At that, George leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.
“Goodnight Alex.”
“Yeah… goodnight.”
I watched him go up the stairs and heard his room door close. I poured myself another drink and sat down, opening my bag and taking out my cigarettes to light one. Three or four more drinks later, and another couple of cigarettes, I was going to bed as well. My brain was in turmoil and had all sorts of thoughts running through it.
Amongst that turmoil, was a single, important question that I was trying to answer: What am I?

Healing Cousin George
Part 16 - Dinner At Debbie's
by Karin Roberts

 
My eyes fluttered open as the early morning sun crept its way across the room. It took me a few seconds to get my bearings. You all know that feeling waking up in a strange room? Memories of last night flooded back: the party, George drinking, and us ending up here at Aunt Karen’s. George’s arm was still flopped across my waist; it didn’t seem that he had moved an inch all night. What time is it? I thought as I stretched out my arm and reached for George’s mobile. I lifted it and switched it on, the backlight appearing as it did with Melissa’s face as his wallpaper.

It was just gone half past eight and the phone beeped I looked at it 8 missed calls I pressed the button: all of them from “Manda.” Oh god! She’ll be going spare by this time! I thought. Once more I snuggled in. Yeah, there it was! Another erection nudging into my thong covered ass. What is it with this guy’s erection thing last night and again first thing this morning that was making me feel this way? It seemed like ages since I had experienced one; even that passionate kiss from Debbie awhile back had only encouraged a mild stirring in my loins.

A slight rap at the door “Amanda, George you awake?” George stirred a little grunted a bit and woke. Shock must have taken over when he realised that his arm was draped over my waist. He sat bolt upright. Whether he was immediately aware of his erection, I don’t know, but he rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his tousled hair.

“What time is it?” he asked.

“Eh, just around quarter to nine” I replied.

“Shit I’m supposed to be meeting Pete in half an hour we had a job on” George exclaimed, sitting up in the bed.

Another rap at the door. “Amanda, George you awake?”

“We are Aunt Karen,” I said in a loud voice.

The door opened and she stepped inside. George probably became aware of his erection at that point. Grabbing his trousers, he made sure he turned his back before pulling them up.

“I need to take a shower and call Pete. Is it ok if I take a shower?” he asked, turning to face Aunt Karen.

“That’s fine dear. The water has been on for ages. Should be nice and hot” she said.

I sat up by now, pulling the covers up above my breasts. I glanced over at the camp bed and noticed it was empty.

“Where’s Melissa?” I asked.

“Downstairs having her breakfast. I popped my head in earlier. You two seemed comfortable, so I let you lie” she said.

A blush started to cross Geroge’s face as he passed Aunt Karen and headed out the door.

“Ok. I’ll just get dressed and join you.” I said.

“Do you want any breakfast?” Aunt Karen posed as she started to turn.

“Eh, toast and coffee will do me fine.” I said.

“Ok see you downstairs.” And with that she left.

I got up and changed into my spare set of clothes that I had packed for an emergency. By the time I was dressed, George was back out of the shower and calling Pete on his mobile.

“Pete? Its George. Look mate, we had to stay over last night. You ok to kick it off?” he asked as I picked up my makeup bag and headed to the bathroom to touch up my face.

Twenty minutes later, we were all seated downstairs drinking some coffee as George looked at his watch every few seconds. I drained the last of my cup and got up.

“Come on babes,” I said to Melissa “Daddy needs to get back to work.” I walked over and gripped her hand as she toddled after me to go and pack away our stuff.

Fifteen minutes later we were back at Mum’s and pulling away from her driveway as her and Ashley waved us off. Dad was still in bed nursing his hangover, so another meeting with him had been avoided. As we pulled out onto the main road, George said,

“Sorry about last night.”

“What? The drinking?” I replied in that tone that women use to make disapproval apparent.

“Well… yeah. This morning as well… with my arm draped over you and all.” he stuttered.

“That’s ok George.”

A slight smile crossed my face as I turned to face out the window.

“Good.” was all he said. The rest of the journey then descended into silence.

Back home, Debbie was on the phone in less than thirty minutes after we got back home. George had shot off to help Pete and no doubt grovel to Amanda. Melissa was busy tucking in to her lunch while I spoke with Debbie on the phone.

“So how did it go?”

“Fine… except for me being rumbled by my Grandma because Melissa ran over shouting” Awex!” at me”

There was laughter in the background.

“What did you do?”

“I explained it to her. She wasn’t happy, but I asked her to keep quiet for the night and speak to Mum about it”

“And did she?”

“Yeah,” I replied as I lit into a cigarette.

“So how come you stayed over?”

“Well Dad got George to drinking and I wouldn’t let him drive. So, we had to stay with Aunt Karen.”

“She had plenty room then?”

“Eh, well yes and no.” I hesitated slightly.

“Where did you all sleep?”

“She had a spare camp bed so Melissa slept there. Me and George had to share.”

There was a silence.

“You slept with him?”

I could feel my face go red as she spoke; I took a draw on the cigarette.

“Well not exactly. We only shared the same bed.”

“Jesus! Amanda would hit the ceiling if she knew that!” she laughed.

“It’s not funny! He had eight missed calls from her on his mobile this morning.”

“Of course she will be happy. I can see her face right now. If she knew you were impersonating her, she would be even madder.”

“Well, it gets a bit worse than that.”

“How come?”

“Well, during the party, when Dad was drunk, he insisted on a kiss between me and George. At first it was just a peck on the cheek, but then he insisted. So we had a fully fledged snog.”

That was it. Debbie just dissolved into laughter. It was a good while before I could calm her down.

“Alex look, it’s been ages since me and Gavin had any company over here. It’s our wedding anniversary on Friday. Why don’t you and George come over for dinner?”

“Eh I don’t know. Maybe that would be pushing it a bit?”

“Well ask him. It’s been ages since him and Gavin have had a good chat.” she persisted.

“Ok, I’ll ask him.”

“Good. I’ll ring you tomorrow. I need to go to the loo. All that laughing has my bladder bursting. See you babes.”

“Ok, speak to you soon.”

********

I left the subject for a day or so before approaching George. So one night, over dinner, I asked.

“Are you seeing Amanda this weekend?”

“Why?”

“Oh nothing, really” I replied.

“Only on Saturday. She’s going out with her mates from work on Friday.” he added.

“It’s just that Debbie and Gavin invited us over for dinner on Friday. It’s their anniversary.”

“I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”

“Oh, go on. Debbie said it’s been ages since you and Gavin have had a good old chat.”

“Yeah, that’s true. You know, we used to play football together in the same team when we were younger.”

“Well then, lot’s to catch up on.”

“I suppose, ok tell her it’s a date.” he said picking up his plate and deposited it into the sink.

“I’m just going to say goodnight to Melissa” he added.

“Ok, no problem. I’ll wash up.”

The next morning, I called Debbie first thing. “We’re on for dinner.”

“Good going girl! That means shopping trip tomorrow.” I could just hear the excitement in her voice.

“Why shopping?”

“Well, you need a new dress, for dinner.”

I laughed, saying “Debbie your incorrigible.”

“Yeah, I know, but you love me really. See you tomorrow babes.”

As planned, Debbie had turned up early Wednesday and drove us to Glasgow for another shopping expedition. If there’s one thing Debbie does well, it’s shopping. As usual, she dragged me around stores looking for an outfit. When she was finally satisfied that she had found me the right dress, we set about finding something for her as well and shirts and ties for Gavin and George. Melissa was not left out; a couple of things were found for her as well.

Friday came, and with Melissa dressed and ready to go, I set about getting myself ready for our dinner excursion. Once I had done my makeup, something I was now becoming particularly skilled in, I pulled open the wardrobe. Looking inside, I was amazed at how much women’s clothing I had now accumulated. But then, that’s Debbie and shopping for you. I found the dress that she had insisted I buy, rather tight. It was a red affair made from some sort of shiny fabric. It wasn’t latex or silk or anything like that, but it felt lovely to wear against my skin and so cool and refreshing, I thought as I pulled it over my curves and then zipped it up my back. Picking up a pair of 4 inch heeled patent shoes with a slight platform, I slipped them onto my feet. I crossed back over to the dresser and sprayed on some Ysatis perfume liberally over my neck and cleavage before a little spritz onto my wrists. The smell of the perfume hung heavy in the air. Dropping the bottle into a small red clutch bag, I put in my cigarettes, lighter, compact, and lipstick.

I descended the stairs in my heels. They clicked along the wooden slats as I came down. Downstairs, I found George and Melissa waiting for me. “You look rather nice.” he complimented me as he looked up from Melissa. I stopped dead in my tracks. Did he just say what I thought he said?

“Eh thanks.” I paused. “Shall we go then?”

“Ok, come on Mel, were off to Auntie Debs for the night.”

“Devvi, Devvi” Melissa called in her high pitched voice as George took her hand and we left the house.

*********

Debbie surprised me with her cooking expertise that night. For someone who is out on the town as much as her, her culinary skills were excellent. After a succulent meal, George and Gavin retired to Gavin’s game room to play some pool while me and Debbie cleaned up and looked after Melissa. As the night drew on, Melissa finally gave in to the exertions of the day and Debbie uncorked a bottle of wine for us to enjoy. We sat back with a cigarette and a cool glass of wine.

“So what are you going to do?” Debbie asked me.

“About what?”

“About George of course! It’s obvious that you would like to be more than just a babysitter,” she spilled.

“Is it now? I don’t really know what I want to do. My mind is in turmoil. I know that Amanda’s not the one for him or Melissa for that matter. But me and him… you’re having a laugh.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, for one, he’s not gay. And, in case you’ve forgotten, I’m really a guy.”

“You could always change that.” she countered.

I looked at her face while taking a draw from my cigarette and blowing out a white stream of smoke. She seemed serious about the matter.

“Change?” I asked

“A sex change. Lots of people do it.”

“Well maybe they do, but I’ve not thought about it.” I nervously sipped on some more wine.

“Look Alex. I’m not telling you what to do or putting ideas in your head, but the guy I met those few short months ago was a nice person. The person sitting in front of me now is my wonderful friend and I see no guy. You’ve made George and Melissa a family again it would be a shame to see it come apart if you were not there.”

The door opened at that point, and George and Gavin stepped back in. “Whipped his ass — George.” Gavin laughed as they came in.

“What are you two gossiping about?” Gavin asked as he followed George on in.

“Oh, just our men.” Debbie quipped. I could see a blush spread across George’s face.

“Nothing new there, is there then?” Gavin smiled as he bent down and gave Debbie a kiss.

We sat around chatting for awhile before it was time to go. With Melissa all wrapped up and a cab ordered to take us back to the farm, we sat out on the porch, finishing of our drinks watching the road for our cab.

“Say I’ve got an idea.” Debbie suggested. “Next week is the bank holiday. Why don’t we all go to a theme park for the day?”

“Yeah, why not?” Gavin added.

George interrupted. “I’ve got too much work to do.”

“George you need to take on some more help. Look, Pete’s one of the best young farm hands around. In fact, I wish he worked for me. While Melissa is still young, you should spend more time with her. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Besides when the time is right, and Debbie is pregnant, I’ll be spending more time with her. She’ll probably hate the sight of me by then.” he glanced down at her and gave her a playful hug.

George glanced over at Melissa. “Maybe I should” he whispered and kept on watching her. Just then, a car horn honked out on the driveway.

The drive back to the farm was silent. Once back inside, I took Melissa upstairs and put her to bed. When I came back down, George sat with a glass of whiskey and lemonade.

“You want a drink?”

“Ok, I’ll get it.” I said.

I walked over to the drink cabinet and poured myself a rather large measure of vodka, some coke and a couple of ice cubes. I then joined George in the lounge. We sat mostly in silence with just little comments about how nice Gavin and Debbie’s house was and how good the meal was. Finally, George drained his glass and stood up.

“I’m off to bed. You going up?”

I sat, transfixed for a minute, thinking about what he had just said. I then snapped out of my dream and back to reality.

“Eh, I think I might have another one, and then go up.” I said drinking the last of my drink. I stood up. As I passed George, he admitted, “I had a good night tonight with you and you did look good.”

I paused and didn’t quite know how to respond. Finally, I managed, “Thanks… I had a good time myself as well.”

At that, George leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.

“Goodnight Alex.”

“Yeah… goodnight.”

I watched him go up the stairs and heard his room door close. I poured myself another drink and sat down, opening my bag and taking out my cigarettes to light one. Three or four more drinks later, and another couple of cigarettes, I was going to bed as well. My brain was in turmoil and had all sorts of thoughts running through it.

Amongst that turmoil, was a single, important question that I was trying to answer: What am I?