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Part 1

So what do you think of a guy who has been divorced twice and is only twenty five years old. Two time loser? Unlucky? Sitting with a bottle of some fruity fortified alcoholic drink in one hand, I contemplated that very question while reading over the final divorce papers for my second marriage I held in the other.

How this marriage ended didn’t come as a terrible surprise, not really, well at least I can tell myself that now. Lori and I met at a baseball game. As we both disliked baseball, dragged to a game because of work, we seemed to have something in common. Sometime during the fourth inning we snuck out and instead had a nice dinner. Was hating a particular sport an appropriate building block for a relationship? Lori seemed to think so.

Eight months later we were married. A rather small affair, although neither of my wedding ceremonies had been large but the marriages themselves lasted about as long. Although I’m sure my first marriage counted in the grand scheme of things, it had been a mistake from the very beginning. Two stupid children who thought, at least on my part, that they were in love. It ended when I found out that my wife had also been loving one of her college professors.

Looking back I’m not sure if my marriage to Lori had been any wiser. We enjoyed our time together well enough but our lives always seemed to be going in opposite directions. I wanted children; she thought children were no better than animals. Lori wanted to move to a larger city, I was quite happy with living near a smaller one.

When promoted to be the assistant VP of Marketing for the Pacific Coast region, Lori didn’t give our marriage a second thought. She didn’t even bother to ask me if I wanted to join her. At that point, I knew our marriage had come to an end.

After coming home from work and finding the papers in my mailbox, I decided to get a good drunk on. Seemed like the thing to do, really. Deciding not to waste the good stuff, I headed off to the local convenience store returning with several bottles of an interesting drink called Mustang Red; lovely stuff, tasted like cough medicine.

About half a bottle later, the decision not to drink the good stuff, like my marriages, seemed to be a bad idea. Heading towards my liquor cabinet, the doorbell stopped me. For some reason I knew exactly who stood on the other side of the front door, I wasn’t wrong.

Kaylee took one look at me and frowned. “You’re drunk.”

Grabbing the bottle out of my hand, she glanced at the divorce papers for a moment before gathering all of the other bottles and dumping their contents into the kitchen sink.

“Hey, I paid good money for those.”

“What? Like two dollars a bottle.”

I grinned sheepishly. “Something like that.”

As Kaylee just happened to be my best friend, it came as no surprised that she knew something had happened to me. She always seemed to know, somehow.

We first met in kindergarten. She had just laid two older boys out, flat on their backs that had been picking on the new kid, which happened to be me. I have often been told she has a mean right cross.

Around the fifth grade, at the age when one really begins to notice the difference between girls and boys, I asked her to a school dance. Somewhere in my little preadolescent head, I thought that perhaps later there would be more to our relationship but it never happened.

Several years passed she off handedly commented, while we were admiring the pretty people on the beach, that she only liked girls. Who knew that she had also been admiring the same scantily clad bodies that I had been?

Now I should have been devastated at by that admission, but I took it in stride. In fact, I had a sneaking suspicion already. Kaylee had confessed to me earlier that back in Kindergarten she actually thought I was a girl. So, I was small for my age. That changed when I hit fourteen, but my love for Kaylee didn’t.

Did I have any other choice? She had always been there for me, and I would always be there for her. So did that change our relationship? My long term plans needed a little adjusting perhaps, but at the core, she would always be my best friend.

When my first marriage ended, Kaylee showed up, to comfort me. So, at the end of my second marriage I expected no less.

Closing my eyes, I took a seat on the couch and enjoyed the buzz.

“Are you OK?” Now sitting across from me, Kaylee looked concerned. “Sorry, but I didn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“Define OK. Anyway, that’s why I was drinking at home, alone.”

I don’t think she got the hint.

“Anyway, it’s not like I could get into a car accident on the way to my bedroom. How bad could it have been?”

“Drinking that stuff, alcohol poisoning most likely. “ Kaylee had never been impressed with people who drunk in excess.

I raised my hands in surrender. “Fine, I get it; I am not allowed to wallow in self-pity.”

Kaylee climbed over the coffee table, and hugged me, resting her head on my shoulder for a moment. It felt good, we always connected, a shame really.

“No, you’re allowed to do that, however I need you to be sober. I have an important question for you.”

Shifting in my seat, wishing she would continue the hug, I raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t have waited until tomorrow huh? Ok, so what’s up?”

“I need you to be my date for Valentine’s Day, specifically for the dance after the fund-raiser.”

For years, the LGBT community held its annual fund-raiser in a small hotel on the outskirts of town. Since becoming chairperson, Kaylee decided to move it into the heart of the city.

Along with her longtime girlfriend Meredith, Kaylee convinced other business leaders to help with the event. Working hard throughout the year, the two managed to finally take over all of the ballrooms in one of the larger hotels in the city.

Overjoyed at her accomplishment, Kaylee had wanted to share that success with her girlfriend. She even went as far as to speak to me about wanting to make their relationship something more permanent, that was until Meredith moved back home. As much as I wanted to be there for Kaylee, there was only one answer to that question.

“No.”

Did I mention that the after party dance just happened to be a girl’s only affair? Guys were welcomed, providing they were appropriately dressed. Not that I had a problem with guys dressing up as women, some of the best people I know were cross-dressers who worked for Kaylee. It just didn’t happen to be my thing.

“Eric…”

“Kaylee, I would look silly in a dress.”

My best friend looked at me for a second then giggled. “True, although I think that we could make you presentable enough. Would you go with me if you were a girl?”

I rubbed my face for a moment; perhaps I had drunk too much. “If you’re trying to confuse me your doing as great job; what do you mean if I were a girl? Speaking with your friend Teresa, I know transitioning does take some time and even then...no thanks.”

“No.” She looked nervous as she reached into her bag, placing a fist size grey stone with gold lettering on the coffee table.
I stared at the rock for a moment before laughing. “Why of course, magic; how silly of me.”

Kaylee and her mother owned several what would be called New Age stores around the state. I didn’t believe in any of it of course, although from what I had seen, there appeared to be good money in all of that hocus pocus. Standing up, I started to walk away, thinking I need to find my good bottle of Calvados when Kaylee dragged me back to the couch.

“Yes, magic.”

“So, you’re telling me that you’re some sort of Witch, right?”

Kaylee let out a long breath then looked right into my eyes. “Yes but I don’t call myself that. If you need a name you can call us Practitioners. Simply put, I have a gift.”

“You mean like being able to snap your toes as if they were your fingers.”

Didn’t seem right, Kaylee had magic and all I could do was snap my toes. Not that I actually believed she had any magical ability.

“So, why don’t you just wiggle your nose, or wave your wand? What’s up with the rock?”

“I can see that you’re skeptical.”

“You think?” I laughed; starting to stand up again, Kaylee dragged me back down. “OK, fine. Let us say I believe you, which I don’t. Why don’t you just wave you hand and turn me into a girl?”

Actually, for some reason I really wanted to know what was up with the rock.

“Magic doesn’t really work that way, normally we cannot change big things. And even then, it takes the entire Circle to perform such magic. Plus, considering how much energy it can take, a spell such as this one can only be performed once every decade or so.”

“I see, so you can’t make yourself wealthy by wishing for a pile of gold.”

“Not really, we make little changes, influence outcomes for the betterment of our lives and for the lives of others.”

“So that’s why you didn’t cast a spell on Meredith to make her love you and stay.”

Kaylee smiled sadly. “No, we are not allowed to interfere with matters of the heart. Such things never work out well anyway, usually coming back at us three fold.”

“Rules of three.” Being well read, I have heard of such things before but then again, Kaylee had read the same books. “So your Coven…”

“Circle.”

“Sorry, your Circle has placed a spell on that rock to turn me into a girl.”

“Yes.”

Sitting back, I didn’t really know what to believe. Sure, there were stranger things in heaven and earth, but did I really believe that my best friend could cast magic?

“I thought all Witches were Wiccans or something.” I knew Kaylee still attended one of the more reform churches in the area.

“My Circle doesn’t require you to be a member of any one religion or sect. Our group happens to be one of the more diverse Circles in the region, actually.”

“There is more than one group, of course there is. So I assume that all of you practitioners use magic to keep us Muggles from finding out your powers?”

Kaylee smiled, I really did love her smile. “Something like that. Now, before we go any further I don’t want you to think that it’s permanent. The spell will only last until the sunrise after the party.”

“Sort of like Cinderella. Ok, so, if I’m a girl it’s only going to be for about a week right?”

Frowning she nodded, did I actually see hope in her eyes as well.

“So let’s say this is all real and you turn me into a girl. Won’t that interfere with other aspects of my life? I do have a business to run you know. The party isn’t until this weekend right; unless of course, the rock isn’t going to be used until Friday?”

“No, don’t worry; the magic will take care of that. And yes, we could wait until Friday but I thought being a girl for a week wouldn’t be too bad.”

“If you say so, as long as it’s not permanent, I would love to go to the dance with you.”

Something told me that she might be telling me the truth. If Kaylee had been the type of person to play practical jokes, I would believe her less. However, she had taken her last break up awfully hard. Truth be told, I loved her, would always love her and if this gave Kaylee a little bit of happiness, I was game.

 

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Part 2

Sitting comfortably with the grey stone in my hand, I waited for Kaylee to finish getting ready. Returning from her car, I half expected her to come in with a cauldron, robes and a pointed hat. Instead, the last thing I expected her to pull out of her purple bag was a small knife, with a white handle and a blade, which looked a lot like bronze.

“What’s that for?” Clutching the rock to my chest, I couldn't keep my eyes off the blade. So I didn’t like sharp pointy things. If this was a joke, it had going too far already.

Seeing the concern in my eyes, Kaylee smiled. “Don’t be such a baby, this is just a Secespita.”

“Sounds Latin.” I relaxed a little as she set the knife down on the coffee table.

“Roman Priestess used a similar knife for sacrifices.” Kaylee said nonchalantly, pulling out an index card with strange writings on it.

“Sacrifices?” I sort of squeaked.

“Relax; I just need a little bit of your blood. Actually, you will have to do it to finish the enchantment. Right now it’s just waiting for the ritual to be completed.”

“Does it have to be blood?”

Kaylee looked at me then shrugged but I could see she was hiding a grin. She knew me only too well, how I hated anything to do with needles or knives. “Well no, it doesn't actually; we just need some of your sacred bodily fluid. I thought this way would be less embarrassing.”

“What do you mean by bodily fluid?”

“Blood or….” She pointed to my groin.

“You’re kidding?”

“Sexual fluids or blood, both have been used as part of potent magics since ancient times, your choice.”

Right, if this is a joke I am so going to kill her. Reaching for the knife, I looked at the index card. I had no clue what any of it meant. Flipping the card over, Kaylee pointed to a transliteration of what was on the front.

“That’s it, only those three lines.”

“Yes, plus you need to cut yourself a little, and spread the blood all over the front of the stone.”

We went over the words a dozen or so times until I had the pronunciation perfect. Sitting back, she pulled out what looked like a Celtic cross. Kissing it, she nodded for me to proceed.

Grimacing, I cut my finger, didn’t feel a thing. That little knife was sharp. After trying not to make a bloody mess on my carpet, I picked up the index card while sucking on my finger.

Saying the three lines, one of them I thought said something about Athena; I waited for something. However, nothing, nothing at all happened, just me sitting with a bloody thumb and a grey rock.

“You got me good.” I started to laugh; well at least this whole thing took my mind off the divorce. Still, I planned to get Kaylee back later.

“What do you mean?” Taking the knife out of my hand, she walked over to the sink cleaned it, and then put it away.

“I’m still a guy.”

Shaking her head, Kaylee reached once again into her bag, pulled out a small bottle, sprayed it on my finger, and then covered it with a band aid.

“Eric, do you really think such a spell would instantly change you into a girl?”

“Of course, isn't that how it’s supposed to work?”

Reaching over, she kissed me on the cheek. “Only in the movies, sweetie.”

Looking into my eyes, she kissed my forehead. “Thank you, trust me Eric, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

“Wait, where are you going? How about I make us a nice dinner? Actually, change that. How about we go out, my refrigerator is a little bare.”

Kaylee stood in front of the door with the bag in her hand. “I would love to; however you’re going to be asleep in about ten minutes.”

“Are you still going on about the spell? I got it, great joke.”

“No, I’m serious. I’ll come by in the morning and pick you up, we can do brunch together.”

Brunch? Even on Saturdays, I don’t sleep that late.

“Still don’t believe me. OK, how about this, when you wake up tomorrow and you are not a girl; I will buy you that new electronic thing-a-ma-bob you keep drooling over. Plus, I’ll pay for brunch.”

“I didn’t know selling crystal and incense paid so well.” Laughing, this really sounded like easy money to me, although funny thing I was getting pretty tired. Magic no, too much alcohol, yes.

“And if I lose, and by some miracle I wake up as a girl, then what.”

“There is a cute Fendi mini shoulder bag that I want and then you can buy me brunch instead.”

A purse for a new Windows tablet, sounded fair to me. Even if I turned into a girl, I would still come out ahead.

“Done.” Happily, I yawned. Way too much booze.

“Good night.” She sang out, closing the door.

Nodding, I headed into my room. For some reason, I couldn't remember getting into bed.

Some of the oddest dreams plagued my sleep that night, although most had vanished when I woke up. What I did remember didn’t make a lot of sense. Standing on desolate plain, covered in knee high white wheat, I stood next to a tall black tree. Atop one of the branches stood a black bird, could have been a raven maybe a crow.

Across from me, stood a young girl, like me, she wore no clothes. Next to her, a white tree and strange white bird. Surrounding the familiar looking girl, knee high black wheat. When I raised my hand in greeting, she raised her hand. When I waved, she waved. Suddenly now the girl, I looked across the white wheat, and saw my male self standing there.

The strange dreams did in no way match my first experience in waking up female. All my life, I have slept on my stomach. This morning, I lay on my back. Immediately, I noticed an odd weight sitting on my chest, strange but also familiar at the same time.

“Weird.” Sitting, up I felt the weight shift. “You have to be kidding.” Looking down, I found two perfectly formed female breasts poking out of a flannel nightgown.

Rolling out of bed, ignoring the weight on my chest, I looked around the room. The duality, hit me once more, feminine but not terribly so, it seemed ordinary and strange at the same time.

Black lacquer furniture, replaced with rosewood. The tall dresser, replaced with a lower one, with a brass mirror above it. The bed, turned into a sleigh bed. Pictures on the wall of Eric now replaced with a girl who could be my Cousin Stephanie’s twin. Photos of the new me stood on the wall, dresser and vanity. Standing with my parents at college graduation, Kaylee and me at the beach with friends, other relatives all the images the same but different.

“Wild.”

Perhaps I should be freaking out, but everything seemed so normal. Then last night’s comment on how the magic would take care of things made sense. Only being a girl for a week, freaking out about it, the entire time wouldn't be too productive. With new knowledge coming to me about how much the purse might actually cost, I was now actually more upset about losing the bet then turning into a girl.

Still, very strange.

Walking over to the closet, I opened it revealing a full-length mirror. Slipping off my nightgown, I took a first glimpse of my new self. Trust me, you would too. I poked and prodded myself a little, seemed all too normal.

Nice looking breasts, flat tummy, wide hips turning into a very feminine ‘V’ confirmed the spell worked. Staring down, I also noticed that I seemed to be clean-shaven.

“I can guess who came up with that idea.”

Although I have never seen my cousin in the buff, I did look a lot like her, not bad. If someone decides to turn you into a girl, an attractive one would be the way to go.

Still, very strange.

Slipping on a long fuzzy pink bathrobe, I walked into the bathroom to start my day. Coming out, taking much longer than normal, I had to giggle. Married twice, the differences between how men and women shower in the morning was readily apparent. Admittedly, I did smell quite nice, liking the coconut conditioner. At least for a week, I would could deal with it.

Slipping on clean clothes, ones not stuffed into drawers or thrown on the floor, I smelled freshly brewed coffee. Did my new self, actually use a timer on a coffee pot? My jeans definitely fit my body a lot better, hugging all the girly parts quite nicely. A clean bra, which all my life I had only taken off, and not on, followed by a nice light green blouse finished the outfit. Putting my shoulder length hair into a ponytail, I decided to take care of the rest later as I walked into the living room.

“What are you doing here?”

Hadn't gotten used to the girl voice yet, nor that I appeared to have lost about six inches in height. Everything seemed so much taller, reminded me of when I was in elementary school.

“You gave me the key. Wow.” Kaylee set down her coffee mug, getting a look at me for the first time. “Spin around girlfriend, let me take a good look at you.”

Grinning, I gave her the model twirl, only to find myself in her arms. “Thank you...thank you Erin, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

Stepping back, but not letting go, I grinned. “Erin’s not bad, I had a great Aunt named Erin. So who came up with that name?”

“You did silly.” Kissing me lightly on the lips, she giggled running back to the kitchen. “Want a cup of coffee?”

“Sure. You know I should be a lot angrier with you?”

Kaylee set down the coffee mug for a second, confused, and then smiled seeing that I wasn't really angry. “Why?”

“A Fendi mini shoulder bag, really, from Nordstrom right.”

“Of course.” Laughing, she set the cup in front of me. “Well, I could have said Michael Kors or Louis Vuitton.”

“Like I would have known the difference.”

“You do now.”

Taking a sip of coffee, I nodded. “Well of course.”

“Got to love magic.” She said, taking a seat next to me.

Interestingly enough the divorce papers were gone. Check, Erin had never been married to Lori. We talked for a few minutes about the change and my lack of excitement about turning into a woman. Kaylee spent most of the time wanting to hear about my dreams.

“I thought we were going to go for brunch?”

“Sorry, we need to wait for Aunt Miranda first.” Picking up the cups, she cleaned them off before putting them in the dishwasher.

“Why are we waiting for your Aunt?”

I had met her Aunt a few times, very nice person in her mid-forties. Her husband on the other hand, I knew very well. He worked on computers for a living and freelance setting up servers and the like for my company. Her Aunt, well she was a….

“Wait, you’re not telling me? No way, Kaylee, I have only been a girl for what a few hours and you’re already going to subject me to that.”

“Every woman has to have a checkup once a year. She really just wants to make sure everything turned out OK.”

I sat back confused. “Wait? How does she know, who else knows I suddenly turned into a woman?”

All manners of nightmares filled my head, people I have known for years thinking I suddenly went off to Thailand or something. What would I tell my parents?

Kaylee came over and hugged me. “Relax, it’s because she is also a member of my Circle. Only you and all those who were part of the ritual know. To everyone else, you have always been Erin.”

“Let me tell you Kaylee, I am working really hard not to freak out. However, it appears I am on some sort of magical Prozac.”

“True me sweetie, this won’t take that long and we will go to the mall for some retail therapy.”

“Retail therapy huh, I’m not really a big fan of malls.”

In, out, grab a book or electronics had always been my MO. Also, stay as far away from the mall during the holidays.

“I imagine that might have changed.”

Walking across the living room, she answered the door. I could hear her Aunt's greeting.

“Where is Erin, let me see her.”

Standing up, I waved to Miranda only to be engulfed in a hug. Did all women greet each other this way? Not that I minded.

Stepping back, she gave me a once over. “Can I cook, or can I cook.”

“You’re in charge of the Circle.”

“Circle?” Miranda rolled her eyes. “That girl has a thing for the word Witch. It’s Coven sweetie, don’t worry. I won’t be offended if you call me a Witch.”

Kaylee grumbled as she walked by.

Noticing the bag in her Aunt’s hand, I made a face. “Do we have to do this? I mean, I’m only going to be a girl for a week.” I tried not to whine but wasn't too successful.

“Yes we do, you worked with some very powerful magics last night. I want to make sure everything is OK.”

Sighing, I reluctantly allowed her to lead me to my bedroom. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have remained in my nightgown.

“Stay here Kaylee, give Erin a little privacy.”

I won’t go into what she did, trust me this is a big old black mark on being a girl. Turn your head and cough doesn't shine a light to what Miranda did to me.

Happily, as I put my clothes back on, Miranda walked out of the room to give my best friend the news.

“Congratulations Kaylee, it’s a girl.”

 

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Part 3

“Stop pouting.”

“I’m not pouting. I shouldn’t have said yes to this stupid spell, you took advantage of me because I was drunk.”

Kaylee rolled her eyes, then giggled. “It’s not that bad.”

“What do you mean, not that bad? I dated Henry Samson in High School for heaven’s sake. He even took me to the Junior Prom.”

Henry and I used to hang out together. Nice guy and all but to actually date him, yikes.

“He didn’t kiss you or anything, did he?” Kaylee made a face as if trying to remember.

“Yes, Yuk he did, really, couldn’t you guys have thought of someone else for me to date?”

After complaining about my impromptu gynecological exam once more, we had spent most of lunch comparing each other’s memories. The whole duality thing seemed to replace my male self with my female self for the most part. Surprisingly enough a lot of memories didn’t appear all that different however; other times like dating Henry were totally new memories.

Miranda and Kaylee explained to me, beyond the gender switch, the enchantment would not make huge changes, as it would affect too many people. So it made little ones, although dating Henry Samson seemed pretty damn big to me.

“Don’t blame us Erin, it’s the spell. Anyway, trust me, you’re not the first to play straight girl throughout High School. So, when did you first realize that you only liked girls?”

“I’ve always only liked girls.”

“Me too.” Kaylee ginned, reaching over and grabbing a crouton off my plate.

And another thing, for lunch we ended up at my favorite restaurant in the mall. Normally, I would be eating a double bacon cheeseburger and beer battered onion rings but no, a Greek salad with roasted chicken for me. Now don’t get me wrong, the salad was pretty good, it’s just the principle of the thing.

“So who else did you date?”

“Nicole.”

I wanted to ask Kaylee why we didn’t date but decided not to. The memories were a bit blurred, shifting, as if not quite set in stone.

She looked at me, surprised. “Really, you dated your ex-wife? I didn’t know she swung that way.”

I could see that she too seemed to have trouble remembering. “I didn’t either until now. Didn’t last that long…not that my marriage to her did either.”

Kaylee gave my hand a squeeze, before changing subjects. “So, now tell me, girlfriend. What do you think of shopping?”

Sitting back, I looked at the bags sitting next to me on the booth. Perhaps I got carried away. We had only been shopping a couple of hours and already I picked out several new blouses, a skirt and a pair of shoes for this weekend. The shoes surprised me, high heels of course. I expected to fall flat on my face; however my body knew how to walk in them.

“It’s been fun, surprisingly enough. Question though, what happens next week?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean after I turn back into Eric, these clothes and shoes. Should I keep the receipts?”

Looking at Kaylee, I could see something in her eyes but it went away, returning with a smile. “Not sure…really. I imagine that since Eric didn’t buy them then the items will just appear back on the shelves. If not, you will have to return them.”

Nodding to myself, I looked over at the bags. I still couldn’t see me getting this interested in clothing but I did have a few ideas on how to liven up Eric’s wardrobe. Most likely, I’ll just give these clothes, if they remain, to Kaylee.

For the rest of the day she didn’t leave my side, which was nice. We hadn’t spent a day like this in years, not before we both started to get serious with other people. I could tell though, that Kaylee wanted to keep an eye on me. I’m sure she kept expecting me to freak out.

After my senior year in High School, Nichole and I backpacked throughout Europe. I even proposed to her while on top of Germany’s tallest mountain, the Zugspitze, right in front of the Summit Cross.

Turning into a girl seemed like another new adventure, like a vacation from my old self. I’ll enjoy the week, my time with Kaylee and then after Sunday, I’ll try my best to put my life back together.

Now there were several changes I really did like. First of all, coming out of my house, I found, parked in the driveway, a powder blue BMW convertible. Cars to me have always just been a means to get me from point A to point B. Four wheels, reliable and has good gas mileage had always been good enough for me.

We all wondered why my car changed from my little compact to the Beemer until I remembered when I bought my last car. Walking down row after row of used cars, I came across the same powder blue BMW. As I passed it, I thought it would be a really nice car if one happened to be a girl, after that I forgot about it, until this morning.

Later that evening, Kaylee having already left, I took the full tour of my changed home. It definitely had a more feminine feel to it but nothing over the top. Happily, my grandmother’s furniture sat in its proper place in my semi-formal dining room, also in a lot better condition.

In the living room, I found my two gaming consoles still hooked up to the same flat screen television. Same number of games, although there were a few differences. My movie collection too, looked about the same, although like my games there were a few additions I wouldn't have picked up normally.

Afterwards while straightening up the kitchen; I realized the house itself was immaculate. Not that I’m a super clean person although I used to pick up after Lori. What kept the house clean, since we both worked long hours, was having a cleaning service come over a couple times a month. I planned on extending that contract next week.

What I really liked about my home were the new furnishings. Lori had picked out most of what I lived with now, not even bothering to ask my opinion. I decided home, like my life, needed some changes.

Too bad I couldn't take a picture or two. Most likely, like my divorce papers, they would disappear when I switched back on Sunday. Over all, definitely a new perspective on things, perhaps turning into a girl for a week wasn't a bad idea after all.

The next morning I found Kaylee once again sitting at my kitchen table drinking coffee. Not that I minded, waking up to my best friend and a fresh cup of coffee was a nice way to start the day.

“So we are off to Miranda’s?”

“You have never been to her house, have you?”

Picking up our purses and coats, we headed out the door.

“No, her husband Tom came over to our house once but usually we met at the office. Even then, I didn’t spend a lot of time with him. He and Walter, my in-house IT guy, bonded immediately while getting our servers up and running. I tried to stay out of the way.”

Grinning, I found Kaylee standing in front of my new car. It seemed while my little blue car remained in my driveway, I would be driving.

Kaylee Aunt's home actually happened to not too far, in a section with the larger houses. Miranda and her husband owned a cute, five bedroom house with a substantial but well-kept yard. Not that I needed anything that large, I only lived by myself now.

Greeting us with hugs as soon as we entered the house, Miranda introduced me to three little girls, what I have been told are Kaylee's favorite cousins. Already having a five-year-old son, Miranda and her husband wanted to have a daughter, a matched pair. As with most things in life, it worked out only too well, instead of having one girl, she had triplets.

Tom greeted us too, coming in from the backyard, smelling like smoke. I could see in his eyes that he had no clue that last week I was Eric. We talked about business for a little while, maybe an upgrade to my systems, before the triplets dragged me into their playroom. As the new girl in the house, I would want to see all of their toys, right.

While Tom wandered off, with an amused smile on face, to cook on the grill, and Miranda and Kaylee preparing the rest of the meal, I had my very first Barbie adventure. Impressing me at first with the wardrobe and shoe collection for their dolls, the girls had a very serious conversation on what Barbie I should use.

What I actually ended up with instead was one of the new Gothic monster look alike Barbie’s. The triplets had acquired almost the entire collection over Christmas, and they didn’t mind that I wanted to play with Franzilla instead of Kipper.

I might have to pick up the set myself. I mean guys, even older guys collect action figures right? I thought the whole High School horror thing seemed pretty cool.

Lunch consisted of hot-dogs and hamburgers, along with grilled chicken and grilled vegetables. The triplets insisted that I sit next to them. Not that I never helped with a meal before, but the perspective was entirely different. Especially, while cutting up the girls hot-dogs, I tried not to spit out my diet Cola when Tom mentioned I would make a great mother.

Sometime during the end of the meal, their son Kirk started to talk smack about how lame his sisters and all girls were at gaming. He even complained that his mom only played these stupid dance games, working out in the afternoons. When I tried to explained my substantial collection of console games, he insisted that they must be my brother’s or boyfriends.

Kaylee couldn't help from grinning and neither could his mother when I challenged him to one of his favorite first person shooters. Did I feel bad when I wiped the floor with him? Absolutely not, I gleefully kicked his rear end. I even had my own cheerleading section, who would clap their hands and jump up and down every time I sent their brother back to his spawning zone.

Burdened with leftovers, Kaylee and I prepared to leave after spending most of the day at her Aunt’s house. The triplets gave us both hugs and kisses while Kirk on the other hand, stood behind his father blushing.

“I think he likes you.”

“Great, just what I needed an eleven year old boyfriend; much less any boyfriend.”

Miranda stopped me as we started to walk out the door. “Erin, the girls wanted to know if you will come back and play with them again.”

I looked at her, then Kaylee. “I hate breaking my promises.”

“It’s OK, Erin; they just had a fun time with you.”

The ride home was quite, turning to her as we drove up, I asked if she wanted to come in.

“I’d love to.”

After setting the leftovers in the fridge, we looked through my movie collection for something different. I surprised her when picking out a movie with the two love interests only interacting through email. I hadn't seen it, and at least now it looked interesting.

Snuggling together, the two of us only got up to make some popcorn. With our arms intertwined, it felt really nice. I felt at peace, the first in a long time. Being so close together however with an obvious attraction to one another, my body started to react in a way quite different from Eric’s.

“I have to go.” Kaylee suddenly stood up, her face flushed.

“Why, the movie isn't over yet.” Reaching over, I turned off the DVD while she grabbed her coat.

“Because if I do, I’ll be tempted to jump your bones in the middle of the living room, I can’t do that.”

I smiled. “The bedroom would be more comfortable but I understand.”

She didn’t want to mess with our relationship; sex would have definitely complicated things. As much as I wanted to try out a few things with this new body, she was right. It wouldn't be fair when I turned back into Eric on Sunday.

“No you don’t.” She looked upset. “I should have told you this sooner. Remember when I told you that the enchantment would only last until the sunrise after Valentine’s Day.”

“Yes.”

I started to feel sick to my stomach. Had she been lying to me the whole time? Did Miranda also know, asking me if I wanted to play with the girls again? I couldn’t believe that the enchantment was permanent; she wouldn’t do that to me. Would she?

Seeing my face, she almost rushed into my arms but I stepped back. “Tell me, Kaylee.”

“OK, if you have sex with the person you love, male or female you will remain a woman.” She said in a rush, then more slowly. “Or if you happen to get pregnant, the magic will not end a life.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, if it wasn’t with a person you loved. “You mean like rape?”

“Yes.”

“Crap.” I collapsed on the couch. I don’t want to become a woman full time. Sure, this was an adventure, a vacation from myself but I sure as hell didn’t want to make it permanent.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I mean, I should have.”

I looked up; I could see tears in her eyes. “Thank you for telling me, Kaylee.”

“I’m...I’m going to go.” Rushing forward, she kissed me on the cheek and headed out the door. “I love you, Erin.”

I only half heard the door close, did she just tell me she loved me? Sitting back I looked about the room, no longer seeming as safe as if was only a few minutes before.

Running to the front door, I made sure all of the doors were locked before heading into my bedroom. Here I was, a small woman in a home all alone. For the first time since I was a child, I felt vulnerable.

 

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Part 4

Waking up the next morning, I thought for a moment about calling in sick for the rest of the week. A passing thought really, I didn’t know if I really wanted to deal with all of the changes I thought might be happening at work. So far, the magic been working according to plan but with that little tidbit last night about this becoming permanent, I started to wonder what other surprises were in store for me.

Business casual was the order of the day but I always noticed that a woman’s idea of business casual appeared to be different from a man’s. Men for the most part throw on a button down and a pair of slacks.

Women on the other hand have all sorts of choices. I couldn’t believe myself, a woman for three days already and I am standing in front of my closet complaining I have nothing to wear.

For a moment, I ignored the skirts and dresses, not quite ready for it, but decided to let my new girl knowledge lead the way. In the end, I jumped into the deep end of the pool, picking out a knee length skirt with a navy blue blouse. That was just the start. Without a thought, I added a number of accessories, and of make-up.

After taking at least three times as normal getting dressed, I found myself in front of the full-length mirror. I had to admire the nice looking girl who stood in front of me. Not bad for a first pass, of course the extra girl knowledge proved invaluable.

Although disappointed that Kaylee didn’t make another appearance this morning, I headed out, stopping for my usual coffee before rolling into work. Sitting in my spot, I took a deep breath and headed inside.

After college, along with two friends of mine, I started a company called Digital Creations. For the most part, we started with banners, coffee mugs and t-shirts, slowly working our way towards storefronts. Now we also have our hands in internet commercials and web sites.

“Good morning, Erin. How was your weekend?” A cute looking girl sat in front of my office, looking a lot like an assistant. However, Eric doesn’t have an assistant.

Thankfully, her name came to mind almost immediately. “Good morning, Rika. Well let’s say it was interesting.”

Rika had introduced herself at one of the fund-raiser committee meetings offering to take notes. Several meetings later, I hired her full time for my company.

Still in college, she had been working in a coffee shop trying to save enough money for her transition. If someone said that Rika used to be a boy, I would have questioned their sanity.

She brought into the company what Eric desperately needed, organization. What I had failed to notice, my company was no longer the little business operating out the back of print store. We actually leased the bottom of an office building and I just hired my twenty-fifth employee.

Surprised, I found my day set out for me, my meetings organized and my work prioritized. Walking out of my Monday morning staff meeting, I didn’t know what I would do without her. At that point, I added her to my ever-growing list of things I needed to change after turning back into Eric. I would find the coffee shop she worked at and hire her on the spot.

“Erin, you have a visitor.”

Looking up, Kaylee stood at the door, with a nervous smile on her face. “Hi, I came here to take you out to lunch.”

“Lunch?” Once again, Rika allowed me to actually do my job. With her fielding phone calls and emails, I actually got to work on some projects that had been falling behind. “Sounds good.”

Getting into her car, she kept looking my way. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“There is nothing to be sorry about.”

“But I should have told you.” Kaylee turned, heading towards one of my favorite restaurants. I could see she planned to make up for her transgressions.

“Yes but don’t worry about it.”

Did the thought of some guy taking advantage of me scare me silly? You bet. Was I going to allow it to dominate my life, no freaking way. I’m sure all women go through this on some level, certain times it’s in their face, the rest of the time it’s under the surface. I’m not sure if I was brave or the magic helped; either way, I just didn’t have the time to worry about it.

“However, I will allow you buy me lunch if it makes you feel better.”

After a nice hug, Kaylee and I entered the restaurant.

For the most part, like lunch the day before we discussed the differences between Eric and Erin’s reality. I told her about Rika, which she already knew. Still, she was very pleased I had hired her.

First thing in the morning, I had asked for the last year’s financials, interested to see how things were working out. We were doing a little better, nothing to be excited about.

My client list proved much interesting. Several names had disappeared to be replaced with a few others. I made note of the new ones, perhaps I’ll be able to drum up some new business after Sunday.

“So, what do you think of Onir Construction now?” Kaylee gave me a smug look.

Trying not to get angry, I pierced a bit of shrimp with my fork. Travis Onir owned one of the largest shipping companies in the city. He had been a client for years; however, his misogynist attitudes had made him difficult to work with.

Stephen, one of my partners insisted the money was too good not to have him as a client. After my morning staff meeting, I met with him and a few others for a short presentation, I felt like taking a shower afterwards. Perhaps I was naive; I didn’t really believe that people actually still thought that way.

“Well let’s say, I am much more aware of his attitude. If he called me little lady once more time, I was going to hit him with something.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“Take Stephen and Franklin aside and see if we really want to be associated with someone like Travis.”

Dropping me off after lunch, I got a simple hug and a kiss on the cheek from Kaylee. Something she has been doing for years and no new declaration of her love, which would have just confused me more.

Who did she love? She loved Erin, not Eric. I wasn’t sure if I could actually go there again. I accepted many years ago that my long-range plans were nothing more than an adolescent fantasy.

Now through magic, here was a second chance to be with her romantically but it wouldn’t come without a sacrifice. Would I be using a Secespita on my own dreams?

The rest of the day went by in a blur; we had several high priced projects in place that needed me to look at personally. Only Rika standing in front of me, jingling her car keys kept me from staying late. The fund-raiser was only a few days away and there was still work that needed to be done.

Luckily, I personally didn’t have a lot to do. Sitting in back of the ballroom, I just listened. Almost all of the details had long been finalized, for the most part the discussion covered last minute details for the after party.

Seems someone had some pull, managing to bring a couple of popular bands to play at the function. Afterwards, one of the newer gothic rock bands would be appearing at the dance.

“Erin!”

I had been standing with Kaylee getting ready to leave when a voice called to me from the other side of the ballroom. Turning, I found someone who I haven’t seen in years crossing the room and into my arms.

“Tabitha, I didn’t know you were in town.”

“Kaylee, why didn’t you tell her?”

Tabitha and Kaylee were cousins. Although from the looks of it, Kaylee wasn’t too pleased with her cousin’s appearance.

Tabitha and her mother had moved back to town in my sophomore year of High School. Running with the popular crowd, cheerleader, Homecoming Queen and all of that, I didn’t spend a lot of time with her in school. As far as I knew, she still lived on the West Coast with her famous baseball player husband.

“Sorry, I forgot.”

Throwing herself in my arms again, Tabitha gave me a very enthusiastic hug. Squeezing her breasts against mine, I enjoyed the feeling. Baseball players must make a good bit of money; I don’t remember her being so, large.

Wait, did she actually just cop a feel on my ass? Blushing, I took a step backwards. “Tabitha, so how’s married life treating you?”

She looked confused for a moment, and then made a slight face at Kaylee. “I guess she forgot to mention, I petitioned for a divorce from Dan.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. I might be a dumb blond but I know when my man is cheating on me. It’s going to cost him big time.”

No one ever thought that Tabitha was a dumb blonde, at least not for long. She had a very sharp mind, and a wit to match.

Slipping her arms in mine, she smiled. “So, who are you taking to the dance?”

I thought Kaylee was going to lose it, pulling me away from her cousin, she said. “With me, you know that.”

“Sorry sweetie, I forgot.” Reaching into her purse, Tabitha handed me a check. Looking down, I was impressed with all of the zeros.

“Tabitha, that’s very generous of you.”

“Well, be sure to save a dance for me Erin, can’t have my cousin monopolize all of your time. Anyway, time for me to go. I have an early morning meeting with my attorney.”

Once again, I found myself in Tabitha’s arms, this time she planted a kiss right on my lips, slipping in her tongue. Stunned, I watched her walk away, swinging her hips back and forth.

“Gods, how I hate that woman sometime.” Kaylee growled.

It’s interesting how things start to become normal after a few days of doing the same thing. I stopped noticing the differences between Eric and Erin’s lives. Oh, I knew they were there, and if I thought about it, I could easily pick them out.

However, getting dressed on Tuesday seemed to me just a normal day at work. I had several meetings, I needed to go over a few project plans and had a teleconference with Tom to discuss our server upgrade. Like Monday, Rika had my schedule well in hand, fielding calls that would have kept me from doing what I really needed to do.

“Erin, you have a visitor.”

Looking up, I expected Kaylee, but in her place stood Tabitha.

“Hey baby.”

“Hi.”

Last night she had been wearing an outfit that showed off her assets quite nicely. Today, she dressed very conservatively. Then I remembered. She had an early morning meeting with her lawyer.

“I know, I should have called first, but I thought I would take you out to lunch.”

Looking at the clock, I nodded. “Well, I do need to eat, that sounds great.”

Rika raised an eyebrow as we left. I could only shrug.

Apologizing for the rental, she took me to one of the more upscale restaurants for lunch. The food, as expected was very good. I had been there a few times with different clients and ordered the salmon instead of the prime rib.

Interestingly enough, our conversation remained rather light. We spoke about people we knew in school, if they kept in touch. She had gone out west for college, meeting her husband in her senior year. Although she didn't show it, I could tell that Dan’s infidelity hurt her deeply. I wondered if as Eric, I would have noticed.

She insisted on paying for lunch, which was nice. Dropping me off in front of the office, I was surprised when she got out of the car and opened my door.

Helping me out, she didn’t let go of my hand when she asked. “So, tell me Erin, are you and my cousin an official couple now?”

“She asked me to the dance.” I said lamely.

“That’s not what I asked. You know, Erin, I have always been interested in you.”

“Really?” I looked at her confused. I began searching my memories both Erin’s and Eric’s.

“Yes and I thought that perhaps if you and Kaylee don’t work out, you would give me a chance.” Looking into her eyes, I could see that she was sincere.

“I don’t know what to say Tabitha.”

“Will you at least think about it? Maybe after the dance, call me on Sunday with your decision.”

Sunday I would be Eric again and this conversation would more than likely not have happened.

“Yes, I’ll call you on Sunday.”

“Thank you, that’s all I ask.” Once again, she kissed me, her lips, warm and soft. Walking back to her car, Tabitha looked directly at me.

“I will hold you to that promise, Eric.”

Wait, did she just call me Eric?

 

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Part 5

Taking a seat at my desk, I stared out the window. My mind had not settled down after the two-pronged confession from Tabitha. One she had always been interested in me and two she knew my secret. Obviously, she had been involved in the ritual to turn me into a girl. I had a sneaking suspicion that most of Kaylee’s female relatives were most likely witches.

Lost in through, the sound of my cell phone ringing made me jump. Instantly recognizing the number, I stared at it before picking it up. For some reason, I knew she would be calling. For a second I thought about letting it go to voice mail, I really needed to sort out my feelings first.

“Hi, Kaylee.”

“Hi Erin, sorry, I wanted to take you out to lunch again but got busy with work.”

She sounded a lot more upset than necessary for someone who forgot a lunch date. Not that we had anything planned but I am guessing Kaylee did.

“Don’t feel like you need to take me out every day, you also have a business to run. “

“No, I feel bad. I miss our lunches together.”

Now that she mentioned it so did I. We use to go to lunch pretty regularly, that was until Lori and I started to date. After that, Kaylee said she felt uncomfortable, feeling like a third wheel.

“I’ll take you out tonight to make it up to you. You’ll probably be starved by then.”

“I did get some lunch, so I’ll be OK. Dinner sounds great though.”

“Oh, good….Eric, can I ask who you went to lunch with today?”

Why did I feel guilty about going to lunch with her cousin? Did I feel guilty about the kiss, which was nice or the fact that Tabitha had feelings for me?

“You cousin came by and took me out to lunch.”

Dead silence on the line. For a moment, I thought I heard her whisper something about Tabitha coming by her store earlier. On the other hand, maybe she was cursing her cousin, hard to tell.

“That’s good; you two haven’t seen one another in a while. What did the two of you talk about?”

I could tell that Kaylee wasn’t pleased. “School mostly, people we used to know where they are now, things like that. We also talked a little about her divorce. Although she doesn’t show it, I could tell that she isn’t taking it well.”

“How very perceptive of you.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. Where did that come from? Was she angry with me? Before I could say anything else, Kaylee said. “You know Tabitha has always liked you.”

That took me by surprise, so she knew as well. Why was I always the last one to know such things? Thinking about on it, maybe part of me did know. Tabitha used to come over during the summer with Kaylee to hang out at my pool.

For the last two summers before we graduated, Nichole had been over at the house most of the time as well. Eric thought Tabitha only came over because of his parent’s pool, not because she might actually have feelings for him.

“She never said anything back then.”

“It’s because you were already taken. She might be a pain in the ass but she isn’t the type of person to steal another’s boyfriend. She told you that she liked you, didn’t she.”

“Yes.”

Silence on the phone once again, this wasn’t going to end well. Kaylee and I never kept secrets from one another, well except for the whole Witch thing but I understood the reason why.

“So when she asked you if we were a couple what did you say?”

Wait, how did she know what Tabitha asked? Didn’t matter, although I had a sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with her gifts.

“I told her that we were going to the dance together.”

“That’s not much of an answer, Erin.” She didn’t sound happy with my answer but I expected that. Tabitha didn’t like it either.

“That’s the only one I can give you right now, Kaylee.” I said truthfully.

“Well, I’m sure you two will be happy.”

“What do you mean by that?” I knew she didn’t hear me.

“I mean you’ve always been interested in girls with big tits, just like Candy.”

Nichole’s middle name was Candice. And yes, she was big chested, so much that we talked about getting them reduced once we had real medical insurance. Kaylee said that Candy was my ex-wife’s stripper name.

“Anyway, I have to go back to work. Oh, sorry, it seems I have to work late tonight. Why don’t you just ask Tabitha to have dinner with you?”

“Kaylee.”

Suddenly the line went dead. Without another thought, I grabbed my things and went back home.

Sitting in my house didn’t make things any better. When did being alone become something I no longer enjoyed? During the last couple of years with Lori, I had come to enjoy time by myself. Sitting in my office, working on the computer and listening to the music, I felt at peace.

Unhappily, I could not find that peace. After being unable to eat one of those low calories frozen dinners, not being in the mood to cook, I thought about calling Tabitha. I needed someone to talk to but perhaps she wasn’t the best choice.

Since this week began, I felt like someone had just torn a bandage off an old wound over my heart, only to find it had never healed. Did I have the strength to revisit those feelings I had for Kaylee? The magic wasn’t any help; it had allowed me to walk in the world comfortably as a woman, nothing more.

I wasn’t stupid; I knew Kaylee wanted me to be a woman full time to be with her. How could I make that choice in such a small amount of time? No one seemed to want to give me the time to sort out those feelings either. Did Kaylee really think that once I magically turned into a woman I would happily turn my back on my old life? Maybe she did.

The next day I worked, without really working, going through the motions. Rika kept checking on me, knowing that something was wrong. If I turned back to Eric, her hiring would be on the top of my list.

Did I just say if? Before I could delve into that further, I looked up to find a a familiar face standing in front of my desk.

“I sort of expected the ghost of Christmas future.” I grinned happily.

Although I’m sure she didn’t understand what I just said, she gave me an amused smile. “Hi, Erin.”

Coming around the desk, I fell into her arms. “”Hi, mom.” I sniffled.

No, it wasn’t my mom but Kaylee’s. With my parents working late every night, I spent my afternoons at their house after school. Una became a second mom to me, actually more of a mom than my own.

As her arms wrapped around me, I began to cry. Eric never cried even after both women in his life left him. However, as Erin it seemed the right thing to do.

Leading me over to the couch, I continued to cry for I’m not sure how long. All I know, that when I stopped I felt a lot better. Perhaps if guys did this more, they wouldn’t be dropping dead from heart attacks so often.

“Feeling better.”

Nodding, I grabbed the tissue she handed me. I must look frightful. Giggling at the thought, I said. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Reaching over, Una brushed my hair out of my face. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air.”

Coming out of the bathroom, after checking on how I looked, I’m such a girl now, we headed to her car. Our destination surprised me as we pulled in front of one of the small parks across from the bay. When I was young, we used to come out here and watch the large freighters leave for destinations unknown.

“I made your favorite.” She said, setting on the picnic table a number of sandwiches. Peanut butter with homemade apple butter, something I haven’t eaten in years.

“I missed these.” I said between bites. We talked about nothing for a little while, enjoying the breeze watching the large boats disappear over the horizon.

“So Erin, how are you.”

I stopped and looked out towards the bay. “I’m OK, Una, I guess.”

“Not from what I could see, you have been holding that in for a long time.”

I looked back at her and nodded.

She smiled setting down a small container of homemade peanut butter and chocolate cookies. I expected that Una’s cookie therapy was almost as good as retail therapy.

“Here, my little princess, this is my way of saying thanks.”

Little princess, I giggled. She used to call me her little prince. Reaching down, I happily took a cookie and started to nibble on it.

“Thank you for what?”

“Becoming a girl, of course.”

Another family Witch, quite the secret Kaylee had kept from me all of these years. I tried not to be angry about it, but a small part of me wanted to know what else I didn’t know about Kaylee. Perhaps, I didn’t know her as much as I thought.

A flash of real sadness crossed Una’s eyes. “As you’re aware, she had a terribly difficult time after Meredith.”

My growing anger instantly evaporated. Kaylee had not taken the break up well, at all. I actually felt afraid for her at the time.

“So when she came to me with this request, I knew I couldn’t say no.”

“Kaylee mentioned that the ritual could only be done once every decade or so.”

Kaylee’s mom nodded while reaching for a cookie. “We petitioned two other Covens for assistance as well. I ended up pulling in quite a number of favors for us to finish it in time. I even asked Tabitha to come back home. However, as I was saying most men would never have made the change.”

“I guess so but the magic has helped a lot.”

“Yes, but magic didn’t force you to complete the ritual. You did it because of the love you have for my daughter.”

“Of course, how could I say no? Although I have a sneaking suspicion she expected me to instantly proclaim how wonderful it was to be a woman and stay as one.”

Una grinned. “Yes, well I warned her about that.”

Admittedly, being a woman hadn’t been all that bad, it had its own good points and bad points, like everything else in life. However, did I really want to become one permanently?

“Still you have to do what makes you happy, not her.”

“What makes me happy?” Looking down, I tried to come to terms with that. I hadn’t really been happy for some time.

“What other decision is there, Erin? Oh, in the short term Kaylee would be ecstatic but eventually it would poison whatever relationship the two of you might have.”

As we started to clean up, she asked. “Do you like Tabitha?”

“Do I like Tabitha? I do, I guess.”

“She went along with the ritual under protest, although the two of them fight like cats and dogs, they do love one another. Tabitha didn’t want to see Kaylee get hurt again.”

“She said she liked me.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Erin, Tabitha likes you very much. She just wants to make sure that you’re picking Kaylee for all of the right reasons.”

Reaching up to rub the tears from my eyes, I said. “Well doesn’t matter anyway, Kaylee isn’t speaking to me.” I felt like crying again. I hated fighting with her.

“She isn’t mad at you sweetie, she isn’t mad at Tabitha either. Although from the way she screamed at me after the call you two had, it was hard to tell.”

“Then what.”

“She is afraid.”

Standing up, Una came around the picnic table and enclosed me in her arms one more. “She wants you to be happy as well, Erin. She also saw how difficult this last divorce was on you. This is as much for you as it is for her. Trust me, she loves you very much but she also doesn’t want to lose you or be hated by you.”

“I could never hate her.”

“Yes you could, if you don’t make your decision based on your own happiness. Think about it sweetie, take your time. You have until Saturday night.”

I looked up at her and started to giggle. Right, three days seemed like plenty of time to make life-changing decisions.

 

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Part 6

Coming back with a smile on my face, Rika picked it up almost immediately.

“I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better, Erin.” Her eyes opened wide as I set the container of cookies on her desk. Sitting on the edge, I took one more. Had to watch my girlish figure you know.

While munching on the cookies, the two of us discussed a conference I needed to attend next week, most likely taking me out of town. We covered a few more things, before she passed me the list of attendees for the weekend’s Fundraiser. Even after she pointed to Travis Onir’s name, it didn’t damper my mood.

“Why in the world is he attending?”

“Franklin says he has a thing for you.”

“Right, like that’s ever going to happen.” The very thought of it made me want to hurl.

Rika smiled in agreement. “Anyway, I’m guessing it’s because you made it the place to be this weekend.”

Looking over the attendee list, from what I remembered, it hadn’t become such an important event before I turned into Erin.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Of course you did, without your influence; I doubt we would have the sponsors.”

Frowning, I thought back on the meeting Erin had attended. Suddenly I realized through my business connections, not Kaylee, I had been able to speak to the more influential people in the city. Looking over the list, I noticed even the mayor and several state representatives were scheduled to attend.

“These are wonderful.” Rika giggled as she finished her second cookie.

“I know, it’s a little cookie therapy. Kaylee’s mom has a way of making things, well…better.”

“Oh, speaking of moms, yours just called right before you walked in. Seems she lost your cell number again, and would like you to call her when you can.”

Brushing the crumbs off my blouse, I quickly make my way to my desk. I didn’t have the best of relationship with my parents, especially after their divorce. Unless it was an emergency, my mother never called me. I always wondered if she blamed me for their marital problems.

“Mom, is everything OK?”

“Of course it is sweetie. You haven’t called me since Friday, so I got a little worried.”

Friday, then I realized that Erin had a different relationship with her mother. Memories of Erin’s past flooded in. Part of me felt angry; why had Eric been ignored? Even my father drifted apart, spending more time with his new family than with me.

“Erin, you sound distant. Talk to me, tell me what’s wrong.”

I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Relationship problems.”

“I see, want to tell me about them.” She sounded so different, like she actually cared. Suddenly, I could feel the armor that had protected my heart, breaking. I didn’t realize until right then how much I really missed my mom.

Curling up in the chair, I talked about Kaylee and Tabitha. No, I didn’t explain how I switched from Eric to Erin, but I tried to express my feelings as best I could.

My mother listened; she actually listened to me, which was something she hadn’t done in a long time.

“Hey, how about I come up again. I know you just saw me over the holidays but I’ll get time off from the hospital and come for a visit.”

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I said. “You don’t have to do that. I know how important work is to you.”

What’s with all of the crying? I don’t think I have been this weepy since I attended Marlborough Elementary School. Not that it’s a bad thing actually.

“Yes, but you’re more important to me. I know you have your fund-raiser this weekend. Call me on Sunday, I want to hear all about it and we can make plans for my visit then.”

“OK. Love you.”

“Love you too sweetie, say hello to Tabitha and Kaylee for me.”

Curling up in a ball on my chair, I stared out the window. So now what? Was it possible to start my relationship over as Eric with my mother? Where would I start?

Pulling up to my house that evening, I found a familiar looking car parked in my driveway.

“Kaylee?” I hesitantly opened the door and was instantly engulfed in a set of arms. We held one another for a little while before she pulled back.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Smiling, Kaylee took me by the hand and pulled me towards the kitchen. The entire house smelled wonderful, someone had been cooking up a storm while I was at work.

“You made dinner?”

“We made dinner.” Tabitha announced, coming out of the kitchen and into my arms. With a quick peck on the lips, and a pinch on my butt, she scampered away.

“Hey, watch your hands.” Kaylee growled.

“What? I just gave her a friendly greeting.”

“That’s not how friends greet one another.”

“Mine do.” Tabitha giggled from the other room.

Surprised to say the least, I looked about in confusion. “Not that I mind, but why are the two of you here?” With the pair of them in the same room, I expected a lot more damage to the furniture.

“Because you can’t live on frozen dinners every night. Plus, we haven’t had one of our homemade dinners like this in years. ”

Smiling, they knew me only too well; I couldn’t disagree with her although I’m not that bad a cook. “Oh well if that’s the case, unless Tabitha is cooking, then I’ll stick to ordering Chinese food tonight.”

“I heard that.” Another giggle came from the kitchen. Following the wonderful smell into the kitchen, I found her cutting up some vegetables. Haven’t been a big fan of them, but as Erin I like them well enough. I will say one thing; my diet has gotten infinitely better.

“That smells good.”

Smiling in thanks, Tabitha pointed to the oven. “I’m trying out my mother’s baked ziti receipt.”

As I grabbed a carrot, Kaylee came up behind me to give me a hug. “How is your mother, Tabitha?”

“She is doing well. A little annoyed at herself that she is off with my father in London while the whole divorce thing is going on. Plus, she wanted to be part of your enchantment.”

Tabitha’s mother, the middle of three sisters, worked for one of the smaller drug companies. She seemed to travel a lot between the US and Europe. Tabitha’s father worked for the same company, or did last time I asked.

“I’m surprised Aunt Tamsin didn’t take the first plane back anyway.”

Tabitha nodded. “I told her to stay, she is going to be home in a week or so anyway. Plus, I told your mom that I would take her place in the ritual, so it worked out fine.”

Swatting my hand away as she finished cutting up the rest of the carrots, she said. “Erin, why don’t you get into something more comfortable while we finish dinner?”

Happy to get out of my work clothes, I reentered the dining room to find the two of them had already set the table. As there was nothing for me to do, I took a seat.

Tabitha actually happened to be a great cook, at least that’s what Kaylee had been telling me. Throughout dinner, I couldn’t help but agree with her. I knew that her husband didn’t have an affair because she couldn’t cook; the guy was a complete idiot.

As soon as we started to eat, it was like the three of us were sitting at my parent’s pool again. We laughed, or in my case giggled and just had fun. As Kaylee brought out her grandmother’s tarts for dessert, I realized I missed having my friends over for dinner.

“Why did we stop our dinners together, Kaylee?” I took a sip of wine. I had broken out a couple of bottles of the good stuff already.

“Because Lori hated her.” Tabitha said absentmindedly before covering her hands with her mouth. “Shit, sorry.” She seemed a bit inebriated, then again so did Kaylee.

Turing to her, I raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you haven’t been around much lately?”

Kaylee sighed. “Your ex took me aside, explaining to me in detail that she wasn’t comfortable with me being around.”

“Bullshit.” Tabitha pointed a finger at Kaylee. “Tell her, what her stupid ex really said.”

“She said she didn’t want some dyke hanging around her husband.”

“Wow, really?”

How could I have missed that? Looking back I knew that Lori had particular ideas about gays and lesbians in general, but was she really that bad? Erin never met Lori, and from what I just heard I wouldn’t have gotten along with her anyway.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nothing personal Erin, but I hated the bitch.” Tabitha made a face. As she opened another bottle of wine, I decided that either Kaylee or I would be driving her home.

Kaylee smiled leaning over to hug my arm, snuggling up as she shipped her glass of wine. “Nothing you did Erin, I’m guessing you don’t even know Lori.”

“Nope, another good thing to put on the girl’s list.”

“Girl’s list?” Tabitha and Kaylee looked at one another.

Blushing, I nodded. “Well, you know me and my lists. Anyway, I have been tallying up the differences between my life as Eric and my life as Erin.”

“And the winner is?” Tabitha asked.

“I’ll tell you Sunday.”

With the rest of the apple tarts in hand, we made our way into the living room. From somewhere, Kaylee had broken open one of my pear wines as well. As we continued to drink, I started to tell the two of them about my failed marriages.

Tabitha in turn talked about her husband Jeff and her less than stellar relationships before him. Even Kaylee, who had never spoken to me about Meredith, opened up.

We were there for one another; we listened, when Kaylee cried, both of us held her. Same thing when Tabitha started to rage. We held her until she settled down before bursting into tears. She had the hardest time, the wounds being so fresh. Looking back, as Eric that night would never have happened.

“Christ, all three of us suck at relationships.” Tabitha growled, pouring herself another glass of pear wine. Kaylee and I seconded that comment with another glass for ourselves.

When the night ended, I wasn’t sure. The next day, I heard a buzzing sound as my alarm tried to get me out of bed. My head hurt, my mouth felt fuzzy and I didn’t feel particularly well. I also appeared to be missing most of my clothes.

When my hand reached out to hit the alarm, it landed on something soft and squishy. I squeezed it for a second, then my eyes shot opened. Half-naked next to me lay Tabitha.

At the same time my eyes shot opened so did hers. Before I could say anything, I heard a wail.

“No…No…” Kaylee cried. “This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.”

I turned over to find Kaylee starting at me in horror. “I’m sorry, Erin.”

Giggling, I pulled her into a hug. “It’s OK, so we had a naked drunk slumber party.” This had to be a dream, really, my old adolescent fantasies running amok.

Tabitha, slapping the alarm, wrapped herself in one of the blankets and headed towards the bathroom before shouting. “Wouldn’t be my first time.”

Wincing at the shout, Kaylee pulled herself away from me. “No, Erin you don’t understand. Don’t you remember what I told you?”

She looked at me in panic. I then understood the implications of what might have just happened. Then it hit me, I might be Erin for good.

Tabitha came back in with a bottle of aspirin and two glasses of water. “I don’t think we did anything. “ However, she didn’t sound very convincing.

“It will be OK; it’s not your fault, Kaylee.” I felt a little numb, trying to fathom what just happened. Unfortunately, I couldn't agree or disagree with Tabitha. Last night seemed all fuzzy.

Tabitha looked at me concerned, however I was actually more worried about Kaylee.

“No, it’s my fault.”

Taking two aspirins out of the bottle, I made Kaylee take them before I took some myself.

“All three of us drank too much last night. Seems I still needed that good drunk, something you interrupted a few days back.”

“Your right, it’s my fault that you’re a woman. I shouldn't have forced you to do the ritual.”

“No you shouldn't have.” Tabitha sat on the bed, taking the bottle out of my hand.

“Tabitha.” I admonished her.

“No she’s right; I should have just had the ritual turn me straight. I was selfish.”

“Yes, you were.” Tabitha agreed with her once more. Lying back down on the bed, she curled her body around me. Looking up she said. “You’re taking this awfully well, Erin.”

Kaylee looked at me, with tears in her eyes. “Is it really OK, you don’t hate me do you.”

“I could never hate you, silly.”

Holding her once more, I pulled all three of us back underneath the covers. I didn’t want to think about it, too tired to care. Maybe after lunch it would hit me one-way or another. I didn’t think I would fall back to sleep but I did.

Lunchtime however wasn’t much better. I called into work, telling them I would be working from home. Kaylee called her mother, and got a good scolding that we could hear from the kitchen. Passing the phone to Tabitha, she also got one from her Aunt as well.

I talked to Una after Tabitha took a seat on the couch, clutching her head. “I don’t mind the yelling but does it have to be so loud.”

The two of them stayed for most of the day, with me taking care of them. Funny thing, Eric hardly ever had a hangover. I had one, but it wasn’t as bad as the girls. Serves them right to mix wines.

Giving Kaylee a hug and a kiss, I put her in her car. “Please Kaylee, you don’t have to apologize. Yes, it’s fine. Say hi to your mom for me.”

As she drove away, Tabitha prepared to get into her car but not before she hugged me as well. “I’m sorry, Erin.”

“Tabitha, you’re just as bad.”

“Are you sure you OK? If this is permanent….”

“Life will go on.” I gave her a smile. What else could I say? “Really, it’s not like the end of the world. Actually, if this happened earlier in the week, I might have thought it did but now, not so much. I’m sorry about Sunday, though if that’s the case. I can’t give you an answer.”

“No Erin, you have it wrong.”

“I do?” Didn’t she say something about having Eric call her on Sunday?

“Yes.” Resting her hand on my chest, she smiled. “I love what’s in here.” She then reached over and kissed my forehead. “And what is in here, Eric or Erin doesn’t bother me.”

As Tabitha blew me a kiss and drove away, I realized I now had a lot more things to worry about beyond the fact that I might be Erin from now on.

 

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Part 7

Friday started much like the rest of the week, although when I walked into the kitchen that morning, I wished the girls would be there with coffee, actually waking up with them next to me felt really nice. I never liked to live alone but that wasn’t a good reason to get into a relationship, was it?

Did I give more thought that I might be Erin for good? I did but there was little I could do about it. Not that it stopped me from thinking about it, but really, it didn’t upset me as much as I thought it would.

After my staff meeting, as lunchtime came around, I kept looking at the clock and the door. Finally, I grabbed Rika. She giggled as we ran to my car, knowing that I had successfully plotted my escape from the office.

Ending up at a nice Mexican restaurant, I really enjoyed my lunch with her. Once we quit talking about work, Rika started talking a little, about what she went through growing up. Thankfully, her mother had been in her corner although her dad still had problems accepting the whole thing.

In a weird sort of way, I understood a little of what Rika was going through, however because of the magic I still felt quite comfortable with my body. If it had been possible right then to share my enchantment with Rika, I would have. Instead, when we got back to the office, I immediately made a call to my insurance company telling them to add a few more items covered for our policy.

With lunch out of the way and no strange visitors, my cell rang. I didn’t even know I had Miranda’s office programmed until I remembered that she happened to also be my doctor.

“Hi Erin, I heard from my sister last night what my two stupid nieces might have done.”

“It’s OK, Miranda, I’m not angry with them. Anyway, I don’t think anything happened.”

“If it has, what do you think? I know we spoke a little when you came over for dinner but now it’s been a few more days. How have you been?”

“It’s been strange, but good. Can’t say that I never thought what it would be like to be a woman but to actually become one, never entered my mind. However, this has been quite an eye opening experience.”

“Good, I’m pleased we haven’t done wrong by you. So quick question, would you mind watching the girls tonight. Tom actually won two tickets this morning to a basketball game and wants to take Kirk. He won some big dad points for winning those tickets.”

I knew the guys at work were talking endlessly about some big basketball event, playoffs, finals, or something. Even as Eric, I never paid much attention to sports.

“I heard those tickets were almost impossible to get.”

“I know, it’s like magic.” She giggled. “Seriously, I have a meeting with the girls tonight. I won’t be too late. Do you mind?”

“Babysitting?”

“That’s what they call it.” I could hear the amusement in her voice. “You don’t have to but they were asking why Aunt Erin can’t come over and play.”

Aunt Erin, how did I get to be an Aunt? “I’d love to but I’m not sure what to do.”

“I’ll walk you through the basics, sweetie. The girls are actually very good. You just need to feed them, and put them to bed. I’ll take care of their baths in the morning.”

“Ok, love to; tell them I’m ready for another Barbie adventure, as long as I get to play Franzilla again.”

She laughed. “I’ll tell them that and thank you. Also, I would like to continue this discussion but somewhere a little more comfortable, Ok. So I’ll see you in a few hours.”

I have always wanted children of my own, but right now, I had a warm feeling inside. Was this a maternal feeling? A strange thought passed my mind, of actually giving birth to my own. Moreover, what surprised me the most; it didn’t bother me in the least. What I did know was I had a smile on my face the rest of the day.

Stepping out of my car later that evening, I found three little girls jumping up and down on their front porch. Funny as it might seem, I was almost as excited as they were.

After a big giggling hug, all three started talking to me at once. “Aunt Erin, Aunt Erin, come on, come on.” Dragging me inside, directing me upstairs, Miranda intercepted the gaggle before they got far past the front door.

“Ladies, you know the rules. I need to cover a few things with Aunt Erin before I go to my meeting.”

Nodding, they grabbed my hand taking me into the kitchen. Obviously well informed, they pointed out all of the important phone numbers on the refrigerator, and then pulled out several flyers for the pizza parlors in the neighborhood.

Laughing, Miranda pushed them gently out of the kitchen. “Yes, good job. Next time, I’ll let you three cover the important stuff.”

With the girls out of the room, Miranda went over the same information but in a more coherent manner. “Don’t let them tell you they can stay up past 9pm. I’m only agreeing they can be up that late because there is a special ‘Morgan’ the Fairy Princess special on TV tonight.”

“Oh, good, I wouldn’t want to miss that.” I said, looking over at the girls who nodded in complete agreement.

Getting a hug from Miranda, she kissed each girl one more time before leaving. “Now be good to your Aunt.”

Smiling, I closed the door and turned around. “Ok, so what’s next?”

After a fun evening of playing, eating pizza and watching the fairy princess rescue her Kingdom; I herded them upstairs. After some discussion, the girls decided upon wearing three extremely cute ‘Thing One, Thing Two and Thing Three” nightgowns, before starting their evening bedtime ritual.

Finally settling into their beds, I reached for a fairy princess book, not surprisingly another adventure of the Princess we watched tonight. Closing the door, after another round of good night kissing and hugs, I made my way back into the living room. Spending an evening with three very energetic little girls, I didn’t know who was more tired, them or me.

“So did you have a good night?” I looked up from my book as Miranda entered the living room.

“Yes I did; productive if nothing else although your enchantment happened to be a topic of conversation for most of the evening.”

“Oh, it’s good to be popular.”

“Come; let’s talk, but first some tea.”

Nodding, I followed her into the kitchen. “I have a question.” I blushed a little before continuing. “Kaylee explained to me a little about sex and blood for magical rituals.”

“Indeed, very powerful, the two have been used for magic since time began. You have some concerns about yesterday, I imagine?”

“No actually, I have other questions.”

“Really?” She looked at me for a moment, as I smiled. Nodding, she took my hand. “OK, let’s talk about this in my study.”

Saturday morning started much like any other Saturday; except for the fact that I happened to be a girl. I actually looked forward to the evening. Dressing up and dancing would be a lot of fun and wondered how this whole girl dancing with girl thing would work. I mean who leads.

Climbing out of bed, I got a good whiff of coffee. With a grin, I grabbed my robe not all surprised to find Kaylee and Tabitha in my kitchen, getting breakfast ready.

After a hug and a kiss from both, I happily sat at the table. Taking a sip of coffee, I grabbed a small blueberry Danish from a basket. “This is a nice surprise.”

“Well, we do have a long day ahead of us, so we wanted to start early.” Tabitha said, joining me at the table.

“We do? I thought the fund-raiser wasn’t until later this evening. I mean, I know I take a lot longer to get ready but nine hours?”

Kaylee giggled, pulling her chair right next to mine. “True, except we are going to be spending part of that time at the Spa.”

“Spa, really?”

Tabitha nodded. “Goddess yes, I am in dire need of a mani-pedi. So are you.”

I looked down at my nails, as I actually knew what they were talking about. Rather cool that. “Sounds good to me.”

Kaylee looked at me surprised. “Really, we thought you would fight us.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s a very girly thing to do.”

Laughing, I took a bite of my Danish. “I’ve been a girl all week, it hasn’t bothered me yet, why would it now. Plus, if you walk like a duck, quack like a duck…”

“Told you so.”

Kaylee looked confused. “So does that mean?”

“Mean what?” I said between bites.

“Nothing.” She looked away, taking a sip of coffee.

“You know, I spoke to Miranda last night. She doesn’t think anything happened with the enchantment.”

“I know Kaylee kept bugging her about it during our meeting.”

Looking down she shrugged. “I still feel responsible.”

Finishing my Danish, I gave Kaylee a hug. “I told you, you’re not at fault. So stop it, OK.”

“OK.” She sniffed a little. “But I’m still paying your way today.”

Laughing, I hugged her again. “Well, if you insist.”

I had memories, well of Erin’s memories of going to a Spa so I knew that the two of them pulled out the works. We had a package, which included lunch, with the three of us being worked on from head to toe.

Sitting there, getting a French Pedicure, I tuned to Tabitha. “Do you do this often?” Between the footbath and the use of something called a Hindu stone, my feet felt wonderful.

Right now, the technician worked on applying white polish to the end of my toenails, along with a sheer polish for the rest of my nail. Kaylee’s magic had given me some nice day-to-day skills but this was something else.

“Whenever I can.” Tabitha said happily.

“Well next time you go, be sure to take me, OK?” I happily said, leaning back on the chair.

“OK.” She said, sounding a bit confused.

Of course, we weren’t done by a long shot. With a dance ahead of us, we also got our hair done. For the most part, I had been happy with how my hair looked. However, for the evening I had them add some extensions turning my normal style into an elaborate French braid.

“Wow, Erin.” Kaylee said looking at me.

I giggled, spinning around. “You like?”

“I do.”

“Good.” Hugging her, I smiled. “Thank you for today, it’s been a lot of fun. Plus, I want to make sure I look pretty for my two favorite girls.”

“Really?”

“Yep.” I smiled as Tabitha gave me an approving and might I add lusty look.

Although dinner would be a buffet, I didn’t see a lot of chance for either Kaylee or I eating, being in charge of most of the festivities. Tabitha insisted we pick up something before heading back to my house to get ready.

“So you both have overnight bags right.” Looking into my small purse, I checked to make sure I had everything for tonight.

“You OK?” Tabitha looked at me.

I nodded. “My stomach is a little upset, nothing to worry about. Just nerves; want to make sure that this evening goes well.”

“Don’t worry, it will go great.” Kaylee said, entering the room in this blue sheer lace mini dress. Tabitha wore something similar but in black. I wore this hot red mini dress; I mean it’s not like one does this every day.

“Well you did a great job.”

“So did you.” She giggled.

I shook my head. I didn’t do a thing, although Erin did quite a bit.

“Wait you got us a limo?” Kaylee looked at me surprised, as I locked up the house.

“Of course and the penthouse suite for the evening.” Knowing the three of us, I doubt we would be safe behind the wheel of a car.

Tabitha gave me a knowing look. “You’re up to something, I can tell.”

“Of course, but I’m not going to tell. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

Smiling at the chauffeur as he placed my bag in the trunk, I looked over at the two girls.

“Well, ladies, our carriage awaits.”

 

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Part 8

The three of us stood off to the side as the fund-raiser went into full swing. Kaylee and I had already made our little speeches and the mayor was included before introducing a pair of local TV celebrities who hosted the gathering for the rest of the evening. With so many local dignitaries present, I knew that I would have to spend some time thanking each one personally for attending.

“Glad that’s over with.” Speaking in front of people had never been an issue; however I have never spoken to a ballroom full of them.

“Oh, I thought you were great.” Kaylee slipped her arm around mine.

“You weren’t too bad either.”

We had rooms full of food, one ballroom set up as a casino with all sorts of prizes donated from business leaders, and another room with an art exhibit and a silent auction. On the bottom floor, we had dancing.

Of course, I had to make an appearance. When the music started I found myself dancing with a number of well-dressed gentlemen. Strange, being led around the dance floor. Most of the men were friends or business associates; I danced with the mayor and even with a Congressman.

When one of the state representatives asked me to dance, I had to smile, how different from other parties I have attended. Beautifully dressed in a blue and gold chiffon gown, we spoke briefly about problems of women breaking into the business world and politics. Like I had any real experience, but she was a very good dancer. She also insisted on leading.

Afterwards she introduced me to a number of her colleagues, ending up with two more dances. As I watched men dance with men, and women dance with women peacefully with no hate or anger in the air, I knew if we continued down this path that our city had a bright future ahead of itself.

Of course, not everyone thought that way. I had tried to avoid that man all evening but he snuck up from behind as I watched the dancing.

“Seems all these little girls need is a real man to set them straight.”

Turning my head slightly, I came face to face with Travis not two feet away. Before I could reply to that ridiculous comment, Kaylee sauntered up to me and said. “A real man, well obviously that doesn’t mean you.”

With that statement, she reached over and planted one hell of a lusty kiss on my lips. As I tried to catch my breath, she looked back at the shocked Travis and growled.

“Your still here, little man? Go away.”

Travis looked at the two of us in disgust then walked away. Leaning her head on my head, Kaylee whispered. “I’m sorry; I might have lost you a client.”

“No worries, never liked him anyway. You’ve been drinking.”

She shrugged. “Just a little.”

More than a little I thought, but kept it to myself.

The rest of the official fund-raiser evening went very well. Speaking one more time, along with the mayor, we thanked everyone for their support. With that, we moved the party downstairs, to a smaller ballroom for the private party.

“All right, you’re my date for this, so enough dancing without me.” Kaylee grinned, taking my hand leading me directly onto the dance floor. Tabitha didn’t need an invitation and soon followed. The three of us began to dance, joined by more and more women.

There is a certain joy when dancing, listening to the music and allowing it to control your body. It felt so free, so unlike dancing as Eric. For a moment, the rhythm and I were one.

Catching my breath, I took a sip of my diet cola. I had to admit, I was having a great time. I looked about the room at the number of women enjoying themselves. Of course, not everyone in the group had been born women, not every one of them was a woman full time but right now at this moment, it didn’t matter.

“You should run for public office.” Tabitha shook her head in amazement as a well-known businesswoman came by to thank me for the evening.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you have this aura about you, see how much attention you’re attracting. People just want to come by and speak with you.” Tabitha smiled.

“Guess Eric never had that.” I sighed.

“No, not true.” Tabitha shook her said. “Eric most definitely does have it. There were times when I saw it emanating from you, especially when you were with Kaylee or Nicole.”

“Really?”

“Yes, don’t sell Eric short; it’s one of the things that attracted me to you.”

I blushed as Tabitha leaned over and kissed me.

“No kissing my date.” Kaylee said, dropping herself into her seat. Rika followed right behind her, both completely out of breath.

I frowned when Kaylee ordered another drink, she and Tabitha both appeared to be quite tipsy.

“You’re not drinking either, Erin.” Like me, Rika sat with a diet cola in her hand.

“No, my stomach’s a little upset.”

Tabitha gave me a look. Before she could say anything, I grabbed Rika by the hand. “Come dance with me.”

As the two of us began to move, I noticed Rika smile. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

“Thank you.”

I leaned closer to her, to be able to hear over the music. “For what?”

“For everything, for getting me out of the coffee shop, for caring enough to change our insurance to help people like me but especially for listening to me the other day at lunch. Would you be offended if I told you that you are like the older sister I never had?”

I smiled, feeling that warmth again over my heart.

As the night progressed, I could see that Kaylee's mood changed from joy to sorrow and back again. Much to my concern both Tabitha and Kaylee continued to drink. Deciding that the two of them had enough for one night, I found Rika.

“I’m dragging The Bobbsey Twins upstairs.”

Rika looked over my shoulder, the two of them were dancing with once another although not very well. She grinned. “I’ll come by your room tomorrow.”

We more or less had the entire hotel booked, so I had been quick to get a block of rooms for the staff. I didn’t like the thought of my friends driving home after a night of partying.

“Come on girls.” The three of us moved through the corridor towards the elevators.

“You know I love you, Erin.” Kaylee looked at me with lust in her eyes.

“Yes.” Pushing the elevator button, I kissed her on the cheek.

Tabitha frowned, leaning herself on my shoulder. Actually, if she didn’t I figured she would be sitting on the ground. “Me too.”

As Eric, I probably could have manhandled the two of them, as Erin, I really needed their help. Thankfully, they insisted on helping me, if I could keep them from taking off their clothes.

We didn’t get much past the front door to our suite, before the two of them collapsed upon the couch. Sighing, I took off their shoes and went into the bedroom, covering each with a blanket.

“Glad I didn’t drink anything.” I said to myself, as both girls were now fast asleep.

I looked at them for some time, before I wandered off to take a seat in front of the large bay windows to watch the city below.

“Kaylee, wake up.”

“Erin?” Looking around, she held her head, noticing that it was dark outside.

The sunrise was still a little ways off. “Shit, Erin, I didn’t mean to….”

Kissing her on the head, I took her by the hand, leading her out towards the large window. Tabitha gave us a half-smile, having woken only a few moments before. Neither looked particularly happy at being awake.

“Too bad we can’t go outside, too cold.”

“Maybe we will get some snow this year.” Taking a seat, I noticed Kaylee hadn’t let go of my hand.

We sat there quietly, and then the sun began to break over the horizon. Immediately, Kaylee threw herself into my arms. “I love you Erin!”

I closed my eyes, enjoying the first rays of the sun. However, I was really looking forward to going to bed. Of course, both girls were now staring at me.

Kaylee sat back, confused for a second, as we had not all disappeared. In fact, nothing had happened; I remained Erin.

“Oh no, Erin, I’m sorry.”

Standing, I stepped forward to the window looking towards the bay. “I told you nothing happened the other day, Kaylee.”

“Then how?”

“Remember sex or blood right.”

Both girls looked confused for a moment, and then Tabitha’s eyes opened wide. “You’re having your period.”

“Yep, trust me this goes under the big old black mark for being a girl.” Erin had one before, I had memories of it but it’s entirely different from going through one.

“How? You weren’t supposed to….”

Kaylee nodded. “Miranda.” Then a bright light of hope shone forth from her eyes. “Does this mean?”

“Don’t know.” Smiling, I leaned my head against the glass. The cars were so small.

Suddenly Kaylee started to pummel me, crying and laughing at the same time.

“Wait, stop.” The more I tried to stop her, the more I laughed.

“You bitch, that’s not funny…I thought…I thought, I lost you.” She sat on the chair, looking down.

“You would have never have lost me, Kaylee.”

Tabitha gave me the look. “So, I guess this is your answer about us?”

“Nope.”

Both girls now looked angry.

“Erin, stop being so god dammed cryptic.”

Laughing I took a seat. “What, how in the hell am I supposed to pick. I think deciding whether to remain a girl should come first, we can work on the rest afterwards.”

“So why did you choose to be Erin?” Tabitha took a seat next to me.

Covering my mouth in a yawn, I shrugged. “It’s not any one thing really. Can’t say I was unhappy as Eric, the problem was I wasn’t particularly happy. The list told me many things, of the choices I had made in my life. As Erin, I made some of the same choices but also different ones. Some of them changed my outlook on life in ways I didn’t understand until now. What I did realize, was that turning back to Eric didn’t make me happy.”

“So you did it for yourself.” Tabitha leaned over, looking me in the eye.

“I did but was it wrong that my happiness is also tied to others as well.”

“So what about us?” Kaylee whispered.

“What about us, we are all still best friends right.”

Kaylee looked at Tabitha who nodded.

“Remember Tabitha, you said all three of us suck at relationships, right. Well, before we throw ourselves into another disastrous one, let’s make sure that we don’t destroy what we already have. I love both of you too much to do that.”

I could see the hope flair in Kaylee’s eyes, and the love. Tabitha looked thoughtful, turning to watch the sun come over the horizon bathing us in its light.

“Plus, I want to learn what it means to be a girl. Oh sure, I have these magical memories but I want to make some real ones.”

Not too long after, the three of us made ready for bed, all wearing larger versions of the red ‘Thing One, Thing Two and Thing Three” nightgowns.

The suite had several bedrooms but as expected, the two of them slid into the bed with me. As the three of us snuggled together, I closed my eyes, looking forward to the days ahead.

EPILOGUE: Valentine’s Day, two years later.

Standing off to the side of the church, I admired the beautiful glasswork. I had always wanted to have a real wedding with lots of friends and family. Today that dream was coming true; however, I didn’t think I would be a bride.

“You look so beautiful, Erin.” My Matron of honor came behind me, billowing out my dress.

“You’re not too bad yourself.”

“Third times the charm.”

“What are you talking about, I’ve never been married.” I grinned.

Tabitha giggled. “Well, I’m glad my dress still fits.”

All of my bridesmaids wore these beautiful off the shoulder black dresses. I had always heard girls complain how they could only wear their bridesmaid dresses once; I hoped that they would get more wear out of these.

Touching her stomach, she was just beginning to show. “So how is Jeff Jr. doing?”

“Or little Erin.”

“Tabitha.” I sniffed, reaching over I held her close.

“Don’t cry, you’ll mess up your makeup.”

Tabitha and I never really got a chance to see if we could work on a romantic relationship. Three days after the Valentine’s Day party, her baseball player husband showed up on my doorstep. He actually went down on his knees, begging Tabitha to come home.

Those were a difficult six months or so for Tabitha. I had her move in with me as she worked it out with Jeff. Often times, she would sneak into my bed. Nothing sexual, what she needed the most was a friend.

What made Tabitha sure that her husband had really meant what he said was when he asked to be traded to our own city’s baseball team. Now, the two of them own a house not too far from Miranda’s.

Rika walked over to me, looking beautiful in her black dress. “Erin, it’s almost time.”

One of the best things that came out of Jeff’s trade was that we all started to hang out with his friends. Almost every weekend, we would end up at their pool having a grill out. That’s where Rika met Timothy.

They’re such a cute couple. And yes, he knows everything and doesn’t care. Rika just told me that the two of them are flying out to the west coast to meet her parents. She also has made plans for her surgery, covered by our insurance for this spring. I expect Timothy won’t leave her side even then.

As Rika and Tabitha moved to the front, ready for the processional, my mother slipped her arms through mine.

“You’re so beautiful, Erin.”

My father, who came to stand on my other side agreed. Now the two of them were still divorced, that would have been too large of a change. However, they were willing to be in the same room with another, which didn’t happen with my other two marriages .

I realized that my mother had felt abandoned, lonely without two of us. We drew apart because of that loneliness. As Erin, I stayed with her as opposed to moving in with my father. Not living with him actually helped our relationship as well. I actually got along with his new wife.

“So how did you get to go last?” He asked.

“We flipped a coin.”

When the doors opened, the triplets stepped forward in their beautiful dresses tossing Rose petals on the ground before them.

As the Pachelbel chanté began to play, I stepped forward into the sanctuary. Guests all began to rise, looking at me with smiles on their faces. They had already stood once for my bride to be.

Down the aisle, Kaylee looked at me with those loving eyes. Everything around me faded, as I soaked up that warmth. In the past two years, the missing pieces of my life had slowly come back together.

Kaylee was my love, my heart, my life and as I stepped forward to hold her hands, I felt that last missing piece, lost so long ago, slip quietly into my heart.