A man is feminized by his wife and his business partner and framed for embezzlement. Can he survive the humiliations his wife intends to subject him to and start a new life?

This time:
Rob deals with more humiliation from his wife as he descends further into his feminine persona.

Thanks go out to Marina Kelly for her editorial assistance in improving the quality of this story.

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Chapter 7

Rob found his way back to the house with little trouble. He was in no hurry because he was spending as much time thinking as he was driving. Why did it feel so good while he had been talking with Jake and why had that kiss thrilled him so much? He would have liked to have spent more time with Tanya and the kids. They were cute and they brought out strange feelings that felt right at the same time. He almost went off on the shoulder when he recognized those feelings as motherly instincts; he shouldn't feel that way should he? Maybe he could call them parental instincts instead? He knew that he shouldn't like Jake's company either because they were both guys, weren't they? But his lips still seemed to tingle from that kiss. He just felt so confused and he tried to push it down so that he could concentrate on driving.

It was late in the afternoon now because of the difficulty with the car battery. Rob realized that it must have taken longer than he thought to charge the battery, but the time had just seemed to fly. He pulled into the driveway for the house and pulled around back to the closed garage. He got out to open the door as it appeared to not have an automatic opener. He pulled all the way into the garage noting with a small smile that there were no trash cans to avoid. It seemed like just a day or two ago that he had been concerned about that in his own garage.

Once in the garage, he closed up the big door and began the process of moving the groceries into the house. Before he got started, he looked around for a place to put the cell phone Jake had given him and that he had picked up for some reason when he got out of the car. His purse was still on the passenger seat. To save time, he just slide the phone down into his bra because he knew that it would not slide out of there and there was room next to his breast forms.

As he stepped into the kitchen with his first load, he was confronted by his wife who looked torn between being angry and worried.

"Where the hell have you been?" she practically screamed at him. Rob came to dead-stop in front of her, totally shocked by her behavior.

"The…The battery on the car died," he stuttered. "I didn't have any way to let you know what happened and I didn't have any more money to fix it." By the time he was done stammering through an explanation, Rob was almost in tears. His control had been crumbling all day and he felt like the last of it was about to go.

His explanation had partly relaxed Geri, but she still seemed upset as she said, "So what did you do? Did you call someone for help?" This last question seemed to be asked with a tone of concern or fear.

"No…No. I went over to the service station by the store and Jake helped me out."

"Who is Jake?" Geri demanded, her eyes narrowing.

"He's the mechanic. He looked at the battery and decided that it needed to be charged." For some reason, Rob did not want to look Geri in the eye when he thought about Jake.

"I see. I guess I need a more detailed description of your day. Put those bags on the counter and bring everything else in while I put things away. "

"Yes, ma'am, I mean, okay," Rob said. Geri had a self-satisfied smile on her face that Rob did not see as he went back to the garage. He finished bringing everything in fairly quickly and Geri made short work of stowing it all away.

Geri looked at Rob critically and said, "Let's have a seat in the dining room. I think you need to tell me about your first day as a woman."

Rob clipped on into the dining room and took a seat at the table. Geri followed right behind, holding Rob's purse that she had picked up from the counter. She dumped the purses contents out and did a thorough search discovering… the store receipt that she tossed on the table and two phone numbers Rob had been given by Tanya and Jake.

"This is interesting. What are these from?" Geri waved the piece of paper and business card in front of him.

Rob looked embarrassed and said, "I had to use the rest room and I had to go into the ladies' room. I helped a mother with her son and her baby. I got to burp a baby." Rob's voice when he said that almost sounded dreamy. Geri noted that with some amusement. She would have to remember to encourage that behavior over the coming days because she thought it would be fun to watch Rob act like a doting mother to someone else's child. Then she noticed the stain mark on Rob's shoulder.

"Why is one of my best dresses stained?" She asked loudly. Actually, she did not care much at all. This was a dress that she had purchased for Rob at the mall yesterday and he would have to deal with any long-term damage.

"Well, the baby burped on my shoulder and it ran down," Rob said, flinching back. He seemed to be feeling more and more fearful of Geri lately and letting her take the lead on things. He was afraid that he was going to be in trouble for something he didn't do.

"You let a baby puke on my dress? I should punish you for that! You know that, don't you? Well you're going to have to wash it by hand and hang it to dry in the bathroom! You might as well consider that dress yours now; I don't want something that some brat threw up on!"

"Yes, ma'am," Rob answered, trying to cringe back from her. It almost seemed like Geri's tone of voice alone was beating him down. He just felt so bad about her dress.

"Why is your lipstick all smeared?" Geri asked.

"My lipstick?" Rob was totally shocked that he had forgotten about his makeup.

"Yes, your lipstick is all smeared. What happened? Were you rubbing your face or something?" Geri was completely familiar with the way Rob's lipstick appeared. Was it possible that her man was growing up to be a woman?

"No…No. I…I was at the service station asking for help and the mechanic pushed the car over to the garage and he said that he would charge the battery if I let him buy me a cup of coffee and we talked and he kissed me!" Rob told the whole story in one big breath, just to get it out. He was still confused about why he had enjoyed that kiss so much.

"He kissed you? And you let him? Did you enjoy it? I bet you did, didn't you?" Geri asked, barely concealing a smirk. "You little hussy and on the first date too. Maybe I need to go back and look at those pictures again."

The reference to the pictures the agents were using to blackmail him with rattled Rob.

"I didn't let him. Before I could react he had his lips on mine. Besides it wasn't a date. I mean, he's a guy and I'm a guy and I'm married to you…and…and," Rob was almost babbling in his confusion.

Geri could see that Rob's mind was about to go into vapor lock with all of the conflicting thoughts and emotions. She decided that he could do with a little reassurance and then she would hit him with more programming tonight. She knew just the right tape to use on him too.

"It's okay, Rob," she said soothingly. "You looked like a girl to him and you just got into the part. Go change into the clothes I laid out for you on your bed and I'll show you what you need to do to clean that stain out of the dress."

Rob stood a little unsteadily and then made his way to his room. The conversation with Geri had started him thinking about Jake's kiss again. He started stripping off his clothes and he realized that he still had the cell phone in his bra. After all the scolding and browbeating he had just gotten from Geri, he didn't want to have to deal with more about the phone, so he put into the back of one of the bureau drawers. He removed everything, including the gaff, which felt refreshing. Looking at the clothes that Geri had put out, he saw that she had left him a skirt, camisole, and anklets. In the absence of anything else, he slid the panties back on and then put on the other articles of clothing. He was glad that the cami was soft against his sensitive breasts and he decided that a bra was unnecessary as he wasn't trying to dress up as a woman. Out of necessity, he put the high heeled shoes back on and returned to where Geri waited for him.

Geri looked him over, taking note that he had elected to not put the bra back on and that his breasts had grown to a size they were just noticeable through his shirt. She would have to put the estrogen cream on again when they were finished. She led Rob into the bathroom where she instructed him on how to use a small amount of laundry soap to wash and rinse his new sundress. When they were done gently squeezing the water out of the dress, she showed him how to hang the dress in the bathtub so that it would not wrinkle badly.

"A girl needs to know how to take care of her delicate clothes," she told him. To Rob, it sounded like he was getting a lecture from one of his elementary school teachers.

Once they were finished, Geri and Rob sat back down at the table again. Geri looked at Rob and said, "I've been thinking about our situation here. We don't look like husband and wife or even like sisters. I think that we should tell anyone who asks that we are roommates, that way we won't have any awkward questions to answer. What do you think?" Geri knew that she had already primed Rob for this and he would fall in line with almost any story she told him to believe.

"That makes sense. The people who are hunting for us will be looking for a man and a woman and we look like two girls."

"Right," Geri said, nodding. "For this to work you need to present a very believable feminine persona. I think that you need to act more like a woman. That way, no one will figure out that you're actually a dude in a dress."

"You're right Geri, but I am a man and your husband. I am not sure I will be able to fool anyone." Rob whined.

"It's okay, Rob. You and I know you're a man, my man; most people will believe you are a woman, if they see a woman. Your looks and conduct will determine your ability to pass. We'll just let everyone else think that you're a girl. "

"Don't worry," Geri said enthusiastically. "I'll help you learn to be more girly. In fact, I know just how I'm going to do it. But let's get some dinner and then we need to get some sleep."

Rob and Geri worked in the kitchen to prepare a small dinner for the two of them, but Geri seemed to have Rob doing most of the work and she stood and directed him. When everything was ready, Geri said, "You know… I think I will call you Diana all the time we are hiding out. That way there is less chance on a slipup. Besides it is such a pretty name for such a pretty girl. After all, it will help you get into the proper attitude for your disguise." She leaned to Rob and kissed him on the cheek. . She had been calling him Diana when he played the maid, so she knew that it would be simple to extend it from maid time to full time.

Even though he was not happy with it, Rob really could not think of a good argument against it, so he nodded. Besides, he was still enjoying dressing in the way a woman named Diana would dress.

Geri said, "Diana, why don't you bring everything to the table and I'll get out of your way. Be sure to put an apron on so you don't soil another outfit. There's a frilly one in the top drawer."

Rob stood open-mouthed in the kitchen as Geri walked away and took a seat at the table in the other room. He realized that she had no intention of coming back to help, so he resigned himself to carrying the bowls and plates of food to the table. There really wasn't much, but it was the fact that Geri had essentially just treated him like a servant.

He found it to be a little demoralizing that his wife would treat him like serving wench. He made a decision if Geri asked him to curtsey he would put his foot down. Hadn't he been the one to go to the store and have to deal with the problem with the car? But then, he wouldn’t have met Tanya and Jake. That thought cheered him up and he put his disappointment aside.

They ate quietly and Geri only asked Diana to go out to the kitchen for more bread. After dinner, she complained that her breasts still hurt and that maybe she should lie down. Rob was left to clean up their mess, what there was of it, and wash everything that they had used. When he was done, he went into the larger bedroom that Geri had taken over to find her reclining in the middle of the bed. It did not appear that she had planned on making room for Rob.

Geri looked up from the book she was reading as Rob came in. "How does your chest feel? I saw that you weren't wearing a bra. I assume that you aren't feeling any irritation?"

"Not really. This cami you lent me felt soft enough and I wasn't trying to dress up, so I didn't put a bra on."

"Well, let's put this cream on just in case," Geri said, holding up the tube.

Rob pulled the cami up to the top of his chest to reveal that his breasts had developed even further. When he looked down, he started to freak until Geri calmed him down. "If these things get any larger, I won't need breast forms! We need to call the doctor!"

"Oh please! You're overreacting and they aren't that large! You were in town all day and you didn't use the cream like we talked about. Let's put it on now and see what it looks like in the morning." What he had now were just the beginnings of breasts and he would really have something to have a meltdown over in a few days. She got Rob to sit on the side of the bed and she sat next to him. Once again, she smeared a large glob from the tube onto her hands and she rubbed it into his chest, making sure to squeeze and pinch his new breasts and nipples. She didn't need to do anything other spread it on, but it was fun to watch Rob's eyes roll back in ecstasy.

This time she even got to watch his cock join in the fun. The best part in all of the treatment Rob was being subjected to was that his ability to be aroused would not be affected by all of this. In the end, he would end up looking like a beautiful, big-breasted playmate with a fully functional set of balls and a penis. The prison system wouldn't know what to do with him; Rob wouldn't even know what to do with himself.

When she was done torturing his breasts, all Geri had to do was run her hands over his cock and Rob was spraying himself all over the inside of his skirt and his thighs. She smiled in satisfaction at how easy it was becoming to manipulate Rob. It took several minutes for his breathing and heartbeat to steady down again. As he came down from the erotic high, he felt the cooling mess on his thighs and his face reddened. It didn't help when Geri said, "You're kind of quick on the draw there, partner."

Rob only felt a little better when Geri said, "It's okay honey. These little accidents happen to everyone at some point. Go get cleaned up, take your vitamins, and go to bed. We'll try again tomorrow." Her tone of voice sounded more like she was talking to a child who had just had an accident than anything else. Rob's look of embarrassment deepened again as he got up and he left the room.

Geri smiled at Rob's back. Once he had taken his pill and gone to bed, she intended to start up the next programming tape that the doctor had prepared for her. When Rob woke up in the morning, his whole world view would be skewed. Starting tonight, he would start thinking of himself more as Diana, dream of having not big tits but gigantic ones, and would be thinking of Geri as even more of an authority figure over him.

She was glad that Evan had discovered Doctor Winters and blackmailed him with Anders' assistance. Not only was Winters' clinic outstanding in the plastic surgery field, but they also had the resources to reorganize and program a person's thoughts and behavior. With the pills and programming tapes that Winters had been forced to provide, Rob was being remade into the fall guy they needed. It was Robs' misfortune that Geri was finally being able to unleash her more dominant nature upon him.

She waited for about half an hour, to be sure that Rob had time to prepare for sleep and for the drugs he had taken to put him into the proper state. Hearing no sounds from the rest of the house, Geri opened the bureau and took out a digital player and sleep headphones. She found Rob unconscious in his bed and he did not respond when she nudged him experimentally. Satisfied that he would be out for close to twelve hours, she put the headphones over his ears and started the player. She pulled the blanket up over Rob so that there would be no discomfort to possibly cause him to wake up early. She returned to her bed and set the alarm clock to make sure that she would be awake in time to remove the evidence from Rob's room.

* * * * *

It was mid-morning when Rob woke the next day. He wondered why he seemed to be sleeping in more and more these days. Of course, he and Geri had no place to go or anything to do while they were stuck here. He rolled out of bed and straightened the nightie that he had worn to bed. Padding into the bathroom, he was so focused on needing to empty his bladder that he did not see Geri sitting in the living room, fully dressed. He did notice her when he came back though.

He smiled and said, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did. I was just wondering when you were going to get up," Geri said, acting a bit put out. "We have a lot of work to do today."

Rob looked at her blankly until she said, "Don't you remember? We're going to work on teaching you how to be more girly. That means that you are going to learn how to walk and act properly. By the time we are done, you will know how to act and look like a high-class socialite or if you want, a slutty streetwalker. That way, you can do your part in maintaining our disguise." Even though Geri was stepping up the programming and the fairy tale they had made up for Rob was not completely necessary, keeping it up made sure of his continued cooperation. At least until he could not keep from cooperating.

He shook his head slightly, as if to clear out the cobwebs. "Yes, I remember," Rob said. "Sorry I guess that I forgot for a minute."

"Well…Go take a shower and get dressed. We need to have some breakfast and get to work."

Rob nodded his agreement and headed back into the bathroom. He got the shower running and slipped out of his nightgown and panties. Stepping into the shower, he found that it was still necessary to stand on his toes, just trying to stand with his feet flat on the floor hurt. The water hit his skin like needles and bullets and his entire body seemed to be tingling as he soaped up and rinsed off. His breasts felt especially sensitive and just brushing his rock-hard nipples seemed to send jolts of electricity through his body. He considered relieving his sexual tension, but decided that he should get control of himself and he shut off the shower. As he looked for a towel he looked down at his legs and he realized that his calves looked fabulous. He wondered if his butt looked just as good, he'd have to check it out in the mirror in his room.

The towel felt like sandpaper on his skin as he tried to towel himself off. He resorted to patting himself dry with the towel, like he seen Geri do in the past. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked out of the bath. Geri saw him as he crossed into the small dining room and called out to stop him.

"Rob! The first thing you need to learn is that a woman doesn't parade around showing off her tits!" Geri scolded. "You should worry more about covering your girly assets and less about the little fellow and his two friends, pull the towel up to your arm pits, so your breasts are covered." As Rob did as he was instructed, the too-short towel revealed his still-engorged cock. "It looks like you were enjoying yourself in there."

"I know. I thought that I could manage it though. Do you have any ideas about how to deal with this?" Rob looked at Geri suggestively.

Geri could see that she needed to nip this behavior in the bud and remind him of her authority over him. This was how it was done anyway. Use the programming overnight and then reinforce it over the next days. It helped if the programming was actually used for more than a single day to make sure that it 'took'.

"How dare you suggest that I help you with that! I will decide when and if we have sex. You should remember that from now on!"

Rob looked dumfounded for a moment and then said plaintively, "I'm sorry. I forgot…I don't know why I am so confused all the time."

He continued on into his room red faced and looking lost and he closed the door. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, trying to understand what was going on. He and Geri were married and that they had been equals in their marriage, but something seemed to have changed in their relationship and he just could not figure it out. The more he tried to understand what was going on, the more confused he became. Just as it seemed like he was just figuring it out, Geri opened the door and came in.

"Come on! We have things to do. If we're lucky, I can teach you everything you need to know and then you can start practicing." Geri knew that Rob would not leave the puzzle alone and that she needed to distract him. If he did not figure out the solution as to why she was suddenly in control of their relationship, he could very well drive himself insane. All she needed to do was distract him for the day and continue to reinforce the conditioning to make sure that things progressed the way she wanted.

Rob's dizzy thinking and the surprise of Geri bursting into the bedroom served to cause his body to forget all about its rather aroused state. Once Rob started moving, Geri left the room again and Rob took care of getting dressed. He realized that it probably made sense to wear the gaffe, so he quickly took care of it and got dressed. He was back out with Geri in less than fifteen minutes.

"Very good," Geri said. "We really do not have a lot of work to do here. I notice that your voice already has the inflections of a young maiden, almost as if you were born with it. Your mannerisms seem to be much more gentle than a man's too. Have you been practicing when I haven't been around?"

Rob looked down, embarrassed and shook his head. "My voice has been really high since we had that surgery and the doctor said that it would return to normal. But it isn't sounding more manly at all."

"I know. I called the doctor this morning before you woke up. He says that it could take several weeks to get back to where it's supposed to be. When vocal cords get stretched the way yours were, it can take quite a long time to heal. He said that you should not be concerned." If Rob had actually paid attention to how Geri was saying it, rather than just the words, it would have sounded like a mother talking to her eight year-old child. Never mind that she was lying through her teeth. By the time he knew she was lying, it would be too late.

"Well, it just means that you're already pretty girly. It must have been there all the time that we were married and I just did not see it." Geri took hold of Rob's chin and tipped his head up to turn it back and forth for her study. She'd been conditioning him for weeks before this, it was good to see her work was paying off.

"You're lucky that your skin has always been so clear. In fact, you probably won't need much in the way of foundation makeup. Just a little mascara to give those beautiful blue eyes that wide-eyed look men find so attractive and maybe a little blusher to give you that look of sexual excitement. Guys like that too."

Geri's observations were being delivered with clinical detachment and only served to drive Rob even deeper into his confusion. Was he a man or woman now? Did he care? Which did he want to be? Seeing himself in the mirror was enough to get him turned on. Did he like Jake or Tanya more? What would Sally think of him now?

Seeing the blank look on Rob's face again, Geri slapped his cheek lightly and said, "Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you paying attention?"

"Yeah…Sorry," Rob answered, shaking his head.

"That's yes, ma'am," Geri said. "A lady is always polite and well-behaved."

"Yes, ma'am," Rob said meekly.

"A woman's hair is important also, it is her crowning glory after all. It shows how she feels about herself by how well it is taken care of and how it is styled." Geri looked at Rob's hair and how it mainly hung down and back and said, "I'm surprised that anyone was interested in you considering how limp your hair is. It makes you look like a washer-woman. We are going to have to do something about that."

Rob felt alternately like he had been slapped across the face and then hugged consolingly.

"Thank you," was all he could say.

"That's thank you, ma'am. You really are a slow learner. Now let's get with the program we don't have much time!"

"Now…As for your clothes, you have a few outfits that will look acceptable enough when you go to the store. But, we are going to have to get you some dresses and gowns that you can wear when you are out with your boyfriend. Maybe a couple of other things when you want look slutty." Geri winked at Rob when she said that.

"But I don't have a boyfriend. He is just a friend."

"Yeah, whatever." Geri waved her hand in a sign of negligent dismissal of his statement. "Just remember. Guys only want one thing from girls like us. You just have to decide how and when you are going to give it to them."

Rob found himself agreeing everything that Geri said, even though her statement that lumped him with her made him uncomfortable. He decided that he would do the best he could in his situation. If he was going to look like a woman, he was going to be the best woman that he could be. He could almost feel an invisible pillar of strength shoring up his spine and he straightened as he refocused his attention about what Geri was saying to him.

"So, I think that tomorrow you need to get your nails done. Your hands look like you have been washing the floor." She said pulling his hands out away from him. "Oh yes. Once we get your nails and hair done, you will look like a lady in high society. But right now, you are going to take this DVD player into your room and watch these movies." Geri pushed a portable player and a stack of movies at him. "I want you to watch how the ladies in these movies walk and talk. Pay attention to how they move their hands and how they sit. I want you practicing while you watch. By the time you're done, you'll know to walk and to talk like a ready lady! Then you will come out and demonstrate for me. We'll work on your mistakes."

Rob was determined to learn the lessons that Geri had set for him and, with a firm resolve, said, "Yes, ma'am." He had to resist the urge to curtsey as he gathered up the player and movies and carried the pile into his room. He closed the door and did not come out for several hours.

Knowing that her husband was now occupied for the rest of the day, willingly cooperating in his feminization, Geri made a call to the local salon that she found in the phone book and made an appointment for Diana's nails to be done. She debated upon whether to have her hair done at the same time and decided that she could have some more fun telling Diana how bad her hair looked for another day or two.

Geri only saw her husband once during the remainder of the day, which is when Rob needed to make a trip to the bathroom. She watched Rob as he passed through the dining room and kitchen and could see that he was moving differently. The changes made to his legs and butt at the clinic had helped to modify how Rob moved, but Geri could see that he must have been practicing while he watched the movies. He now moved with more of a glide than a stride, which served to make him appear more ladylike. Geri was looking forward to teaching him to be slutty as well.

Because she did not want to stop Rob's training until absolutely necessary, Geri took care of fixing a quick dinner that night. When Rob came to dinner at her call, Geri could see that Rob was an excellent student. He moved with a graceful sway in his stride and took smaller steps, he seemed to sashay out of the bedroom rather than just walk.

Over dinner, Geri reined in her natural tendency to pick at Rob. Instead, she engaged him in conversation making sure to call him Diana at every opportunity. Geri found that Rob's gestures were smooth and gentle, almost as if he were stroking the fur on a kitten. When he spoke, his already soft-spoken womanly voice was almost a lilt that she knew would fascinate any man who heard Rob's womanly voice.

Geri sat back in her chair and looked at the person in the other chair. If she did not know that this was her husband that she was looking forward to humiliating and framing for fraud, she would only see a pretty young woman with a gentle manner and a soft spoken voice. In a brief moment of weakness, Geri felt herself drawn to this woman in front of her and wanted to take her to bed and ravish her. She quickly quashed the forming fantasy and drew her mind back to her blueprint of evil.

"Diana, if you're done eating, get these dishes washed and put away. I want to watch you walk a bit, to see if there is anything we need to work on. Then you need to take your vitamins and we need to use more of the cream on your chest."

"Yes, ma'am," Rob answered; he didn't curtsey, but did bob his head. He quickly cleared the table and washed the dishes, making sure to wear an apron over his dress. Rob almost felt like he was operating on autopilot and he couldn't quite understand why he automatically jumped and did whatever Geri told him to do. He needed to get this straightened out in his head somehow.

Once he was finished with cleanup, he stepped back into the dining room where Geri was waiting for him. What followed was an hour long marathon of walking, strutting, and sashaying around the room. When Geri was satisfied with how he was moving, she had him walking in progressively higher heeled shoes. He didn't know where Geri even had shoes with a five inch heel. He was even more surprised that the shoes fit him. By that time, he was getting tired and it never occurred to him to question how Geri came to have these shoes when the two of them did not where the same size.

When it seemed to Rob that he would either collapse from exhaustion or his legs would simply fold up for some reason, Geri relented and let him take a seat next to her at the table. She had the vitamin bottle and tube of cream laid out on the table already. Rob had noticed before that both containers had the same kind of prescription label on them, but he dismissed the thought as quickly as it formed. Geri shook out the pills for him and he popped them into his mouth. He dry-swallowed them as he pulled up his blouse and exposed his chest in anticipation.

She looked critically at him and said, "At first I just thought they were man boobs, but if I didn't know better, I would think that you were growing real breasts. Maybe we should put some extra of this on tonight."

Rob looked down at his breast buds and said, "Do you really think that these are becoming breasts? I've wondered what it would be like if these actually were to grow into real breasts." The tone of his voice sounded eager and wistful.

Geri smiled at hearing the confirmation of Rob's programming. "Now Diana, we don't know that. Let me put this on for now."

"But if that is going to keep my breasts from growing, do we want to put that on?" Rob objected. He knew that he wanted the salve put on his chest to keep his chest from continuing to swell, but he somehow wanted his breasts to continue to develop.

"We will put it on for now and see what happens!" Geri snapped. She was starting to be sorry that she had told Rob the story that the salve would help to reduce the development of his chest. Tomorrow she would need to try a different line to keep him from catching on. Then again, maybe she would leave the tube out for him to snag and she would see if he continued to use it on himself. She quickly took care of smearing the salve on to his breasts and was rewarded with watching him become aroused again. Of course, his was still wearing the gaffe and she enjoyed seeing his discomfort. Once she was done with him, she made sure that he took his 'vitamins' and then dismissed him to his room and Rob half-stumbled into the bedroom and closed the door.

Rob hurriedly stripped out of his blouse and dress, throwing them into the laundry pile. His bra, stockings, and panties quickly followed. He could see that he would need to get some clothes washed or he would be running out pretty quickly. Removing the gaffe and tossing it into the laundry was a major relief. For some reason, his body seemed extremely sensitive and having Geri rubbing the salve into his chest was an incredible turn-on. Once the gaffe was off and his engorged member was released, it sprang to attention like a good little soldier. Looking down at it, it did not seem to Rob like he was going to feel any better any time soon. He resigned himself to either taking a cold shower or take things into his own hands, as it were. He found the box of tissues and lay down on the bed with the tissues beside him. He relaxed, one hand brushing over his incredibly sensitive breasts and the other grasping his raging hard-on. He began to fantasize about having huge, tender breasts and he was holding his breath as both hands were starting to move faster.

Suddenly, the door opened and Geri stepped into the room. She took the scene in with a single glance and sneered at her husband. "Diana! What do you think you are doing?" She made sure to be loud and to sound shocked.

It had the proper effect because Rob's eyes shot open and he sat up looking as he wished he could hide. "I…I…" was all he was able to get out. He felt like he was fourteen years old again when his mother had walked in on him. But she had never gone ballistic on him like Geri was now.

"Polite young ladies do not do that kind of thing!" Geri shouted. She was completely enjoying the look of complete embarrassment on her feminized husband's face. She raged at him for a few minutes, threatening everything from making him wear a chastity belt so that he could not play with himself to taking him to the doctor and making him into a complete woman. All Rob could do was sit there with a red face and stammer at her. So she added of course I can go all the way and do the Lorena Bobbitt on you. I will if I catch you being nasty again. Finally, Geri could see that the drugs she had just dosed him with were starting to take effect as he started to look more and more drowsy.

She let him lie back on the bed, telling him, "Remember, no more playing with yourself or I go out and buy a pair of ginsu knives. Hee hee." He was quickly unconscious as she repeated the instruction several more times while she started up the programming tape that she had used the night before. As she left the room, she reflected that he would be thinking of himself as Diana more and more now and the image of Geri as dominant over him would be firmly cemented in his mind. She could start telling him in the morning that she had just realized that she had misunderstood the doctor and that the salve that they were using was actually supposed to promote the development of Rob's breasts. Then she would sit back and watch him beg to have her rub the cream on. If the programing worked as expected she would probably have to hide the tubes between treatments. Even though she would rather be back in the city relaxing, she was actually enjoying this whole thing. The thought was enough to drench her panties and she knew that she would be spending some time relaxing herself like she had prevented Rob from doing.

* * * * *

Geri woke Rob the next morning, instead of allowing him to sleep into the late morning. She had some things that she needed to accomplish and he had an appointment to have his nails done. After getting him moving, she left him to take care of his personal business. As he was gathering his gaffe and underwear, Rob caught sight of himself in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. He was struck by the fact that his face had changed so much. If he looked carefully, he could almost see his old face, but it was easily lost in the softened cheekbones and rounded jaw. Even his eyelashes appeared to have thickened and grown in length…that wasn't not possible was it? The face the confronted him now was oval-shaped and positively cute.

He spent a few moments posing and admiring his legs and ass, seeing how firm and sleek they were. His only disappointment was that his breasts were not as large as he wanted. Maybe he could talk to Geri about getting a boob job done; maybe they could talk to Doctor Winters about helping him to get the figure he needed.

Once he was in the shower, he relaxed somewhat. Now that he knew that his voice would be healing up, he decided to enjoy the high voice. He hummed tunelessly as he soaped up and rinsed off. For some reason, his voice reminded him of the princess in Shrek. Except that he was changing into the beautiful princess from the ugly ogre. He shook his head in amusement at some of the thoughts that seemed to be bouncing around in his head these days. Regardless, his voice sounded pretty.

He tried to dress quickly and get his hair brushed. With the help of the videos he had watched the previous day, Rob was able to apply his makeup and not appear to be a circus clown. It helped that he had paid attention during those times that Geri had been putting it on for him.

When he finished an attractive, blue-eyed blonde girl was looking back at him. Remembering what Geri has been telling him and the lessons from the movies, he smiled at himself. He presented the image of a girl that he would have loved to have dated in college. Instead, he would have the enjoyment of meeting some cute guy and being his eye candy, for some strange reason that thought sounded sweet to Rob. The thought seemed so natural to him that he did not even pay attention to it as he slipped on his heels and stepped out into the rest of the house.

Geri looked up from her breakfast to behold the vision in front of her. For some reason, the story of Snow White came to mind where Rob was becoming the fairest in the land. She quickly abandoned that train of thought because it meant that she was the ugly stepmother. She could see that Rob was becoming the image of a lovely woman. The thought crossed her mind that maybe she was pursuing the wrong goal here. Now that her husband was transforming into a goddess, maybe she should forget about Evan and the plan to steal Rob's trust fund and all of the investment funds in the business. If she stayed with Rob, with him being her love slave, she would have everything. In time, she might even actually care for Rob, instead of being with him just for the money.

She shook her head sadly as she realized that she was in too deep with Evan and the part of the Mob that Anders represented. Rob would have to be sacrificed as part of the scheme, but she could enjoy herself with him until then. He might even come to enjoy it in the time left.

"Spin around for me," Geri instructed. "I want to see how you look."

The apparent girl before her wore a light blue blouse that displayed a demure portion of her cleavage and a simple skirt of the same color that came to just above her knees. She was not wearing pantyhose or stockings and her legs still appeared to have the glow that hose seemed to impart to a woman's legs, the matching shoes completed the ensemble. Geri knew that this was Rob and at the same time, she saw a woman. Once the hair had been done, Diana would turn heads everywhere she went.

It almost broke her heart to say, "Very nice. It's too bad that your hair ruins it all." The deflation of Rob's happiness was visible.

"Maybe I could have it styled. Then it would look nice wouldn't it?" Rob asked hopefully.

Geri could see that the feminized Rob was as a much an eager-to-please puppy as the old Rob was. There must have been something in his past that had made his so hungry for approval. They had never talked much about his parents. She wondered if Rob had been neglected as a child, it might explain some of this. He was just lucky that he hadn't turned into a cold, bitter person instead. But that would have given him some emotional defense from what was coming at him.

"Perhaps, but we can't afford that until we get some more money from the marshals. We'll worry about that later. But, right now, I've made an appointment for you at Ladies' Nails in the mall to have your nails done. We can afford that." In actuality, Geri knew that she had several thousand dollars in hand. She just thought that it was better and more fun to turn her husband into a sissy a little bit at a time. First the nails, then the hair. A little later she would have him get his ears pierced so that he would start wearing some very long and heavy earrings. Those would hurt like a bitch. Then a tattoo.

"You have just about enough time to get yourself some breakfast and have everything cleaned up before your appointment. Let's get moving!"

Rob had to fight the impulse to curtsey as he acknowledged Geri's orders. Instead, he just said, "Yes, ma'am." Knowing that his appetite for a larger breakfast was non-existent, Rob contented himself with some jelly-topped toast, juice, and coffee. He finished eating relatively quickly and washed the dishes, his own and Geri's, after donning an apron at Geri's reminder.

He had about an hour left before his appointment when he was ready to leave. Having learned her lesson from the last time Rob had been on his own, Geri wrote down the number of the cell phone she carried. She gave it to Rob with the admonition that he should call if he had any problems. He was also supposed to call when he was finished and on his way back. That would let Geri know when to expect him.

Rob smiled and promised that he would call when he was on his way home. He hadn't realized that he had come to think of this place as home until now. It made sense to him though when he thought about it, considering that the place that he had considered to be home had been destroyed.

Just as he was about to walk out the door, he snapped his fingers and said, "I almost forgot my purse." Rob went back to his room and grabbed the purse off his bureau. Taking a quick look behind him and seeing that he was alone, he quickly retrieved his hidden cell phone and put it in the purse. He giggled like a coed at his absentmindedness as he went out the door. He went through the ritual of opening the big door, moving the car out, and then closing the door again. Rob was coming to appreciate the convenience of a garage door opener.

* * * * *

As Rob left the driveway, Geri was dialing a number on her phone. When the person on the other end answered, she said, "Evan? We need to talk." There was a pause as she listened and then she said, "I've sent Rob off to get his nails done and I should be able to give him things to do to keep him away for most of the day. Okay, I'll see you in about an hour." She didn't bother to exchange pleasantries with Evan; she didn't respect him any more than she did Rob. She just told herself that she felt a little sorry for Rob at the moment is all.

The mystery black car was parked on the street again as Rob drove by, but it did not start up and follow this time. As Rob disappeared down the street, the man in the car consulted the laptop computer beside him and could see that Rob's location on the street was shown on the screen. It was similar to reverse-GPS in that the tracking system showed where the transmitter he had connected to the car in the garage was moving away from his location, instead of showing him how to get somewhere. Satisfied that he would be able to find Rob if he needed to, he resumed watching the safe house. He had decided to monitor Geri this time because it appeared that she was sending Rob on another errand. He wanted to see what the wife might be up to.

His patience was finally rewarded when he saw Evan's car coming up the street. He bent down as the car went by so that his car appeared to be unoccupied. Once he confirmed that the tracker he had attached to Evan's car earlier in the week was still working, he settled down to see how long Evan would stay.

Geri answered the door when Evan knocked. She had changed into a pretty blouse and skirt, making a concession to wear heels that would make her taller when facing Evan. Considering that this would be the first time Evan would have seen her since she had been 'enhanced' without her request or desire, she wore a pushup bra that she had purchased during their shopping trip which put her breasts on display. The blouse had first three buttons open so that her substantial cleavage couldn't be missed.

"Hey, babe. Having fun playing house with your husband?" Evan stepped in when Geri answered the door and he attempted to embrace her. When she did not return his hug and she stepped back, he knew that there might be a problem.

"What's the matter? Aren't you happy to see me?" Evan asked, frowning. Now was not the time for their con to start going sour.

"I'm just overjoyed," Geri said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. "How should I feel considering you manipulated me into going to the plastic surgeon with Rob? I wasn't supposed to get anything like what we planned to do to Rob, so why don't you explain to me how I ended up looking like a centerfold?"

Evan stopped and took a breath. Admittedly, he was practically drooling over Geri's statuesque physique and his eyes had barely even gone higher than her cleavage. He'd always been a tit man, so he saw nothing wrong with having the doctor provide his lover with much larger breasts. And Geri should respect what he wanted. After all, he was the husband and she was only the wife.

"I thought that you wanted larger breasts," Evan began. Geri's cold stare brought him to a halt almost immediately.

"My tits were fine, thank you very much. I had to tell Rob that it was part of the plan to conceal us both. The truth is that you wanted me to have larger tits. How would you feel with these things plastered on to your chest?" Geri asked, her voice rising. "Not only do I have to breakdown Rob to be a humiliated sissy, but I have to deal with this mass."

Evan tried to defuse Geri's anger by acknowledging it, "Geri, I'm sorry. I didn't think that this would be so severe for you and I thought that you would think it would be fun. Winters assured me that he could reduce or remove the implants, if that is what you want. I wouldn't have done this to you if it were a permanent change." Even hoped that she couldn't hear the bullshit tone in his voice. It's difficult to con a con man.

Hearing that Evan cared about what had been done to her, served to settle Geri down a little. But he sensed that there was still tension between them.

"What else is wrong? How is Rob's transformation going?"

"I'm making good progress with him. Take a look at these pictures." Geri held out her cell phone that she had apparently used to take pictures of Rob.

Evan scrolled through the list of pictures, stopping on a few to study them. "This is Rob? This looks more like somebody I would hire as a secretary at the office. What does she sound like?"

"Rob is still a he, Evan. He's only just starting to respond to the name I've given him and he still thinks of himself as a he, not she. His voice sounds like a teenager right now, but the doctor said that his voice would settle down in a few weeks."

"How much more work do you have to do?" Evan asked. He knew that he was looking at his partner, but these pictures seemed to be of a college graduate or a twenty-something.

"I'm pretty much done fixing it so that he answers to Diana. A couple of more days and he will be thinking of himself as much as Diana as he does Rob. In that same amount of time, he should end up with his own set of very sensitive mammary glands."

Geri grinned wickedly, starting to get back into her plan to destroy her husband's ego and set him up as a patsy for their theft and fraud. "In a couple of weeks, he'll be able to nurse babies. That will really play games with his mind."

Evan grinned at the thought. "My partner, a nursing mother. That is so kinky."

Geri returned his grin and said, "When he finally gets out of prison, I might just keep him as a pet."

The grin on Evan's face evaporated at the thought. "You're joking right? That goes beyond kinky. My bigamist wife's ex-husband being our live-in…what maid…slave? Would we want him near us after what we are going to do?"

Geri's grin disappeared just as quickly as Evan's had. "I'll decide whether Rob lives in our house and what I have him do. I've been feeling a little sorry for him and it doesn't hurt that he's turning into a sexy goddess." Moving up next to him, she looked into his eyes seductively and said, "Who knows, maybe I'll have him nurse our children."

Evan looked at Geri for a second and then slid his arms around her. Pulling Geri to him he said, "Just talking about this turns me on. We'll do whatever you want to do." He hugged her in for a long, intimate kiss.

When they finally broke, Geri's eyes were glazed from arousal. She took him by the hand and led him toward her bedroom saying, "Come on. I haven't been laid in a week."

The mystery man remained outside while Evan was inside the house. While he did not have any equipment in the house, he had a pretty good idea of what Geri and Evan were up to. He was still able to get information from friends in the department and he had already determined to his satisfaction that Geri and Evan were having an affair.

Evan left about four hours later and Rob still had not returned. The tracking system showed that he was still in town. He was comfortable thinking that Rob was still there as the contacts he has made were all local. Also, the call from Sally indicated that Rob would be staying in town at a beauty salon. About an hour after Evan was gone, his tracking system showed that Rob was headed back, so he relaxed.

Chapter 8

Rob arrived at the mall with about an hour before his appointment and he found the salon without any trouble. When he checked in for his appointment, the woman at the desk politely told him that the girls were running about on time and that he could come back in an hour without a problem. Rob smiled and told her that would be fine and that he would do some shopping for the next hour. He had passed a children's store on the way in and he had the wild thought to go in and look around.

While he browsed, it occurred to him that he had not had a chance to speak with Sally in almost a week, but it seemed like much longer. Looking at the cell phone he removed from his purse, he was becoming used to thinking of it as his purse; he punched in Sally's cell phone number. Just hearing her phone ringing at the other end seemed to make Rob feel happy and he seemed to bounce through the store. He stopped dancing when Sally answered.

"Hi, Sally?" Rob said happily.

"Yes…Who is this?" Sally replied, obviously expecting to have to deal with a salesman of some sort.

"This is Rob. I know that we haven't talked in over a week, but I wanted to let you know that I was okay."

"Who is this? Did Rob give you a message for me?" Sally's voice was alternately angry and concerned.

"Sally, this is me, Rob," he said again. "Wait a minute." He had just realized that he sounded nothing like Rob Tanner and sounded more like some young coed.

"Sally, hold up for a minute. I can prove that I'm Rob," he said, trying to sound calm and reasonable. "The last time we saw each other, we were signing papers in my office. I decided to push the vesting date of my trust fund out by a year and I made you the executor of the fund. Would I have told anyone else about that?"

"Rob wouldn't have told anyone willingly. But you're not Rob," Sally replied. It was obviously ridiculous to expect someone to accept that the woman on the phone was Rob Tanner.

"Sally, I know that I don't sound like I did when we were in my office last week. The reason that I don't is that they performed some plastic surgery on us to change what we look like. They decided that the Mexican cartel wouldn't be looking for sisters, so they changed me a little, well it looks like more than a little now. That's why I sound like cheerleader right now. But the doctor promised me that it was all reversible once this was all over."

"Rob? I don't really believe you, but the way you talk is the same as how Rob talks, even if you don't sound like him. To tell the truth you sound more like those ladies on the phone sex lines than my old boss " Sally's voice went from skeptical to one of concern in a heartbeat as she realized that she could very well be talking to the man that she cared a great deal for. "What have they done to you? Where are you?"

"I can't tell you where we are, because we're supposed to be in hiding. You shouldn't tell anyone that I called you either because it could put you in danger," Rob said. "They had to move us out of the city because the cartel firebombed our house and they thought that we would be safer in hiding."

"Your house was firebombed?" Sally asked in shock. "Nobody here at the office knew anything about that. Are you okay?"

Rob reassured her by saying, "Yes, we're fine. I don't look or sound much like myself at the moment, but Doctor Winters told me that he can undo everything once this is over. Even Geri got a little bit of an upgrade."

"But I really look cute," he gushed. "I'm hoping that these changes will hurry up. I can't wait to show you how I look when my breasts are fully developed. Oh, I have to hurry, my nail appointment is coming up and I just wanted to let you know that I was okay."

"Rob, wait. What do you mean that you look…?" Sally's question was cut off as Rob broke the connection as he discovered a summer dress that he was sure that would look darling on Tanya's daughter. He was getting so used to thinking like a sissy, that he did not notice now. He was calling Tanya as he paid for the dress and went back into the salon to wait.

"Tanya, it's…Diana!" Rob fumbled for a moment as Tanya answered the phone. For some reason, it almost felt natural for Rob to think of himself as Diana, but he had still had a bit a brain-fart when he heard Tanya's voice on the phone.

"Hi, Diana! How are you?" Tanya really sounded pleased to hear from him.

"I'm really good," Rob answered. He was as pleased to be talking to her as she sounded. "I'm here in town getting my nails done and I was wondering if you might want to get lunch."

"That sounds like a great idea," Tanya raved. "It's just me and the kids these days, so I like to get out of the house, if I can. Are you at Ladies Nails? We can be there in about ninety minutes okay?"

"Yes, I'm just going in for my appointment now. I'll see you in a little while." Rob hung up, the thought of seeing Tanya and her kids giving him some kind of a warm feeling in his gut. He'd been having so many weird thoughts and emotions, that he was just going with the flow now. He smiled at the receptionist and she led him back into the salon.

* * * * *

Tanya ended up being a little later than she had promised Diana; after all, packing the kids and all their stuff in the car was like packing for a caravan…or like preparing the space shuttle for a launch. When she arrived at the entrance to the salon, she saw a golden-blonde woman sitting on a bench near the salon entrance. The woman was bent over double with her face in her hands, which muffled her quiet sobs. Tanya frowned and guided David and the stroller over to the bench.

"Diana?" Tanya went over to her and touched the woman on the shoulder, not sure if this was her friend.

Rob raised his head to look at Tanya and said, "Tanya! It's good to see you!" Rob's mascara had smeared from the crying he had been doing and he looked like a raccoon with streaks down his face.

"Honey, it doesn't look like it. What's wrong?" Tanya sat down next to Diana and put her arm around his shoulders. April was happy to stay in her stroller and watch the floor show, but David crowded up next to his mother, unsure about what was going on.

"I…I came in to have my nails done, be…because they looked really bad," Rob choked out, his voice made him sound like a sad little girl. He took a deep breath and then continued. "They ended up attaching these daggers to my fingers!" He held out his hands to show Tanya what could only be glamour-length nails, extending almost three-quarters of an inch from the top of each finger.

"But they're pretty Diana," Tanya said, somewhat at a loss.

"Yes, but I have to be so careful with them. I've already scratched myself twice and I'm afraid to even rub my eyes!" Rob started crying again.

"You'll learn to handle that. Haven't you had long nails before?" Tanya asked a little confused.

"That's not it. I'm afraid of hurting the kids and I wanted to be able to hold them and play with them," Rob trailed off, tears starting to run again.

Tanya hugged Diana. "Couldn't they do anything about it? Why did they put these claws on you if you didn't want them?"

"They said that my roommate made the appointment for me and that is what they were told I wanted. When I complained, the manager said that they couldn't do anything about the nails because they were bonded to my own nails."

"Instead, she offered to attach extensions for me and color my hair to match."

"Your hair is beautiful Diana. It's a nice color," Tanya said consolingly. She pulled tissues from her purse and handed them to him. Once Rob was finished dabbing at the tears running down his face, Tanya proceeded to clean up the streaked mascara on Diana's face.

"Yes, but I have fingers like Wolverine. I don't dare touch my face, let alone the kids," Rob's crying was winding down while Tanya talked to him.

"I have an idea!" Tanya said, standing up. With some imagination, one could see the light bulb exploding over her head. "Why don't you take the stroller and David can walk next to me while I make a call? Come on!"

She led the pack to the entrance while she dialed the phone. When the other end answered she said, "Jill? This is Tanya…I'm fine thanks. Listen, I have a friend here who needs some of your magic. Can you help?...Oh, thank you! We'll be there in ten minutes! Bye."

Tanya put an arm around Rob and squeezed. "No worries girlfriend. Jill can fix this without a problem." She took David's hand and they went over to where she had parked the car.

"Who is Jill?" Rob asked.

"She runs a small beauty parlor out of her house. Just to help her husband with the bills," Tanya said. "Actually, I think that she uses the parlor as a stress-reliever from their five kids."

"Five?" Rob said, surprised.

"Yes and they're all younger than seven. They really keep her hopping."

"Five kids. I've always wanted kids but my wi…I'm not able to." He tried to cover his slip, but he wasn't sure how well.

Tanya finished buckling the kids in and stood back up on her side of the car. She made it obvious that she had heard as she leaned on her arms on the roof of the car and locked her gaze with Rob's. Her eyebrows cocked up in a humorous question before she smiled broadly and ducked down to get into the car. Rob stood for a moment, wondering what had just happened before he got into the car and closed the door. Tanya had a half-smile on her face, but she said nothing as they drove away from the mall.

They drove for about ten minutes and pulled up to a nice-looking house in a neighborhood. In the backseat, David started bouncing up and down saying, "Aunt Jill! Are we going to see Aunt Jill?"

"Yes, baby. Aunt Diana needs some help from Jill, so you can play with James and Jennifer while we're here okay?" Tanya unbuckled him from his car seat and set him on the grass.

"Okay, mom. Thank you," David called as he ran across the yard to the front door. He was into the house and out of sight before Tanya, Rob, and April were halfway to the door.

"Boys!" Tanya said, shaking her head. "Why do they have to grow into 'yucky men'? Can't they stay that age?" Rob took the diplomatic way out and just laughed.

They were met at the door by a dark-haired woman who appeared to be their age. This was apparently Jill. She smiled at the stragglers as they came up to the door.

"Tanya! It seems like I haven't seen you a long time! How are you?" Jill asked the happiness at seeing her friend was obvious.

"I'm doing well," Tanya replied, hugging Jill. "I'm sorry that I haven't been over to see you in a while. Things have been hard with Jerry being gone."

Rob stood off to one side, watching the two women become reacquainted. He assumed that Jerry was Tanya's husband.

"Jerry is my husband," Tanya said, explaining to Rob. "It's kind of an involved story so I'll tell you about him later. Tanya turned to Jim and said, "Jill, this is a friend of mine, Diana. She had a bad experience at the salon at the mall." Rob held up his hands to display his nails.

"I can see what you mean. Nails that long have gone out of style. What did they tell you when they were done?" Jill asked, looking up from the nails to Rob's face.

"They said that is what my roommate said I wanted," Rob replied sadly. "I don't know why she would do that to me. When I told them that these were too long, they just said that they couldn't do anything because they were bonded to my natural nails."

"I can see their handiwork with your hair too," Jill said, giving a critical look at Rob's extensions. "Come on in you two. I think that I can fix this." Jill led them into her converted porch-parlor and gestured to one of her beautician chairs. Rob took a seat and Jill pulled a rolling tray around beside him. Tanya seated herself in the other chair and picked April up to feed her.

"The problem with salons like that is that they know how to do things like glue nails and color them, but they have such turnover that they can't do some of the things that those of us who have been doing this work for years can do," Jill carried on a monologue as she took cuticle scissors and proceeded to remove most of the length of the artificial nail on each of Rob's fingers.

Once she was done with his hands, she took some more time to look over Rob's new hair. While the coloration the salon had used had been close to the color of the extensions that had been quickly woven into Rob's own hair, a close-up look showed where the old ended and the new began.

"They didn't do a good enough job matching your hair to the extensions that they wove in," Jill said, coming around in front of Rob to face him. "It looks like they hurried the weave somewhat too. What I want to do is tighten the weave so that it won't look ratty and add some highlights. I can use a dye that will let me color both your natural hair and the extensions and the highlights will let me hide where the two join.

"I think with your coloring and your blonde hair, I would like to use some light red highlights. I believe that the results will be striking and classy. I don't know why they did it, but they ended up making you look slutty and I know that they can do a better job than they did for you."

Rob's eyes teared a little when he heard what he had been done to him. "I don't want to be a slut; I want to look like a lady. Please, do whatever you think you have to."

"Diana, I don't think that you looked bad," Tanya said consolingly. "I thought that you looked pretty. I'll bet that you'll look even better when Jill is done." Rob smiled his appreciation at Tanya. Jill's look of gratitude for the compliment was heart-warming as well. It was obvious that these women cared about each other.

Jill squeezed his shoulder to reassure him and she went to work. She mixed dyes and solvents and pulled out applicator brushes and wrapping papers. She made short work of brushing the red dye through Rob's hair and wrapping the colored strands off from the undyed portions. When she was finished, Jill left Rob sitting still while she cleaned up her materials.

Finally, she was satisfied that enough time had passed for the dyes and solvents to do their job and she worked to remove all of the papers in Rob's hair and pulled the smock away with a flourish. She turned the chair to face the mirror and looking back at him was a pretty blonde woman with gentle streaks of light red and auburn through her hair.

"Diana, you're beautiful," Tanya said softly. Tanya was looking at him wide-eyed as if she was seeing him for the first time. "Jill, you're a miracle worker. Thank you."

Jill looked at her friend with happiness and said, "For you, I'm glad to do anything." She looked into Rob's eyes in the mirror and said, "And that goes for her friends too. The coloring I used should hold until you need to have your weave tightened again."

She came around in front of Rob and said, "You might want to think about having the weave taken out by then though. As your hair grows out, you won't need these extensions unless you want really long hair. But you'll need to have the highlights redone or removed. If you don't the base of your hair will make you look a little embarrassing."

Rob nodded his understanding and stood up with tears in his eyes. He hugged Jill tightly in thanks and said, "I can't thank you enough for doing this. I'm sorry, but I don't have any money to pay you." Tears of frustration were starting to stream down his face again.

Jill pulled some tissues out of a dispenser and dabbed at the tears on Rob's face. "Stop that. You'll ruin your mascara again. I'd use that old line from the movie about you rusting yourself and not having the oil can, but that would be silly. I'm glad to help a new friend." She returned the hug that Rob had given her a moment ago. "Just come back when you need me."

Rob smiled through his teary eyes and said, "Thank you. I'll try." He took out his cell phone and put Jill's number on speed dial, in addition to Tanya's and Jake's."

Tanya had watched the whole conversation with tears in her own eyes and a huge smile on her face. "You look like the beautiful lady that you are Diana." Those words seemed to resonate somewhere inside him and Rob felt as if he might explode from the feeling of love he felt.

Tanya looked at Jill and said, "Thank you for helping her Jill, I owe you one."

Tanya and Jill exchanged hugs and Jill said with a smile just as big, "I'm glad to help both of you. You know that I love you like a sister."

They were interrupted by David running onto the porch, followed by James and Jennifer, who were obviously twins. He skidded to a halt in front of mother and said, "Mom, I'm hungry. Can we go to McDonald's now?"

Tanya looked down at her son and smiled. "Yes honey, we'll go in a few minutes." Seeing that David was impatient, Tanya and Rob finished up their conversation. They exchanged hugs with Jill again, juggling April back and forth. They were headed away from Jill's in the promised 'few minutes'.

* * * * *

Almost as soon as they pulled out of the driveway, David piped up, "Mom? I have to go potty."

Tanya hung her head and looked at Rob, "It never fails. Good thing he's wearing a pull-up." She looked at David in the rear-view mirror and asked, "Honey, can you hold it until we get to McDonald's?"

David's answer was the standard, "I don't know mommy."

Rob looked around and said, "I know…Pull into the service station there." He pointed at Jake's station on the corner.

"Oh…This is Jake's place," Tanya said.

"Yes, do you know him?" Rob asked.

"Yes, we went on a few dates when we were in high school together. We fell out of touch when I got married. I knew that he was back in town, but I haven't seen him." She pulled into the station and parked.

"Do you want me to take him in?" Rob asked.

"That might be a good idea," Tanya said. "I'll stay here with April." Her voice seemed to carry a tone of relief.

Rob got out and opened the David's car door. He quickly unbuckled him and led him into the station by the hand. Rob heard the chime announcing their entry, but they were in the ladies' room before anyone came out to greet them. Rob quickly had David's trousers and pull-up off, like an experienced pro, and had him on the throne in nothing flat. He waited until David had done his business and had him cleaned up and redressed just as quickly. Rob made sure that David washed his hands, need to make sure that they start learning manners and hygiene early, and they were back out into the station.

Jake was standing by the counter as they came around the corner and he broke into a smile as he saw Rob. "Diana! It's good to see you. You didn't call to let me know you were coming to town though."

Rob looked at Jake shyly. "I'm sorry Jake. I was only coming in to get my nails done and things kind of snowballed from there. We were on our way to McDonald's and David needed to use the restroom. I know the restrooms are only for customers. I hope you don't mind. I saw that we passing by and we pulled in here."

"Well, you're more than welcome any time, if it will get you in here more often I will put in a stall just for you." Jake smiled at Rob. "And who is this little boy? Your nephew?"

David snapped back, "I'm a big boy. Jake smiled and held his hand out to shake David's hand.

Rob shook his head. "No. This is David. His mom's name is Tanya. I brought him in while she stayed in the van with April."

"I went to school with a girl named Tanya, but I haven't seen her in over five years," Jake said with his eyebrows raised.

"Well…I'm pretty sure that this is the same girl," Rob said. "Hey! Why don't you come out to McDonald's with us? David wants to play and we were going to have lunch."

Jake looked tempted and conflicted at the same time. "I'd like to, but I don't think that I should."

"It should be fine," Rob said encouragingly. "Come on out with us, please just for me, pretty please." For some reason, Rob found himself flirting shamelessly by fluttering his eyes at Jake.

"Okay then," Jake said. "For you. You guys go on ahead and I'll shut down here and meet you there."

Rob smiled and nodded. "Okay. We'll see you there then. Please don't take too long." Rob wasn't sure if he wanted Jake there for himself or so that he could play matchmaker for Tanya. Regardless, Jake was just good to have around.

He took David by the hand and they went back out to the car. They were underway in short order and they were at the local McDonald's about five minutes later.

"If I'd known that it would only take us five minutes to get here, I wouldn't have stopped at the station," Jill said. "But you never know this time of year. It would be just as easy to end up behind a tractor pulling a wagon and have it take fifteen or twenty minutes. Then David would have been soaking wet."

They got the kids out of the car and installed April into her stroller. Since it was not yet supper time, business was slow and they were able to get their food and find a table near the recreation area. Tanya insisted that David eat his meal before he ran over to play. Just as he was finishing, Jake walked up to the table holding his tray of food.

"Could I join you ladies?" He said, looking first at Tanya and then Rob.

Rob smiled up at Jake and said, "It's fine with me. Is it all right with you Tanya?"

Jake looked over at Tanya, keeping his expression neutral, but there was a hint of a smile.

"Hello Jake. How have you been?" Tanya looked up at Jake, she was just as neutral as Jake was trying to be, but there was no smile. Yet, her tone of voice was not hostile.

"I'm good. It's been years, hasn't it?" Jake said, looking at her face searchingly. "I heard that you got married. Is this your daughter?" He knelt down to be at eye-level with April, who was asleep in her stroller.

"Yes, this is April and my son, David, is over there in the play place." The pride in her children was obvious in Tanya's voice.

Conversation lagged for a few moments. Just as the silence was beginning to feel uncomfortable, David let out a squall from the play yard. It appeared that he had slipped from one of the small ladders and then fell to the padded floor.

Rob was up like a flash and hurried over to where David lay sprawled out on the mat. There were no other children in the play area, so he was in no danger of someone stepping on him. When Rob got to him, he was still lying on the mat, unmoving. Rob could see that David was not bleeding and that he was breathing like a little boy at play. The giveaway was the faint smile on David's face.

Rob knelt next to David and looked back to Tanya, giving her a sign that everything was okay.

"You know David," he said quietly, but Tanya and Jake could hear him clearly. "You can get into trouble with your mother if you pretend like this. Or you could get into really big trouble with Ronald McDonald, because they might think that you're really hurt. Your mother could get into trouble too."

David turned his head and went to sit up, looking scared. That is when Rob decided to play along with David's play-acting. Keeping his voice down, he sounded like a concerned mother when he said, "Oh no! My little boy is hurt! What will I do? What will I do?"

Rob made sure to keep his voice down to keep from getting anyone else from becoming excited. Tanya waved them off with a smile when it looked like someone from the restaurant might be concerned about what was happening. Jake was watching the performance with a smile that was just as big. Rob made sure that David was not looking at them as he did not want to encourage David's misbehavior and he knew that there would be plenty of time to scold him later.

Then David sat up and shouted, "I'm okay! I'm okay! I was just playing."

Rob hugged David and then held him out in front of him and said with mock relief, playing along with David's game, "I'm so glad that you aren't hurt David." Then his voice changed to a more parental tone as he said, "Remember…you can get into trouble or get you mother into trouble when you play these games. Don't tell somebody that you're hurt if you aren't, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," David said quietly. He knew from the way Rob was talking to him that he could have been in trouble.

"Make sure that you tell your mother that you're sorry too. Okay?" Rob said, looking into David's eyes.

The little boy nodded and walked slowly back to his mother while Rob watched from where David had been playing. "I'm sorry Mom. I didn't mean to scare you."

Tanya held him out in front of her and said, "Okay, David. Just remember that you can get into trouble if you fake things. Now give me a hug." David threw himself into his mother's arms and hugged her for all he was worth. Then he ran back to the play area and started climbing again. The commotion had disturbed April and she started squirming as if she was hungry again.

Tanya looked down at her daughter and remarked wryly, "This is how it goes around the house. The kids play tag team and I go from one to the other."

"Well…I wanted to be able to hold the kids," Rob said happily. "Let me feed her." He held out his hands and Tanya shifted April over to him.

Rob cradled April in the crook of his arm, looking content and comfortable with the baby nestled there. Jake watched how serene Rob looked holding April and said, "You look so natural holding her. You'd make a good mother."

Rob took the bottle that Tanya held out and plugged it into April's mouth before answering, "Thank you." He blushed as he said, "I can never have children. But I like taking care of them."

Jake looked stricken, thinking that he must have touched upon a sensitive subject, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's all right, Jake," Rob said. He felt bad that he was making Tanya and Jake believe that it was a medical problem. For some reason, he felt bad that he couldn't really bear children. These were feelings that he had been having more and more over the past week and they were just becoming part of him. The thought of nursing his own child released a jolt of pleasurable endorphins and sent chills down his spin. Rob had to shake his head to get the image out.

April drained the bottle quickly and Rob made sure to have a towel draped over his shoulder before he burped her. After a few minutes of patting and rubbing her back, Rob was rewarded with the expected burp. He patted for a few more minutes before he pulled her off his shoulder and back down to be held in his arms again. He rocked her back and forth, actually feeling just as happy to be cuddling the baby as the baby was to be cuddled.

Rob knew that he was in trouble when April coughed. He lifted her up to a vertical position to keep her from choking and went to put her back on his shoulder, but he was not fast enough. Once again, Rob found himself on the receiving end of April's vomit as he was sprayed from shoulder to lap with sour milk.

Demonstrating the typical skill of infants and small children, April was unscathed. Rob continued to hold the baby at arm's length to keep her from becoming soiled while Tanya jumped up to take April from him. Once she had laid the baby back into the stroller, Rob's face split into a grin and he giggled at the irony. The sound came across as a typical young woman thoroughly enjoying herself. Tanya looked completely shocked that her daughter had thrown up on her friend again and at least smiled while Rob laughed.

"Not again! Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Tanya said. Rob was already blotting up the sour milk and it actually looked worse than it was. Tanya looked at Jake and said, "Jake, can you keep an eye on the kids? I'm going to take Diana into the restroom to make sure that this doesn't stain."

"Sure. Not a problem," he replied. Jake almost looked thrilled to be asked to watch over the kids.

Tanya grabbed the baby wipes from the diaper bag and she and Rob hurried to the restroom. Once inside, Rob went into one of the larger stalls and passed out his skirt and blouse to Tanya. Using the sink, Tanya worked on the stained areas to make sure that the stain was cleaned up. When she was done, the two pieces of clothing were damp but not wet.

"Okay, Diana. Let me in and let's see if we can get you put back together again."

Rob opened the stall door and Tanya came in with the skirt and blouse folded over her arm. "Your clothing madam," she said in a deep butler's voice.

Rob smiled broadly as Tanya stepped in. Tanya beheld a slender blonde woman in a blue pushup bra and panty set. Tanya's first thought that Diana would be beautiful in a bikini and the thought actually made her damp. Rob took the clothes and slid into them. As he was finishing straightening the skirt, he raised his face just as Tanya closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his.

The kiss only lasted a moment or two and Tanya stepped back, her face on fire. "I'm sorry," she said, her eyes downcast. "I've wanted to do that since the first time I saw you and I couldn't stop thinking about you. I don't know why, I've never done anything like that before."

Rob got his breath back and stood back, his heart hammering. "It…It's okay Tanya. I just wasn't expecting it. It was nice though, actually it was more than nice."

Tanya smiled shakily at Rob's declaration and gave him a hug. "I really don't know why I did that, but thank you for not freaking out. You're just nice to be around."

Rob blushed prettily at Tanya's declaration and said, "We really need to talk…"

Before they could continue their conversation, someone entered the restroom. They both got quiet and then Tanya spoke up, "I think that we got all of the stains out. We should get back to Jake. I don't know if he can manage kids or not." They both stepped out of the stall in front of a middle-aged woman who was just closing the door to the other stall. Once they were out of the restroom, they giggled at the thought of having done something naughty.

Walking back to the booth, they found Jake holding court over a spellbound little boy and a happy baby with a bottle. David was sitting next to him, looking up while Jake spoke. In his arms, was April, just finishing up her second bottle and looking perfectly content. As they came up, Jake was saying to David, "And the big, bad wolf said, 'Let me in…Let me in little pigs…" He broke off as they reached the table and smiled.

"Everything cleaned up?" He asked.

Tanya said, "Yes. All taken care of. What's up here?"

Jake smiled happily. "Well…David came back and told me that he needed a dry pull-up, so we took care of that. Then April was acting like she was still hungry, so I found her second bottle and she was happy with it. While she was eating David asked me tell him a story. All I could think of was the Three Little Pigs."

"Well…That is one of his favorites," Tanya said with a smile. "I'm afraid that it might be because of the house blowing down. Either that, or he likes the wolf falling in the pot of boiling water at the end."

"It's fun to tell a story," Jake said, his smile even filled his eyes. "I like kids. I wouldn't mind having kids at some point, but I have to be married first." His eyes met Rob's for just a moment.

Tanya sat down, watching Jake with her children. Her husband had been gone for several weeks now and she missed having him around. She had promised to tell Diana the story at some point, but it didn't look like she would have a chance to do that today. Jake looked like a natural with the kids, maybe she had been wrong to write him off those years ago.

"You look good with them, Jake," Tanya said. "Why didn't you ever get married?"

"I did a tour in the Navy and came back here when they didn't need me. I bought the station with my savings and I just haven't had much time to go out and be social." He trailed off at the end of his explanation.

"Well…I'm glad to see you again…It's been a long time since school." Tanya couldn't quite meet his eyes.

Seeing that things could get awkward quickly, Rob spoke up and said, "Tanya, I'm really sorry to bring this up, but I need to get home. Could I ask one of you to run me back to the mall to my car?" He was wringing his hands in embarrassment.

Both Tanya and Jake looked away to him and smiled, embarrassed with themselves. Jake spoke first and said, "I have to go back and finish some work at the station yet. I can take you Diana." He looked into Tanya's eyes and said, "Is that okay?"

"Sure. I have to get April home for her nap and I'm out of pull-ups for David, so that would work." She looked at Rob and said, "Call me when we can get together again. Okay?"

Rob smiled warmly and said, "That would be great. We could do lunch again."

"We'll work something out," Tanya returned his smile.

They broke up quickly after that. Jake and Rob walked Tanya and the kids to the car and helped get them buckled in. They waved to Tanya as she drove off and then turned toward the truck that obviously belonged to Jake. After all, how many tow trucks would there be in town with the name 'Jake's' painted on the side.

Jake helped Rob up into the cab and went around to his own side. He hopped up and they were off. They were at the mall fairly quickly and he pulled up next to Rob's car. Jake came around to Rob's side and helped him back to the ground.

They stood fairly close as Rob said tentatively, "So…You and Tanya appear to have a little bit of a past."

Jake smiled and nodded slightly.

"Yes, we do. We dated several times in our senior year of high school, but she started dating Jerry and I took a step back. After graduation, it looked pretty serious and I decided to make myself scarce. So I went off into the service and they apparently got married and had kids. I did hear that Jerry is no longer around though, but I don't know what the story is about that."

Jake took hold of both of Rob's and looked him right in the eye. "Anyway, I wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow or the next night."

Rob hesitated, but didn't look away. He said, "I can't say yes or no yet. I need to find out what my roommate has going on first and then I'll let you know."

"I'll take what I can get," Jake said with a grin. "Will you call me to let me know?"

Rob teased, "I will if I can remember your number."

Jake replied, "I checked your cell phone when you were in the bathroom. I am number one on your speed dial."

Diana mockingly stuck out her tongue at Jake and went on, "Oh you are 'that' Jake. I would love to have dinner with you. We just have to figure out when." Rob smiled at Jake and Jake returned the smile. They exchanged a quick kiss with just a hint of tongue and Rob unlocked the car and slid in. Jake closed the door for him and stood back. Rob started the car, gave him a smile, and drove off.

As he crossed the parking lot, Rob remembered Geri's instruction to him that he was to call when he was on his way and he fished the phone from the purse on the seat next to him. He pulled over in order to look at Geri's phone number; her number was not on speed dial, and to punch it into his phone. Geri answered after a few rings, sounding tired. She acknowledged that Rob was on his way back, scolding him for taking so long and hung up on him.

Rob started out again. In the solitude of the car, he was able to think about everything that had happened in just the past few hours. His wife had apparently tried to make him look like a total slut. He wasn't sure, but he suspected that even the extensions that had been put into his hair had been part of her plan. But why would she have done that to him. Then there was Tanya who was not as straight as she appeared. How would she feel if she found out that the woman she was attracted to was really a man? Could that be why she was attracted to him in the first place? And he had an invitation to dinner from a guy who thought he was a woman. What would he do if he knew that the woman he liked was actually a dude?

What was he going to do? To think that all of this was because his wife had witnessed a murder and that they had to hideout from the people who were looking to kill them. Maybe Geri could help him figure all of this out.