Tails

by Lhynn Cooper
Chapter 18

.......... "I'll wait and try to explain this to her, if you want me to Terry." Kathy said. "Maybe that'll help. You said she was on her way here, didn't you Linda?"

.......... "She said she was going to leave as soon as she could." Linda answered. "It's not that long of a drive, and if she left right away, she should be here very soon."

.......... I started to say something to Kathy, but as if on cue, we heard a car pulling in the drive. Linda got up and looked out the window. "She's here."

.......... "Uh....., Terry," Linda said. "Do you want us to get her ready to see you, or do you want to tell her yourself, right away?"

.......... "Oh God." I said. "I don't know. Maybe it would be better if you broke it to her gently. I'll wait in the bedroom." I was really scared now. I wanted to see Sam, but I didn't want her to see me, at least not like this. I needed time to think of what to say to her.

.......... I got up, still just a little bit unsteady, and hurried into the bedroom and shut the door behind me. I was too nervous to sit and just kept pacing back and forth, near the door, trying to hear what was being said in the living room.

.......... I could hear voices but couldn't quite make out the words. I heard Linda open the front door and then a low murmur of voices for a while. After a few minutes of talking, I could make out Samantha's voice getting louder. Finally I heard her exclaim, "What? You are kidding, aren't you? You've got to be joking." I figured it was time I made my entrance.

.......... As I opened the door, I saw Sam coming down the hall towards me. As she saw me, she slowed and stopped, putting her hands up to her mouth. "Oh, no!" She said. "It's true."

.......... I felt that I should go to her. I wanted to hold her and tell her everything would work out, but, I just couldn't do it. I backed up and stood there in the white bath robe, while Samantha slowly walked into the room with her hands still covering her mouth, staring at me with wide eyes. She went past me and sat on the edge of the bed. Her eyes never left me.

.......... Neither of us said anything for a few moments, then finally, I broke the silence. "Look, I've got legs again." As soon as I said it, I realized how silly it sounded.

.......... I pulled up the robe so she could see my legs up to my thighs. She finally put her hands down in her lap, and just shook her head. I thought she was going to cry or something, but finally she said, "God, as weird as the fish tail was, this seems even stranger, somehow."

.......... As I dropped the hem of the robe and walked over to her, she stood up, still staring at my face. I touched her hand and then she put her arms around me and we embraced. What seemed weird to me now was that she seemed a little taller than me. I was used to being five or six inches taller and much more heavily built than her, but now, we were identical twins and she was only a little taller because of the shoes she was wearing.

.......... Even though I had possessed female breasts for a number of days now, I still wasn't quite used to them being there on my chest. Feeling Sam's breasts pressing against mine, I was very aware of their presence, I even felt a little tingling in the nipples as they rubbed against Sam's clothing. "Are you OK?" I asked, trying to ignore the sensation.

.......... She didn't say anything at first, but then she pulled her head back, looked at me, again shook her head and said, "I guess so, but, I don't know how many more of these surprises I can take."

.......... I saw there was a tear on her cheek. "Just don't cry." I said. "This is only temporary too."

.......... "Can we sit down, Terry?" Sam asked. "I'm feeling a little dizzy." We both sat on the edge of the bed with me still holding her hand. It seemed important to me to keep holding on to her, to show her that I still loved her.

.......... As we sat, I noticed Linda in the bedroom doorway, starting to close the door. "You two probably want some privacy." She said. "Come on out when you want. No hurry, we'll wait until your ready." She closed the door and left Samantha and I alone.

.......... Sam kept looking me up and down, and said, "God, Terry, this is so strange. It's like talking to a mirror." She paused then asked, hopefully. "That Mrs. Anderson, that Kathy, said something about this being for only half of each day. Am I asking for too much to hope that the other half you'll be your old self? Male I mean?" She raised her eyebrows in almost a pleading manner, hoping I would say yes.

.......... "Afraid not." I said quietly. "It's this for twelve hours a day, and then back to 'Mermaid Barbie" for the other twelve. Didn't they explain it all to you?"

.......... "I didn't get much of what they said." Sam replied. "I came in expecting to see the old you, and then they started saying something about a misunderstanding and a mistake, and that you now looked just like me, and then, after that..........., well, I don't remember much of what they said. I just wanted to see you."

.......... I started explaining it to her, at least as much of it as I understood. I told her everything that Kathy had told me and finished up saying, "So, this is only temporary, too. As soon as Patty is able, she's going to change everything back to the way it should be."

.......... Sam looked like she was going to cry again. "So, it could be years?" She asked.

.......... "It could be a lot less, maybe only a few months." I replied. "Maybe only a few weeks." I added in as hopeful a tone as I could, when I saw a tear again begin to form in Sam's eye.

.......... I got up and pulled a few tissues from a box on the dresser and handed them to Sam.

.......... "Thanks." She said, drying her eyes. She wiped and then continued. "Well, I survived the mermaid thing, I'll survive this, somehow. At least now you'll be able to do things on your own, I won't have to drive you around and you can help me around the house. Hmmm........, maybe you can even get a job of some kind to help out with the money until you get changed back."

.......... I was trying to figure out how I could hide from the world, not about getting a job. That was the last thing I wanted to think about. "I was so worried about how you'd take this." I said. "I thought sure you'd leave this time, as soon as you saw me. I was so scared."

.......... I really was scared too, and the thing that bothered me about it was that I never felt that way before. I always had felt that I was in control, that I could handle almost anything. I might not like how things went, but I never felt scared about anything. I hoped that being in female bodies, whether human or mermaid, and the hormones that went along with them weren't having an effect on me. I liked the way I was. The physical changes I could put up with, (I really had no choice about that), but at least leave my mind alone.

.......... "I'm not going to leave you." Samantha said. "I've told you that before." She stopped and wiped her eyes again. "If I didn't leave when this first happened, why would I leave now? Beside, this is all really my fault for getting mad at that girl. What was her name? Patty, wasn't it?" She paused for a moment. "After getting myself all psyched up driving over here and feeling everything was going to be all right, God, I feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks."

.......... "It's not your fault." I said. "Don't blame yourself for this, I'm not blaming you." I took her other hand and told her, "If this whole mess had to happen to one of us, I'm glad it was me instead of you. I never want anything bad to happen to you." I lowered my voice a little and tried to sound a little more like the old, male me, "Besides, after spending a little time in this body, I'm sure going to know exactly what makes you feel good, if you get my meaning." I gave her a little wink and a smile.

.......... Sam returned my smile and squeezed my hand. "That's all you men ever think of, don't you? Well, at least your mind hasn't changed along with the rest of you, you still seem to be you." Hearing her say that made me feel a lot better.

.......... "It's not going to do us any good to get upset with each other over this." She said. "And we can't afford to get Kathy angry at us either, we really need her now. Come on, let's pull ourselves together and go talk to her, see if we can figure out some way to speed things up with her daughter." She put her arm around me and pulled us together again. We hugged and I gave her a little kiss. "Almost like kissing my sister." She murmured.

.......... "What?" I asked, acting hurt.

.......... "Just kidding." Sam said. "Here, stand up and let me get a look at you. Let's see what kind of a job she did on you, if she's any better at this than her daughter."

.......... I stood up in front of her and held my arms out. "I just feel so strange." I said. "I'm going to really feel silly going out in public like this."

.......... "Why would you feel silly?" She asked. "You look perfectly normal to me. You know, I manage to get through the day looking just like that, with no problem at all, in fact, I kind of like how I look. You'll get used to it. My God, this'll surely be a lot easier to put up with than being the other way, a mermaid, I mean."

.......... "I'm not sure about this being easier." I said. "Before, I didn't have to worry about going out and actually trying to be a female, I didn't have to try and pretend to be something I'm really not. Maybe it sounds crazy, but when I was at home, when I was just sitting in the wheel chair, I could almost forget that I had changed sex. For some reason, when I have a fish tail instead of legs, it doesn't feel like I've lost something. But now, every time I take a step or sit down, I really notice that something's not there, and that empty feeling I get down there really bothers me."

.......... "You miss it that much?" She asked.

.......... "Yeah, I do." I answered. "A lot more than I would have ever thought. How would you feel if something you'd had your entire life was suddenly gone? Maybe not like losing a limb or anything like that, but, what if you woke up tomorrow and your breasts were just gone? Wouldn't you miss them."

.......... She looked thoughtful for a moment and then answered, "Yes, I guess I would miss them. I suppose it would take a little while to get used to suddenly not having something that's always been there." I saw her reach up with one hand and touch her bust, then she paused and gave me a little smile. "But, I'll bet you'd miss them just as much as I would."

.......... I had to laugh at that. "Yeah, that I would. But, you know,............" I pulled out the front of my robe and looked down at my chest. "I've got some of my own, now, and to get my hands on these, I don't have to chase you around the house on Saturday mornings."

.......... Now it was her turn to chuckle. She reached out and tried to swat me on the butt and missed. Then she said, "Seriously now, it's not like you just changed sex today. You've been a mermaid for almost two weeks. Didn't that give you an idea of what being a woman feels like. You looked pretty female to me, and you seemed to be adjusting to it, or, I thought so, anyway. We talked about it a lot."

.......... "I guess I was getting used to it." I said. "I wasn't really comfortable with it, but I was getting along." I started to walk back and forth in front of her, sitting on the bed.

.......... "Walking is such an odd feeling now. It feels so strange with nothing hanging between my legs. My hips and butt feel like they're a mile wide, and my knees feel like they're rubbing together. It's hard to put into words, but the difference in anatomy is really greater than I ever would have imagined, although maybe some of it is that I'm just getting used to having legs again, instead of a tail."

.......... I loosened the belt on the robe and took it off, tossing it on the bed. "Look at this." I said, walking around a little, in front of her, pointing to my legs, and pushing one hand between my thighs to emphasize the lack of something in that area that used to be very important to me.

.......... "Well, your going to have to get used to it." Sam said. "And it all looks normal enough to me. Like I said, I've not only managed to survive but I've actually gotten along quite well without some big thing swinging back and forth down there when I walk. Come over here and stand in front of me, would you?" I did so.

.......... "So that's what I look like to the world." She said, shaking her head a little. "Hmmm......, for some reason, you look a little different than I thought I did. I don't know exactly what it is, but, something's not quite right."

.......... "I think I know what it is." I said. "When you look at yourself, it's usually in a mirror, and things can look different when they're not reversed left to right. You know that nobody is truly, perfectly symmetrical from their left to their right sides. Maybe that's it?"

.......... "It must be." Sam said. "Turn sideways again, okay, my God, is my butt really that big, I've got to go on a diet."

.......... "I think your butt is just fine." I said. "Of course, you know, I've always thought of myself as a 'leg man', but your sexy little rear end is nothing to complain about, either."

.......... Sam stood up and came over to me. "Well, it's nice to know that you approve of my butt, however, your not a 'leg man' anymore, your a 'leg WOMAN', now, and I think it's time you covered yourself up." She looked around the bedroom. "I know you didn't wear that robe over here today, what did you wear, and where is it? We can't go home until you get something on."

..........

.......... "It's out in the living room." I said. "I undressed when Kathy was going to try and do her magic. I thought I'd be my old, male self, and I didn't want to ruin that dress you bought for me and I figured I wouldn't need the bra anymore."

.......... "I'll go get it." Sam said.

.......... As she left the room, I sat on the edge of the bed and waited, staring down at my empty crotch.

.......... Sam returned with my dress and bra and Linda was with her. I put on the bra and it still fit pretty well, but I didn't fill out the cups quite as much as before. I hadn't needed any other underwear before, so I didn't have anything else to wear under the dress. Linda said I could have a pair of her panties or even some pantyhose if I wanted, but she was so much thinner than I was now, that Samantha didn't think they would fit at all. I wasn't eager to try them on and just decided to go without for now. I pulled the dress on, buttoned up the front and fastened the belt. I looked at myself in the mirror over the dresser and still couldn't believe it was me. Sam came over and straightened the collar of the dress a little and then we both stared at our images in the glass as we stood side by side. Identical twins, except for our clothes, Sam wearing a tan colored suit with a slim skirt and me in my longer, dark purple dress with a full skirt. She was a little taller than me because she had on shoes.

.......... "Weird, isn't it?" I asked.

.......... "It sure is." Sam answered. Then she looked over at Linda and said. "Terry's going to need some shoes, Linda. I know you and I wear just about the same size so if you can lend us a pair, I'm sure they'll fit her."

.......... For some reason I was shocked at Sam referring to me as 'her', and she could tell it by the look I gave her. I started to complain that I wasn't really a 'her', but she just looked me up and down, then replied, "You're standing there wearing a brassiere and a dress, and they fit you, and you can't go to the bathroom without sitting down. Terry, I think you better get used to being referred to as female, because, at least for the near future, that's what you are and people are going to think we're crazy if we talk about you any other way, don't you?"

.......... I knew she was right. I just shrugged, knowing for sure, that I would never get over feeling embarrassed at being referred to as female, let alone being dressed this way out in public. Linda went to her closet and brought out a couple of pairs of shoes that she thought would go with the dress. I picked the ones with the lowest heel, in fact she called them 'flats', and they hardly had any heel at all. Putting one hand on the edge of the dresser for balance, I slipped them on one at a time, still trying to reacquaint myself with the feeling of having feet, let alone wearing shoes, and women's shoes at that.

.......... Sam took me into the bathroom and she picked up one of Linda's hair brushes and fixed my hair up a little, trying to show me how she combed hers. I realized that the much shorter cut of her hair, (and of mine, now), would be a lot easier to take care of. When she was satisfied with how it looked, Linda, who was watching from the doorway, asked if I wanted any makeup, a little lip color or anything. I refused to even try anything like that and Sam agreed I looked OK for now just as I was. Linda walked out to the living room and Sam and I followed. The feeling of the skirt brushing against my legs and the emptiness between them was totally alien.

.......... Kathy was looking out the front window and turned to us when we came in. She came over to me, took my hand, and said, "I still can't tell you how sorry I am about this, Terry. I didn't mean for it to come out this way. You do realize that, don't you?"

.......... "I know." I said. "Just keep after Patty and get her trained or whatever, as fast as you can. I still want my original body back as soon as possible so I can try and get a job, Sam and I are going to need the money to make it with the new house out here."

.......... "I just saw in the paper, yesterday, that there's a restaurant out by the interstate, that's looking for waitresses." Linda said, with a big smile. "I could take you out there tomorrow."

.......... "I'm not going to work as a waitress." I said. "I've got a degree in engineering, I'm not going to be serving food to anybody."

.......... "Don't be too quick to turn it down." Sam broke in. "A good waitress can make a lot of money with tips, I did it in college and it wasn't too bad." She turned to Linda. "Is it a large restaurant, Linda? Do you know the name of the place and if the job is during the day or evening?"

.......... Linda had a big grin on her face. "I don't know about the hours, but it's called 'Hooters'. You'd really fill out the uniform, Terry."

.......... I felt myself turn what must have been a bright shade of red, and the look on my face must have been really something, because it was about five minutes before Linda and Sam stopped laughing. Even Kathy was laughing.

.......... I stood there, grumbling, while they managed to get control of themselves, then Sam said, "Okay, okay, I wouldn't ask you to do anything like that, Terry, if you didn't want to. But still, as a last resort, you really could make some money at it if you wanted to try it." She was still smiling and I really wasn't sure if she was kidding me or not, then she said, "At least I wouldn't have to worry about you chasing after the customers, I don't think they get too many women going in there for the gourmet food they serve."

.......... I could still feel my face being a little flushed, and I was a little curious about Linda looking at want-ads for a place like that. Then, I had another, more serious thought. "Exactly how would I go about getting a job, looking like this? I don't have any identification, at least any that shows me as female. And, how is Sam going to explain suddenly having a twin sister and no husband. I can't pretend to just be Sam, and use her ID."

.......... "Let's all sit down for a while, can we?" Asked Kathy. "Terry's hit on something here that I need to talk to all of you about." Sam and I headed for the couch and Kathy sat in the chair across from us. Linda rolled my wheel chair over closer and sat in it.

.......... As I sat, the long skirt bunched up under my rear end, and I had to stand back up and kind of smooth it out under me as I sat down again. They all watched me curiously as I unconsciously pulled up the skirt and crossed my legs the way I used to as a man. Following their eyes, I looked down, and realized that sitting with my legs crossed like that in skirt, really didn't look all that good. "Oh, hell!" I said, uncrossing my legs and pulling the skirt down over my knees. "I feel ridiculous like this. I don't know how to do any of the things that women are supposed to do, I still feel like a man wearing a dress."

.......... "Don't worry about it, Terry." Sam said reaching over and touching me on the arm. "Just be yourself, you'll be just fine."

.......... "The way you look, Terry," Added Linda. "Nobody's going to think you're a guy in drag. Maybe I'll come over tomorrow and see if I can help you, give you a few lessons in how to do things. If your going to get a job, you've got to act at least somewhat normal." She had a smile on her face that told me she might have other activities on her mind. I hoped Sam didn't notice.

.......... Then Kathy started explaining, "The first thing that we teach those in our family is not let anyone know of our gift, of our ability to cast spells. If your neighbor knows you can do magic, witchcraft, whatever you call it, they're usually going to be envious of you and, even more likely, and more important, they're going to be afraid of you."

.......... "In the past, not so many years ago, you could cast a spell, and no one would find out about it. Today, with computers and data bases keeping track of so many things, someone is almost sure to find out about it. If I suddenly decided that I wanted a lot of money, I actually could just 'zap' up a pile of it or add to my bank account, but, how would I explain it to my neighbors or, more importantly, the IRS?"