Painted Ladies by P. R. Ellis

Author:P. R. Ellis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 781783069552
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd

8

Wednesday

It was the throbbing head that first impinged on Jasmine’s unconsciousness. Then it was the dry mouth and queasy stomach. She lay still in the bed not wanting to move. The events of the previous evening began to pass through her mind like the repeat of a TV show, the club, Kyle, the coffee shop and drinking more than she should have done in the bar. Angela had deftly refused the attentions of various men who had tried to gatecrash their increasingly inebriated celebration. Jasmine admired the way that Angela had refused their flirtations and invitations without causing offence. She wished and hoped she would develop such womanly skills, but for now the men just scared her. Still, by the end of the evening when they were giggling and cuddling, the watchers had probably decided that they were a pair of lesbians, that is, if they hadn’t seen through her veneer of femininity, perceived the truth and tagged her as a trannie out with her (former) wife. She vaguely remembered staggering into the street and being impressed by Angela’s ability to deal with the taxi driver. She felt a flush of embarrassment recalling her crab-like crawl up the steps to her flat with her dress around her waist and her knickers exposed for all to examine – if there had been anyone around at that time of night. Stripping off and falling into bed did not feature in her recall.

Then another memory came to her. Today was Wednesday and the start of the charade to trap Whelan; the day when she would have to become a man dressing as a woman again. She groaned, squeezed her eyes closed, determined to overcome the nausea in her stomach and put off the evil hour when she would have to face the day. She wasn’t sure of the cause of the sick feeling in her guts. Was it the unfamiliarity with excess alcohol or the battle between the hormones taking place in her body. Probably a mixture of the two. Other bodily functions forced her from the bed and into the bathroom. She sat on the loo cursing Angela for that last drink, and the one before. She ran a bath, sank into it and gratefully closed her eyes again.

Having eventually dried herself, Jasmine put on her old dressing gown and slopped into the kitchen. She drank copious amounts of water, ate a piece of toast and gradually began to feel more like herself. Her phone rang.

‘Hi Tom,’ she said as cheerfully as she could manage.

‘Good morning, Jas. Are you okay? You sound as if you’ve got a cold,’

‘No, I’m fine. Just getting over last night with Angela.’

‘Your wife, Angela?’

‘Ex-wife. We were celebrating our divorce.’

‘Oh,’ there was a pause, ‘I’ll pick you up in half an hour.’

‘Why?’

‘To take you to Laura’s house, then on to your flat. You haven’t forgotten that you are Glen from today, have you?’

‘No, I haven’t forgotten. I just hadn’t worked out the details of the move.’

‘Well, make sure you’re ready.

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