The Bequest

by

Paula Dillon

The ten relatives of John Herman sat at a large conference table, in the offices of Beckham, Beckham and Winslow. Charles Beckham rolled the large TV monitor to the center of the room and inserted the video tape, as his assistant passed out the first of many documents they would have to go over today. Charles pushed a button on the remote and the tape started.

An image of John Herman filled the center of the screen and John began talking.

“If a group of my family is watching this, it means that I have passed away and am no longer with you. That is a relief on my part as I am sure it is on yours also. I never knew you all half as well as you wanted and twice as much as I cared. My condolences to J.R.R. Tolkien’s relatives, who with my paraphrase I am sure probably offended.

I now want to go over my mental state as that will be the first thing questioned in this will. Charles has passed to each of you copies of my psychological fitness as certified by three preeminent Psychiatrists. Please take this time to go over the reports that lay in front of each of you. You will notice that each is personalized with your names and the names of the Psychiatrists and notarized by the Honorable William Crowley, judge of the 215th district of the State of California. You will sign the last page of the document or receive one dollar in your bequest, and hand over the document to Charles. If you contest my mental clarity now is the time to do so. I will say at this point that everyone here is receiving a sizeable bequest and nobody here is being cut out of the will. Also at this time, you will note the inclusion of a confidentiality agreement, you will not discuss the terms of the will amongst yourselves and anybody else other than your individual lawyers, and what is legally required.”

One by one they read the papers and a few signed quickly, a few fidgeted over them, till only one had not signed them.

“Sign the dang paper Timothy Herman, there aint nothing there that will come as a surprise to you.”

Timothy was startled by John’s reference to him in the video tape and signed the papers. All the papers were collected, notarized and a clerk headed off to court to file them, copies were returned to the various signatories.

“Now that we got my mental state out of the way let me say that each of you here is to receive at least five hundred thousand dollars in a bequest before I get to the main bequests.”

That brought smiles to each of the people there, and some smirks as they knew that they were going to receive more than the measly 500k that the others were getting.

“Now to the bequests for each of my employees; a schedule of their names should be handed to you now.” The assistant was passing out said schedule as John spoke. “I leave two hundred thousand dollars and a promise that you may stay at my mansion; despite what my main heir’s desire. Additionally my chauffeur Terri, I know how much you love that 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith, it’s yours. Dana, my Stewardess, the Beach front house in Malibu it’s yours.” Assorted bequests were made to various other employees. “Now to my main heirs you are receiving a document that states that you will not contest these bequests. Again if you do not sign you will receive one dollar as your bequest. So without further ado please sign.”

They looked over the documents and although they were disgruntled that some prime assets were given to mere employees; they one by one signed, but one.

“Margaret I know you are pissed that you didn’t get the Malibu house, you always wanted to live there I know, but sign it.”

Margaret signed the paper and snorted at her uncle’s attempt at humor. Again the papers were notarized and a clerk was sent to file the documents after copies were provided to the participants.

“Now a list of charities that are receiving funds and property from my estate are being passed out to you. I know that some of the bequests are sizable but I am assured that they are just the tip of the iceberg by my accountants. Again if you want a shot at the big prize sign the papers.”

It did not take long this time as they were anticipating their reward.

“Now for some more legalities.”

The tape went on listing the necessary things that were left; mentioning people who would be in charge till the terms of his will are discharged and such. The crew was starting to get restless. John was always known to be a man of many words. John was a consummate politician who never ran for office. He could have graced the floor of the Senate at any filibuster and held his own. Held his own hell, he could have owned the floor of the senate. They each knew that there could be at least six hours of recording on that tape and that John had probably not wasted an inch. John knew when he recorded this tape that he finally had them where he wanted them, and used this to his advantage. One portion of the will included a proviso that short of a medical emergency, that any participant, who left early, received only a one dollar bequest. He even had a respected doctor, his staff, and a ton of equipment on hand to verify any medical emergency for his lawyer.

“I know you are probably bored stiff by this time, and I am not sorry for it. I have had to listen to your bickering and backbiting for too many years and now you know how it felt, but I guess all good things must come to an end. Each of you are now being handed a certified check for five hundred thousand dollars and a document to sign, failure to sign the document and you guessed it, you get a dollar bequest. It just says that this is the first part of my gift to you and that you are not going to challenge the right of any other heir to their bequest.”

They all grudgingly signed the document. It was true that some were miffed that others were here and getting a sizable bequest but John had been crafty in his life and they had to submit.

“Now I know your itching to know about the rest of my estate. When I made this tape it was valued at one hundred twenty million dollars and now Charles if you would please inform them of its current value.”

“As per John’s request I have had the accounting firm of Johnson and Hardcourt do an appraisal of the estate and the value is up to one hundred sixty three million and some change.”

“Thank you Charles, for those stellar figures. Ok to my two children Kathy and Robert 6 million each, to my sister Anita 6 million, to my nieces and nephews a million a piece with the exception of my nephew Carlton. Each of you is being handed a paper again that you guessed it you have to agree to or receive no more bequests.”

The family was in shock so far. Jessica Herman looked at her cousin only a small portion of the estate had been handed out and Carlton seemed to be cut out. Carlton was a nice kid, she thought, probably the nicest of the bunch here, she wondered why he was the apparent black sheep, but nobody wanted to be in his shoes. She saw that he signed without hesitation, and had a smile on his face.

“There are more bequests people and everybody is getting something more, but we shall not go on till you sign, or leave.” John had a smug smile on his face, on the screen. He had maneuvered them well in his will and he had been proud of himself. After some grumbling the assembled masses signed them and as before they were notarized and sent by clerk for filling, copies were returned for each person.

“Now for the last bequests.” John went on about giving this to this person and that to this other person and so forth. It was noticed that Carlton was left out here too but no one said anything. It was also noticed that the bulk of the estate remained as John said. “That concludes the last of my general bequests with one exception. You will now sign that you will not challenge any past proviso and this time any future proviso to my will, failure to sign here and any bequest you might have already received and will receive will be null and void and you will receive, you guessed it a dollar. By the way dear family this whole affair has been recorded as a part of the legal formalities associated to this will and will become part and parcel to this will.”

The assembled family grumbled as they looked around to where Charles and his associates pointed out hidden cameras and gear to record them.

“Now for the last bequest and the bulk of my estate. You might have noticed Carlton that I have left you out of many parts of the will. I know this is alright with you, but it is not alright with me. Subject to certain provisions that you will learn in private, and certain other provisos, you receive the bulk of the estate. The provisos will be made public to the others no sooner than sixty days from now Charles, and if the rest of you leeches will now leave I will tell Carlton of the rest of the provisos.”

As if to emphasize John’s remarks, the buildings security arrived, to help escort the troop out to their waiting vehicles. There were shouts of recrimination and such but Charles reminded everyone that they had signed confidentiality agreements and signed away any right to attempt to contest the various provisions of the will. Any attempt at any legal action would be meet immediately by further legal action that will leave them basically penniless, as to their new fortune. Each family having received a place to live are being moved. Their belongings were currently being carefully removed from the mansion by a bonded moving agent and that they are being relocated to their new living quarters, as we speak.

The families grouped up and each made a beeline to their various lawyers and such carrying all the filed documents in their possession. Their lawyers will inform them that the will was well made and that their signatures had indeed been legal, that they also were not to talk to each other about the will or anybody else for that matter and that if they choose to contest the will that they could suffer much loss, and that any action they should take should wait until the rest of the document becomes public.

The room now cleared three people that had not been there before entered and sat across from Carlton, and Charles rolled the tape.

“Thank you Carlton for waiting here. You have always been my favorite. Here now with you is Dr. Susan Parker, a psychiatrist and all that rigmarole, she will explain it to you, Dr. Samuel Jennings, and Dr. Thomas Lane. They will explain their portions in what is to come. When you leave today twenty million dollars will be deposited in your account before you hit the first floor. I hope to God you stay and listen to the rest though. I know that you have always been different of all the people I know. You are a sweet and innocent child even at the age of twenty when I made this will. I know that you love the nicer things in life. Not money and cars and such but silks and lace.

I have had many conversations with Susan about you. I feel that you should have been born a female. You would make one heck of a broad there. (John giggled at what he just said). Here is my proposition to you everything else I own is yours if you will transition to female. To do this you have to convince Susan that I was right and you will have to believe it yourself.

The other two Doctors present are there to make it possible for you to do this. You have sixty days to decide to begin and a hundred twenty days to actually start. You will have to successfully complete, what they call a real life test, and certain other goals I have added and that they have agreed to. Nothing they do for one year will be irreversible to you and you can walk away with what you have so far received and will receive to the point you quit. I hope you will decide today so that you will be far ahead of where you are when it is finally made known to the rest of the clan.

My whole staff at home is ready to support you and to help you in any way. They can be trusted, they already know and they love you Carlton. I love you Carlton and please believe me, I am not making fun of you and I am not trying to make you into something you’re not. If after one year from the start of your Real Life Test, you wish to transition they will do whatever it takes to make you whole, otherwise they will return you to your present condition.

Each four months you persist you will receive twenty million, if you make a full year and transition then the rest of my estate is yours good luck Carlton or should I say Carly. If you wish to proceed then tell Susan now or whenever you decide, and she will start the ball rolling. You will have a hundred and twenty days from now, Carlton to start your RLT. I love you Carlton you are the best.” The tape ended at that point. (Basically Carlton has 120 days to convince Dr. Susan that he should be a woman so he can begin the legal requirements of the real life test. He had 60 days to decide whether or not he would make the attempt and sixty additional days to convince Dr. Susan her should.)

Charles stood and looked at Carlton, “Carlton I was your uncles attorney and if you wish I am yours now? I am set to defend you from any attacks from the others and I will win.”

“Yes thank you Charles, I will keep you.”

Charles produced a document and Carlton signed the agreement. “I have already been handsomely rewarded for my services but if you will give me a dollar then our relationship will be cemented.”

Carlton reached into his wallet and pulled out a dollar and handed it to Charles. Everybody there signed as witness that the will was completely read.

“Now what is your wish Carlton?” Susan asked, “I counseled John against it but I will honor his request if it is your desire.”

“I don’t know but I think I might like to try. I have always had questions, but I have always been afraid. Yes I will try Uncle John’s request.”

“Ok you have a hundred and twenty days to convince me and if you do then Dr. Jennings an endocrinologist will start his work. If you go forward then, Dr. Lane will take care of any surgical needs. Rest assured we are some of the best in the business, you may check out our credentials if you wish and make other selections. We are good at what we are doing and although I am not sure about you, you appear to be a good candidate but we will need convincing Carlton, and I assure you that will not be easy.”

They each set up initial appointments up with Carlton and wished him good luck. Susan asked if she could stay with Carlton for the rest of the day.

“Well that concludes our business today Carlton, thank you for your patience. You now have forty million in your account.” Charles said.

Carlton and Susan headed out the door; an assistant of Charles’s had an elevator car ready and waiting for them. Susan chatted amiably with Carlton about lots of things as they descended. Carlton really liked her. She had a bubbly personality and was easy to get along with.

As they exited the building Carlton saw Terri standing in period chauffeur attire, with another lady out side the immaculately kept 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith.

“Evening Carlton, Susan,” Terri said, “If you would be so kind as to give Cindy the keys to your auto she will take care of it for you, dear.”

Carlton reached into his pocket and retrieved the keys to his 1998 Chevy Blazer and handed it to Cindy. “Be careful Cindy it pulls to the right a little and the tires are a little worn but it is a good vehicle. It is just over…”

Cindy curtseyed to Carlton and interrupted him. “Thank you sir, yes I know where it is, and I am dropping it off at the shop for a major overhaul inside and out sir.” She smiled warmly at Carlton, and left.

Terri bowed to them and held open the door to the back of the Rolls. Carlton helped Susan in and then sat beside her, as Terri closed the door. Terri got in the driver’s seat and asked, “Shall we go home Carlton, or do you wish to eat, or do something else?”

“Susan, are you hungry, would you care for something to eat?”

“Sure if you are hungry.”

“Yes I am a little hungry.” To tell the truth, he was starving.

“Ok that sounds wonderful, what would you like to eat?”

“Oh I don’t care what would you like Susan? I am amenable to anything.”

“Well I have a fondness to seafood, what about you?”

“Yes I love seafood. Terri, do you know any good seafood restaurants?”

“Yes Carlton I do, I will make arrangements for you.”

Susan made some notes on her PDA, as they rode, and chatted with Carlton.

The inside of the Rolls was nice. It was a fully restored to original condition and was immaculate. It was very comfortable Carlton was in awe as he looked about it. Terri took very good care of it.

They pulled in outside a very nice restaurant. A Valet sprang to his feet and rushed to the door. At least I wore my best suit Carlton thought and Susan looked nice. Carlton stepped out and offered his hand to Susan.

“I feel underdressed here Susan.”

“Yes a little perhaps, but you’ll be alright dear.”

“Well, I really like that your lavender dress, it is lovely on you. Looks like you were expecting something like this.”

“Why thank you Carlton. I was rather hoping for a good dinner, I would have gone somewhere nice with or without you.”

“Well I am glad for the company, I spend most of my meals by myself and I am not the best cook.”

They enter the restaurant and were greeted, when Carlton mentioned his name they were quickly seated. Terri had called ahead and money definitely talked here.

Susan and Carlton talked about what was on the menu and all, she had to tell Carlton what some of the items were. Susan ordered a bottle of white wine. Carlton just asked that Susan surprise him. She smiled at that and when their waiter arrived Susan ordered for both of them.

“Tell me about your family Carlton?” Susan asked as they sipped their wine, and ate their salads.

Carlton ate in small bites and carefully wiped his lips.

“Well my father, Chance, was John’s brother. My mother Heather Compton was married to him for six years and I was born the fifth year, the year before she divorced him. He had very little to do with me, he died about eight years ago. We had very little to do with Chance’s side of the family until about seven years ago. John invited us to his home for Christmas. John wanted us to move in with him but Mom refused. We did alright we came out of the divorce with just what Mom had before and a few things, that were clearly hers. Dad’s lawyer was vicious she told me. We received three thousand a month in support till I reached eighteen.

Their meals arrived Susan had a seafood platter, with oysters, shrimp, crab and scallops. Carlton had Blackened Haddock.

Father’s estate went to his current wife when he died I got about twenty thousand out of it and my child support still continued, much to his widow’s consternation. He wasn’t as rich as John but the other wife still got about seven million. John pushed me to fight the will but I just let it be. Mom died about a year and a half ago and I have been living alone since. We visited John about ten; fifteen times a year but mom wouldn’t become a ‘kept woman’. John really liked us and I liked him. I never expected anything from him, not like this.”

Susan could see her selection was a hit with Carlton. He seemed to savor every bite. He was very dainty about the way he ate.

“Tell me how do you feel about what has happened so far?”

“I am shocked. I don’t know why he did what he did. I mean do I look like a girl to you.”

Susan looked over Carlton as she had been doing ever since she had first set eyes on him. Carlton stood about five foot eight and looked to be about a hundred and forty pounds. His features was soft and androgynous, he could very well pass as a female, except for the deficiencies in his figure. No Breasts and no butt she thought. His shoulders were not broad and his hands were fine though a little calloused from work. He had incredible blue eyes, his eyelashes were to die for and collar length hair of sandy blonde that could be styled in a sexy pixie or a short page boy cut. He had high cheekbones for a guy but not overly so, looking at his face he still doesn’t shave much and a weak chin a lot narrower than most males. He had nice skin almost translucent. She wouldn’t be surprise if he didn’t already have a hormone imbalance. He also talked like a female although his pitch was lower than most women. He did not have a particularly dominant personality; he most definitely was a type B personality. He negotiated like a woman, instead of making pronouncements like a male. He wasn’t handsome he was cute, that is the only way to describe it, cute.

“You would be surprised Carlton, with what can be done with a little makeup, black magic, smoke and mirrors. You don’t exactly cut a dashing figure do you?”

Carlton appeared to be a little hurt by Susan’s words. This was also noted by Susan, but he held his tongue.

“I guess your right,” he said in a dejected tone.

“I am not trying to hurt you dear but you must face facts. Let me make a few guesses. You make friends well, mostly female, but you rarely date. You mostly go out in groups and are well treated in the groups again mostly female. How did I do?”

Carlton sat open mouthed for several seconds and took a sip of wine as Susan talked. He felt her guesses weren’t guesses.

“Very good, Susan, too good; did John fill you in on all that?” he said with a touch of resentment in his voice.

“No he didn’t, what he did tell me is what was in the will and asked that I get to know you. I started to turn him down flat Gender Dysphoria is a condition not a game. I didn’t like it then and I still don’t like it; but I can see why he did this. He paid me well I will tell you that right now, but that doesn’t make your job any easier, in fact it will be harder because of it. I really don’t believe you can do it.” Well a few lies are out there already, she really believed he could and will do it. He just needs to convince himself. “For the next year plus your life is going to be hell. I intend to make it that way.” Not to forceful I hope but she needs a reality check. “According to the proviso between now and the beginning of your real life test you can dress how you want to, but I won’t let you start till you dress only as a female. I won’t approve hormones for you till you dress only as female and you can’t start your RLT till your on hormones and you only have a hundred and twenty days to convince me you need hormones. I get paid whether you pass or fail.”

Susan noted that Carlton cheeks were flush as if he was mad but he held his tongue. His eyes were watered like he was about to cry. She thought ‘oh lord, have I pushed too hard.’ A resigned look came over Carlton’s face, but somewhere he found a backbone.

“Well I will just have to see about that Miss Prissy.” Carlton said.

The way Carlton spoke and the voice he used to say it, how precious, he almost made Susan choke on her wine. She wished that she had that on video tape. This was going to be fun for her and for Carly she thought, but she would be sure before it was over. They both would. That was one thing she would not compromise on.

“Ok as Sherlock Holmes use to say ‘Come, Watson, come! The game is a foot’.” Susan said giving her best Sherlock Holmes impression.

They completed their meal and their chat and headed out the door, Terri had made arrangements and there was no check. As they were headed out the door the rolls pulled up to the entrance. The Valet opened the door for them, and Carlton assisted Susan into the Rolls, before entering himself.

As they pulled away, Carlton asked, “where to Dr. Parker?”

“Oh I am sure Dr. Parker would like to drop by the house for a short time Mr. Herman I mean if it isn’t too much trouble that is Ma’am,” added Terri.

“It is Friday and I haven’t got anything planned for Saturday Terri, I would be delighted to see Carlton’s new digs,” Susan giggled.

Carlton looked somewhat confused but brushed it off. “Ok home then, James.” Carlton said in a high brow English accent.

Terri giggled at Carlton, “Yes Sir, Mr. Herman,” she replied in as deep and husky a voice as she could affect. “Will there be anything else, sir?”

“Not at this time.” He turned to Susan and whispered, “What gives?”

“Don’t ask me, she works for you. I am as at a loss as you.”

They sat back and chatted about what had happened that day. Susan thanked Carlton for the meal and the company. Both had turned out better than she had expected. Carly was really a sociable character at heart.

They pulled in at John’s estate; it was a 6:30pm when they arrived. There was a stately lady at the end of the drive waiting for them. As they pulled to a stop Terri exited the vehicle and opened the door for Carlton and Susan. Carlton exited and assisted Susan which brought a smile to the lady’s face. Terri joined the rest of the Staff after shutting the door. There were 14 people lining either side of the walk to the front door. When Terri took her place in line, the lady addressed Carlton.

“Welcome Carlton, of course you know that I am Dana Smith, I am the Stewardess of this home. We all want to welcome you to your new home. This is your new staff. You already know many of them. The rest you will come to know. They are here to see that you have no need to worry while you are here. We have a little surprise for you according to your Uncles wishes. If you will, please accompany Anna your upstairs maid, and Sarah your handmaid.”

Everybody entered the mansion. It was not a Grand mansion by any means but it was close. Susan was escorted to the Library by Dana, as Carlton was escorted upstairs.

Carlton found himself taken to what they said was his new room. Sarah turned to Carlton and told him, “I don’t know any easy way to do this except come straight out and tell you. In accordance to your uncle’s wishes and your apparent acceptance of the will’s provisos, we are prepared to help transform you into a woman. What we want from you now is to take off your clothes and let us get you ready. We will do a transformation of sorts for you. If you will strip for us now Carlton.”

Carlton was at a loss for words and stood there with his mouth gaping.

“Come now Carlton it will be just us girls, trust us we will never hurt you.” Anna added.

Carlton just started removing clothes, when he got down to his briefs he hesitated, but was brought out of it by Sarah’s foot tapping. They smiled warmly at him when he was finally naked. They led him to the bath room where they started smearing him down with a foul smelling gunk. He knew what it was from his mom’s use. It was a hair removal cream. From the chin down he was completely covered. He stood there for fifteen minutes while the girls took care of other matters. They returned and had him step into the shower while they rubbed the hair away and rinsed the cream off. What few stray hairs were left they shaved. They dried him off and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Carlton was then led to a salon chair, where Anna went to work on his hair washing and conditioning it. She completely shaved off his sideburns. Sarah had glued something heavy on his chest while his hair was being washed and then started work on his nails. Anna sat him up and he saw that he now had breasts, silicone breast forms humongous ones he thought although in reality a small D large C is what they were. Their size actually complemented his figure nicely. He felt his hair was being clipped and shaped. Sarah switched hands. About the time Sarah was finished Anna was finishing his hair with a blow dryer. Carlton now had a set of red colored, three-quarters of an inch long acrylic nails on his fingers.

They had him lay down on a table and Sarah began working on his hips and butt, gluing silicone pads there. They also spread his legs and both began working with his scrotum, and penis. He smelled super glue, after four minutes they had him stand and turn around, nothing hung down. Anna brushed glue down on his crotch and cemented a hair piece to give him a dense but sculpted feminine bush. The mirrors were all covered and he could not see how he looked.

Another girl entered. She said her name was Belinda and she had some clothes in her arms. Together they pantied him in a pale yellow silk bikini panty with an embedded floral motif and Belinda drew a matching yellow silk, satin and lace corset around his waist. It’s busk was hooked in the front and his new breasts were adjusted in the cups of the corset. The corset extended down just past the top of his hips. Anna then tightened the corset but not overly so and sat him down in the salon chair.

Sarah started work on his face and Anna on his feet. His brows were first ripped out from his head or so it felt, he was wondering if he was going to have any eye brows left at all. His toes were being filed and painted. Sarah then started work on his face. He felt a sting in one ear and then the other, as Belinda pierced his ears. Sarah was putting all sorts of junk on his face and eyes. It seemed to take forever but they were working quite fast on him. They did everything in an organized manner and had planned for this day for a while.

They stood him up and Belinda tightened the corset once again, a lot tighter this time. He was sure that his sides were going to meet in the middle. He had a hard time breathing but they told him to take short breaths and relax they were only taking three inches off his thirty inch waist. Not much at all they said. They pulled a pale yellow silk camisole over his head; off black dot patterned silk stockings were rolled up his legs and attached to garters hanging beneath the corset. A short half slip that matched the camisole came next and he felt shoes with heels being placed on his feet. A translucent white silk blouse went up his arms and buttoned up his back and his feet lifted one at a time as he stepped into a skirt. The skirt was pulled up to his waist and zipped with his blouse tucked in. Anna touched up his hair and was spraying it as Sarah was touching up his makeup. A touch of an incredibly intoxicating perfume was added.

He felt a necklace being fastened around his throat, rings on his fingers and bracelets on his wrist. The last touch was a ladies diamond Rolex on his left wrist. The two girls stood and admired their work while he sat there. All total they had taken a little over an hour and a half. They stood him up and led him into his room. He had to walk carefully as he had never walked on three inch heels before and was quite wobbly. There was a tri-fold mirror set up in his room. Sarah had him close his eyes and they led him in front of the mirror. He stood there for five seconds before they told him to open his eyes.

When he opened them he couldn’t believe what he saw. Anna and Sarah were beautiful but he was in shock as he looked stunning. His hair had been given a Pixie cut and he had princess cut ruby drop earrings hanging from his ears. Around his neck was a gold chain with a larger princess cut ruby sitting on his chest. His breasts looked great beneath the princess collared white silk blouse and he could clearly see the patterning in the silk camisole. A black chiffon skirt hugged his hips and draped down to mid thigh, over his silk stockings into black patent leather pumps with three inch heels on his feet.

His eyes travel back to his face and he moved closer to the mirror. He had a hard time believing that it was him. His most striking feature was his eyes. From the high arc of his brows, to the silvery dark plumb shadow, the dark brown liner and mascara. Sarah had done an incredible job on his eyes. He was lost in his own gaze. Carlton couldn’t understand how any man’s gaze could drift down to stare at breasts after looking into such eyes. For several minutes he just stared and his eyes were misting. His dark red painted lips began to tremble. He was actually gorgeous.

“Don’t cry dear, if there is anything wrong we can fix it, nothing has been done permanent yet dear,” Sarah said.

“There is nothing wrong,” Carlton said trying to speak in a voice that matched the image he provided. “It’s just I have always been just a plain looking guy but you have made me look… I just can’t put it into words but I look like a stunning woman. It’s incredible; how?”

“Your uncle loved you a whole bunch Carlton and had us planning this for a long time. He had wanted to find a way for you to do this, while he was alive, but included it in his will hoping you would agree.
We knew all about you. From your height, weight, measurements, eye color, hair color, skin tones, to the things you liked. We took that information and put it together and came up with a plan. It would hurt us to hurt you dear. We loved John so much; he took care of us and asked us to take care of you.” Anna said.

Carlton just hugged the three girls that were with him. The girls just giggled as they realized that he liked what he saw. They saw him straighten up and look into the mirror. They stood in awe and could see a change come over him as if he had mentally shifted gears. A more feminine Carlton stood there. He simply glowed before them. They helped him walk around for a few minutes, he was far from expert, but at least he had not fallen on his face.

“Have you gotten a feminine name yet?” Belinda asked.

“Not yet but I think I would like Carly Marie Compton. Marie was mom’s middle name and Compton was her maiden name. I would like to honor her by taking them.”

“How sweet, Carly Marie Compton is a lovely name. It fits you well dear. Carly let’s go meet the others, they are waiting.” Sarah said.

Although the skirt allowed sufficient freedom of movement, the heels caused him to take shorter almost dainty steps. The girls kept giving him instruction in walking as they went. The going was slow but Carly was a quick study. They took five minutes for a one minute walk, to get to the library where Dana was entertaining Susan. Susan did a double take as Carly entered with the two girls. A look of wonder and surprise was on her face.

“My god is that you Carlton?” Susan asked. He was somewhat effeminate before but he was just plain feminine now.

“No Susan, it’s Carly. Carly Marie Compton, if you please.”

“Ok Carly Marie Compton, I will make the necessary changes to my files and I will expect you in my office at 11:00am on Monday and you better keep looking good, if you want to convince me. Now walk around, for me.”

For the next hour or so they coached Carly in walking, carrying her arms and such. Everyone pitched in, even Susan was suggesting and correcting. They had her sitting and standing. Crossing and uncrossing her legs while maintaining her modesty. They tried to instill the manners of a proper lady into Carly. She gained more confidence as they went, but she realized she would still be in school for a while.

The long day was starting to show on her, she was on the verge of exhaustion but refused to let that slow her down. Her feet, not used to heels were killing her. Finally Susan got everyone to relent; they all sat and talked for a few minutes. Susan wrote out a prescription and gave it to Dana who sent one of her girls out to get it.

Susan hugged Carly and thanked everyone for a wonderful evening. Terri was waiting for Susan in an immaculate Mercedes, and gave her a ride to her car.

Cindy returned from the pharmacy and handed Dana three bottles. One bottle had a mild tranquilizer, one a muscle relaxant, and the last an aide to sleep. Dana knew the meds well but still read the instructions and warnings carefully. Carly would not wind up another celebrity strung out on drugs, her health wrecked and her mind destroyed, not while she was alive.

“Carly before you take any medicine or pills promise to check with me dear. I don’t care which doctor prescribes them to you. I have a nursing degree and I know how doctors can prescribe all sorts of meds and are not really concerned about or paying attention to what they are doing. To many rich people think there are pills for everything, and wind up ruining their lives. All your uncle's money isn’t worth wrecking your life for, dear. If you carry this through you are going to be swallowing a lot of pills. I will teach you how to make intelligent choices in taking medicines. These three that Dr. Parker has prescribed are good in this case, but they may not be in other cases. Use your head; learn the way the meds work and how to recognize any of the bad side effects. It is your health.” Dana said handing Carly three pills and a glass of water.

“Yes Ma’am, I promise and thank you for caring.” Carly took the pills and swallowed them with a gulp of water.

“Anna, Sarah and Belinda you did a superb job with Carly today. Thank you so much, now take her and get her ready for bed.” Dana said, “I don’t expect you up Carly till at least 9:00 am but we will be ready for you if you get up earlier.”

Anna and Sarah escorted Carly upstairs; they made sure she kept her balance on her heels. Carly was doing better but she was obviously tired. She followed them to her room and helped her take off, her blouse, camisole, skirt, and half slip. Her corset was loosened a bit, but it was left on. They took her shoes and stockings off. She was helped into a chemise. She was led into the bathroom her face was cleansed, toned and moisturized. They took off her jewelry, put studs in her ears instead of the drops and brushed her hair. Carly was finally put in bed and the lights turned out. What she did not realize as she drifted into oblivion was Anna sitting in a chair watching over her as she slept.

(to be continued)