Jack@ The Greenstalk. (conclusion).
by Angharad.

“Wowee!” exclaimed Zoe as the beleagured boy followed the two women out of the beauty salon, “You look like a princess.”

Jack blushed as red as any fire engine. He looked at his mother who smiled.

“I think Zoe just paid you a compliment,” Sally said wanting to add, young lady, but she resisted the temptation.

“Erm, thanks Zoe.”

“You got your ears pierced too. Wowee!” she squealed again, “Anything else I should know about?” she giggled.

Jack blushed furiously, he looked at the two older women but they seemed to be enjoying things. If he hadn’t felt responsible for the whole situation, he’d have possibly reacted aggressively, instead he took it on the chin.

“Yeah, I got a boob job and I’m having my bum lifted next week.” He kept a straight face and his mother and Sue paused for a moment, then after the shock eased they began to snigger and in moments they were all laughing loudly, even Jack chortled a bit.

“Where did you get those terms from?” asked Sally.

“From the magazine I was reading in there,” he indicated the salon behind them.

“A boob job maybe Jacqui, but I think you’re a long way from needing a bottom tuck, you have a very neat bum, if you don’t mind me saying.” Sue smiled warmly at him and he shrugged.

Zoe poked him in the chest, “Boob job, you’re flatter than me, an’ I’m like a pancake.”

Once again Jack blushed. Looking at Sally to rescue him and this time she took the hint. “Shall we get some dinner then?”

Sue suggested a restaurant and they flagged down a taxi to go there. She and Zoe had a Caribbean style meal, with mangoes and sweet potatoes whilst Jack opted for a fish dish.

When the food came he sprinkled it with salt and Zoe’s eyes bugged out. He noticed and shrugged. Sally intervened, “Jack has to eat salt because her condition means she loses it.”

Zoe continued to look astonished. She’d been told that too much salt was bad for you.

“I have CF, which means my body can’t retain sodium or potassium. I have to eat more of them or I get sick.”

“What’s CF?” Zoe was now more concerned than curious, she didn’t want her new friend to get sick.

“Cystic fibrosis.”

“Zoe looked blankly at her friend.

“It’s a disease which affects the lungs and alimentary system.”

“Ali what?”

“What Jacqui is trying to say sweetie, is that she has a lung problem which also affects her tummy, so she doesn’t put on much weight and has to eat more salt and things than you do because her body can’t store it. If you ate as much salt it could make you have high blood pressure but Jacqui’s body is different to yours.” Sue showed her new found knowledge.

‘You can say that again,’ Jack thought to himself.

“It’s a condition she was born with,” added Sue and Zoe looked on in amazement at her suddenly knowledgeable mother.

“How’s the fish, Jack?” asked Sally.

“Yeah, it’s okay thanks, Mum.” The red snapper tasting something like cod and the chips were nearly as good as at his local chip shop.

Sally ate her own meal, a chicken salad. She wanted to keep her weight stable this time, usually she put it on when away on holiday.

After dinner they walked back along the beach towards their hotel, Zoe and Jack paddling as they went, running in and out of the waves which occasionally splashed above their knees.

“Jacqui seems to have discovered her femininity,” said Sue to Sally as they walked along behind their gambolling offspring.

“Yes, it’s happened quite suddenly,” said Sally, coughing as she spoke to avoid laughing.

“I suppose it can. Zoe’s always been a bit of a pink princess, so it’s been refreshing to meet a girl who isn’t.”

“Do you consider having any more children?” asked Sally, although her attention was fixed on the two children who were examining something on the beach.

The two women walked on a pace. Then they could see what it was. It was a turtle which had some fishing line wrapped around its mouth and Jack was trying to untangle it. Zoe was trying to help, but was largely getting in the way.

“If only I had my back pack, I’ve got a torch in there, that would make it easier.”

“I’ve got a little torch thing on my key ring,” Sue pulled the device out of her bag which was snatched by Zoe and shone on the unfortunate creature’s snout. The sudden light seemed to paralyse the turtle and Jack made some progress in unhooking some of the line. Some of it seemed to be wrapped around the carapace as well and he followed it back with Zoe shining the little torch to help.

Sally had been digging about in her bag for a few minutes and eventually pulled out a small pair of scissors, “Will these help?”

Jack looked up and beamed, “You bet,” he said and he took them and began snipping at the line. This time the progress was more rapid and in five minutes the unfortunate reptile was heading back to the sea.

“And look where you’re going next time,” shouted Zoe as it disappeared into the waves.

“That was very kind of you, to help that animal.” Jack looked up at his mother, wondering why she’d said such a thing, it was after all how he’d been taught to behave.

“I was only helping to put right something that another human had caused.”

“Very noble,” said Sue.

“I think she’s very brave,” said Zoe.

“So are you, you helped me do it.”

“Yes, I suppose I am,” Zoe puffed out her chest.

“Well my daring damsels, it’s back home to bed I think, and we’d better hurry or it’s going to be too dark to see where we’re going.” Sally steered them back towards the road.

A large moth fluttered around Zoe’s head, and she shrieked and ran to her mother. It flew around Jack’s and he tried to catch it, to see what it was.

“Ugh! Do you like creepy crawlies?” said Zoe from the safety of her mother’s arm.

“I don’t mind them, I was trying to see if it had big antennae.”

“Big what?”

“Feeler thingies on it’s head, if it did it was male, if not it’s probably female.”

“Oh,” said Zoe, “What do you mean?”

They came up past a streetlight and there were several moths walking around on nearby walls and the pavement.

“Look, this one had like feathers sticking out of it’s head. It’s a male, this one doesn’t, they’re like thin wires. That’s female, I think.”

“Gosh, aren’t you the clever one, obviously a budding blue stocking,” Sue smiled at Jack. He had no idea what she meant, but he wasn’t going to be wearing stockings of any colour if he could help it.

“She gets her love of science from her dad, he’s a geologist,” offered Sally, at which Sue, ahhed and nodded.

That night as Zoe got into bed she said to her mother, “ Jacqui is really clever, isn’t she?”

“She is, but so are you, you just know about different things. She’s teaching you about what she knows, animals and science and you’re teaching her to be more of a girl. You know lots more about makeup and stuff than she seems to.”

“I’m going to teach her some more tomorrow, Mummy, if I need to, can I borrow some of yours.”

“I’d rather we bought some more, I don’t like sharing mine with anyone else, eye makeup particularly can cause problems with infections.”

“Ooh, I hadn’t thought of that, you let me borrow it.”

“Yes darling, but you’re my daughter, Jacqui isn’t and with her health problems, who knows what she might catch or might pass on to you. So we’ll buy some more tomorrow.”

“Can we go and get it early then?”

“If you like, how much will you need?”

“Some eyeliner and shadows, some blusher and some different lipsticks.”

“Why not pop in the salon and see what they have there, they may have some old stock.”

“Yes I will. Thank you Mummy.”

Across the hall, Jack was slipping on his nightdress.

“I think you quite like that now, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s alright.” He answered to his mother’s question, “but I’m not wearing it at home.”

“Who said anything about that, but I think I’d better get you another one tomorrow.”

“Why, this one’s still okay?”

“Jack, that was a typical boy answer. You can’t wear the same thing every night, it needs washing, besides, I saw a really nice one when we were on the way back from the restaurant.”

“Whatever,” sighed Jack. When he thought about it, he knew she was right and even boys didn’t need to be smelly, unless they were really lazy. That reminded him of Smelly Melly, a boy in his year but thankfully not in his class, who had a body odour problem. The smell of his armpit could stop a charging elephant at two hundred paces downwind.

“You were very patient with Zoe tonight.”

“She’s okay, I guess.” Jack twisted the studs in his ears, they pinched a bit and then stung when he put the lotion on. They were still stinging while he brushed his teeth.

“I’m glad you spotted that turtle’s problem with the fishing line, you were really brave and compassionate to intervene.”

“She seemed to know I was there to help her.”

“How did you know it was a female?”

“She’d been up to lay her eggs, Zoe and I scrubbed out her trail afterwards.”

“I wondered what you two were doing.”

“According to a book I read, the locals will follow the tracks and dig them up and eat them.”

“So you got rid of the tracks?”

“I hope so, can we go and see tomorrow?”

“I should think so. How do you like being a girl?”

“It’s okay, except all the fussing with clothes and hair and things.”

“I thought you enjoyed some of that, you did in the salon, didn’t you?”

“Erm, it was okay, I suppose.” He blushed like a jar of strawberry jam.

Sally kissed him on the cheek and he went off to bed with his book.

Sally awoke in the night, she’d had a bad dream. In it she’d had a fight with John, who’d come home and discovered his son walking about the house in a dress and make up. He’d flipped and they’d almost come to blows until he’d stormed out of the house threatening to call Social Services, because she was obviously abusing his son. He called her a pervert amongst other less repeatable things.

She went to the bathroom and checked on Jack, he was fast asleep. She worried that she’d maybe called out in her sleep. If she did he didn’t hear her or at least he hadn’t woken. In the poor light of the room, he looked like a beautiful, angelic girl. She felt her heart beat faster as she thought how much he meant to her. She loved him and would never harm him, even John should know that.

She went to the mini-bar and poured herself a stiff drink, which she took to bed with her. Before the end of the holiday she had some serious thinking to do. Jack seemed to be quite enjoying himself role playing a girl, but what if he liked it so much, he wanted to do it at home?

She took a large gulp of the rum and coke and it made her cough. Jack stirred and she tried to hold her breath for a moment. He seemed to breath deeply again and she sipped the drink more carefully.

They had another ten days to sort out things and quite honestly, she couldn’t see Jack going all girly, it wasn’t in him. He’d rather be poking about in compost heaps than putting on makeup. Nah, he was all boy, this was just a bit of fun as he explored himself and other gender roles. She finished her drink and slipped back off to sleep.

Sally woke a little late that morning, her sleepless period had made her sleep in. Jack had made her a coffee and was shaking her gently. She awoke to the vision in yellow of some nice angel who was obviously coming to take her to the afterlife.

“Mum, wake up or we’re going to be late for breakfast. I’ve made you a coffee.”

She readjusted her vision and saw it was her son wearing the yellow sundress.

“Thank you darling, you look very bright this morning.”

“They said it would be rather warm, so as this is the coolest thing I have to wear, I put it on.”

“Clever girl,” said Sally without hesitation. “I must get you some smellies, have a squirt of my cologne for now.”

“Oh, okay.” He went to the dressing table and picking up the bottle squirted some over his throat and down the front of the dress.

“That’s enough!” she called, “You’ll end up smelling like a French tart if you carry on.”

“Is that like an apple tart?” He asked knowing perfectly well that it couldn’t be.

“Not quite. Ask me when you’re older.”

He sniggered his response, now having a good idea what it meant.

At breakfast they met with Sue and Zoe, by the end, Jack had agreed to go and play with Zoe and Sally had a couple of hours to go shopping. She jumped at the chance.

Two hours later, she came back with the new nightdress, some eau de toilette, plus a silver bracelet and necklace set. She dumped her purchases in their room and went to knock on Sue’s room. There was lots of laughing coming from within, which got louder as the door opened.

“Sally, gosh is it that time already? Zoe and Jacqui have been playing at makeup artists.”

“Oh!” ‘Blimey,’ she thought, then nearly fainted when she saw the results. “Jack, is that you?” The vision in front of her looked like a show girl, dark lines around her eyes, false eyelashes dark shadow and the brightest red lipstick and nails. The latter looked as if they’d grown proportionally as long as the eyelashes.

“Yes, Mummy, do you like the sophisticated look?”

“It’s rather different,” she said guardedly. Then she looked at Zoe, who looked a bit like Roy Wood, the rock singer. “You look rather different too, Zoe.”

“Yes, I rather like it, Jacqui did it for me, an’ I did Jacqui.”

“I see,” said Sally, although she didn’t really.

“I went down to the salon and they gave us this whole bag of samples,” she had a plastic carrier obviously half full of makeup.

“That was enterprising of you?”

“The rest is history, although I hadn’t quite noticed how creative they’d got. I erm, got a bit involved in the latest ‘Bridget Jones’, well actually, it’s not a Bridget Jones at all, it’s Olivia Joules, but it’s by Helen Fielding.” Sue seemed to have talked herself into a corner.

“Fine, they’ve obviously enjoyed themselves, although I think we’d better tone it down somewhat before lunch, don’t you think?” Sally was quite enjoying her moment of power.

“Mummy do I need to take it off before lunch?” The question from Jack caught Sally on the back foot.

“What? Yes, you do, that would be a bit much for an evening out let alone a snack at the poolside.”

“And the nails?”

“Okay, you can keep the nails for now, but the face has to go.”

Jack’s face lit up, “Okay.”

He then proceeded to apply cleansing milk to some cotton wool pads and wiped off the garish cosmetics. Sally, made an excuse and while they were all busy in Sue’s room, she poured herself a vodka and tonic and downed it in three gulps. This was getting a little out of hand and she was not sorry that Zoe would be gone in few more days.

She had barely finished her drink and was rinsing the glass when there was a knock at her door, she answered it and Jack and Zoe waltzed in, with relatively clean faces but with red talons on their fingers.

“That’s better girls, now are you going to change into your bikinis and have a splash before we eat?”

They squealed in the affirmative and Zoe went back to her room while Jack came in with his mother.

“I got you a new cozzie,” she handed him the bag.

He opened it and picked out the contents, a bikini very similar to the red one Zoe had given him, only in bright pink and white, the ruched panties hiding any bulge he might have there. He pulled off his dress and knickers and tried it on immediately.

‘What a change in a two or three days!’ Sally thought to herself, she suggested he tucked himself back in the bikini bottom and it fit better. He seated himself at the dressing table and applied his waterproof mascara and lip gloss and Sally stood watching him with mouth gaping.

“Am I doing it wrong, Mummy?”

“What! Oh, erm, no darling, you’re doing it very well. I was miles away then.”

At dinner, Jack wore his new bracelet and necklace, which Zoe loved and oohed and ahhed over. He’d pleaded to be allowed to wear the eye liner and applied it so well, that Sally was beginning to feel uncomfortable watching him doing it. She kept wondering what sort of monster had she unleashed, and would she ever get her son back. Duck and water also came to mind.

At the end of the week Zoe and Sue left and Jack was quite upset, even though he was invited to go and see them when he got home again. He promised he would, although Sally didn’t feel quite so confident in the invitation being answered., especially as they usually ended in a reciprocation and there was no way she wanted Jack running around the neighbourhood looking like a juvenile Kate Moss.

He slumped on his bed after they’d said goodbye to his latest best friend.

“Your makeup is all messed up,” said Sally.

“I don’t care,” said Jack sniffing.

“Well I do, if you’re going to be my daughter for the rest of this holiday I expect you to keep it tidy or I won’t let you wear it.”

He huffed himself off the bed and removed it with the wipes she’d bought him. Then he went back to his bed.

“Well aren’t you going to re do it?”

“What’s the point?”

“I thought you enjoyed doing it?”

“Yeah, but without Zoe, it isn’t as much fun.”

“Oh I see. So looking nice for me doesn’t count then?”

“I’m sorry,” he ran over to her and hugged her, “I’m sorry, Mummy.”

“That’s okay darling, I know you miss her, but a week ago you’d never even met her. So have you enjoyed a bit of girldom?”

“Oh yes, Mummy.”

“You realise this is just a bit of fun and will have to stop when we get home.”

“Will it, I thought we could continue in secret and when I go to see Zoe.”

“Honey, I’m not sure seeing Zoe is such a good idea, for one thing, in a short while her hormones are going to be bursting out all over and yours might too, but in a different direction.”

“That’s okay, she knows and promised to help me get a sex change oper….”

Sally felt the room spin around as she fell backwards on to the bed.