Nicole was tickled pink to be up dressing for work; as Nick, I was a little scared of losing myself. Though the only things pink were my panties and my pearl pink lip gloss. Though the dress wasn’t anything extraordinary she presented a nicely dressed woman.

Mrs. Crest received me warmly and sent me a file to review for her. She wouldn’t get to it until after 10:00 a.m., thus I expected it to be harder than it was. There were plenty of corrections to make, but it was more time-consuming than difficult. The list of corrections went from 103 to five that I dismissed to be a problem with grammar check.

Caroline, as I was not invited to call her, gave me another job after our break. A person named Tammy was surprised that Caroline was quick to accept me. Word came to me later that Caroline wasn’t an easy person to please. It was after we came back from our lunch breaks when Caroline’s computer locked up. It was a new computer program and I used my laptop to reference back to a university program that warned me of three possible problems. It was the second problem and I was installing a fix for the correction when the tech person was able to get to us. Carol’s program was the seventh computer experiencing the problem and the first being resolved. The company that installed the software seemingly was more worried about being held liable than fixing it. They pointed back to the software company. Technically it was the software program’s problem, but as our technician and I agreed it was something the installer should have caught before signing off on using it.

Tom our technician was credited with having our machines operating ahead of the Waterloo, Des Moines, and Quad-City plants. If the problem had come two days later it probably would have seen me panicking. But because I was a backup worker, I was free to investigate a little on my own.

Not to get a big head, Mrs. Crest served me well in learning her responsibilities. There were numerous things that her experience was teaching and humbling me.
Like my family, she lived on a farm west of Dubuque and her job was not only providing important income to the family but the perks of a regular paycheck, health insurance, and retirement benefits.

It was Thursday after lunch that I found an unwanted and threatening message in my in-box. It was a picture, that appeared to be blood drops falling into a red pool with a derogatory message. Though the sender was blocked to me, it was traceable by the corporation and given to their authorities.

Come to the end of my workday, I found out that I had a flat tire. It was in changing to the doughnut size spare that I realized it was purposefully done. The security guard tried telling me I couldn’t be sure. But I was ninety percent sure and I wanted someone to follow it up. It took Mr. Dobbs insistence that brought in a county deputy to check. Officer Hanson was surprised to find me the recipient of the prank. He had searched further and found a puncture to my oil pan.

He said, “That could easily have resulted in an engine fire when you stopped at home with a hot engine.” We talked about my now being Nicole.

There was no security film or other proof of who tampered with my car, but the person who sent the threatening message was fired by the company. The person was under investigation for further legal charges.

Friday, I was officially working on my own though we were in a larger office complex of six workers. I was called to report to the main office before I checked out for lunch.

A Mr. Harder and a Mr. Jeffries met with me and I was afraid I was in trouble. I asked, “What did I do wrong worthy of this much attention?”

Mr. Jeffries introduced himself as representing the main corporate headquarters in Moline, Illinois. “You haven’t done anything wrong, but we want you to know we’re taking seriously what happened to you.”

“I was afraid you were going to tell me I wasn’t worth the trouble I was causing for the company?”

Mr. Jeffries said, “You resolving the computer glitch has already proved your value. Your being open about your problems with the company about trouble with others will save us in the long run. An errant engineer isn’t as important as he thought he was. Those responsible for your car troubles indicated their courage by sneaking around.” John Deere, JD, would cover the cost of a set of two new tires, the oil pan, and a full tune-up on my car.

Mr. Harder asked if I was a golfer? When I responded that I try to golf three to four times a summer. He asked, “Would you be open to playing a round of golf at the John Deere Classic in July?”

I replied, “I haven’t been that good as Nick, and as Nicole, I neither have clubs nor any playing time.”

Mr. Jeffries replied, “You have over a month to rectify those problems. If you can wait until after Memorial Day, we will have an old set of clubs you can use come early next week.”

This weekend was my first opportunity to be dressed back as Nick and while I was Sunday afternoon and most of Memorial Day. It was because I was home or at the farm working. Friday night and Saturday, mostly because of my hair I found it easier dressing and being presentable as Nicole.

Much to the delight of Rachel, I did go shopping for clothes Saturday. I had seen a dress that I now thought was more appropriate for work, and another dress to enjoy a night out. It was as a group of eight, including Mike and Carl and their two dates Cathy I knew, Lisa with Carl was new to me. The Venue was good for both dancing and listening to good live music. Lace with her date, that left Steph left to dance with me or to find others to dance with. I had some dances about a half which was with Steph and one with Mike at the insistence of Cathy.

Dancing with Mike or other guys, no longer seemed unusual. The unusual part was finding two dances with a guy named Steve to my liking. He was easy to talk with, but it was something I couldn’t explain, but I liked being with him.

Sunday afternoon and Monday I was a working dairy farmer. And while Rachel offered me some of her farm clothes she knew she was two sizes too small for me. It was fun having a late breakfast with Haley and Lewis after morning milking chores on Memorial Day.

It amused me during breakfast, that I found myself talking to Haley about women’s fashion and her as a woman getting used to being a farmer’s wife. She said it was a rare treat for her to visit with another as a woman at breakfast. I was dressed as Nick, but with my nails painted, though the damage, and my hair as it was she put aside my voice and talked with me as Nicole.

Yes, I had little trouble identifying with our conversation other than not being a farmer’s wife. I stayed around the farm as they had a chance to get away for a few hours. I watched little Marcy for four hours.

Nights often found me taking time with family, and others either visiting with Lexi and Kayla or Steph and Lace. I saw less of Mike and Carl, and next to nothing to other male friends.

I had parked in a special parking spot and gave my keys to a receptionist. The new tires were being put on today, and my car would be given a thorough tune-up.

There was a stack of complaints and referrals waiting for my arrival Tuesday morning to work. Bills had recently been sent out and most of the complaints needed to be addressed. While there were reasons the bills were hard to follow for some, most of the bills were misunderstandings. Phone calls and email cleared most. But there were also part expenses added that didn’t appear correct. One problem resulted in over $12,000 charged that shouldn’t have. Someone at an implement (tractor) dealer added the wrong parts numbers and was unable to correct their mistake. The farmer near Nevada, Iowa was surprised with the ease that I caught the mistake and got it resolved. He was surprised that a woman understood that the wrong part was charged. He mentioned that he had an unmarried son and a good size farm. We were amused by the implication and that I wasn’t responding.

I had to laugh to myself as the size of things by some farmers seemed to carry a reference to their maleness which didn’t excite me much. The week was filled with details and numbers that I had to check and get properly recorded into one system or another.

Tennille was a new friend that I made and we ate lunch together both Wednesday and Friday. She was a single mother of two. She was a permanent employee, that floated between departments and thus didn’t feel she was accepted anywhere.

She wondered if I like her felt left out. I hadn’t expected to be received as another member as I too floated. But it was then I realized as Nicole I tried to build relationships more, whereas Nick, I was a loner. To add to Tennille’s problems she was not from Dubuque nor did she have family here. Those are big things in Iowa even in its cities.

She and I took an extended lunch break on Friday and did a little shopping. Nothing fancy, but we both enjoyed our time and knew each other better. I was still covering for Mrs. Crest the coming week, Tenne, as I referred to her, would call me on Monday about what was her new extension number.

My first weekend as one of the guys. Wearing a ball cap, and not wearing makeup were not big things.

While several tasks repeated themselves. There were new projects Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Instructions left by Mrs. Crest gave me enough to understand what I was to do.

A guy name Jeb introduced himself and told me to my face, “I don’t like that you see yourself as being transgender.”

I responded, “I suspect you see yourself as straight, but I don’t know enough to hold that against you. I doubt either of us knows the other to reach a good conclusion.”

He laughed, “Do you think, you could change my mind if we took the time.”

We agreed to meet at a Mexican café the next day for lunch. I was a bit cautious and asked Rachel or Steph if they could eat there around the same time. Jeb proved to be a sincere person, who had been subjected to a lot of stinkin’ thinkin’. The odd thing was that it seemed like he wanted to like me. I’d meet with him again, but nothing more.

Tuesday evening when I visited with Dr. Jenesse Frecone, the visit was good and helped me in preparation for my luncheon with Jeb and future times with other unaccepting of my identity. Jenesse was glad that I was growing more comfortable in accepting me.

Thursday evening included getting together with Steph, Chad, and Mike. We had met at Mike’s home in Dubuque. I wore a pair of women’s jeans with a floral top and ¾ sleeve. It was becoming obvious to each of us that our friendship was changing. We might continue as friends, but wherewith Steph my relationship was deepening with increased interests. Chad and Mike were moving on with their lives in different directions. Mike Stiller and his mom we cordial in keeping the friendship open to the future. Chad was more set in going differing ways.

It was late when I left the Stiller’s home, and it made for an unsettled night’s sleep. I hadn’t gone out of my way to change but accepted Chad’s decision. That Mike and I continued to be friends was helpful.

Friday was the end of my covering for Mrs. Crest, and I felt good about having her work for when she returned. I first visited via the computer with Ms. Jennifer Fox, who I would be covering for the following two weeks.

I closed my account with Mrs. Crest and went to see Jennifer Fox at 3:00 p.m., we visited for the next hour and a half. I had a fair understanding of my job in covering for her. She was in the personnel department and confidentiality was stressed along with getting the information entered properly.

Leaving the building, I met the guy I enjoyed dancing with two weeks earlier. “Nicole, it is good to see you again. I hadn’t asked for your information and wished I had. Would you be interested in my taking you out to dinner and dancing tonight or tomorrow?”

I had plans for tonight to go out with Steph in a larger group, and now there’s a tug to do something at the spur of the moment and with a guy I’ve felt something for. Is it just having someone who likes me, or are these girl's feelings welling up inside of me? Either way, I was interested. I got his information asked if I can check and get back to him.

I’m home and felt a need to wait, making sure Steph is off of work and free to talk. Once talking with her, Steph giggles. “I was thinking I sense Nicole’s feelings coming forward inside of you. After you go to eat, message me where you’re going dancing. We’ll plan to bump into you. But make sure you save a couple of dances with me…

To be continued…