Bruce Finds His Rainbow. Part 4

As the year wore on he continued his work with Joy and at the warehouse. Every few weeks the girls would leave him a small box of goodies from the damaged goods bin. He was using the good shampoo and the moisturiser and was looking good, or so he thought.

His hair, which he had not had cut for some time, now reached his shoulder blades and he was taking extra care when shaving, something he did once a week whether he needed to or not. He was wearing a lot of his new clothes and was looking brighter as time went by. One day after he had unpacked the stock at Joys’ shop she gave him a bag of clothes and told him that it was time he stopped this tomboy imitation and to make sure he was wearing them the next time he came in as she wanted him to meet someone.

The next time he went into town to work for her he was wearing a rainbow coloured top, obviously a womans one, as well as a pair of red skinny jeans. They didn’t look out of place with his new, red, sneakers but he made sure he covered the top with a jumper and his bike jacket. He felt a bit stupid but was sure that Joy would not do anything that would make him a laughing stock as he now trusted her. When he arrived at the shop he parked his bike and locked it to a lamp-post and walked in. Joy waited until he had taken off his jacket before telling him that the thermostat was at a level that was comfortable so he had better rid himself of the jumper. He was a little unsure but did as she said, standing there waiting for the peals of laughter. She just told him to take off the rubber band that held his hair in a pony-tail and as he did he naturally shook his head to loosen his hair.

Joy smiled and said “You are exactly as I thought you would be. It is amazing that you have been hiding yourself the way you have. When I first saw you I thought you were a girl but something has nagged at me about you maybe being a boy. I can now see that you really are a girl.” As she said this she made Bree look into one of the big mirrors in the shop and Bree gasped as she saw herself there. The slimming had lost a lot of her waist and the skinny jeans and tight top accentuated her figure. The only thing missing was breasts. When she looked at her face she wondered how she got away with being a boy for so long as she lost the puffiness and had developed a more angular shape that was framed by her full head of hair.

Just then the doorbell dinged and a lady walked in with a make-up case in her hand. Joy went to her and they hugged and air-kissed. Joy then said “Miriam, I want you to meet my wonderful helper, Bree. She is the one that I thought would fit your needs and made sure she wore the right clothes for you today.” Miriam came over to Bree and gave her a hug, then stepping back and inspecting her face. “As usual, Joy, you are right again” she said “She is perfect for my next Spring advertising campaign, so untouched and the ideal next-door girl.” Holding Bree by the arm, she said “Bree, I run a shop around the corner called ‘Make-up With Miriam’ and I want you to be my model in the upcoming Spring advertising campaign. I will make you up and have a professional photographer take the pictures and they will be blown up for the window as well as being in the advertising in the newspaper. What do you say about that?”

Bree was at a loss for words and just smiled weakly, wondering what on earth he had done to reach this point. He knew that if he insisted that he was a boy he would upset these two ladies and it would be the end of his enjoyable times working with Joy. He felt so free sorting out the stock and she had been willing for him to talk to customers lately. This was something else altogether different, now he was expected to be Bree in the open, out there. If the guys in the warehouse got wind of it they would make his life a misery but, he suddenly realised, he wanted to do this. He wanted to see himself in vivid colour every time he went down this street. He wanted to BE the rainbow.

It was if his recent dreams were coming true. For weeks now he had been dreaming in colour with tops, skirts and dresses al talking to him and telling him that they were his. He always woke up with a smile on his face and a need to be smooth and look good. He looked at Miriam and said “Yes, please, I would like to be your model as long as it doesn’t mess with my time here with Joy or my job.” Miriam said that she was sure that it would not take much time at all and that she would get a good idea of what she needed for the shoot if she could do a test make-over today.

The two of them went into the storeroom and he was sat under a bright light while Miriam did her magic. When she had finished they went back into the shop and when Bree looked into the mirror he thought that there was a true girl standing in the way but, as he moved, he realised that the girl was him and that he was truly now a she. Just at that moment the door opened and his mother walked in, came over to him and pulled him to her in a hug, saying “You are truly beautiful, Bree. It has been coming on for a while and I can now see that you have crossed the line into being my daughter. I love you, my Bree, and don’t you forget it. You can now use all of those cosmetics the girls at work have been giving you. They knew way back that you were no boy. You were too caring and meticulous for that.”

Bree couldn’t help herself and started crying, whether out of joy for finding where the rainbow lies or from sorrow for the way the future might lay; she just didn’t know. She did know, however, that today she was a girl and her mother supported her fully and that was a huge plus. “What about Daddy?” she asked. Her mother snorted, saying “He had better toe the line or he will be finding himself sleeping in the garden shed!” This made Bree laugh as the only shed in the garden was the old outside toilet from the last century. “At least I would not have to listen to his piddle into the bowl in the middle of the night if he’s out there” and they all broke into a fit of giggles.

Just then they heard a toot from the back of the shop and Bree just went and pushed the button for the roller door before realising that she was now exposing herself to the world. The two girls from work smiled when they saw her and both rushed to give her a group hug. “Oh Bree” said one “we all knew you would be good looking but wow, you’re gorgeous.” They unloaded the van as usual and the girls both gave her another hug before driving off. Bree was left contemplating what had just occurred. She had interacted with two girls who had seen her as Bree the boy and who now saw her as a definite girl like themselves. She came back to the front of the shop with an odd smile on her face.

Her mother was chatting to Joy and looking through the racks, Miriam had gone. Her mother said “Joy has just told me how much you have helped her, I didn’t realise that you had been working here so long. She has also told me how much you have racked up in credit and you can now afford to get several outfits without laying out a penny. How good is that?” Bree said that she had never considered that she would be buying anything before and that she would unpack todays’ delivery. Her mother came through to the back of the shop while she was unpacking the boxes; luckily it wasn’t a big delivery. While her mother watched she took the new dresses out of the box, stripped off the brown paper and hung them on racks. When she had finished her mother went to the racks and picked out two dresses, one an emerald green and the other cobalt blue. “Try these on, for me, please” she said, softly.

Bree went and hugged her mother, saying “Mum, I am not ready for that yet; it is just too far for me. Besides, I’ve still got hairy legs.” They went back into the shop and his mother asked Joy to put a reserved ticket on the two dresses for when Bree was ready for them. His work was done so he went to Joy and did something he had never done before; he hugged her and air kissed. He then put his jumper and coat on before he and his mother went over the road to the café to get a bite to eat. Sitting at a window table with their toasties and tea, Bree asked his mother how it was that she knew when to be at the shop this morning. “Oh” she answered “ Miriam and I were at school together and when I was in her shop the other day she told me that she would be here today to look at Joys’ helper in regard to her Spring campaign. I put two and two together and they added up to my daughter.”

Bree was quiet and then asked “Mum, I really want to know if I am different and if I can do all of this. I love the colours and the new feeling I have of being someone. I always faded into the background before but the lure of my orange shirt started something I don’t think I can stop. Will you help me, please?” His mother said that she would organise a visit to their GP to have tests made and would make sure her husband was not going to be a problem. Then they went to a nearby chemist and they bought some make-up remover and a better hairbrush for Bree. While his mother went off to do a bit more shopping, Bree got his bike and rode home with his hair flying and a big smile on his face.

When he got home he made sure he removed all sign of make-up and then had a wash before putting on his going-to-work jeans and shirt. He made his sandwiches for his tea at 8.30pm and cycled into work, wondering what fate awaited him. When he got clocked on there was a note on his locker to go and see Mr Jackson. Dread washed over him and he wondered if he was now going to be jobless. When he got to the office he saw Tom, the shift foreman, waiting as well. When Mr Jackson opened the door and asked them in, he sat them at chairs in front of his desk and said “I have asked the two of you in today to see how you are going, Bree. Tom, how is Bree working with your shift?”

Tom smiled and said “I can’t fault her, Mr Jackson. She works as hard as any bloke we have had and is meticulous in her placing of the boxes, especially for bay D to G. The girls there love her to bits, as do my shift. The only question I have is why she was issued with an orange shirt and not a yellow one and why she has to endure having to change in the mens locker room.” Bree was amazed; they had thought he was a girl the whole time! No wonder the language had been gentler than a usual all-male group.

Mr Jackson then turned to Bree and asked “Bree would you be upset if I shift you to the womens’ locker room and issued you with fresh kit?” Bree shook his head and said that the women would have cleared the room by the time he arrived so it wouldn’t matter and, yes, he would like new kit as the size L outfits he had were now too big and he would need a size M. “Good” said Mr Jackson, “we will arrange all that for Monday at the start of the shift. Come and see me first and I will give you a new key. Take your entire old stuff home with you when you leave Friday night.”

Marianne G 2021