Stamp Part 2

For the next two hours or more I was wondering just why I was doing this as she worked on my hair, my face and digits. She wove extensions into my already reasonably long locks and then put a colour in it. While that was setting she did my toenails in a bright red which she told me was acrylic and would not be easily chipped.

While my hair was under the drier again after something she called a ‘perm’ she worked a similar trick with my fingernails, only adding false nails to cover up my old, ragged ones. Finally she worked on my face. When I looked in her mirror I saw a girl who could be my sister staring back at me. I said “I could never achieve this look by myself” and she told me I didn’t have to as what she had done would not come off for some months. Oh no! What had we done?

The penultimate event was to pierce each of my lobes and to put a stud in each side. I thought I couldn’t look more girly but she then said that there was one final thing she was to do before calling Laurel to come to escort me back. She told me to take off my top and she then glued silicon breasts on my chest, saying that I should take these off in a couple of weeks to allow my skin to breathe. I put my top back on over my new attachments as she gave Laurel a call and then she gave me her card and told me I should be back in a couple of weeks to check out the glue on my chest..

When Laurel came in she just stood there looking at me and then said “Welcome to the world, Francine. You are stunning. Who would ever have thought that under that bland bloke there was a beautiful girl waiting to come out?” She paid for all of the procedures and we then went back to the other apartment. As we got to the lift a couple of guys arrived and got in with us. I was ready to sink through the floor when they started to chat to us and Laurel told them that we were both spoken for. They got off on the floor before ours and left, but not before the one standing next to me patted my bum on his way out.

When the doors closed again Laurel laughed and said “Now that was a real welcome to our world, Francine. They can’t leave us girls alone, can they?” Back in the apartment I said it was time to get tea and she told me to go ahead but to wear an apron and then said “Oops, I forgot” and dragged me back into my room where I was told to take off my top again so I could put on my ‘first’ bra. Oh, goodie.

That evening I cooked for the two of them and served them while wearing my new outfit. I couldn’t help but notice that Moose had his eyes on me a lot as I walked to and fro with the courses. After the meal they went into the lounge to watch TV while I tidied up in the kitchen and had my own meal. When everything was clean and tidy I made preparations for breakfast and then went to my room to contemplate my situation. Whatever happened, I was stuck like this until the make-up faded and then I would be in a half-way place, looking a lot like a woman for some time as it would not just disappear overnight. It looked like I was stuck with being Francine until I could hide away for some weeks.

Being neat I then sorted out the clothes and hung them properly and delved into the other boxes, finding lots of bras and panties as well as the cincher, the stockings (among others in different hues) and a few nighties. I could not remember ordering those but, as they were here, I must have. There was a box of new cosmetic essentials for me, including a night cream and a day cream, both of which were said to ‘nourish and plump’ my skin. I looked at the ingredients list and saw a couple that you find in processed foods.

I was sitting in a funk when there was a knock on my door and Laurel came in with something in her hand. She told me about the procedures I needed to go through before I went to bed and then said “I will be staying overnight. We will need you to get really happy in the maid outfit so I will leave you this spare gown to wear while you do breakfast. Make sure you wear the hair-net tonight and tomorrow we will turn you into Francine the maid.” Oddly enough she kissed my cheek and gave me a hug before she left, just as I had seen other women do when they greet or leave each other.

Resigned to my fate I took off all my clothes and then went into the en-suite and looked at myself in the mirror there. Except for a dangly bit between my legs I looked every inch like a woman, a rather larger one than usual, but the breasts proved the point if you didn’t examine the rest too closely. I had a wash and the make-up did not come off and then put on the hair net and one of the nighties before sliding into bed and putting out the light.

Something must have triggered itself in my brain as I slept, because I woke up feeling pretty good with myself and, when I looked in the mirror, I decided that I did look pretty good as well. I sat to pee and dabbed the end with a piece of paper, put the gown over the nightie, slipped my feet into new pink slippers and went out to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I was quietly humming to myself when Moose came up behind me and put both arms around my waist and said “Good morning, beautiful, you sound happy today.”

I froze as I could feel his dick against my butt and said “Good morning yourself, Moose. You had better let me go or else Laurel may walk in and think that you are queer.” He snickered and whispered in my ear “For a piece of you, sweetheart, I think that I could turn” and then kissed my neck before he let me go and went to sit at the kitchen table. I just stood there in wonder as I had never had that effect on men, or even women, before today.

After I had tidied up the breakfast things Moose went off to dress in his casual computing gear and Laurel took me though to my room. She first got me to have a shower wearing a shower-cap with all my longer hair tucked up in it. We then got me dressed with the waist cincher first. It got tighter and tighter until I could hardly breathe and then it was my first try at stockings and then, I realised with a shock, the panties. I had been naked in front of her this whole time and it had not bothered either of us.

There was a black push-up bra to go with the outfit and then the dress went over my head. She showed me how I could do up the back zip myself using an old lanyard that I had collected during my days at exhibitions of cooking equipment. There was a cap but she fluffed up my hair and said I was already too cute so it wasn’t needed. What was needed was for me to add to my already existing make-up so that I could make myself more glamorous. I sat at my dressing table while she showed me ways to use eye-liner and mascara to dramatize my eyes as well as a lip gloss to bring out my lips. With a few items of jewellery added she declared that ‘Ze maiden, Franzeen’ was ready to take on the world.

She told me to ask Moose if he wanted something to drink and then went off to get dressed herself. I walked up behind Moose and said “Excuse me sir, but can I get you anything?” When he turned to look at me he froze and I could see him having a real problem trying to figure out what he wanted, a drink or me on the carpet. The drink won and he asked for a glass of water but to make sure the glass was wide-bottomed so it would not tip the water over his keyboard. I put on a bit of a wiggle as I walked to the kitchen as I could almost feel his eyes on my own wide bottom. The power I had was almost intoxicating.

That morning Laurel took me through walking, talking, sitting and getting up or down. By lunch I was ready to try out my new voice on Moose and I was a sight to behold as he struggled to maintain his control when I asked “Would you like anything else, sir” as I picked up the dessert plate. Laurel was having a ball and she came through to the kitchen and told me to slow down or else he would be pulling me into his bed and raping me. I think that when she said that something lit up in her brain as she then started to watch him a lot more closely, as if she had come to realise that he could possibly stray.

After she had left he did stray into uncharted waters, coming up behind me again at the sink and this time being a lot more amorous and a lot more forceful. He turned me around and trapped me against the sink and then put one hand behind my head and pulled me into a kiss. It was something else again and I am sorry to say that I allowed his tongue to explore my mouth and put my own arms around his neck and we kissed. I was starting to feel dizzy when he broke the moment and backed off, palming his forehead and saying “What the hell am I doing? You’re a bloke, for Christs’ sake. Why am I here kissing a bloke? In fact, why does the bloke in question like it so much?”

I did something that I could never have imagined before. I called him a heartless brute and told him that it was his own entire fault by creating me. I then broke into tears and fled to my room to throw myself on my bed to have a good cry.

Marianne G 2021

Stamp Part 3

What I did not expect was for him to come into my room and sit beside me on the bed. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him as I blubbed. He made soothing sounds but I could tell that he was getting more and more excited.

I pulled away from him and said “Moose, we are both blokes. I may look like a woman but I am not one so can’t give you what you want. Now, this is crunch time for both of us. Either you decide you want me as a sex object or you just want me to see you through the next couple of weeks with my cooking. Decide now because if we make love there is no turning back.” He let go of me and said “You’re right, Frank. I am purely heterosexual but you make such a good woman I keep forgetting myself. It is pure lust as I am as red bloodied as the next man and you look just so good, almost good enough to go bi-sexual for. I am sorry that I ever got you into this mess, forgive me”

I said that of course I forgave him and kissed him on the cheek. What a klutz I was. He started to paw me as if to get me on my back with my panties off but I managed to grab his dick which was, by now, outside his zipper and rampant. I slid off the bed onto my knees and pulled it into my mouth and it didn’t take long before he was gushing down my throat. I stood up and looked down at him, saying “That is the first, last and only time, Moose. If you touch me again I am out of here and will turn up at the next poker night to tell all the others how you forced yourself on me. How do you think they will act if I out you as a poof. I don’t mind them knowing about how I now look as there is absolutely nothing I can do about it until this make-up fades. Now, out of my room and let me do something about this runny extra mascara that makes me look like a panda.”

He scurried out of the room and I stood there, running my tongue around my teeth to make sure there was no cum left. “Damn” I thought “But that was tasty. Wonder how I can get a flavour like that in my cooking.” I took off the maid outfit and cleaned my teeth. Then I wiped all of the extra make-up off and when I saw how ordinary I now looked I redid it all again. There was a pair of normal dark stockings in the drawer so I replaced the net ones with normal ones and slipped a grey silk shift over my head. I then understood just how well Laurel had chosen because I looked like wife or girlfriend material. I put the black strappy shoes back on and went out to prepare a meal for his lordship.

He was very quiet, working at his computer all afternoon and only spoke when it was to ask me if everything was all right for his parents visit for dinner the following weekend. He said that they had deferential treatment being primary producers and had an apartment two floors above us and that his mother was likely to drop in at any time while they were in town, even during the day. I told him that I would ensure that the maid, Francine, would be on hand and that the cook, Francine, had everything sorted.

After he had eaten I tidied up and got myself ready for bed. He was in the lounge when I put my head in and said “Goodnight, sir” and he looked at me and said “God, you’re beautiful. Goodnight Francine. I am sorry for what happened before and I can assure you that it won’t happen again. Sleep well.” As I went into my room and made myself ready for bed I thought that if I was stupid again, it would certainly happen again and wondered if one can have just too much power. That night I had a wet dream in which he was making genuine love to me and when I woke I could feel the residual sense of something being pulled out of me. “That’s what you get when you stir up the bees” I thought “Laundry!”

I pulled off the soiled nightie and rinsed it in the sink and wiped myself clean before getting another nightie out of the drawer and put it on. There wasn’t much I needed to do the next day except put the full maid outfit on and make myself look good. This set the tone for that week. I would get dressed and act as feminine as I could while he kept his head down and worked on his computer. A couple of times Laurel came by to make sure I was going all right and she stopped overnight a couple of times.

The following Saturday came around and I made sure that I was properly dressed, made-up and ready to receive guests. As he had expected there was a knock on the door early in the afternoon. He was working at his computer so I answered it to see a very elegant lady standing there. I said “Can I help you, Madam” and she asked me if her layabout son was in. I said “If you mean Algernon he is at his computer, Madam. Who should I say is calling?” I think that she may have thought it was all an elaborate hoax, which, of course, it was. I asked her to please follow me and she came inside and I took her through to where he was hard at work, except I caught a distinct flash of Freecell before his work site came back up.

“Algernon” she said “who is this person?” He said that I was Francine, his maid and cook for a little while as I waited to get better employment. He said that he had taken pity on me but he was very happy with my work and my cooking. She still looked unhappy so I said, “Excuse me; I need to check the oven. I am doing slow cook lamb shanks for tonight and I only just put them in.” I left them to talk and then I came back with a tray that had a pot of tea and two cups and saucers, as well as milk and sugar. I said, ‘Your afternoon tea, sir. I did take the liberty of bringing in an extra cup Madam, would you care to sit by the coffee table and I will pour.”

“Since when have you been drinking tea?” she demanded and he said, quite brazenly, I thought “Since Francine did it properly, Mother.” I poured them both a cup of tea and he was brave enough to take a sip, his face clearing when he discovered the brandy I had put in the bottom of his cup while I was out in the kitchen. She talked at him for about an hour before standing up and telling him that they would be back at seven. After she had gone he looked at me and said “Not only beautiful but wicked as well.”

I laid the table with the best cutlery and chinaware he had and put a couple of candles on it. At the appointed hour there was a knock on the door and when I opened it there she was again, this time gussied up and on the arm of an older version of Moose, from the way he lit up when he saw me. I beckoned them in and asked if they would like a drink before they ate and they both wanted whiskey and soda, which we could do. Moose came into the room looking very smart in his work suit and they all made some small talk while I finalised the meal.

When they sat I made sure that they all had their napkin draped in proper restaurant fashion and started with a choice of raw oysters or Kilpatrick. Next was the main course of lamb shanks that were absolutely ready to fall off the bone, with a mixture of vegetables and a spicy gravy. I had been experimenting most of the last week and I thought that it now had a distinct taste of sex. The two men just thought it was interesting and his mother took a taste and her eyes lit up. She took a generous serve and mopped her plate with the bread roll when she finished. She nodded at me when I took her plate and said that she should get the recipe from me some time.

After one of my desserts they all had coffee and some cheese and crackers. I cleared away the table and asked if anybody wanted more and they all said that they were full. His mother joined me in the kitchen and complimented me on my cooking and then asked me if I could help them out with a large dinner they were to put on at the family estate. She said that it was for her Womens Union and that my gravy would be well received, especially by the women. I told her that I thought there may be one more dinner that I was needed for here but that I would be happy to help out if I could. Anything to be out of here.

She interrogated her son and he told her that I was needed for a very special dinner for Laurel and her parents on Wednesday evening but after that I was a free agent. That evening, after I had cleared the kitchen, I got on-line with my notes and his credit card and ordered a whole bunch of stuff in the styles that Laurel had led me to. I also included a nice new suitcase. On the Sunday I pulled all of my old Frank clothes out of the wardrobe and put them into a plastic garbage bag to go out in the bin to be picked up Monday. I also called the home salon downstairs and booked an extended session.

All of my orders were delivered Tuesday and I took them through to my room to try on and pack. I told him that I would be out for a little while and went down in the lift. At the salon she took my breasts off, cleaned everything and reglued them. I also got her to do a laser treatment on my face as I was getting fed up of needing a shave twice a day to maintain the look. She also reworked my make-up into something a little more glamorous and also a little more permanent. I was good to go for a couple of months and paid the bill with his credit card.

Wednesday afternoon I got into the maid outfit and made myself extra beautiful. When Laurel and her parents arrived I was ready for them, greeting her warmly and saying welcome to her folks. I had figured out that Laurel was thinking that tonight would be the big proposal night but I knew that he had not gone out to buy a ring, nor had he ordered one on-line. I thought that I would help him along a bit so made up a batch of my now-favourite gravy. If Laurel had not tasted him by now it was time for her to do so.

Marianne G 2021

Stamp Part 4

I gave them their drinks and then went back to the kitchen to make sure everything was all right. Laurel came in and sat at the kitchen table and chatted. She wanted to know when I was leaving and she was happy when I told her that his parents had organised a car for me on Thursday afternoon, just after lunch.

She asked how he had been and I just said that he had been himself, nothing more and nothing less, leaving it up to her to make of it what she will. I was preparing the starters when she said that she hoped to be living here soon and I just said that it would be nice for her not to have to go home. I was slow cooking beef cheeks for the main course with a range of vegetables and finished off my special gravy which, when I tasted it, needed just a little more salt.

We got the four of them sat at the dining table which had his normal crockery and cutlery set out. I don’t think he noticed the difference but I could see that Laurel looked at me oddly as she sat next to him and opposite her mother. The first course was leek soup with some extra spice and they were very appreciative. I brought out the beef cheeks and the containers of vegetables and, finally, a gravy boat of my special concoction.

Now, I must say that the mother was really a stepmother and only a few years older than Laurel. She was quite a good looking woman against the much older, and probably richer, spouse. I was pouring more drinks as they started to eat and I saw the mothers’ eyes light up when she tasted the gravy. Laurel put her fork down and turned to me in anger. “How did you get this taste, bitch? What have you two been doing behind my back?” Her mother reached over and put her hand on her stepdaughters arm and said, “What every red-bloodied couple would do, cooped up within these walls. I must say that she got the taste exactly right, it takes my mind back a little while.”

Laurel then turned on her mother screaming “Not you as well? Has every woman I know given my fiancé a blow job?” Her mother pointed out that he was not her fiancé as he had never proposed. She put the knife right in when she said “You are just his current lay.” Laurel then went incandescent and stormed out of the room. Her mother said “Thank you for that, Francine, she needed to be brought back to earth. Moose here is no more husband material than we are.” I was amazed that she then went back to eating her main course, savouring the gravy with every mouthful. The father and the boyfriend just shrugged at each other and carried on as if nothing had happened.

Laurel came back in as they were having a cup of coffee. She had a big bag which had pieces of clothing poking out of it as if it had been hastily packed. She said “Right, we’re off and I’m never coming back!” Her mother got up and went to Moose, kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear. He smiled broadly and I just heard the words “Friday, then.” He led the father and daughter to the door and the mother came up to me and said “Thank you, Francine. That was never going anywhere. You got the taste spot on and I am getting a little wet thinking about when I come back.” She joined her husband and linked her arm in his and they went off to catch up with the jilted daughter who was probably waiting for them in the lobby by now.

Moose closed the door and stood by it with his head resting on the wood. He then turned around and said “Beautiful, wicked, a great chef and a truly devious bitch. You are the whole package rolled up in one and don’t tell me that it was me that created you. There must have been lots of that there already, waiting to be launched into the world. I do have to thank you, it was a master stroke and I think I could kiss you.” I said “So what’s holding you back, then, you are now officially between lays.”

He came to me and took me in his arms and gave me the most toe-tingling kiss I have ever experienced. He said, “Forget the dishes, we have other things to do” and he pulled me into his bedroom which now looked like a bomb had hit it. The sheets were slashed and torn and he said “That’s good, they will have to go in the bin anyway so it doesn’t matter what stains they get tonight.” We undressed and that night we officially became a gay couple, but only for one night and not for anyone else to ever find out.

The sun was shining through the windows when we woke in a bundle of now-stained sheets. I got out of bed and kissed him before going to my room to shower him off me, wash my hair and get ready to leave, leaving his credit card on the dresser. With my case at the door I made us some brunch and we ate a couple of the desserts that had not been eaten last night. We kissed as I left for the next part of this strange and wonderful adventure. Leaving him with the dishes, of course; I was off-duty, wasn’t I?

The car waiting outside was a Jaguar with the right permits stuck on the front window. The driver was wearing a suit and he got out as I emerged from the building. He took my bag and put it in the boot and opened the back door for me to get in. I was running on instinct now and trawling my memories for how women act and I did manage to get into the car without showing my panties. The driver was very chatty as we left the city, telling me that ‘Her Ladyship’ had been very taken with my cooking. I had to tell him that some of what I cook is taken from real experience and not for everybody.

About sixty miles north we pulled in between two massive gate-posts and up a long drive to park in front of a mansion. He helped me out and took my bag out of the boot, giving it to a maid who had come out to take it. “Maggie will take it up to your room” he said “She won’t find any of Algernons’ silverware in it, I hope.” I said that there were a few containers with my kitchen implements in the case but I had left Algernon with his silverware.

We followed the maid into the building and through a massive entry hall. She went upstairs with my case and we carried on towards the back of the house where the décor and furnishings became much friendlier once we went through a door marked ‘Private. Owners Residence.’ We found her Ladyship sitting at a kitchen table, up to her elbows in flour and with a perplexed look on her face.

“Ah! Francine, I hope you are as good at baking as you are with other things. I seem to have got lost between the cream and the eggs. My poor brain isn’t what it used to be.” I said that if she could wait for a while I would go and change and then come down to take over. The driver led me up to my room where the maid was hanging my things. “Lovely clothes, madam” she said “but where are the rest.” I told her that I was travelling light at the moment as all of my old stuff was wherever the airline had left it and that they couldn’t tell me where that was. When she left I changed out of my dress and put on my dark pants and chef tunic, gathered up my hair in a bun and hid it under a cap. With my containers of special tools I found my way back to the kitchen.

Her Ladyship – call me Edith in private – had given up and made a pot of tea. We sat and sipped while I found out what was expected of me over the weekend. There was to be an afternoon tea for the group organisers on Friday afternoon, followed by a formal dinner for thirty on Saturday evening. The butler would be in charge of the drinks and I would be looking after the meal, with three undercooks to do the hard work. There were six local girls hired to serve. All very doable, I thought.

I asked about the regular cook and was told that she had dropped a large pot of soup on her foot, breaking some bones and getting a bad burn. She would not be back for at least a month. Edith left me to my own devices and I looked over the kitchen. It was pretty well equipped, with three Aga’s and a restaurant sized cook-top. The pantry was well filled and I found the cold room with the meats and other frozen goods. When I came out of the cold room I found three other ladies in smocks and aprons waiting for me.

These were, I discovered, the usual cooks who were all sisters. They were Violet, Daisy and Ivy. Their eldest sister, Rose, was the main cook who was now indisposed. Violets’ daughter was the maid Marguerite, otherwise known as Maggie, and her husband was Ronnie, the butler. They told me that they usually cooked for large numbers of guests and then ate the left-overs after serving out. I told them that when I was in charge, we would cook them each a proper meal so they could appreciate what the customers would be getting after they had tasted it.

That afternoon we made cakes and cooked the evening meal for the household, everyone sitting down properly in their respective rooms. The cooks were amazed at how I could take an ordinary meal and turn it into something much better. The day would start easy for me as the other three were dab hands at kippers and kedgeree, eggs and bacon and lots of tea and coffee. I must say that they had done very well when I tasted it as it would grace any good Breakfast Bistro. After we had tidied up we got into making sure we had all the cakes, buns and scones needed for this afternoon and then produced a light lunch for everyone in the house. That afternoon we were able to serve our guests and I was introduced to some of the other ladies with the comment “Wait until you taste her gravy, it is very different.”

Marianne G 2021

Stamp Part 5

The cooks and I had made a buffet which turned the afternoon tea into a stand around and chat session and a lot of various alcoholic drinks made the ladies very cheerful by the time they left. There was enough left over for the household to have a good meal which took the load off the kitchen.

Saturday was to be the big dinner. I have cooked for as many before but not with an unknown crew. So far they had done well and we decided on a choice of lamb, chicken and beef with me taking a punt on what quantities of each were needed. I guessed that Edith would have primed her guests to go for a red meat meal so that they would try the gravy. The cooks did extra breakfast which allowed us to go with a cold collation for lunch which would leave room for a big dinner. We did the lamb and beef in a slow cooker and kept the chicken back to cook when it was ordered, being quick to cook.

I did a big batch of gravy and Ivy commented that I had done rather a lot so I told her to taste it and guess if there would be any left. When she dipped a spoon in it and tasted she broke into a wide grin and said “I don’t think this lot will leave us any so we had better make sure we keep some back.” Daisy saw nothing out of the ordinary and Violet sipped it and told me that it was over Daisys’ head as she was a life-long spinster.

We never needed the chicken as everyone at the table wanted the slow-cooked beef or lamb and the talk got quite racy, or so the serving girls told me. At the end of the night we cleared up and the family was in the lounge, relaxing with drinks. Edith called to me to join them and asked me if I could carry on with them until Rose was back. She said that Rose had never taken holidays so, as soon as she was fully mobile, they were going to send her off for three months if I was happy to stay on. Of course I agreed as this was a plum posting.

Their other son, Zacharia, was introduced to me and he complimented me on the gravy. He said that I had obviously sampled Algy as I had got the taste spot-on. When I lifted my eyebrow he told me that his parents had decided to go from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ but the child-bearing had stopped with him. He said that Algy had been a bully to him when they were young and that he had tasted his brother more than once. “This is how he came to be the womanising brute and I became the bisexual in the family” he said.

On Monday Zac went off to the city and, before he left, he got me to make up some jars of my gravy for him to get his gay friends to sample. Life at the mansion settled into a much easier rhythm with just the house-hold to cater for. With the three sisters I developed some easy meals that tasted as if they had come from a restaurant and everyone was happy.

A couple of weeks later Zac was back with a girl called Julie and an order for twenty jars of my special gravy, a week! His gay friends had been absolutely blown away with the taste. Edith was brought into the loop and, over the next few weeks, we developed a system for me making large batches and putting them in labelled jars that Zac had brought with him. One weekend he asked me if I had invented similar gravy with the taste of woman which, he was sure, would go well with fish. When I said that I first needed to taste it myself he called Julie over and told her to spend the night with me for ‘research and development’. She was obviously bi herself and smiled. After the evening wound up she came with me to my room. I tasted the nectar of the goddess for the first time, as well as the second and third before I just had to throw caution to the wind and finish off the session being manly. Just before dawn Julie gave me a kiss and told me that my secret was safe with her as she may be able to spend more time with me, but just for the sake of research.

We did a fish lunch where my first effort at the experimental tartare was eaten for the first time by those who didn’t know that they were to be guinea pigs. Julie smiled when she had her first taste, oddly Edith did as well. There was a depth to this family that needed further investigation. His Lordship had obviously had a sheltered life but Zac told me that he wanted to take some jars back to town with him.

So the ‘Francines’ Favourite’ line was slowly built, our customers being gay and butch bars and clubs throughout the city. Zac had negotiated a price which gave all three of us an added income after the ingredients had been paid for and he collected the used jars for sterilising and reuse. I was working hard to make sure the quality remained the same and also started to see if I could make the two products as a dry powder that the customer could add boiling water to, just like the usual gravy mix.

One weekend Zac asked me if I could go to London with him on the Monday morning to visit one of our bigger customers who had a chain of clubs. Edith thought it would be a good PR job so I organised the sisters to do the Monday meals and left with him straight after breakfast. He was very chatty on the trip, much more than he was during his visits and I wondered if the weight of family pressure may be heavy on his shoulders. He was far more moved by his feelings than his macho brother and was a much nicer person for it.

I suddenly realised that the same may be said for me. I thought back to my days as Frank and remembered times that I had reacted in ways that would be impossible for me today. Now well over three months as Francine I had stopped even thinking like Frank and I came to the realisation that there would be no going back. I had a good job, if a bit temporary, and a whole new life as a female, along with all the benefits and drawbacks that go with that life. It did not bother me to ensure I dressed well and had perfect make-up every day as that was what it was all about. I now found that I liked to look good, if only in the mirror when I was alone, and that I was now held in some respect. All I now needed was the time and the money to make it permanent.

We went to one of the big clubs and were shown into a room where Zacs’ friend was sitting with a couple of other guys and an older woman. I was introduced to Tommy, the club owner and Geoff, Bill and Veronica, some of his friends from his well-heeled circle. Tommy was effusive at the success of the two gravy tastes and the passed the baton onto Veronica. She started by saying that the beef gravy was an absolute masterpiece but that she could only follow the advice of her colleagues regarding the tartar sauce. Her two companions were smirking at this.

It turned out that she was one of a family who owned a big gravy manufacturing company and that she wanted to launch a new range of ‘Francines’ Favourites’ to the national market. She said that she was prepared to offer us an unbelievable sum for the rights and the recipe and that she would set her R&D labs on to making it into a dry powder suitable for tins. I told her that I was very close to achieving that myself, already, and she smiled and told me that she would offer me a bonus amount it I could deliver that inside the next month.

With just my third of the original offering I would be able to fund my total transformation and the bonus would set me up for a few years unless I went stupid. I thought that I could not get any more stupid than getting my dick inverted and I wasn’t one for the high life. However, the thought of shopping for a new wardrobe without having to worry about the cost was very enticing, indeed. Zac and I conferred and we came to a handshake agreement that morning. Veronica then asked if I would be interested in working with their R&D to develop new tastes in the gravy range as I obviously had the attributes of a good sense of taste, combined with the chef skills to make it into a reality.

The whole market was starting to bring forward odd tastes in ice-cream, biscuits and confectionary so Veronica had decided that gravy was not going to be left behind. I told her that I was committed to working with Zacs’ parents until their usual cook was ready to resume and that it would be up to six months before I would be free and Veronica told me that this was not a problem as it would take almost that long to put together a production line for the first two flavours. The two guys said that they would send me a list of tastes that they were thinking about and Veronica said that I would get a bonus for every recipe.

We rang Edith and told her that there was a windfall coming her way and that I would explain it when I got back to the mansion. An appointment had been made with Veronica to meet with her and her legal eagles the following Monday at the head office. After that I would be very comfortably off and Zac and Edith would be just that little bit richer. Zac went off to do his usual business and I had a taxi ride to the main shopping area to walk into dress shops for the first time as a woman and try things on.

I did like a few dresses so put them on lay-by and took some bags of new underwear with me to the station to return to the mansion. Well, I say underwear but lingerie would be more to the point. It was my first foray into wearing sexy things and it was a real turn-on. I took a taxi from the station to the mansion and, that evening, discussed the future with Edith. She had spoken to Rose, who had been adamant that she did not need a holiday and would be coming back to work as soon as her foot was good. That gave me a window between being here and working with Veronica to sort my body out.

That all worked well. I stayed with Edith until Rose was back and it was very funny when the other sisters started telling her that her methods had been left behind. The sisters had turned into thinking chefs and my last weeks were just supervising and working on some of the ideas that the R&D sent my way. I finally developed the dry powder versions and we made enough of this to ensure that our customers would not go short before the volume production hit the shops.

Zac found me a nice apartment within my new budget and I moved there and registered with the medical profession. Being a private patient I was able to bypass the usual hurdles and presented myself for my first day at the factory as a well-dressed and capable woman, now totally able to do 90% of the things that a woman can do. It worked out very well, as Zac and I proved. I even had a fling with Algy but he was far too brutish for me.

What was lovely that everyone gave my new self, and my new body, the stamp of approval!

Marianne G 2021