If You're Not Paying It...: 2

 

Once an attentive husband, Andrew has changed. Now, he's a moody, controlling jerk. Headed
for a divorce, his wife resorts to a radical solution. This is not the sweet/sentimental
kind of story I usually write. Nothing violent, or anything, but it is not like Disney
Princess or Dusty Rose.

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Author's Note: Please leave me a review? ~Clara.
 
This version of If You're Not Paying It...: 2 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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Chapter 3
 
 
Friday
 

"Morning, mommy," Karen kissed her mother's cheek and grabbed the bowl of cereal that was waiting for her. "Where's dad?"

Maureen checked the clock on the wall. 7:40 and Andy wasn't downstairs, yet. She knew he was up, but he was taking forever today.

"Still getting ready, I guess. We stopped for dinner last night and had a few drinks. Maybe a few too many for a Thursday night."

In fact, Maureen had only had one red wine last night with their meal. Andrew had had a drink before dinner, wine at dinner and two bourbons after dinner and one of those had just a sprinkling of the powder that Hillary had given her on Wednesday. When they'd gotten home, Maureen had led Andy to their bed and ravished him every way to Sunday. She LOVED taking the sexual lead and Andy seemed willing to follow, provided he'd had a little of the powder before hand.

Maureen walked to the foot of the steps and called up, "Andy! What's taking so long? Is everything alright?"

Andrew appeared on the upper landing, still in his bathrobe. "I don't know what you did to the wash, Mo, but everything is stretched out. Nothing fits. Look, even my boxers are falling off of me."

He opened his robe and it was true. Andy had definitely lost some body mass last night. Oops. She'd have to be careful of that. In fact, thought Maureen, he looked to be substantially smaller than usual. Almost the same size as Karen.

"I'll be right up to help you. Find a jacket, shirt and tie. I'll take care of the rest."

Maureen turned to the kitchen, "Are you all set, sweetheart? I need to go upstairs."

"I'm leaving, now, mom. See you tonight, but remember, I'm going to the game at the school at 7:30. Love you!"

"Love you, too," Maureen shouted as the kitchen door closed behind Karen.

Maureen climbed the stairs with a bit of a smirk on her face.

"My shirts seem baggy, too, Mo. What did you do to them?" Andre called from the bedroom.

"Alright, alright," she moaned. "I have some fresh clothes. Hang on."

A couple of minutes later, she walked into their bedroom with a pair of black slacks. "Here. Try these on."

He pulled them up and they fit well.

"Good," Maureen said as she held up the white shirt and he put his arms in. "You tuck it in. I'll button it." She said as she helped him get ready. She grabbed his tie and ran it through his collar then tied a neat double Windsor knot for him, then straightened it.

As she helped him pull his coat on, Andrew said, "Geez, even my suit coat feels baggy. Really baggy."

"Well, I can't help you with that," Maureen scoffed, "and you can't blame me for washing it wrong, either. That goes to the dry cleaner. Face it, Andy, you've lost some weight. You'll need to pick up a few things this weekend."

As she was headed out the bedroom door, Andrew let put an exasperated shout, "Oh, for crying out loud! Did I lose weight in my feet, too!? How is that even possible!?"

Seconds later, Maureen reappeared with a pair of obviously cheap, black loafers. "Here. These should do for today. We're running very late, now. We'll have to stop for coffee on the way. I'll meet you in the car."

They reached their offices a few minutes past 9:00. Andrew kept his jacket unbuttoned and headed for his desk without making eye contact with anyone.

"Good morning, Mr Green," Carolyn called as he passed, but he plowed ahead. "Mr Green! Mr Green!"

Andrew stopped, but didn't turn around immediately. "Yes, what is it?" He stood, slightly slouched and waited for a reply.

Suddenly, Carolyn was right behind him, speaking quietly into his ear. "Mr Cunningham is in your office. Evidently, Mr Perkins called and complained about your work on the estate."

Andrew shook his head and sighed. He didn't need this right now. "What's his complaint?"

Carolyn moved to face him, "I don't think he's complaining about the quality of the work, but about how long it took. Mr Cunningham seemed pretty angry."

He relaxed a little. As long as no one was taking too close a look at the work, he could talk his way out of a complaint about the amount of time he'd taken to finish. Finally, he straightened and looked at Carolyn. "Alright. Thank you."

At five-foot-nine-inches tall and always sporting a substantial heel, Carolyn was a formidable woman, but when Andrew looked at her this morning, she seemed a bit taller than usual. She had a similar revelation looking at Andrew.

"Are you ok, Drew? You don't look right?"

He nodded and took in a deep breath, preparing for the encounter ahead. "I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little... off. I'm fine."

"And this thing with Cunningham? Is everything going to be alright in there?"

Andrew took a quick look around the office to make sure no one was looking, then he gave Carolyn a quick peck on her cheek and said, "Just fine. Don't worry. As long as they don't look at the books too closely, we'll be fine."

He gave her another reassuring smile and headed into the office.

"Bill! What a nice surprise. What can I do for you?" He asked as he gathered as much bravado as possible and entered the office with a flourish. He was a little surprised to find Bill sitting in the desk chair, forcing Andrew to stand 'on the carpet' before his boss.

Bill glanced at his watch. "9:22? Running a little late today, Drew?"

Andrew laughed, "Not me, Bill; my car pool partner. Mo had a hard time picking out clothes this morning. Women. What can you do?" His own laughter sounded a bit more nervous than he'd intended. 'Get focused, Drew,' he thought. 'You've got this. Eye of the tiger, man. Eye of the tiger.'

There was no reaction from the other side of the desk.

"I'm going to be straight with you Drew," Bill Cunningham said. "You're on fairly thin ice here. You used to be a good lawyer, but ever since Hillary was named partner, your work has gone steadily down hill. I figured that you were just sulking about my choice, but it's been becoming a bigger problem every month since and now, clients are complaining. I don't like that and I'm not going to put up with it. Do we understand each other?"

"Sure, Bill, sure. I understand, but you have to understand that Perkins and his family were not easy to deal with..."

"The Perkins debacle is just the latest complaint, Drew. The partners were not at all happy with your behavior during yesterday's meeting, either. Let me be very clear about this: You have three months to get your act together. Get a hair cut and, for God's sake, get a suit that fits correctly and get all of your ducks in row. I will review your work in ninety days and if there is no improvement, we will have to sever our ties. Am I understood?"

"Ok, Bill. Ok. I understand and I apologize. I'll pull it together."

"Good." Bill got up to leave, but stopped and looked at Drew. "What are you wearing? That coat looks huge on you. Take it off, for heavens sake. You don't have any clients coming in today, do you?"

Drew took off the coat and draped it over the back of a chair. "No. No clients."

Bill looked at Drew without the coat. He looked better, but not quite right. As Drew moved to his desk chair, Bill said, "Be careful there. Your wallet looks like it's going to fall out of your pocket."

Drew tried to push it in further. "I know. The pockets on these pants are tiny. I don't know why."

Bill grunted an acknowledgment and turned and left the office.

Almost Immediately, the door reopened and Carolyn came in as Drew sat in his desk chair.

"Well?"

"Don't worry. All's well," Drew said. "I've got ninety days to get my act together. That's more than we need. Relax."

"Whew," Carolyn said. "I was nervous."

"Well, we're fine, but I think you'd better get back out to your desk so that I can start working on 'getting my ducks in a row' for Bill. I need to look contrite for the time being. Ok?"

"Ok, Drew," she said with a nod as she hustled back to her desk.

Drew let out a sigh of relief. All was still well, as he'd said. In fact, everything was coming together. With that thought, he pulled his iPad out of his briefcase and called up the online version of his favorite video game and signed on. He figured he had a good two and a half hours to play before anyone bothered him again.

"Hi, mom! Hi, daddy!" Maureen had called a local Italian restaurant and ordered a family-style lasagna for dinner, paid for it over the phone and Karen had picked it up. When Drew and Maureen entered the kitchen, Karen had already put out a clean table cloth, plates, utensils, garlic bread, serving items and the water glasses were full. At this moment, she was pulling a chilled pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator. "Dinner's on the table!"

"Oh, it looks beautiful, Karen! Thank you so much for setting everything out," and Maureen planted a loving kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Let me just run upstairs for a moment to change. I don't want to get anything on this suit. It's linen. I'll be down in two shakes."

As His wife disappeared up the stairs, Drew smiled at his daughter as he took down a short tumbler from the cabinets and reached for a bottle of Jack Daniels to whet his appetite.

"How are you feeling, daddy?"

"I'm ok, hon. Why?"

"Well, you look pretty tired and you're wearing that oversized sports jacket."

Drew look at his coat and laughed, "Oops. I must have grabbed someone else's coat at the meeting this afternoon. I didn't even notice," he fibbed.

"I hope you didn't wear it around the office, daddy. It looks shabby and you always say that a professional needs to look his best. Here," Karen came up behind her father and gripped the shoulders of his coat, "let me take it for you."

As she assisted him by guiding the coat down his arms, she had to look twice at the back of his head. 'Did I have a growth spurt, of something? I swear we're same height,' she thought. She hung the coat over the back of a chair and proceeded to fold napkins and place them next to the plates.

Drew let put a self-satisfied, "Ahh," as the Jack Daniels burned the back of his throat.

Maureen returned wearing a new pair of jeans and a form fitting tee shirt that showed off her figure in a very non-Maureen manner.

"Wow, mom, you look great! Have you been working out?"

"Nope, just working," Maureen laughed.

"Well, it sure suits you. Are you wearing a new bra?"

"No. I just have a cami under this. Why?"

"Really? I don't know. Your girls. They just seem perkier than usual."

"Perkier?"

"Yeah. You know. Higher. Firmer. Perkier."

"Yeah. I wish," Maureen laughed as she grabbed the grated cheese from the fridge, but she knew that Karen was right. She'd noticed it, too. Since she'd started Andrew on the powder the other night, not only had he become more manageable, she'd become firmer and stronger - both physically and in her personality. She thought that they had nearly reached the equilibrium that their marriage had lacked of late. Everything was better - especially the sex. That was great.

"Come on, daddy," Karen said, cheerily, as she and Maureen took their seats, "soup's on."

Andrew downed the last of his drink, placed his glass on the counter and came to the table, but was stopped as Karen said, "Daddy, are you wearing my shirt?"

Andrew came to a dead stop and looked at his shirt, then to Maureen as he started to put together the activities of the morning.

"Yes, he is, honey," Maureen said. "Daddy has lost a good deal of weight in the last few days and we couldn't find anything for him to wear this morning, so I borrowed a few things from you. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, I don't mind at all. I'm just surprised. You can borrow anything you need, any time, daddy." Karen's laugh was teasing, but it hit Andrew pretty hard.

"I wore my daughter's shirt to work!?" His anger was palpable.

"Yes, dear," Maureen said with the air of an elementary school teacher who was not about to argue with a student. "You're also wearing her slacks and shoes. Oh, and the boy shorts your wearing under your pants are Karen's, too. You had no clothes, we were in a rush and I found you some that fit just fine, now, just sit down and eat before it gets cold."

Andrew was furious, he wanted to yell and scream. He wanted to smack Maureen. He wanted to yell at Karen for giggling at him. He wanted to... He wanted to... He wanted to let go at everyone, but, instead, he just sat in confusion as Maureen placed a piece of lasagna on his plate.

What was going on? How had he lost control of everything? Why wasn't he fighting back? Where was his backbone? Was he drunk? No. He'd only had a finger of Jack. That wasn't much.

"How was school, sweetheart?" Maureen asked Karen.

"Fine..."

The conversation went on with out him while he managed to get his thoughts in order. He'd figure this out and deal with it. If he just needed some new clothes, he'd get them tomorrow. If he needed to see a doctor, he'd call the office on Monday.

"What?" He said, being drawn from his reverie by a question from Maureen.

"I asked you if it was ok with you for Karen to go out with Brian tonight?"

"Brian?" he asked. "Who's Brian?"

"Who's Brian? Weren't you paying attention, Andy? Karen just asked if she could go out with Brian, the boy in her Calculus Class, to get an ice cream after dinner." Maureen was a bit concerned about how befuddled Andy seemed right now. Was it the powder, alcohol or was he really that thrown by the discovery that he could share his daughter's wardrobe? "Are you ok, Andy?"

"I'm fine. Just feeling a little off today." He turned to his daughter. "Brian, huh? Is he a good boy? Should I have the father-to-boyfriend talk before you go out?"

"No, daddy, you certainly should not have 'the talk' with him or anyone else. We're just going to go to Diary Queen for an ice cream. Maybe a movie tomorrow night if we get along tonight."

"Wow, you are such a pragmatist, honey," Maureen said. "When I was young, we all fell in love at the drop of a hat, but you're taking everything in such orderly steps."

"Love!?" Karen feigned insult. "Mom, I barely know him. I need to get to know him first." Her smile was huge and her cheeks were flushed, but Karen was determined to appear controlled and in charge of her relationships.

"Andy?" Maureen asked, "What do you think?"

"Fine with me," he shrugged.

Maureen smiled at Karen, "Have fun, honey. Take a twenty out of my purse before you go."

When they'd finished, Maureen turned on the coffee maker and made a cup for Andrew and herself, while Karen went to the bathroom to freshen her face. When she placed Andrew's on the table, he immediately rose and went to the cabinet he'd used earlier and added just a splash of Jack Daniels to the coffee.

As he was returning the bottle to its shelf, Maureen's phone rang. "Hello?"

It was obvious from her tone of voice that it was a business call. She walked out into the living room as Karen returned to the room. As Karen rummaged through her mother's pocketbook to take out a twenty-dollar bill, Andrew rummaged through the cabinets looking for something.

"Damn it!" Andrew grunted as he slammed a cabinet door.

"What's the matter?" Karen asked.

"Nothing," he said, "we are just out of sugar and I can't drink coffee without some."

"Here," Karen said, "mom has some Splenda in here purse. How many do you want?"

"I'll take four, thanks."

Karen handed him the small, yellow tubes and kissed he father's cheek. "Bye, daddy. Tell mom I said 'Bye' and I'll be home around 11:00" and out the door she went.

Ten minutes later, Maureen returned to the kitchen, "Did Karen leave already?"

"Yes," Andrew said as he stood from his seat, leaving an empty cup of coffee on the table. He went to his wife, gently placed his hands on her hips and said, "which means we have the house to our selves for a few hours. Let's go upstairs."

As he hugged her, Maureen could feel the erection in his pants. She lightly brushed her hand over the crotch of her daughter's pants that her husband was wearing. She found it all so erotic and, obviously, so did Andy. She hadn't felt him this hard without a lot of foreplay for over a decade.

"Why go upstairs," she asked, "if we have the house to ourselves?" She reached down and caressed his penis through his pants eliciting an excited moan from her husband. Emboldened by this response, she undid the button on the slacks that he was wearing, the slacks that belonged to her daughter - oh, God! The sensations that she was currently feeling was beyond exciting! - and she reached into his panties and grabbed his member firmly, using it as a handle to guide him into the living room.

As soon as they reached the soft, area rug in the center of the room, Andrew was frantic to get Maureen's pants unbuttoned, but, in his haste and excitement, was unable to accomplish this easy task.

"Let me do it, Andy," she said as she continued to hold and lightlypump his manhood, while using her free hand to undo her own pants.

When the button and zipper were down, Andrew knelt and pulled her pants and jeans to the floor, revealing her nicely trimmed womanhood. Andrew caught sight of her vagina and froze in a gaze of horny astonishment. To Maureen, he looked like a boy seeing a woman's organs for the first time. His eyes were wide with wonder and wanting. Without warning, he grabbed his wife by the hips and plunged his tongue into her and frantically licked.

Maureen threw her head back in ecstasy. When they were young, it was rare that Andy would go down on her, but as they grew older, he never did - and he had never shown this much enthusiasm for it before. This was all so amazing! Just a few days of using the powder and here was her know-it-all husband on his knees pleasuring her as if his life depended on it. She felt young. She felt sexy. She felt in-love, but more than anything, she felt - Powerful.

It was 11:55pm when the phone in the charger on Hillary's nightstand started ringing. She had only been in bed about ten minutes and she was reading the latest John Grisham novel on her iPad, nevertheless, a ringing phone at this hour was always jarring. For the first fifteen years of her career, she had been on call for clients who were arrested at night, or needed an attorney during off-hours for any reason, but it had been a long time since those days.

She grabbed the phone and looked at the screen. "Mo," it said . Immediately, thoughts of Maureen or Karen being hurt or ill flashed through her mind.

As she disconnected the phone from the charger and pulled it towards her, Hillary's husband rolled toward her and asked, "Who is it?"

"Mo."

"Mo!? Is everything ok?"

"I don't know, yet," she said to her husband as she pushed the 'Accept' button and spoke into the phone, "Mo? Are you ok?"

Maureen's voice was breathless and frightened, "I don't know what's wrong with him. First he was having convulsions and then... then he started changing."

Hillary pulled back the covers and climbed out of bed and walked into the hallway, closing the bedroom door behind her. "Who? Andrew? Changing how!?"

"Hilly, he's shrinking. He got a lot smaller, really quickly. I don't know what to do!"

"Mo, how much powder did you give him, for crying out loud?"

"I did what you told me! I gave him a packet Wednesday night and I sprinkled a little in his drink yesterday and today. That's all, I swear!"

"Shit." Hillary ran her hand from her forehead backwards, through her hair as she tried to think. "Look, Mo, I'm coming over. I'm going to call Dr Perez and have her come, too, ok? I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Ok, but, Hill, it's not just that he's shrinking. He looks, younger and..."

Hillary waited for the end of the sentence, even though she had an idea as to what Mo was going to say. There was silence. "And what, Mo?"

".... And... he's got breasts."

"I'll be right over."
 
Chapter 4
 
 
Saturday
 

The living room, where Karen and Sadie slept on the large sectional sofa, was dark except for the light that came in from the kitchen where Maureen, Hillary, Jenny and Dr Joy Perez sat around the table sipping tea and discussing the situation. It was 2:23am, nearly an hour since Andrew had been stabilized. He was still unconscious, sleeping soundly.

"He looked so small when we changed the sheets and redressed him," Jenny said. "He'll be ok, though, right?"

"He'll be fine, Jenny," Dr Perez said. "Give his system about twenty eight days to flush out the powder and we can start him on the process of regrowing and re-masculating."

"Re-masculating!? That's a new one for me," Maureen said with an exhausted shake of her head. "Why twenty-eight days, though, doctor?"

"Because he's a human and all humans operate on a twenty-eight day cycle. It's just more obvious in females."

"So," Hillary chimed in, "if I could be the pragmatic one here, how do we handle the next twenty-eight days? We need some kind of a story to tell Andrew and everyone at work. Obviously, we can't tell them the truth. If they didn't believe us, they'd have us locked up. If the did believe us, they'd have us locked up, too."

"I suggest," Dr Perez said, "that we concoct a store in which Andy has had a severe allergic reaction, which, in a way, is true. That seems plausible to me."

They all agreed.

"Something you should know, though," the doctor continues, " even though Andy will be more compliant than usual, he will not be happy. You can expect some rebellion. And, since his body is being bombarded by female hormones, just like a girl in puberty, those rebellions may resemble those of an eleven to twelve year old girl. He may be very emotional and unreasonable. You'll need to keep an eye on him until he's back to normal. Well, as normal as possible."

"Unreasonable would not be unusual for Andy, believe me," Maureen sighed. "That was what pushed me to try this treatment - his unreasonableness."

"If you take a stand with him, though, as you would with a petulant child, you will find him much more compliant than usual," the doctor said, as she stood.

"You know, Mo," Hillary interrupted, "you should get him to sign a Power of Attorney document while he's in this condition. I know that seems a little mercenary at the moment, but, as your lawyer, I strongly suggest that you do that. If something happens in the the next month, you need to be able to speak for Andrew."

"That is an excellent idea," Dr Perez nodded, "but, for now, I suggest that you all get some rest. I'll go back up and sit with him, but I don't expect that he'll be stirring until this afternoon."

Jenny and Maureen nodded and headed into the living room to try to catch some sleep with their daughters, but Hillary joined the doctor. "If you don't mind, Joy, I'll sit with you."

"Of course you can join me. I'd enjoy the company, but don't worry. He'll be ok."

"Oh, I know. I just want to be there when he wakes up. I wouldn't miss that for the world!"

"Mom, he's starting to wake up." It was Karen's voice, but Andrew couldn't pull his eyelids apart to see her. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a tiny moan.

"Just relax, Mr Green. It will take a few minutes for you to wake up completely. Don't try to rush it." Who's voice was that? He couldn't make it out.

"Oh, thank God. You had me so scared, Andy." Definitely Maureen. She sounded worried. What had happened?

"Get a chair for your aunt, Sadie." That was Jenny. Why was she here.

"Here, Auntie." That was Sadie.

Someone took Andrew's hand. It felt like Maureen, but not. Who ever it was had a soft hand, like Mo, but the hand was much bigger than Maureen's. Weird.

"Just relax, Andy, you'll be fine." Maureen's voice was close to his ear. Her tone was different, though. It was as if she was speaking to a sick child.

"Mmmm," Andrew tried to speak, but his mouth was dry.

"Here you go, sweetie." There was that condescending tone, again, and this time it sounded like Hillary. What was that bitch doing here?

Andrew felt a straw enter his mouth. He swallowed some lukewarm water.

"Ok, Mr Green." Who was that? "Let's try to open our eyes. Very slowly, now."

His eyes fluttered, but there was a lot of light in the room and it hurt like hell. It hurt like he had a hangover.

"Relax for a minute, Mr Green, then try again."

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr Green," the voice said, "I'm Dr Perez. I was called in to look after you. You're going to be just fine. You're pretty dehydrated, so you'll probably have a headache, but it will pass. Let's try to open our eyes again."

'Our eyes?' Were her's closed too? She was talking to him as if he were a child or an old man.

Andrew's eyes fluttered open and, after a brief battle with the light, remained that way. Maureen was to his right, holding his hand, and Karen was to his left, patting his head. Next to Karen was Sadie and Jenny. Next to Mo was Hillary. At the foot of the bed was a tall, beautiful woman who must be Dr Perez.

"Why is everyone here? What happened?" His voice was odd, high and little. Why?

"You gave us quite a scare, honey," Maureen said in that annoying, motherly tone. "You had a very severe allergic reaction to the sweetener you put into your coffee after dinner last night. It really hit you hard."

"Allergic reaction?" Andrew was confused. "Did I stop breathing or something?"

Maureen got out of the chair she'd been sitting in, looked at the others and sat on the side of the bed. She played with his hair as she spoke in that damned maternal voice, again. "Well, Andy, you went into convulsions and your body changed a bit."

"My body changed a bit!?" he half shouted, again aware of the strangeness of his voice. Suddenly, he noticed that Maureen was playing with more hair than he should have had. Yes, he had worn a pony tail for more than a decade, but there was more than there should be.

"Quite a bit, Mr Green," said the doctor. "If you're strong enough, I'd like to get you out of bed so we can explain all of this to you."

"Are you ready, honey?" Maureen asked again. She was still using that voice and patting his head like he was a child and playing with his too-long hair.

He nodded.

Maureen stood and pulled back the covers, offering him assistance.

That's when he noticed it. "What the fuck am I wearing!?" He shouted.

"Andrew Green, watch your mouth," Maureen scolded. "Your daughter and niece are in the room."

"You're wearing one of my nighties, Uncle Andy," Sadie said. "I'm sorry that it's a little big on you, but it's one of my favorites. I wanted to give you something that was soft and comfortable."

Andrew was completely taken aback by Maureen's response and couldn't even process what Sadie had just said. He climbed out of bed, trying to get his head around why he was wearing a soft, white nightgown with thin straps across his shoulders, a fitted bodice and a flouncy skit that reached to just above his knees. "I'm... I'm sorry, Mo, but... wait. Why are you so much taller than me?" He looked around the room. "Why... why are you all taller than me!?"

"Now, sweetheart, just calm down..." Maureen started, but Andrew interrupted.

"Calm down! What the hell has happened to me!?"

"Andy, honey,"'Jenny started to call across the bed, but almost immediately the room became a chaos of people telling him to calm down, which only managed to upset him even more.

Suddenly, the doctor was standing in front of him with her hands on his bare shoulders. "Just take a seat, Mr Green, and let me explain." She helped him sit back down on the bed as she pulled the chair that Maureen had been using up and sat in it so that her knees and Andrew's were touching. She leaned forward and took both of his hands in hers and held them on his lap while she looked into his eyes. She was much taller than him, but under the circumstances, he was having a hard time judging heights relative to his own.

She rubbed his hands with her fingers as she spoke. When she did speak, it was a voice of reason and calm. Very doctorly, but very maternal as well. Andrew wanted to hate it, but he found her demeanor to be very calming and reassuring.

"Now, Andy," she said with that cooing voice, "I need you to calm down and pay attention to what I am going to tell you. Can you do that for me?"

Again, Andrew wanted to yell, or lash out, but she seemed so nice. He just nodded his consent to cooperate.

The doctor smiled as she continued. "Good. Thank you, Andy. Now, your body has had a reaction to the sweetener that you used last night. Do you understand that?"

He nodded.

"That's good, Andy. As a result, your body has undergone a substantial change, but that change is only temporary. Do you understand, that?"

He nodded, again.

"Good. Now, sweetie, how tall were you the last time you were measured?"

Andrew thought for a moment. "Six-foot-one-and-a-half inches in my bare feet."

"Wow," the doctor smiled as she looked into his eyes. "You were a big guy, weren't you?"

He nodded.

"Well, baby, I'm afraid that things will be a little different for the next twenty-eight days or so."

Had she just called him 'baby?'

"You see, because of the reaction, you've lost a good deal of mass and muscle. That's very unusual, but it's nothing we can't fix, ok? It will just take us about a month to clean out your system and start getting your body back to normal. So, the long and the short of it, darling, is that you are a lot smaller than before, but we can fix that."

Again, Andrew wanted to lash out, but her hands were so soft and warm and safe. He nodded and asked, "How tall am I?"

She smiled as if she was about to deliver great news. "Well, you were laying down when we checked, but it appears that you are four foot-eleven and a half."

His eyes widened and he wanted to scream, but she touched his cheek with one of those soft, warm hands and she smiled so sincerely that he just stared back at her.

"That not so bad, is it, dear?" She asked in that mommy voice.

"I guess not," he said, although he couldn't understand why.

"And one more thing, baby," the doctor continued, "you look a lot different, too."

"How?" He asked, not as concerned as he had been before. He was confident that this woman could fix everything.

"Well, you see, the sweetener was really made for ladies, not little boys, like you, so not only did it make you smaller, it made you look, just a bit, like a little girl."

"What!?!?"

"Oh, but don't worry your pretty little head, baby. With your hair already shoulder length before and then your body shrinking, it reached to the middle of your back, now, so between that and your breasts, you are a very, very pretty little thing."

For a moment, the doctor's spell was broken and Andrew looked down at the top of his nightie and the gap created there by the very obvious breasts that protruded from his chest. "My breasts!?" His voice was tiny and breathless. The doctor put her hand on his chin and raised it so that she made eye contact with him again.

"Yes, and they are very pretty breasts for such a little thing as you." She smiled at him and he melted a bit. "You should be proud of them, Andy. You make a very pretty young lady. What a wonderful opportunity for a boy like you to experience life as a girl, don't you think?"

He didn't know why, but he nodded. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

"I saw a picture of your sister, Jenny, when she was your size and you are the spit and image of her. Isn't that so, Jenny?"

The doctor and Andrew never broke eye contact as Jenny spoke. "It's true, Andy. It's like you're my twelve-year-old twin. You look more like me at that age than my own daughter did."

The doctor smiled and said, "See and wasn't Jenny a beautiful little girl?"

He nodded. It was true. Jenny was a beautiful little girl and very well endowed at an early age. It made sense that he'd look like her, after all, since she was his little sister.

"Ok," the doctor smiled, "now it's time to put on your slippers and come down stairs and have a little something to eat. Can you do that for me, Andy? Can you be an adult and stay calm and come down stairs with us?"

Andy nodded, eager to please. He smiled and pulled himself off of the bed where there were some little, white scuffs waiting for his little feet. He put them on, took the doctor's hand and headed out the door with the doctor talking to him the whole time.

"We'll keep you busy as your body heals and then, in a month or so, you'll grow big and strong again. Ok?"

He nodded and accompanied her down the stairs leaving the others to gape in amazement.

Maureen glanced into the living room where Andrew sat on the sectional with his daughter and his niece watching an old comedy on the TV. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis were both trying to win the hand of Marilyn Monroe. It was a great film and seemed oddly appropriate for today.

Twice, Andy had asked for a beer and twice he'd been reminded that he did not have the appropriate body for alcohol. Several times, he'd gotten a little antsy, but the Doctor Perez's calming voice brought him back each time.

"This is the weirdest day of my life," Maureen said as she returned to the table to join the other woman. "My big, headstrong, 'my way or the highway' husband looks like a child - a pretty, little girl, at that - and he's enjoying an evening with his daughter and niece watching a romantic comedy. I swear, if we could have sex, it would be the perfect evening."

The others laughed.

"You can have sex while he's like this, Mo," Dr Perez said in a hushed voice, "but I'd wait a day or so to be sure he's stable."

Maureen raised her eyebrows and thought about sex with her little-girl husband. "That could be kinky," she laughed, prompting the others to giggle, too.

"The big challenge will be his attitude" Dr Perez said. "You need to keep him in check so that he doesn't run to the authorities - not that they'd believe him, but this is the perfect opportunity to train him correctly."

"Like a puppy," Hillary joked.

"No," Dr Perez was being serious, "train him to be a decent human being. From what I have heard, this is an opportunity to get back the man you loved, Mo. Don't squander it by being to softhearted with him. You saw how I handled him, well, try that, but I warn you, he will have some moments that will try your patience and you need to be very firm with him in those moments. Remember, you're the grown up. Even though he's been here for forty one years, he's going to look and sometimes act like a child for the next few weeks. You need to always be in charge."

"Ok," Maureen said.

"I wish this hadn't been necessary," Jenny said. "I was just thinking of how things were when I was that age. He was a good brother. Supportive. Involved. I wonder what happened. I'd love to have that Andy back."

"Me, too," sighed Maureen.

"Me too," said Hillary. "He used to be a nice guy. Just a bit of that frat-boy attitude that gets under my skin, but a nice guy. He's been such a prick lately though. Just let me know if I can help, Mo."

"Me too," said Jenny.

Maureen reached to her right to take Jenny's hand and to her left to take Hillary's. "I know, girls and thanks. As a matter of fact, I could use some help tomorrow. It seems that I have got to go buy my big, manly husband a few new bras and panties."

Hillary's laugh was a guffaw. "Now that sound like a great way to spend a Sunday!!"
 
Chapter 5
 
 
Sunday
 

Karen and Sadie were in the back of the minivan, while Maureen drove and Hillary had the shot-gun-seat. Andrew was sitting in the second row, passenger side seat beside Jenny who was continually taking his hand, or fixing his hair, but talking in that same, reassuring way that the doctor had used. It had been years since Andrew had had a long conversation with his sister and, even though this situation was pretty weird, it was nice to reconnect with her.

"I think you'll get used to things pretty quickly, Andy," she smiled at him. "I work with girls all day, everyday and at home, it's just Sadie and me. You'll be fine for a month. Sadie is very excited to take you shopping today and, I have to say, I am kinda excited, too. I mean, how many women get to take their big brothers shopping for their first bra. That's a big day for a girl. You should savor this experience, Andy."

Andrew couldn't quite build up the enthusiasm that Jenny seemed to desire, but he smiled at her and nodded. He'd get through this, somehow.

When they disembarked at the mall, Andrew hopped out of the minivan and a breeze caught the light material of his dress, raising it up high enough so that he had to hold down his skirts to keep it from flying up over his waist.

"Have a little modesty, there, young lady," Hillary joked. "Remember that there may be young men around. You don't want them to think you're easy."

He had been very calm all morning, but he still hated Hillary and he couldn't help but respond to this teasing. "Oh, shut up, will you, please..."

"Andrew!" Maureen's shout caught him by surprise. He didn't know she'd come to this side of the minivan. "How dare you speak to your Aunt Hillary that way. You apologize right this second!"

"Apologize? No way!" It was a pretty little girl with Andrew's obnoxious attitude and Maureen was not about to take it.

"Ok, young lady," Maureen's voice was soft, but dangerous, "you have until the count of three to say, 'I'm sorry that I was rude, Auntie Hillary,' or I will pull you over my knee, right here in this parking lot, and give you the spanking of your life. Do you understand me, Andrew?"

He felt the heat of fear rise in his chest. Would she actually do that? Right here? He didn't know the answer.

"One."

As Maureen started counting, Jenny sat in the sliding door opening of the minivan and took the tiny hands of her frightened and feminine brother in hers. She looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Andy, you were pretty rude to Auntie Hillary, now weren't you?" Her voice was soft and her touch was comforting, like the doctor's.

He nodded.

"Two."

"Then the right thing to do would be to apologize, right?"

He nodded

"Then, go ahead, honey. Apologize."

Andrew turned his head, his eyes downcast, leaving his hands in Jenny's. "I'm sorry," he said to Hillary.

"I'm sorry, who?" Maureen's voice was irritated.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Hillary." Andrew was defeated, but when he turned back to Jenny, he felt better.

Hillary grinned at Maureen. "We'll work on getting him to say 'Auntie' next time."

"Very good, Andy," Jenny said. "That was very grown up of you. I'm very proud of you."

Andrew smiled. He didn't know why, but approval from grown ups seemed very important right now.

"Mom," Karen whispered, "I think that Auntie Jenny has the magic touch."

"Probably from spending day in and day out with little girls in school."

Sadie joined the conversation, "Maybe, but that's how she always spoke to me when I was little. I still only want to make her proud. She's very good at getting kids to do what she wants."

Shopping and dinner made for an endless afternoon. Andrew had a bra fitting, tried on shoes and God knows how many articles of clothing. Hillary kept pushing Maureen towards dresses and skirts, but, mercifully, most of the purchases were tee shirts and shorts and other gender-neutral items. The saleswomen were very pleasant and seemed genuinely excited about making sure that this young girl was properly dressed to face the world.

Dinner was at Olive Garden. Not great, but not bad. When they'd entered, Andrew had fantasies about a big meal of meat and pasta with a cup of soup to start. Sadly, though, the 'grown ups' ordered for him and he was only allowed a small salad and one bread stick. The 'grown ups' drank wine while he had an iced tea with Karen and Sadie, who included him in their conversation, but he was oblivious to the music, TV or movies they discussed.

When they got home, Andrew was exhausted and was perfectly happy to have his wife strip him, pull a new pair of cotton panties up his legs lower a new, cotton nightie over his head.

He crawled up into bed and, moments later, Maureen, wearing a sleep-tee and sleep-boxers climbed in beside him. He rolled onto his side and she pulled him into a spoon, in much the same way as he had done to her when they were first married. It didn't matter that she was bigger than him or that she was wearing boxers and he was wearing a soft, lacy nightie. It felt good.

She nestled her nose in his hair and smelled the strawberry shampoo that she'd had him use that morning and a hint of the hairspray that she'd used to hold his pretty blonde hair in place. She liked it. She didn't like that there was what appeared to be a pubescent little girl in her bed, but she loved that the pubescent little girl was her husband.

"Will you be ok alone here tomorrow while Karen is at school and I'm at work?" She whispered to him.

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"I know, but the way that you look right now... I forget that you're a grown up. You're so cute this way."

There was no response.

"And, except for that incident with your Auntie Hillary, you were very good today as well."

Still no response.

Her hand that was on his belly moved just enough to feel the underside of Andrew's right breast. She lingered there and felt the soft firmness of him and she felt excited. Gradually, she moved her hand so that her right hand engulfed the breast. She felt him shift ever so slightly so that she had more access to it. She smiled as she fondled the nipple through the thin, soft cotton of the nightie.

"That feels nice, doesn't it?"

He let out a slight moan which encouraged her to fondle the nipple even harder.

The moan grew with each manipulation.

"See," she whispered, "this is what you get when you're a good girl for mommy."

When he rolled onto his back, his face was flushed and his breathing was fast. He threw his arms around Maureen's neck and planted a deep kiss on her lips. She sat up a bit higher and kissed him back.

Then, without warning, she bent down and nibbled his engorged nipple through the cotton nightie.

"Ahhh!" he sighed.

"Oh, what a good little girl you are," she whispered and returned to his nipple.

"I'm not a girl. I'm a boy. I mean... I'm a man." His attempt to be manly was even cuter than the nightie.

"Show me," Maureen whispered.

As she continued to nibble and suckle, he pulled up his nightie and pulled down his panties revealing a penis that, although still usable, was a pale reminder of its former prowess.

"See?"

She glanced at it and giggled. "That's not a man's penis, baby. That's just a little girl's penis. Feel it and see how small it is."

He reached down with his left hand and felt his greatly reduced manhood. It was truly tiny.

"Play with it and maybe it will grow," Maureen whispered.

He grasped the shaft in his hand and started massaging and caressing it. Soon his hips were thrusting to his own efforts. The tiny piece of meat had grown a little, but only just a little and he was going to town on it as sweat beaded his face.

Maureen sat back a bit and guided his right hand to the nipple of his right breast. "Play with this, too, little girl. It will feel nice."

He did and soon he was approaching a huge climax.

Maureen couldn't believe what she was watching. He masturbating himself for her pleasure and she loved every second of it.

"That's a girl. That's a good, good girl. Oh, baby, don't stop. Tell me that you're mommy's good girl..."

"I am. I'm mommy's good girl," he nearly shouted as he exploded and rope after rope of his own seed landed on his tummy and hand.

When he could breath again, he looked at Maureen.

"Sorry."

"Oh, little girl, that was amazing. No need to be sorry."

"But I made a mess," he may have been sweating from the exertion or he may have been on the verge of tears, Maureen couldn't tell.

"Shh," she cooed at him. Come with mommy to the bathroom and I'll clean you up. Don't worry, you've been a very, very good girl."
 
 
To Be Continued...

If You're Not Paying It...: 3

 

Once an attentive husband, Andrew has changed. Now, he's a moody, controlling jerk. Headed
for a divorce, his wife resorts to a radical solution. This is not the sweet/sentimental
kind of story I usually write. Nothing violent, or anything, but it is not like Disney
Princess or Dusty Rose.

---

 
Author's Note: Please leave me a review? ~Clara.
 
This version of If You're Not Paying It...: 3 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

---

 
Chapter 6
 
 
Monday
 

"Got a minute?" Hillary asked from the door to Maureen's new office.

"Sure, Hilly, come on in," Maureen's smile indicated how much she loved being back at work at the firm. Hillary knew that her friend had missed this and she had missed her friend. It was time that Mo was back in the offices. She wished that it could have been done more easily, but that would all work out over the next few weeks.

Hillary closed the door as she entered.

"So? How did it go?"

"Oh, Hilly, he is becoming such a sweet angel. I am having a hard time believing that that pretty little girl is Andy. I hope that this all works out the way that Dr Perez says it will. I mean, I don't need him to be a cowed little girl, but a more thoughtful and cooperative partner would sure be nice!"

"I know what you mean, Mo. I am so impressed with Dr Perez and how she gets men to do what they should be doing already. You know, I heard about a couple in Canada that was having a very severe problem, similar to yours, and the wife got in touch with Dr Perez and she was able..."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and one of the paralegals ducked her head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms Green, but there is a police officer on the phone for you. It sounds important. Something about your daughter."

"My daughter!! Thank you Grace!" Then to Hillary, she said, "Oh, my God! Karen..."

Both Maureen and Hillary leaned in quickly as Maureen hit the flashing extension light on the office phone and put the call on speaker.

"This is Maureen Green. How can I help you?"

"Oh, hello, Ms Green," the disembodied voice came through the speaker. "This is officer James Randall of the Maywood Police Department. How are you today, ma'am?"

"I'm fine, officer, but I am very concerned. Did something happen to my daughter, Karen."

The officer took a beat to organize himself. "Well, ma'am, no. There is no problem with your daughter, Karen. This is about your daughter, Annie."

"Annie?" Maureen and Hillary exchanged confused looks.

"Yes, ma'am. It seems that Annie was trying to make some purchases at a local store using your husband's credit cards. When the store clerk refused to accept the card, your little Annie made quite a scene and threatened to, among other things, 'sue the ass' off of the clerk. When the clerk refused to return the cards to your daughter, well, suffice it to say that things got even worse."

"Excuse me, Officer," Hillary interrupted. "I am Ms Green's attorney. Could you please describe Annie for us."

"Ok... I'd say she's about five feet tall, maybe a little less, long blonde hair and, well, she's a real good looking young lady."

"Son of a bitch!" Maureen mouthed to Hillary.

"What, exactly, was Annie doing that caused you to take her into custody, officer?" Hillary asked the speaker phone.

"Well, ma'am, she was trying to buy about six hundred dollars worth of boys clothing at Arturo's Men's Wear using her father's credit card. It seems that Arturo knows your client's husband and when he tried to get a hold of him, young Miss Annie, here, became angry and started screaming and knocking over displays at the shop.

"That's Annie, alright," said Hillary. "We'll be there in about a halfhour. Thank you, officer."

It had been a long and silent ride from the police station back to their house. Andrew was not happy to have seen Hillary with Maureen and he was even less happy that she had followed them back to the house.

When they pulled into the garage, Hillary was right behind them. She entered the garage and waited while Maureen unlocked the door to the house.

They entered the kitchen and Maureen pointed to a kitchen chair. "Sit there."

He did.

Hillary put her purse on the counter and faced Andrew. She was very angry, he could tell.

Maureen came and stood beside her friend. "Well, young lady, what have you got to say for yourself."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

She shook her head. "Sorry's not nearly good enough, little girl. I know that you look like a child, but damn it all, Andy, you know better than to put yourself into a situation like that. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wanted a suit."

"What?" Maureen said.

Hillary laughed, "Did you say a suit? This was all over a suit?"

"Why, Andy? Why did you want a suit?" Maureen asked.

He sighed. "I got an email from Carolyn and she said I needed to get to the office. I couldn't possibly go like this, so I wanted to buy a suit. That's all."

"That's all!?" Maureen shouted. "That's all, he says," she said to Hillary. "Alright, Andrew, I need to think about your punishment, so go on up to the guest room and I'll call you when I'm ready."

"Punishment!? Maureen, I'm a grown man..."

"A grown man!? Andrew, you acted like a spoilt child before all of this, not a grown man, and I have got to say that I am very, very, very disappointed in you. Imagine what it's like to get a call from the police about my daughter! I thought that Karen had been hurt or worse. My heart nearly stopped then I find out that it's my pig-headed husband doing something that he was expressly told NOT to do. You're acting younger than the child that you appear to be and, since you are acting like a child, there will be consequences."

"Mo, please..."

"Upstairs, little girl, and I mean right this very moment or you'll be sorrier about talking back to me than you can imagine."

Her anger scared him to his core, so he scurried out of the room and up the stairs.

"We've got to make sure that someone is watching him at all times, Mo," Andrew could hear Hillary talking as he climbed the stairs, "he could get into a lot of trouble walking around in the body of a child with the stubborn attitude of a 41 year old guy like Andrew."

"I know, but I can't miss work and Karen's in school..." the voices were hushed as he closed the door and laid down on the bed. He cuddled up to a pillow and, within minutes, he fell asleep in the middle of the day.

"Andy. Andy, honey, wake up. I need to talk to you." Andy had been very sound asleep and the voice seemed to come from a long way away. "Come on, sweetie, I need to you to sit up and listen to me."

He felt hands lifting him up and sitting him on the side of bed. He blinked his eyes and saw Jenny sitting right in front of him. She was smiling and holding his hands in his lap. He blinked some more and glanced around the room to see Hillary beside Jenny, to his right, and Maureen to his left. This couldn't be good.

"Hi, Andy," Jenny said with an almost joyous smile.

"Hi, Jen." He was a little groggy and a bit nervous of facing this tribunal. "Am I in trouble?"

"Well, sweetheart," Jenny maintained her maternal attitude as she spoke, "I guess that the answer to that is Yes and No. You had a very bad day today, didn't you?"

Andrew looked down and nodded, ashamed. "Yes. I didn't mean to, but I got into trouble. Did they tell you about it?"

"They sure did, honey, but let's move on from that, ok?"

He nodded, again.

"Ok, so Momo, Auntie Hillary and I were talking and we came up with a way to keep you busy and keep you safe and out of trouble until you're all better. You want that, too, right, sweetheart?"

He nodded, again.

"Good, sweetie. That's very good. So, starting tomorrow, you're going to be my helper, ok?"

"Your helper? What do you mean, your helper? What will I have to do?"

"You're going to come to school with me, baby, and help me. You can help me with the girls, pass out papers and clean up, make copies... things like that. Won't that be nice? Helping Me with my classroom?"

He shook his head in confusion. "But you teach third graders. I don't know anything about little girls, or teaching."

"Andy," Maureen knelt next to Jenny and smiled at Andrew, "Jenny is being very, very generous. She wants to keep you safe, honey. We all think that this is the best thing for you. You can be helpful and Jenny can be sure that you're safe. After school, you can go back to Jenny's house until Karen can pick you up, then she can look after you until I get home. This is the best idea we have, baby. Do you understand, that?"

He nodded. "I guess."

"Good, Andy," Jenny encouraged, "very good. So, tomorrow morning, Momo is going to bring you to my house at 6:30 in the morning. Sadie and I will help you to get ready and then we'll go to school and you can meet the girls. I know that you're going to be a very big help for me, aren't you."

He nodded. "I'll do my best."

"That's my big girl," Maureen smiled at him.
 
Chapter 7
 
 
Tuesday
 

"Mom, they're here!" Sadie called upstairs from the picture window in the living room. Her Aunt Maureen's car had just pulled up in front of the garage. She had tried not to let her mother see it, but Sadie was very excited about helping her uncle get ready for school.

"I'll be right down, sweetheart." Jenny hollered back. "Please get him dressed as quickly as you can."

"Ok, mom."

The door opened and in came Uncle Andy and Aunt Maureen. Uncle Andy just gave Sadie a nod. Sadie could see that he was nervous about the day ahead, so she walked over to him and took him by his upper arms and rubbed gently.

"Hi, Uncle Andy. Are you doing ok?" She asked looking down at the petite man in front of her. He was wearing a sleeveless, white top with pink flowers on it, and a pink, pleated skirt with a pretty lace trim around the hem.

He shrugged, "I guess. Just... I don't know... nervous, I guess."

"Aww," she giggled a little, "don't worry. I've gone to school with mom a million times. The girls will love you and you'll love them, too." She hugged him and, again, marveled at how small he was, "You'll be fine. I promise. Come on. I'll help you get ready to go to school."

As his niece guided him towards the kitchen, Andrew said, "I thought I was ready."

"No, you need a uniform, Uncle Andy. You do look very pretty, but mom says that anyone at the school who isn't a parent or a staff member has to wear a uniform. No exceptions."

As they disappeared around the corner, Jenny came down the stairs. Her head was titled to the left as she secured an ear ring. "Hi. Is everything ok?"

Maureen laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so. Sadie seems to have everything under control. Did you really get him a uniform?"

Jenny smiled, "Yep. It was one of Sadie's when she was in sixth grade. It should fit ok. We have a little time before we have to leave, so, if she needs to take it in a little, Sadie can handle it. The sewing machine is set up in the mud room, just in case."

"Ok. It sounds like you have everything under control. I'll just pop in and say goodbye before I leave."

When they entered the kitchen, they found Sadie in her grey, high school uniform shirt with a light blue uniform polo shirt helping Andrew into a pristine, white, button up, elementary school uniform shirt. It had a Peter-Pan collar and the long sleeves had just the hint of a feminine puff to them. It was obvious that the uniform had just been ironed. The smell of the iron and spray starch still hung in the air.

As Sadie stood behind her little uncle and slid the blouse up his arms, his pretty little bra and panty set was on display. They were made of matching lace. The panties had a little pink bow in the very front and center of the waistband and the bra had a matching little pink bow centered between Andrews B-cup breasts, which, on his tiny body, stood out proud and perky.

"Oh," Maureen cooed, "I miss this uniform. I loved seeing Karen and Sadie wearing theirs. They were so feminine and just, I don't know, classic, I guess."

"And you're going to be so pretty in yours," as she came over to button up the front of the blouse for her big brother. She smiled down at him, obviously pleased with the fit of the blouse. "We'll leave the top two buttons open. That will look pretty. Sadie, hand me that necklace, please."

Jenny leaned past him, brushing his face with her breast. She'd always been femininely shy around him and was always very proper. Now, she was treating him like one of the girls. It was a little unsettling.

She laced the delicate chain around his neck and leaned around him to fasten it in the rear. "Hold your hair out of the way for me, baby, please."

Andrew reached up and pulled all of his hair to his right shoulder. He knew that it was only because of his height in proportion to his old hair length, but it felt so much longer than before.

Again, Jenny leaned in and once again her breast touched his face. It was just odd. She was so much bigger than him now. Just being treated like a child made him feel like one.

Jenny positioned the small, gold cross that hung from the thin chain on his chest. When he looked down at the pretty little symbol, it seemed to be pointing at the cleavage that was visible below. He knew that his blouse was buttoned high enough that the cleavage would not be visible from almost any other angle, but this ornament seemed to be drawing unnecessary attention to the new, very feminine assets.

"Here, mom," Sadie said, handing her mother a small, plaid garment, "let's get this on him and I'll take in the waist if I need to."

"Ok," said Jenny as she knelt down and held the skirt open in front of Andrew. As Jenny sat back on her feet, Andrew realized that he was only an inch or two taller than her in this position. "Ok, sweetheart, step into your skirt."

He did as he was told and the soft, wool skirt was pulled up to his waist. Sadie fastened it from behind as they both fidgeted with the waist of the garment. He could feel Sadie pulling it tight behind his back. Then she said, "All set," and the skirt was dropped to the floor again and Andrew was told to step out of it.

He glanced over his sister's shoulder to see his wife standing in the doorway watching this whole procedure.

"I know you don't want to hear it, Andy, but you are absolutely adorable. I have to get to the office." She walked towards him, a big smile on her face and kissed his cheek."Now, you be good for Auntie Jenny at school, ok. I want to have a good report at the end of the day."

Andrew looked at Jenny and said, "I don't really have to call you Auntie, do I?"

"Well, honey," Jenny said in her motherly voice, "it wouldn't seem right to have you calling me Jenny at school, would it. Auntie Jenny or Auntie Jen will be fine."

"Ok," he said, but not happy about it.

"Now that I think about it," Maureen said from the table as she organized her keys before leaving, "it probably wouldn't be appropriate for a child your age to call me Maureen, either. Until you recover, I think it would be best for you to call me mom... or mommy if you'd prefer."

Andrew was shocked. This just wasn't right. "Mom? Come on, Mo, that's not not necessary."

"I think it probably is best, sweetheart," Jenny said while stroking his face to keep him calm. "And, Andy, I think that we need to be sure that everyone understands that Andy is short for Andrea instead of Andrew, too. If you need to spell it, you had better spell it A-N-D-IE, ok."

He sighed and nodded.

Maureen was just headed out the door to the kitchen and she heard the sigh. She called back, "Unless you want us to go back to calling you Annie. Your choice," and she headed towards her car.

Andrew looked at His sister. She smiled, "Andie will be just fine, sweetheart."

"All set, mom," Sadie called from the door to the mud room as she shook the stray threads from the skirt. "Ready to try your skirt on again, Uncle Andy?"

He nodded as Jenny said, "Andie, honey. From now on, until he's back to normal, just call her Andie, ok?"

"Ok, mom," Sadie giggled as they pulled the skirt up and fastened it in the rear, "Andie, it is. That's a really pretty bra and panty set you're wearing, Andie. Did Auntie Mo buy that yesterday?"

Andrew shrugged as he stepped into the skirt, again. "I guess so."

As the skirt passed Andrew's panties, Jenny whispered to her brother, "I'm glad that your mommy tucked that little thing away before came over. I didn't want to have to help you with that."

Andrew had no response other than turning red.

Sadie zipped up the back of the skirt while Jenny smoothed it out, taking just a moment to rub down the very front of the skirt. She looked up at Andrew and smiled her motherly smile. "That fits perfectly, Sadie. Andie, thank your cousin, Sadie."

Andrew sighed. "Thank you, Sadie."

"You're very welcome, Andie. Come here and take a seat. Let me fix your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair" he asked as Sadie sat him in a kitchen chair.

"There's nothing wrong with your hair, Andie, but I can help you make prettier."

Sadie removed the hair tie from his hair and it fell around his head in golden strands. As she started brushing, she tried to encourage her little uncle, "You have really pretty hair, Andie. I've always thought so. It could be even prettier with some shaping and style."

Andrew had always enjoyed brushing his own hair, but having Sadie do it for him was lovely.

"I'm going to just put a little curl in it for you so that it looks a little fuller for you, ok?"

He noticed that his niece and sister had very similar ways of speaking. A kind of maternal, sing-song quality that was strangely soothing to him. Funny he'd never noticed it before. Maybe they hadn't used this tone before. He couldn't remember, but he knew he liked it now. "I guess."

The heat of the curling iron made a distinct smell as it burned into his hair. Living with two women, he had, of course smelled that smell many time s before, but this was different. It was his hair. The heat of the iron was very close to him and it gave him strange tingles from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.

"I love doing hair and make-up for my friends, Andie. Aunt Heather, my dad's sister, says that I can come help out in her salon as soon as I'm sixteen. I hate being fourteen. It's like people expect me to be an adult, but I can't get a job, I can't drive, I can't make my own decisions." She huffed as she moved the curling iron around his head. "Everyone always tells me not to grow up too quickly, you know, like you should enjoy being young while you're young. I don't know. I'd like to grow up as quickly as possible, you know?"

"I do."

"At least being in high school, even though I'm just a freshman, they don't treat you like a little kid. I like that."

She brushed his hair and sprayed it lightly with some hairspray. Then she fluffed it just a bit and moved around in front of him to inspect her work. She screwed up her face, obviously dissatisfied with something.

"Close your eyes for a minute, Andie."

From the counter where Jenny was making lunches, Andrew's sister said, "No makeup, Sadie. She's only supposed to be a twelve year old. Sixth graders in Catholic schools aren't allowed to wear makeup."

"Just a little mascara, mom. She has beautiful eyelashes."

"Then she doesn't need mascara, does she?"

Sadie huffed again. "What a waste," she said out loud to herself. "Here," she whispered to Andrew, "make duck lips for me."

She rolled a tube across his lips. "That just lip balm with a tiny hint of pink. The grown ups will never notice and it'll make your lips shine a little." She handed the tube to Andrew instructing him to use it every hour or so. "It'll be our secret." She smiled warmly. This was obviously a big deal for his niece.

"Thank you, Sadie," he said.

"Mom, she's adorable, but we should get her ears pierced if she's going to blend in. I didn't know ant girls in sixth grade who didn't have pierced ears. Even with long hair, it's still noticeable."

Jenny came over and scrutinized the little, pretty man's face and nodded. "You're right. We'll stop at the jewelry store on the way home."

"Yay!" squealed Sadie, genuinely excited. "You'll love it!" she rubbed Andrews upper arms as she literally shook with joy. "You'll feel so grownup and feminine."

He just nodded knowing that A) his opinion on anything was of no interest to anyone at the moment and B) the holes from the piercing would be unnoticeable later and that they'd heal pretty quickly.

"All set?" Jenny asked, placing the last little lunch bag on the kitchen table. "Oh, Sadie, you did such a great job. She is adorable. Andie, I know that this isn't how you want to spend the next month, but there's nothing we can do about that, so you may as well enjoy it.

She smiled as she patted his cheek in sympathy. "If you act like a good girl for me at school and you just behave yourself with Karen and Momo, or rather, your mommy, the month will just fly by and you'll be back to being my big brother again - instead of my niece. Ok?"

"Ok, Jen..."

"Uh, uh, uh!" Jenny frowned and shook her head.

He sighed again, "Ok, Auntie. I'll be a very good girl for you and everyone else. I guess I can do whatever needs to be done for a month."

"That's a good girl," Jenny smiled. "I'm very proud of you."

"So am I, Andy," Sadie beamed at him. "You'll see. It's great being a pretty girl. I love it. The makeup. The clothes. The boys. It's all so wonderful. You'll love it all, just like I do. I bet that a month from now, you won't want to be a man, again."

"Good morning, Carolyn," Maureen smiled at Andrew's secretary as she swept past her and entered Andrew's office.

Carolyn looked up in surprise, "Oh, ummm... Good morning, Mrs Green. Can I help you with something?" Before Carolyn had gotten to her feet, Maureen was already through the door and placing her new briefcase on Andrew's desk.

"As a matter of fact, Carolyn, you help me with quite a bit. First, you can call me Ms Green. Second, you clear all of my husband's paperwork up and forward it to other attorneys in his department. Third, you can find me three paralegals who have experience in public relations and get them to set up tables in your area. Mr Green is going to be out sick for the next four to five weeks and I need a bigger work space, so I'm using this office. Any questions?"

Carolyn shook her head to organize all the information she'd just been given. "Umm... ok, Ms Green, but I spoke with Mr Green yesterday and he said he felt ok and that he'd be in today. So..."

"I seriously doubt that you spoke to my husband yesterday, because, if you had, you'd know by his voice that he is not a well man." Maureen said as she pulled paperwork out of her briefcase, arranging it on the desktop.

"Well, I didn't actually speak to him, but we did exchange emails. He said it was just an allergic reaction to something."

"And that's what it was, Carolyn. Now, please get started on the jobs I gave you. I have a lot to do."

"But, Mrs Green... I'm sorry... Ms Green, five weeks is a long time. He has things on his calendar..."

"I'm sure he does, Carolyn, so give all of that to other lawyers. Please get started now. I have an awful lot to do and very little time to do it. Ok? Thank you, Carolyn." Maureen sat and looked into the center draw, which was the only drawer, in Andrew's desk. There were a few file folders with clients names printed on it and a key ring with two small keys with red plastic heads on it.

"Please take these," Maureen said as she handed the folders to the befuddled secretary.

"Yes, Ms Green."

"And do you know what these keys are for?"

Carolyn looked at them and started to respond, but stopped.

"Carolyn." Maureen said again. "Do you know what these keys open?"

Carolyn shook her head. "No Ms Green. I don't."

"Ok. Thank you. That'll be all for now," and Carolyn watched as Maureen placed the keys into a pocket of her briefcase.

"And who is your big helper, today?" Said an attractive woman in her late thirties or early forties as Andrew entered the school office with his sister to retrieve her mail and sign in for the morning.

"Good morning, Ms McCarthy," Jenny beamed as she placed a hand in the middle of Andrew's back to push him towards the other woman. "This is my niece, Andrea. She will be my helper for a few days. Say hello to Mrs McCarthy, Andie."

The office was fairly crowded and Andrew was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of woman who not only surrounded him, but towered over him.

He raised his eyes to make contact with Mrs McCarthy's eye, but barely reached her chin before he lowered them again. He raised his hand to shake hands with the woman, as he had done when meeting people a million times before. "Good morning, Mrs McCarthy. It's very nice to meet you."

It struck Andrew as odd that the other women in the room let out strange 'aww' sounds as Mrs McCarthy took his hand and very gently shook it. "Well aren't we a big girl?" She laughed. "Very nice to meet you, as well, Miss Andrea and welcome to St Agnes Elementary School. I'm sure you'll be a big help to you aunt and all of our grade three girls."

"Thank you, Mrs McCarthy. I'll try." He replied, stepping back and, without thinking, took Jenny's hand.

There was kind and gentle laughter and a few more 'awws" from the other women.

Another woman came forward and bent low to look Andrew directly in his eyes, an old, teacher maneuver. "You are a very lovely young lady, Andrea. Do you want to be a teacher like your Auntie Jen?"

Andrew didn't know how else to react, so he just nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am. I'd like that."

"Or maybe you could be a principal like me," said Mrs McCarthy. "A smart girl like you can do anything she wants when she grows up, right Andrea?"

Andrew nodded.

"I think she's a little overwhelmed at the moment," Jenny smiled at her colleagues, "And, please, Andrea prefers to be called Andie. She will be in my room, but if anyone needs any help, please come by and grab her. She'll be happy to help out."

"Isn't that sweet," Mrs McCarthy patted Andrew's head. "We love it when Sadie comes in with your aunt. She is great with the littlest ones. Cora, could you use any help in the kindergarten for the next few weeks?"

A very pretty, young woman smiled down at Andrew and bent just a little as she spoke with a condescending tone of voice which would seemed perfectly natural to a real twelve year old girl. "Well, I sure could. Any time that Auntie Jen can spare you, you come on over to the kindergarten and spend some time with your new Auntie Cora. My, but you are a pretty thing. The kindergarten girls would just adore you. Do you like reading to children, Andie?"

Andy shrugged. "I don't know, ma'am. I've never done it before."

Again, the women all giggled and laughed.

"Well, we'll fix that," Cora smiled as she stood and exited the office.

"We need to get to class, too, Andie," Jenny smiled.

It was 6:48 that evening when Maureen came through the front door of Jenny's pleasant home.

"Hi, mom!"

"Hi, Auntie!"

Karen and Sadie were sitting on the living room floor with their books on the coffee table, doing their homework.

Maureen smiled. She loved that Karen and Sadie were close. They were both so smart and so pretty in their own ways. Karen was sleek and athletic like her father and Sadie was curvy and cute as a button like her mother. Strangely enough, Karen's father now looked a lot more like Sadie than Karen. "Hi, girls! Where's our pretty little friend?"

The girls laughed. "She's out in the kitchen with Auntie Jen helping with dinner," Karen smiled and then went back to helping Sadie with her homework.

'Helping with dinner?' Maureen thought. 'This I have to see!'

When she entered the kitchen, she was shocked to see that Andy was wearing a little, blue shirt-dress with a little yellow apron and he was helping to set the table.

"Hi, Mo!" Jenny smiled, happy as could be. "Just get here?"

"Yes and it looks like you two are having a good time." She put down her purse and briefcase and kissed Andrew on the head as he placed silverware on the table. "Hello, young lady. Everything ok?"

Andrew continued his chore, "Hi, Mo... oops... mom. Everything's ok, I guess."

"Your hair is very pretty. Did auntie do that for you?"

"No, mom. Sadie did my hair before school."

Maureen smiled as she wrapped an apron around her waist and started helping with dinner. "So, how was your day, honey?"

"Fine, I guess. I helped Jenn... auntie by making copies and I helped the girls with their work a lot."

Maureen looked to Jenny for confirmation. Jenny nodded.

Maureen was very pleased. "Very good, honey. Did you do anything else?"

Andrew placed the last fork on the table and thought for a moment. "I helped out in the kindergarten for a couple of hours too."

Now shocked, Maureen turned wide-eyed to her sister-in-law who explained, "That's right. She went down to do Reading Time with the babies and she was there for at least two hours. Here," Jenny pulled out her phone, "Cora, the kindergarten teacher, took these and sent them to me."

She scrolled through six pictures. In each, Andy was sitting on the floor with a group of little girls. Andy in his big-girl uniform and each of the girls in their little-girl uniforms. It was an absolutely precious scene. Maureen smiled and her heart melted. She didn't want to say anything to embarrass Andrew, so she just looked at Jenny and mouthed, 'Oh, my goodness.'

Jenny mouthed back, 'I know.'

"Did you do anything else?" Maureen asked, knowingly.

"No," he said as he brought a bowl of potatoes to the table.

"Really? Huh? I heard that you and Sadie and auntie stopped at the mall on the way home. Did auntie buy you that dress?"

Andrew nodded.

"I hope that you thanked auntie for being so generous."

"Oh, she did," Jenny giggled. I don't think she loves her uniform, but that will change. When we got home, I made it clear that she would have to iron her clothes to get them ready for the next day, so she got changed and did her own ironing. Just like a big girl."

"Very good, baby," Maureen said. "Take off your apron so mommy can see it."

Andrew untied the apron and turned so Maureen could see him. It was a simple dress. Almost like a long, tee-shirt tunic. Light, marked blue with five pretty buttons leading from his chin to his perky breasts.

"Oh, how adorable. Did you pick it out yourself?"

He nodded as he folded his apron.

"And there's one more thing," Jenny teased as if Maureen didn't already know. "Come show your mommy, sweetie."

Andrew came to Maureen and pulled his hair back so that it was behind his ears. Protruding from his ear lobes were two tiny, adorable little pink-glass earrings.

"Oh, those are just precious, Andie. Don't you just love them?" His wife gushed.

Andrew shrugged.

"Oh, Jen, thank you so much. My little girl is growing up so fast. Look how pretty she had gotten in just one day!"

"Supper's ready!" Jenny called to the living room as she pulled five chicken cordon-bleu out of the oven. She placed the food on the table and turned to Maureen. "I have to tell you, Mo, Andie was a perfect angel all day, today. She did everything I asked her to do and she only shed a few tears when she got her ears pierced. I haven't spent an entire day with my big brother since he was twenty-two years old and I loved every minute of it - even if he's my adorable little niece, now. Also, I have to say, my principal was very taken with her. She calls her 'Miss Andrea' and tomorrow, Miss Andrea will be helping her organize everything for the spring field day from 9:30-11:00. She says that Miss Andrea is the prettiest thing she's ever seen and that, if she'd had a daughter, she'd want her to be just like Andrea."

Karen and Sadie on opposite sides of the table, while Maureen and Jenny sat at the ends.

"Come sit by me, daddy," Karen patted the empty chair to her left.

"Oh, come on, Karen," Maureen teased. "Does that pretty, little thing look at all like your daddy? Or anyone else's daddy, for that matter?"

"I guess not," Karen smiled, watching her little father tuck the bottom of his dress under him rear end as he sat in the proffered chair.

"She's just Andie for now." Maureen said.

"Maureen," Jenny asked as she took one ok Sadie's hands and one of Andrews, "would you like to say grace?"

"I would be happy to."

Andrew's nightie this evening was a pretty, banana yellow sheath that hung loosely from his shoulders to mid-thigh. He was seated on their bed watching TV with his legs tucked neatly under his rear-end when Maureen came out of the master bathroom. God, he looked so cute and knowing that there was a man in that tiny body was just so... hot. Perky little breasts and a perfect, little penis. What more could you ask for?

She pulled down the bedclothes and climbed in, inviting Andrew to join her. She laid on her back and pulled Andrew to lay with his head on her right breast.

"It's not so bad, is it sweetheart?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I guess not. At least I feel useful helping at Jen's school."

"Auntie's school, dear."

"Auntie's school, then."

"That's nice, baby. Sweet dreams, sugar."

"Sweet dreams, mommy."

For at least the fourth time today, Maureen's heart melted.
 
Chapter 8
 
 
Thursday - 9 days later
 

Andrew's life had become a new routine. Everyday, he woke and dressed in a clean, casual dress and had breakfast with Karen and Maureen before being driven to Jenny's where Sadie would delight in doing his hair and adding just a touch of makeup every morning. Then he'd put on his school uniform.

At school, he found that he really enjoyed working with the kindergartners and with Mrs McCarthy and that was mostly for the same reason. The babies looked up to him and loved to ask him lots of questions. They would cuddle next to him and sit on his lap while he read books to them. When he worked with Mrs McCarthy, she would give him real, although not overly taxing, jobs to do, then leave him alone to accomplish them. In short, he felt responsible when he was with the babies or with the principal. No one in his family treated him like an adult. Even if Mrs McCarthy didn't treat him like an adult, she at least treated him like an intelligent young woman. That felt good.

Today, Andrew was in the office, placing paperwork into the appropriate teacher mailboxes when he heard Mrs McCarthy's voice behind him, "Well, good afternoon, Miss Andrea. Is everything going well, today?"

He answered, "Yes, ma'am," as he turned, but he was surprised to see Jenny standing with the principal. After all, Jenny had a class right now. Also, she was grinning, which made him wonder what was going on.

"Miss Andrea, would you please join your auntie and me in my office for a few minutes?" She smiled broadly and indicated the door to her office.

Andrew glanced at his sister who smiled and nodded, indicating that he should lead the way into the office. He looked confused and concerned as he walked into the small, organized office with his sister and Mrs McCarthy following close behind.

"Please take a seat, Miss Andrea. There's something I'd like to discuss with you." Mrs McCarthy moved behind her desk and sat, tucking her skirt as she did.

Andrew pulled himself up into a chair and sat with his legs not touching the floor. He sat upright with his back not touching the back of the chair and his legs crossed at the ankles, just as he'd been taught for the past week and a half. Jenny sat beside him and took his hand in hers.

Andrew looked from his sister to the principal and felt very small and vulnerable.

"Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I'm really sorry if I did something wrong," after everything that he'd been through, he was genuinely petrified of upsetting anyone that may be able to make his life miserable until his recovery. He liked being responsible for little things around the office and didn't want to lose that privilege.

There was a moment of silence before both women broke into laughter.

"Oh, my goodness, no, Miss Andrea. You are most certainly NOT in any trouble. As a matter of fact, I am finding you to be one of the most extraordinary young women I have ever met and that is the reason I asked your aunt if we could have this little chat."

Andrew was relieved, but still confused.

"Actually, sweetie, Mrs McCarthy has a very special favor to ask you," Jenny spoke in that sing-song voice again and she rubbed his hand in hers. It made him feel better. He looked to Mrs McCarthy expectantly.

"Well, Miss Andrea, as I was saying, I think you are a very extraordinary girl. I see intellect in you that is far beyond most twelve year olds. Not only that, but you are one of the most attractive young ladies I have ever met. I suppose that should not surprise me, though, since you are Sadie's cousin and she was almost as beautiful as you at your age.'

'Anyway, I do have a favor to ask of you. You see, my son, Patrick, is also an extraordinary young person. He is also twelve years old, but he is a freshman in high school because he skipped several grades along the way. Now, Patrick is very bright, particularly when it comes to computers, but he is also a track team star and a member of the student council at his school. Here is a picture of Pat."

Mrs McCarthy held up a photo of a good looking young man with reddish hair and just enough freckles to make him look like a Norman Rockwell painting.

"Isn't he handsome, Andie?" asked Jenny.

He nodded because it was true. He was a handsome young man. "Yes, Mrs McCarthy. He is very handsome."

"Well, I am glad that you think so, Miss Andrea, because the favor involves Patrick, too. You see, although he is a very gifted student, it is difficult for him to be in school with so many people who are not his age. Can you understand how that must feel?"

Andrew certainly could understand that. "Yes, ma'am, I can imagine how hard that must be for Patrick."

"I knew you would have the emotional intelligence to understand, Miss Andrea. You are a very special little girl."

"What do you say, Andie?" Jenny asked him.

"Thank you, Mrs McCarthy."

"You're very welcome, Miss Andrea. Now, for the big question. Patrick has a formal banquet coming up two weeks from tomorrow, on the twenty third. All the other kids are bringing dates and I was wondering if you'd be willing to be Patrick's date for the evening."

Andrew felt flushed and confused. She was trying to set him up on a date with her son!

Andrew looked to Jenny who smiled and nodded, but Andrew felt as if he was in a free fall. As if the tightrope he'd been walking for the past two weeks had just snapped and he was plummeting towards oblivion.

Suddenly, he had an idea. "I would be very happy to accompany Patrick, Mrs McCarthy, but I am afraid that I will not be staying with my Auntie Jen on the twenty-eighth. I will have returned home by then."

He was actually a little proud of coming up with this response.

"Oh, I see..." Mrs McCarthy said before Jenny jumped in.

"No, no, baby. You're not leaving until the third at the earliest."

He felt the trap snap shut, again. The third? That was cutting everything pretty close. Andrew took in a sharp gulp of air and held it as he struggled to come up with anything to say.

"Well, then," Mrs McCarthy smiled, "what do you say, Miss Andrea?"

"Oh, don't be silly," Jenny said with more glee than Andrew deemed necessary. "The opportunity for a girl her age to get all dolled up in a new dress and big-girl makeup...? Of course she wants to go. I'm sure that she's just nervous about going on her first date. Tell Mrs McCarthy that you'll go to the party, Andie."

Andrew stared at his sister in disbelief. He shook his head almost imperceptibly and widened his eyes to beg for help, but he could tell that Jenny was too caught up in the idea of shopping for a dress and preparing him for the dance to let this opportunity pass her by.

"Andrea... tell Mrs McCarthy that you'd be thrilled to go to the banquet with Patrick."

He turned to Mrs McCarthy, the heat of anxiety creating a bead of sweat around around his bra band. His lips were tingling. He licked them, but could think of nothing he could say that would get him out of this ness. Nothing came to mind, so he said, "Thank you, Mrs McCarthy. I would love to be Patrick's date for the banquet."

"Wonderful!" Mrs McCarthy clapped her hands. "This is wonderful. You'll love Patrick. I swear that you two were made for each other. Let's get you two acquainted before the party. I was thinking that you two should do some kind of an activity so you could get to know each other. How about bowling on Saturday afternoon. I'll come by your place with Pat at around 2:00 on Saturday to pick you up. Does that work for everyone?"

Andrew gave a resigned nod.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!!" Jessy squealed she bounced in her seat.

"Oh, do stop sulking, Andie. You have an opportunity to experience the excitement of getting completely dolled up to go to a banquet - and as a beautiful young lady! Andie, you're going to love it! I don't understand why you are taking this attitude," Jenny lectured while looking into the rear view mirror of her minivan at what appeared to be an angry, very young woman in the back seat who sat with arms crossed and shoulders tensed.

"Mom's right, Andie," Sadie said as she looked around the back of the passenger seat of the minivan. "I know it seems like a lot, but once you start shopping for a dress and thinking about your makeup, your going to love it. Besides, Patrick is a really nice boy. Kind of shy, but that's because he's so much younger than his classmates. Honestly, he's a nice boy."

"Sadie! Jenny!..."

"Uh, uh, uh! It's Auntie Jenny at all times, young lady."

Andrew growled in frustration. "Alright, 'Auntie Jenny,' I don't care if he's a nice boy or not. You still arranged for me to go on a date with a boy. Can't you see how wrong this is!?"

"Oh, Andie, please!" Jenny laughed. "You're accompanying a shy, nerdy twelve year old boy. I wouldn't exactly call It a date. "

"Seriously, Andie," Sadie's smile was broad and sincere, "you're going to love it."

After nearly a solid minute of silence from the backseat, there came a defiant mumble, "I'm not doing it."

Sadie turned to reengage in the argument, but Jenny shook her head. "We'll talk fave-to-face when we get home. I think she'll understand things better when her mommy is there to help explain thing to her."

"Now, honey," Maureen cooed as she gently circled Andrew's right nipple through the gauzy fabric of his soft, yellow nightie, "remember how much fun I had with Karen when she was your age and got invited to events like this? I loved getting her all gussied up in her prettiest clothes and helping her look like a lady. It was so much fun, remember."

Andrew laid back on their king sized mattress, his eyes were closed as he breathed heavily and concentrated on the feelings in his tender breast. "I remember," he whispered through labored shivers.

"Well, baby, that's all that this is, ok? Just a chance to dress my newest little girl up for a fancy night out, ok?"

Andrew wanted to agree because he didn't want Maureen to stop playing with his nipple, but he needed to say something. "It's just... It's just that, well, it's just that it's with a guy..."

Maureen leaned down to nibble his nipple through the soft, sheer fabric. She gently kissed the exposed flesh of his upper breast, then his chin and his cheek. Then she whispered, "He's just a sweet innocent little boy. Nothing is going to happen. His mother will pick you up here, take you to the party and take you right back home. Everything will be safe and sweet. Ok?"

He began to grind his groin into the air as his breathing picked up tempo.

"And, besides, I am the breadwinner for the time being and, as you always used to say, 'If you're not paying it, you've got no say in it.' So..." with her free hand, she took his hand and guided it towards the area where his legs met and his shrunken and youthened penis was tucked into his panties. She coaxed his movements until he was rubbing that area briskly, "you'll do this for me and for Jenny so that she isn't embarrassed in front of her principal, right? You'll be mommy's good girl and be Patrick's pretty, perfect little date, right?"

His senses were overwhelmed, but he did not respond. Maureen grabbed the hand that was rubbing his penis and held it in place. "Say yes and I'll let you finish," she giggled in his ear.

He didn't want to, but he whispered it. "Yes."

Maureen let go of his hand and allowed himself to continue to masturbate. She smiled as she leaned down and suckled his nipple one more time. "That's a good little girl,"she whispered. "That's mommy's good, little baby." She used her tongue to maneuver the gentle elastic and lace bust-line of his nightie to the side, exposing his perfect, perky, feminine breast. "So, so beautiful," she whispered, more to herself than to her cute little partner, as she took the nipple into her mouth and sucked and licked Andie to a massive, exciting orgasm.

She leaned back and looked at him, as his breathing normalized. She smiled down at him. "Did that feel nice?" She asked with the same tone of voice that a mother would use when speaking to a child.

He nodded.

"Good. Now, be a good girl and give mommy a kiss, then go take off those icky panties, wash off your hoo-hoo and put on a clean pair and a clean nightie as well. Put all the dirty things in the hamper, like a big girl, and jump back into bed so that mommy can cuddle with you until you fall asleep."

Andrew sat up, smiled as he kissed Maureen's cheek, then scooted out of bed and hustled to the master bath.

"You are truly beautiful, Andrea. You are going to look gorgeous at the banquet." It was the first time that Maureen had called him Andrea, but he didn't even notice as he set about following her instructions.

'I could get used to this,' Maureen thought as she pulled the bed sheet back up around her.
 
Chapter 9
 
 
Saturday
 

"My goodness!" The sales lady called out, "is that little Karen Green all grown up an looking so beautiful!?"

Karen blushed at the attention. "Good morning, Miss Granby. How are you?"

"And who is that with you?" the fifty-ish woman enthused. "Is that your beautiful cousin Sadie?"

Now, Sadie blushed at the attention. "Hi, Miss Granby. It's good to see you."

Miss Granby hugged each of the girls, then looked the child standing between them. "And who is this gorgeous creature?"

Karen and Sadie grinned as they looked at their father/uncle.

"This is our cousin, Andrea, Miss Granby," Karen explained. "She is visiting us for a few weeks and she has been invited to a formal banquet. We're hoping the you can find her something that she'll look beautiful in for that night."

Miss Granby looked directly and uncomfortably into his eyes, touched his cheek and said, "Well, that will be easy. You are just beautiful as you are, pumpkin. Any thing we add will just be gilding the lily., but that's what I do."

Miss Granby continued looking at him for an uncomfortable moment, examining his face. "Your cousin, you say. My goodness, you three look so much alike that you could all be sisters. You're all just the spit and image of your father, Karen, but you, little Andrea, you look exactly like him. It is uncanny."

Andrew was shaking. Had she figured it out? How could she? No one ever did this before, had they!? He had been in this store dozens of times when Karen was younger, but he didn't think that he'd said twenty words to the owner. How could she know!?

He was relieved when he heard Maureen's voice from behind him.

"You're not the first to say that, Eva. Andrea was named for Andrew and she is growing up to be just like him. Isn't she just adorable, though?"

"Maureen!" Miss Granby hugged Andrew's wife. "It's been ages since Karen needed a shop for juniors. I'm so glad that you found a reason to come back and see me. I thought that Karen would be picking out the dresses today."

Maureen laughed along with the shopkeeper. "Well, Karen and Sadie probably will have the last say, today. They know more about fashions than Jenny and I do."

"Is Jenny coming too? Oh how nice!" Miss Granby clapped her hands.

"Yes, she'll be right in. We stopped for breakfast and we sent the girls along to see you while Jenny and I finished our coffee. Jenny went back to the car for a moment. The girls are so excited! Sadie and Karen are more excited than little Andrea. She's a bit overwhelmed, I'm afraid. First date with a boy and all."

"Oh, how sweet!" Miss Granby clutched her heart in sentimental affection. "Well, Karen and Sadie will take good care of her."

By now, the cousins had led Andrew to racks of bright, shiny, feminine dress and were holding dress after dress up to his body to check colors and styles. Maureen's heart melted as she watched. It's too bad that it took something this drastic to get Andrew to spend time with his own daughter, but at least they'd have this time to cherish when he was back to his old self. Hopefully, this may teach him a lesson or two about how to treat people.

As they watched, they felt a breeze from the door opening. They turned and saw Jenny entering. Maureen put her finger to her lips, "Shh. Just look at this scene. Isn't it just precious?"

Jenny peered over the racks to see her niece and daughter holding beautiful dress after beautiful dress up against her big brother's tiny body. "Oh, my. That is sweet. It's like they have their own, life-sized Barbie doll to dress up and get ready for a date with Ken. If nothing else, Andrea is going to learn a lot about being girly in the next couple of weeks."

Maureen scoffed just a little and said, "That will have to be Sadie's department. Karen has always been such a tomboy."

"Oh, stop," Jenny teased as she gave her sister-in-law a light tap on the arm. "Karen is a bit of a jock, but she knows how to turn on the glamor when she wants to. I saw her prom picture. She knows how to get a boy's attention and now she can share all of her skill with little Andie."

"Andie?" Eva asked.

"That's Andrea's nickname. Just like her uncle."

"Oh, how nice," Mis Granby swooned as they joined the girls in the racks.

"If it's going to be pink," Miss Granby said, "then it needs to be a bright, electric pink or it will not look nice with her snowy complexion. I'd recommend a rose or a pretty lavender for that skin tone. Of course, with those eyes, blue is always going to be pretty, too. Here. Try this one on, please."

Eva's expert eye had settled on a medium blue, short skirted dress with a subtle, crepe and lace bodice and a built in petticoat that gave the skirt a slight bell-shape even on the hanger. The neck-line was a vneck with a small embroidery of flowers at its base. The medium width shoulder straps were just the crepe material with a lighter blue

"Oh, that is darling!" both Maureen and Jenny agreed. "Do try it on, baby."

It was the moment that he had been dreading, but it was made much worse when Maureen casually added, "Karen and Sadie, please give her a hand in the dressing room while I look at shoes."

Andrew was led to the dressing room and all three of them stepped inside. As he stood confused, Karen took over like a babysitter with a toddler. She turned him away from her and slid the zipper on the back of his modest, casual dress to the bottom of the track, leaving him in just his bra, panties and flip flops.

"Here, daddy... oops, Andie, just step carefully into the dress."

Karen held the dress low to the ground so that he could step in. As she started to lift it, she stopped. She noticed that (A) her little father was shivering and (B) there was a distinct bulge in his panties with which she needed to deal before sending him out onto the floor to face Miss Granby's inspection of every aspect of his dress.

"Andie," Karen said, but Andrew just shook and stared into space. "Andie? Andie? Daddy?"

Nothing.

Karen knelt in front of him and took his hands in hers, then spoke to him as if she was his babysitter. "Andie. Look at me, honey." He continued to shake as she brushed his hair back gently from his face.

"Andie, honey. I need you to focus for me, baby, ok?"

Andrew blinked and gave a little nod.

"You don't want to upset mommy or Auntie Jenny, now, do you?"

He shook his head and began to weep a little.

"It's ok, baby. No one is mad at you just take a big breath and relax."

Andrew took a deep breath and let it out.

"That's it, sweetie. Do that again."

As he did, Sadie played with his hair, kissed the top of his head and laid hers on top of his in an affectionate hug. "Good girl. You'll look so pretty. Everyone will think you're beautiful."

"That's right, honey," Karen continued. "Everyone will see how beautiful you are and mommy will be so proud. You want mommy to be proud of you, don't you?"

He took another deep breath and nodded again.

"That's a good girl," Karen continued to talk as if to a child. "Now, show me a smile."

He managed a small smile as Karen wiped the tears from his cheeks. "That's it. That's a big girl."

Andrew breathed deeply and let out a big sigh as his smile grew bigger and he began to relax. He could do this if it made everyone happy. He just had to ride this out until he was back to his old self.

"Now, honey," Karen's smile remained steady and comforting, "I need you to tuck yourself in before we pull on your dress, ok?"

Andrew was confused. He was wearing a bra and panties. He had nothing to tuck in. He was about to ask what she meant when Miss Granby's voice called in from outside the door, "Is everything ok in there?"

"Just fine," Sadie answered. "We'll be out in a second."

Then she turned to her cousin and said, "Just tuck her in. We have to get her out there."

Andrew looked at Sadie, still confused, as he felt Karen pull the waistband of his panties and reach her hand in to tuck his penis firmly between his legs. There was nothing sexual or exciting about it. It was just startling. Not only having someone else, his daughter, no less, handle his penis, but the size of her hand as she gently maneuvered him into position, drove home how little he was in proportion to his high school-student daughter. He felt like crying again, but - no - he was almost halfway through this. He could survive this and come out stronger on the other end. When he had his own life back, then he would be in charge, again. He had his own plans for then. All he had to do for now was to breathe and get through it all. 'Smile, Drew. You can do this,' he thought to himself.

He stepped into the dress and Karen pulled it up and settled it onto his shoulders while Sadie pulled the zipper up his back. It felt nice. Nicer than anything he'd ever worn, actually. It was soft and light flattered his feminine form in a truly lovely manner.

"Oh, that's so pretty," Sadie sighed.

"Oh, daddy," Karen's grin was huge, "you make a very pretty, little girl. You are going to break that little boy's heart in this dress."

"Here she comes!" Sadie announced as she opened the dressing room door. Both she and Karen stood like models on The Price is Right, one on each side of the door, with their center arms extended towards the center and their outer arm held head high as Andrew walked out to the cheers and applause of his wife, his sister and Miss Granby. The oohs and ahhs were deafening.

"Oh, that's just perfect!" Maureen said.

"On, Andie, oh, Andie..." Jenny kept repeating as she wiped happy tears from her eyes. "You're just so beautiful, baby."

"Oh, yes, that'll do just fine," Miss Granby said as she snatched a pair of white, kitten-heeled sandals from Maureen and knelt to put them onto Andrew's feet. While she was kneeling, reached up under the dress to fluff the petticoats and straighten everything out. Her hand brushed against Andrew's crotch several times. He was glad that Karen had tucked him away in the dressing room.

"Turn around, dear," Miss Granby ordered, but the words were merely a curtesy since she had already grabbed his shoulder and turned him towards his daughter, who's grin was still huge.

Andrew's eyes shot wide open as Miss Granby lifted the back of the dress up high to expose his panty clad bottom to everyone, including several mother's and daughters who had come into the store while he was in the dressing room. No one seemed at all shocked by this behavior. Evidently, woman were more casual about showing off their panties in public than men were about dropping their pants.

"Until her bottom fills out to match her top," Miss Granby said, touching his rear for emphasis, "a little petticoat helps to give her a more mature profile." She turned Andrew back around to face her and said, "Don't worry, honey, you've got all the right genetics. You're going to be a beautiful woman."

'God forbid!' Andrew thought as Maureen led him to a small platform with three mirrors that allowed him to see himself and the dress from three different angles. He had to admit, it was a lovely dress and it did look nice on him. Oh, well. It was just one night.

After Karen and Sadie brought him into the dressing room, stripped the dress off of him and redressed him in the clothes he had worn to the store, they all moved to the register to pay for the dress and shoes. Andrew was relieved that the shopping day had been quick and moderately painless.

Jenny grabbed the shoe box, Maureen grabbed the garment bag and they headed for the door. As they reached the sidewalk, Andrew turned left, heading to their car, but the rest of them all turned right.

"Andie, sweetie," Karen called to him, "this way."

Andrew knew where the car was, so this confused him. "Where are we going. We got the dress and shoes for the banquet, right"

The girls and woman laughed. Sadie spoke first, "Yes, silly, we got your dress for the banquet, but you need something for your date with Patrick, today."

"Can't I just wear this?" he asked.

That just made them all laugh more.

Karen and Sadie both put their arms around him and guided him towards a casual clothing store down the street. "No, sweetie," Karen laughed, "you want to impress a boy when you're on a date. We need to find you something pretty that you can go bowling in, as well."

He just sighed and followed his wife and sister down the street while his niece and daughter walked on either side of him and explained to him the nuisances of a successful first date.

At 2:00 on the dot, Mrs McCarthy's Lexus SUV pulled into Jenny's driveway. Sadie and Karen had dressed Andrew in his new, blue, flowered romper. It was very comfortable, too, and it was the closest thing to pants that he'd worn in the past few weeks. It was a lot shorter than he would have preferred but Karen said he looked really cute in it, so that was that.

Sadie had done some work on his hair, making it more full and more a little wavy. She'd also taken two strands of hair, one from each temple, and created a braid in back to keep his hair from falling into his eyes when he was bowling. A tiny bit of eyeshadow, a tiny bit of blush and a soft pink lipstick completed his look. When he'd checked his look in the mirror, the only word to describe him was 'cute.'

"Knock, knock," Mrs McCarthy called as she came in through the unlocked storm door. "I've brought a handsome prince to meet his princess!"

The joy in Mrs McCarthy's face was reflected in an equal and opposite emotion on her son's face.

"Mom, please," Patrick begged quietly while slumping just a bit more than he had been as he entered the house, "you're embarrassing everyone." The boy looked so put upon that Andrew actually felt bad for him.

"Oh, stop," she joked. "Everyone else is more excited than you, Patrick. Come one in and say hello."

"Hi, Pat!" Sadie called as she skipped to the entry to greet the guests. "You look nice!" She complimented him as she tried to get him to relax.

Patrick was wearing a green polo shirt and beige chinos. Nothing fancy. Just neat and clean.

"Hi, Sadie. Thanks"

Mrs McCarthy waved and walked towards the kitchen to talk to the moms.

"You know my cousin, Karen," Sadie took over as host of the younger folks.

"Hi, Pat," Karen smiled her approval of the boy.

"Hey," Pat replied.

"And this," Sadie ran to Andrew and took him by the hand, then ran quickly back to Patrick, dragging Andrew along, "is my cousin Andrea. Say hi, Andrea."

Both Patrick and Andrew looked shy and embarrassed to be put on the spot, but both were pleased with the look of the other. Andrew thought that Pat looked like a good kid. Good looking for a twelve year old, in a bit of a bookish kind of way. He was taller than Andrew had expected. He was a good couple of inches taller than his mother, probable five foot-seven or so. Patrick was shocked to see how cute Andrea was. He expected a homely little sixth-grader. She was a really pretty girl.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Little smiles creeped across both of their faces as the awkwardness of the first meeting passed. Then another awkwardness developed as neither could think of anything to say.

"Umm, is that for Andie?" Karen asked, indicating a small card and gift in Patrick's hand.

Patrick, who had been staring at Andrew, relieved that his mom had found such a cute girl to go to the banquet with him, was startled out of his revery. "Oh, yeah, it is. Sorry. Um, Andrea, this is for you."

"Aww, isn't that sweet, Andie?" Sadie gushed. "You should say thank you, Andie."

Andrew knew that whatever was in the little box was probably Mrs McCarthy's idea, but watching Patrick struggling to stay cool, was just adorable, so he smiled broadly and said, "Thank you, Patrick. That's very nice of you."

"Please, call me Pat."

"Ok, but you have to call me Andie."

They both smiled, nodded and giggled a little.

Andrew opened the card which read, 'Dear, Andrea. Thank you very much for accompanying me to my banquet. I hope that you will enjoy the event. It should be fun. Sincerely, Pat."

Andrew smiled and closed the card. He intended to put it back in the envelop, but Karen grabbed it from him. "Oh, come on. Let us see." She and Sadie read it together and let out yet another, "Aww." Both Andrew and Patrick rolled their eyes at the girls.

The wrapping paper was meticulously folded and taped around the small box. Andrew opened it carefully and pulled the small box from the paper. It looked like the box contained jewelry, but, when Andrew pulled open the top, he found eight small pieces of chocolate. He raised his eyes to meet Patrick's as a genuine smile appeared on Andrew's face.

"I hope you like them. They're sea-salt caramels dipped in either milk chocolate or dark chocolate. They're my favorite. I always like something sweet when I'm nervous, so I thought that you might like some thing like this if your aunt was stressing you out the way my mom is stressing me out." Patrick's smile was warm and sincere.

Andrew was truly touched by this gift. This was the gift of a thoughtful twelve year old boy. His mother hadn't picked it out for him. This was a heartfelt gift.

"I love them," Andrew said. "Here, have one. I'm sure you need one, too."

Andrew held the box open for Patrick, then he took one for himself. They each took a small bite of the salty-sweet candy and smiled as it began to melt in their mouths.

As the box's cover was being replaced, Karen and Sadie both cleared their throats. "Ahem," they both mocked and put their hands out, requesting a chocolate.

"Not on your life," Andrew laughed. "This is ours. We're taking it with us, right, Pat?" Andrew was actually a bit giddy. It was the first time in a long time that he felt good. We was wearing comfortable clothing that looked good on him, he'd received a lovely and thoughtful gift from a nice young man, he was enjoying time with his daughter and niece, both of whom had made life tolerable for him over the last couple of weeks.

"Whatever you say, Andie." Patrick was thrilled that his little gifts had been so very well received by this pretty little girl. He really liked her.

"Kids," Mrs McCarthy called as she crossed to them, "I've been talking to your aunts, Miss Andrea, and we've added a little something to our agenda today."

"Mom," Patrick was obviously agitated by the intrusion on his conversation.

"Don't worry, Pat, you're still going bowling." She turned to Andrew, "He's a great bowler and he just wants to show off for you, Miss Andrea."

Patrick turned red and smiled shyly at Andrew.

"But, after you go bowling," Mrs McCarthy continued, "why don't you have some dinner at that cute little 1950s themed dinner attached to the bowling alley and then go see a movie at the theater across the parking lot. That comedy that you wanted to see is playing there, Pat, and that way you can make a whole day of it and, next week, when you go to the banquet, you'll be old friends. What do you say?"

Patrick looked expectantly at the pretty little girl beside him. He really wanted her to say yes, but he didn't want to put any more pressure on her than she was already feeling.

For his part, Andrew felt a great deal of apprehension about extending the "date," but he was enjoying himself and, after all, what was going to happen? They were just two kids having a fun day together as friends.

Andrew shrugged his shoulders at Patrick and said, "Sure, if you want to do it. It sounds like fun. What do you say, Pat?"

"Yes!" came out way too quickly and way too loud and it made all the females in the room titter and giggle.

"Alright, then," Mrs McCarthy clapped her hands and said to Andrew, "Let's get going. Miss Andrea, kiss your aunties and cousins goodbye and we'll head to the bowling alley."

Then she turned to her son and said a bit too loudly, "Isn't she just the prettiest thing, Pat? I told you that you two would be just perfect together."

"Holy cow, Pat!" Andrew shouted as they finished their second string of bowling, "You've gotten a strike or a spare on every throw. You really are a great bowler." It was not just flattery. The boy knew his way around a bowling ball. Andrew, who was always a reasonably good bowler before, had a hard time finding, first, the right weight ball, his usual ten-ponder was way to heavy, now, then found that his breasts jiggled oddly when he threw the ball and that threw off his game, too. By the second string, he was doing better, but no where near the level of proficiency that Pat was displaying.

Beyond being shocked as to how well Patrick bowled, Andrew was enjoying himself in a way he hadn't enjoyed himself in a decade or more. No alcohol. No posturing. No bull. Just having fun. He had forgotten that this kind of enjoyment was even possible. As soon as he got back to normal and was able to take care of everything that he had lined up, he was going to make some new friends and have more times like this.

"Thanks!" Patrick was very pleased with how this had all gone. She was pretty and she was a pretty good bowler, for a girl. She was also having a good time with him. Patrick had a lot of friends and some were girls, but, since they started looking more like women than girls, he was a bit uncomfortable being around them. He felt different with Andie, though. "One more string?"

"Sure! Sounds great!"

"Hi, kids! What can I get you?" The waitress in the 1950s themed restaurant said as she sidled up to their red-and-black-Naugahyde booth with the red-Formica-topped table.

"Two burgers with fries and two Cokes." Patrick felt like a grown up, ordering for both of them. Andrew, who had become, honestly, impressed by this bright, polite, handsome young man and remembered what it was like to go out on a first date with a cute girl, decided that, for today, anyway, he'd just play his part.

"You got it, big spender," the waitress teased. "Are you two on your first date?"

Both Andrew and Patrick looked at each other wide-eyed. They had no idea how to respond, so they just giggled until Patrick shook his head and said, "it isn't a real date. We're just getting to know each other."

The waitress winked at them and gave a sly smile. Then she rubbed Andrew's shoulder affectionately and said, "Well, don't let him get to know you too well, sweetie. You know what boys are like."

Both of them turned blood red with embarrassment. Satisfied that she'd made them feel special with her ribbing, the waitress went off to put in their order.

Throughout their dinner, they got to know each other better. Andrew tried to be as vague as possible saying that he lived is a small town a few states away and that, when his parents returned from an extended business trip, he'd be moving far away, possibly another country, depending on the results of their trip. He also implied that his parents would not allow him on social media of any kind, so when he left after the banquet, he was probably gone for good.

"That's too bad," Patrick lamented over their dessert of chocolate milk shakes. "I really like you. You're very easy to talk to. And, you're really pretty, too. I wish we could spend more time together."

"I'm sorry, Pat, but you know how it is for a kid. You do what your parents say. After all, they pay the bills, so they're in charge. My dad always says, 'If you're not paying it, you've got no say in it.'"

"Ha,ha. Yeah, I've heard that a few times before, too. 'I pay the bills around here, Patrick, so you will do as you're told!' But, it's not fair, you know. Grown ups earn the money and all, but we have hopes and dreams, too, right? We should have some say in things."

The words hit Andrew hard. He thought about how many times he'd said 'If you're not paying it, you have no say in it,' to his wife and daughter and how many times Maureen had said it to him in the last few weeks. Maybe he was being a bit of an ass at times, but... Well, what difference did it make at this point. A month from now, he'd be back to normal, Pat will have moved on, Karen and Sadie will have a memory of their little play thing to think back on and Maureen, Hillary and Carolyn... well, they'd probably hate him by then, but so be it. He'd already made his plans. He couldn't let a little time with a boy who didn't understand how the world worked turn his head. It did bother him just a little that Jenny might get hurt by his plans. She'd been really nice to him growing up and, now, with all of these changes, he felt close to her again.

Andrew shook off all of these thoughts. You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

"I know, Pat, I really do, but you'll be a grown up, soon. You'll have kids of your own and you'll look like the bad guy to them. It's the circle of life, I guess."

"I guess," Pat smiled and his gloom and doom disappeared in a heartbeat. "Hey, we should get going if you want to see that movie. It starts in ten minutes."

It was after 9:30 when Mrs McCarthy pulled up in front of Jenny's house and Patrick walked Andrew to the door. It was an awkward good night. Pat wanted to kiss Andie, but his mom was watching from the car and Sadie and Karen were peeking through the curtains. In the end, it was just a little wave and an awkward nod as Andrew entered the house.

Immediately, Karen and Sadie started in. 'Did you have fun?' 'Was he a gentleman?' 'Did he kiss you?' 'Was it romantic?'

"Alright, ladies, leave our little love bird alone. I think she needs to get home and get to bed after such a busy day, right Andie?" Maureen saved him.

"Yes, please. I'm exhausted."

They said their goodbyes and thank you's before heading home.

Andrew took a quick shower with a shower-cap to keep his hair dry. When he came out of the bath, he had a towel wrapped around his upper body and he was looking for the soft, white nightie that he'd neglected to bring in with him.

Maureen was sitting on the bed and, once again, marveled at how small Andrew had become. She was getting very used to this arrangement and she knew that it had to change soon, but she still hoped that this might help Andrew become a better husband again. If he could just stop trying to be in charge of absolutely everything and start paying more attention to his family, then maybe it would all be worth it.

"Come here, sweetheart. I'll help you with your nightie."

Maureen prepared the nightie and Andrew stood in front of her and dutifully dropped the towel. Maureen looked over his body and felt a flash of warm desire. It was easy to forget that there was still a penis below those perky breasts and that there was a fully grown man hidden under all of that cuteness.

She lowered the nightie over his head and straightened it as it settled high of his thighs.

"Here, sit on the bed and let me brush out your hair."

Again, he did as he was told. The hair brush felt wonderful as it slid and pulled through his hair. He closed his eyes and luxuriated in the feeling. He loved this. It was the best part of this whole situation.

"Did you have a good time on your date with Patrick today?"

"I did, actually. He was very pleasant. He's smart and funny and, man, that boy can bowl."

Maureen flushed and smiled. Why did his response make her horny?

"Did he kiss you?"

"Don't be silly. He's just a child."

"Did he hold your hand?"

Andrew hesitated for a moment before responding. Just that hesitation was enough to make Maureen flush even more.

"Umm, yes. He held my hand a few times. Sometimes when we walked and during the movie."

"And did you like that?"

"Mo..."

"Mommy, sweetie."

He sighed. "Mommy... I don't know what you want me to say. I mean, I'm not exactly making tons of friends, lately. I enjoyed having a little freedom with someone that didn't treat me like a child's doll. I didn't dislike holding his hand. It made him very happy and I felt like I had a friend."

Maureen smiled. "A friend, huh?"

He nodded.

"Well, be careful of your new friend, baby. He is a boy and you are a very pretty girl, so don't let temptation make you get carried away."

He knew she was teasing, so he just scoffed.

"I'm serious. I know what it's like to be a young, pretty girl with a big, strong, handsome boy. Eventually, you'll start to fantasize about him touching you like this." Maureen's right hand reached between his arm and torso and gently caressed his right breast. It was completely unexpected and Andrew shivered with delight that his wife was touching him. His little cock, which was nestled, unpantied, in his cute little nightie, stirred immediately.

He let out an excited breath.

"Little girls like you need to always be aware of the desires of their dates. A teeny thing like you couldn't possible defend herself from a big strong boy like Patrick, now could she?"

Her left hand worked its way to his left beast and he leaned back on her breasts, eyes closed, absorbed in the sensations. He leaned back to let rest his head on his wife's shoulder. Both of them were lost in the erotic sensations of the moment.

To Maureen, he felt so small and tender and innocent. His skin felt like a girl's. His breasts felt like a girl's. He smelled like a girl, but she knew that it was Andrew in there. A man that she'd once loved whole heartedly and who she now hoped to be able to love that way again, if he could be a bit more reasonable.

To Andrew, Maureen felt big, and safe, and warm. He'd been feeling very feminine all day, even having some thoughts about what it might be like to kiss a boy. Now, his wife, his lover, and for now, his protector was bringing the most feminine feelings imaginable to him. He wanted more. Much more.

Maureen nuzzled his neck and kissed it softly. She nibbled his pierced ear lobe and rutted softly into his back.

"There's some nice parts to being a girl, isn't there, honey?" She teased.

His eyes remained closed as he nodded.

"Tell me that you like me playing with your nipples."

"I do."

"Tell me."

"I love it when you play with my nipples."

She smiled. She liked this. A lot.

"Tell me you like your pretty nightie."

"I like my pretty nightie."

She increased the speed of her massage.

"Tell me you like being a pretty girl."

"I like being a girl."

"A pretty girl."

"I like being a pretty girl."

Maureen felt her first, subtle orgasm as she started inching one hand towards Andrew's crotch.

"Tell me that that you want to always be mommy's little girl."

He smiled, but said nothing.

Maureen lightly touched the tip of his penis and stroked the underside of the tip very lightly.

"Tell me."

Still, just the smile.

"Tell me, or I'll stop."

Andrew rolled his head to the side and buried it in Maureen's breasts.

"I always want to be mommy's little girl," he said softly.

"That's a good girl," Maureen praised as she rolled him off of her and onto his stomach. She raised the back of his nightie and stoked his cheeks. "So pretty. So, so pretty," she cooed as she slid a finger into his virgin buttocks. He pushed back against the finger and she pressed it in even further. Then she added another finger. Then another.

Andie's moans became louder as the evening wore on.
 
 
To Be Continued...

If You're Not Paying It...: 4 Final

 

Once an attentive husband, Andrew has changed. Now, he's a moody, controlling jerk. Headed
for a divorce, his wife resorts to a radical solution. This is not the sweet/sentimental
kind of story I usually write. Nothing violent, or anything, but it is not like Disney
Princess or Dusty Rose.

---

 
Author's Note: Please leave me a review? ~Clara.
 
This version of If You're Not Paying It...: 4 Final has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

---

 
Chapter 10
 
 
Wednesday
 

"Why are we stopping here?" Andrew called from the back seat, playing nervously with his two perfect braids that started neatly on each side of his head and went straight down the back of each side of his head, as Karen pulled the minivan into a parking space in the garage below the office building where both Andrew and Maureen worked. He and Sadie were going to be Karen's guests at a boys basketball game at the high school. Brian had been burning up the court lately, and Karen liked to cheer him along. Brian was doing the same for Karen. Last week, he had sat with Sadie and Andrew and watched one of Karen's games. It was a lot of fun and Andrew had been looking forward to this. Karen and Sadie had picked both him up from the school and he was in his school uniform, excited to share time with the 'big kids' at the high school.

"We'll just be a minute. Mom needs me to drop off a gift for a baby shower tonight. She forgot to take it this morning."

The car slipped into park and Sadie and Karen both got out of the front seat. Andrew stayed put.

Karen opened the door and said, "Come on. We have to go upstairs to mom's office."

"I'll wait here," Andrew said as he folded his arms and looked like an obstinate twelve year old girl.

Karen sighed. "I can't leave you here, daddy," she whispered. "You're not a big guy anymore. You're a very pretty girl. I can't leave you alone in a parking garage. Anything could happen to you." She took his hand and smiled sweetly at him. "Come on. It will be quick."

Now it was Andrew's turn to sigh. He undid his seat belt and climbed out of the car, shaking his hand as he did. "Please, just to mom's office and right back out, ok?"

"Absolutely," Karen reassured him.

Sadie took his hand and they headed for the elevator.

"Karen!" Carolyn hollered as she tiptoed around her desk on her ridiculously high heels to give Karen a hug. "Oh, it's been ages since I've seen you and you've gotten so lovely. And this beautiful woman can't possibly be little Sadie who I met at Christmas! Why, this is a grown woman!"

"Oh, Carolyn, you're always so nice!" Karen beamed as did Sadie, while Andrew did his best to scoot behind anyone to avoid making eye contact with Carolyn.

"Don't tell me that there's another beautiful girl in your family, is there!?"

Karen had planned to just make a bee-line for her mom's office, but Carolyn had stopped them. Now, she hoped just to make a quick introduction and then get her dad out of sight, but Sadie, not realizing she would embarrass her uncle jumped in, "Yes, there is and she's the prettiest of all. This is our cousin, Andrea."

"Well, how do you do, Andrea?" Carolyn said in an unintentionally condescending tone, as she stood as tall as possible and extended a hand to Andrew.

He had gotten used to everyone else's size in proportion to his new height, but seeing Carolyn was different. She dressed in an office-sexy way that always excited Andrew and, now that she was so much bigger than him, he was feeling things stirring in his panties that should never be happening in panties.

He stared at the proffered hand for a moment before Sadie said, "Don't be rude. Shake the lady's hand, Andie."

"Andie!?!? Oh, how sweet! Just like your uncle! And, now that I look at you, you look just like a little, girly version of him." Carolyn continued as she shook his tiny hand in her much larger one.

"Doesn't she, though!?" came an excited voice from behind. Andrew knew the voice. It belonged to the last person he wanted to see here. A person he'd avoided being close to since he'd gotten smaller. A person who seemed to find his current predicament to be far too amusing. It was Hillary's voice.

Andrew had not turned around when he heard Karen say, "Hi, mom. Hi, Auntie Hilly."

Thank goodness. Maureen was with her. She wouldn't let Hillary humiliate him.

"Hi, baby," Maureen said to her daughter as she kissed her forehead. A kiss on Sadie's forehead followed and then a soft kiss on the crown of Andrew's head.

"Give auntie a hug and kiss," Hillary embraced Karen with her typical theatricality , as she gave her a noisy air-kiss on her cheek.

"And you, too, Sadie!" And the process was repeated.

"And you too, Princess Andie!" Andrew's heart sank as she grabbed him and planted a big, wet kiss on his cheek. "Oops, I got a little lipstick on you, precious." She smiled as she rubbed the lingering lipstick from his face.

Then, she pulled him close and spun him to face Carolyn, while she hugged him tightly, pushing the back of his head into her bosom.

"Isn't she just the prettiest thing, Carolyn?" Hillary prodded.

"She sure is, m'am, but look at her cousins and aunts. Every girl in the Green family is gorgeous." Carolyn was being both diplomatic and sincere.

"Did you hear that Andie? Miss Carolyn said that you're a beautiful young lady. What do you say?" Hillary was enjoying herself, too much.

"Thank you, Miss Carolyn," Andrew said. "You're very kind."

"Alright then," Maureen tried to end Andrew's misery, "I guess you girls need to get to the game, right?"

But Hillary persisted. "I love your uniform, Andie. The little, plaid skirt, starched shirt, knee socks, Mary-Janes... it's like you stepped out of a catalog. And those lovely braids! Did your older cousin Sadie do that for you? My goodness, you're so cute, I just want to show you off."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, then Hillary continued, "Did you tell Miss Carolyn about your boyfriend or your big date this Saturday?"

Carolyn clapped her hands and smiled, the asked, conspiratorially - and, again, unintentionally condescendingly - "Do you have a boyfriend already, Andie? My, what a big girl you are, already!"

"He's not her 'boyfriend,'" Maureen intervened to curb the teasing. "He's just a nice boy who needed a date for a banquet. Andie is doing him a favor."

"Oh," Carolyn placed her cool palm on Andrew's cheek, again eliciting some very unfeminine feelings in Andrew's panties, "you're such a sweet girl. I'm sure he'll fall for you. I bet that you'll have a boyfriend after this banquet."

"Not for a few years, yet," Maureen chided. "Well, girls, you should probably get going, don't you think?"

"Oh, not yet!" Hillary continued to tease. "Couldn't we take little Andie upstairs to meet the partners? I know that their meeting must be ending right about now and I am sure that Bill Cunningham would just love to meet her. He has a son just about the same age as Andie and I know that he'd love for them to meet - especially now that she's dating boys!"

Andrew could feel the heat of fear and panic growing inside of him. He wanted to lash out, but that wouldn't do any good at all. He'd just get punished in front of everyone in the office - in front of Carolyn! He looked to Maureen, who's smile was more businesslike than amused. He caught her eye and she saw his predicament. She winked at him, indicating that Hillary was just having some fun at his expense. It only quelled his fear a little. What if she followed through and brought him upstairs. He'd be mortified.

"Another time, maybe," Maureen laughed. "Girls, pull your cousin away from her Auntie Hilly and go to your game."

The girls laughed. They knew Hillary and knew that this was just one of her games. They didn't see how difficult this all was for Andrew.

"Come on, Andie, let's go," Karen said with a smile as she took his hand and they started towards the door.

"Oh," Hillary said in mock disappointment, "you guys are no fun at all. You can go, but only if you promise to bring her back another time so that she can meet everyone. AND I MEAN EVERYONE!" She hollered the last part loud enough to get attention of everyone on that floor.

"We promise!" Sadie called back as they turned the corner and headed to the elevator banks.

"See, daddy," Karen whispered, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Andrew caught sight of himself in the mirrored walls of the elevator car. He saw what he looked like. The classically feminine shoes, the knee socks, the tiny, plaid uniform skirt, the perfectly pressed, white shirt that covered his well developed breasts, the thin white sweater that hung, unbuttoned, from his shoulders, the soft, pale skin, pretty eyes and lips and the sweetly braided hair that began at his hairline and went perfectly down both sides of the back of his head. There was no denying it. What he saw was a very beautiful little girl entering womanhood and it made him want to weep.

"I guess it could have been much worse," he sighed.

"Oh, cheer up. I know what will make you happy," Karen smiled at him. Just that alone seemed to raise his spirits. "I'll turn on the classic rock station on the way to the game. You'll like that, won't you?"

Actually, that did help.
 
Chapter 11
 
 
Saturday - The Big Date
 

The acrylic, French-style nails had been attached and polished and filed as had his toenails. His eye brows were plucked and makeup applied. His hair was nicely curled and a little professional brushing and spraying had made him as cute as a button.

The ride home from the beauty parlor was almost as exhausting as the visit had been. At the salon, there were many people talking at once and asking Maureen or Jenny questions about his look, as if his opinion about how he'd look was of no interest to them. This was business for grown ups, not cute, little girls.

Then, in the minivan , the amount of anticipation about the date had been wiping him out.

Everyone, Jenny, Maureen, Hillary, Karen and Sadie, had come along for a day of pampering and sprucing up. They were all excited about Andrew's big date. He had mixed feelings. He'd had a great time with Patrick a week ago and the pretty, blue dress they'd bought from Miss Granby was really nice to wear, but it was a date, a real date, with a boy. That was scary.

It was 5:00. Forty-five minutes till his date was set to arrive. They sat around the kitchen table at Andrew's house and the talk kept coming back to the same topic: First Dates. Each had a fond, romantic memory of their first real date. Their first dressed up date. Their first crush. Their first kiss.

Andrew was scared. No one really expected him to do anything romantic with Patrick, did they? Patrick was a good kid and all, but... come on!

"I think the moment has come!" Maureen announced, as she stood and placed her tea cup in the sink.

"We'll take care of her, won't we, Sadie!?" Karen took Andrew by the hand led him towards the stairs.

"Are you kidding!? I can't wait to get her dressed!"

In the bedroom that he shared with his wife, Andrew's daughter and niece helped him strip to his bra and panties. Karen opened a pink bag and took out a new, baby blue silk, bra and panty set. It was covered in flowery lace and the bra had plenty of shape to it, even before it conformed to his shapely torso.

"Let me help you with this," Sadie said as she undid the clasp in the back of Andrew's bra. Before he had a moment to even consider stopping her, Sadie had slid the bra completely off of her little uncle. Andrew covered his breasts with his right forearm, but Karen pushed it aside and slid the new, blue one on.

"No need to be bashful, daddy. We all have breasts."

She and Sadie giggled, while Sadie picked up the matching panties and caressed the material. "These are very pretty, Andie."

As she rubbed the fabric, she considered something. While Karen adjusted the straps, a question formed in Sadie's mind and, finally, she had to ask, "Uncle Andy, do your... you know... you're boy bits still work?"

Andrew looked a little shocked before saying, "Yes, Sadie. I still have my boy... man parts and they still work."

"Of course she does, Sadie," said Karen as she knelt next to her father and pulled down his panties, exposing his genitals for her cousin to see. "They just look like a little boy's bits, now."

"Karen!" He yelled as he covered his crotch.

"Oh, don't be silly, daddy. We have both been babysitters and seen little boys naked. Here, let me get these panties on you."

He stepped into the panties and Karen drew them up his legs, pausing to tuck his secret safely in.

"I think that it's cute, Andie, don't worry," Sadie said. "Besides, Pat's a good boy. Your secret will be safe tonight. Mom says that you'll be able to start your rehab to return to your old-self this week, so this may be our last girl-cousin-time together with just the three of us. I'm going to miss it."

"I know," Karen said as she took the dress off of the hanger to get it ready for Andrew. "I'm going to miss our time together, too. Sadie and I see each other almost every day, but it's been really fun having you as our little cousin, daddy." As she lowered the dress over his head, fussed with the skirt and drew the zipper up his slender, little back, she added, "I wish everything could stay like this."

"How are we doing up there!?" came a shout from the foot of the stairs.

"Almost ready, Auntie Hilly!" Sadie yelled back.

"Well, hurry up. Your mom wants a couple of pictures before that little princess's handsome prince shows up to carry her off and makes her his bride!"

Andrew groaned and the girls giggled. "Oh, she's just teasing you, daddy."

"We'll be down in two minutes!" Sadie called down.

"You look great, daddy. Come take a look."'Karen led him to the sliding, mirrored door on the walk-in closet. "See. As pretty as a picture. I know that you feel funny about this, but you are going to make Patrick a very happy boy, tonight. Just looking this pretty and sitting with him at the table... he's going to feel so proud just to be with you."

"It's true, Uncle Andy. You really are a cutie and Patrick is going to melt when he sees you," Sadie said as she fluffed his hair, just a little.

"Do me a favor, daddy. Just try to enjoy being a girl, tonight. Be yourself, but enjoy how your dress feels. Enjoy how people look at you. When you dance, enjoy his hands on your back. Just, for tonight, don't fight it. Just enjoy it. Ok?" She let him stare at his reflection while she hugged his shoulder into her side.

"She's right, Uncle Andy," Sadie kissed the back of his head. "I know that this isn't exactly how you'd like to spend the night, but being a girl can be great and being a pretty girl can be awesome. Just have fun."

"Alright, up there!!!" Hillary called up the stairs, again! "Prince Charming is due at any minute, so get your pretty little fannies down here RIGHT NOW!"

Andrew hugged each of the girls and headed down the stairs.

"Oh, good Lord!" Jenny giggled as she wiped a tear from her eyes. "You are just a picture, Andie. Oh, my God, if mom and dad could see you, now." She fanned her face, trying to staunch the tears, but she was in mom-mode and she was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Oh, honey," Maureen smiled, "you are just precious."

"Ok," Hillary took Andrew by the shoulder and guided him to the fireplace, "enough gushing. Let's get some pictures of this dress and this princess, so that we can all put a photo on our desks."

Everyone laughed, but Andrew had a feeling that he'd be seeing a photo of himself in this dress on Hillary's dress for years to come.

They took pictures of him facing forward, to each side, the back of the dress, with flashes, without flashes...

They took pictures with him and Karen, him an Sadie, him with Jenny, him with Maureen, him with Maureen, Jenny, Sadie and Karen and, finally, him with Hillary.

"Hello! Anybody home?" Mrs McCarthy called from the door. "I have a prince and a carriage for a Miss Andrea!"

Sadie skipped to the door and invited them in. "Oh, Pat, you look so handsome!" The others heard from the living-room.

Karen pushed Andrew behind Maureen as Hillary and Jenny moved in close to Maureen's right and left, completely blocking Andrew from the view of the McCarthys as they entered.

"Hi, Patrick," Andrew heard Karen from behind his wife, but he could only see the backs of the three women from this spot. "You look great. Are you ready to meet your date for the evening?" Andrew heard no response. He knew that Patrick was a shy boy and he was probably feeling very uncomfortable with this attention. He must have nodded, because Karen continued, "Here she is, your date for the banquet, the beautiful, the intelligent, the adorable, Andrea Green!"

With that, the woman in front of him stepped to the side and Andrew was pushed forward, presented, as if a gift, to Patrick, who smiled as he looked at the beautiful young woman in front of him. "Wow," he whispered.

Andrew couldn't help it. He smiled at the handsome boy and blushed at the reaction his look had received.

"Oh, Miss Andrea," Mrs McCarthy gushed, "you are gorgeous! So pretty. So grown up. Patrick, you are a very lucky boy."

Patrick smiled and stepped towards Andrew, presenting him with a pretty, little, wrist corsage.

"You don't just hand it to her, Pat," his mother giggled, "you have to put it on her and we need to take pictures while you do it. Come on, kids, stand here by the fireplace and let's get some nice shots."

The "Children" did as they were told. They had to freeze several times as Patrick, nervously, worked the corsage comprised of two, light blue roses, that matched Andrew's dress beautifully, and some baby's breath past Andrew's daintily sculpted and painted fingernails, over his soft hand so it adorned his delicate wrist.

The gentleness displayed by the shy boy and the warmth of his touch gave Andrew a tiny shiver. This was a strange and new and strangely pleasant feeling. He smiled and blushed again.

"How about a nice, courtly, kiss on the back of her hand to wrap up the pictures," Hillary suggested.

Everyone agreed that they should do this. Andrew, caught up in the moment, smiled at Patrick and held his hand out to him in the traditional manner of a lady in a royal court and Patrick took it and smiled back. He bent down, slowly, and placed a soft, warm kiss on his hand.

""Now, hold that while we get our shots!" Hillary directed the scene.

As the kiss continued, Andrew's smile grew, partially due to the silliness of the situation and partially due to the shivers that were tickling his spine. It was odd. He felt small and vulnerable and silly and pretty and safe and precious, all at the same time. He felt... like a pretty girl.

"We should go," Mrs McCarthy announced. "It'll take a little time to get to the hall and they have a professional photographer there for the kids, too."

Andrew and Patrick looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Ok," Maureen said, "you kids have fun!" She gave her beautiful, little husband a hug.

Jenny gave him a big hug. "Have a wonderful time, Andie. Enjoy yourself."

Sadie gave him a hug, too, and whispered, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," which made Andrew giggle.

Hillary grinned and waved to him as Karen bent to kiss his cheek and whispered softly, "Just be a girl, daddy. You'll have fun."

Patrick helped Andie climb into the back seat of the Lexus SUV, closed the door for her and ran around to the other side to climb in. As the vehicle pulled away from the curb, he surreptitiously moved his hand across the seat and gave Andrew's hand a gentle squeeze. Andrew looked up to check the rear view mirror to be sure that Mrs McCarthy wasn't looking, then he turned to Patrick and smiled as Patrick mouthed the words, "Thank you. You look amazing!" to him.

Andrew bounced, just a little, in his seat and mouthed, "So do you," back to him.

"It's awfully quiet back there!" Mrs McCarthy teased. "There's nothin inappropriate going on, is there?"

Patrick sighed, "Mom!" making Andrew giggle even more.

Getting into the banquet was a journey in itself. Waiting in line for the photos, Patrick introduced Andrew to many people. Andrew had always been good at remembering names, but there was something a bit overwhelming now. The kids were all so excited and nervous. It was infectious. He felt unbalanced and confused by all the sensations.

As they entered the hall, which was done up as fancy as any prom night, a pretty girl in a bright yellow dress called out, "Hey, Pat! You're sitting over here, with us!"

As Patrick guided Andrew to the table, he said, "That's Judy. You'll like her. She has a genius IQ and is the captain of our Robotics Team. She's really nice, too."

When they reached the table, Patrick introduced his date to the table, "Everyone, this is my friend, Andie. Andie, this is Carlos, Brenda, Will, Elsa, Tim, Dorothy, Paul and Judy."

Andrew nodded and gave a small wave to everyone.

Patrick pulled out the chair next Carlos and offered it to Andrew, but Judy interrupted, "No, no. Let your friend sit next to me. I'd like to get to know her."

"Ok," Patrick shrugged with a smile. He had a great admiration for both Andie and Judy. He was sure that they'd hit it off. He pulled out the chair next to Judy. Andrew maneuvered in front of it and sat, smoothing his skirts under him as he was taught.

"Pat," called Tim from the other side of the table, "have you gotten past level forty-two of that game yet? I can't get past that stupid orc that's guarding the entrance to the portal."

As Patrick joined into a conversation with Tim and the other boys, Andrew turned and looked at Judy, who, he realized, had been looking at him closely. Up until this moment, Andrew had been the prettiest girl in every picture, but Judy was a step above. She was definitely a senior and there was nothing girlish about her. She was tall and lean, but still had curves and they were all perfect. As he compared himself to her, he felt a bit inadequate and he fidgeted just a little under her gaze. He was a cutie. She was a goddess.

"Andie, huh?"

Andrew was startled, "Huh?"

"Your name. Pat said your name is Andie."

"Oh, yeah. That's my name."

"And what's that short for?"

"Andrea."

"Oh, very cute. Kind of a little dichotomy between the tomboy name and the girly-girl appearance. I like it. It works."

Andrew was trying to decide what the appropriate response to that would be when she derailed his train of thought with, "And how are you related to Karen Green?"

Andrew was flummoxed. How did this come up?

Judy saw the confusion on his face and chuckled. "I've seen you with her at a couple of basketball games. We play on the same team."

"Oh, I see. Umm, Karen is my dau... my cousin. I've been staying with her for a few weeks. I didn't know that you were friends."

"We're friendly, I would say. We go to the same school and see each other everyday, but we don't hangout or anything. She's nice, though. I like her and I definitely noticed that she had a new little friend with her for the past few weeks. You're very cute, you know. Pat's a very lucky boy! How old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Twelve!? And you already look like that!? I hope that your father owns a shotgun because he's going to fighting boys off of you in a year or two."

The dance music began. It was very noisy to Andrew who listened to very little current music. It became harder to chat, but Patrick was still involved in a discourse about the video-game problem. All of the girls at the table suddenly rose at once. Before he knew what was happening, Judy grabbed his hand and dragged him along with the rest of the girls to the dance floor, where they immediately started dancing to the low end thumping coming from the DJ's speakers.

He had always been a pretty good club-dancer, but these girls danced with such abandon! They swirled and leaped and waved their arms. They twirled their skirts and fluffed their hair. It was contagious and Andrew got into it more and more as the music continued.

Soon, dinner was served and Andrew, Judy and the rest returned to the table, all a bit flushed from the activity. The boys were all gathered on one side, still discussing video games.

Dinner was delicious, Patrick was very chatty and attentive throughout the entire meal. The cake and ice cream dessert really hit the spot in a way that Andrew had not expected it would.

Then there was a motivational speaker who spoke about how the world of tomorrow depended on the people here tonight, etc.

As soon as he was done, the DJ kicked up the volume and the dance music began, again. The girls leapt up and each grabbed their date's hand, pulling and encouraging, "Come on and dance, it'll be fun."

As it turned out, Patrick danced pretty well. Four upbeat songs in a row and he was keeping up with all the girls, including Andrew, who was losing himself in the noise and fun.

When the fifth song started, it was an older, slow song. Many of the boys turned to head for their seats, but Patrick shrugged and held his arms wide allowing Andrew to decide whether or not to slow dance. He looked around and saw that any girl who's date had stayed on the dance floor was moving in close to slow dance. How could he not? So, he put his arms around Patrick's neck and Patrick wrapped his arms around Andrew and they started to sway in time to the music.

It was nice. The music was beautiful. The dress he wore swayed gently around his legs above his knees and made him feel vulnerable. Patrick's hands held him softly and both of them smelled nice.

"Thanks for coming with me, Andie," Patrick whispered. "I wish you weren't leaving so soon. I really like you."

Andrew felt a twinge of sadness. He had his own life to get back to and his own plans would not wait, but he felt bad for Patrick, too. In all honesty, the last few weeks had been kind of nice. He'd spent a lot of time with his wife, sister, daughter and niece and it was nice. That was all going to end and end abruptly in about a week and a half.

"I like you, too, Pat. I wish we had more time, too, but, your know how it is."

"Yeah," Pat sighed. "I know, but there's something I need to say before you go away."

"What's that."

"I think I love you. And not like a friend. I think I really love you."

"Oh, Pat..." Andrew was about to let him down easy, but he was interrupted when Patrick planted a gentle kiss on his lips and held it there. At first, it was shocking to Andrew, but it was warm and soft and innocent. He let it continue and even joined in the kiss. With all the overwhelming sensations bombarding him this evening, what was one more. It would make a nice boy feel good.

The kiss lasted longer than he expected and he let it linger. It felt nice.

When the kiss ended, he smiled up at Patrick who hugged him more closely as the song continued.

Andrew thought about what it all meant. It was a nice kiss and he'd enjoyed it - a lot. Had this experience brought out gay tendencies that he'd never suspected? No. It had to be the amount of female hormones that had been coursing through him for the last few weeks. They were playing games with his brain. He'd just go with the flow tonight and he'd be fine in a few days.

But, for tonight, he'd just follow his daughter's instruction and just be a girl.

It was not the only kiss, that night.

It was 11:43 when Mrs McCarthy pulled into the driveway at Andrew's house. The lights were all still on and he could see Maureen, Jenny, Karen and Sadie in the living room watching Saturday Night Live. There was no sign of Hillary's car, so he assumed she'd gone home. Thank goodness.

It had cooled off a bit, so Andrew had Patrick's jacket draped over his shoulders as they headed to the door. Before he could touch the knob, Sadie pulled he door wide, revealing both she and Karen waiting to pounce on the young couple.

"Did you have fun? Did you dance? Was the hall nice? Was the DJ good?" The 'kids' were bombarded with questions by the two cousins.

Very few questions were answered as Mrs McCarthy entered and hugged Jenny and Maureen. "Well, I'd say that, judging by the grins on these two when I pulled up at the hall, this evening was a smashing success!"

"Oh, isn't that wonderful!" Jenny clapped her hands.

Maureen gave Andrew a hug and asked quietly, "Did you have a good time?"

Andrew nodded and said, "It was a very nice evening. I had fun." That brought a big grin from Patrick.

"Now," Mrs McCarthy continued, "I understand that Tuesday will be Miss Andrea's last day with us, won't it?"

"That's right," said Jenny, "and we are REALLY going to miss this little girl. I wish we could keep her for ever!"

"Well, I was thinking," Mrs McCarthy continued, "that it might be nice to get these to kids together one more time before she leaves. Now, I expect that you'll be doing something special for dinner, but I was thinking that I could set up a nice lunch for them at Al's Burger Barn on Tuesday. It's right near Pat's school, so I could sign him out and Miss Andrea and I could pick him up. I could give them a half-hour for lunch, then pick them up again and get them back to their schools. What do you say?"

"Sounds great!" Patrick said.

"What do you think, baby?" Jenny asked Andrew. What could he say? If he said no, then Pat would be crushed. Besides, he really liked Pat. It would be fun.

"Sounds great!" He replied with a big smile.

Maureen watched her husband agree enthusiastically to another date with this handsome boy and she wondered if she'd gone to far with all of this. He seemed a bit smitten with Patrick. Maybe he was just being nice, but Andrew had never been this nice before.

"It's a date, then!" Mrs McCarthy said. "We'll let you all get to bed and I'll see you, Jenny and pretty Miss Andrea, on Monday at school. 'Night all!"

Patrick took his coat and followed his mother out the door, wanting desperately to give Andrea one last kiss.

The cousins started their bombardment of questions, again, but before he could answer many, Maureen announced that Andrew had to get ready for bed. It had been a very long day for such a young lady and she needed to take off her makeup and brush out her hair before going to bed. Besides, she had a few questions of her own.

Andrew was wearing his banana-yellow, lace nightie and sitting at Maureen's vanity while she spread cold cream across his cheeks to remove the makeup. Jenny and Sadie were staying over due to the late hour and they could hear Sadie and Karen playing music in Karen's room.

"You looked absolutely beautiful tonight, Andie."

He smiled, "Thank you."

"And you had a good time with Patrick?" She began brushing the hairspray from his hair.

He loved this feeling. Since he'd had the reaction, his hair had been brushed and fussed over more than ever in his entire life.

"He was very nice to me."

Maureen smiled as she continued to stroke his hair with the brush, "Did you dance?"

"Yes."

"With Patrick"

"With the other girls at first, then with Pat."

'The other girls?' thought Maureen. 'Well, there's a new twist.'

"Fast dances?"

"Mostly fast, but a few slow ones, too."

Maureen glanced to the door to the hall and she saw Jenny standing in the door, listening and smiling.

"You slow danced with Patrick?"she continued stroking his hair.

"Yes."

"And did he held you when you danced?"

"Yes."

Maureen's eyebrows shot up as she looked to her sister-in-law who returned the look.

"Did it feel nice to be held like that?"

"It did. It was very different than when we dance. You, know what I mean? When we dance, I'm bigger than you, so I'm holding you. This time, I was being held. It felt different."

"Nice, different?"

"I guess. Yes, it was nice."

"Did he hug you?"

"Yes," he was a little embarrassed, but he had been following Karen's instructions and just being a girl.

Maureen and Jenny exchanged looks, again.

She stroked his hair a few more times. He closed his eyes, very relaxed.

"Did he kiss you?"

Andrew hesitated. Maureen and Jenny exchanged looks once again and each mouthed, "Oh, my God!" at the other.

"Baby," she cooed as the bush relaxed him even more, "did Patrick kiss you?" Something about this whole event had Maureen very aroused. The idea that her husband had such girly feelings that he allowed a cute boy to kiss him was sending her over the edge. "Did he?"

"Yes," he whispered.

Jenny sat on the bed and fanned herself. She could not believe what she was hearing.

"Well, that's ok, baby. You've been a very pretty girl for nearly a month, now. It was bound to happen at some point. And you liked it, right?"

He smiled, but said nothing.

"Aww, it was nice, admit it."

He smiled more broadly. Maureen kissed his forehead. "That's ok. I know it was nice. He's very cute. You are a lucky girl. Now, jump into bed and I'll get undressed and join you."

He opened his eyes and stood up. When he turned, he saw his younger sister sitting on the bed with a huge grin on her face.

"Come here and hug your Auntie Jenny, you little hussy,"

Andrew went to his sister and received a huge hug. "Ahh," she sighed, "sometimes it's nice to be a girl, isn't it?"

Andrew shrugged and smiled.

Jenny smiled and hugged him again. "Good night, sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Auntie Jenny," Andrew said as he kissed his younger sister on the cheek.

Jenny gave him one more, big hug, as she lifted him off of the floor and dropped him on his back onto the bed, just as Maureen came out of the master bath.
 
Chapter 12
 
 
Tuesday
 

There were two little girls sitting on Andrews lap as he read a Dr Seuss book to the kindergarten class.

"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful, one hundred percent." He was reading with a different voice for each character. The children were enthralled. They'd become very attached to this pretty 'big girl' who had been visiting nearly everyday for the last few weeks.

"Good morning, Mrs McCarthy," Cora, the teacher said, loud enough to get the attention of the children. "Say good morning to Mrs McCarthy, children."

"Good morning, Mrs McCarthy!" the children sang the greeting in a well rehearsed unison.

"Good morning, children," the principal said as she came do the edge of the reading-circle. "I am so happy to see you all, today. Are you enjoying hearing Miss Andrea reading about Horton?"

"Yes, Mrs McCarthy," they sang, again.

"Well, that's just wonderful, but I'm afraid that I need to borrow Miss Andrea for a little while. Is that ok?"

"Aww," the girls sighed with disappointment.

"Oh, now, girls, we've had Miss Andrea in our room for over an hour, this morning," the teacher prodded. "Let's all say thank you to Miss Andrea as she leaves."

"Thank you, Miss Andrea," the children sang again.

As Andrew stood and said his goodbyes to the children, the teacher and Mrs McCarthy crossed to the door. When Andrew joined them, the teacher used a hushed voice to say, "Thank you, so much, Andrea. Please, come back, anytime."

Andrew thanked her and accompanied Mrs McCarthy to her SUV.

Maureen and Hillary were returning from a meeting at the courthouse and stopped at a sandwich shop to grab a couple of salads for lunch. As they sat in a booth to enjoy the short break they had in their busy work day, Hillary pressed for details about Andrew's big date.

"That dress was just the most precious thing. He looked so cute in it. I hope that you're going to get some prints to keep around the house. It will be a good reminder for him after he's back to being himself. I have to admit, I'm going to miss seeing him in pretty little dresses."

Maureen laughed, "To tell you the truth, so am I. I mean, I REALLY miss having a man around for certain things, but it has been so much fun having another little girl around the house for the last few weeks. And, you're right, he is as cute as a button. Karen and Sadie are really going to miss having their little cousin around, too. Oh, did I show you the formal picture that was taken at the banquet?"

"No! Oh, please, let me see!"

Maureen giggled as she reached into her briefcase to pull out a folder that protected the photo. When she did, several other items fell onto the table as well. She held the photo so that Hillary could see it. In the photo, Patrick stood, in profile, with his arms around Andrew, who had his back toward Patrick. It was a classic, prom-style photo. Both of them were beaming with excitement.

"Oh, how adorable," Hillary laughed. "I have to have one of these for my desk! If Andrew ever gets too full of himself, again, I'll just turn it around and show him. That'll shut him up."

Maureen put the photo back into her briefcase and gathered up the other items as well. The last thing on the table was a set of small keys with round, red, plastic heads on them. "Huh," Maureen said, "I found these in Andy's desk on that first day I took over his office. I still don't know what they're for."

Hillary looked Morse closely, "Those are safe-deposit-box keys. The redhead is from the Municipal Bank across the street."

"I didn't know that Andy had a safety deposit box," Maureen's voice was shaking a bit. She knew he kept secrets, but here was proof.

"Well, you've got power of attorney, right?" Hillary said with a distinct sense of irritation in her voice. "After lunch, let's go see what he's hiding."

There was a moment of doubt before Maureen responded, "I think that would be a very good idea."

Patrick ran out of his school wearing a huge grin. Within two minutes, they were dropped off at their restaurant.

"Get whatever you'd like, kids," Mrs McCarthy instructed as they got out of the SUV. "I left them my credit card number and they'll let me know what it cost. I'll be back at 12:30 to pick you up."

"Thank you, Mrs McCarthy!"

"Thanks, mom!"

Patrick held the door for him as Andrew entered the restaurant where a charming, twenty-something woman greeted them. "Hello, Mr McCarthy and Miss Green! So glad to have you both join us for lunch, today. Your table is ready. Please follow me."

They followed her to a lovely table near a window with a view of a pond with ducks and geese swimming around the surface.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Andrew started their conversation.

"Very. I like watching the birds. They're built so perfectly for flight. I read a lot about aerodynamics and stuff like that."

"Wow," Andrew was, again, genuinely impressed. "You're going to be an amazing engineer when you're older!"

Patrick laughed. "Maybe. I don't know what I want to do, yet."

They talked about possible futures. Andrew made up new dreams, figuring that being a lawyer was just too uninteresting to a twelve year old boy.

They ate their burgers and the clock suddenly said that it was 12:30: time to go. Patrick pulled out Andrew's chair for him and they headed to the door. They thanked the hostess and stepped into the vestibule. Before going through the exterior door, Patrick stopped Andrew and looked at him as sincerely as he could.

"Andie... I'm... I'm... I'm just really sad to see you go. It's been great knowing you and I feel awful that I'm never going to see you again. It's just not fair."

Andrew felt horrible. Patrick was definitely a bright spot in this whole horrible situation. He didn't want to hurt him.

"Pat... I don't know what to say. I'm sorry."

Patrick shrugged. There was nothing he could do to make things right, so that was that.

"Can I kiss you one more time, Andie?"

Andrew smiled. "Sure."

It was a small, chaste kiss. Not passionate like on Saturday night. It was just a nice kiss. They both smiled and went outside where Mrs McCarthy was waiting for them.

"Right this way, Mrs Green," the bank teller led Maureen and Hillary from the safe-deposit boxes in the safe, to a small viewing room where the boxes could be opened in private. She closed the door as she left and told them to call if they needed anything.

The boxes were medium sized, but fairly heavy; obviously, they were full of something.

Maureen took a deep breath and prepared for what she was about to discover. "Here goes nothing!"

She raised the long cover on the oblong box, obscuring Hillary's view. "Holy shit!"

"What?" Hilary moved to see what was in the box. There was cash. Lots and lots of cash and all of it was $100 bills.

"Holy shit!" Hillary echoed Maureen's words. "Where do you think he got it!"

"I don't know, but that cheap son of a bitch told me that we were broke and then I find this!?"

Maureen let the cover fall open. She was seething with anger. "He let his wife an daughter go without new clothes, he let his daughter miss out on a senior class trip, he refused to repair my car for weeks, all because we were broke. SON OF A BITCH!" She slammed her hand down on the table and looked at the other box.

She looked at Hillary. "You don't suppose there's more in there, do you?"

Hillary shrugged, genuinely shocked by what she was looking at.

Maureen took a cleansing breath and swung that box open, too. Sure enough - more cash. Probably more than they'd found in the first box.

"I don't believe this! I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS!" She shouted.

Hillary shushed her and said, "There has to be an explanation. I mean, I'm no fan of Andrew's but there has to be an explanation. Look and see if there's anything other than cash in that box."

Maureen rummaged through the second box while Hillary searched the first. After a moment, Hillary announced, "I found an envelope."

"Let me see it," Maureen snatched it from her friend angrily. The situation was more than she could stand.

She opened the envelope and took out several pages with legalese printed all over it. She flipped to the first page and started reading as a tear ran down her face. As she read, her body sagged and she leaned back against the wall.

"What is it?" Hillary asked.

Maureen's face devolved into sadness as she held the papers out for Hillary to read.

As Hillary read, she just kept chanting, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."
 
Chapter 13
 
 
Friday
 

Carolyn parked her Toyota in Maureen's driveway and grabbed the files that she'd been requested to bring to the house. Andrew had been out of work for a month, now, and Mrs Green had not come in since Tuesday morning. She hoped that everyone was ok. In particular, she hoped that Andrew would be back to the office by Monday, or else their schedule would have to be altered drastically.

She straightened her pencil skirt and white, silk blouse, then rang the bell. Maureen opened the door exhibiting a big, friendly smile. She was wearing a white, silk blouse, also, but hers was of a much higher quality than Carolyn's and the royal blue, full skirt that dropped to mid thigh was stunning. It was full and caught the line beautifully.

"Carolyn! How nice. Come right in. You look as beautiful as always."

The remark took Carolyn aback for a moment. Mrs Green was always cordial, but rarely offered a compliment like that.

"Th... Thank you, Mrs Green. You look amazing. I was afraid that you were ill." Carolyn was appraising Maureen's look. She actually did look fantastic. She looked straighter, taller and more self confident than ever.

"Ill? Oh, no. I'm just fine thank you. I just needed a few days to get things in order here at home, what with Mr Green leaving and Karen has all of these college decisions to make..."

"Mr Green is gone?" Carolyn didn't mean to sound as shocked as she did. How could he be gone!?

"Yes, dear. Mr Green is gone. You won't be hearing from him, anymore."

Carolyn's mouth hung open in shock.

"But I would like you to meet the newest member of our family."

Maureen moved to the foot of the stairs and called up. "Annie. Annie, come on down, there's someone here that I'd like you to say hello to."

As Carolyn gathered her thoughts, a beautiful child, maybe four or five years old, came down the stairs. She had golden hair and wore a little, yellow sundress with large red flowers all over it. The child's shoulders were exposed and the hair, which fell nearly to her waist, was curled and fluffed perfectly. The child looked as if she had come out of a painting of a perfect little girl.

"Come here, Annie." Maureen took her by the hand and led her into the living room. "You know, Carolyn. Say hi, Annie."

Although Carolyn was reasonably sure that she had never met this child, she realized that she needed to engage. She bent her knees, which were held tight in the pencil skirt, just a bit, put her hands on her thighs, leaned towards the child and spoke in a sing-song voice. "Well, hello, Annie. Aren't you just beautiful!? It's very nice to see you, today."

The child looked petrified and tried to run from the room, but Maureen pulled her back saying, "Now, now, young lady, you behave yourself or you'll find yourself back in diapers before you know it. Now, I said, say hello to Carolyn. Now, do as you are told."

Carolyn was still trying to process the strangeness of Mrs Green's threat as the child settled down, looked at the floor in front of Carolyn's feet and mumbled, "Hello, Carolyn."

"Hello, Annie. It's very nice to meet you."

"Oh, Carolyn," Maureen laughed, "you've met little Annie many times before. As a matter of fact, she visited with you at the office just a few days ago. Remember? She was with Karen and Sadie."

Carolyn remembered the visit, but... "No, Mrs Green. That was your niece, Andrea. Not Annie."

"Oh, I see your confusion, Carolyn. This is the same child. We're just calling her Annie, now."

"Mrs Green," Carolyn tried to correct her, "Andrea is at least twelve of thirteen years old. Annie is much younger..."

"Yes, she is and Andrea was younger than she was when you knew her before that. Annie, tell the nice lady how old you are."

The child was quiet for a few moments, then mumbled, "Forty-one."

Carolyn was still confused.

"Tell the nice lady your old name, Annie. Before your name was Andrea, what was your name."

The child looked up and made eye contact with Carolyn. "Andrew Green."

Carolyn stood straight and looked at Maureen as confusion played across her face.

"That's right, Carolyn," Maureen grinned, "this is my husband, Andrew. The man you were sleeping with. The man who planned to run away with you on Monday, leaving his wife and daughter with nothing but debt. He's also the man that planned to send you, me and Hillary to jail for his crimes. Interestingly, when you met Andrea, she still had a penis. Sadly, we had to do something about that. Little Annie here is all girl. Aren't you, sweetheart?"

The child nodded and returned her gaze to the ground.

Carolyn didn't know which statement to react to first. Finally, she formed a sentence, "Is this some kind of weird joke?"

"No, Carolyn, this is no joke. This is Andrew and Andrew is now Annie. I found out that Andrew was going to destroy me and everyone one that I cared about, so, I took his adulthood and his manhood. He is now Annie and he will have to grow up again, but this time, there will be no more thinking with his penis because, well, you get it, right?"

"Mrs Green, Andrew and I didn't...." Carolyn began to defend herself.

"Oh, nonsense. Of course you did. I know you did and I have seen security footage from the Ambassador Hotel that proves that you did. I'm not angry, dear, but, please, have some dignity and don't insult us both by lying."

"I'm sorry, Mrs Green, I truly am, and I didn't mean to hurt anyone. It just... sort of... happened."

"Well, be that as it may, I have some papers I'd like you to look at. I'm sure that you can understand the language. I think you'll find them quite enlightening."

Carolyn took the papers, which were scans of the papers that Andrew had left in his safe deposit box, and read. As she reached the bottom of the first page, she collapsed into a chair and wiped a tear from her eye. She continued on through all six pages, then looked up, defeated.

"He was going to dump me in the American Virgin Islands and he named me as his partner? Are these real?" Carolyn's gaze wandered between Maureen and the child as she spoke.

"The nice lady asked you a question, Annie. You answer when a grown-up asks you a question," Maureen prodded the child.

"Carolyn..."

"No, no, no.... You don't address adults by their first names anymore, Annie. Remember, you're a child."

The child nodded. "Miss Foster, I am very sorry. I got greedy, I guess. I took so much more than I could ever cover before the audit in four months. I had to make a clean break. I'm sorry."

"Tell her how much you took, Annie."

The child looked at Maureen for a moment, then back to Carolyn. "I took three hundred and thirty six million dollars, Miss Foster."

"Oh, my God! I'm going to jail for sure! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"

"Calm down, Carolyn. No one is going to jail. The money has all been returned." Maureen smoothed her elegant, blue skirt under her as she sat on the arm of the chair in which the distraught secretary shook with fear. "As a matter of fact, the clients from whom little Miss Annie stole, were so grateful that our "internal audit" caught the embezzlement before Andrew could abscond with it, that they gave us a substantial reward. A reward that I am prepared to share with you - under certain conditions."

"Conditions?" Was there actually a light at the end of this tunnel she'd entered a few minutes ago? "What conditions?"

"Condition #1: You stick to our story that Andrew Green fled the country to avoid prosecution. The firm will work very hard to keep that out of the papers, but, internally, this will be our story. You must never contradict that story. Understood!"

Carolyn nodded.

"Condition #2: You take the money we give you and you leave the area, forever. I have a friend at a law firm in San Diego who is looking for a bright, young secretary. I bragged about you to him and, if you want it, the job is yours. I hear that it is beautiful year round there. It sounds like a great place to make a new start."

"San Diego?" Carolyn sighed and laughed just a little. "That sounds wonderful!"

Maureen handed Carolyn an envelope. Carolyn opened in and gasped, "Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!?!?"

Maureen nodded. "That should set you up well. Maybe even help you go to law school if that interests you. But there is one final condition."

Carolyn waited.

"You've seen what I was able to do to Andrew. Well, if you violate any of these conditions, then you will forfeit a lot more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Condition #3: If you violate condition #1 or 2, you will suffer the same fate as Andrew Green. Are we understood?"

The frightened woman glanced at the child, who's head was hung in shame. When she looked back at Mrs Green, she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Mrs Green. I understand and I agree to your terms."

"Excellent! Then, I believe we are done, here. If you don't mind seeing yourself out, I'd appreciate it. My little lady and I have a girls day planned. We're headed to the Ambassador Hotel for tea with a whole lot of other mommies and little girls. I'm hoping that we may run into some of Andrew's
friends while we we are there and little Annie will have the chance to say hello. Won't that be nice, angel?"

"Yes, mommy," the child replied, half heartedly.

"Oh, and be sure to clean out your desk this afternoon, Carolyn. I, truly, never want to see you or hear from you ever again. Goodbye, Carolyn."

"Goodbye, Mrs Green. And, thank you."
 
Chapter 14
 
 
One Month Later
 

"Sorry that we're late!" Maureen said as she and Jenny joined Hillary at the same table at the same restaurant where this whole adventure began two months earlier. "The girls took Annie dress shopping for the holiday, so we dropped them at Neiman's. The traffic from there to here was horrendous. Must be because of the Fourth of July weekend events down the street. They're going on all weekend, I guess."

"No problem," Hillary kissed both women's cheeks. "I just got here myself. You two look radiant. Ten days in the islands seems to have agreed with you!"

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Jenny gushed. "Of course, Sadie and I could never have afforded a trip like this, but it was so nice of Mo to invite us along."

"You deserve it!" Maureen replied. "It's been a rough couple of years and besides, Sadie and Karen are like sisters. How could Karen celebrate her high school graduation without both of her sisters there with her?"

"I want to see pictures!" Hillary laughed as both women dug out their phones.

There were pictures of "the girls" in their bathing suits playing in the crystal, blue water and on the white sand. Little Annie's little one-piece displaying a flat, slightly pudgy, childish body.

There were pictures of "the girls" dressed nicely for dinner. Little Annie in an overly frilly dress with her elegant 'cousins.'

There were pictures of "the girls" playing miniature golf with little Annie choking way up on the tiniest golf club.

All of the pictures included Annie in one fancy outfit, or swim suit or another.

"There's no denying that she's adorable," Hillary smiled, "but aren't you spoiling her? I mean, this is supposed to teacher her to be a better adult when she grows up."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Jenny laughed. "Wait till she starts school next month in that same kindergarten where she used to be the big-girl-reader. Things will change, then, I'm sure."

"Besides, I wanted him to see what he COULD have had if he'd only been a decent man. By the way," Maureen leaned in to Hillary so other tables would not hear, "thank you, so much, for taking care of all of the identification and adoption papers. That's not really my speciality."

Hillary smiled and put her hand on Maureen's. "No problem, Momo. What are friends for?"

"May I take your orders, ladies," the server approached and asked the friends.

Dinner was wonderful. The wine was warm and relaxing. It had been a lovely "girls-night" for the three of them. Maureen looked at her phone and said, "The girls are on their way up. Karen says that they found some cute things for Annie."

Just then, they heard several people produce an "aww" sound near the entrance to the restaurant. They looked up to see Karen and Sadie entering with big smiles on their faces. As they got closer, they could discern the crown of a child's head and then, finally, they saw what was making every woman in the establishment melt - it was Annie. Her hair braided into one long plait going straight down her back and cheeks rosy with youth.

What was causing the 'awws' though was her dress. Karen and Sadie had decked her out in what was, essentially, and American flag that had been sewed into a dress. The straps had stars running their length, but the actual blue field of stars was situated over her, little, flat, right breast and the stripes proceeded from beside and beneath it to wrap around her little body.

"Oh, my goodness!" Jenny squealed. "Isn't that the most adorable thing!?"

"Girls," Maureen smiled, "you've outdone yourselves!"

Hillary stood and clapped and sang, "There she is, Miss America... Come over here, little girl, and give your Auntie Hilly a hug!"

Karen and Sadie released the child and guided her towards Hillary, who picked her up off the floor, made a flatulent noise by placing her lips on the child's exposed shoulder and blowing air out, then sat down with the child still in her arms, planting her firmly in Hillary's lap, where she hugged and fussed over her, until situating her in her lap at a ninety degree angle to herself.

"How's my very favorite little girl in the whole, wide world?" She hugged and kissed her some more.

"Answer your auntie, Annie," Karen instructed.

"I'm good, auntie, thank you," Annie said. To an outsider, the child looked distracted, but, in fact, she was trying to free herself without causing a ruckus.

Hillary brought her lips close to the child's ear and whispered, "Is Andrew still in there?"

Annie nodded.

"Good. And does big, tough, horny Andrew miss his little wiener?"

Annie nodded again.

"Good. Let's keep it that way. You look very pretty in your patriotic dress, you know. You must love being a pretty, little girl, don't you? Never mind. I know that you do. Now, I want you to say 'thank you' to your big sister, Karen for buying you such a pretty dress and tell her that you love it. Ok? And be sure to use those words. Go ahead."

Annie looked across the table where Karen stood beside her mother's chair. "Karen! Thank you, very much for buying me this pretty dress. I love it!"

"Ohhh, you're welcome, sweetie," Karen replied. Then, more quietly, "See, mom. I don't think there's any more of daddy in her. I think she's just a wonderful little girl, now."

Maureen looked Annie right in the eyes and replied, "He'll always be there, honey. Don't let him fool you. He fooled me once. Never again, though."

"Mom," Sadie jumped into the conversation, "Is it ok for Karen and me to take Annie to the end of the the street? Pat and Brian are meeting us for ice cream if you say it's ok."

"Fine with me if it's ok with your aunt."

"Fine with me!" Maureen smiled

"Come on, sweetie," Sadie called to Annie. "Let's go see Uncle Pat and Uncle Brian!"

"Uncle Pat!?" Hillary asked. "Is this the same Pat?"

"It is," Karen laughed. "We ran into Pat and his mom on the island and my pretty little cousin, Sadie, helped him to mend his broken heart. I think that they are both smitten at this point."

"Don't tease your cousin," Maureen joked as she gave her daughter a gentle slap on the rump. "Be nice and keep an eye on your little sister."

As the girls headed towards the door, Hillary asked, "How did Annie react to her cousin stealing her boyfriend?"

"Oh, I don't think she minds," Jenny smiled. "She gets to sit on his lap. He's very sweet with her. To tell you the truth, my big brother was a failure as a man, but he seems to be a perfect little girl. I think he actually likes it."

"It doesn't matter if he likes it or not," Maureen threw in. "I pay the bills, now, and, as my husband used to say, 'If you're not paying it, you've got no say in it.' "
 
THE END