me a moment to put on my mask," she called again.
Once her mask was on, she went to the door and looked through the eye piece. The man didn't look familiar, but even if she did know him, the distortion of the eyepiece and the mask that the man wore would have made it difficult for her to recognize him.
Mary cracked the heavy wooden door open and said, "Would you please step off of the stoop before I open the storm door?"
"Oh, yes, of course," the man said and stepped down the one step to the walkway.
Mary opened the wooden door, then cracked the storm door open. "Yes?" She asked.
The man held up a business card and offered it to her. "My name is James Leary," he said. "I'm an attorney."
Mary shook her head. "I don't want your card, Mr Leary. I'd rather not touch anything without gloves on. What can I do for you?"
"Oh," the man said, tucking the card back into his pocket. He was very well dressed in an obviously expensive suit and tie and a tan overcoat. "Of course. I apologize, ma'am. Force of habit, you know."
"What can I do for you?" Mary was a bit concerned that a lawyer would be knocking on her door at six thirty in the evening.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, "I can't even think straight with this darned mask on. I am looking for Jordan Alden. Is he staying with you?"
Now, feeling very protective, she asked, "Why?"
By now, Jordan and his cousins were in the hallway, listening.
"You are his aunt, are you not? I was led to believe that he may be staying with you since his school closed."
"Mr Leary," Mary stood a bit more defensively, "this conversation is a bout to end, unless you tell me why you are looking for Jordan."
"Well, this is a private, legal matter, ma'am. I would rather talk to Mr Alden in private..."
"Have a good day, Mr Leary." Mary stepped back and pulled the storm door closed.
As she was pushing the heavy wooden door closed, the man said, "Wait, wait, wait! I do need to speak to Mr Alden about a very important matter."
"Perhaps we should schedule a meeting, then, and I can call an attorney to be present for my nephew. Why don't you call me and..."
"ma'am, please!" The man was insistent. "I am actually acting as Jordan's attorney at this point in this matter. It is very important that I speak to him."
Mary considered this for a moment. "Wait just a minute, please." She said as she closed the door.
She turned to the three in the hallway. "Jordie, do you have any idea why a lawyer is looking for you?"
Jordan's eyes opened wide. "No. I didn't do anything. I've never even spoken to a lawyer, that I know of."
Mary nodded. "Franny, grab Jordan a disposable mask from the box in the back hall. Maybe we should at least see what this is about."
Seconds later, Jordan was masked and stood beside Mary by the door. After making sure that Jordan was all set, she swung the door open. "This is Jordan, Mr Leary,"
The man seemed a bit confused. "Oh... I... well... I'm sorry, I just thought that Jordan was a young m..." he shook his head, reminding himself that things had changed since he was young. "I'm sorry. Forgive me. Let me start again. Jordan, my name is James Leary and I have been looking for you for nearly three weeks, now. Every since... well... ever since the news reached us."
Mary and Jordan glanced at each other, confused.
"News, Mr Leary?" Mary asked. "What news?"
"Well..." Now he seemed truly flustered. "The news of... surely, someone contacted you about..." He took a moment to regroup, cleared his throat and stated, flatly, "Jordan... I represent the estate of your parents. I am hear to discuss the distribution of their estate with you."
Jordan stared blankly, not able to process what was just said.
Mary's head drooped forward and her knees nearly gave out as she muttered, "Oh, dear God."
To Be Continued...
