I was exceedingly pleased to no longer have those feelings, so I reached out and hugged Ed. He moaned in his sleep, and I found myself engulfed by a large muscled arm, as he drew me closer to him. I smiled. His huge feet were hanging off the end of the bed. He would have never have made it as a big, burly T-girl.
I let my mind drift through the memories that I had acquired in the transition. Somehow, in receiving that part of Ed that gave him the desire to be female, I also got his memories. I assumed that he acquired mine in a similar fashion. I was able to see the struggles he had undergone, and the tough childhood. But, as with me, I could not discern any specific incident or reason for the feelings, it was just something that was there from the earliest times.
I woke at eight, feeling pretty shitty, but I knew that it would only last a couple of days. I got up and showered, and Ed joined me after a few minutes.
‘I missed you.’
‘You big softy.’
‘Let me scrub your back.’
‘Only if I can do yours.’
‘You have one sexy butt, lady.’
‘You’re not so bad yourself.’
He did things to me that under normal circumstances would have led to other things, but I had to just kiss him and leave him alone. I was aware that we had a long day, and that we were doing a bit of travelling, so I slipped on a summer dress, which I had bought the previous evening. It was white and gold and showed my tan off beautifully.
I was really pleased with my hair. The girl who cut it had told me that it should grow out really well, and that it was in lovely condition. She had shaped it beautifully, so it was so easy to brush through. I actually wanted to grow it quite long, so that was another first.
I spent some time over my makeup, as I wasn’t very proficient at the art yet. I kept it simple, a little eyeliner, mascara, and some lipstick. I put a little highlight on my eyelids, so was quite pleased. Ed gave me a squeeze, as his mind was already doing things to me. I tickled him and pushed him away.
We went down for breakfast and joined the others. Everyone was very subdued. As they piled into the van, real tears were much in evidence. We all promised to keep in touch, but as the van departed, I began to look forward to a new life altogether.
Ed slung our bags into the Mustang and put the top down. I gave Mickey a big hug, and we were off.
I had slept when we had driven south from Miami, and that seemed a lifetime ago. This time I really enjoyed the ride up through the tip of Florida.
Ed said that the trip to Fort Benning would take us the best part of the day. We had to do the length of Florida, and then some of Georgia.
“What was your old job?” I asked him.
“I was an instructor on the Jumpmaster Course at Fort Benning. That is static line parachuting, for your information,” he replied with a smile. “I took a rough landing, and twisted my knee once too often.”
“Do you want to go back to it?” I asked.
“To be honest, I’m not really that bothered anymore. This trip has changed my life so much that if you wanted to make a life in Scotland, I’d give up the Marines and come with you,” he said.
I stared at him, as I knew how much the Marines meant to him.
“There is no need for that. Not yet anyway. I am more than happy to make my life wherever you are,” I said.
“How many kids are we going to have?” he asked.
I laughed.
“As many as I can bear, literally, if the first one is a little bugger, then only one,” I said.
We sat silent but communicating our feelings on a different level. Although it had occurred to us that our special gift could be used for profit, we had both come to the conclusion that it was always going to remain our secret.
The sun shone, and the road was clear, so as we passed the sign for Orlando, Ed asked if I fancied dropping in on Disney World.
“Let’s wait until we can bring the kids,” I replied.
The time was after one and I was getting peckish, so Ed pulled over at a diner.
I had never been to a real American diner before, and the menu with pictures amused me.
A plump waitress came over and told us what the special was and took our drinks order. Everyone was so friendly, it seemed almost false in some way, but they actually were genuine!
The portions were enormous, so it dawned on me that obesity was a real problem in the States. Now I knew why.
As we left the diner, Ed threw me the keys to his Mustang.
“You drive,” he said.
“You trust me with your baby?” I asked, surprised.
He nodded, getting in the passenger seat. I slid behind the wheel, but had to bring the seat forward and adjust the mirror.
I started it up, grinning as the powerful throb of the engine rocked the whole car.
“How many others have you let drive this?” I asked.
“None, you are the first,” he said, grinning rather nervously.
I drove out of the parking lot and back onto the highway, heading north. It was a superb car to drive and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ed eventually relaxed when he saw that I wasn’t going to crash, or get a ticket for speeding, and settled down and dozed. I drove across the border into Georgia and woke him up. Ed had me pull over at a gas station, so after we filled up, he took over again.
It was just getting dark when we arrived at Fort Benning, and the guard at the gate recognised Ed’s car as we pulled up.
“Good to see you back, Sergeant Major,” the man said. News of his promotion was obviously well known.
“Good to be back. This is my fiancé, her name is Doctor Gillian MacLeish; can you get her a pass?” Ed said.
“Sure, if you come into the office, ma’am, we will do that right now.”
Ed parked up and we went into the guardhouse.
There were several soldiers and marines in the office, but as I entered, an awkward silence fell. Ed chuckled quietly. The sentry filled out a form and asked me some questions. He wrote in the book, detaching a small pass for me.
“Hey guys, have none of you seen a real lady before?” Ed asked, and there was some laughter, rather nervous, I thought.
“Shit, Sergeant Major, we seen ladies, but, damn, your lady beats all,” a deep voice muttered to our left.
A large, black, Marine Sergeant loomed out of a back office, and grinned at Ed.
“Macey, how long you been here?” Ed said, and the two men shook hands.
“Only since some dumb ass white boy went and screwed up his leg. I was posted in about six weeks ago,” Macey said. “Congratulations on the promotion, by the way!”
“Thanks. So, you got my job?” Ed asked.
“Looks that way, boy. Ain’t ya goin’ to introduce me to the lady?”
“Sure! Gilly, this reprobate is Sergeant Macey Dixon, one of the few friends I have left. Macey, this is Doctor Gillian MacLeish, and she is going to be the next Mrs Ryan,” Ed said.
Macey took my hand and raised it to his lips.
“Je suis charmé te rencontrer Ma'mselle,” he said, in passable French, but with an atrocious accent.
“Pourquoi Monsieur, comment vaillant. Je suis charmé également par tes manières gracieuses,” I said, in fluent French. Macey burst out laughing and punched Ed on the arm.
“Hell, girl, that’s the first time someone came back better than me. You speak French real good,” he said.
“I should do, I have a degree in French and studied in Paris for two years,” I replied.
Macey frowned.
“Hey, you ain’t American and you ain’t English, but you have a funny accent; you ain’t French is you?”