Introduction: Adam is beginning to learn about the vagaries of business. Last in, first out: he is being laid off due to the downturn in business. That's the bad news. Less bad is that they have an opening available in a small satellite office in Hartford, CT, the 'Insurance Capital of America'. Adam is going to move, and Phantom will come with him, of course.

This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story takes place about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. If you haven't read the stories before, it might be a good idea to go back and start at the beginning.

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Once again Holly H. Hart has willingly provided her invaluable help in proofing and straightening out my poor English. Thank you so much, Holly.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Adam and the Three Wishes
 

Part 2

Chapter 3

Adam awoke the next morning to find Phantom sound asleep and curled up against his belly. He had put him in his bed the night before, but that lasted less than a minute.

"Fleas, dammit, I forgot about fleas. That's last thing we need is to have a bunch of fleas in this place. Let's have a look at you." He sat on the edge of the bed, and placed Phantom on his lap on his back. Phantom didn't struggle a bit. "I certainly don't see any signs of any. Somebody must have been taking care of you. How did you get here? Somebody has to be looking for you.

"I hope you can stay out of trouble. I have to go to work. I'll start working on finding out who lost you tonight. You have plenty of food and water. I'll see you tonight."

The streets varied from dry to sheets of ice, but once he got on the freeway the road surface was dry. The road crews had done an excellent job. He arrived several minutes early, and the office was mostly empty. Of course Bev was there. He seldom got there before she did. His boss, Davis Roberson, was behind closed doors with the HR Director. He could see them behind the glass window.

He was going through his queue of assignments when Davis approached the Loss Control sector of the office. "Guys, we need to meet in my office in fifteen minutes. I have some announcements to make."

"This isn't going to be good, troops," Bev said quietly as Davis returned to his office. "Davis was on the phone a couple of times last week with the home office. There are changes afoot. I don't think this is going to be good."

They made their way to Davis's office at the appointed time. Davis had his never empty cup of coffee as did Bev. Larry Zimmerman and Don Ferguson brought their usual notebooks.

"First of all, I got a nice email from underwriting about Adam's work last week. They were especially pleased about your report on the health food store."

'What the fuck,' Adam thought, 'I didn't do a report on any health food store. It was that crazy specialty shop. This doesn't make any sense at all.'

"This is a major account that we've been trying to get for years. Adam's report provided a lot of the information they'd been looking for. Of, course, Bev's report on their corporate office helped, too.

"Now, on to some other things; business being as down as it is, is requiring some major changes. As you know, the Oklahoma City office is being changed from a regional office to a satellite of the Dallas office. There have already been a number of personnel changes there. Unfortunately, personnel changes are going to affect us in the home office as well, and those changes are reaching us in Loss Control. I'll need to talk to each of you privately about how this affects you."

Adam awaited his turn to go into the office with some dread. He was the junior person in the office, and if there were going to be any personnel changes, they would probably start at the bottom. He knew Bev was immune. She was the corporate memory for loss control, and had been around longer than just about anyone, even longer than Davis. Rumor had it that she had turned down the Loss Control Manager position several times.

Zimmerman went in first. When he returned to his desk, Adam couldn't read any expression that would indicate bad news. Zimmerman picked up his clipboard, and headed out for a survey. Ferguson was next, and the results were about the same. Then it was his turn. He knew what was coming. At least he thought he did. He was going to get canned. He had very little money saved up, and was just now eligible to participate in the company's 401K plan.

"Adam, I'm going to cut to the chase. We've lost a position for a loss control consultant. To put it bluntly, you're being laid off, and there's nothing I can do about it. This is effective as of the end of the month, though.

"I'm very pleased with your performance here, and Bev says you're the best new consultant she's ever worked with. You will get one month's pay for every year you've worked here. Since you've been here less than a year, the company will give you the full month, anyway.

"Something has come up that you might want to consider as an alternative. Our Connecticut office is losing both consultants. Pierce Osborne is retiring, and the other consultant is leaving for greener pastures. You would have to move yourself, being single I don't imagine that you would have much to move; however, if you would be okay with making the move, I'll let them know, and they will keep the position open for you. Of course you'd be able to keep the car."

The wheels were spinning in Adam's head. He had to have a job. He needed to save his money for the inevitable. Well that was the trouble. It wasn't inevitable. He didn't want to stay the way he was. His company had a good health plan, and the way things were going in the more progressive companies, gender confirmation surgery just might be covered one of these days. God! One of these days he was going to have to come out. He couldn't even afford to buy garments for dressing in private. It was all in his head, and that was another problem. He was going to have to find a shrink. There was just too much money involved.

"I'll take the job."

"Would you like to take some time to think about it?"

"I already have. Like you said, I don't have much choice here. Maybe it would be a good time to get a little further away from home and expand my horizons a bit. This might be just the thing.

"You said Connecticut; the office is in Hartford isn't it. How are living expenses up there?"

"I imagine they're higher than here. That office is a satellite to the Boston Regional office. I'll contact them and see if there is anyone they can put you in touch with."

So began the beginning of the end of Adam's job in St. Louis.

Phantom was waiting for him when he got home. Everything looked fine in his little apartment. Phantom had not destroyed the place. Adam poured a nice glass of pinot noir and tried to decide what to have for dinner. He was not in the mood for much as his appetite had been a bit dulled by the morning's announcements. He just hoped that it would work out.

"Phantom, you are to be commended for not tearing things up. Hopefully, you were able to find enough to keep you amused." Adam headed to the bathroom to take care of things and freshen up.

"What the fuck!"

Piled neatly in the center of his bed was a collection of items mostly from the top of his dresser. On top was the golf ball Phantom had been playing with the evening before.

Phantom grappled his way up the side of bedspread to examine the fruits of his endeavors. "Brrup?"

"How did you get this stuff up here? I know you could have carried some of it, but there's no way you could have manhandled that golf ball up here. You're too small." Adam picked him up and looked into Phantom's golden eyes. Phantom blinked, 'Am I in trouble? I get bored.'

"I imagine I'm going to have to get you some toys. I might do that tomorrow. There's a big pet store close by, and they might have exactly what we need to keep you out of trouble."

Somehow, Adam got Phantom to sit still long enough to take several pictures. He easily created a poster with the typical headline, "Found Lost Kitten". He made a couple dozen, and spent a half hour after dinner putting them up in the neighborhood. They went on the bulletin board at his complex's laundry room and the laundry rooms of several other complexes in the neighborhood. The rest of the signs were stapled over the previous week's and month's garage sale signs that should have been removed from various utility poles weeks before. Adam realized he was hoping that he received no responses.

Adam returned to find the golf ball back on the bed. "I think you are hinting at something." They spent the next half hour playing with the golf ball. Adam would roll it across the carpet, and Phantom would chase it, capture and release it several times before batting it back to Adams feet. Finally worn out, Phantom allowed Adam to pick him up. Whereupon, he curled up and went sound asleep as Adam settled in to research some of his favorite sites.

There was a new series of photographs on his favorite site. The series featured a young, obviously natural redhead. Her figure was a bit more slender than he liked; however, she was just fine. Her breasts were probably a small C, just enough to give them good definition. They settled in beautifully, and a couple of poses where she leaned forward brought tears to his eyes. She was darn near perfect now that he considered it. Then he flashed on the gorgeous redhead he had met a few days before. She was a much larger woman in most ways, but the girl pictured definitely reminded him of her. What was her name? Oh yes, Bobbie Schmedlap; how could he forget.

He did a quick search of her name and got a number of hits immediately: All American Golfer at Wake Forest, National Women's Amateur Champion, amateur winner of two LPGA tournaments, and bathing beauty. The latter stunned him. The picture of her and her friend, the blonde beauty, had to have been taken several years previously, but there they were in all their glory wearing skimpy bikinis that left little to the imagination. Now he remembered, he had seen her picture on a golf magazine that his dad subscribed to. There was the picture along with a picture of her and her friend on the cover of Sports Illustrated. What were they doing in that crazy store that no one seemed to think that it was what he had reported on? The more that he thought about it, the more he was leaning towards the conclusion that he was either hallucinating or having a serious mental breakdown or both. Besides, the old fellow didn't quite fit the description he was used to reading about.

But it had to be real, and the clincher was the blonde girl, Cindy Lewis. He had seen Bobbie Schmedlap's picture before. He knew that now, however, he had never seen anything about Cindy Lewis. How could he be hallucinating about someone who really existed, but had never seen before?

"Brrup?" Phantom had awakened and was now standing on Adam's lap while peering at the computer screen. He hopped up next to the keyboard, and gently patted at the images of Bobbie and Cindy. Then he turned and gave Adam the first real meow that he could recall having heard Phantom utter.

Chapter 4

If Adam had expected any responses to his posters, he certainly didn't get any. He did get one call asking about a Siamese cat. Adam assured the woman that this cat was definitely not Siamese, nor was it a cat. It was a kitten.

He gave the manager thirty days notice that he would be leaving, and at the same time plunked down a fifty dollar pet deposit. Fortunately, other than his clothing, bed linens and some kitchen items, there wasn't very much to pack. He was going to have to find a place to live as soon as he got there, though. Maybe there was an extended stay motel that would let him keep a pet. He was pretty certain by this time that Phantom would be going with him.

They gave him a little farewell sendoff before he faded into the 'used to work here' status. Davis told him to take all the time he wanted to get ready to go, and all his assignments, what there was of them, had been given to the other three consultants. Bev gave him a hug, and he could swear there was a tear in her eye. "Hang in there, kid. Things are going to work out just fine." That was a bit strange, because Bev hardly ever got emotional about anything except bowling and golf. He'd been teamed with her during a company picnic, and they had won. She had taken up the sport fairly recently, according to her, and she seemed to be pretty good at it for a beginner.

Fortunately, the company car he had was a medium sized sedan, and he was able to get most of his important belongings in it. His mom and dad came over to help him pack and say goodbye. He was going to be quite a bit further away than the easy half day journey it had been. It was going be a tough two day drive to Hartford, and the more he thought about it, when he visited Kansas City, he would probably fly rather than drive. His folks were going to take the borrowed furniture back with them; however, the bulk of the furniture was rented, and the rental company would come by and pick it up after he left.

The most valuable items he had to transport were his personal PC and printer, his television, and the company owned laptop. Actually, he was beginning to realize that he had formed quite an attachment to his little cat that had noticeably grown over the last few weeks. Their mutual attraction had become very strong. Adam had felt that Phantom was going to be rather long haired, and his assumption was proving to be correct.

Phantom's scratching post, which he seemed to adapt to very quickly, was placed upside-down in the back seat. The litter box was placed on a spread of newspapers on the floor of the rear seat. And as they put the final items in his trunk, there was actually a bit more room than Adam had expected.

He hugged his parents goodbye, then watched as their SUV and U-Haul trailer pulled out of the parking lot. It was going to be a long day. Fortunately, it was a weekend; however, the traffic on I-44 was a bit heavy, and the never ending construction projects always made things difficult. He picked up I-70, and while figuratively, but almost actually holding his breath, made it through East St. Louis without a problem. St. Louis and his first job were fading away in his rearview mirror. His favorite radio station was going to stay with him for a while before he would have to search for the next NPR or classical music station. He had a feeling that the next one wouldn't come until he neared Indianapolis. Unfortunately, that assumption proved to be unwarranted as Indianapolis did not have a classical music station. Fortunately, he had some good CDs queued up in the car's entertainment system. They should last for a while.

It had been about 80 miles outside of Indianapolis when he had determined that he would have to rely on his CDs. It was getting close to lunch time, but he wanted to be on the other side of Indianapolis before he stopped for lunch. He looked back to see how Phantom was doing. There was a pet carrier that Phantom was not overly pleased with. His first introduction to it had been when he had been thrust into it to go to the veterinarian for a checkup and shots. No wonder he didn't like it. The vet pronounced him in perfect health, and gave Phantom his first series of shots. He suggested neutering; however, Adam wasn't sure it was time. He knew why it was recommended that most pets be neutered; however, he was having some lingering thoughts about it for some reason.

The door to the pet carrier was open, and Phantom was curled up fast asleep on top of some of the bedding that was on the seat. It had been a bit of a test. If Phantom protested too much about travel in the car or moved around a lot, he would have to be placed in the carrier. It was apparent, though, that he was not having any issues with traveling.

Lunch on the far side of Indianapolis was uneventful. The weather was cool and Adam cracked the window a bit as he left the car in the shade of a tree that was still in the process of leafing out. When he returned, Phantom was sitting on top of the passenger side head rest, and there was evidence in the air that he had used the box. After some quick maintenance, they hit the road for Columbus.

"Well, fella, we still have a day and a half of this travel, and then we have to find a place to live. Do you think you can make it?"

"Mrrup."

Make it they did. Bev, who was from a city near Hartford, had recommended a pet friendly motel, and Adam found it without a problem. Phantom explored every nook and cranny before he gave his reluctant approval by using his liter box that Adam placed under the counter in the dressing area located outside the small bathroom. A nice Italian restaurant a few blocks away served a surprisingly good dinner, and Adam returned with a couple of pieces of calamari that Phantom devoured in spite of having had a pretty large dinner just a couple of hours before.

Phantom was growing like a weed, and was probably around twelve to fifteen weeks old, and Adam had determined that Phantom was probably going to be a very large cat. His feet had been relatively large when had first shown up, and he didn't seem any closer to growing into them than he had weeks before. Adam realized that Phantom needed quite a bit more room to grow up in, and he had the feeling that Phantom yearned to be outdoors and learn to hunt. At their previous home he had watched Phantom watching birds. Phantom would become almost rigid as he watched. The tip of his tail would twitch, and his jaw would quiver while he uttered little mewling noises. Maybe they could find a place where Phantom could get some outdoor time.

He reported in to his office his second day in town. Going from the corporate offices to a tiny satellite office was quite a shock. There were three claims representatives, a marketing rep, two administrative specialists, the office manager, and an empty desk for Adam. There was no receptionist; only the electronic answering machine that people yelled at because it could put the caller into an endless electronic loop.

"That's your desk over there," Greg Smackover said as he showed Adam around the tiny office located in a strip mall in West Hartford. "As you know, you don't report to me. You belong to Tom Dillon in Boston. I don't know if you've talked to him or not, but I think he's expecting you to go over there next week.

"Off the record, I'm not sure why you decided to come here. I don't think this office is going to be around very long. We're a small satellite office, and the rumor mill has it that they will be shutting us down shortly. They don't need us. The claims reps, marketing, and loss control, for that matter can work out of their homes. Hell, I'm going to retire in a couple of years."

Adam looked at the office manager who was obviously only in his 50's. "You look too young to retire."

"I got into the 401K very early, and have maxed my contribution from the beginning. Their matching program is great, and it's all preferred stock. I've distributed my contribution among several indexed funds, and in spite of the ups and downs of the market, they are doing very well. My dividends are greater than my salary. I'll retire at 59, collect my retirement from 'Old Muddy', collect my 401K distribution, and collect social security, if it's still around when I reach 68. We're going to move back home to the Willamette Valley, and enjoy life and the grandchildren.

"Speaking of life, do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, had one for a while in college, but no one lately."

"Well, there are some pretty good 'meat markets' in town. The UConn girls come into town on the weekends. There is a lot to do for a good looking guy like you."

"Well, uh, thanks, I'll have to take a look around."

"I got the list of apartments Bev asked me to get for you. We did some of our early training at the same time. How is she anyway? I suppose you know she's a lesbian. She never talked about it, her private life, but we were pretty sure that was the way it was. I guess it's okay."

"Bev's fine. She was a great instructor and mentor. I think I'll miss her."

It took only a short while for Adam to get things set up. He had his computer logged into the system in a matter of minutes. There were a few messages: one from Tom Dillon telling him to come to Boston the next Monday for orientation, and one from Bev asking how things were going. He wrote her back saying that he was going to look for an apartment that afternoon. He was fine, and Phantom was fine. He thought the area around Hartford was quite a bit prettier than St. Louis.

He checked his queue and found he had a couple of assignments. Nothing that looked very exciting. Heck, he didn't have a clue about how to get around in Connecticut. He'd have to get an atlas, and rely heavily on the internet map services. From what he'd seen so far, there probably wasn't a straight road in the state.

Boston! He'd have to call, better make that email, Jim Matthews, and tell him that he'd arrived in Hartford. He had called Jim a few weeks before to tell him that he was going to be in his neck of the woods. Jim had been glad to hear from him, but the background noise indicated there were problems in Bean Town.

"Who are you talking to," was the shrill voice in the background. Adam had no trouble recognizing the voice of April Dawn, Jim's wife.

"It's Adam. He's moving to Hartford."

"Well, you tell that queer that he's not welcome around here. I'll not have you spending any time with an ungodly heathen like that."

Adam heard a door slam before Jim started talking again.

"God, she's getting worse and worse. Adam, I'd love to see you; however, coming around here is a no go. We'll have to get together for a few drinks. I have business in Hartford every once in a while, so we could probably meet for dinner around there. I'd love to catch up on things. Probably the best thing to do is email me at the office. You have the address. Shit, she's coming back. I'll talk to you later." Jim hung up the phone.

'Jesus, what did he ever see in her? Damn, she's good looking, but she's as cold as winter's supposed to be around here. There's no explaining it.'

Adam spent the afternoon looking for an apartment in the West Hartford area. There first two were rather plain vanilla and had absolutely no ambience. The third apartment complex was a lot smaller than the previous two. It was situated on a small cul de sac, and backed up to some woods surrounding a nice residential area. There were eight individual buildings. Each was a semi-attached duplex, and the eight buildings were built around a tree lined parking area. The live-in manager was sitting on a settee on the shaded porch. A very pretty young girl was sitting next to her on the settee. Between them on the cushion had to be the largest cat Adam had ever seen.

"You must be Mr. Grunewald. Welcome to Shady Grove. I'm Esmeralda Mather, and this is my niece, Charli and her cat, Willie. They're visiting from Bridgeport."

"Charli is short for Charlene. Charli is spelled C-H-A-R-L-I. You may call me Charlene or Charli. I like both names a lot. Are you going to bring Phantom? Willie wants to see him. Willie's his ...."

"Charli, this is not the time to bother Mr. Grunewald about that. Why don't you take Willie and see if you can find some rats down by the woodpile. Mr. Augustus said he thought saw some signs of them down there." Esmeralda turned to Adam.

"She's a precocious child. Insists she's going to be a veterinarian. I wouldn't doubt it for a second.

"Let's take a look at that unit. It's in the next building. At one time, these were part of a school. The school is long gone, but these little duplexes remain. They were intended for the school staff.

Esmeralda, for some reason he felt very comfortable with calling her that, led him into the entry of a very pleasant two story town home. There was a small porch identical to each of the other units. The entry opened to a narrow hall and stairway to the second floor. Most of the interior was paneled in hardwood. Adam thought it was walnut be he wasn't sure. The hall continued to a door at the rear. On the left was an entrance to a parlor that shared the space with a dining area. From there it opened into a very nicely appointed kitchen. There was a powder room under the stair, and next to that was a small laundry area and utility closet that were easily closed off from the rest of the downstairs. The rear of the kitchen expanded into a breakfast nook, and there was a nice built in desk area, perfect for an in home office. The glass paneled cabinets were perfect.

Upstairs there were two bedrooms that shared a bath. The front bedroom was obviously the master bedroom. It had a large closet, and there was a king-size bed against the outside of the closet wall. The furnishings were in step with what was downstairs. They were what was called Eastlake design. The whole house had a pleasantly feminine appeal to it, and Adam loved it.

"I didn't realize these units were furnished. I have a feeling that this is going to be considerably more than I can afford."

Esmeralda quoted him a price, that although was a couple of hundred dollars above what he had been paying in St. Louis, he felt that it was well in range of his budget.

"There's no problem with pets, is there? I have a young kitten. Your niece seemed to know about him. I don't remember telling you his name."

"Oh, pets are fine. We have a part time maintenance man, and he can install a pet door if you would like. We don't have any problems with cats that like to be outdoor cats around here. The area is perfect for them. It's good training."

"I like this very much. When would it be available for move in?"

"Right now, if you would like, we had it cleaned this morning."

They were interrupted by a woman's voice from downstairs. "Esmeralda, are you up there?"

"Yes, Evelyn, I'm with Mr. Grunewald. We'll be right down." They made their way down the stairs to greet a woman who looked like she could be Esmeralda's sister. And, that was exactly who she was."

"Evelyn, I would like you to meet Mr. Adam Grunewald. I think he might be moving in with us for a while. He has a cat named Phantom. I told him that Phantom would be welcome here.

"Mr. Grunewald, this is my sister, Evelyn Alden. She is visiting from Massachusetts."

"Ah, Mr. Grunewald, we've heard so much about you." Esmeralda gave her a dark stare. "I mean, we knew you might be coming by to see the place. It's nice isn't it?"

"I like it very much. Ms. Mather, when do you think I could move in? I'm fine with the rent. This is convenient to my office and the Interstates. It's perfect as far as I'm concerned."

Hardly started in the insurance industry, Adam has found out what it means to be the junior employee. He is vulnerable. He realizes that he is very lucky to have been able to stay with his company, although it has meant moving many miles away from the area he was used to. So what's next? He moves into a home that is almost too nice. He and Jim get to have some time away from Jim's harridan wife. Life goes on with all its uncertainties.

Introduction: The Victorian duplex is perfect as far as Adam is concerned. The location is great and the ambience of the area is refreshing. There is a problem, though. Charli and Randi, two beautiful, precocious girls, not yet teenagers know Adams secret, and he is confounded how they do. Randi mentions she's Cindy's sister. Adam can't quite place the name. Adam and Jim meet for a couple of drinks in Boston where Jim confesses his marriage is not going well.

This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story takes place about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. If you haven't read the stories before, it might be a good idea to go back and start at the beginning.

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Once again Holly H. Hart has willingly provided her invaluable help in proofing and straightening out my poor English. Thank you so much, Holly.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

---

 

Adam and the Three Wishes
 

Part 3

Chapter 5

He moved in the next morning, and it was difficult for him to understand his good fortune. Essentially everything he needed was already there: dishes, utensils, linens, furniture, everything. Well, he did have to bring his television, entertainment system, and computer; however, all the internal wiring had already been installed, and it just took a call to the internet service to have a technician out to provide a modem/hub and check everything out.

Phantom was having a field day checking everything out. He would cautiously check out each room, looking into each corner. The window sills were his observation towers, and they, too, received his scrutiny. The location of the litter box received final testing and approval as well.

The knocking at the front door drew Adam away from putting the last items in the kitchen away. He had been making a list for what he knew would be a fairly extensive shopping trip to the local grocery. The Victorian door with its oval pane revealed the silhouette of a small figure. His visitor was Charli. She was an exceptionally beautiful young girl only a few years away from puberty. Adam was envious of the wonderful journey that she would be embarking on soon. Her complexion was dark, probably Mediterranean. Her wavy dark hair glowed red in the sunlight. He had noticed that the day before. Willie was sitting next to her feet. 'My goodness what a huge cat; his head's above her knees.'

"Willie wants to see Phantom."

"Do you think that's a good idea? Cat's, especially boy cats don't always get along very well." Adam looked back down the hall to see Phantom approaching. He was obviously checking Charli and Willie out. About four feet from the door, he gave a little hiss, puffed his long fur out, and turned sideways with his back arched. Adam figured it was all over, but Willie just stretched out on the porch with his front paws tucked under his chest. Then Phantom attacked. He launched himself at Willie's neck, attacking him as if he were a lion attacking a cape buffalo. Willie just blinked his eyes, and accepted the attack.

Willie finally shook Phantom off, and Phantom headed for the interior. Willie trotted after him. Phantom ducked into the dining room, and as Willie approached he attacked again. This time he charged and reared on his hind legs with his front legs extended upwards. He was a very fierce cat without a doubt. Willie'd had enough by this time, and with one huge paw and foreleg pushed Phantom to the floor. He then proceeded to groom him while paying particular attention to his ears.

"I knew they would get along," Charli said rather matter-of-factly. "Your home looks very nice. I knew it would. You are a girl, after all."

"What!" Adam was shocked to say the least. He could feel the heat of embarrassment rising to his face. "How could you possibly know anything like that? That's not the sort of thing a young girl should be talking about. How can you say anything like that? That's not right."

"Well, you are. I heard Cindy and Bobbie talking about you, and I wanted to see if they were right. Well, they are."

Adam couldn't believe it. He had never thought that he presented a very feminine image. He had tried to keep it inside. There had never been anyone who had even hinted at it. Well, April Dawn had just about called him every name in the book, but he had always attributed that to her outré Christian beliefs and the fact that he was friendly with the LGTBQ community. Hell, when Jim had first brought her around he was still sleeping with Pamela. That didn't last, and there hadn't been anyone since; however, he thought that he had kept his inner girl well hidden. He didn't even have a wardrobe, although he was seriously considering starting one; something that he could experiment with in private.

Cindy and Bobbie, who were they? There was something familiar about the names, though. All he needed was for that little girl to tell her aunt that he was transgendered. She'd kick him out for the 'pervert' that he was.

"Charli, I think you'd better leave. Your aunt probably won't want you hanging around me if you told her what you just told me. You should probably take Willie with you." He turned to see Phantom and Willie sound asleep on the love seat.

"Adam, please forgive Charli," said a voice from the doorway. He turned to see Ms. Mather standing at the door. "She hears things and doesn't always understand everything that has been said. She had a rough time of it for a while. Her parents were murdered by some hoodlums, and Charli isolated herself for a number of years. Some dear friends in Bridgeport adopted her a few years ago. It's just been the last few years that she's been able to come out of her shell. She tends to overcompensate a bit. She's a very smart child, and she amazes us with the progress she's made, and I know she didn't mean any harm by whatever she said."

"Well, she caught me off guard, and the last thing I'd want you to think was that I was some sort of pervert. I assure you I'm not."

"We know you're not, Adam. Don't worry about a thing. Now, Jerry Amistad is working today and will be by here in a while to put in two pet doors for you. He found them in the storage shed. I think they'll work just fine."

"Ms. Esmeralda, how long have you known Willie?"

"About three years, as long as we've known Charli, I guess. Why?

"I don't think I've ever seen a house cat as big as he is. He looks like a killer. I'd hate to have him mad at me. He looks like he's had his share of tussles, with that torn ear. I thought he'd kill Phantom. Instead, they played like long lost friends."

"Who knows? Maybe they are. It's difficult to tell about cats.

"Oh, here's Jerry.

"Jerry, this is Mr. Grunewald, He'll be living with us for a while. He'll show you where the doors go."

The next morning Adam was jostled out of bed by Phantom chasing Willie through the house. Then it was Willie chasing Phantom. It soon turned into a daily activity.

Adam decided to go to Boston on Sunday night. He could have left very early Monday morning, but that was leaving too much to chance. Besides, the company would pay for the room. The travel time would count in his time account.

Tom Dillon was a nice enough fellow, probably cast from the same mold as Davis was. He took Adam around to meet all the staff in the regional office. Like St. Louis, there were four loss control consultants. They handled Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. Their reception of Adam was warm enough, but Adam felt an underlying current of mistrust. The reason for it was beyond his comprehension at the moment.

Tom took the loss control staff out to lunch. A couple of them had a drink, read that alcoholic beverage; however, Adam didn't feel it was proper. He was beginning to wonder if he was being tested.

They met for a couple of hours more in the afternoon before the meeting finally broke up.

"Jim, we've finally finished the meetings. Do you want to meet at that place you talked about? It's just around the corner from here. I can meet you there at five."

"That sounds good. I'm only a few blocks away from there. See you then."

'So this was the famous watering hole they based that old TV program on,' Adam thought as he found a small table. He ordered a Margarita for himself and a Scotch on the rocks for Jim. Jim showed up before the drinks were delivered. They exchanged firm hugs. "I'd better keep it to one drink. April gets upset if I've been drinking. I don't understand what the problem is. I never get drunk. Hell, we used to drink all the time. Then we got married."

"Problems?"

"Things were pretty good for a while after we moved here, but the liberal atmosphere around here bothers her. I guess I never realized how hung up she was about these things. I still don't understand what she has against you. I was so wrong about how I let her treat you.

"I keep hoping that we can get things straightened out, but right now, I don't think it looks very good. I haven't told anyone about this; however, when we got married, all she could talk about was having children. Well last year we got pregnant, but three months into the pregnancy we lost the baby. That happens, and the doctors explained it to us that it was no one's fault. Sometimes, things just aren't right; the body realizes it, and terminates the pregnancy. The body knows. Now she says that God didn't want us to have children, and somehow it's my fault. We haven't had sex in more than six months. I won't call it making love. And, now that I realize it, I don't think it ever was.

"We never should have gotten married. I realize it now. I'm still hoping that we can get things figured out, but I'm not very optimistic.

"Enough about my problems, how're you doing?"

"Not bad, the job pays well enough, but I'm getting a lot of vibrations that tell me the job won't be around too much longer. Everywhere I look the company's downsizing.

"Jim, I really enjoy the work I'm doing. It gives me a lot of freedom. The people I worked with are great, at least the ones I did work with. Now, I have a new supervisor and four other potential rivals. Their reception wasn't exactly warm.

"There's an office manager where I work, and a few other folks that work the other side of the insurance house, but I don't report to any of them. My boss is here." He took a sip from his Margarita. It was pretty good; a lot better than some he'd had on the road. He might have to have another one before he found dinner somewhere. He was sorry that Jim couldn't stay around longer. Still, he knew he'd be back to Boston every few months.

"How's your job going?" Adam asked.

"I guess I could say great. They like my work. They have an excellent computer system, and aren't afraid to spend the money on good software. I'm in the middle of developing a new claims analysis program for them."

They had an enjoyable time talking about past memories. Jim looked at his watch. It was starting to edge towards twilight. "Shit, I've got to go. April will be pissed off as it is. Let me know the next time you're coming over here. We'll have to get together again. By the way, I do have to go to Hartford every once in a while. Maybe we can get together over there. Then we can have dinner or something together without having to worry about April looking over my shoulder.

"I've five minutes to catch the MBTA. If I don't, it'll have to be a cab." Jim paused for a moment. "You know, you're the best friend I've ever had. I am so sorry I almost let April screw things up," he said, almost repeating what he had said earlier. They shook hands, and Jim grabbed his attaché case and headed for the MBTA.

"May I get you another drink, sweetie?" He turned to see an attractive waitress ready to take his order. Her beautiful cleavage was nicely revealed. 'If only,' he thought.

"Yes, I'd like to have another Margarita, and may I please see a menu."

The trip back to Hartford was time for a bit of contemplation. Yeah, Jim's marriage sucked. Anyone with half a brain could tell she wasn't the girl for him. Religiously, Jim was a liberal. April was about as fundamentalist as they came; however, she hid it beneath a veneer of lacquered bleached hair, suspected breast augmentation, and a probable nose job if her parents' proboscises were any indication. The fundamentalism was one thing; however, she, in Adam's opinion, was just not a very nice person. He sensed more than just a little hypocrisy about her.

What did she see in him? Did she see a ticket to something or somewhere? He just didn't understand it. Jim deserved a lot better than he was getting.

Charli waved at him as he pulled into his parking slot. There was something that bothered him, though. Willie and Phantom were roughhousing on the lawn, and the problem was that Adam had left Phantom inside behind locked doors. The pet door had been secured from the inside. Esmeralda was supposed to be looking after him, but he didn't expect Phantom to be allowed to go outside. In addition to Charli and the two cats was a young blonde girl. She might have been about a year older than Charli if her size was any indication.

The four of them came bounding over to greet Adam as he parked the car. Phantom was wrapping himself around Adam's ankles in a matter of seconds. "So, you little monster, what are you doing out here?"

"Adam, this is my best friend, Randi. She's visiting today because she wanted to see Phantom.

"Randi, this is Adam. What do you think?"

"I think you are right. No, I know you are right," Randi corrected herself.

"Hi, Adam, it's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. Cindy is my big sister. She met you in Cape Girardeau."

'That's where I heard that name before. Now, I remember. This is certainly a strange coincidence. What is going on?' Adam thought. 'My goodness, she's pretty. Her blonde beauty is the perfect complement to Charli's dark beauty.'

"We didn't let Phantom out. He knows how to unlock the pet door. Willie told him how to do it. I'll show you.

"Phantom, go back in your house and lock the pet door. We'll meet you inside."

Phantom took off and Willie followed. "Willie, no fair helping Phantom; he has to do it himself.

"Sometimes, Willie tries to help too much. Phantom is real young, but he's learning real well. Willie's real proud of him. He should be," Randi added.

When they entered, the two cats were proudly sitting in front of the pet door. The door was securely locked.

"How in the hell did they do that?" Adam asked. "And how'd they know what you were talking about?"

"We told them to do it. Didn't you hear us?" Charli said with her hands on her hips as only a child could do.

"I know I heard you tell them, but I have a bit of a problem believing that they understood you, and did what you told them to do."

"Well, they told us they understood us," Charli once again said rather emphatically. "Didn't you hear them?"

"Charli, I don't think Adam's ready yet."

"Ready for what?" Adam asked.

"Ready to talk with cats, dogs, and other animals.

"Someday, you will be," Randi said as she turned to Adam.

"I think you young ladies have some rather vivid imaginations," Adam responded.

"Girls, are you in here with Mr. Grunewald?" Five heads turned to see Esmeralda Mather standing in the entry hall. "I hope you're not bothering him with all this cat stuff. There will be plenty of time for that later.

"So, how was your trip?"

"Very nice: I was able to have a couple drinks with a good friend. The business part went pretty well, too. My boss is cool, but the others didn't exactly roll out the welcome mat." Then he changed the subject back to his precocious kitten someday to be a cat if he didn't get run over. "How did Phantom learn to unlock the pet door? I know he's a smart kitten but that is beyond me. I wanted to keep the door locked so that we didn't have any unauthorized 'guests'."

"Well, he is a very smart kitten. They are often a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

"I do have some news that shouldn't affect you for a while. Lewis Construction, they're the owners of this property, are going to be doing some updates around here. You may have noticed the stakes at the rear of some of the units. Those are where they are going to be putting garages for each of the units. They will also be converting half of the buildings into single family dwellings. I think that's what they have in store for this one. But as I said, you don't have to worry about that. The place is yours as long as you need it."

"I guess that's a bit disappointing. I really like it here, but I have a feeling that I will probably be moving on within the year. I'm beginning to understand the signs in this business. We'll just have to see, I guess."

Chapter 6

Adam found that he had to allow quite a bit more time to travel the same distances he had been traveling in Missouri. There was another problem that he had to overcome, also. He was a foreigner. His almost accentless voice immediately identified him as not being from the area. "Hi, I'm from your insurance company," elicits about the same response as saying you are from the IRS or from OSHA. Of course, Adam would never walk in on someone unannounced. That was a strict no-no. He would get his assignments and try to put together a trip that would get as many in one day as was practical. Some days were longer than others; however, he was home every night except when he had to go to Boston, which he did about once a quarter.

It worked out nicely on his second trip to Boston that Jim's wife was visiting a sister in West Plains who was going to be giving birth soon. Jim picked Adam up at his hotel, and they drove to one of the better known restaurants in the outskirts of town.

"This place is known for its seafood and steaks. On the advice of someone in the office, I took April here last year. She didn't like it at all. You might have noticed there's a gay bar and restaurant next door. She gets very uptight about that sort of thing, and I guess it ruined the dinner for her."

"Anything changed since last time?" Adam asked.

"Not much, she let me have sex with her a few weeks ago. I wouldn't call it making love. Let's just say it was very one sided, and leave it at that.

"So how's your love life?"

"Nonexistent, I haven't had time to get out much. They're a few nice restaurants around, but I don't really have the funds. 'Old Muddy' will pay for my share of this one. I have met two absolutely gorgeous girls who were staying with my landlady. One is this sultry, dark little thing with the most beautiful dark auburn hair. Her best friend is a natural platinum blonde with the deepest blue eyes. They live in Bridgeport out in the western part of the state. The bad news is they are 10 and 11. What's really weird is that I met the blonde's sister in Cape Girardeau, Missouri last spring. She and her friend were visiting this old guy who was running a strange little store I had to survey." Adam decided not to mention the other weird things about the trip.

"Guess who was with her sister? She's her sister's best friend."

"I haven't a clue."

"Bobbie Schmedlap."

"You have to be kidding. My God, she's good looking. So, was her friend that lush, golden haired blonde?"

"Yes, her name's Cindy, and she's gorgeous," Adam replied.

"I saw the two of them on the cover of the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated. They made the cover instead of the pros. I understand they did it for charity.

"I didn't see the magazine when it came out, but I found it on the internet. I was searching Bobbie's name, and all sorts of stuff popped up. I had vaguely remembered seeing a picture of her on one of Dad's golf magazines. I just play the game. I don't obsess about it like Dad does."

"I'm surprised you didn't know about the pictures in SI, since I know you like pretty women."

'I do, but not for the reason you think' Adam thought. "I've been pretty busy and just didn't get around to getting the issue this year."

"Well, I'd let you look at my copy except that April threw it out a while ago. Are they as pretty in person as the pictures made them out to be?"

"I would have to say so." Adam paused for a second thinking back to that snowy day. "I didn't recognize Bobbie at first, but I realized she was a golfer when I saw that her left hand wasn't tanned. I guess she saw me looking at her hand, and complimented me on guessing she was a golfer. Who she was hadn't sunk in yet. Maybe I was being too appreciative of their good looks.

"The proprietor of the store told me that Cindy, Lewis is her last name, is a pre-med student here in Boston. I think he said Bobbie was going to Wake Forest. That only makes sense. There's quite a golf heritage there."

"I guess you don't keep up with the news."

"I do. I listen to NPR when I travel. I get the Courant. Why?"

"They both got married this summer. It was a big double wedding in Bridgeport. They made a big deal about it on those morning news programs. Cindy's husband has been a two time All American as a place kicker for Boston College. He kicked a seventy-two yarder last season. Bobbie's husband is an All American golfer on the men's team at Wake forest.

"So, a ten and eleven year-old, eh, that's probably too long for you to wait. Any other prospects?"

"Nope."

"So, how are the digs?"

"Where I live? Great! I'll have to move out some day, though. They have a project starting where they're going to convert the place to private homes. They told me that I can stay there as long as I want. I have a feeling I'll be looking for a job within the year.

"The place is very nice. It's an older home with a very Victorian feel. It came furnished, and most of the furniture is Eastlake, really nice walnut and other hardwoods. The kitchen is modern with some of the best appliances I've ever seen for the type of place it is."

"You always were sort of the homebody," Jim chuckled. "Not that you're a neat freak, but you've always made sure everything was right."

"Actually, I think you are being a bit kind. I don't like mess," Adam interrupted.

"I think it's more than that. You rearranged our dorm room so that it worked well for both of us. Hell, I was willing to just take it just as it was. You see things differently than most guys do. It's strange. You like sports, but aren't eaten up by them. Well, you like some sports. You certainly aren't a NASCAR fan. You're a Royals fan, and George Brett is your hero. I'm a St. Louis fan, and Albert Pujols, the traitor, is my idol; however, we like them both. We both like to fish. You're a far better golfer than I am, and you helped my game. I don't know if you can cook or not; however, your comments about food make me think you know how to get around in the kitchen.

"There are other things about you that are difficult to put a finger on. You listen well. You're sensitive. You've let me talk about my marriage problems, and you've always been supportive. I've seen you cry at movies. Not many guys do that. You tell me you've adopted an orphan cat. I've always liked cats," Jim seemed to be a bit contemplative when he started talking about cats.

"You know, April has a cat, and I can't get near it. April says it's because I must have abused a cat or other pet sometime past. I assure you I've never abused any animal.

"April doesn't know that we met the last time you were here. I've just never seen any reason to tell her. It was bad enough when you were my best man. She didn't understand why I would even let some 'queer' take part in the wedding."

"I'm not gay."

"I know that, but there is something about you that sets her off. It's almost like she is competing with you for my affection. I know you are my best friend, and I'm not gay either. I don't know what it is, but there is something about her that I didn't have a clue about when we were back in college.

"There's something else I want to talk with you about. I have to go over to Hartford for a couple of days next week. April won't be home for at least another week after that. Her sister's not due until then, and April says her sister has long pregnancies. Maybe we could get together for some golf. April doesn't know that you're around here. She thinks you're in Hartford, and has no idea you come to Boston on business. As far as I'm concerned it's none of her business where the hell you are. I was just trying to smooth things out a bit with her, and the last thing I wanted was her to fume over the fact you were nearby.

"Why can't we enjoy each other's company? That's what friends do when they are able. I have a few drinking buddies from the office, but they're not my type. Our interests are just too different."

"You can stay with me if you want," Adam said after only the briefest pause. "I have plenty of room, and that way you can save on expenses. Rockledge Golf course isn't too far away, and I can reserve a tee time. The trees are starting to turn, and it should be very pretty out there. I like golfing in the cooler weather, and I haven't had a chance to play very often. I'll give you five strokes a side."

"Make it seven: I haven't played in over a year.

'That will be nice,' Adam thought the next morning as he made the two hour trip back to Hartford. He checked at the office to see if there was anything going on that he hadn't been aware of, and found several new assignments that had been added that morning. He had two new ones that would take him to Bridgeport. That was an interesting city. He liked its proximity to the sea (actually Long Island Sound) and the smell of the sea air. He'd recently done a survey of a container business down there. It'd been quite a learning experience. One of the neat things about it, it had been an all day survey, well at least four hours, was that he took his lunch break at a Portuguese restaurant specializing in sea food. He'd ordered the fried scallop luncheon expecting maybe a half dozen, or so, scallops. Instead, he had a mound of maybe thirty or forty scallops about the size of the end of his thumb. The batter was light, almost a tempura, and they were so hot they steamed. There were more French fries on a separate dish than he could eat in three meals. He took what scallops that were left over for Phantom to sample. Phantom had thought that they were quite acceptable.

This time there weren't any big assignments, just quite a few small ones. There was one for a franchise store belonging to the same company of nutrition centers he had allegedly surveyed in Cape Girardeau months before. He was still trying to figure out that hallucination. He must have been working too hard or something. Maybe someone had slipped some hallucinogenic mushrooms into his lunch that day. Where had he eaten, and what? He was sure it was that Chinese buffet that he had stopped at before. If that was the case, why would anyone do something like that? But that couldn't be, because he still had the photos on his computer. Yet the final report that was in the files was of a nutrition center, not a novelty shop named Spells-á´™-Us. 'I mean that's one of the biggest sources of stories in the world of TG literature. That's just too weird. But Mr. Bettencourt didn't look much like the wizard in the stories.'

Phantom was waiting for him on the front porch as he drove up. "Hey, fella, did you miss me?"

"Mrrup (Yes, it's lonely here since Willie had to go home. I almost caught a rat this morning, but he went under the woodpile.)

"We're going to have a visitor later this week. He's a friend of mine. We went to college together, and he likes cats."

"Mrrice."

"Is that a scab on your ear? When did you get that?"

'This morning. That rat bit me. I might have a little scar. It won't be like Willie's. I didn't even know it was there until Esmeralda told me.'

Phantom was growing like a weed, but he would never be the size that Willie was. His long fur did make him look a bit bigger than he really was, but he might not get much bigger than 12 - 14 pounds if he didn't get fat. Still, that was rather larger than average.

'Did you bring me any scallops like you did before? I really liked those.'

"Sorry, I didn't bring any special food for you. I might be able to in a week or so. I'm going to Bridgeport in a few weeks. I might get shrimp next time. You'll like them, I'm pretty sure." Adam didn't realize that what he thought was a one way conversation was actually two way. For that matter, Phantom didn't realize it either. Of course, cats always felt they were understood, or at least should be.

The rest of the day was spent at a rather leisurely pace making sure that things would be ready for Jim towards the end of the week. He'd come in on Wednesday evening. Surprisingly, he was able to get a 9:00 AM tee time for them on Saturday, and a 10:00 AM time for Sunday. They'd be paired with other twosomes, of course. After getting the tee time, he moved on to doing some general cleaning.

The guest bedroom had twin beds, and the furnishings pretty much followed that of the rest of the house. There was a nice dresser, a night stand with a lovely lamp between the beds, a marble top vanity, and a nice easy chair by the window alcove that overlooked the front yard. Along the center wall was a closet that ran the entire length. Adam hadn't checked that area out too closely before moving in. He just knew that there was a closet there.

The inside of the closet was pretty much the way he remembered it: cedar lined. A bar for hangers ran its length. 'Wait a moment. The closet's bigger. At least it looks that way from the outside. And what's that beautiful aroma?' Adam looked at the wall to make sure. 'It has to be at least six feet longer.'

Checking the far end of the closet, he noted that the clothes' bar extended through the wall. In fact it wasn't a wall at all. It was a folding partition. Behind it were clothes, and what clothes they were: beautiful dresses, two and three piece ensembles, formal dresses, cocktail dresses, and even casual clothes. Below the dresses was a shoe rack that extended from the existing one. The big difference was that it was covered in shoes for every occasion. There were even hiking boots and golf shoes. A gamut of emotions ran through him. 'If only,' he thought as he checked them out. They were obviously too small for him. If he'd been about four inches shorter than his six feet and forty pounds lighter, he might have had a chance.

They were mostly designer labels, and even the more familiar store labels were at the better end of the scale. Adam could remember seeing many of the items at some of the internet sites he had gone to when he was trying to satisfy his imagination and desires. Had the clothes been the right size, he would have tried them on, but he couldn't have done that anyway. The dresses weren't his, and he didn't have the correct undergarments. Then he noted a lingerie chest at the far end of the closet. All the appropriate under garments were located there. Something was unusual; the bras, panties, slips, and camisoles were all new. He was certain they hadn't been worn.

He had tried on some of his mother's and sisters clothes, and even experimented with makeup when he was just entering puberty, and it gave him quite a rush in spite of the fact he looked awful; however, a growth spurt and a forest of body hair quickly destroyed the visual effect. He had decided at the time that if he couldn't look good, he wasn't going to do it; however, recent urges had pushed him to thinking about starting a wardrobe. He was going to have to start transitioning someday. He knew that. It was just that with a new job, no money, and a definite non-feminine appearance, it was going to be a long time coming.

What were these clothes doing here? He could see that it was a fairly complete wardrobe. Whoever they belonged to certainly had a nice figure. The bras, at least the ones he looked at, were 34C's. He tried to imagine what she looked like. She had to be classy, but an image wouldn't come to mind.

"Ms. Esmeralda, it's the strangest thing. I was doing some cleaning up, and I found what must be the best part of a complete wardrobe behind a partition in the front closet. Do you have any idea whom they might belong to?"

"Oh dear, I had forgotten all about those. They belong to a young lady who is not here at the moment. I'm sure she will get them when she arrives."

Next time: Adam is barely settled in when it's announced that the Hartford office is closing. Adam is allowed to work from his home office, but he sees the handwriting on the wall. Two months later, he is out of a job. What will he do, and where will he go?

Introduction: Jim visits Adam in Hartford. They have a great weekend eating, drinking, and playing golf. It might have been too much wine, but Adam confesses he is transgendered. Jim takes the revelation quite well. There are some other interesting occurrences. Then the downturning economy bites Adam in the ass again; however, he finds a new job in Boston. Guess where he finds a place to live.

This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor. The time frame of this story takes place about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. If you haven't read the stories before, it might be a good idea to go back and start at the beginning.

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Once again Holly H. Hart has willingly provided her invaluable help in proofing and straightening out my poor English. Thank you so much, Holly.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Adam and the Three Wishes
 

Part 4

Chapter 7

"You are one lucky fella," Jim said as he took a sip from his Margarita. "I mean that is a 230 yard hole, and you knock into the hole on the fly with a five wood. It sure messed up the lip."

"That had to be one of the best shots of my life. I've come close to an ace before, but obviously nothing like that. I think the best thing though, was that you got to meet Bobbie Anderson and her husband. I had no idea they would be giving a golf clinic. It surprised the heck out of me that she remembered me. I mean I saw her for only a few minutes. She sure is beautiful, isn't she?

"Yeah, but she's definitely taken," Jim answered somewhat wistfully. "I didn't realize she was that tall. Now I can see how she hits the ball so far. She hits the ball a lot further than you do."

"That's not saying much. There're a lot of ladies on the tour who hit it as far as I do. Stories have it that she's never played from the ladies' tees since high school.

"Let's check that lamb. It should be close to being done; medium rare, right."

They sat down a few minutes later to a nice but simple dinner of rack of lamb, parsleyed buttered new potatoes, and lightly steamed fresh baby spinach. That had been preceded by a small Cesar salad garnished with a few fillets of anchovies. Jim was an anchovy freak, something that Adam had found out early in their relationship in college - pizza with everything plus anchovies, lots of anchovies.

Adam's Margaritas were rather powerful. It was just the way he liked them, but he didn't fix them that often. If he drank anything at all at home, it was usually a glass of wine or two with dinner. This time they split the better part of two bottles of a nice pinot noir. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that Jim was away from the fetters imposed by his wife.

Now it was time for dessert. Adam had found an Italian market in East Hartford that carried genuine gelato, and he presented Jim with a small bowl of the very rich and smooth tasting dark chocolate that he particularly enjoyed.

"You know, Adam, you'd make some guy a pretty good wife."

Adam felt the heat rising in his face. "Why would you say that?"

"I guess it's all that stuff I mentioned in Boston the other day, plus, I now know for sure that you can cook."

Too much alcohol can do strange things. Sometimes it emboldens, sometimes, it opens doors that have been secured for many years.

"Jim, how well do you know me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you really know me, the person who's inside," he said pointing to his chest.

"I thought so. Maybe I don't."

"Do you know what being transgendered means? I'm not talking about knowing from inside. I mean, are you familiar with the term?"

"I guess so. I've seen things about it on television and the newspapers. I remember Chaz Bono and that beauty queen from Canada. She looked pretty good. It's hard to believe that she's a man."

"That's just it. She's not a man. Do you know the difference between gender and sex?"

"I thought they were the same."

"Only when they match. Sex is the physical appearance of an individual, ignoring intersex which is a whole different ball game, whereas gender is the mental orientation."

"So, you are ...?"

"Transgendered."

"You're kidding, I mean you're not all swishy or limp wristed. You like sports. Well, that doesn't apply does it?"

"But you just said it. You said I'd make someone a good wife. You didn't say 'partner'. You said 'wife'. Whether or not you want to admit it, you see the inner me. I've tried to keep it hidden, but I don't always do it. That little girl I told you about, Charli, said I was a girl. I think her friend saw it, too. Out of the mouths of babes.

"Does this bother you, the fact that inside I may be a woman?"

"I don't think so. I mean how could that change our friendship? I'm not gay. You said you weren't gay. You don't think about having sex with men or me, do you?"

"Not as a man, I sometimes dream of being a real woman, having a lover and a family. I find women attractive, especially a woman like Bobbie. That whole area is a bit blurred at the moment. I think it's because of how I feel about myself. I thought things were pretty good between me and Pamela for a while, but I guess I didn't take charge enough to satisfy her. She wanted me to take her, dominate her. I wanted to cuddle and be gentle."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing for a while; I'm going to have to save a lot of money. I'll have to find a shrink and a medical doctor who are familiar with this sort of thing. Once the psychologist agrees that I need gender confirmation surgery, I'll start taking hormones and blockers. My body will change a bit, but not enough. I'll need a lot of permanent hair removal, a whole lot, and that is expensive. I'll need facial surgery and breast augmentation to help make me look somewhat feminine. And, of course, there's 'the operation'."

"You mean a sex change operation?"

"I think more correctly it's called gender confirmation surgery. Then it's trying to find acceptance in a world that still hasn't come to terms with the condition. Hopefully, whoever I work for will accept me. The law says they have to, but it isn't always easy to gain acceptance. Companies do have ways to get around the law at times.

"So, now that I've let the cat out of the bag, what do you think?"

"I think you are very brave to tell me what you've told me. It's a bit of a shock, but now that you've told me, I do see it. You don't scream 'woman', but there is definitely a gentler side about you. Wow!" Jim said as let out a deep breath while looking at his best friend.

"So, what are you going to do," Adam asked.

"Nothing, I don't see how anything between us has changed. I wonder if that's what has put April off about you. Maybe she senses your inner woman, and she's not feeling secure about you. Well, I certainly won't tell her or anyone else about you. You can trust me on that.

"Does anyone know: your parents, brother or sister?"

"I don't think so. I'll have to tell them some day. The older I get, the more I think they're okay about this sort of thing.

"I want to show you something upstairs. The dishes can wait." Opening the closet in the front bedroom, Adam showed the movable panel to Jim. When he opened the panel, he had to take a deep breath. The clothes were gone.

"What's so great about that?" Jim asked.

"You're not going to believe this, but a couple of days ago, there was a complete woman's wardrobe back here: dresses, shoes, everything. They weren't my size, quite a bit too small, or I might have been tempted to try them out. They were very nice, some very nice labels. Esmeralda must have retrieved them. She said they were for someone else."

"Who's Esmeralda?"

"She's the property manager here."

They made their way back to the kitchen where Phantom was cleaning up the remnants of the lamb from Adam's plate.

"You certainly have a nice cat," Jim said as he took Phantom, who had received a mild scolding, from Adam. Phantom continued sitting on Jim's lap while he cleaned the remnants of the lamb from his whiskers and face. Adam was putting the remainder of the dishes into the dish washer, and Jim placed Phantom on the chair as he got up to help.

"You're not shitting me about this transgendered stuff, are you?"

"Not at all: for some reason, it just seemed right to tell you. I'm glad I did.

"Now about tomorrow, I don't see giving you any more strokes than I did today. I shot the best round of my life. I may never shoot a 76 again. If that ball hadn't gone in the hole, it probably would have gone off the green and into the lake. That could have been a four shot swing. Besides, you shot a net 68. That cost me two beers. I don't think I can give you more than four a side."

Jim headed back to Boston from the golf course. There weren't any holes in one, but both had good rounds that ended in a net tie."

"Adam, let me know how things are going. After what you've told me, I'm surprised at how positive you are about things. I did some checking on the internet this morning, and I noted that depression is something you must be dealing with. I'll be there for you if you ever need to talk about things." They shook hands, and at the last second exchanged a firm hug.

'All-in-all, this has been a pretty good weekend,' he thought as he watched Jim drive off.

Phantom was waiting for him when he parked in front of the house. Adam had given up thinking that he could lock the cat in. It was a very strange thing, because if Phantom went outside, he would always lock the door when he returned. Adam, rather jokingly asked him to do it because it would help keep the other animals out.

Adam's Tuesday had been set rather easily. He left for Bridgeport at 6:00 AM so he could get there before the traffic got too bad. He stopped at the IHOP located just off the Interstate in Orange, only a few miles outside Bridgeport. It worked out perfectly as the daycare he had to visit was only a few blocks away. His breakfast was acceptable, as was the coffee. His waitress was a pleasant young woman who couldn't cover up all the tattoos on her arms and neck. Adam wondered what the rest of her canvas looked like. He had never wanted a tattoo; however, the thought of seeing her slightly zaftig body covered in artwork was a bit erotic.

There were no problems noted in his survey at the daycare, but in spite of his having made an appointment with the director, he had trouble gaining access. They finally verified who he was with their agent, and he was allowed to complete his survey.

His next stop was a quick-stop along the old highway leading into the city. The proprietor rather reluctantly told him that yes he had firearms on the premises. Adam told him that as long as the employees were properly trained and their training was documented, there shouldn't be a problem. Of course it would probably increase their liability insurance costs. He couldn't tell them that, though, because he didn't know for sure what the underwriters would do when they saw the report. Underwriters were the most anal retentive bunch he had ever met. Not only that, they were consistent in their inconsistency. You never knew how they were thinking, and all it took was some poorly written memo to get them going off in six different directions.

Then it was time for lunch. He remembered his promise to Phantom, and had his extra shrimp boxed up. Once again there was more food than any two people should eat. He realized it had a lot to do with the fishing community. The fishermen worked long hours under rather severe conditions. When it came time to eat, they had to stoke up on the calories. Well, times may have changed a bit, but the tradition lived on.

His afternoon stop was the health food store in the chain of stores he had allegedly surveyed months before, although he was certain he hadn't. He arrived at the rather attractive mall about an hour early. That was by design. He just wanted to walk around a bit, do some window shopping, and if the mall had a good music store, check out the classical CDs. He had a flashback to the mall in Cape Girardeau. He thought about that strange shop with more aisles than he could see at one time. It couldn't have been his imagination! He'd met Bobbie Schmedlap, now Bobbie Anderson, there, and she had remembered him a few days before. It was beginning to settle in that there was something very strange going on, and it was continuing.

It was definitely continuing. Directly in front of him was a Spells-á´™-Us shop. He was next to one of the mall directories, and checked it out. The directory clearly stated that the location had a Hallmark store. He looked back. It was definitely a Spells-á´™-Us shop. It appeared to be identical to the one he had surveyed in Missouri.

"Hi Adam."

Adam turned to see Charli and Randi with two women and another young girl. The latter was of oriental origin.

"My goodness, what a surprise; what are you doing here?"

"Oh. We live near here back in the country a bit," Randi said matter-of-factly.

"Mommy, this is the nice Mr. Grunewald we told you about. He lives at the place where Aunt Esmeralda lives. Phantom lives with him."

"Mr. Grunewald, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Marissa Lewis," she said extending her hand. This is my good friend Hilda Brewer, and her daughter Lucy." They exchanged greetings all around. "So, what brings you to Bridgeport?"

Adam had to keep himself from staring at the gorgeous blonde. Now he knew where Cindy got her good looks from. Mrs. Lewis had to be one of the most attractive women he had seen in a long time, maybe just a bit more in the bust than he liked, but she carried herself very well. Hilda was very attractive, also. He figured out very quickly that she was from Germany. He also realized that Lucy and Charli were probably adopted.

"I'm doing an insurance survey. There's a health food store down that corridor that I'm supposed to survey. I just saw that store over there, that Spells-á´™-Us shop, and it's not on the directory."

"No, he never is. You should see him some time. His Wisdom is a wonderful man. You don't have a thing to worry about him. The children all love him."

"He looks like that Albus Dumbledore, but they are only cousins," Hilda added.

"I met your older daughter and her friend Bobbie in a store like that one early this year. I never could understand what they were doing in Cape Girardeau. I ran into Bobbie and her husband in Hartford last weekend."

"Oh, they were just visiting. They visit him quite a bit as do Randi and Charli. In fact, we were just visiting him a little while ago. I left him a dozen of my cookies."

"I gave one to Wolf. He likes mommy's cookies, but he's not supposed to have too many."

"Wolf! That dog really is a wolf! I didn't think anyone could have a wolf."

"He's grandfathered," Hilda responded with a chuckle. "No one could do anything about it anyway."

Adam looked up to see that the location was now filled with a Hallmark store. "What the hell just happened? I know the SRU shop was there just seconds ago. This can't be my imagination."

"No, it's not your imagination. He had an appointment in Taipei. He didn't tell us what it was about. He does a lot of things he doesn't tell us about. He can be a bit tricky at times, and he still gets carried away with things. But, he's not like the wizard you may have read about, at least not with us.

"His Wisdom is pretty much on top of things these days thanks to modern computers and the internet, even though he says he hates them. If you ever need to see him," Marissa emphasized 'need'. Go down that corridor towards the restrooms. You will see the rear entrance to his shop. He will let you in. He's expecting you."

"Why couldn't I just go in the front door?"

"Because he's not always here," Charli chimed in. "He's very busy, but he usually knows what we need."

Adam wasn't sure what to do. Obviously, in spite of his desire to ignore the facts, the SRU shop was real, and the Lewises, Brewers, Schmedlaps and others were in the middle of it. It was almost as if they were pushing him to the shop, and now that he knew it was real, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do about it. He had read too many tales about what happened to the unsuspecting when they entered the place. And now that he realized it couldn't all be urban myth, he wasn't sure what to believe and what to discount. Why would anyone want to help him anyway? What possibly could their motives be?

"It was very nice meeting you, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Brewer, and Lucy. It was good to see Charli and Randi again. I have an appointment down the hall I have to be to in just a few minutes. Maybe we will meet again."

"I'm sure we will, dear. I'm sure we will."

They watched Adam as he disappeared around the corner. "Is he going to do it Mommy?" Charli asked.

"I can't tell, Charli. You know that.

"What do you think, Marissa?"

"There's still too much uncertainty. Nothing's going to happen until the time is right."

Chapter 8

Fall turned into winter, and Phantom continued to grow. He reluctantly wore his collar with its rabies vaccination tag. He had found a way to slide it between the collar and his neck when he was stalking rats so that the noise wouldn't alert them. Most of the time, he just let it dangle.

Adam was able to meet Jim in Boston for drinks at the watering hole. The meeting with Adam's boss and the others was supposed to be a day meeting only; however, the company did spring for the hotel for both nights. Trying to get out of Boston at the height of the rush hour just wasn't a good idea. Adam had come in the night before as the weather was threatening, and he didn't feel that trying to drive on icy roads was the smartest thing to do either. As it turned out, the meeting lasted longer than was planned.

"Well, we got some news today that I've been expecting. They're going to close the Hartford office in 60 days."

"What does that mean for your job?" Jim asked.

They're going to let me work from home. I've been doing that most of the time anyway. They'll let me move the desk top to the house, and I'll get a printer that meets their specifications. It'll be one of those all in one fax, scanner and printer jobs. My printer's fine, so it'll get a bit of a rest.

"I'm beginning to think that my days are numbered, though. My workload continues to drop. There should have been an increase around the first of the year. Well, there has, but it's nothing like I expected. I don't think they'll be able to justify my existence much longer. The company's losing business to the big guys. The New York area's losing business just like Boston is. Nothing's been said yet, but I expect that Connecticut's business will be split between the New York and Boston offices very soon. I'm the junior consultant and I expect I'll be out of a job before long. I'm working on my resumé, and will be putting it out on the internet with one of those head hunting companies."

The end came a bit sooner than he expected. Two months later, he was given his 30 day notice. They were kind enough to give him six weeks pay. There was one bit of good fortune. Adam's company car was three years old, and it was at the replacement point. He was able to purchase it at wholesale. At least he wouldn't have to look for transportation, but that was an expense he hadn't planned on.

His resumé had been out there for a while, and he started getting inquiries right away. One in particular caught his attention. A third party administrator, a company that did claims and loss control (they called it risk control) and other things for insurance companies wanted to talk to him. What was happening in the industry was that insurance companies were farming their work out to these companies so that they didn't have to pay the salaries they were paying. They got rid of their employees, and reduced their expenses.

Adam called the company, which was in Louisiana, and the interview went very well. They basically wanted to hire him on the spot. Apparently, the references he gave were full of praise for him. They had openings available in the San Francisco area (too expensive), Dallas-Fort Worth (too hot), Arkansas (that didn't interest him in the least), and the Boston area (Jim was there; April be damned). He said he would take the Boston area, but he would need a few weeks to move. Hell, he didn't have a clue where he'd live, and he knew it would be more expensive than Hartford.

"Esmeralda, I've lost my job. At least, I will in a few weeks. They're giving my territory to New York and Boston."

"Oh dear, what are you going to do?"

"I have a job as a private contractor doing the same thing I am doing now. It looks like I'll be moving to Boston; however, I don't have a clue where to live."

"Let me check for you. We have friends there who might be able to find something satisfactory for you. I'm sure you'll have to find a place where Phantom will be able to live."

Esmeralda returned later that afternoon with an address. "This is a condominium unit that belongs to friends of mine. They say one of their residents is moving elsewhere, and wants to rent the unit rather than sell it. It's fully furnished, and the price is the same as you're paying here. Why don't you drive over there and check it out? Here's the address."

Finding the place on Google Earth was easy. A recent street view image showed what had obviously been a warehouse at one time. Someone had spent quite a bit of money turning the place into a condominium complex. There was no visible sign, but a quick internet search on the address made it an easy place to find - Harbour View Place was the name. It was owned by Lewis Properties, LLC, and was one of several units the company owned in Boston. They weren't cheap.

"Phantom, it looks like we'll be moving to Boston. Do you mind?"

"Chirrup ('I like it here, but I'll stick with you')."

The condo was better than Adam could have hoped for. It was spacious, very well equipped, nicely furnished, but not exactly to Adam's taste. The price made it perfect. Two weeks later, he rented a U-Haul box truck since he didn't have a hitch on the car, packed it up and moved his few belongings to Boston. He brought Phantom with the idea that he would leave him there overnight.

The previous owners had obviously had a cat as there was a pet door leading into the laundry, and a scratching post in the living area. Phantom sniffed the post briefly before claiming it as his own.

It was a quick trip back to Hartford to turn in the truck and pick up his car. He had two assigned parking places, and they were close to one of the entrances. He had a box of just a few items he had forgotten to pack earlier, and he held the box under one arm as he held the door open for a lady who was coming up from behind him. As he held the door, the realization hit both of them at the same time.

"What the hell are you doing here, freak?"

"Moving in, I guess. How about you?"

"I live here. So, does Jim know you're moving in? I'll bet he does. He's moving you in, and me out. Well, we'll see about that." April Dawn Matthews stormed off to the elevator.

The flabbergasted Adam watched as the door closed in front of him. He took the stairs to the second floor, and as he stepped into the hall, he caught sight of her behind as she turned the corner. The sound of the slamming door reached him before he got to his door.

Phantom greeted him at the door, and demanded to be fed.

'I don't like it when you leave me alone. The front door is harder to unlock than the other door was, but I can do it from both sides now. I'll have to show you.

'This place is big, but I couldn't find any rats. I may have to go down towards the water front before I can find any.

'I hope you had a nice trip.'

"The trip wasn't bad, Phantom, but the strangest thing happened when I got here. Jim Matthews lives here."

'Yes, I know. I smelled him. The lady who lives with him is not very nice. There's a cat there, too. It told me it wants to kill me. I don't know why. I never did anything to it.'

"Jim told me that he lived in a condominium complex. I certainly didn't know it was here. I have his email address and cell phone. That's the only way we've communicated.

"I wonder why she hates me so much?"

'She's evil, and so is her cat.'

Adam spent a few minutes arranging things before he sat down. Phantom, who'd been cleaning up, jumped into his lap and promptly curled up. Phantom was becoming quite the lap full.

"Hey, Jim, I'm in my place," Adam was on his cell phone. "Guess who I met a while ago?"

"I don't have a clue."

"Well, you never told me exactly where you live, and I guess I never told you exactly where I was moving to. Well, that's all moot now. I held the side door open for your wife a while ago. It seems we're about three units apart. April is not pleased to say the least.

"What is it with her, anyway? She said something about you moving me in and moving her out. That certainly doesn't make sense."

"I'll talk to her tonight about this. She's been threatening to move out for weeks. As far as I'm concerned, she can move back to Missouri anytime. I was talking to my lawyer today. I think I will just go ahead and file. There is something very strange about her. When we lost the baby, it wasn't so much about losing the baby, it was somehow my fault. The doctors tried to tell her it was nobody's fault, but she won't listen.

"I certainly don't love her anymore, and now that I look at it, I'm pretty sure I never did. She had me hooked for a while - no more.

"Tonight probably won't be the best time for me to come see you. I have a feeling that may not be an issue much longer. I'll be talking with you."

Adam quietly left his place a couple of hours later to get dinner. He needed to get to a grocery store, but that would have to wait. The dinner was nice. He had treated himself to a small fillet which was quite satisfactory.

That night he did something that he seemed to be doing more and more. He dreamed he was a woman. It wasn't so much what he looked like; it was more the comfort he felt. He could look down and see and feel his breasts. They were rather prominent, but felt so right. He was wearing a nice flared skirt and light blouse. It had to be spring or early summer. Then they were making love. The clothes were gone, and he was gently nursing on her before moving lower down. It was wonderful. Then he penetrated her. She wrapped her legs around his thighs, and pulled him into her.

"I love you so much Terri. This is so right."

"I know, Jim. Why did we wait so long?"

"I don't know, but we'll never have to wait again."

She came right after that. Fortunately, his pajamas caught most of his release. He changed bottoms, and went back to sleep. He probably had more dreams, but that was the only one he remembered.

Two days after Adam had moved in, April Dawn moved out.

Adam had to make several adjustments working with his new company. Now he was working with literally dozens of insurance companies instead of just one. Each company had different forms for the same lines of coverage. Each company had different 'hot buttons' that they wanted addressed. There was another very significant problem. Adam was self employed. He was responsible for all his tax withholding. He might have to find an accountant. The last thing he needed was tax problems. He had lost his company-owned desk top computer and printer/fax/scanner. He could get by with his desk top, but he would need a new scanner/printer and fax. His little printer just wasn't going to hack it. Fortunately, he found that prices had tumbled since he had last looked.

His work took him over much of New England. He even found himself back in Hartford every once in a while. Most of the work was in the Boston area, though. The variety of the work was very entertaining, and he went to many areas he had heard a lot about, but found that his mind's eye views were considerably different than reality. He loved the Cape Cod area, especially the gay friendly art community of Provincetown where he had to survey a restaurant, and a bed and breakfast. On the way back he surveyed a large grocery store in East Dennis, another delightful community that was quite different than Provincetown.

It was two nights later when he started having problems with his laptop. He had been downloading pictures of beautiful young ladies into his picture file. They were quite pretty, and each elicited that 'if only' response. There was one little brunette who capture his fancy. Her 'name' was Simoné, and there was just something about her that captivated him. Her dark eyes had a bit of an exotic look. Her breasts were high with beautiful, wide pink areolae. He probably downloaded a dozen or more pictures of her.

After enjoying the pictures of the pretty young ladies, he decided to go to one of his favorite TG fiction sites. That was when it started. First there was that ridiculous screen stating that he had won three wishes. 'This is absolutely preposterous. If it is too good to be true, it must be.'

Adam knew enough about computers to try the standard remedies, of which none worked. When he couldn't turn it off, he could think of only one thing to do: get Jim.

"I go to this site all the time and I've never had anything like this happen. The site is very reputable. They don't allow links to questionable sites. The material may not be to your taste, but it's not a bad place," Adam said as he and Jim approached the computer. "I can't get rid of this window that says I've won a prize. The thing's locked up on me."

"Well, it looks okay now," Jim said sitting down in front of the laptop. "What sort of anti-virus program do you have?"

Adam quoted one of the big name programs.

"Yes, I see it." He entered the program, and checked a few things. "It looks like you're keeping it up to date. Let's run a check. I have a feeling that it won't show anything.

"Do you have anything else for checking malware?"

"I use two programs. One was one that my old company required for any computer used for company business."

"Okay, we'll run those as soon as this virus check is completed.

"So this is some of the stuff you read; looks harmless enough."

"Yeah, that's one of my favorites," Adam said. He knew his face was flushed with embarrassment.

"Hell, I wouldn't worry about it. You should see some of the places I go to since April cut me off. I don't go to the hardcore stuff. I just like to see pretty women. I saw this one tonight: a cute little doe eyed brunet with the cutest little breasts. They just stood out there to be kissed.

"Yeah, Simoné, I think you and I go to some of the same places, but for different reasons. You want to make love to Simoné. I wish I was her. I don't mean her person, just her body."

Adam didn't realize what he had inferred until he caught Jim looking at him out of the corner of his eye. "I didn't mean it that way."

"What did you mean? If you were Simoné, would you mind if I made love to you?"

This was getting awful deep Adam realized. Maybe there wasn't any Freudian slip involved at all. If he were truly a woman, would he mind if Jim made love to her, er, him, er, her.

"You know, I don't think I would mind at all; however, I could never look like Simoné. I'll never be able to look half that good, in spite of all the surgical miracles they are able to perform these days. I would just hope that we could be friends."

"I don't think you have a thing to worry about.

"Okay, the virus check is clean. Let's check for the spyware and malware." Those checks also came up negative. "Look, I'm okay with this TG thing. It doesn't make you a bad or evil person. If you're going to do this transition thing, I'll be there for you. That's the least I can do.

"About your computer, I don't think anything's wrong. Your internet program may have just hung up on something. They do that all the time. I think you know enough not to click on any suspicious links, or send your bank account information to a dying widow in Nigeria.

"If that window pops up again, let me know. If I see it, we might be able to do something about it.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

As Adam led Jim to the door, the Three Wish Offer popped up again. It was there for Adam to see when he returned. 'Shit, I don't want to bother him again.'

Phantom was perched on the desk looking at the computer screen. "Mrrow."

"Yeah, I agree, Ol' Buddy, that's pretty weird. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?"

"Mrrup. They're not my wishes. They're your wishes, but if they were my wishes, I would wish that you could be happy.'

It's not only the computer; there are a lot of strange things going on. There're too many strange things for them to be coincidental. Adam suddenly realizes something about all the strange women and girls he's been meeting. Finally, he's had enough. It's off to see The Wizard.

Introduction: Things are coming to a head. Somebody's been dangling wishes in front of Adam, and he is sure it's an internet hoax. Then things start adding up. All the people he's been meeting outside the job are interrelated. All these strange things that have been happening have been planned. There is a conspiracy, and Jim may be involved.

This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story takes place about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. If you haven't read the stories before, it might be a good idea to go back and start at the beginning.

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Once again Holly H. Hart has willingly provided her invaluable help in proofing and straightening out my poor English. Thank you so much, Holly.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Adam and the Three Wishes
 

Part 5

Chapter 9

Adam left the computer on overnight, and when he got up the next morning the computer had gone to sleep. It came on as soon as he wiggled the mouse, and the wish screen was gone.

He thought about his confession to Jim that if he were a woman, he would like to go to bed with him. He wanted Jim to make love to him, just not as he was now. That sort of thing didn't appeal to him, and he thought that Jim understood that; however, he realized that his admission meant quite a bit. It meant that as a woman, he was attracted to Jim. He knew that for sure. Maybe, that was what April had sensed. What she didn't realize was that it wasn't a gay thing. Of course, April probably didn't understand the difference between being gay and being transgendered.

He was on his way to several places north of Boston. His first stop was going to be in Salem. It was for package insurance coverage for a specialty shop in the downtown area. From what he could determine from the copy of the application, the place sold scented candles, potpourri, specialty tea and coffee, and they had a tea room. His appointment was at 10:00 AM, and he had deliberately started out early so that he could grab a bite to eat.

He remembered there was an IHOP at the corner of Trader Way and Highland which was right on the way to his first destination. He got the requisite order of coffee, and went over things in his mind. There were all sorts of little things, each by itself not meaning much, but now, he couldn't deny they all seemed to be interconnected, and they all seemed to be connected to that group in Bridgeport. Well, all except that Mr. Bettencourt he'd met in Cape Girardeau. One or another member of the group called him His Wisdom or The Wizard, and he felt that the 'The' was supposed to be capitalized.

Those two delightful little girls, well they were hardly little, acted as if they could read his mind, his most closely held secrets. He knew he had seen the shop disappear in Bridgeport, and as much as had tried to deny it, there was no question that it had pulled the same disappearing act in Cape Girardeau. The girls' mothers seemed to know an awful lot about him and The Wizard. Under other circumstances, he would have said they were quite dotty, if not borderline mad; however, he was pretty sure they weren't. The evidence pointed otherwise.

What about Bobbie? She was attending college hundreds of miles away, and yet she and her husband were giving a golf clinic in Hartford. And, it just happened to be at the course where he and Jim were playing. She greeted him like an old friend, but they'd been in contact for only a few minutes. It couldn't have been a coincidence. Both meetings had been planned. In fact, he was beginning to believe all the meetings had been planned.

'Holy shit, it's all planned; every bit of it. Why didn't I see that? Obviously, Esmeralda was in on it, too. There had to be more to those disappearing clothes than met the eye. Obviously, they weren't for him, but why were they even there? He really liked that house, the whole neighborhood for that matter. It seemed that his arrival had been anticipated, but how? It didn't matter now. He would never be able live there as the place was going to private homes, and the prices were bound to be astronomical.

That work had been well under way before he had left. A local construction company had been working on building garages, and he suddenly remembered that there had been another truck there. He could see the sign on the door of the truck: Lewis Construction. The condo he was renting was in a building owned by Lewis Properties, LLC. Cindy, Marissa and Randi Lewis, they were all connected. Of course they were. Esmeralda had given him the address. There was a major conspiracy going on, and he was in the middle of it - and Jim was involved.

Time flies when you're involved in things, and he was almost late to his appointment. It was a quaint little shop built in the Colonial Style. In fact there was a plaque on the wall stating that the building had been built in 1680. My goodness,' he thought, 'that was before the Salem Witch Trials. Witch, witches, that's it! They are all witches, every one of them.'

He held the door open for a lady who had just parked her car behind his. "Yes, Adam, we're all witches, except Hilda. We wondered when you were going to figure that out. Come on in, Nancy has some tea ready for you, we need to talk."

'What the hell is going on?' It was Evelyn Alden.

Adam realized that introducing himself to the pleasant proprietress was unneeded.

"Have a seat, dear. The tea is ready. No sugar, right?"

"Thank you," Adam quietly answered as he sat at the little table set for three. "Would someone please tell me what's going on."

"We're not allowed to tell you, but we want to assure you that only your best interests are in mind. As to what's going on, you will have to talk to His Wisdom. Marissa told you how to contact him. All we are allowed to tell you is that it's very important for all of us that you see him."

"I'm not sure I want to."

"We think that when you hear what he has to say, you might change your mind."

"I'll think about it - nice tea, thank you. I have a survey to do, and I have two more stops after this. I have to go over to Gardner to survey a museum."

"Yes, the Gardner Museum, they have a wonderful display of Arthur Stone Silver. Be sure to see the demonstration movie. His shop made the spoon you're using. Don't worry about your survey. We filled out your forms for you. All you have to do is take some pictures. We could take those for you, too, but it might be better if you did that yourself."

"But that's not right. How do I know you filled it out correctly?"

"We could make you think you saw exactly what we wanted you to, but we wouldn't. This is a special building. It sheltered many of us during those hard times. The sad thing is that every one of those poor girls was totally innocent of being a witch. We weren't a hundred percent safe, and our hands were tied. We're a lot smarter now, and know more about our powers and what we can do with them. It has been a long educational process for us."

"You talk as if you were there."

"I was. I was twenty-three at the time, and I cried and cried for those poor women and girls. But Ezzie and I knew if we tipped our hand they would take us out. There had been witch hunts in the past and there would be more. There were also others who just took pleasure in hunting us down. When His Wisdom arrived a couple of hundred years ago, things got better. For a while he rescued many of us. Then he lost focus for a while, but things have gotten better for us and him lately.

"Now, you be careful going to Gardner. There's some construction and the road is down to one lane."

Adam felt a lot better about things as he more or less went through the motions for the rest of the day. He managed to get back home before the afternoon traffic got too bad, although it was never very good, at best.

Phantom was waiting for him when he got home. "Mrowl" (Did you have a good day? I went exploring for a while, and I made sure that the door was locked. I think The Wizard wants to talk to you.'

Jim knocked about five minutes later. "So, how was your day?

"Pretty good, and yours?"

"Quite good, they want to send me to school out in Silicon Valley for a month. I'm going to have to leave next Monday. We're going to upgrade our mainframe, and I'm going to be second in command. There're all sorts of things I'm going to have to get familiar with."

"I guess that calls for a celebration. How about I fix dinner? I've got a couple of large pork chops and some Pinot Grigio chilled. How about you get cleaned up?" Adam said as he started to fix the chops.

"Have you checked your computer? I was wondering if that same problem was popping up."

"I'll check it while you're cleaning up. I haven't had a chance to turn it on, yet."

Jim returned fifteen minutes later freshly showered. 'I like the way he smells. I wonder what soap he uses?' Adam thought.

"Go ahead and check the computer out. I'm working on the Cesar salad. When you get the internet up, go to 'my favorites'. The first one is the one I was going to when I got that window."

"Yeah, I see it." Jim opened the program, and almost immediately a window popped up. It just wasn't the one he expected.

"JIM, PLEASE DON'T LET ON THAT YOU ARE READING THIS. ADAM WILL BE AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES FIXING THAT SALAD, SO THERE IS TIME FOR YOU TO READ THIS. TRY TO UNDERTAND THAT NOTHING EVIL IS GOING ON; HOWEVER, IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE EVERYTHING IS CLEAR TO YOU. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU ARE AWAY FOR A WHILE AS EVERYTHING COMES TOGETHER. PLEASE TRUST YOUR HEART ON THIS. I WILL CONTACT YOU ON YOUR OWN COMPUTER. EXPECT SOME VISITORS IN A DAY OR TWO. YOU WILL KNOW ONE OF THEM. THE WIZARD"

The window blinked out, leaving the home screen for the site.

"Did that window show up?"

"No, everything looks normal."

Phantom had been perched on the desk next to the computer. He had been intently staring at the screen. "Chirrup (Everything's going to be fine.)."

"I certainly hope so, Little Fella'. I certainly hope so."

"Did you say something, Jim?"

"I was talking to Phantom. He was watching me working on the computer."

"He likes to do that. He chases the cursor."

Adam wasn't sure what the problem was, but Jim seemed a bit subdued during dinner.

Both friends had a lot to do over the weekend. Adam had several reports to submit, and Jim had quite a bit to do to prepare for his trip.

Early Monday morning, Adam let Jim out in front of the terminal for his flight to California. Adam was heading to Gloucester to survey a hotel, and it worked out perfectly. They shook hands and briefly hugged before security approached to shoo Adam on.

"Keep in touch, Jim."

"I will."

Chapter 10

After Gloucester, it was Ipswich. Then it was on to Georgetown and Lawrence. It wasn't too bad a day, as his last three stops involved convenience stores all covered by the same policy. It was show up, introduce himself, take a few pictures, do a quick inspection, discuss any problems, and move on.

The traffic was heavy, but fortunately against him as he headed into Boston. The wind was picking up a bit and the forecast was for snow. There had been a few snows earlier that winter, but this one was supposed to be the first big one for the season. The flakes were starting to come down, blowing from the northeast, as he pulled into the parking lot. He noticed wet foot prints left by some animal as he started down the entry hall. The prints didn't last very long as the feet obviously dried out, so he didn't know where the animal had been going, or where it had been coming from.

Phantom was sitting on the desk washing his paws. Adam didn't think there was anything to it. He turned on the computer before he went to the bathroom to clean up a bit of the day's grime. When he returned, the computer was up and most of the wallpaper was obscured by "Congratulations: You Have Won Three Wishes. Click below to acknowledge this message. Note: All wishes must be claimed in person."

Below that was what appeared to be a pretty standard disclaimer. Then the last line below the disclaimer caught his attention: "Wishes R Us, a subsidiary of, and wholly owned by SRU Enterprises."

'Well, I'll be darned. They're part of the same outfit. So, what do I do? I think it's time to put an end to this one way or the other. I wonder what the hell they want with me? I think it's time to find out.'

Adam went to his employer's website to sign in and check his assignment list. He had picked up a couple of new assignments; however, something very strange had happened. Every assignment due date had been extended at least 30 days. Why would they do that? Things had been rather thin of late as far as assignments were concerned. Maybe he could take a little time off to contemplate things, find doctors and counselors, talk to his parents, and do other things; however, the main thing was to put an end to what he was beginning to feel was close to subtle harassment in some sense of the word.

"So, Phantom, what are we going to do about this?"

"Merro."

"I think you're right. I think I'll go in the morning if the snow isn't too bad."

"Meeoo."

"I think you'd better stay here. I don't know exactly where I'm going, and if I get there, I'm not sure you'd get along with a certain wolf. You'd better stay here."

The big nor'easter was a bust. It didn't snow an inch. That was all Adam needed to see to know that he was going to spend the day on the road.

"Phantom, I'm on my way to Bridgeport. It should take a bit more than four hours each way. I should be back sometime after dark. You have plenty of food and water. If the weather turns bad, I'll spend the night."

"Nrrow."

"You'll be alright."

He locked the door, and headed for the elevator.

"Mrrow. (I'm going with you.) Phantom was sitting at his feet.

"What the hell!"

"I don't know how you did that, but you have to stay here." Of course the door was locked.

He put Phantom back inside, and made sure both locks were locked. Ten seconds later, after a series of clicks, Phantom was outside.

"Okay, if you're so smart, let me see you lock it."

It took less than ten seconds. Phantom stared at the door, there were two sets of clicks, and the door was firmly locked.

"I think that says quite a bit about some things that have happened over the months. You're one of them, aren't you?"

"Mrres. (Of course I am.)"

The roads were clear, and once they got south of Hartford, there wasn't even snow on the grass.

"I guess I know better than to try to lock you in the car. Do you think you can ride on my shoulder, or do you want me to carry you? We'll just make believe we didn't see the 'No Pets' sign."

Phantom snuggled into the crook of Adam's arm as they made their way across the parking lot to the mall entrance. There was no SRU shop where he had seen it before; just the Hallmark Shop as the mall directory indicated.

The pair headed for the hall that Marissa had indicated in Adam's previous trip. 'This is ridiculous,' Adam thought. 'This hallway doesn't go anywhere near where the rear of that shop would have been.' He couldn't deny, though, that there was a sign that said "SRU Deliveries Only - Ring Bell" above a door that should have opened into a shoe store. Adam, his hand slightly shaking, pressed the lone button. An electronic buzz greeted him, and there was the sound of the door unlocking.

Inside it was just like it had been in the rear of the store in Cape Girardeau. A skeleton hung to the side of the open rest room. He noticed that the toilet seat was slightly askew. 'I thought he said he'd fix that.'

"I guess I should have done that sooner. There, it's fixed now."

Adam watched as the seat shifted slightly and the broken hinge repaired itself.

"I always felt that helped the ambience of the place."

Adam looked up to see Mr. Bettencourt now dressed in the robe that most expected The Wizard to be wearing. In his readings, he had seen it described as a bathrobe; however, it was obvious that it was a wizard's robe designed to make a statement with its embroidered crescent moons and stars. The Wizard's long hair and beard were more like he expected them to be.

"How about some tea while we're waiting?"

"Thank you."

"Phantom, would you like a little half and half? It's been treated to prevent lactose intolerance. I never understood why you cats like cream so much when it messes up your digestion so much."

"I would like that very much," Phantom responded.

Wolf came through the beaded curtains, and stretched a bit. "Hi, Phantom, long time, no see."

"Good to see you, Wolf. I missed you."

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door bell.

"Ah," said The Wizard, "Marissa and Petra are here."

"Mommy!" Phantom shouted as he raced for the curtain. He greeted a sleek, finely striped tabby with a pink nose. She immediately rolled him over and proceeded to clean his ears.

"Young man, I taught you better than that. Whatever am I going to do with you?" she said as her raspy tongue continued to work away.

"Hello, Adam, we're so glad that you decided to come," Marissa said as she greeted Adam with a hug and kiss.

"Your Wisdom, Cindy said she would meet you at the usual place, but I suppose you knew that. She had to finish up a lab practical in organic chemistry."

Adam was speechless, probably in near shock, as he quietly stood in the back room of the SRU shop sipping the tea The Wizard had prepared for him. Before Cindy arrived, an attractive redheaded woman arrived with the twin to Petra.

"Hi, Adam," she said as she greeted him the same way Marissa had. "I'm Sally Schmedlap, Bobbie's mother, and this is Selene, Petra's sister.

"Hello Adam," Selene said with her sweet voice. "It's so nice to meet you at last. I understand you've been taking wonderful care of my nephew. He's a good boy."

He heard the doorbell chime twice, and then heard two women talking as they approached the curtain. They were Cindy and Bobbie, and they gave Adam the same affectionate greetings he had previously received.

"Are we expecting anyone else," Cindy asked.

"Esmeralda and Evelyn are involved in some coven business, and they might be delayed, and Charli and Randi are in school," The Wizard said as the door chimed three more times. "Ah, that's everyone. We can get started in just a minute.

"Ladies, everyone else is in here, and we need to get started," The Wizard said to the new arrivals who hadn't yet come to the back room. "I have to be in Istanbul in an hour."

Evelyn and Esmeralda entered, followed by ....

"Bev!" Adam exclaimed rather loudly. "What are you doing here?

"I'm here to see my great-great grandchild start a wonderful life." Then she hugged and kissed him. Adam, once again, could see tears in her eyes.

"May I ask why all of you are here? I came here to tell The Wizard and anyone else who would listen that I was tired of being harassed. Why would a group of witches want to keep bothering me about something that is very personal. I've never told anyone except one person about how I felt, and that was Jim, and that was probably due to too much wine."

"I don't think so, dear," Bev said. "I think you've wanted to tell people for a long time, but just didn't know how to go about it.

"It's not easy, is it Cindy?"

"No, it certainly isn't. I lived with it for 35 years," Cindy replied.

"Charli and Randi wanted me to tell you that they lived with it, too; however, they're fine now. They wanted me to tell you that everything will be fine."

"What, you were like I am?"

"Me, too," Bobbie added.

"I don't understand why all of you are so interested in my personal problems," Adam said with a tone of frustration. "I was going to make an appointment with a doctor. It will take a while, but I could start living as a woman soon."

"Why don't you let His Wisdom take care of things? You know he can," Sally said, holding her daughter's hand.

"For obvious reasons; I've read too many accounts about young men entering this place and departing as bimbos. I'd rather be an unattractive, androgynous woman than be some vacuous bimbo with huge tits, er breasts who has trouble following a grocery list."

"I don't do that anymore, at least not very often," The Wizard replied with a bit of a hurt tone. "Cindy, Bobbie, Charli, and Randi certainly aren't Bimbos. I used to do what you are talking about until someone made me realize that being a woman is one of the greatest gifts there is, and I was sullying womanhood. I've learned quite a bit about life over the last few hundred years. Besides, most of those stories just aren't true."

"So, you're telling me that you turned men into Cindy, Bobbie, Charli, and Randi?"

"They just told you that, and it isn't that simple. Cindy and Randi involved a spirit transfer. They'll be more than happy to tell you all about that some other time. Charli was a homeless boy. We almost lost her. I'm very proud of how that worked out. Bobbie was born right here as Robert Schmedlap. Cindy helped accelerate that change.

"All of you seem to have a lot of interest in me. I take it that you will do your magic thing whether I want you to or not and turn me into a woman. There has to be a reason for it. What's in it for you? TANSTAAFL. Why is everyone here?

"Bev, you say you are my great-great grandmother. Why should I believe that?"

"I guess we could do a DNA test, I didn't think of that. For right now, I just ask that you believe what we're telling you. The proof will come later.

"Adam, for a fellow I've trained, I'm a bit disappointed in you. You keep ignoring the facts and evidence. What can you tell me about them?" Bev said while pointing to Wolf and three napping cats.

"They obviously know each other. Petra is Phantom's mother, and ... oh shit, they've been talking ever since I got here."

"What do you know about witches and cats and other small animals?"

"I guess they are familiars, if there is such a thing. Wait a minute, Phantom is talking. Does that mean I'm a witch? I couldn't be."

"That's just it," The Wizard said. "You could be if you would let the transformation take place. You are carrying the witch gene. We duplicate that part of the X chromosome, splice it to your Y chromosome and you're XX and a witch. If you wanted to, we can make you look like any one of those beautiful young ladies whom you've collected pictures of. I can do that."

"I admire their beauty, but that doesn't mean I would want to look like any one of them in particular. That's like identity theft. I do like some more than others, though.

"What about reality? If you change me, what does that do to present reality?"

"Actually nothing, in your case; however, any change like yours might be would be difficult to explain. So, we just go back and alter a few things so that people think that who you are is who you've always been. It involves changing just a few billion bits of data. It's a piece of cake."

"What about my family? What about everyone here?"

"The closer things are to you, the more difficult it becomes to change them," Bev responded. Your mother's memories cannot be changed without great difficulty, as she is half magic. The others in your family will just remember what your past might have been like. Your mother knows what's going on. She says she knew about you and is fine with it. Your friends and acquaintances will always remember you as a girl. The records are easy to change. His Wisdom does it all the time."

"What about Jim?"

"Jim will just remember you as a girl he knew from college, who just happened to show up as his marriage collapsed. That situation has yet to be resolved."

Adam thought for a minute. "No, that's unacceptable. If I'm to do this, Jim has to know exactly what happened. If we ever have a relationship, it cannot be built on false memories. I couldn't live knowing that what he thought about me wasn't real.

"You say I could be a witch. Why is that so important?"

"Because, you are the last in my line," Bev said. "I gave birth to many children, but the line stopped at the end of the next generation except for your mother's line. We didn't understand genetics then like we do now."

"Jim carries the witch gene, doesn't he? You're just setting me up to breed more witches. I don't think I like that at all. I think I'd just rather go the way I originally planned. Then I don't have to worry about becoming breeding stock."

"It doesn't work that way, Adam. There's one ingredient we haven't figured out. It's the one little bit of magic we don't seem to be able to control among the magic. The only thing that saved us for a long time was our longevity. There were so many arranged marriages, and most were childless. Of course, it was the woman's fault that she couldn't carry a baby to term. Then we discovered that when two people married out of love, that sometimes a witch would show up. Sometime, all the daughters of a witch might be witches, sometimes none of them. Then Mendel's discoveries about genetics became known.

"Now we have some of the answers, but by no means all of them. Witches do show up now and then from loveless marriages. There's something there we haven't figured out. We have found that some of those turned to the dark side, but a few have done just fine. Usually it was because there was a strong parent child relationship from either the father or the mother; however, most loveless relationships end up childless. The embryo doesn't form correctly and is discarded."

"Oh shit, April Dawn, she never loved Jim at all. She's a witch."

"Yes," said Marissa, "and not a very good one at that. She was doing genealogical research and discovered that there were witches in Jim's ancestry. One of the few powers she is able to control is that she is able to detect magic. Another is that she can detect gender identity problems. Based on her upbringings, she thinks the latter is an abomination. We don't.

"April detected GID in you, and she also detected magic. She also thought that you were going to steal Jim from her. She was sure that you were gay. So, she went after Jim hoping that her female children would be witches, and that she could start an empire. We know the unfortunate results of that. The sad thing is that April will never love anyone but herself. She's a dead end, and doesn't have enough power to do any serious damage. We are slowly pulling what little power that she has away from her. She's a sad case."

"So now you know why we're here. There is one other thing you need to know. Because you are magic, we can't mess with your mind. His wisdom can't install false memories. He can do some temporary things, but he can't change, will not change, who you are.

"We want you to be part of the family. You've only met a few of us, but there are many more of us out there. Only the group you've met, and your mother know about you."

"And Jim ...?"

"And Jim."

"So that's what this has all been about. How amazing. I guess I'll have to think about it."

"Adam, you know how to get hold of me if you want to. Just let me know," The Wizard said as he escorted Adam to the back door.

"Let's go home, Fella," he said. He turned to the group who stood a bit slack jawed. Adam had been given an opportunity that Cindy and Bobbie, under similar circumstances would have jumped on in a second, and he was walking away from it.

"Thank you everyone for a most interesting afternoon." He picked up Phantom and headed out the door, down the hall towards the exit and parking lot."

"What do you think about all that, Phantom? I guess you've known all along haven't you."

"Mrrowless."

"I thought so."

He started the car in the failing light. He must have been in the shop a lot longer than he thought. But the Wizard said he had only an hour before he had to leave. Adam looked up as the outside scenery shifted and blurred briefly. He felt a brief disorientation, but when things cleared he was looking at his condo building from his parking spot. 'What a way to fly,' he thought.

Back in The Wizard's back room things were not going well. Cindy was almost sobbing. "We pushed her too hard. She's scared, and we've lost her."

"I don't know," Bobbie said. "Maybe I should have offered to give her some golf lessons. He's pretty good, but she'd need to make some adjustments."

"Did you make that ball go in the hole?" Sally asked.

"No, he did that all on his own. I promised Gramma Naomi that I would never cheat at golf or any other sport, and helping or hindering another player is cheating."

"What are we going to do?" Bev asked. "I was so sure she'd do it."

"Look," said the Wizard, "sometimes these things take a while. You have to be patient. I've learned that over the last eight or nine hundred years."

Back in the condo Adam fixed a light dinner, and poured a glass of pinot noir. It had been an emotionally draining afternoon. He had been offered something that he was pretty sure he would have been given if he'd accepted it. It would have been a life changing event, to say the least, but was it what he really wanted? What about Jim? He'd made it very clear that he didn't want Jim "messed with". What would Jim think about all this?

After dinner, he turned on the classical music station, and poured a glass of port. Fittingly, they were playing Elgar's Enigma Variations. The announcer was discussing what the final unsolved enigma might be. 'It's Pi. Play 31415 on the G Minor scale. It's obvious'. Then his thoughts went to more serious things. What did he want? What was the best thing to do? He poured a second glass of port.

Finally, he turned on his computer. When it finished booting up, a window, not exactly the one he expected, popped up. 'Accept', 'Don't Accept' were the two choices. Below that was a box for comments. Adam studied the box for a few minutes before writing a few sentences. He sat back looking at what he wrote. He wrote a bit more, even though he thought there was an implied agreement. He knew for certain now that this was not a hallucination. It was far from it. This was his reality whichever way he went. His desires were known and there wasn't much else to do. He checked a box, and went to bed.

Well, Adam made a decision, obviously. I wonder what it was?

Introduction: Obviously, Adam has come to a decision. Did he use his three wishes, and if he did, what were they? The magic community pretty much had things laid out for Adam, and Adam took offence to it. That might influence his decisions.

This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story takes place about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. If you haven't read the stories before, it might be a good idea to go back and start at the beginning.

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Once again Holly H. Hart has willingly provided her invaluable help in proofing and straightening out my poor English. Thank you so much, Holly. Additionally, I want to thank Holly and Wren for suggesting that I expand the ending a bit. Their suggestions helped make it a better story.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Adam and the Three Wishes

Part 6

Chapter ll

It had been one of the most restful sleeps he could remember. The dreams were beautiful, and peaceful. In one he was trying on some new outfits. They were like the ones that had been in the closet in Hartford, the ones that had disappeared. Then they were making love. He was paying homage to her breasts that were joyously tingling and sending wonderful signals to her groin. He started kissing her at the juncture of her thighs before finding her very hard and sensitive clit. She came in waves like riding rapids in the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It was a wonderful ride. Then he entered her, and they began a slow journey to another crashing orgasm. She stirred slightly before rolling onto her left side, her right hand cupping her right breast. She didn't move for the next two hours.

"Time to get up sleepy head, we have a lot of work to do."

"Leave me alone. I wanna sleep."

"Theresa Grunewald, you have exactly five seconds or I'm going to pour ice water on you while Phantom attacks your toes."

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up." She flipped the blankets back, and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. That was when she realized she was wearing a nightgown. She looked down and saw what had to be two beautiful breasts tenting the gown. "Oh - My - God!" She looked up to see a smiling Cindy Brewer standing in the doorway.

"Are you okay?"

"I think I'm fine. I don't know." She choked a bit, and stopped to breathe before talking again. "Wow! I guess it happened, didn't it. How did you get in here?"

"Phantom let me in. I figured since Phantom did it, it was okay. You weren't answering the doorbell. I could have let myself in, but I wasn't invited."

"You said Theresa. That was the name I would have picked. How did you know?"

"His Wisdom knows these things. All the records have been changed. He changed everything last night. Check your purse if you want. He never misses anything. May I call you Terri? It's a pretty name. I never knew a Terri before.

"Yes, I would like that very much."

"Before all this happened, you were pretty much an open book. Now, you're mostly immune to those intrusions. That's one of the benefits we have."

Theresa looked down again. They were still there. She pulled the top of her night gown away from her neck. Yes, they were beautiful. She could see all the way down to her pubic mound. Her hair was about the same color it was before. She also realized she was considerably slimmer and probably shorter than before.

"You'll have plenty of opportunity to check things out. It's all yours. It took me the better part of a year to get used to it, and I was nine at the time. I will never get over the joy I feel, and I suspect you won't either.

"Okay, here's your robe. You need to take care of things in the bathroom pretty much like you did before. Of course you won't need to shave, your face, that is. We'll start on the other stuff after breakfast. We have less than thirty days to teach you the ropes. Here're a couple of things you need to know about this. There are no built in memories. He can't do that with us, and if he could, he probably wouldn't. Get going. I'll start breakfast."

Terri flipped the light on in the bathroom and stared at the image reflected back. She was quite pretty, even with the disheveled hair and bushy eyebrows. Her eyes were dark brown. Her face was a bit rounder and her nose was definitely smaller. There was a bit of an exotic look about her, and there was something familiar about it. 'This is so good.' She reached down and hefted her breasts through her nightgown. Feeling their weight was a wonderful sensation. They easily filled her small hands, and then some. One thing hadn't changed. She needed to pee. Without a doubt, there would be something different about that.

Some of the things she did just made sense. She lifted her nightgown and sat down. It was quite natural. After finishing a minor cleanup, she noticed a pair of panties hanging where she used to leave her briefs. She slipped them on and checked herself out in the full length mirror on the back of the door that hadn't been there the night before. The panties were low cut and helped emphasize her femininity; however, she realized she was definitely going to have to do some trimming and sculpting down there. Her breasts seemed a bit large, but that was probably due to the newness of the situation. She checked the bra hanging on the hook next to where the panties had been - 34C.

Cindy was scrambling some eggs. She had microwaved two strips of bacon and brewed a cup of coffee. "Sit down and eat. We have a big day ahead of us and you need your energy."

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I ate a couple of hours ago. I ran five miles with Don before breakfast. There're a couple of good jogging routes around here. You might want to start. The temperature is getting a bit brisk. After breakfast, I came down here to check on you. The Wizard came by last night and we talked a bit. Everyone who is supposed to knows what happened. We are so happy for you."

"Came down, where do you live?"

"Don and I live on the third floor on the other side. You've never seen us because we didn't want you to. Myrna and Avery Mankowitz, our good friends, live down the hall from us. You'll love them. They're not magical, but there is plenty of magic about them. I think you figured out about this place. My father's company owns it, and Bobbie's father and Don's father are partners.

"How come I am so calm about this? Here I am finally the way I've wanted to be, and I feel like I should be crying, or dancing around the block, or something." The enormity of the situation was starting to sink in, and the tears did start to come. She wasn't sobbing, but the tears were definitely there. It was like the dreams she'd been having at a more and more frequent basis. Only this time it wasn't a dream.

"It's okay to cry if you want to. As far as not being emotionally blown away, The Wizard did that for you. It will gradually wear off. We can't have you walking down the street checking out your reflection in every window and tripping over all the pedestrians. I couldn't keep away from the mirrors for the first few months.

"You need to be as normal as possible as far as your outward behavior is concerned, and the little spell knocks a bit of the edge off of things. There's a box of tea in your cabinet, and a cup of it in the morning will help a lot. It's neat stuff, a bit like a buffered medicine, only it's buffered magic. It does only what's needed for the moment. I had it the first time after I was kidnapped. It helps reduce the affects of the trauma, and believe me you are going through a bit of trauma at the moment.

"It's easy when the transformation happens to the non-magic because The Wizard can insert all sorts of false memories if he chooses. I have seen a number of transformations where he didn't because he felt there was a harsh lesson to be learned. You'll meet Ginny and Sonya one of these days. Ginny's one of Randi's best friends. She started over as a five year old. Sonya runs a ballet school in Bridgeport. She was a pre-op transgendered dancer before The Wizard allowed her to be a little sister to her previously little brother. But that's a whole different story.

Cindy handed a piece of paper to Terri. "What's this?"

"That's a neat little spell. It turns off your ovulation. I've already done it for you. It's twofold in purpose. One is that you can't get pregnant either deliberately or accidentally. The second is that you're not ready for periods. When you think you are, then you may turn your system back on. That's the second line. It's a very handy spell.

"This is your Magic Primer," Cindy said pulling a large book out of a cloth bag. "It's volume one of three. It belonged to my mother, but she doesn't need it any more. She's memorized it. It's programmed learning. That is, you can't advance until you are ready, and it's very good about teaching the basics. I think you should start it tonight. Here are the other two volumes." She reached into the bag, and pulled out the two books.

Terri looked suspiciously at the bag. "How much stuff is in there?"

"Quite a bit. I had better warn you about a few things. Sweet, little blue eyed Randi is an exceptionally powerful witch. Not only that, she is a genius several times over. On a small scale, she can manipulate space and time. She did her thing with this bag, and gave it to me last Christmas. You and I could get in this bag, and there would be room for more. Randi has been warned not to teach you anything beyond whatever level you are currently at. She can tutor, even show you short cuts, but new magic is off limits. She and Charli are just about all we can handle at the moment.

"Speaking of Charli, Phantom, you've been awful quiet," Cindy said turning to the now full grown cat sitting on the counter.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to get used to what's happened. I know you told me it would probably would. I guess I'm a bit in awe at the moment."

"Phantom," Terri asked, "how long have you been able to talk?"

"Since about two weeks after you found me. Daddy and Grandma Maddy would give me lessons. They all visited me when you were out."

"And Willie is your Daddy, isn't he."

"Yes Ma'am."

"I thought so. And, what's with this 'ma'am' stuff? I'm still me. You didn't call me 'sir' did you?"

"No, you were Adam, but you couldn't hear me."

"Well, it's Terri from now on. I have a feeling that we will be together for a long time.

There was a faint scratching at the front door. "That would be 'Grandma' Maddy. Don't ever call her that to her face. She raised Petra and Selene after their mother was killed. They were only weeks old, and she was able to nurse them thanks to The Wizard's magic."

Phantom jumped to the floor and approached the door. The handle turned and the door swung open admitting the beautiful little cat.

"Do you think Randi can install a pet door between our pantries? This is a long ways to walk; besides we won't have to worry about doors," Maddy asserted as she approached.

"You'll have to ask her. I'm sure she would love to do it.

"This is what I mean about Randi. When she was six she installed a pet door in my closet and connected it to the other half in Bobbie's closet. The only thing was the doors were a block apart. Somehow, she figured a way to eliminate space between the door halves. We have tested them up to ten miles. We're not sure what range they have. She also developed a way to expand the doors to human size. They work just fine. The Wizard does it, but his portals are just temporary, although they can range across the globe. They're still researching that one. She put a basketball court in the men's room at the Greyhound station. She had some people thinking they were crazy before The Wizard stopped it. I couldn't stop laughing. A girls' volleyball team ended up in the men's room, and three guys ended up in the basketball court. She got into big trouble for that one.

"Maddy, why don't you work on Phantom's lessons? Terri and I have an appointment for her makeover in a little over two hours.

The next two weeks were intense to say the least. Regardless of what magic could do, and it became apparent to her very quickly that she was magic, she had to learn about things that she hadn't given that much thought about. Makeup was just one. She could magically apply makeup, but until she learned how to do it manually, the magic couldn't help her do it properly. There was a very pleasant surprise when they discovered that first morning that the entire wardrobe she had discovered in the closet in Hartford was now residing in her closet.

"We wanted to see how you would react to them. You did very well, and when you decided to show them to Jim, that meant quite a bit. We were pretty certain you were sure of the direction you would take. It just made everything easier for us."

There was the mystery of the bra. Except it wasn't a mystery at all. Terri had read numerous times about how complicated it was for a new transformee to put on a bra. Cindy had offered to show her. "Let me try," Terri responded. She made sure nothing was twisted, placed her arms through the space made by the shoulder straps, then making sure again nothing was twisted, grasped the hook strap in her right hand at the first hook. Similarly, she grabbed the other strap at the first eyelet. Then she reached behind, and it was easy to insert the hook in the eye. The rest of the hooks and eyes followed easily.

"How did you figure that out so quickly? As far as I know, you never 'dressed'.

"Not enough to matter, I always thought that too many TG authors made a too big a thing over putting on a bra. All this putting it on backwards and twisting it around, and then struggling to get your arms through the shoulder straps didn't make sense. There had to be an easier way.

"I guess there's still some adjusting to do," she said as she arranged her breasts into the cups, "and the shoulder straps aren't quite right."

"Here, let me help you adjust those. It might take a while to find your comfort zone. It did for me. When these girls started coming in," indicating her breasts, "I was getting new bras about every two or three months. It drove Mom crazy. It was a great time for me after I got over having my first period. I didn't have the option putting it off like you are going to. I'm sorry your puberty lasted only twenty seconds or so. There just wasn't any way to let you grow up more slowly."

"You said makeover. What exactly are you talking about?"

"Pretty much the whole nine yards: The Wizard doesn't really understand fashion. We've got to get the makeup right. I'll help you with it once we see what's right. Your eyebrows are atrocious. They'll fix those. Your nails, due to your job, should be kept attractively short. Your hair is a mess, but has great potential. Of course we'll get your ears done. Once the experts tell us what's right, I'll help you keep it that way."

"What am I going to wear? There're so many choices."

"Just something casual: you may not be ready for those low riders, but those designer Levis are quite nice, especially in this cold weather."

"God, all those shoes: I have to figure out how to wear all of those?"

"We'll work on it. High heels are tough. But just because you can wear high heels doesn't make you a woman.

"We'd thought about giving you a week at ten to twelve years old, a week at fifteen, another at eighteen, and the last week at 24; however, there's just not enough time to do it correctly. So, were going to have to go the immersion route."

Immersion it was. Bev would show up every two or three days to work on the magic lessons. If she had been a tough task master in loss control, it was nothing compared to what she was being put through now. "You don't ever want to get involved with magic QC."

"Bev," she would always be Bev, "when I first came to 'Old Muddy', several made allusions that you were a lesbian. I always thought you were wonderful, a bit tough, but wonderful. Your preferences didn't bother me. Obviously, I had my own issues. I know you've had children, or I wouldn't be here."

"We had a wonderful marriage, your great-great grandfather and I. He might still be alive today, but he was struck by lightning while trying to get the wheat in. I was alone for a long time, and by choice, I changed my identity. I went to college, got a degree, and went to work in the insurance industry. You will meet Debbie one of these days, soon. We've been together for more than eighty years, now.

Marissa, Cindy and Bobbie helped her with female refinements. Charli and Randi would show up unannounced on the weekend, and they would talk about being younger girls. They also talked about their past lives. Terri was horrified. Randi installed the pet doors.

Terri's confidence grew by leaps and bounds over the next two weeks; however, terror was awaiting her just around the corner. It was Thanksgiving, and she was going to Kansas City. The Wizard said it was just a pre-Christmas gift, but Terri knew it was more than that. It was going to be a test of the whole system as far as Terri's beliefs were concerned. It was going to be a great holiday or a great disaster.

"Terri, everything is going to be just fine. The Wizard has never been wrong yet," Cindy said. She let Terri out at the terminal and headed back to prepare for her own trip to Bridgeport.

Flying business class was a wonderful experience, and it gave Terri some freedom that she wouldn't have enjoyed had she been flying in the back with the goats and chickens. It was morning, but they still offered her a glass of champagne as the other passengers boarded. She remembered the calming spell that Cindy had taught her. It was more a breathing exercise, but it helped.

Cindy had insisted that she email a picture to her mother. She had Don take it with her camera. He was a pretty good photographer. He made her look a lot better than she thought she looked. She would find out later that all her earlier photos had been 'corrected'.

Too soon, or was it not soon enough, they were landing at KC. She had just a carry-on, so she didn't have to worry about waiting for baggage claim. She had called her parents from her cell phone as soon as the plane had touched down. They were close to the airport. Her dad was driving, and her mother saw her and waved. Terri waved back. Her stomach started doing flip-flops. Then her mother was hugging her and crying at the same time. "You are so pretty. I know you are happy. I can tell.

"Carl, close your mouth, and put your daughter's bag in the trunk."

"My God, she looks just like your great aunt, Simoné."

"She does, doesn't she. Come on, we'll have plenty of time to talk in the car."

"Give me a hug, Daddy. I won't break. I think that officer wants us to leave."

They wove their way out of the airport and back towards Kansas City.

"I don't suppose you're going to play golf anymore, now that you've done this," her father said as he looked at her in the rear view mirror.

"Daddy, why would I stop playing golf? Besides, my clubs changed along with everything else. I'll still beat you, and I'm going to get lessons from Bobbie Anderson. The last time I saw her at a golf course, I got a hole in one."

"Was that before or after?"

"That was before, but it still doesn't matter.

"Daddy, are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm not mad. I'm not even disappointed. It's just that all this magic stuff is difficult for me to believe. I wouldn't have, but Bev gave me a demonstration. The real funny thing is that I know it's you in there. There's no question in my mind."

"Daddy, it's always been me in there. It's just that I'm finally in the right 'there'.

Chapter l2

It was a great holiday, and it did a great deal to boost her self confidence. She was sorry that her brother and sister would never know about the change, but it was probably for the best. She had asked The Wizard to include her father in the circle of those who knew what had happened. Neither he nor her mother would ever be able to tell anyone about what had happened.

There was another crisis looming. Jim would be returning to Boston soon. Terri had told him by email that she had changed, but she didn't say to what degree. Jim's answers were a bit vague, but he maintained as long as his best friend was happy, that was the most important thing. Apparently the Silicon Valley thing was going quite well, but Jim was eager to get back home.

Terri told him that she had some work to do Saturday and wouldn't be able to pick him up at the Airport. Actually, it was grocery shopping. Terri was planning on a big dinner for the two of them, if he didn't run away screaming. She wasn't planning on seducing him. That would have to wait for a while. She wasn't sure that she was ready, although she dreamed about them almost every night. They were the most enjoyable dreams.

There was one thing that Terri wasn't sure about. How would she meet him? How would she let him see the new her. Fortunately, that was all taken care of. She had just retrieved her last bag of groceries from her car when the cab carrying him arrived. She was thankful that at least he didn't see her in the car because it would have given everything away. He had his roller bag and a carry-on, but he still insisted on holding the door for her.

'God, he looks good.'

They waited at the elevator; it seemed to be stuck at the third floor.

"Hi, I'm Jim Matthews. You must be new here. I've been away for a while."

"Hi, I'm Terri. I just got here a few weeks ago." How she kept from shaking she didn't know.

"Where're you from? You're certainly not from around here."

"Kansas City."

"My best friend's from Kansas City."

The elevator finally arrived. It was empty. As the door closed, Terri couldn't wait any longer. Any resolve she'd had about doing some sort of fancy reveal had evaporated.

"Jim, it's me."

"Excuse me?"

"It's me. It's just that I'm Theresa Grunewald now."

"You're kidding me. How ...? No, Cindy and Bobbie told me what to expect. You're really Adam? No, that's not right. I mean, you were ..."

"This is who I've always been. It's just that I feel a whole lot better about things, now. I was planning on us having dinner together tonight. Would that be okay?"

"Yes, Terri, I think I would like that very much. What time?"

"How about 7:00?"

"Good, that will give me a chance to get ready."

Everything was the way she wanted it when he rang the bell. The lights were dimmed, the candles lit, pleasant music playing, and the Prosecco was chilled. She was going to let him cook the steaks on the stovetop grill, but everything was set to go. She opened the door to find him standing there with a large bouquet of roses."

"They're beautiful."

"Had I known when you did this I would have had them there for you then, but Cindy and Bobbie told me to leave you alone for a while.

"Hi Phantom, how're you doing?"

"Great, Jim. We've missed you."

"Uh, did he just talk to me?"

"Well, you heard him. Welcome to the family.

"It means quite a bit, but it will all make sense to you as time goes by. Let's open that Prosecco."

Jim cooked the steaks to perfection and the salad and vegetables were perfect. Terri had prepared a Charlotte Russe for dessert. It wasn't perfect, but that didn't matter.

After dinner they moved to the main living area to finish their dessert and sip a little port. The music was Rachmaninoff Piano Concert No. 2. It was very romantic.

"Jim, how long have we known each other?"

"I guess about six years, Why?"

"Have we done things together: played golf, gone to movies, gone out to dinner, things like that?"

"Well, yes."

"I've been thinking about things for quite a while. I had thought we might take it slowly. You know, go out on a few dates, take some day trips, things like that. I certainly wouldn't go to bed with someone on our first date. But then I got to thinking about our conversation about that model, Simoné. It turns out that she's my great-great aunt, not bad looking for an old dame. Anyway, I went back to check my punch list, and it seems we've done everything that's on it. So, I think it's time to make love: like the sooner the better."

"Terri, you've had a month to get used to this little miracle; however, I've had only a few hours. I know what we said that time, and I still feel that way; however, comma, I need to get used to this whole thing. I've never gone to bed on my first date either, and as much as I want to make love to you, I want to do it right. There's one other thing, well actually a lot more than that, but you need to be really sure, too.

"I want you to understand something. You are still my best friend, and you happen to be occupying a very attractive package. Let there be no doubt about that. There is something that I will do on a first date if you will let me."

Terri wasn't sure what to say, and she could feel the tears forming. She looked at Jim with disappointment and a question written on her face.

"Would you like to go to a basketball game with me? I have two tickets to a Celtics game next week."

Terri nodded.

"Good, it's a date. Now, I want to kiss those beautiful lips of yours. I have a feeling that you've not done that before either."

The kissing thing was very easy, easier than Terri had thought it would be. She lifted Jim's hand to her breast, and he gently caressed her. She wanted him so much, but maybe he was right. Maybe it was too much, too soon.

The next weekend they went out to dinner with Cindy and Don, and Avery and Myrna Mankowitz. They went to the same restaurant Jim and Adam had gone to previously. Cindy allowed Terri to erect the screen of silence around their table. Terri was also able to create some ambient table noise so that all would seem normal to the observers.

"This is an excellent place, and we have a fond memory of it," Cindy explained. "This is where we found Charli. She was barely sixteen at the time, had been homeless for four years, and was working as a girly boy prostitute to survive on the streets. She lived in a maintenance access under a freeway bridge a few miles from here. She had raised Willie from a kitten. She also befriended Padrona, a junk yard dog to end all junk yard dogs. She's a Rottweiler-English Mastiff cross, and weighs more than Wolf does. She saved Charli's life several years before we found them. You'll meet her soon. She's doing special work for His Wisdom."

"You say she was sixteen? She's barely 11 if I have the numbers correct," Terri said.

"True, that all changed that night. Four hoods picked her up next door. Bobbie and I sensed she was there. The hoods drugged her, and then rather brutally attacked her in an alley down the street. We got there just in time. One of the guys sucker punched her. It ruptured her spleen and lacerated her liver. Fortunately, we were able to contact His Wisdom. He did the major repairs in the ambulance going to the hospital.

"The Wizard regressed her age to six, so she could get the right schooling and family life. Her being a girl was known to all of us, and he fixed that, too. He's known as Dr. Bettencourt around here."

"Esmeralda and Charli told me that her parents were murdered."

"Yes, they owned a grocery store. Two hoods robbed the place and killed her parents, and aunt and uncle."

After dinner, Don drove them to the area where Charli had grown up. Cindy led them to the bocce ball courts and memorial, and on to the maintenance shed. There were several sets of balls on the shelves. One set caught Terri's attention. She could feel something about it.

"They're in there aren't they? But there're three of them," Terri said.

"Yes, the other one was one of their cohorts who raped Charli. They will be there for a minimum of 500 years. Charli will have the ultimate say as to their disposition."

A few nights later Terri and Jim went to a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev. Terri sobbed through the tragic ending that Prokofiev had originally wanted to make a happy one.

She invited Jim in for a glass of limoncello after the performance. She had been trying to think of some romantic music to play, but couldn't think of anything for the longest time. Finally she knew what she had to do. She had placed the CD in the player ready to go before they left. Now the remote was beside her.

They were lightly making out to start, but things were definitely heating up. If Jim had any previous hesitation, it wasn't evident now. Terri knew she wasn't hesitating. She reached over and pressed the remote. The quiet beat of the snare drum barely intruded at first. The twenty-four beat repeated rhythm was gradually complemented by the flute and other instruments.

The intent was obvious to Jim and he didn't say a thing. He just gently picked her up, carried her into the bedroom, and quietly shut the door.

Phantom went out the front door, and locked it behind him. He and Maddy were going to hunt rats.

A no-fault divorce was granted in Missouri about 60 days after the papers were filed. They basically split their assets. They didn't have that much. Jim moved in with Terri as soon as the divorce was granted, although they were already living together except for Jim's official address. He wanted nothing more to do with the other unit, and the owners put it up for sale.

Jim and Terri were married in a quiet wedding a few months after that. There were no attendants for the bride and groom. The Lewises, Schmedlaps, Andersons, Brewers and a few dozen others were there, as were many of Jim's friends and family. Many were so happy that Jim and Terri had finally tied the knot. They had expected them to get married many years before. The Wizard and Wolf were there, as were most of the cats. No one seemed to mind.

After their honeymoon, the young couple moved to Hartford. Jim was taking over the IT branch at his company's Hartford office. Construction was completed on the duplex conversion project, and the old duplex was now a nice five bedroom, three and one-half bath house. It still retained many of the furnishings. For some reason, it hadn't sold yet. The Lewis Finance Company carried the note at a very low interest rate. There was a lot of room for visitors, but Terri and Jim had other plans for the bedrooms over the years.

Terri was no longer doing loss control surveys for the third party administrator as a major insurance company had enticed her with an offer for a senior loss control consultant position at their home office in Hartford. The pay raise was substantial. The 401K deferred compensation plan included 50% matching by the employer, and the company had an excellent health care program including maternity leave. Terri wasn't showing yet, but she knew she would be soon.

It was Wednesday night, and she had the meeting of the local coven at the house. Randi and Charli were visiting, and they would be at the meeting.

It had been a great year, without a doubt.

"Boss, did Terri actually have three wishes?" Wolf was gnawing on a large ham bone that Terri had sent him.

"Actually, that was just a ploy to get her to show up here. We'd been happy to give her quite a bit just to get her to do what she did," The Wizard replied.

"I remember that she was adamant about Jim's memory not being altered. What else did she ask for?"

"She wanted to be asleep if and when the transformation occurred. She wanted her father to know what happened, and she wanted April Dawn to be able to love and be loved. April's married, pregnant and very happy now. It took some work, and her magic's gone. She doesn't know she ever had it."

"Terri's happy, too, isn't she?"

"Ever after."