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Summer With Em Chapter 39

By Julie D Cole

Friday just couldn’t come quick enough for me. Whilst I didn’t much want to leave Manchester at least my visit home would be short and we were booked in a hotel in Kensington so I was unlikely to meet anyone I knew. Staying in a hotel was another first for me.

I asked Frankies opinion about what she thought I ought to wear and whether or not I needed to stay in girl mode or not. It was left up to me but Frankie did say that she wasn’t much into boys and she’d change the booking to single beds if that was my decision. I smiled since I knew she was teasing but my decision was made.

The journey down to London was fairly uneventful apart from a few glances in my direction across the carriage from time to time that seemed strange. It wasn’t like I was flashing anything or even glamourous. I had resisted shorts and a top even though it was a hot day since I thought this might be inappropriate for a Kensington Hotel just a stones throw from Prince William and Kate. Not that they’d invite us round for tea or anything.

We took a taxi from St Pancras Station to the hotel to avoid the underground that I didn’t fancy. It had been scary enough traveling as a young student never mind us standing out as two women with weekend bags.

We were lucky to find a cab fairly quickly with a friendly driver who cut through the back streets that was quite exciting especially for Frankie. She paid and tipped him as he dropped us outside the front door. A porter greeted us and took our bags.

To the right of the hotel entrance as we stood on the steps was Kensington High Street that was busy as usual and to the left I could see Kensington Park and the Royal Albert Hall where lots of big stars appear. I’d wished I’d been able to see Adele when she’d appeared there a few years back. She was very popular with girls at school and they knew I was a big fan too. I hadn’t dared admit I would have liked to go see her with them so sadly I missed out when one of them managed to buy tickets with parents help as a birthday treat. They never stopped talking about it for weeks. Why was I so shy at school?

Frankie had booked an Executive room with a King Size bed and after the porter dropped our bags in the room she turned and hugged me and pulled me onto it to test the comfort level. Just perfect and it seemed wider than it was long and the pillows were soft and fluffy.

We quickly freshened up so we could have a walk out and I sent mum a message to say we’d arrived. She did seem a little put out that we opted for the hotel rather than stay at home but I wouldn’t have been comfortable with the two of us in my small bed or with mum in the next room.

We walked out towards the park and headed towards Kensington Palace and then across Kensington Gardens to look at the Princess Diana memorial fountain. I hung onto Frankies arm as we stood there in silence for a few minutes to reflect on the pain she’d gone through before her tragic death. She was so beautiful and she seemed to be in her prime after such an unhappy time with Charles.

It suddenly registered how lucky I was and that I should enjoy every moment of my blossoming relationship with Frankie and my new life in the North of England where our relationship seemed accepted. I didn’t want to turn back. I just hoped dad would understand when I met him.

We were quiet for a while as we walked slowly back across the park towards the Royal Albert Hall stopping at the Prince Albert Memorial. Another monument that was in memory of the lasting love between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. What a love story and so many children. It was clear to everybody that she never got over his death and she outlived him by many years.

Would Frankie and I have a long relationship like that or was it destined for failure because of my sexual confusion. It was unlikely we’d have children and there were also those who thought that she was too old for me. Em and Bec’s seem fine and I hoped that mum had been won over but Frankies mum hardly knew me. Her grandfather seemed to be a grumpy bigot who would likely as not influence Frankies mum now he was out of hospital and she was living with him to look after him until he was fully recovered.

It was 6-30 pm already and lots of people were arriving at the Royal Albert Hall since there was a performance on. It was a ballet so no chance to see any big stars. I’d have liked to have a look around inside but not to be without entry tickets to the show so we headed back to the hotel and then further along Kensington High Street. After walking for 20 minutes or so Frankie pointed to a Spanish Tapas bar down a small side street and suggested we ordered some Tapas rather than try to find a restaurant or eat in the hotel. I didn’t take any persuading.

It was a beautiful warm evening so we sat in the open looking out towards the High Street bathed in the evening sunshine. The bar area was busy with lots of office workers clearly enjoying themselves after work before they headed home.

Lot’s of young women were sitting together in a group ordering bottles of Prosecco and Spanish Rioja wine. There were few men about so maybe they preferred the pub culture. Some music was playing across the street and upstairs above us there was a restaurant now filling with customers so it was a really nice atmosphere. Some of the girls started chatting to Frankie and then to me.

I was embarrassed at first and I felt awkward even though I worked with several women in Manchester. I felt like everybody was staring at me and watching my every move but Frankie took my hand and said it was normal for girls to people watch and to just look back and smile that would make them look away.

I was surprised to find it worked and my sensitivity to the staring reduced. I became more relaxed and comfortable however I felt that I still didn’t blend in very well with the women frequenting this Tapas bar. When I looked across at the group of women they were behaving in a loutish way like young men and some were dressed provocatively that surprised me since they’d been working.

Frankie had the answer of course advising that it was casual Friday. I doubted I would want to dress down even if I found a job in London sometime in the future. It seemed a good reason to stay in Manchester and Em, Bec’s and Frankie always seemed to dress smartly even on Fridays.

This group were similar age group to me so maybe they thought I was overdressed and certainly Frankie also dressed her age and was very smart for a Friday night in town. They were getting louder as the evening passed due to the alcohol consumption. If they were representative of modern women I was not sure it was what I wanted.

They put me in mind of some of the girls at school who I’d known. Would they behave like this now and how would I have turned out? I guess I had been lucky to get the chance to leave London and stay with Em.

Frankie settled the bill and decided we should go back to the hotel to enjoy the facilities. There was free access to the Executive Lounge with its comfortable chairs and she suggested we had coffee and then enjoy a relax in the oversize bath in our room.

I probably showed my embarrassment but at least I managed to nod. It sounded a great idea to soak in a bubble bath and it was a rare opportunity. Life these days seemed too rushed to find time to relax for everybody. I never had chance for much luxury growing up and I didn’t want to miss the chance.

We had a very pleasant time in the Executive Lounge sipping our Cappuccinos and chatting to the staff. It wasn’t busy and we guessed most guests were sight seeing so we were treated like royalty with non-stop attention. The manager suggested that we tip the concierge if we wanted theatre ticket for the following night and recommended to see Beautiful the Carol King Musical. I was sure mum would like it since it was music from her era when she met and fell in love with dad.

If only they’d stayed together maybe I would have been happier growing up and not as lonely. But c’est la vie who cares. Here I am in a happier place than most people even dream of and for now at least in a friendship that gives me butterflies in my stomach.

We headed to our room and Frankie took charge and prepared our bath. She used the complementary luxury spa gift set provided by the hotel. I undressed first and used one of the soft white dressing gowns to cover myself. I stepped into the warm suds whilst Frankie was undressing and I switched on the jets to create a wonderful foam to cover us. The bath was oval shaped with plenty of room for the both of us and with the soft background music I lay and closed my eyes. Frankie produced two glasses filled with Prosecco from the refrigerator and we relaxed and chatted for at least an hour about all sorts of things topping up with warm water from time to time.

As well as the niceties soon the main topic was our forthcoming trip to meet dad and hopefully his side of the family that I had never met. I was nervous about meeting them since I knew little about them. They’d never visited the UK and maybe they never approved of mum.

I had agreed with Mum that it was important dad met me before I did anything rash and she was obviously concerned about my future so she wanted him to see the change in me. Frankie felt it was important too since she thought it was sensible to have both parents consent so I could seek a referral to a specialist clinic.

The aroma of the bath products lingered as we snuggled up closely in the giant bed and by now I knew how to respond to Frankie such that she took up her favorite position so she quickly came to organism that carried on until she felt completely spent.

We soon fell to sleep so the next thing I remembered was her nudging me to wake me up and to let me know she’d made us some tea before we showered and went to the Executive lounge for breakfast. She looked beautiful and she had a broad smile and a glint in her eye as she leaned forward to apologize for her selfishness but in truth something had happened for me too so I was quite happy.

It was a rare treat to have a full English breakfast served in a hotel so we took full advantage. Everything was freshly cooked and served on warm plates. We tried to eat in moderation that was difficult but since we might not eat for a while we had a good excuse. We were going home to collect my documents and copy things I needed from my desk top computer. We would skip lunch and then go out to Covent Garden with mum and hopefully see the show that was recommended.

Frankie met with the concierge after breakfast and the good news was he arranged for us to buy 3 tickets for the evening performance through his contacts. Mum was delighted when I told her and she suggested we aim to take a pre-show snack at a Victorian style wine bar on the lower floor of the Covent Garden market. We would be able to watch impromtu performances by local musicians and actors whilst eating.

The tube journey to the local station near home was quick and since it was Saturday and we found seats that avoided being face to face with other travelers or any accidental physical contact. I did find it was much more awkward travelling whilst presenting as female and avoided as much eye contact as possible other than with Frankie.

I did have a weird experience whilst we were in the queue to buy our travel tickets. A man was getting a bit too close for comfort and ‘accidently’ bumped into me a couple of times before I gave him a look. I was sure that he had his hands in his trouser pockets and was stroking himself. The lump was too obvious.

Luckily I didn’t meet any of our neighbors as we approached mums place. I was sure that mum wouldn’t have said anything to anybody about me other than I’d gone to stay with Em. I didn’t see any of my old school friends as we walked the street either that was a blessing so there was no fear of any confrontations. I didn’t want to hang around too long.

I might even be a new person and even married by the next time I’d be visiting. Hopefully that would be to help mum pack up to move North where she’d be closer to Em and me. It was a much safer place to live and I’d worried about mum living on her own with so much crime around London. I was sure she would be happier in Manchester and she was very sociable. Em would be around too and who knows she might meet someone.

Everything I needed from my computer was loaded to two memory sticks in less than an hour and then Frankie helped me delete everything else. I put my birth certificate, passport and medical card in my bag so we were good to go. I looked through my wardrobes and drawers. I didn’t feel I needed any of my clothes since I had more modern and more stylish ones now at Em’s and at Frankies place. I had changed a lot in such a short time and whilst I still felt conspicuous when I went out the pleasure that a female wardrobe gave me was increasing day by day. It was a wonderful feeling.

I had several framed photographs of me at various stages of me growing up but now I looked closely at them I could see just as much girl as boy. No wonder I was ridiculed and bullied growing up. I guess lots of boys don’t really fully develop male characteristics until their mid-teens. I was later than anybody in my circle of school friends.

I decided to just take one of the framed photos that was a professional print. I liked it because I had my hair over my ears and past over my collar at the back. It was the fashion at the time and it was the one photo where I felt it gave a true reflection of me. Somewhere in between the boys and girls and different from the rest.

We were a strange bunch at school and I guess half of the class stayed together for several years. But none were close friends to me.

Mum was with us on our return journey to Covent Garden and we had 2 changes to make. I was glad I hadn’t decided on a dress or skirt as we went up and down the long escalators as I watched several young women having to prevent being on display.

Mum seemed so happy to see us and she was so excited that we’d booked seats to see the show. She didn’t seem to have any objection to me presenting as female. She took my arm once or twice as Frankie walked in front and whispered that she hoped I was very happy and that I looked more relaxed and confident. In truth I was and Frankie had been a great help. I told her all about the hotel skipping some of the detail of our relaxing bath together.

We looked around the market before heading down to the courtyard in front of the bar where we had a table booked inside in just over an hours time. We found seats and ordered glasses of wine to relax watching whatever show would be taking place. A small group of musicians were setting up in the corner of the courtyard close to the staircase from ground level. They sang several songs from two or three musicals including Les Miserable and the Phantom of the Opera. They were really good and it seemed they were all at music school together. I wished I’d been blessed with musical talent. I seemed to have no ability at all. When I said that to Frankie she just reminded me I’d saved her grandfathers life. Every song received applause and quite a crowd was looking down into the courtyard all around the perimeter above us.

I went up to the artists to place our tips in their containers and a young singer who’d done most of the singing winked and smiled at me and handed me a card. He said that he hoped I’d come back again. He told me the location of their regular haunt and I suppose I blushed and just nodded in acknowledgement.

A violinist appeared from nowhere and made ready to play but sadly we had to move to our table to eat.

It was quieter inside the restaurant area where we had a cosy corner next to an old fireplace. People must have been much smaller when the inn was built and I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like in those days or why it was below ground level.

The style was certainly from a different era and very quaint. Since it was quiet mum was able to chat to us to discuss my plans to visit dad and what I would say to him. She also wanted to know when I’d be making an appointment with my doctor.

I told her that we were visiting dad over the bank holiday weekend that was two weeks away, the last week of August that was also the last week of the Italian summer holiday. I reminded her that Frankie would be with me. I explained that I would be dressing gender neutral for the journey to avoid difficulties at passport control but I’d be dressing en femme the rest of the time. She was not sure how dad would react,