“Well aren't you becoming quite the regular.” Joked Holly as she sat down beside Joseph. "So what have you been up to?"

“Oh just this and that.” Responded Joseph as he ordered two drinks.

“This and that?”

“Yes, it's been a long week for me and I wanted to relax for a while.”

“So any progress with Maria and Michelle?”

“None, I'm afraid, none at all, then again I really haven't had the time.”

“Why is that? What has kept you busy?”

“House hunting mostly.”

“House hunting, what do you mean by that?”

“Well last time we spoke you mentioned something about working out where I should go from where I am. Anyway, I decided in case things do not work out between Maria and I, I should have backup plans.

“That's not really a good way to look at your situation. You need to keep up hope that things will work out.”

“I do still have hope, Holly but just in case hope isn't enough I also now have a small two bedroom cottage to live in instead of that horrible hotel room.”

Holly soon noticed that Joseph had stopped talking and had started to look around as if something was bothering him.

“Joseph,” said Holly as she put her hand on his shoulder. “What's wrong?”

“It's nothing,” responded Joseph. “Okay so it's that brown haired guy over there with the small moustache, he glares at me every time I'm here and last time I went to the bathroom he grumbled something at me that a gentleman can't repeat.”

“Oh him, that's George. You should just ignore him.”

“What, why?”

“George and I have a long history, would you like to hear it?”

“Okay, sure.”

“Long ago, there was a time when I was younger, a time before I had gotten my operation. In that time long ago I, like so many of the women on the stage now, was a dancer and a stripper.”

“R… r… really?”

“Hey don't choke on your drink!”

“Okay, I think I should just put my drink down while you are telling me this story.”

“In the long ago, there was a time when I was a stripper, every night I would dance on that stage and shake my body for the men and women below. I really hated that job but it made me the money for my operation so in the end it balanced out well.”

“So how does glaring George over in the corner factor into this story?”

“George, poor, poor George, he was my biggest fan at the time and it was his tips that helped me to get my operation done. George was so taken with me that he honestly felt that I danced for only him.”

“Let me guess, after your operation he wasn't so happy?”

“Hole in one, Joseph, or at least George didn't like the idea of the new hole in this one.”

“What?”

“George didn't like the idea that I had gotten the operation, he said it sent me to ruination.”

“Sent you to ruin did it?”

“Yes, George is one of those guys who likes his women with that little bit extra.”

Hearing Joseph make a slight grossed out sound, Holly just waited as he took a long drink from his cup of drink that had sat on the bar for along enough to allow it to become hot.

“Anyway,” said Holly. “George and I got into a fight one night over what I had done. During the fight, George told me directly that I had no right to have gender reassignment surgery. My only response to George was that it was my right to do with my body as I wished because it was my body and not his.”

“So what happened after that?” asked Joseph.

“After that, George never spoke to me again, he just lingers around watching the pre-op women or else glaring at people like you.” stated Holly.

“But why me?”

“Why you Joseph, because you are talking to me and that is what George hates the worst, another man showing interest of any kind in me.”

“So what do I do about him?”

“He is totally non-violent so just ignore him and you'll be fine.”

Having said what she felt she needed to say Holly stood up and smiled before turning towards the stage.

“Well I have to go get dressed as a cat girl now but you are welcome to watch my show again if you want.”

Standing up himself Joseph took the last of his drink and drunk it as his eyebrow raised slightly.

“Cat girl?” questioned Joseph.

“Like I said, strawberries and cat girls, that's me.” Stated Holly as she walked towards the door where most of the stage acts came from.

When Joseph's wait to see Holly on stage was over and she finally walked into the light he was slightly confused by what she was wearing. Holly wore a strange costume that consisted of a pair of fake white cat ears on top of her head as well as a pair of furry gloves and furry boots. Completing Holly's costume was a white strapless one-piece bathing suit like thing with a thick furry tail hanging off the back.

Of course Joseph quickly found that Holly's odd choice of clothing did not affect her performance in anyway, in fact if anything he noticed that she seemed to be enjoying herself more then ever.

After Holly's number was over both Joseph and she returned to their seats where she ordered both of them a fresh set of drinks.

“That was different,” Stated Joseph in an uncertain tone. “Don't get me wrong I loved the song but the costume was strange to me that's all.”

“Oh that's my cat girl costume,” said Holly. “I just love to wear it from time to time.”

Holly soon found herself in a rather uncomfortable position as Joseph stood up and got too close to her. As a moment passed Holly worked out that whatever Joseph was doing was not anything she needed to be frightened of because he barely even noticed her as he worked.

Wondering what Joseph was up to Holly quickly found her whole body bathed in a soft hazy white glow from above. Having completed what he had planned Joseph quickly sat down.

“I didn't want you sitting in the dark,” stated Joseph quietly as he looked at Holly under the pure white light.

“Well you really lit up my world didn't you,” giggled Holly. “Thank you for the light but why and what is it because I've never seen such light before.”

“Your welcome. As for the light, it is a new LED or light emitting diode bulb. As a LED bulb, it draws far less energy then either a filament or Compact florescent bulb, however the light output is lower.”

“So it's a green alternative that produces less light then other sources, which is great for a bar where light is a bad thing.”

“That's about right, Holly.”

“So why did you install it for me?”

“To be honest, ever since I met you, you've been sitting on that same seat in the shadows and I felt seeing nobody else had changed the light bulb then it was only fitting I did. Oh and don't worry I asked Joe before I did anything.”

“Besides,” said Joseph as he smiled. “A lady as pretty as you are, really shouldn't hide in the shadows like you do.”

“You noticed that huh?”

“Yeah, why do you tend to hide yourself from sight?”

“I don't know, maybe it's because I feel out of place here.”

“Out of place, how come you feel like that?”

“Well there are two factors, the first you need to understand is there is this prevailing belief amongst many post-op transsexuals that they need to hide their past and just live as women, it's sometimes called blending.”

“So post-op male to female transsexuals just want to live as women, that seems fair enough to me, Holly.”

“On paper yes, but in reality these trans-women have made friends with others who are earlier in the process then themselves but in their rabid need to hide from their past they end those friendships, often in the worst possible way.”

“That feels wrong somehow and people who do that really need to take a good hard look at who they are because they sound worse then me.”

“You aside for a moment, when I went for my operation I made the vow never to forget what I am. I might be a woman now but I still remember I was not always that way and I also remember that there are others who want to be like me who might need my help.”

“What does that have to do with hiding in the shadows?”

“Because in a way I'm an outcast. I am not like those who want to hide but at the same time, I am not like the other women here.”

“I think I understand, so what is the other reason?”

“The other reason… well it's not really important so lets just forget it.”

Having said her piece Holly picked up her drink and drunk some of it as a way to break the conversation so she did not have to talk about herself anymore.

“Anyway enough about me,” stated Holly. “How about you, tell me about your new house?”

“Oh my house,” said Joseph. “It's a smallish cottage like place, with a nice lawn and a white picket fence. It is only a two-bedroom house, which is not a problem because I am the only one living there. Of course, the big negative to the house is that it is eight doors down the street from where Maria and Michelle live.”

“How did you end up getting a house that was that close to them?”

“Not by design that's for sure, I just went looking for a small cheap place, near my work and near other places common to my life. How was I to know until I saw the home that the only place in town that was suitable was near my old house.”

“So have you moved in?”

“Yeah, anything to get away from that hotel room with it's damp carpet and dripping water pipe.”

Picking up his drink, Joseph quickly swallowed it down before looking around the room just to make sure that glaring George was not too close.

“Holly there is something I've been meaning to ask you,” said Joseph.

“Okay?” Responded Holly in a slightly confused tone because she was not sure why Joseph was acting so formal all of a sudden.

“It is about the whole situation with Maria and Michelle…”

T.B.C.