CHAPTER 15 - Once you’ve hit rock bottom there’s only one place you can go, and that’s up

"Tell me more about this motel. The last time I looked getting hired requires ID and a social security card."

Beth announced, "From what I hear, that is not a problem. The motel is known for hiring undocumented Latinos. With your swarthy skin coloring, you would blend right in; the manager won’t ask many questions. He is just interested in cheap labor."

Beth pleaded with her brother, "You will only be there until the authorities stop looking for you. Worse case a few weeks. You can do that, can’t you? So, you two can be together again."

"Sure, what’s a couple more weeks in a dress for a real man." He managed, with a hint of sarcasm and disappointment in his voice.

They pulled up in front of a tired looking motel. It’s major drawing cards seemed to be that it was near the area’s largest mall and had the lowest room rates in the town.

Beth opened Heather’s door so that he could get out explaining, "The manager wanted to interview Heather before he would hire her. He is expecting you."

The real ladies watched Heather stagger through the front door. Ellen and Beth fretfully waited in the car, Beth confessing that if this didn’t work out, she was out of ideas. Twenty-three long minutes later, Heather came out. The two conspirators waited, trying to read Heather’s body language. Rather than get into the car, Heather stuck her head in the passenger window. Both ladies asked at the same time, "Well did you get it?"

"Sure, he wasn’t impressed with my two-week experience at being a maid, but when he found out I was fluent in English, I got the job. I start first thing in the morning. There is one complication. My room is provided. But it isn’t a private room. It is more a dormitory situation; I will be sharing the room with three other maids. He wants me to move in tonight so that I will be ready for work first thing in the morning."

Ellen was horrified. She trusted her husband, but the thought of him living in close proximity to three women was not something she had anticipated. She was about to cancel the deal. She quickly tried to come up with options, nothing came to her. Like George she knew there were no alternatives.

If the situation was reversed and she was living with three men, celibacy would NOT be her first choice. For the sake of her unborn child, she would have to trust her husband.

Beth said, "Get in. We need to get you some clothes appropriate for your new position in life. There is a K-Mart up the street we will get you underwear, toiletries and a few dresses and several pair of comfortable shoes, and a purse. You won’t need a lot. I understand the motel furnishes their housekeeping staff with uniforms."

Ellen interjected, "There is one more thing we must get. The most hideous nightgowns we can find."

She wondered if they sold chastity belts, probably not. She would keep her eyes open for an adult sex shop between there and K-Mart.

Cursing the aisles of the box store, the women filled the cart with the necessities. George followed them, pushing the cart through the mature woman’s section, staring straight ahead. He was crestfallen as he watched the cart being filled with his new wardrobe. When the two women threw in a couple boxes of Ultra-thin pads with wings into the cart followed by a box of tampons, George was traumatized and thought he would die of mortification. He questioned the need with his eyes. Ellen seeing the look on his face cozied up next to him and explained it was for authenticity, after all Heather is a woman in the prim of her childbearing years. As such feminine sanitary items are required. He felt so ashamed at how emasculated he felt. But, given that he had essentially no choice in the matter, he resigned himself to needing these items for display only. After all, it was only for the next few weeks.

The last item in the cart was Ellen’s promised sleepwear. A candy cane striped one-piece footed pajama. Beth paid for everything with cash, with Ellen promising to repay her.

On the ride back to the motel, George asked the girls, "Will I hear from you at least, a phone call or a post card?"

Ellen was seated next to him in the back seat, rubbed his arm affectionately. "Honey, from what your sister says, her phone is being tapped, her mail is being read and she is probably being followed. For your safety, I think not. If Beth is under that kind of scrutiny, I imagine that I will be too once they find out I am home. You’ll have to be on your own. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I’ll try to find some way to communicate with you. Just to check up and ensure you’re safe. For the time being, you are going to be on your own. I am sure it won’t be long."

He wondered if he could stay sane, being left on his own forced to behave as a woman 24/7 without Ellen’s immediate support.

Heather teared up. Ellen hugged him tight even as she chastised him, "Now look at you, crying like a little girl."

She softened her attitude, "But that's okay dear, crying is what us girls do." She said with a supportive grin on her face. "Now pull up your big boy britches, you can wear panties a while longer."

An hour later, after going to the drive through at MacDonald’s they dropped a dejected Heather off at her place of employment. Heather walked in with slumped shoulders her total trousseau contained in four plastic bags and a cheap purse. At the door, he turned and gave his sister and wife a small hand wave. Unsure if he would ever see them again.