"How do you feel?" Frank said as I first opened my eyes.
"I bit groggy, a bit score," I whispered and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for going through that with me."
I also got a glimpse at my bandaged face when I looked at the mirror hanging on the wall in my hospital room.
"Oh my God, I'm ugly, too," I whispered.
"No you're not," Frank said. "Craig said it will take some time for you to heal. But you'll be just fine. You'll be as beautiful as ever."
My chest felt like it had weights on it, too. But I was told it will fill awfully strange at first. I went for a small C cup, borderline B. But with the swelling, I felt more like Dolly Pardon.
I felt numb in the chest, too, and a little sore. I also felt soreness in my crotch and inner thighs. And then I realized I was bandaged there, too.
I reached down there with my right hand and made a discovery.
It was gone.
The penis, the at times grotesque thing. It had been replaced by a bandaged, sore mound.
"Uh Frank," I said.
Part of me was a little upset. I went in for breast implants. I went in for facial surgery and a trachial shave. I wasn't supposed to have the full package deal.
That was to include surgery.
"What happened?" I said as I wept. "Why is it gone?"
Frank 'fessed up. After I was put under anesthesia, he asked my doctor how much more difficult would it be to perform the whole procedure.
"And Craig agreed to do it," he said. "It was against procedure, I know."
"And probably illegal, too," I whispered.
The Frank reminded me of the document I signed before I went under. It gave him power of attorney, just in case. And since he had the legal authority to approve the procedure, he did so.
Dr. Barnes apologized. So did Frank.
"I felt like this is what you wanted," he said.
He indeed had a point. I wouldn't have accepted his marriage proposal if it wasn't my intention to become a "full woman."
And before I went in for the implants and the facial surgery, I filled out the forms to legally be declared female by the court, which was approved on the day of my surgery.
Frank was friends with the judge, who quickly granted the request.
"It was my decision, Frank," I said as I wept. "My decision, you understand?"
We had a long discussion. Frank continued to apologize and asked me if I wanted out of the relationship.
"No, I don't want that," I said.
But I also told him I needed some time to heal, both physically and mentally. It was a big decision, a life altering decision...one I thought I was in complete control of.
I needed him to understand.

*****

I sat in the windowsill of the studio after a few weeks had gone by. I still had a few scars physically, but overall, I was pleased with the work.
Craig Barnes, regardless of doing some work without my permission, did good work. Frank was right about his skills. Together with the hormones, my body had gone through an amazing transformation.
I held Pandora in my lap. Deep down I missed Frank, but he had kept his distance as he'd promised. He seemed miserable, too, and buried himself in his work. I wasn't at all sorry for that.
He needed to fully understand that he couldn't have full control over my life.
I wondered, though, if it were time to call a truce. I thought about that as I left the studio and fed Caesar a snack from the kitchen.
I heard laughter in the "man room." It was poker night again, which was Frank's one refuge during my time of protest.
I laughed as I petted Caesar.
"What do you think boy?" I asked, as if I would get a reply from Frank's best friend. "Should I give the old guy another chance?"
Caesar didn't as much as bark.
"Like I would really expect you to give me an answer," I said.
Just then I heard a meow and felt Pandora rub up against my leg.
"I suppose you're right Pandora," I said. "We girls need to show a little compassion, don't we?"
Then it hit me...the phrase "we girls" actually rang true. It had always rung true. That's why I'd always felt a kinship toward Pandora.
Frank was right, it was what I truly wanted.

****

I didn't let on while Frank's buddies were at the house that the truce was over. I wanted to wait until the right moment.
"How did it go?" I asked him as he said goodbye to Carl, who was the last to leave.
"It went fine," he said. "I came out a winner."
"Good for you," I said as he made his way upstairs toward the master bedroom. "Maybe your luck is changing."
"I hope so," he said with a chuckle.
I heard the shower come on in the bathroom of the master bedroom and tiptoed up there, hoping I could surprise him. I stripped once I got to the bedroom, peaked into the bathroom and saw his naked silhouette through the glass doors.
I slid in beside him and grabbed one of his butt cheeks with my right arm and a bar of soap with my left and started washing his chest and kissed his neck.
"Does this mean, you're no longer made it me?" he said with tears in his eyes.
"What do you think, my man," I whispered.
He picked me up. I was afraid he was going to slip.
He kissed me.
"Deb, I really missed you, so."
I wept. I loved him for his passion.
We moved from the shower to the bedroom, where he hovered over me and began showering my body with kisses.
He turned over on his back and cradled me in his arms as I put my head on his chest.
"I missed you, so," he whispered.
I missed you, too," I replied.