Byline chapter 4

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Copyright © 2021 Peregrine
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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I woke up Saturday morning with my chest still feeling sore. I began to run a bath. Abbey came in and checked and cleaned my incisions. After yesterday, I don’t know why it felt weird having Abbey see my breasts. I collected what I needed and proceeded to take my bath. I washed and conditioned my hair. I shaved my legs and underarms. Next came washing my body. When done, I got out and wrapped a towel around me like a woman. I was careful to cause myself as little pain as possible. I used moisturizer on my body. When I finished, I sat thinking how much longer it took me to wash up than before. I knew I needed this in the article. After all, I’m comparing being a woman to being a man. I went out to my bedroom. Abbey was there going through my closet. She turned when she heard me come in.

“Hey sis, all done?”

“Yep.”

“Shave your legs?”

“Yep.”

“Shave your pits?

“Yep.”

“Use moisturizer?”

“Yep, just like you said.”

“Want help with your bra or can you handle it?”

“I think I can handle it but it would be less painful if you helped.”

“Come over here. Let’s get your bra on.”

It was funny hearing her say that. She was helping me to get MY bra on. When she finished I sat on the bed and wondered what I should wear today.

“I went through your drawers. I found a gaff for you to wear.”

“What’s a gaff?”

“It gives you a smooth front.”

She threw the garment at me.

“How do you know about a gaff?” I asked as I caught the gaff awkwardly.

“From my time working in the ER at the hospital. We had several cross-dressing patients. Figure out what you want to wear. I thought we would go to breakfast then stop at my apartment so I can change clothes. Then to the mall.”

“What are you going to wear?”

“I’m thinking my workout leggings, a sports bra, and top. Let me know when you’re ready,” she said.

Taking the hint, I went to my drawer and found a pair of black perforated sports leggings. I needed to wear the surgical support bra so I didn’t want to try the sports bra. I found a white long-sleeved top with black stripes on the sleeves. A pair of white sneakers completed the outfit. I sat down at my makeup table to do my makeup. I tried to remember what Abbey had done yesterday and duplicate it. After a few attempts, I managed to do a passable job with the mascara, shadow, and lipstick. I stood in front of the mirror to see if I liked the way I looked. As I stood there, I again noticed how much I looked like Abbey. I wondered if mom saw a picture of me, would she know it was me or think it was Abbey. I’m guessing she would know it was me. Mom’s always know. Abbey walked in as I was looking at myself.

“Not bad for choosing your outfit for the first time. I must be rubbing off on you. Let’s fix up your makeup a bit. You did good for a first attempt though.”

She sat me down and within minutes fixed my mistakes.

“Okay, you’re ready to go!” she said.

I just sat there.

“Abbey, this is too much. I’m not ready to go out,” I said

“What do you mean? You look great.

“I’m not ready to go out as a woman. I’m think I should wait for my coach to begin my training.”

“So you’re going to be a shut-in until then?”, she said. “You were okay last night.” She sat on the bed across from me. “Do you remember when you agreed to be Sailor Moon for Halloween? I trained you on how to walk in heels. Then mom made you go to dinner in a skirt. Halloween night you spent the entire party as a girl. You did fine. You have enough training for a shopping trip. Besides, you’ll be with me. I won’t let anything happen to my little sis.”

“I don’t know…”

“Go look at yourself in the mirror. Do you see C J or Casey Jean?”

I walked over to the mirror. I only saw Casey Jean.

“Well? Ready to go?” she said

I turned from the mirror and smiled. “Let’s go.”

“That’s my little sister”, she said.

“Will you cut that out?”

“I can’t call you my brother looking like that.” We laughed as we left the bedroom.

Abbey opened the front door and I started following her through. She stopped suddenly causing me to run into her.

“What gives?” I said mildly annoyed.

“Do you have your bag?”

I sheepishly turned around and got my bag from the table by the door. I walked past her and heard the door close.

“You’re pouting again,” she said. I heard her laugh. I had to smile too.

~~0~~

Contrary to Abbey’s original plan, we went to Abbey’s apartment first. While we were there, Abbey got a shower. As I was waiting for her, I wondered who spent more time getting ready this morning. Looking around her apartment I realized she was way neater than I was. Which wasn’t much of a surprise. There was not much out of place. I thought I should try to keep the new apartment as neat as I could.

Abbey came into the living room dressed in her workout outfit. She had blue leggings with light blue inserts along the side, a white sports bra, and a long-sleeved zippered light blue top that matched the inserts. Her sneakers were the same two blues as her outfit.

“Ready to go?”

“You bet. I’m starved.”

“Don’t forget your bag. You’ll need to freshen your lipstick after you eat,” she said. She smiled at me. I knew she was trying to get a reaction. I ignored her and grabbed my bag.

“Let’s go.”

~~0~~

We had brunch at a small restaurant near the Gallery. The inside was a kaleidoscope of colors. It seemed like every woman in the area was in the restaurant after their Saturday morning exercise or yoga class. Each wearing a colorful workout outfit. We didn’t stand out. We didn’t get many looks either as the wait staff was all female. I was okay with that.

I was looking at the menu and saw a bacon shell weave breakfast taco. The picture looked really good. I mentioned it to Abbey.

“Casey, you have to start eating better. I admit it looks good. Look at this. This is better for you. This is what I’m getting.”

She showed me the picture of low-carb spring breakfast bacon-asparagus hash. I frowned. It didn’t look as good as the bacon shell weave breakfast taco. Our waitress came over and asked for our order.

“We’ll take the bacon asparagus hash,” Abbey said. I’ll have a diet cola and she’ll have a vanilla shake.”

I perked up. “Could you make that a strawberry shake please?”

“Sure thing, honey. I’ll be right back with your drinks.” True to her word, she came right back, drinks in hand.

“You’re going to have to start exercising if you keep drinking those shakes. Gotta start watching your figure.”

I stuck my tongue out at her and took a long sip. I knew she was right. Especially if the rest of my clothing is as tight as the outfit I’m wearing now. Or as tight as yesterday’s jeans were on me.

It wasn’t long after we got our drinks that our food arrived. It wasn’t a bacon shell taco but it was good. We talked as we ate. By the time I took the last sip of my shake, we were ready to leave.

~~0~~

At the mall, Abbey began shopping. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular for herself. That didn’t stop her from looking at clothing, jewelry, or accessories. She stopped at a kiosk selling earrings, gold necklaces, and bracelets. My eyes just glazed over everything on display. Was I going to be doing this over the coming year? She called me over.

“What do you think of these?” She held up a pair of pure silver mismatched drip earrings with the moon and stars on one and the sun and stars on the other. They looked good as she held them up to her ears.

“They’re nice,” I said.

“You’re not just saying that, are you?”

“No, they’ll look great on you. You should get them.”

“Let me see,” She said. She held the earrings up to my ears and looked for a minute.

“I think so too. We’ll take them,” she said to the sales attendant. “Two pairs.”

“Great choice,” said the sales attendant. “I’ll get things ready.”

“Casey, get out your company card.”

“Why?”

“You’re paying. One of these is for you.”

“For me?”

“You’re going to need earrings. These are a nice start.”

I paid for the earrings and was told everything was ready and to come back and sit. It was then I realized the earrings were for pierced ears. Oh crap! I don’t want my ears pierced. Two pops and a sting in my ears later, piercing studs had done their job. I now had pierced ears. Abbey had been busy replacing her earrings. With a lot of thank you and care instructions, we left the booth.

“What is it with you? Two days in a row you cause me pain.”

“Beauty is pain little sis. Let me make it up to you. Let's go get a mani-pedi. It’ll be my treat. I’m having so much fun.” She was having fun but I wasn’t. First the shopping, the piercings and now a manicure and pedicure.

~~0~~

I had never been inside a nail salon. Abbey got a mani-pedi package for both of us. We sat side by side. Soon we were talking like the sisters we appeared to be.

Of course, my nails were a mess and I was told so. It was suggested I get nail extensions. Abbey told me to get the quarter-inch extensions. It wasn’t long before we were trying to decide on the color of nail polish we should get. Abbey selected a color called milky pink for us.

On the way out of the salon, I was checking my nails. I thought the extensions made them look nice. It was work and took time but I liked the results. It somehow made me feel good. Abbey caught me admiring my newly polished nails.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

“You know, I did. Too bad guys can’t do this,” I said.

Abbey didn’t say anything more as I continued to admire my nails.

Our next stop was the makeup counter of a department store. Not having any experience here, I was lost in the maze of lipsticks, mascaras, eyeliners, eye shadow, foundations, bronzers, and highlighters. How was I ever going to be able to find my way? Abbey seemed to know exactly what to do.

“What are you looking for?” I finally asked.

“We need lipstick that matches our nails. Hold out your hand.”

I held out my hand so Abbey could see my nails. She navigated the brands and colors of the racks of lipsticks like the pro she was. Almost as quickly as she started, she found what she was looking for. After we paid for our purchase, we headed to the ladies' room to apply our new lipstick.

~~0~~

We stopped back at my apartment to freshen up before heading out to Penn’s Landing. This time I remembered my bag before Abbey asked me.

Penn’s Landing was a hubbub of activity. We checked an activity board and saw there was a free concert later in the evening. Abbey loved music. She could listen to music for hours. We walked around looking for a way to while away the time. There was plenty to keep us occupied. We were getting hungry and began to look for a place to have dinner before the concert. We found a spot with outdoor seating. The waiter seated us and we ordered.

“I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” Abbey said as we waited for our dinner.

“I had a good time too. Today reminded me of when we were kids running around the playground. Thanks, Abbey.”

“For what?”

“For being there for
me. You didn’t have to stay last night but I’m glad you did.”

“I can stay tonight too.”

“You don’t…”

“I know I don’t have to. I can check your wounds, see how your healing and spend another night with my sister.”

“I appreciate the offer but I need to start taking care of myself,” I said. “I can check the incisions. I’ll remember to do the nighttime and morning routines you showed me. I’ll be fine, really.

“Are you sure? It wouldn’t be a bother.”

“If I have any problems, I’ll call.”

“Make sure you do.”

We continued to talk as our food arrived. I swear the waiter winked at me when he asked if we needed anything else. Dinner was good and the time for the concert was approaching.

“Let’s get the check so we can make the concert.”

~~0~~

We had a good time at the concert. We got to my apartment shortly after eleven. Abbey took off her zippered top and walked around in her sports bra. I wondered if she would have done that if I wasn’t in girl mode, She made sure I knew how to check my incisions. She went over what I needed to do every evening before bed and every morning. Soon she was ready to go. My phone let me know I received an email.

“What was that?” she asked as I checked the phone.

“Just got an email from my coach,” I said. I scanned the message. “Her name is Andrea.”

“This is the coach who is teaching you to present as a woman, right? What does coach Andrea want?”

“She says she’s going to be here around noon tomorrow. She wants me to be wearing a skirt, top, hose, and heels when she gets here.”

“I thought she was coming on Monday,” said Abbey.

“Must have been a change of plans,” I said. “Can you help me pick something out?”

“Sure let’s go check your closet.” We went to the bedroom and Abbey went through my wardrobe selecting what she thought was best for my meeting with Andrea. She matched the outfit with a pair of heels. She hung the top and skirt on the closet door and put the heels on the floor. “What do you think?”

“It’s what she asked for so it’ll do.”

“You want help picking out your lingerie?” She couldn’t keep a straight face and started giggling.

“I think I can manage.”

Just then her phone buzzed. “My ride is here. I better get going.”

I walked her to the door. She put on her zippered top and slung her bag over her shoulder.

“Remember, clean your incisions before you go to bed, remove your makeup and use moisturizer,” she said. “Tomorrow morning go through the morning routine I showed you.”

“I know, I know, stop worrying, I’ll be sure to do everything.”

“I’ll never stop worrying about my little sister. I really enjoyed having a sister for the weekend. Good luck tomorrow. Goodnight Casey.”

“Goodnight Abbey,” I said.

We hugged and she was out the door. I walked back to the couch and sat down to relax. I thought of what Abbey said. I enjoyed my day with her too. I enjoyed being her sister. I paused at that thought. Today I enjoyed being her sister. It has to be the novelty of everything I’ve done over the last two days. I’ve had breast implant surgery. I got my ears pierced. That wasn’t fun. I got a manicure and a pedicure. I’m wearing nail polish. Those two are fine. I’m wearing a bra and panties and a woman's workout outfit. For someone who never tried to look like a woman, I’ve really gone in whole hog. Looking like a woman is a lot of work. I’m only doing this to get my byline.

I finally left the couch and did everything Abbey made me promise to do. I went to the bedroom and looked for my nightclothes. The pink nightie was right on top of the drawer. I took it out and put it on the bed as I undressed. When I was down to my bra and panties, I stopped to look at the outfit Abbey had chosen for me. I’d be wearing it tomorrow to meet my coach. I’ll be dressing as a woman for the foreseeable future. I put on the pink nightie and got settled in bed. I opened up my laptop and wrote for an hour and a half. I seem to be complaining a lot in the article. I finished, turned everything off, and pulled the covers up to my chin. Am I going to like learning to be a woman?

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Thanks for reading
Comments welcome.

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Cover picture Credits
Photo by Daria Sannikova from Pexels
Photo by Valeriia Miller from Pexels
Photo Composite by Peregrine