Chapter 2

She looked at me wide-eyed, “I’m going to spend the next year flying with the next boss of the company? That’s wild.”

We drove to the secure parking under the office building and left our things in the back as we got into the elevator. I punched the button for the top floor.

As we rose, she said, in a very timid voice, “I’ve never been up there before, this is scary.”

I told her not to worry; Terry was a good guy and would never put anyone into a situation he didn’t know they could handle.

When the elevator doors opened it was a sight that surprised everyone who arrived for the first time. No glitz, no gold painted walls, just a reception desk with Bronwyn, the person who really ran the company, sitting behind it.

She gave us a big grin, “Welcome home, Chris, that was a great job you did on your last tour; the band was very happy and, because of that, so is Terry. Now, welcome to the upper level, Molly. This is as high as it gets without a plane. Do either of you want a drink; Terry will join you if you go through to the lounge.”

I led Molly to the lounge, a good-sized room with picture windows that looked out over the airport and the vista beyond. I got a coffee for each of us and we sat quietly to await Terry. I whispered to Molly that she had better store up her energy because Terry is a bit of a dynamo and was likely to wear her out inside the first minute.

When he arrived, he was hyper and came over, pulling me up in a man-hug to tell me that I had helped get the next tour because of the way I had handled the last one. He allowed me to sit and then did the same with Molly, telling her that the reports back from her captains and the customers from her special interest tours had put her in line for something stupendous. He got us to follow him into his office where we sat around a coffee table on very comfortable armchairs.

He looked at Molly, “Molly, are you prepared to give up a year of your life, living cheek and jowl with the biggest band in the world as of this week?”

She looked at me and then back at him, “Yes, I think that may be fun.”

“Fun!” he hooted “You have no idea of how much hard work that answer is going to cost you. You will, however, be on the payroll twenty-four seven for the duration of the tour. Chris can tell you that there are a lot of good times but the two of you will almost be in charge as the ‘responsible people.’ Don’t expect the band or their people to take any responsibility; you’ll be the ones keeping everyone out of trouble. Chris will tell you about a sticky situation a couple of years ago when he had to take off with an armoured car trying to stop him. That band played like they had found salvation for some shows after that, or so the critics said.”

He then looked at me and the smile left his face.

I sighed, “Don’t bother trying to pussyfoot around it, Terry. They want to invoke ‘the look’ don’t they?”

He smiled again, “You saw Betsy on the way over, didn’t you?”

I nodded and he carried on. “Chris, if we had Molly here as highly experienced as you it would be easy. We have women in the air crews who can do the engineer and cargo control, as well as a lot of girls who can do the cabin crew. There are, however, no women yet who can do what you do. Will you think about it?”

I looked him in the eyes, “Terry, I may just do it for the hell of it. What I have heard about that band will make the year one to remember and you did promise me your seat if I pull it off.”

He laughed and pulled me out of my seat again for a hug. “I knew I could count on you, Chris. You have three weeks before you head off on the first leg. Lesley wants to have a chat with you both before then and has suggested you meet her tomorrow night at her home. Bronny will give you the details. Go get ‘em, champ.”

We left the office after Molly got another hug and I could see the questions on her face. Bronwyn gave us a folder with everything we need to know, as well as a smirk and a hug for both of us.

On the way back down in the elevator Molly finally got her voice. “I can see what you meant about a dynamo. What I didn’t get was the bit about ‘the look’.”

I waited until we were sat in the jeep again.

I started it up, “Molly, sometimes a band trades on the look. They have a stage outfit that becomes synonymous with the band. Think Devo and flowerpot hats, think Abba and sequins. I spent six months flying a heavy metal band around and all I wore the whole time was biker gear and chains. They even did henna tattoos on me, and I don’t think that the holes in my ears have closed up yet. That, funnily enough, may be a good thing. The look is what the band wants to project on tour.”

“So why is that so important to Terry?”

I laughed, “Molly, everyone must project the look, and I mean everyone. What is the current look of the band?”

She thought a bit, “Well, from what I have seen on DVD, they open the show looking and singing like Celtic Women and end the second half as a curious mix of Judas Priest and Suzi Q meets Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper.”

“Exactly” I said, “And when we meet Lesley at her home we may find out which ones we will emulate.”

When she looked sharply at me, I said, “Yes, Molly, I said we. The air and cabin crew all follow the look during the tour and the better we are at it the happier the customer is. You know that the happier the customer is the quicker we get paid.”

That’s when she started giggling so hard, she got hiccups and I had to lean over and pat her back so she could start breathing again. I put the jeep into gear and took us to the company hotel in the city. They had rooms already prepared for us with clothing that fitted.

Molly said that it was a step up from her time on the craft tours and I said that it was to allow us the chance to concentrate on what we do without worrying about laundry or ironing.

“When the look is decided,” I said, “We will have complete changes of outfits waiting for us every time we land. You just leave what you are not wearing in the room, and it is taken care of.”

We had the rest of the day off so went our separate ways, Molly looking at sorting out her old living arrangements and me thinking hard about what may lie in wait for me tomorrow night.

The next morning, I had breakfast and picked up the jeep to go out to the airport. I parked in the hanger and sat there looking at good old Betsy. We had been through a lot together and she was a game old airframe. I looked more closely at the paintwork and saw that the band name ran across the top of the windows, while the names of the members went along under them.

There were eight in the band, three singing and five playing and doing backing. I did like the early part of the shows but could see where the second half was good for the younger set. Under the front windows they had already painted in CeeCee Culver and Molly Edwards with space still for the rest of the crew. On the nose, either side, were big, plump lips, pursed for a kiss and, up on the tail was another pair of lips, this time vertical and from another part of the female anatomy.

The guys were working on the underside of the plane, but it was difficult to see just what it could be. The painting foreman took pity on me and showed me the sketch they were working to. It looked like a woman with the body along the fuselage and her arms stretched out as if she was flying, the hands reaching the tips of the wings. She wore a bikini, and I caught my breath at this would look stunning as we took off or landed; especially at night as we had floodlights that would illuminate the underside. It was a statement. He invited me to have a look inside and told me that I would be surprised.

He was right. I expected a cacophony of pinks, but it was all very neutral and tasteful. It had the usual settees and office areas with tables and benches. There were rows of seats for take-offs and landings and a section with bunks that could be curtained off for privacy. The cockpit was untouched, and we had a crew room just behind the cockpit which was nice. Down the back were the toilets, two salons, a sick room and gym.

It was businesslike and very well sorted out. In the middle were the kitchens and more toilets and a small area for the cabin crew to sit during landing and take-off. When I got back to the gantry he said “Now I will show you all the things you didn’t notice. This is all as per the orders; the band want to record everything for a documentary.”

We started at the cockpit where he pointed out tiny lenses which would record everything done and said, then on to about fifty other lenses throughout the plane except in the bed area, sick room, and toilets. He said that there were servers in the tail to take all the recordings. We would certainly have to watch our mouths for a year.

That evening a limo picked us up to go and see Lesley at her home. I was worried and Molly was excited. We had been dressed for a formal dinner with me in a tux and her in a long dress.

I thought she looked fabulous and told her so. Lesley had a big ranch-style place in the hills, and it was jumping when we arrived. She came and welcomed us herself, giving us both nice hugs. She told us just to mingle and enjoy the party; the business could be discussed later.

Molly was almost beside herself seeing the rest of the guests. Beside the band there were other top of the chart singers and a few well-known film stars. Everyone was very talkative, and I caught up with a few of the band members I had flown with before, introducing them to Molly. Before we could talk to everyone, we were called into a dining room and we sat next to Lesley.

At the end of a good meal, we were all sitting with a drink in front of us and Lesley stood up and tapped her glass.

“Now” she announced “We come to an interesting part of the evening. You have all had a chance to look at and speak to Chris and Molly, here. They will be flying us around the world soon. What I want to know, from you lot, what part of our show they should emulate.”

Everyone said, “First half!”

That was that our look was to be the Celtic Woman half and I must say that Molly would look really nice.

Me, well I just don’t know, yet. I am sure they will do their best.

As the party wound up, we were spoken to by just about everyone before they left. In the end it was just us and the band and Lesley gave us both a hug.

“Now, it’s nitty gritty time. Chris and Molly, we know that you have the skills to fly us about in absolute safety. What I am going to say here and now is between us, right!”

We both said yes, and she went on.

“The girls you see here are all branded as lesbians as that is the band we are supposed to be. Now, three of them are married and two of them have steady boyfriends. That said, we expect that you will keep this from leaking before we end the tour so that we can steal away and live our own lives. When you have chosen the rest of your crew, I will pay for everyone to have a full make-over to look as fabulous as we do at the start of the show. None of you will have to get the grunge look we finish as, but we do expect the crew to look fabulous twenty-four seven.”

When the limo stopped at the front door Lesley held me back as Molly got in.

“CeeCee,” she said in a quiet voice, “My mother has asked me to tell you that she really did enjoy your attention in the Bahamas, especially her joining of the mile-high club. She will be coming to some of the shows and told me that she will be around when we finish, whisking you off to her mansion to suck the life out of you, that is, if you are prepared to be loved for the rest of your short life.”

In the limo going back to the hotel we just sat, quietly.

Molly reached out and took my hand, “Thank you, Chris. If tonight is an example of what the year is going to be like I had better start going to the gym, I think I’ll need it.”

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 3

When we got out at the hotel, she still held my hand as the driver left and kept hold of it all the way to her bedroom door, opening it one handed and then pulling me in, closing the door and putting her arms around my neck. What else could I do but look after her like the lady wanted to be looked after.

What made me smile was that when we took our clothes off, I saw that there was a casual outfit for me already in the wardrobe. The company does think of everything, and I expected there would be a day dress for her in my room already.

The next few days were a whirlpool of activity. We looked through the list of available crew members and started by choosing only single ones who could take the year in their stride. We called them all in and interviewed them, ending up with an engineer, a cabin and cargo supervisor, and four cabin crew who were all excited when they were told who they would be with for the next year.

We also had a short list of ‘spares’, just in case. I organized a small bus, and we went out and showed them Betsy. Two of the girls had flown with me and bands before and were impressed by the fit-out.

We shut the main door and I took them through the plane and pointed out the cameras, telling them that the plane was not a place for any untoward chit-chat and to save any comments for when they are safe in their hotel rooms.

We organized a meeting with Lesley who welcomed them all to the tour and told them that the next day we would start our transformation. She said that she did not expect everyone to wear long dresses all the time and would be supplied with more usual day-length outfits except on show nights where we would all be on duty as helpers, ushers and general helpful people who will augment the security at the venues.

All of our crews had self-defence skills and all of the cabin crew were also registered nurses. The others all went off to be measured and, before she let me go, she took me aside.

“If you were wondering which of the band are lesbians, I am one of them and I am the only one that is truly single. Music has been my life and I am looking forward to my retirement from the bright lights to maybe look for Mister or Missus Right. Or, maybe, who knows, a mixture of the two.”

The next day we went to a large salon that had been booked out, just for us. I wasn’t sure what to expect but need not have worried. The manageress took me in hand and into a private room where I spent a lot of time naked and complaining as my skin seemed to be stripped off my body and a laser used on my face.

I was then covered in soothing cream and told to get dressed again as I could relax until the next day. The other girls were all now shampooed and conditioned and looking good with wonderful skin. We would all be back the following day for the girls to be finished off while I was to undergo day two.

The following day the girls were all to get a pedicure and manicure as well extra semi-permanent eyelashes and personal make-up sessions with enough supplies to last a month or two to take away.

Jacquie, my personal sadist, told me that my part of the day was to end up with a good figure and would have to come back the day after to get the finishing touches.

That day my manhood was made to disappear under a gaff, and I had bumps added to my hips and bum first and then the breasts were attached with strong glue. There was no way I would be able to walk out like that so was redressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a top over my new bra and pantie set. A pair of two-inch heel boots finished that part of the look. Before I was allowed to leave, they shaved my sparse hair off and glued a shoulder length wig to my skull, after which it was washed and conditioned and then styled.

When I looked at my reflection I was surprised at how female and how much younger I looked. I was handed a small purse which contained my wallet and other things and the ushered into a limo to go back to the hotel.

There I was quickly rounded up by my crew and suffered the fate of being the new girl of a crowd who all wanted to go out for dinner. Up in my room I found a full wardrobe of female clothes and Molly helped me choose something for a meal.

I must say that walking along the street to the restaurant as a woman in a pack of eight of us was a very new experience, my skirt swishing around my now-stockinged legs and my heels clicking on the pavement in time with the others.

We had a lovely meal and were very well looked after by all of the waiters, and it was a pity to end the evening. Back in my room I was instructed on how to remove the make-up that Molly had put on my face and then ordered to look after the clothing.

In a new nightie I got into bed and wondered about the whole situation as I drifted off to sleep. Next day I had breakfast to my room and then Molly helped me redress, this time with open toe sandals to make it easier to get the pedicure.

It only took the morning for Jacquie finished me off and I was moved on to the next stage. The girls had spent the morning in an up-market dress shop, and all squealed in delight as I went in.

They spent no time to get me disrobed and trying on the various outfits that they had decided would look good. I had no argument with what they had chosen because I had no knowledge, yet, of how they picked the ones they did. Lesley came by as we were finishing and got us all into similar outfits as she intended to take us all out for a meal.

It was a very flash place, and she was obviously well known there. We had a great time and she sat next to me and talked. I found out that the place was owned by a relative of hers.

Her father had been the first husband and had been well-known in the catering business. When the girls decided that a toilet break was called for, she pulled me to one side and through a door marked ‘Staff’. In there she held my face and kissed me deeply.

Mr. Happy was straining at the leash when she said “I can’t wait for you to induct me into the eight-mile-high club. You are now perfect; you look like a woman, and I expect that you will still make love like a man. Don’t worry about Mum, she will move on before you are free again”

We went to separate cubicles and then freshened up our lipstick before we went back to the table, Lesley saying “I have just shown CeeCee the kitchens, I think she liked the chef.”

That night Molly helped me undress and remove the make-up again. She didn’t stop when she got to the gaff, and I ended up by being her lesbian lover before she straddled me to take me deep inside her. I was starting to think that this woman stuff has a lot going for it.

The following week I was monitored to make sure I did everything as a woman would, sitting, standing and walking on higher and higher heels. The plane was declared fit to fly one day and we all got in and took it for a test flight with everyone doing their real job.

The cabin crew made sure the air crew was kept supplied with food and drink, the kitchens and stores being a far cry from standard fittings. The flight was a success, but we did find out that we needed to add a small basket in the cockpit to take our heels as it is more difficult to fly in them as it is to drive a car. I found that I spent a lot of time looking at my stockinged knees as they poked out from the hem of my dress, wondering how I would feel about this in a year.

I was getting more and more used to being in a dress and looking after my nails and hose. I was finding it strange to have men look at me with interest and hold doors or chairs for me. It became a very nice part of life.

Before we started the tour Lesley took us all with the band to a jeweller where we all got a tour bracelet, necklace and earrings that had two female figures entwined on them.

This not only set us apart from the rest of the contingent that would be flying with us but it also bound us together as a group. A few of my girls, including Molly, shed a few tears at the wonderful gesture. All of us ended up in a group hug and I felt so different to any other tour I had flown it wasn’t funny.

The day we started the tour was quite a performance. It started out with a few photos. First it was the whole crew in front of the plane; then we added the office staff and finally everyone including the band. All the crew were in silk blouses and pencil skirts while the band was in matching jeans, shirts and boots.

Terry was there and very happy. He gave everyone in our company a hug and a kiss, including me, which made his wife and Bronwyn crack up. We got all of the crew and the band on board but then had to go to a few places to pick up the rest of the retinue.

There were the stylists, the dressers, the publicity people, the management people, travelling media types that would change as we moved about. These guys all had luggage, unlike our arrangement with the on-site supplies.

Julia, our cargo manageress, would be there to make sure everything got put away securely and she would also act as a loose help with the cabin crew, overseeing looking after the three of us up front as well as keeping the cabin crew in line.

The take-off was gentle, and we didn’t go far to our first two stops, the first being Los Angeles where we were only on the ground for an hour. We don’t use the terminals and all our passengers were ferried out to us parked off near the maintenance hangers.

The next was San Francisco and then it was off to New York for our first overnight before leaving there with the management heavies on board and our first show destination in Hawaii where we would be for three days.

The plane was mayhem for the first few trips, a lot of these guys who thought that they were ‘entitled’ until I came down on them like a ton of bricks, making sure that they were belted in when I said they should be and not to smoke in the toilets or else they could get off at the next stop and find their own way home.

It was something that had worked before and worked even better coming from Captain CeeCee. I had been training my voice but when I got mad it came out as a sort of low growl which even frightened me.

The band had agreed to a no-drugs flight because they wanted to make this tour something that they could remember. I also added a one drink per hour edict which ensured that we were not bothered by those who just come for the free booze.

I was sure that we would shed most of the hangers-on before we left the first show venue in Hawaii and I was right. Like most of the other tours I had done, it became a working trip after that and anyone who was just there for a junket was left behind.

We ended up with a couple of management guys whose job was to look after everything on the ground and sort out troubles. Then there was the music scribes whose job was their life and would endure the trip to the end for a good story. Then it just left the band and their support group.

We landed in New York in the evening, the four-hour trip having another three added in time difference, unloaded our passengers into waiting buses or limos, and were taken to the hotel after we had spoken to the security that would look after the plane.

Only our company cleaners were allowed in it, and we had a crew who were already in Hawaii, having gone with the equipment plane. We booked in and all went to our rooms.

The next day was to be the official launch of the tour at the management headquarters and us crew would be involved with that. There would be media interviews and we were scheduled to be wheels up at just before midnight for the ten and a bit hour flight overnight to Hawaii.

The plane was well able to accommodate the forty or so that would be aboard and the aircrew, of course, did not need beds. With the time difference we would arrive about five in the morning local time, but the first show was not until the following day to allow the band to be fit and fresh when they got on stage.

We weren’t bothered until lunchtime on the launch day, as we would be flying all night. I had let Molly sit in the captains’ seat from San Francisco and told her that if the tour was going to be her introduction to the main job, the only way to know if you can do it was to do it for real. She could fly the plane while I did the public relations bit.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 4

We had adjoining rooms and Molly had stayed the night with me for reassurance. All the crew had lunch together and discussed the previous day, picking out the likely troublemakers and offering suggestions to make their part easier. A phone call to the maintenance chief at the airport got those changes under way.

We were expected to be at the official launch in the afternoon which would be followed by a dinner. It was all long dress and jewels and I was a bit worried about this but Molly assured me that I was now good enough to act as a proper lady. We were taken to the hotel salon where we were all given upswept hairdos and evening make-up before going back to our rooms where we each had a dresser to get us ready.

I wasn’t ready to see myself in the mirror when I was dressed in a flowing gown and heels. My biggest worry was how I would look without the long hair hiding my face, but it was a real surprise when I looked.

The body shape was ideal with the dress and my dangling earrings touching my neck (with the tour ones just behind) combined with the tour necklace did not give any hint that I was still a guy in a dress. Mind you, I no longer felt like a guy in a dress, nor did I feel as if I was playing the part. Unlike previous tours where dressing up had been a lark, this, I had come to realise, was a serious attempt to look, talk and act as female as I could be.

When we assembled in the lobby to wait for our limos there were many taking photos of us, sure that we must be celebrities. At the launch venue we were treated as if we were, indeed, celebrities.

When the launch took place, we were to the left of the microphone while the band stood on the right side, all sixteen of us looking so fabulous it would be certain to be in the magazines and the newspapers. The media were there in force, along with some other stars that had come along for the free booze.

There was a point where Lesley and I were standing together; talking to a TV camera and being asked about the tour and what we thought it may be like. Lesley said that it was going to be a real blast and then nodded to me, saying “Captain CeeCee will get us to the last stop, I am sure that she will keep us safe – and happy.”

The dinner was a little early to allow us to be ready for take-off. It was a wonderful meal, made slightly odd as I was sitting next to a TV executive who spent a lot of it leaning in on me and telling me that he thought I was wonderful, being such a beauty as well as able to fly an airliner.

I think he was angling to let me try his joystick and was saddened when I stayed on soft drink and told him that I needed to go and play with my plane as we needed to be away by midnight. He took my hand and kissed it, giving me his card as we crew made our exit. I saw Lesley looking at us with a wicked smile on her face.

We swept out of the room, looking regal, and down to our waiting limos, all the time having flashes from cameras pointing at us.

In the limo Molly said, “I can see how the stars get addicted to the attention, but I can see already why they get to hate it.”

Back at the hotel our dressers helped us disrobe, let our hair down and help us get back into the flying outfit, the silk blouse and pencil skirt. When I looked at my reflection again, I thought that I now looked rather ordinary, having been a queen for a few hours. The thought made me giggle.

With our personal bags, the eight of us crew were taken out to the airport in a company bus, and we made sure that we were ready for our passengers when they arrived. Molly and I took the walk around, flashlights in hand to peer into the wheel-wells.

She was a bit quiet, and I asked her what the matter was. She said that she was now realising the scope of what she had volunteered for and was a bit worried.

I told her that we were a team of eight and that before we were a week or two into the tour, the crew would be a single unit, looking out for each other. I said that I expected that the band would be similar, having toured before; and that between us we would face down any difficulty that came our way.

I stood with the cabin crew, welcoming everyone on board as they arrived while Julia made sure the baggage was correctly stored. New additions were shown their take-off and landing seats and told the rules, the ones from the previous day already aware, those that turned up this time.

A couple had already taken the hint that it wasn’t a drunken jaunt around the world and had stayed in New York. When everyone was comfortable and strapped in we closed the doors, fired up the engines and said our farewell to the tarmac controller. We were given clearance to move so taxied out to the runway.

I got Annette, our flight engineer, to put on the under-plane floodlights as Molly started us rolling and to put them out once we passed twenty thousand.

The take-off was smooth and New York control bade us farewell and a happy tour as we left their airspace, heading west and chasing the sun. Once we had levelled off at forty thousand and set the engines at maximum fuel saving it was time for everyone to relax.

Julia brought in a tray with three drinks on it and I got out of the second seat and told her to sit in it and keep the others company while I did a PR walk.

I had just got to the door when Molly said “CeeCee, heels in public!”

I looked down at the ‘flying flats’, “Aye, aye, Captain” and changed into the heels.

Annette smiled, “Don’t forget your bag, boss, you never know when a girl has to redo her lipstick” The other two giggled as I took my bag off the hook and left the cabin.

Going through to the passenger area I saw that most had, by now, retired to the bed area with the curtains drawn. A couple of executive types had obviously enjoyed the dinner as they were in the normal seats snoring nicely.

There was one reading light over one of the easy chairs and Lesley was looking over the tour itinerary in her dressing gown. She saw me coming and smiled, putting the paperwork down and standing up.

“CeeCee” she whispered, “Are we at maximum height?”

I said “Yes, ma-am, forty thousand feet and on the way to Hawaii.”

She asked, “Is that the same as eight miles high?”

I nodded, and she came close and whispered in my ear, “Oh, good, my mother joined the two-mile club and I always want to go one better. Now is the time to see if the sick bay has been installed to my orders. I do believe it is time to make this passenger happy.”

She led the way to the rear of the plane, passing through the cabin crew area where they all had big grins on their faces, and I knew that any reputation I had was now in the drain with my manhood.

She opened the door of the sick-bay and pulled me in.

“Good, they got it right.” She slid a substantial bolt in place, something not usually seen on an aeroplane. She then put her arms around my neck and kissed me.

The effect of us both wearing lipstick was an experience I had never had before, and it was wonderful. She got me out of my blouse and skirt, and she took off her gown to reveal a very short nightie.

I proceeded to make love to her as another woman and there, in my bra, pants and hose, I inducted her into the eight-mile club twice before she got me out of my panties and gaff so we could make love in a very slow and loving way. I was surprised; no rush to finish, and, when I did, it was magnificent and made me shudder and moan almost as long as she did.

As we lay there with a couple of air nozzles blowing fresh air on us, she said “CeeCee, my mum said you were good but she could never have known how good you really are. Embracing your feminine side has really made you so much better to love. The trouble is, I think that I am following my mother by falling in love with you.”

I waited a few seconds and whispered, “Up until this moment I have never really loved a woman. Oh, yes, I have made love to many but you, dear Lesley, are getting under my skin in a way I have never felt before. I won’t say I love you, yet; but I do think that it won’t be very long before I do say it and mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

She smiled, “I’ll look forward to that day, then.”

We tidied ourselves and the room; got redressed and kissed once more then I refreshed my lipstick before she slid the bolt back and we left the room. Going back down the plane was like walking the street of shame for me. The cabin crew girls all smiled and one even gave me a little finger wave which instinctively returned.

Lesley stopped off at her bed and gave me a kiss before getting in as I drew her curtain. Back in the cockpit I was greeted by all three girls getting out of their seats and hugging me.

“I expect that our number one passenger is happy, then?” Molly said.

I put my ‘flying flats’ on again and took over the controls so that Molly could have a break and Julia went off to check on the rest of the cabin crew. I sat there with Annette for a while before she broke the silence.

“Chris, I have admired you as a captain and a good pilot in the past but tonight I admire you as a genuine person who will do anything for the company. I do think that you may have enjoyed your job a little more than usual tonight.”

I giggled with the glow of the instruments hiding my blushing.

“Annette, you have no idea what I went through tonight to ensure a good tour. I was over the top of the trenches and into the open fire from the other side and the relief of coming out alive was something to remember. The experience may have consequences way beyond this tour but I do believe that I may now be safe from being tortured to death by her mother.”

Her eyes got wide. “Oh, yes, do I see a deeper story here? You know that we girls tell each other everything, don’t you. The unvarnished truth, no BS, and no make-believe like the guys when they get together. Just you wait until we get time for a girl’s night out, then you will see just how far we go in trusting each other with our secrets.”

Just then Julia came back with three drinks and gave us one each as she took hers and sat in the second seat. She must have spoken to the others and had a smirk on her face that proved to me that I will never live this one down as long as I lived.

Then it struck me. Did I feel embarrassed by it or was I happy with what had happened. I decided that I was happy so raised my mug to the others and said, “To love.”

At about eight hours into the flight, we started preparations to land at the Daniel K. Inouye airport in Honolulu. Julia went off to help the others get the breakfasts ready as they started to get the passengers awake and dressed. Annette monitored the engineering board as Molly came back and I went back into the second seat.

The control tower told us that the wind this morning was from the south-west so our landing will be over Kalua Bay and the mountains so I got Julia on the intercom and told her we may get a little turbulence on the approach so to make sure all the passengers were in their seats and belted as soon as we put the signs on.

As we dropped from forty thousand the murmur from the passengers was becoming audible, so we closed off the doors and concentrated on our job. At twenty thousand I put the under-plane lights on to make sure everyone knew who was arriving and there was a little bit of bumping as we passed over the mountains and gliding directly on to the landing line.

Molly set us down as light as a feather and I hit the reverse thrust and we slowed to a gentle pace, turning onto the taxi way, and taking the long trip back to the terminals. We were guided to the Diamond Head Terminal 3, on gate six, the furthest from the busy parts as they could get us. When we stopped and shut down the sky-bridge was extended, and we opened the door to hear the sound of screaming fans waiting for us.

The ordinary passengers were sent out first and there was a look of fear on a few faces as they left the plane. When they had time to get clear and down to the luggage collection and Julia came back after overseeing the unloading, we got ready to farewell the band.

As they had no luggage to collect, they could be whisked through the crowd and into waiting cars to go to the hotel. Once they had left our cabin crew made ready and went up the sky-bridge.

Molly, Annette and I stayed with the plane as the sky-bridge was pulled back and a tractor was hooked up to the nose wheel. We kept our eyes out to make sure the wings didn’t foul anywhere as we were towed to the maintenance area where our own crew was ready to take over.

The three of us passed the plane to the ground crew and were taken to the hotel. We were all staying at the Hilton Waikiki, and it was funny that the three of us arrived at the same time as the others. The first of the passengers got there while we were getting our pass keys. They told us that the crowd of screaming fans had been very hard to get through and no-one envied the band at that moment.

The first three shows of the tour would be at the Aloha Stadium and the band would be doing short practice tomorrow morning. We were to be there mid-afternoon to look fabulous and make sure the dignitaries were well looked after.

With that being our next time on deck we all went to our rooms to get some decent sleep in. On the elevator up to our level Molly stood close to me and said, “I think I still need some reassurance, that is, if you didn’t wear yourself out reassuring Lesley.”

I laughed, “Molly, dear heart, if you can wait until we wake up again, I may be able to fully reassure you but before we sleep I may be able to provide a little lip service.”

We shared a room and stripped off, getting into bed and I showed her a few of the tricks that Lesley had taught me before we went off to sleep spooned together. We woke a little after midday and I did manage to reassure her once before our grumbling stomachs demanded that we head for the dining room. The wardrobe had casual resort wear, so we put on bikinis, mine being a bit bigger in the lower section, and threw light robes on.

When we got down to the dining room our cabin crew were already there and stood to give us hugs as we joined them. When Julia and Annette arrived, we all did the same for them and I felt as if I was part of a family.

There were several New York newspapers that had just been delivered and we were given a selection to look at. There was much giggling and squeals as my crew looked at the pictures from the launch. One which I loved was just a shot of Betsy taking off with the girl looking like Superwoman flying up into the sky.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 5

We spent the afternoon lazing around the hotel pool and being well looked after by the staff as well as being chatted to by several tanned and fit young men. The band had been spending the day in interviews and we all had dinner in a separate dining room.

Of course, we all had to look good, so we were all in cocktail dresses and were joined by several our other passengers. I found myself sitting next to Lesley and she told me about the funny things that had happened during the day. She got around to asking me what I thought about being chatted up by the TV lothario the night before and I told her that I enjoyed it, not because I was fooling him but because I was fooling myself.

When she looked at me quizzically, I went on. “Lesley, if I can’t fool myself into thinking I am female, how am I going to fool anyone else? That guy thought I was a woman and it made me bolder, I played the part as if I was genuine and the more he chatted, the more I felt empowered. When he gave me his card and kissed my hand, I was almost wondering whether he could make love as well as I do and, strangely, what he may look like without the suit. That is something I had never contemplated before. Hell, I had never contemplated even contemplating it.”

She laughed and told me that I was thinking like a woman, and I had only been playing the part for a couple of weeks. She wondered what my thought processes would be like after a couple of months or more. I was wondering that as well.

We spent a lot of the rest of the evening giggling together as we graded the male passengers and even the hotel staff. When we agreed that one of the waiters was a real hunk and she told me that it would be interesting to find out what he would feel like inside. I suddenly felt sad that I would never be able to experience the ultimate sensation of womanhood and I found my eyes tearing up.

That was a wake-up for me. Was I going queer or was I becoming more like a female? Suddenly I felt afraid of what I had become, and she must have seen the fear in my eyes because she hugged me and whispered “It’s all right, Chris, there is no problem with looking at guys and wondering what they would be like in bed. We girls do it all the time, even if we do think we are lesbians. You would be strange if you didn’t feel some of this, seeing how you are dressed and how men now treat you. You look, and act, good enough to be attractive and most guys probably look at you now and wonder what you would look like naked and gasping as they pin you to a bed with their dick.”

That made me start. I gasped “Who, me?”

“Yes, you, sweet CeeCee. I’ve heard some of the guys in the cabin talking during the flight and they spoke about you as a possible conquest. Don’t be surprised if you get asked for a dinner date before too long. You should, if you really want to keep up the role, accept, have fun, perhaps dance a little and then let him kiss you. Once you do that you will not be fooling yourself any longer and you will be more ready to love me instead.”

We all went off to our own rooms at a reasonable hour and I had a strange dream where I was confronted by the waiter, me wearing just a bikini. He stood there with just underpants and a huge bulge in them. As I looked it got so big that the pants tore in half and fell off him and I woke up in a sweat with my nightie bunched around my neck.

I went to the toilet for a pee and sat there wondering about my dream. Was it a dream or just a nightmare? Right at this moment, with the final picture of his enormous dick in my mind, I should be thinking that a nightmare was right but then decided that it could be just a dream after all, but one I will keep to myself

At breakfast everyone was getting excited about the show today. The band all said that it was just another show, but I could see that it was the first step in their countdown to retirement. After all, they had been in the charts for nearly twenty years and a couple of them weren’t that much younger than me.

Lesley would have to be pushing forty and had been a child star on a TV talent show. I had to smile as year for year, our cabin crew were younger than any of them. The local morning paper was full of pictures of them being interviewed yesterday but the one that took my eye was a long lens shot of us coming in over the mountains with our bikini clad beauty shining against an early morning sky. I took the paper to the reception and asked if they could order a big print of that one to be charged to my room.

I then got my phone out and sent a text to Bronwyn asking if she could get a big print of the one of us taking off as well and to hold it until I got back. Ten minutes later she sent back a message saying it had already been ordered for the office lounge, along with several from the launch. Terry had asked for one of Lesley and me standing together in our long dresses because he thought that when I sat at his desk, it should be on the opposite wall to remind me not to get too macho.

When I got back to the table, Molly had told one of the band members that we called the plane Betsy because of the designation letters and there was a discussion going on about actually giving our painting the name of Betsy.

The promotion guys thought it was a great idea and so the tour suddenly got a new name – Betsy Conquers the World Tour was born that morning and from there on in Lesley would joke on stage as being the leader of the ‘Betsy Band’.

The promo guy went off to reception to order a number of the prints and that ended up with the amateur photographer who took the shot getting a ringside seat to the last concert here as well as a good payment for the copyright of the picture

Today was not a day for lazing around the pool. Today was a working day, starting with my crew all going to the hotel salon for a maintenance check. The girls did not need long but I had a session booked to be defuzzied and was told that it would be better if I had laser treatment on my body to match the one that was done on my face. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would and they redid my nails as it progressed. We would be back in after lunch to get the hair upswept and the dramatic make-up and after that the band had the rest of the afternoon as they would be opening at eight.

We had a private lunch with me and my crew just wearing our undies with a thin gown over the top. Then we were back in the salon before going to our rooms where the tour dressers waited for us with our long dresses and heels, each of us wearing a colour that matched one of the band members in the first half.

We left the hotel and were taken to the Aloha Stadium in a couple of limos, feeling like stars. At the Stadium we were brought back to earth with a thump. The show manager took us around and showed us the entrances and exits, the ‘good’ seats where the dignitaries we would be hostess to would sit, the best routes to the toilets and, last of all, the way down to the dressing rooms and the big gym area (now cleared) where there will be food and drinks in the break and after the show.

Each one of us had a group of around a dozen of the main dignitaries to look after, the others getting regular show hostesses. We were expected to sit with them during the show and make sure that their needs were met.

I was getting the Governor and her party for the first night. Down in the gym area we met up with the back-stage manager, a guy I had met several times with other tours. He took a look at me, then at my company badge and then back at my face with a big smile appearing on his.

“You really have done the deed for this one, Chris” he guffawed “You were pretty convincing as the poofy boy band follower in the pink shirt, but this takes the prize. Thinking back, I must say that you were not convincing as a hard rocker biker a couple of years back. Today you look so good I could kiss you.”

The other girls were grinning, so I said, “Why wait, Jack, her I am with my lips pursed.”

He couldn’t back down now, and he closed his eyes and came close so I grabbed his head and gave him a huge smooch, much to the enjoyment of the rest of my crew and even more hooting from his own staff, also watching the boss get his come-uppance.

If my reputation was going down the gurgler with every passing day, I could, at least, take a few loudmouths with me. Oddly enough, it felt good to finally break the shackles and kiss a guy and, on top of that, my standing with my crew went up several notches as well, they having to put up with macho idiots all their lives. The oddest bit was that, during the kiss, we played tongues and I think that he may have liked it.

We all had a light tea while we were down there and then equipped with ears and throat mics so we could hear the show director as well as conveying any problems upstairs. Then it was our show time.

We went back up to the main entrance to await our charges, the chatter over the ears sounding almost like a control tower conversation. There were spotters on the road outside, so we got a heads up when our particular parties were arriving and it started to get busy.

When my party arrived, I was there to greet my guests in a proper fashion, gather them together and lead them to a side-room where they could have a couple of drinks and mingle. By the time the last of my crew ushered their crowd in there was about a hundred of us talking.

The Governor was a very nice person to talk to and her husband was ex-USAF, so we had a bit in common with planes. We got the call to get our groups seated at about seven thirty so ushered them all out and showed them to their seats.

I was in a row behind between two burly security guys and felt very safe. Well, I thought I was safe but during the first half with a lot of romantic songs, one of the guys took hold of my hand and wouldn’t let go. I gather that news of my real identity had not been sent to everyone.

The first half was lovely, the girls all sang beautifully and there was a small orchestra backing them up. My dress was matched by Lesley, and she spent some of her time singing love songs to me, although it could have been just to the ‘best’ seats.

I got the call to be ready for the break so wrested my hand from my smiling companion and whispered that we were up next. At the break we had a way out almost directly in front of us, so I made sure my group was behind me as I led them down to the food and drink.

The band had come off stage and was waiting for us, Lesley giving me a hug and a kiss in front of everyone. They stayed for several minutes before having to go and change into grunge rockers for the second half and I found that my security guy was now making sure that he stayed away. Perhaps it was the kiss that Lesley gave me that changed his mind.

We had about twenty minutes before we got word to wind it up and get seated again. It took a little while to pull them all away from the food and drink, especially the drink, but we did get them all back in place before the second half started.

This was all electric, the orchestra having gone home. It was loud, proud and very confronting if you were a total straight, bible-thumping conservative. Most of the audience were total opposites but I could see a few of my group looking uncomfortable, especially my previous hand-holder who sat as far away from me as possible. Perhaps he thought I may infect him with queer girl cooties.

At the end of the show I was to guide my crowd down to the gym area again but the Governor and several of her party said that they needed to be going so I called on the show controller that I was sending some of my group down with the remnants of other groups and he quickly ordered half of my crew to take the ones who wanted the food and drink while I and the others led the dignitaries back to their limos.

It was the four of us that waved the confronted conservatives off and then had a bit of a laugh before going back to the gym area via the toilets. The hard part was over for us and it was just the after party to get through.

Back at the gym we had the comms gear taken away and were free to enjoy ourselves. The band was happy to have the ice broken and it was pretty good for everyone there, the show people now outnumbering the visitors.

That’s how the tour progressed, those who didn’t know what they were in for either loving the second half or hating it. Everyone loved the first half, though and I wondered if Lesley could finish off her career as a solo singer of love songs.

Eventually we managed to say goodnight to the last of the visitors and make our way back to the hotel in a bus. Lesley and I sat together, and she asked me about my reaction to the second half.

I told her that when I had seen DVDs of the show before I had not understood it and had been more interested in the reactions of those around me to think of how I thought about it myself. I told her that I now got the lyrics to some of the songs, having experienced womanhood for a while, now. That night we were all in our own rooms, it had been a big day in more ways than one.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 6

The next two days were much the same. We lazed by the pool, went to the salon and then got dressed for the show. My outfit matched Lesley and she always gave me a hug and a kiss whenever I went down to the gym. My ‘friend’ Jack wasn’t seen and one of his guys told me that they were not letting him forget being outed in public.

I got the organizers to put Molly with the top group on both nights so that she could get used to talking to movers and shakers. It was something I had done for some years now and was happy to be playing second fiddle again. I sent Bronwyn a text asking if she could organize a name badge for Molly that had Captain instead of Second Officer that we could use purely in the socials.

On the third and last show, I had the photographer in my group, and he had a rolled-up picture which we all signed for him, the crew on one side and the band on the other. He was not a fan when he came but was besotted by the time he went home.

He had been asked if he would like to join us for a few more stops and he rushed off straight after the show to sort out his passport and some luggage. There would be plenty of room as the management types had seen enough with two shows and had already gone back to New York.

We were to be taking off early the next day and the tractor had already delivered Betsy back to Gate six, ready to be loaded up.

Honolulu to Christchurch, our next stop, was an odd one if you had never experienced crossing the date line. If we took off at ten, it took around eleven to twelve hours in the air to get to New Zealand. However, because you cross the date line and gain twenty-four hours in a fraction of a second you arrive at eight or nine in the evening on the next day, depending on the winds.

There was a usual system we did with this, the cabin crew would organise that all the window blinds are closed, and lights dimmed for the middle six hours, allowing time for a meal before and after.

After the third show wound up there was a small party and we got back to the hotel about midnight. We all needed our sleep and had the wake-up set for seven.

When I was woken, I had a pee and then a shower, dressing in the nice underwear which I now looked forward to every morning. With the silk blouse and pencil skirt on I slipped into my heels and went off to breakfast with my personal bag and my purse, I also had my copy of the photo of Betsy which would get stowed away in the plane.

We had a light breakfast because we would be able to snack during the flight and then went out to the airport. Molly and I did the inspection walk, Julia was ready to load up as soon as the baggage truck arrived, and Annette was monitoring the fuel load going in. The cabin crew were making sure we had everything, including a full supply of sleeping masks.

The first one to arrive was Jim, our photographer, so I sent Molly up to the cockpit while I gave him the exterior tour and then a walk through the cabin before anyone else got there. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that the deal was that he could take all the pictures he likes on the outside and at the shows, but if he saw a picture anywhere else, he needed to ask permission.

I said that the inside of the plane was a trade secret and that he should make sure that any pictures he took inside needed to make sure there was a blank or uninteresting background. He was, at heart, a plane lad so I said that we would give him a good chance for pictures in the cockpit.

I stood at the door and welcomed our passengers, the band all turning up together and ready to get going. Some of our media types looked like they had not got a lot of sleep. We shut the doors and were backed out with the tractor at a quarter to ten.

Molly powered up the engines to everyone's satisfaction and started the taxi out to the runway. I went into the cabin and got Jim to follow me, sitting him in the second seat for the take-off. He had a small camera which he could set to record video which he put on the window ledge to film him and Molly as she took off.

We got to the end of the runway and were cleared to go as soon as we got there, Molly turning us onto the centre line and pouring on the power in one fluid movement. Seconds later we rotated, and were then in the air, heading generally southwest and again chasing the sun.

Jim thanked everyone in the cockpit for the experience and we sent him back to the cabin to enjoy the flight. This flight is often done at night because there is nothing to see but the sea, but we needed to be in Christchurch because the next show was for the next evening after we arrived.

It was just a two show stop and we would then make the short hop to Auckland for three shows. I left Molly at the controls and had a walk through the cabin to make sure we had not left anyone behind who didn’t want to be left behind. I came across Jim showing some of the band members the pictures he had taken at the third show, saved onto his laptop. They seemed to like what they saw.

Lesley saw me and asked if I needed a lie down and I told her that I may be back during lights out in a few hours, and she grinned and told me that she was looking forward to that.

I went back up front and took over from Molly, telling her that she would be taking the middle four hours. She went off to relax, no doubt having a chat with the passengers because that is what the captain is expected to do. Julia, Annette and I sat back and chatted about the trip so far.

This was an easy leg we were on, once we got into Asia, India and the Continent it would be all pressure, mainly from the need to fit into the very busy air lanes and getting in and out of airports. With past shows we had been in the air on the quiet periods when we could, but the airspace was filling up quicker than a freeway in rush hour.

When Molly did get back, I got out of the seat for her and said I was going for a bit of a lie down, to which the other three all said “Yeah, right!” Going from the bright daylight in the cockpit to the dimmed cabin I had to stop for a while to get my eyes used to the lack of light.

I walked quietly down the plane, seeing a lot of our passengers were in the bed area while some dozed in their seats. When I got to the service and kitchen area, I was told that “Your patient awaits, doctor” with accompanying giggles.

I knocked on the door of the sick bay and heard a voice call “Come” so went in to find Lesley buck naked and laying on the bed with a dildo in her.

She said “Quick, darling, lock the door and help me with this, it seems to have stopped working.”

I slid the bolt over and went to the bed, seeing that she had not turned it on, something I rectified and then leaned over her to kiss her.

Inside a couple of minutes, I was naked and had taken the place of the dildo which had made her so wet I slid all the way without stopping. I was just getting a nice slow rhythm going when I felt the vibrating dildo against my anus.

As I pulled back, the dildo entered me, and it was an amazing feeling. She made sure it followed me as I pushed and resisted me when I pulled and, before long, it was well inside me and buzzing fit to burst.

I whispered that she was wicked and then kissed her as we came in one mighty rolling spasm that wracked my body and seared my soul for the longest time. I was now a member of the eight-mile club as having lost my virginity at forty thousand feet.

I stayed erect for a long time, and she turned the vibrator off but left it where it was. Ten minutes later I started moving again and she started purring like a cat. That session took us a half an hour to get to climax and it was, by far, the best one so far.

Lesley had taken me to heights that I had never been before, and I loved it. We uncoupled and lay there quietly when she whispered, “Love me yet?”

I said “Yes, I think I do love you, Lesley. You are my universe – next to Betsy, that is.” She laughed and told me that I was a bad liar, Betsy would always come second to sex.

Once again, we got dressed and tidied the room before redoing our lipstick. I unbolted the door and peered out to make sure that no-one was close and then we made our way back up the plane. At the crew area a voice said “Feeling better, Lesley? Having a drip in you always helps.”

Instead of getting mad or embarrassed I went into their section and gave them all a hug, saying “Just be careful girls, this drip has the power to hire and fire” with a smile on my face. The six of us had a group hug and a giggle and the I left Lesley at her bunk and went back up front to relieve Molly but feeling like I could get a couple of hours sleep in instead.

As I passed the bunk area, I heard sexual moans from the pair of bunks that our lesbian couple shared so someone else was also enjoying the flight. It was a good job that the band bunks were separated from the normal passengers.

Back up front I took over from Molly who said she would be back in a couple of hours to take us down. I had a drink thrust into my hand as I strapped in, Julia telling me that it was an energy drink because she thought that I looked a bit wrung out.

As darkness began to occur outside, we put on our floodlights, started the ‘breakfast’ routine and the made ready for landing. We throttled back and started the descent into Christchurch, coming over the sea so there was very little to see until we were almost on the deck and then it was just spots of light.

Molly put us down again and we taxied to a parking area where we had portable steps pushed against the plane as the engines wound down. Before long we had the passengers outside and into their busses, along with the baggage directly out of the hold – all very old worldly – and I signed the plane over to our maintenance and cleaning crew.

We had our crew bus take us to immigration where we were quickly passed through, a good job because my passport picture looked nothing like I did now. We were booked into the Chateau on the Park, a Hilton hotel set in five acres of park like a Bahamas Resort, but with snow sometimes.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 7

When we arrived at the hotel, we were quickly given our pass cards and shown to our rooms. Our whole planeload was in a single wing that had hotel security on the doors, the receptionist having told me that they had detected intruders already.

My room was pleasant, the drawers and wardrobe supplied with fresh clothing, including two dresses for the show. I stripped, showered and put on a fresh nightie to get some sleep, which eluded me for a while as I thought about the love session with Lesley and the hurdle that she had carried me over. Never in my life had I ever thought about making love with a vibrator stuck in my butt and it was incredible! I wondered at what she would do next time as I finally nodded off.

The shows in Christchurch were a little smaller but no less hectic. There was a stage built in the big city park and the whole thing was surrounded by a fence. Thousands of plastic chairs were spaced out and all the facilities were portables.

It was weird, in this day and age of huge stadiums, but really quite lovely when the show got under way. I and my crew were in our long dresses and at the main gate at six to meet the dignitaries. We had a big marquee behind the stage for the food and drink with a smaller one attached for the changing room.

It was really magical in the first half with the girls singing to a local orchestra under the stars. When the second half started, I could see people stacking the chairs and creating dance space, something that could never happen in a stadium with fixed seating.

As usual, many tut-tutted with the band look and the lyrics but none of the dignitaries left. Perhaps the lure of the after-show party was enough for them to swallow their distaste and hang on.

Lesley had given me a kiss and a hug at the half-time break and did so again afterwards. The system had developed where we both would stand together and chat with the most important visitors first, so being able to discuss any part of the tour and the operations.

What was becoming different was we sometimes did so standing hand in hand. I had noticed that sometimes the band members would do this as well, no doubt to bolster the lie of their sexuality; except, of course, the two actual lesbian lovers.

This all had the effect of fending off guys who wanted to see if they were ravers off stage as well. The result was more attention given to my crew, obviously beautiful as well and also obviously not hanging on to each other. I think that it would pay for them to brush up on their self-defense skills.

I texted Bronwyn the next day to ask her if she could organize some time for all of us in a gym when we were in Australia. That done the only thing I had to worry about was getting us to Auckland after the second show.

We would be leaving early in the morning and would just go up, sit for a while, and come down again. Our flight plan was to keep to a lowish height as the views from the plane as we passed over the volcanic region of the North Island were something to see.

The second show went off well, there was a bit of a party, and we all went off to bed, leaving the roadies to dis-assemble the stage and ship it to Brisbane. Our route in Australia would take us down the east coast from Brisbane to Sydney, then Canberra and on to Melbourne, all in large stadiums.

Then it was on to Adelaide and Perth for smaller shows. The tour had been set up to keep us in sunnier parts during the southern hemisphere summer, moving to Europe, the UK and back to USA during the northern summer and, so far, it had worked well.

Next morning the crew all had an early breakfast and were taken to the airport where we checked Betsy over. We were joined by Jim who was a chatterbox with his experiences so far. He had used yesterday to get a hire car (booked to his room) to take him to the New Zealand Airforce Museum and would, I think, regale us with the pictures during the flight.

We would not be carrying a lot of fuel for the short hop and there was no time for a proper meal, so we were just set up for drinks and snacks. I sat with Jim and had a look at his pictures while we waited for the passengers. After looking at the planes we went on to the ones he had taken at the two shows, and I was impressed.

Not being a music journalist, he had no restrictions on his subjects, and he had taken a lot of candid shots of people in the crowd, including several of me. I queried him on that, and he told me that as a captain of a jet airliner I was a heroine to him so I hugged him and told him to take more of Molly because I think she would become a captain very soon.

I got him up into the cockpit and sitting in the pull-down seat while I stood with the cabin crew to greet our passengers again. Once we had taken off, I swapped seats with him so he could see the vista as we went north to Auckland.

As you pass over the west side of the North Island there is a volcanic range to the right and, standing magnificently alone on the left is a single peak that, to my mind, almost equals Mount Fuji in Japan for sheer beauty. I looked at Molly and she said to let him stay there for landing and he experienced the sheer terror that is the first sight of a tiny bit of concrete that you approach at a silly rate of knots and expect to put down on.

I could see his knuckles whiten as we were getting closer. You may get blasé about landings after a while, but it never pays to discount the inherent danger of every one of them. As they say, the only good landing is one you walk away from.

In Auckland we were directed to a sky-bridge on the domestic side and the band left the aircraft first. We all sat for a while and then the radio reported that the melee had moved out to the car park area so our other passengers could leave.

Finally, a tug was hooked on, and we were towed to the maintenance side where a bus waited for us crew and Jim, who was really keen to experience every facet of the life of a crew. He watched and took photos as we made sure the plane was clear before handing over to the ground crew to make sure we would be ready for the flight to Brisbane.

The only problem we had was that we had to get the bus driver to take us to the domestic luggage pick-up where Jim’s bag was doing lonely circuits. I told him that the next place was another country so he would have to go through immigration control along with the rest of us.

The first show was the next evening to allow time for interviews and there would be four nights here. On the way to the Hilton Jim badgered me to come with him to see the aircraft collection at the Museum of Transport and Technology as they had some interesting aircraft on display. We had all day so once we had been to our rooms and changed, Molly and I met up with him in the lobby. He, the little tyke, had already organized a car for us

I have to say that the visit was very interesting. They have a complete Sunderland Flying Boat as well as the last Short Solent in the world. There is even a Lancaster bomber which had been built after the war for the French as a maritime search aircraft.

We had lunch in the main section of the museum and then wandered around the other displays before going back to the hotel. My only problem was being taken for Mollys’ mum and Jims’ grannie by one of the attendants. When we got back, we sat with Jim while he uploaded his pictures.

I noticed a file marked ‘Betsy on Tour’ and queried it. He looked sheepish but finally opened it and there were two Publisher files. The first was ‘Hawaii show 3’ and the other was ‘Christchurch x 2’. When he opened up the first it revealed a write-up of the show along with a number of pictures of the band, as well as a bunch of candid crowd shots. The picture that made me laugh was the Governor looking like she had swallowed a slice of lemon.

He explained that the newspaper that had published his original picture had given him a payment for the picture and had told him, once it was known he would be on the plane; that they would pay for articles from the tour as we carried on.

He assured me that none of the pictures crossed the guidelines I had set in place. The second file was a pastiche of both shows and he was very taken with the chair stacking and dancing, as well as the line-up of well-dressed ladies waiting in line outside one of the port-a-potties.

He then showed me the email he had got from the paper after he had submitted the first one, telling him that they had put him on the payroll as a junior after they had seen the pictures. I gathered that they were a publication that followed the other party.

I had to laugh but told him to run the next submissions past either me or Molly in future but to keep up the good work. I sent Bronwyn a text to ask her to get copies of the Hawaiian paper as they may be running a story about every venue. I also asked her to send me a company badge with ‘Tour Photographer’ on it.

Bronwyn sent a text back later saying that Terry had seen a copy of the first story and had loved the pictures, so they were getting the paper on-line. She also said that Terry had approved Molly to get her Captains’ papers early, seeing that she had put in the hours needed and her new badge and paperwork would be waiting for me in Brisbane.

I knew that it would be an advantage for future stops if we had two captains on board, this tour was turning out to be a magnet for the wealthy and connected and they did appreciate being looked after by the captain.

The following day was the first of three shows in Auckland at a big sporting ground where they usually played some strange football game with as much violence as the one back home but without any padding or time-outs. Even the kicker had to be part of the normal team on the ground.

I was in the salon for a special session where my wig, thigh bumps and breasts were unglued and the skin where the glue had been given special creams to make sure I didn’t get any reactions. While I was there, I had a manicure and pedicure; it was so relaxing to let others look after all your nails.

When it came time to replace everything, they put a fresh pair of breasts on me, making sure that most of the glue was in fresh spots and using a less invasive one to seal the edges. Like before, when I looked down, I could hardly tell the difference between them and my normal skin. I was told that when I looked in the drawers for fresh gaffs, they would be padded so my skin could be free of the pads in future.

Before fitting the new wig, they re-shaved my head and made sure that I had no more ear or nose hair to mess up the look. The wig was a new one and, although the same color as before, it was much fuller and was down past my shoulders. With it in place I was given a new style which emphasized the fuller body but hid the actual length unless I wanted to brush it out. I looked at the mirror and saw a far more feminine me looking back.

I only had time for lunch with the crew before we were up in our rooms being dressed and made-up for the show. While we were waiting for our transport, I saw Lesley and told her about Jim and his newspaper submissions.

She told me that her people were already on to it and his articles would be syndicated if they continued to be as good as the first couple. She loved the idea of more candid shots of the audience and had organised an ‘Access All Areas’ pass for him at this venue and beyond.

When we arrived at the arena, we found a curious mix of the previous ones. The seating was in the stands and on the playing area with the stage at one side; a covered walkway led to the under-stand facilities.

The sound guys were having problems with echo but my experience from other tours told me that this would be largely nullified when there are crowds of people in the stands to absorb the soundwaves. It would be a real bitch if the band played to half-empty audiences, but I had been told that this was unlikely.

Sound would not be a problem for our dignitaries. They had seats either side of the mixing desk, around the middle of the playing area, so would get the best sound in the place. The biggest difference for these shows was that we would have to lead them around the edge of the ground to a marquee that was set up behind the stage and linked to the covered walkway. They were also delivered to the artist entrance, rather than the public one. Of course, a few would complain at the lack of exposure, but it would be too hard to bring them in with the paying customers and maintain security.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 9

Our company ground crew finally came on board to take the plane to its parking spot and check it over again. I signed off and picked up my personal bag, put my heels on and left them to it. I knew that Betsy would be in good hands because she was our meal ticket. Without her we may as well go by bus.

I went through immigration with a slight hold-up when I was queried about having a picture of a guy and the letter M on my passport. I explained that I was looking the way I did because the band had insisted on ‘the look’ and one officer, who had seen me once before in the pink shirt and blonde wig with an earlier tour, suggested that I must be the go-to captain when they wanted someone gay. I refrained from any reply because it was easy for them to believe that, and it would not be easy for me if I hit an Australian Border Force officer.

Once I was out, I caught up with the crew who had collected all of our bags and we went to the company bus that waited for us. At the hotel I was given a couple of packages at reception along with my pass card.

In my room I unpacked my case, a novel experience. I then opened the packages. One held a letter to Jim and a company name badge with ‘Tour Photographer’ on it. The other was the official letter for Molly and a set of new wings which would turn up on her next uniform, when she got to put one on, maybe a year or so in the future. There was also a company name badge in her name as captain.

I disregarded the ’look’ outfit and put on a full set of underwear and my, now favorite dress, put the packages in my bag and went down for lunch. I first went to Jim and gave him his paperwork, congratulating him on his elevation and commiserating about the fact that he would be spending close to a year with us.

He actually gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek with a “Thank you, CeeCee, you are really the best.”

At the crew table where they were all also in the civvies I stood behind Molly and the others all went quiet, not knowing what to expect.

“Dear friends and good company employees of EMH-OTE. I have great pleasure to announce that we will, today, be the ones to welcome a new captain to our midst. I welcome you, Molly Edwards, to the level of responsibility and worry that will undoubtedly age you prematurely but you will be an excellent captain, me and Terry are sure of it.”

I gave her the package and she stood and gave me a kiss which would have given Lesley a fit had she seen it. Actually, when I looked, Lesley had just come in the room and had seen it by the look on her face.

As the rest of the crew gave Molly hugs, I called Lesley over and told her that we now had two captains on the flight as Molly had just been promoted. Lesley had a look of relief at that, thank goodness.

While we were together, I said, “Crew, we will be spending our mornings in a gym while we are here in Brisbane. You should have seen exercise outfits in your wardrobes, along with a bag. If you can go and get them, we will be picked up in an hour. After lunch today we have the first session and the next four days it will be mornings and then we will be in the usual salon and dress routine in the afternoons.”

They all said “Aye, aye, captain.”

We finished our lunch and went to our rooms to collect our kit and Molly looked like she was walking on air. When we assembled at the lobby the bus came for us and we were taken to a gym on the other side of the river where we were shown where we could change.

It was a business-like group that lined up with a couple of guys in front of us. They split us into two groups of four and set us to warm-up exercises first and then we did a session on karate moves, followed by one-on-one with the instructor.

As I have said, all my girls were already belted so it was just a session to remember the moves this time. I was a different kettle of fish because, although I had done unarmed combat training, I now needed to learn new tricks as a woman.

Our instructor took me to one side while the others all got together again for an extended session on the walking machines. I was given some pointers as to using my hands, elbows and knees in ways that had been somewhat ‘ungentlemanly’ with my earlier training.

The oddest thing was when he got a large mango and held it while I found out how deadly my new nails could be with a stiff finger jab. I needed to go for a shower after that.

When we finished and everyone was showered and redressed, we got back in the bus and taken back to the hotel where we dropped off our bags and then went out into the shopping area to explore and spend some of our money.

Seven of us clubbed together and bought Molly a very nice necklace and earing set to commemorate her promotion and I got some summer outfits to add to my collection. When it was time to eat, we went into a restaurant and had a nice meal with a little wine.

Strolling back to the hotel Molly linked her arm in mine,

“Thank you, CeeCee; it has been one of the best days of my life. I did get you a little present to add to your stash, I’ll drop by your room and give it to you later.”

I had pulled the covers back and was in my nightie and gown when there was a knock on the door. When I let her in she gave me a nice kiss and then a bag from a lingerie shop we had spent time in. It contained a lovely satin nightie,

“Put it on so I can see if it fits.”

I took off my gown and nightie and slipped her gift over my head. It was a really beautiful one. When I turned back to her she had unzipped the shift she had been wearing and stood there in an exact copy of the nightie.

“Let’s see if they work” she whispered, and I turned the lights down and we went to bed after she had helped me lose the gaff.

As we had the next day off, we were all in our new outfits for breakfast; Molly and I being a little late from taking advantage of a morning glory. She had left me to go and get her shower after that and I had a little bit of a lie in to contemplate this situation I was in.

I could not get Lesley out of my mind. There was something about her that made me do things that I had never done before but, with Molly, it must be sheer lust, seeing that I must be a good fifteen years her senior.

I thought about my ‘friend’ in Auckland and suppressed a giggle. It would be a hoot for two guys, pretending to be girls to get into bed together; not knowing which one should take the lead.

After our gym session we were taken back to the hotel to drop off our bags. I had been here before on other tours and knew a great way to spend the rest of the day. I had organized the bus and driver again and we were all loaded up and heading down south to the Gold Coast and Sea World.

I gave our driver a large denomination note and told him to come back in the early afternoon. None of the others had been there and it was a delight to be wandering around, looking at all the animals. The dolphin show was excellent, and we all had a laugh at the sea lion show. The eight of us got a lot of admiring glances from lads but were not bothered.

There was a good lunch in the restaurant and then our driver took us to Harbour Town where we came out with more bags of goodies. I had spent big in a leather bag shop and now could match any of my new outfits with the right bag.

We had our dinner with the others at the hotel and were told about the various radio and TV interviews the band had endured. Molly went to her own room tonight and I had a good sleep in my new nightie. The next four days would be all work.

And so, it was. We had breakfast, our gym session, early lunch, into the salon and were dressed and ready to go to the stadium at about four, ready to be proper hostesses. This one was a similar set-up to Auckland and all four nights were similar.

The orchestra here was first rate and would be with us for the rest of the Australian leg, travelling by commercial flights. The first night, of course, was the usual government and media people and Molly and I took the bigger names.

As usual Lesley greeted me with a hug and a kiss at the break as well as at the after-party, now with space set aside for fans. As usual, we had those who stayed for the second half and those who left. It had become second nature to escort those leaving from the venue and found that no-one complained about not being well looked after.

On our final day there, the local organizers had arranged for us and the band to be taken north to see Australia Zoo where we were terrified at the crocodiles but entranced by the bird flight display, all getting pictures standing next to a wonderful eagle.

We were, of course, besieged by fans much of the time and they didn’t seem to be able to differentiate between us and the actual band. We all just signed whatever they thrust under our noses. Julia told me later that she had signed as Elvis a few times as well as Marilyn Monroe.

The following morning, I packed my suitcase and decided that I may need to buy a bigger one if I was going to continue like this. We went out to the airport to find Betsy now hooked up in the domestic terminal.

We did all of the pre-flight checks and filed our simple flight-plan and then waited for our passengers. We were there early enough to avoid most of the fans, but I could sit in the cockpit to see them building up, only to erupt as the band arrived.

It was the usual mayhem to get them and the rest of the passengers aboard and then we were able to close up and get pushed back. I scanned the viewing platform and was relieved when I didn’t see anyone professing their love for me.

Brisbane to Sydney is about three and a quarter hour flying time but there was a time difference with Queensland not having daylight saving time. This meant that Sydney was already an hour ahead. Molly and I took our seats to take off and we got away at ten, aiming to arrive in Sydney at about two thirty local time.

Once again, we had the following day off so that the band could do the interviews and we would be in Sydney for five shows which were, I was told, all fully booked out. Sydney was well known as an LGTBQ friendly place, what with the Mardi-Gras they held, and there were a lot of fans waiting for us when we arrived.

The airport authorities had obviously decided that they were not going to put up with the mass of fans in the terminal so, when we landed, we were directed to an isolated parking spot where a number of vehicles waited for us.

I could see the crowds and the banners on the viewing platform and wondered just who had decided to be the Grinch today. When we had stopped and shut down, they pushed some steps up to the plane and we opened the door. The band members left first, and you could hear the screaming across the tarmac.

There was a scissor lift at the baggage door and Julia was organizing the luggage sorting, our own bags going in the crew bus. The bus with the band left and went to a gate that led directly to a road to the city. It wasn’t long before our other passengers had claimed their bags and left in a couple of other busses going out the same way. That left just us professionals to talk to our company ground crew and sign Betsy over to them for the duration.

When we got into the city our driver got a message to go around the back of the hotel because the front was jammed with fans; so, we arrived at the back entrance and had to tow our own bags to reception.

We were given our room passes and went up for a shower and change into our own outfits for dinner, only to be told when we got down to the dining room that our dinner was to be at the Government House, and we were invited so needed to go back upstairs to change again; this time the dressers were there to help.

It was to be a latish affair, so the time spent did not matter; it was the wrench from the timetable that irked. Eventually we joined the band in the lobby, all decked out in our finery, our tour jewels and great hairstyles.

There was a police contingent that made a space so that we could all go across the pavement and get into a luxury coach that was waiting to take us to the Government House, which was good as there must have been hundreds of fans waiting outside.

They had scant regard as to who was who and I suppose that with our long dresses it was difficult to tell. All I know is that I was photographed many times; had flowers thrown at me and smiled a lot.

The Government House dinner was lavish and attended by all of Sydney’s’ finest and most influential. The band was feted regally, and I wondered why the crew had been invited.

I found out when a pompous git stood up and welcomed the band ‘and their very beautiful group of hostesses that have graced the shows’. I reckon that the Premier of Queensland (a member of the other party) had sent down a message to fete us; entirely to smudge the reputation of the Premier of New South Wales. I didn’t mind as the meal was magnificent and we got to chat with a number of quite famous Aussie actors.

I had to smile when I saw Lesley in a deep conversation with one of the bronzed hunks they call ‘Ironmen’ as he was so far from her normal companion it wasn’t funny. The odd thing was that she was looking as if she was enjoying it.

I had a laugh when one of the far-right broadcasters, that Sydney seems to grow on trees, got into a conversation with me and did so while touching my arm a lot and calling me ‘dearie’. He wanted to know what I did when I wasn’t being a ‘hostess’ so I told him that I flew the plane.

He thought it was a joke until I collared Molly and asked, “Tell this doofus what we do for a living, sweetheart.” She told him the same thing and he left us, muttering darkly.

I heard that he had a real blast at the Premier on the radio the next day for not checking his facts, something that had been a bone of contention between them for some time. Perhaps he should have done a little fact checking of his own before trying to get into my panties.

The day off was just that, for we crew. We lazed around, did a little shopping; well, when the hotel is in the middle of the best shops you have to have a look around, don’t you?

That afternoon there was quite a crowd of us in the hotel bar. It had happened to me before, the point where the tour is no longer exciting and merely a job to do. It was, I know, a bit different for me this time but for Molly and Julia it was a first time as well as the big group of dressers and make-up girls that had joined us.

The light and sound guys were all earning their keep perfecting the stage and it was an all-girl group who decided that they wanted to see the sights of night-time Sydney. One of them asked a waitress where we should go and were advised to visit the Stonewall but to make sure we were cashed up as they didn’t do cards.

We made several cabbies happy as it was hardly a proper trip but way too far to walk in heels. By the time we left the hotel we looked like a bunch of hookers off to work but Molly assured me that we were in proper clubbing outfits. I felt that I was hardly in my outfit at all. We had a meal before we went up to change because I had also been told that clubbing didn’t start before ten and to prepare to get to bed as the sun rose.

It all went as I had been told. We danced, drank and danced some more. I danced with some of our group and then found myself bopping along with Molly and Julia and three guys.

By the early hours I was somewhat numb and didn’t react when a slower number came on and the guy I was dancing with grabbed me and pulled me close to him. He was more my age than most of the others there and had not said a lot.

I put my arms around his neck, and we danced the slower number very quietly until a point where he pulled his head back and then kissed me while moving his hands down towards my butt. It may have been the drink, but it may have been something that I wanted to do but I held him close and returned the kiss.

When the music ramped up again, he took my hand and pulled me out of the dance floor and to a dark and quiet room where there were settees. We sat on one which I suddenly realized I needed because my feet were on fire.

What I didn’t need was for him to pull me into a passionate session of kisses. I didn’t mind when he caressed my breasts because I didn’t feel a thing. I started to mind when he took my hand and pulled it to his groin.

I took a look around me and saw other couples, some of them same-sex couples, all in the throes of making out. I rubbed his dick through his pants, and he moaned as we kissed.

I was able to unzip him and expose his dick to the world and he said, “Suck me, darling.”

So, I did, and it didn’t take very long before he was pumping his seed into the back of my throat.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 10

When I came up for air we kissed again and I knew that I had done something that Lesley may approve of, except there was no way I was going to tell her. We got him zipped up again and we went back onto the dance floor for a while, until I told him I had to work in the morning.

I saw Molly and Julia and went over to them to tell them I was going back to the hotel. Julia said she would be in later, but Molly said goodnight to her guy and joined me in the taxi back. On the way she pulled me to her and kissed me.

When she pulled away, she said, “Well, someone had a very good time tonight. I hope you saved some for me.”

I was thinking hard as we went back to the hotel. I had crossed a line and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I was sobering up quickly as the events of the evening cleared my addled brain. I was a guy, dammit! I have had more women than you can count. Those tours with the bands had been a happy hunting ground. So many girls wanting something extra from their night out. I had always bought a couple of dozen tour tee shirts and got the band to sign them before we took off. I never got left with any,

In my room we undressed slowly while kissing and went to bed naked and I was ready to do anything she wanted. I had my second bout of oral sex for the night but this time it tasted very different.

About four in the morning, she was kissing me and moaning as she rode me to a very different climax. I don’t know what she was thinking of, but I was on my back and wondering about how it felt for her, something that had never crossed my mind, before. The weight of her on me felt right, somehow, and I experienced a rolling shudder of my own.

She borrowed the towelling robe in my ensuite to wear to her own bedroom and I just lay on my back, thinking until I dozed off. When I woke the sun was shining in on me and I needed to pee.

While in the ensuite I showered and washed my hair. Getting dry and using the supplied hair drier while brushing my locks I saw myself in the mirror and the only thing not female about me was my dangling bit that just looked out of place. I dressed carefully as it was to be a working day and went down to the hotel dining area to see if I could find something to eat.

I had to smile as the rest of our evening crowd were there having brunch. I think that I may have been the best dressed there until Molly walked in to join us. She, like me, had put on her favourite off-duty dress and she looked radiant.

Unusually she walked up to me at the buffet and kissed me on the lips,

“Thank you for last night, my darling, if it takes sucking a guy to get you to be that loving we had better get one as a warm-up man.”

That caused me to laugh out loud. “With you, sweet thing, a warmup man is not needed, just someone afterwards to throw the bucket of ice on us.”

She nodded and whispered, “I agree, we do create a lot of heat together and I’m getting addicted to you.”

We had missed the band having breakfast and just did what we had to do that day up until we were dressed, made-up and ready to be picked up for the first show. The show was in the big arena that had been built for the Olympics and the set-up was again with the stage at one end with the audience either in the stands or on seats on the playing surface.

When our dignitaries arrived, I was surprised to see that the ‘Ironman’ was among them but not in my group. The one in my group who looked a little shocked was my suck-buddy from last night who turned out to be a very senior member of the current opposition. I just smiled and treated him like everyone else and he relaxed.

The first half was, as usual, glorious and I was identifying with the women in the lyrics more every time I heard them. The biggest difference, being Sydney, was that no-one wanted to leave at the break, so we had a big crowd down in the large room with the food and drink.

Lesley did not give me a hug and a kiss this time and I wondered about that, until I saw her laughing with the ‘Ironman’. When it was time for the band to go and change, I was near them.

She said, “CeeCee, darling, could you make sure Carson gets back to his seat.”

I nodded as she left, and Carson gazed at her going. “That is sure some sexy woman. Not saying that you all look great; but she has something else going for her.”

I had the thought that she certainly had more than he knew.

After the second half we didn’t let any fans in, much to cries of disappointment, and when Lesley came back after changing; she and Carson left early. This was a template for the next four shows, Lesley not at the breakfasts but turning up for lunch looking flushed.

Molly and I spent every evening together in either my room or hers, perfecting our movements until we could play each other like a fiddle. It was something I had steered clear of in the past, a relationship with the crew can lead to bad situations, but I just didn’t care anymore. I, for the first time in my life, was truly falling in love.

At the end of the last show, we had an extra party because it had all gone very well. The band had cemented its’ status as legends, and we all had been invited to come back at Mardi-Gras time and ride a float.

The shock-jocks who had tried to belittle the band had been howled down and everything looked good. We had a day off which was really needed, and the following day Molly flew us to Canberra.

This was another sporting ground, but we were only here for two shows. The major difference for the crew was that the groups that we looked after were all Federal politicians for both shows. The Government were there for the first show, and the opposition for the second show. Neither of them would allow their disgust to keep them from trying to enjoy the second half but I expected that hardly any of them really ‘got’ the lyrics in the way they should have.

We had two days more in Canberra to give the stage erectors time to get the Sydney stage put together in the Melbourne Cricket Ground where the band would be doing another five shows.

As a group the crew all went to the National Gallery where we tried to make some sense of ‘Blue Poles’ a very famous bit of art when the Government had purchased it for a stupid amount of money but, as it was now worth more than ten times that cost, no-one complained about the price anymore, even while no-one really understood it.

I got Molly to sit with me on a bench in front of it and I told her to allow her eyes to look at the view outside, through the picture. After about five minutes she leaned over and kissed me.

“CeeCee, you are a wonder. When I let my eyes un-focus it was like watching flames in a bonfire. That’s the first time I have got what Pollock was attempting. Thank you for that, I am now a bone fide art critic.”

When we flew to Melbourne, I took the controls as we were not going to the main airport but one a little way away called Essendon. It used to be the main airport back in the sixties and I had flown in and out of it many times in my youth, seeing that we were arriving at my birthplace.

My folks were living just out of the city at Geelong, and I was born down there. All my early flying had been done around Victoria before I had got my chance in New Guinea flying the Islanders. Essendon was now a working transport and light aircraft hub and was, I thought, possibly busier now than it had been when the international airlines used it as a base.

We were booked into the Melbourne Hilton just off Bourke Street and not that far from the MCG. This set of shows would be the last of the year as our next venue, in Adelaide, would kick off the following year in early January.

We would have about three weeks here if we wanted to stay; otherwise, there would be the ability to fly home for Christmas. After we had cleared our passengers into busses and handed the plane over to the ground crew who would give her a good going over during the break, I stood up in the crew bus and spoke to them.

“Ladies, as you know we will be here over Christmas if we want to stay. I have access to a property which will sleep us all if you stay. We can relax and blend with the locals for a couple of weeks before continuing the tour madness. I believe there is a break in about six months before we do the final leg in the USA. Think about it and let me know as soon as you can so I can organise the property. Believe it or not, this is not the worst place in the world to spend the Christmas and New Year season.”

One of the cabin crew asked how much it would cost them and I told them that it would be free, but they would have to do some chores, like cooking and cleaning. Another asked if there was a pool and I smiled as I said there was more than enough opportunity for swimming.

At the hotel we were given our room passes and added our own outfits to the supplied ones in the wardrobe. We gathered in the dining room for lunch and there was much discussion from our passengers and the band about the arrangements for Christmas.

The bulk of the band would be flying home to be with their loved ones and Lesley said she would be staying in Sydney. Most of the dressers and make-up girls would be happy to stay in the hotel as it was not going to cost them a cent. My whole crew had decided to stay with me.

I made a phone call from the hotel and got the news I was expecting, the property would be ready for us in a week, and I was welcome to visit to check on it anytime I liked. I said that I would pop in this afternoon.

I spoke to our transport guy and organised a bus and a driver for us and then told the crew that we would visit the property this afternoon so that they can assure themselves that it would be suitable. Jim said he wanted to come along and see some county-side.

That afternoon we were driven out of the city and down to Geelong where my retirement project was. She was called Betsy Too and was a Striker 76 launch that could sleep ten at a pinch and moored in the Marina there. Originally built as a luxury fishing launch, I had her reconfigured as a cruiser, losing the big array on top and creating a more useable lower deck.

There was a master cabin, a small single to the front and two more cabins on each side, a pair of singles and a pair with double bunks. The open plan lounging, and cooking area was big enough for a dozen people and there was a flying bridge. I had planned to circumnavigate Australia in her when I retired and take a very long time doing so.

When the girls saw her, they were astonished, and Molly gripped my arm so hard it hurt. I told them that we didn’t have to stay where she was moored and could explore the Bay or even go outside the heads and along the coast.

I told them that we didn’t really have the time to go to Tasmania, but it was an easy trip. I had Betsy Too configured so that she could be handled solo if need be but a few crew members would make things so much easier.

They looked at the accommodation and the facilities and I was hugged by every one of them who told me that it would be wonderful. Molly asked me if I would remain as CeeCee, and I said that I didn’t have to if she could put up with a bald, flat-chested Chris for a couple of weeks.

She kissed me and said “Chris, I could put up with that for ever, if you wanted.”

I had to tell them how and why Betsy Too was here and explained that Geelong was my hometown and Terry had organised a Green Card for me when he employed me.

I had taken US citizenship some years ago but still thought of Geelong as home because I did not own a house or even a car in the US.

Annette wanted to see the engines so we pulled the hatch so she could look at the pair of Detroit Diesels. Julia asked how I could afford it and I told them that my family had a successful engineering business which made us a lot of money.

My father had bought up blue-chip shares in the early days which were worth many times that value today. The funds were what allowed me to fly in my teens and led to the career that I had carved out for myself.

My folks sold the business when they got too old to worry about it and had lived in a nice house overlooking the sea until they both died, not long apart, about fifteen years ago. With the good salary I had been earning for a fair number of years I was close to early retirement now, except for Terry throwing me the curved ball of management.

I had bought the launch and the only costs were for mooring and maintenance and had spent some breaks here, taking her along the coast or across the Bass Strait to King Island or Tasmania. She had new communications and radar and big enough tanks to do several hundred miles.

They were all excited at staying on board and worked out what cabins they would have. The main cabin was a bit bigger with a double bed and Molly pulled me into it, closed the door and really kissed me. If the others had not been there, we would have tumbled onto the bare mattress there and then.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 11

When we went to leave, Jim, who had been very quiet, then asked us all if he could stay with us over the break. He said he could use the smallest cabin and that he had some experience with boats. The girls were happy to let him, so he hugged everyone and thanked me.

I checked in with the marine chandler that looked after the moorings, and he was surprised at my appearance. I told him that it was only for the tour that I was flying around and found out that he and his daughters were booked in for the third show.

He said that his guys would have Betsy Too ready in about three days, seeing that there was not much that needed doing. I asked if he could make up all the bunks and got my crowd to give him their sizes so that he could organize waterproofs for them as well as fitted life jackets.

I then got our driver to take us down to Queenscliff where we all had an early evening meal at the local hotel and caught the ferry to the other side of the Heads at Sorrento, arriving at the hotel late in the evening.

The next day was also clear so Molly and I went up to Essendon to make sure that Betsy would be well looked after. She was beginning to love the plane almost as much as I did.

The transport plane with the Canberra stage was there and we were told that the crew and roadies had all gone home already. The plane with the Melbourne stage would be loaded after the show and stay on the ground until needed again.

That’s when we found out more details of the tour because the ground crew chief told us that the stages would not be used again until much later in the tour. As pilots, we had only been given the stops we would be making and the days we would be on the ground in each one.

Back at the hotel I found the management guy and asked what the situation will be with the next stops, seeing that we will not be using our own stage. He told me that Adelaide would be an inside venue that was air-conditioned, as well as Perth. Both would have normal breaks where everyone congregated in the foyer and there would only be about twenty guests at each one so that only a couple of us would be needed to be hostesses. That was nice to know.

What was even better to know was that the shows would be a lot different for a while after that. In a lot of Asian countries women were seen and not heard so the shows in Djakarta, Manila and Bangkok would be Lesley and the band just doing the first half to follow a local group who would open.

They were marketed in several countries as Les Lee and the Lessons, and the lesbian content was severely frowned upon. They even only issued discs with just the love songs on, so the fans did not even know about the lesbian content unless they went overseas.

We would not touch the Middle East at all for the same reason, especially some countries where we could all be thrown in jail for deviant behaviour. This tour was turning out to be vastly different from any I had done before.

I spoke to Lesley at dinner that night and asked her whether I could leave CeeCee behind, seeing that we may be going to places where I could be jailed or even stoned to death if I was busted.

She was reluctant but agreed that I did not need to remain in a dress after the shows here, seeing that we could have the other girls do the hostess bit if needed. Of course, we will be going to countries where we did not speak the language so there would be local hostesses.

That decided I made an appointment with the hotel salon after the last show, for a complete removal of the falsies and wig, followed by removal of the nails. I would have to live with studs in my ears, incredibly smooth skin, and shaped eyebrows.

Molly told me that as I had become used to wearing a wig, I should opt for a good male style. It wasn’t something I would have thought about before, other than for a party, but if it was done right, I could live with it.

The five shows all went as planned. We did our hostess thing and met some more notable stars and several forgettable politicians. Carson was at every show and every party at Lesley’s’ side and I started to feel that I was a lot better off out of her orbit.

I still could not see the attraction, but it could be just adventurous lust. Molly and I shared a bed every night and it had become very nice to wake up and watch her breathe.

After the fifth show it was a party that went to the early hours and we were all a bit tipsy when we went to bed, none of us being out before lunch. I had my appointment after lunch so fronted up with my next outfit on a hanger.

I had been busy in the mornings in the shops with Molly, looking for clothes that were not too rough on my smooth skin and had ended up with some androgynous outfits that needed me to have a good head of hair to make work. Molly was beside me to oversee the operation and I walked out of there looking, and feeling, almost her age.

Terry and his wife had flown in for the last two shows and, once I was back in male mode we sat in a quiet corner and talked. He asked me what I was doing for Christmas, and I told him that I would be hosting the crew on Betsy Too.

He then asked me whether I wanted to see out the tour and I told him that I thought that any competent captain could do it. Then he floored me by saying that both Molly and I would be replaced at the next break.

This would start after the last show in Bogota. We would meet the new crew there and would fly back to the home base. He said that he had discussed our situation with the band management, and they had agreed that the crew was being over-worked acting as hostesses any way and that they would organize local, even when the tour got back into English speaking countries.

After Bogota there was to be some rest time for the band, but the plane would then take everyone to Japan to work across to Europe and then on to the US during the northern hemisphere summer. He said that he needed to give me his seat then because he had been diagnosed with an illness that would make it difficult for him beyond that time.

His wife had a tear in her eye so I thought that it may be more serious than he had revealed. Molly asked what was in store for her and he told her that she would take over as the check officer, keeping the flying crews up to scratch and taking flights with up-and-coming pilots, especially the female ones.

He said that he wanted to take the whole crew out for dinner but not at this hotel. Molly suggested that he follow us down to Geelong and have a meal at Queenscliff. She said that it had been lovely when we were there.

He agreed and I rounded up the crew to get them and their luggage into the bus we had organised. We told the driver to make sure the hire car remained behind us, and I told him that there would be a meal in it for him, as well as an overnight stay if he took us all down to Queenscliff.

When we got down to the marina Terry got out of his car and gazed at Betsy Too in wonder. “Well,” he said, “you really are a dark horse, Chris. That is one beautiful launch.”

We all put our bags away and left Jim to look after himself and Terry locked his hire car, getting in the bus with us. The younger girls were overawed by having the big boss sitting with them.

Julia asked who was running the business while he was with us and he laughed.

“Bronwyn, of course, she knows more about what we are doing than I do,”

I had booked for a table for ten and we all had a drink first. By the time we finished the meal Terry, and his wife were laughing at what had happened since we left the US.

It had come out that Lesley had been using me as her own human doll and I ended up laughing along but never letting on about what went on in the sick bay. They were booked in the hotel that looks over the bay and the next day they came with us as I got Jim helping to cast off and we went for a cruise.

We went up towards Melbourne and then I cut across to the other side of the bay and dropped anchor just off the coast and all the crew went and changed into bikinis while I let down the stern swimming platform.

We sat there for a couple of hours while Jim and the girls had fun, Terry, and I, up on the flying bridge with beers in our hands. He gave me a lot of privileged information that I would need when I took his seat.

Julia and Terrys’ wife sat down in the lounge, and it was very pleasant. We cooked a barbeque lunch and when we pulled anchor we went down to the moorings at Sorrento and went into the hotel for a drink and a meal.

Terry and his wife stayed in Geelong for more days than they had planned, and I think it did both some good. Before they left, they looked through Jim’s photos and Terry asked for some to be emailed to him so that he could get blow-ups made for the office.

Jim asked if he could be let go as he was getting homesick, and we arranged for him to go back with Terry as he was flying via Hawaii.

The last thing Terry said to me when he left was “Chris, make sure you keep CeeCee as part of you. Before this tour you had always been a bit of a loner but now you are open and friendly and inclusive. I’m even more certain that I made the right choice. Just you make sure that you make an honest woman of Molly, she is just right for you and for the company.”

That holiday was magical. All thoughts of a solo trip around the country went right out of my head. Even if I was soon to be the boss, the whole crew and I became firm friends. I even got worried when the four youngest went into Geelong to party and didn’t get back on board until the early hours.

We took Betsy Too up to Melbourne to watch the New Year Fireworks from the water and then I, as the only guy, had to kiss them all at midnight.

Molly stayed back to the end, and we kissed some more when we were alone. The next morning, we upped anchor and went back to the marina to pack our things to go back to work.

Before I left Geelong, I rang Sacramento and the River View Marina at Willow Creek. I was lucky that they had a space coming up that would fit my seventy-six-foot launch. We negotiated a mooring figure, and I gave them my credit card details to cement the deal.

I had a long chat with my friends here in the Marina and arranged for Betsy Too to be pulled out of the water and sat in a frame to be shipped by freighter to San Francisco. It looked like I was starting to put down roots.

Back in the hotel we went up to our rooms and I needed to contact our wardrobe people to exchange my lovely women’s’ wear for men’s’ wear, telling them that Chris was back in the house. I had left my suitcase with my own clothes in the wardrobe in Betsy Too.

We had lunch and then all went out to Essendon to check on Betsy. Happy with what we saw we went back to the hotel to wait for everyone else to join us. There was a note for me at reception saying that we would be running with fewer dressers and make-up girls and another from Lesley to say that the band would meet us at the hotel in Adelaide.

That made it easy, and I called the guys in Essendon to have Betsy ready for tomorrow morning about ten. Melbourne to Adelaide is just over an hour but we would lose a half an hour with the time zone so would get in at about half past ten local time.

It was with a sense of déjà vu that we took a few busses to meet up with Betsy to start it all over again, We were wheels up out of Essendon at just on ten and parked away from the terminal in Adelaide by eleven. The first show was in two days and the band was already in the hotel when we arrived.

All except Lesley, that is. She did not turn up until the morning of the first show, looking as if she had aged ten years. It took the girls in the salon two hours to get her looking normal and then she still had bags under her eyes.

If I had been asked, I would have said that she had either spent the last two weeks on her back or else had been exposed to the thrill of drugs.

That evening we just needed our youngest cabin girls to be made up and dressed as the hostesses and they were only needed at the arrivals and were then able to come back to the hotel to join the other four of us. We all agreed that we were getting a bit tired of the songs by this time and were glad to be just doing the flying.

The second show went well, and we left Adelaide for Perth, losing another two and half hours in a three and a half hour flight were parked a little after an hour after we left.

We had lunch and the band went off for interviews. It was all ‘business as usual’ and the two shows there followed the format from the Adelaide shows. The crew and I took time out to have a look around the city. Julia and Annette took turns to act as hostesses. The day after the show we said goodbye to Australia.

Marianne Gregory © 2022

Chapter 12

It would take us about five hours to get to Jakarta in Indonesia and we needed to go through emigration in Perth and immigration in Indonesia. Before we left the hotel I went to see everyone who was flying with a bag and said that if anyone had any drugs on them to put them in the bag now.

We were going to areas where the punishment for drug smuggling could go as high as execution and I said that I would hate to lose any of my friends. I collected a few small bags of weed and one with an amount of white powder in it. That one was dropped in by Lesley who had such a look of anguish on her face I was almost sorry for her.

I took the bag down to the hotel maintenance area and watched while it was put into the water-heating furnace.

During the flight I went up the plane and sat next to Lesley. I asked her how she was feeling and she had a one word reply – “Stupid”.

I said that I had not seen Carson since before Christmas and she told me that she had spent her break with him and there was a lot of it she could not remember. I told her that I had been on tours with heavy drug users who all had said the same thing.

“Carson is going to meet up with me in Manilla.” She smiled for a very short time.

In Jakarta it was all very formal. The band had to change in the plane before we landed into suitable dresses because they were going straight to a reception at the Palace.

The rest of us would be taken to the hotel where we would be expected to stay for the duration. That night, and the next day, Lesley got the sweats and she was looked after by a couple of the older members of the band who had seen something similar before.

She managed to get through the two shows here and was beginning to look a little better when we took off, four days after arriving, to head north east to Manilla.

Carson never did re-join the tour. When we landed in Manilla there were armed police waiting on the sky-bridge and they escorted us into the terminal via a lower door.

There we had to wait until the luggage was all brought in and claimed and then we went through the most thorough immigration inspection I had ever experienced.

Everything and everyone was searched. From the expressions on the faces of the officials it was obvious that they had expected to find things we should not have been carrying.

We were kept in the terminal while Betsy had her innards searched, but finally we were allowed to enter the country. When we arrived at the hotel there were a number of our passengers who thanked me for my diligence and Lesley gave me a hug and a kiss and told me that she was forever in my debt.

If she had still had that bag of white powder the tour would have finished right here. We found out then that Carson was sitting in jail charged with importation of cocaine. He had thought that the cachet of being with the band as an advance arrival would get him through immigration in Manilla without someone having the audacity to search him and his luggage.

He learned, the hard way, that the Philippines immigration have no cares about class or status when they think you are carrying something they don’t like. He was already in jail before we had left Jakarta and Lesley would certainly have to go cold turkey now.

There were three shows here, just the long dress part with an opening act and a local orchestra, and it all went seamlessly after the scare. We then went west again to Singapore for three full shows, that island being a bit more liberal than the others.

Because it was an indoor venue with local organisers the crew and I had all of our ground time for ourselves and we spent a lot of our few days looking around, most of the girls buying expensive outfits for not much money.

Molly and I went to the Indian Quarter where we both had similar outfits made. Mine were a couple of tropical suits with a collection of silk shirts and hers were pants suits with silk blouses and some matching skirts. I almost envied her when she tried them on.

After Singapore we were to go to Thailand with three shows in Bangkok. It is really only a short hop and we arrived around midday, local time. There were fans there, thankfully the country now being more cosmopolitan, and it felt like we were back to being business as usual.

Lesley took Molly and me aside before she left the plane and told us that she wanted to take us somewhere for dinner and to meet someone very important in her life. I was glad to see her now back to almost normal.

She met us in the lobby of the hotel, me in one of my new suits, Molly with hers graced by a skirt and Lesley in a cheongsam. There was a taxi which took us to a restaurant and, when we went in, there was a table where a very elegantly dressed man stood up to welcome us, kissing Lesley and holding her close.

Lesley turned to us. “Molly and Chris, I would like you to meet Doctor Leong, Pappa Leong as a lot of girls call him, the man who gave me my second life, here, in the town of my re-birth.”

Over the course of the meal we chatted about the tour and other things Lesley had been doing and then, finally, she showed our host some pictures on her phone which included a few of her and I talking to reporters at earlier shows.

He looked at me with a grin, “Chris, any time you want to make that permanent you are welcome to come back and see me. I am retired from surgery now but would love to oversee your transformation into a truly beautiful woman. I have made some new discoveries since I worked on young Lester.”

When the girls went off to powder their noses he said, “Chris, I could see by your face that I may have hit a nerve earlier. I apologise; my professional curiosity sometimes makes me say the wrong things. I thought that you looked so natural in those pictures that you may be considering an operation but I have seen how you and the glorious Molly seem to be a very loving couple. I rather doubt that she would want to lose the man she loves.”

I sighed, “You’re right. When I was spending my days as a full-time woman it felt natural and, dammit, it felt right. I could not decide if I was one or the other for a while and had a few experiences that I would not like to see aired now. I have fallen in love with Molly and we are starting to plan a future together. Lesley had eyes on me while I was dressed that way but I think she has gone off me now. Hell! I was even being considered as her next step-dad!”

He laughed out loud at that one. “I met the wonderful Lynda Lee before I made Lesley a woman and I can totally understand where you stand there. She even had eyes on me for a while until I told her that my husband would not approve.”

When the meal was over he hugged us all and gave both girls a kiss on the cheek. Lesley gave him a bunch of tickets for one of the shows which he thanked her for.

On the way back to the hotel we were quiet as Molly and I had now been included in what must be a very small band of colleagues who now knew the biggest secret of all.

That went some of the way to decipher the odd behaviour. There must be times that Lesley felt that she was totally alone in the world and it went some way to explaining her slightly odd sex life and her inability to say no to the bad people in her life.

I was feeling very protective of her now.

I believe the shows in Thailand went off flawlessly. None of us were needed to be at the venue and we relaxed.

Molly had been a little strange when we had gone to bed after that dinner and she held me very tightly before she whispered, “You are not thinking about seeing Pappa Leong, are you?”

I kissed her and told her that it was not even a thought, before the dam burst and she devoured my body like a tigress in heat.

We, and the crew, savoured the odd juxtaposition of Asia and France that is Bangkok and all of the girls bought locally made clothes. I added a particularly striking powder blue suit. With my longer hair wig I made quite a figure.

It fitted with the powder blue pencil skirts that the crew all wore when we got to the airport again. We were heading to a country where there were booked out shows. India was a place well used to over-the-top dressing with the movie business there and the outfits for the shows were already popular.

Kolkata is an hour and half behind Bangkok and the flight time, direct, is only about two and half hours so we will arrive just an hour, local time after we leave. We landed at just on midday and there were crowds to welcome us. The band went first to great acclaim and we needed to wait a while before the rest of us could disembark.

India is, well – India. There is no place like it for hustle and bustle, the sights are amazing and, often, the smells are disgusting. At all the hotels we stayed in the crew were treated as well as the band and our time in the country was very enjoyable.

There were five shows in Kolkata, followed by five in Delhi, just two and a half hours by air. After that we zigged and zagged around the country; Hyderabad, Madras and finally Mumbai, nearly six weeks in the country. All of the shows were packed and we all had a ball, the crew visiting various tourist sites by coach while the band went first-class in helicopters.

We all got a case of ‘Bombay Belly’ for a while and it was downright disgusting as well as painful at times. The show went on and the band cemented its legendary status for the seemingly millions of fans.

Mumbai, being the centre of the Bollywood film industry, threw up an interesting experience for us all while we were there. The band spent an extra week there laying down a new album, purely for local release after we had left. It was first half material with a mainly Indian orchestra backing them.

On the final full day we were all taken to the main studio where I was reprocessed into CeeCee and a mirror image of Lesley, the crew being similarly outfitted and made up to be close to the other band members. We were then given a fairly simple set of steps to learn before we were in front of the cameras.

The song being recorded was a love song between a girl and her imaginary lesbian lover and it meant that Lesley would mime it while the rest of us would dance around her in pairs.

Of course, being Bollywood, when we got to the actual filming there were about a hundred Indian girls as fifty pairs who would be in the background. I, being the subject of her singing, was given extra movements which were somewhat more explicit.

I suppose that our earlier relationship allowed the whole thing look real enough and the director was fulsome in his praise, treating us to dinner after a full day filming, all still in our costumes.

When we had been changed back to normal people Lesley sought me out and gave me a sisterly kiss,

“Chris or CeeCee, you are a true friend. You have pulled me away from the flames a couple of times and you know more about me than most. I am forever in your debt the way you saved the tour back in Manilla and hope that you are not a stranger once the band is finished. By the way, I think that our performance today will add some millions to the sale figures once that video goes out to advertise the album. You were magnificent.”

After Mumbai we were off to South Africa for shows in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town which all went to plan From Cape Town we were across the ocean to Rio De Janeiro and then on to Buenos Aires, La Paz and, finally, for the crew, Bogota.

We landed at Bogota with a mixture of relief and sadness. Terry had sent a message saying that the entire crew had earned a rest and a bonus for this trip so far.

Before we left Betsy to the new crew we all needed to run the replacements through the little details that made Betsy such a wonderful work-place and it was a wrench for me as I doubted that I would pilot her again, after close to six years of being ‘my’ aeroplane.

Our four cabin crew were all upgraded to senior crew members and would further their careers in charge of others. Julia was moving on to the logistics arm to be in charge of setting up the cargo planes used in tours and other charters.

Annette would be joining Molly and I back in Sacramento to train other flight engineers. The tour had turned out very well for the whole crew and we all went out to a good restaurant in Bogota to celebrate our future before going our separate ways.

We had been offered tickets to the show there but had all declined, saying that we had heard it often enough already.

Betsy would be leaving Bogota to fly to Tokyo to begin the next leg of the tour in a couple of weeks with the band and support crew joining it there after a break. That would take them across the northern hemisphere during the summer months; going via South Korea, Europe and the UK before ending up back in New York.

There to do nearly four months playing five nights out of every seven in all of the major cities; the northern areas first while the summer remained, followed by the warmer southern states. I, for one, did not envy them.

The last show of the tour was to be in San Francisco and Lesley made me promise that I would get our crew there for the after show party as a thank you for our help. I had the suspicion that the party was likely to be still going on into the next morning.

It nearly did not get that far. When Carson went to trial in Manilla he tried to make out that it was Lesley who had forced him to carry the drugs for her and that he was a dupe to her charms.

Lesley and the band were in Rome by then and the Italian police pulled the entire band in for questioning and drug testing. Lesley had, by that time, no traces of cocaine in her system and nothing untoward was found among the band and the other passengers or in a search of Betsy.

Carson, on the other hand, could not deny the blood tests that had been taken when he was arrested that showed high levels of cocaine use. The case made the papers everywhere and I was glad to be well away from it.

I was well away from everything at the time. I was in the small hotel in San Salvadore where Molly and I were enjoying two weeks honeymoon. That night of wild passion in Bangkok may have been the actual turning point as she was now pregnant.

After Bogota we had told Terry that we needed a little extra time and, after a couple of days in the office in Sacramento to write up a report, we flew to Vegas to get married. She looked magnificent in her wedding dress and I had a new, and very elegant, suit. Julia and Annette were in attendance and we had a very nice time.

Back in Sacramento I was spending long hours in the office with Terry, who was not looking too good, while Molly was looking for somewhere for us to live as well as getting to grips with her check-pilot job.

I told her to concentrate on Willow Creek because Betsy Too would be moored there and it was very close to the airport and our work. She found a smart place for us, four bedrooms and three bathrooms with a double garage plus a workshop for me.

If I was putting down roots they were going to be solid ones. It was, incidentally, only a fifteen minute stroll to the marina so I could go and tinker with Betsy Too when she arrived. That was something I was looking forward to.

One day Bronwyn walked into the office and handed me a parcel that had come from Bangkok. It was a CD and a flash drive with a note that said, “CeeCee, when I said you were a natural I did not realise just how natural you were, having only seen still pictures. My offer is still open.” It was signed ‘Pappa Leong’.

The CD was ‘Les Lee and the Lessos ‘-’ Love Songs for Dreamers’ and was the after tour release in India. We put the flash drive in the slot in our computer and Terry, Bronwyn and I watched the Indian video of the song we had recorded.

Terry gave me a hug and told me that if we weren’t already taken he would ask me to marry him. Bronwyn just held me tight and gave me a kiss on the cheek,

“Chris, you really are the best, no matter what you do. That video almost made me leak; well, actually, it wasn’t almost.” With that she left the room in a hurry.

Our daughter was born in Sacramento in the first week of September and we welcomed Elizabeth Lesley Culver into the world. Together Molly and I had made Betsy Three.

Betsy Too, however, was now moored in the marina with many admiring looks from the other boaties. She had been unloaded in San Francisco and put back in the water there. Once she was made sea-worthy again we topped her up and took her up river to her new home, now registered as a US boat.

The journey only takes about an hour and half by the high-speed ferry but we sauntered along and took most of the day about two weeks before Molly went into labour.

We went to the after show party taking Betsy Too down to the Bay and mooring in the marina there. Bronwyn came along to look after our daughter while we were at the party, being a very good friend and quite close as a neighbour.

When we walked into the party Lesley gave a little scream and came over to us, giving us both hugs and kisses. She asked where Elizabeth was and I said that she was at the launch being looked after.

I invited her to the christening in a couple of weeks and she exclaimed, “Only if I can be a godmother!”

We then caught up with the other girls who I had been able to roster on to be close. The party went well into the next morning and Lesley insisted that we join her in her limo so she could take us back to the launch.

When we got there I could see Bronwyn with the bassinet up on the flying bridge taking in the sun and we boarded Betsy Too. Lesley was all over the baby and held her to her with tears in her eyes,

“Did you really name her after me?”

We both said, “Of course” to which Molly added, “If it wasn’t for you we would never have met”.

When Lesley calmed down a bit she handed the baby back to Bronwyn to put back in the bassinet and there was a moment where they both looked startled.

Bronwyn was unused to having a mega star so close but I thought that it may be much more than that. The five of us went to lunch at the marina club-house and I could see Bronwyn opening up more to Lesley, slowly realising that she was as much of a normal person as anyone.

I suddenly understood what it had been when she had watched the video and it wasn’t me dancing in a long frock but Lesley who had given her damp panty.

After that meal there was a special bond between us. Lesley moved out of her hotel after finishing the interviews and came back to Sacramento with us in the launch, spending much of the trip holding hands with Bronwyn.

And so I put down my final roots. Molly and I had a second child the following year, a boy we called Terrance after our late boss who had passed away not long before. I was the boss of the company and Lesley was a frequent visitor to head office, coming in with Bronwyn who was now living with her full time.

She took the direction I thought she may do, becoming a very successful solo singer and the love songs were really beautiful now. I thought it may be because she had someone solid in her life to sing them to. The company supplied her with a personal jet and she would often be flown to her sold-out shows in it. Sometimes, Molly or me at the controls.

One thing I did do once I became boss was to get a professional still from the dance video that showed all sixteen of us. I had the band and all the crew numbered and underneath was a list of names with the crew all clearly identified.

On the top of the picture was ‘Never be afraid to try something new!’ and it now hung on my office wall, as well as, I hope, all of the other offices of ours that I had sent it to.

I may have mentioned it before but I do have the best job in the world. Now, however, I have a lovely and loving wife, a family and a group of wonderful friends who I share it with.

CeeCee never shows herself but her core is still there in me to ground any overbearing ideas I may have.

The only problem that I have is hearing the strains of that love song, now a sort of anthem for many young girls and a favourite on TV music shows, as a nearly three year old Betsy dances to it in front of the screen. Not yet aware that it is her godmother, and her father, who share the limelight and the final kiss.

Marianne Gregory © 2022