Chapter 2
That Monday at five o'clock, Marsha went into the coffee shop. She wore a fresh mask of make-up, and a tight, pink sweater.
She wore calf length red velour tight pants, and a white leatherette belt. She wore dark nylons, and cone heeled pumps.
She wore a silver circle ring on her right collar area. She wore pink, pearly nail polish.
Her hair was tied back in a pony tail. Her nipples stuck out from the sheer bra that held her breasts up super high and firm.
Her lipstick was a gaudy pink, and her eyes were heavily outlined in navy blue mascara. Her foundation was a pale pinkish color.
She wore a fake gold charm bracelet that she found in a garage sale. She had once had a charm bracelet when she was little, but she hadn't ever gotten around to soddering the new charms onto it.
It began with just one charm - a nice, workable bicycle. Then, she had gotten a charm of a trolley car in San Francisco, on a summer trip with her family.
And, when they went down to Los Angeles, her aunt had bought her two turquoise Indian charms. One was a fish, and the other was a little stylized man or demon.
And, then, she sort of forgot about the bracelet. It wasn't such a fad anymore.
Now, she used the old charms as unmatched earrings. She just attached them to her ear wire.
Today, though, she wore her new, used charm bracelet which was full of cheap Irish charms. There was a shamrock, with cheap green enamel or just paint on it, a leprechaun hat, and even a little leprechaun which was one of the few three dimensional charms on the bracelet.
For earrings that day, Marsha wore pink fake pearl studs. Arid, there was fake gold suns on the back of the pink pearls.
Marsha sat at a booth near the back, and waited for Jonathan to arrive. She had the money that she owed him in her white leatherette purse.
Finally, she saw his slender, bird-like form enter the other side of the coffee shop. She waved to him when he turned her way.
He walked over to her. He stood beside the booth, with his hands in his pockets.
"I need some Morning Thunder, would you like anything?" Jonathan asked Marsha.
"I'm waiting for my order of tunafish and fries to be yelled out." Marsha said to him.
"I'll be back in a minute." Jonathan said to her.
Marsha looked at him. As soon as it was his turn to order, he got into an animated conversation with both the cashier, and the person behind the grill.
Marsha was too far away to hear what they were saying. She decided that she found Jonathan very cute.
She liked the way that he tried to be a junior wheeler-dealer, but didn't really have the hardness necessary for that. There was something somehow feminine about him, and it wasn't just his Willowy figure, and delicate features.
And, Marsha liked that about him, as well. As she was lost in thought, Jonathan sat down at the booth, opposite her.
She focused on the tunafish sandwich and fries that were slid under her nose. She looked up and smiled at Jonathan.
"Oh, thanks. I didn't even hear them call out that they were ready." Marsha said to him.
"They didn't call out. I saw them sitting on the counter between the front and the grill. And, I said that they were yours, and I'd bring them to you. Then, I saw that the fries were limp. So, I told the guy to fry them up more. I'm sure you're a girl who appreciates a well fried potato. And, I had to argue and cajole with them, but finally they did it." Jonathan said to her.
"Oh, well, thank you. I do like them crisp, and these look delicious." Marsha said to him.
"So, how are your classes coming?" Jonathan asked Marsha.
"Oh, not so bad. It's my senior year, so I pretty much have things under control." Marsha said to him.
"You seem to me to be a girl who has most things pretty much under control, and likes it that way." Jonathan said to her.
"Oh, what makes you say that?" Marsha asked him.
"I have a good eye for these things." Jonathan said to her.
Marsha burst out laughing. Jonathan looked a little bit hurt by her response.
"You're so cute, Jonathan. Well, maybe you do have a good bird's eye for these things. I am pretty domineering, I guess." Marsha said to him, stuffing some tunafish salad and whole wheat bread into her mouth.
"I admire that in a girl. I like people with spunk. Especially girls." Jonathan said to her, looking at her straight in the eye as if to confirm his sincerity.
"Oh, really? Well, that's a very liberated thing to say, maybe." Marsha said to him.
"Yeah. I liked you right away. Of course, I know a little bit about you from my sister Debbie." Jonathan said to her.
"Oh, well don't judge me by what she says. We don't get along so well anymore and she never really um, plumbed the depths of my character." Marsha said to Jonathan.
"Don't worry, I know my sister. And, I know how to interpret her feelings about people." Jonathan, said to her.
"So, what did she say about me?" Marsha asked him.
"Oh, I can't remember exact things. I don't bother myself with details, I like to get the kernel of truth among things, you know?" Jonathan asked her.
"Sure, Jonathan. But, what sort of things did she say about me?" Marsha asked him.
"Oh, just how you were sort of strange. Like you weren't like a lot of girls, although you did know more about fashion and stuff like that." Jonathan said to Marsha.
"Well, I'll agree with that. I'm not angry to hear that." Marsha said to him.
"Oh, don't be angry. I got quite a favorable impression. I know that you're intelligent, and aggressive, and like fashion, and that's fine with me." Jonathan said to her, smiling.
"And, I pay back my debts, too." Marsha said to him, bringing up her purse.
"Oh, please, don't give me the money yet, or just leave it discreetly underneath my saucer. One shouldn't get into the petty details of money if one really wants to be a big time businessman." Jonathan said to her.
"Okay, Jonathan. Turn your head away while I slip the bills under your saucer." Marsha said to him.
Jonathan looked deep into her eyes with his wide set green eyes. He smiled his broad smile, and looked pleased with himself.
"Hey, I really like the way you're dressed." Jonathan said to her.
"Thank you. Most boys around here don't appreciate what girls wear unless it's strictly sexually overt." Marsha said to him.
"Ah, but good clothes are sexually overt in themselves." Jonathan said to her.
"You remind me of someone else." Marsha said to him.
"Who?" Jonathan asked her, curiously, taking a sip from his tea.
"A boy named Frank. I had him up to my apartment, and he got off on trying on my panties." Marsha said to Jonathan.
Marsha studied Jonathan's face, as he slowly put down his tea cup. He seemed to be nervous, or worked up about something.
"Do you think that that's so strange?" Jonathan asked her tentatively.
"I don't know. I don't mind it, though. In fact, I enjoyed helping him into my panties. And, I even thought that it might be nice to dress him up in a full girl's outfit." Marsha said to Jonathan, looking deeply into his wide eyes.
"Oh, yeah? Most people don't feel that way, I don't think." Jonathan said to her.
"Oh, well most people are morons, anyway. No, I think that transvestitism is a real turn on." Marsha said.
"Funny you should mention that. I always sort of got a thrill from being in women's clothes." Jonathan said to her.
"When have you been dressed in drag?" Marsha asked him.
"Well, I went to a boarding school for the first two years of high school. It was an all-boys school.
And, I like acting, so I joined the dramatic society. And, there was a pretty good one at that school.
And, most plays, of course have male and female parts. So, in order to do them, some of the boys had to take women's parts.
These usually went to the younger boys who were the, I guess you'd say the prettiest, and whose voices hadn't changed yet. And, I was one of those.
In fact, I was considered like the star actress. Cause I'm a good actor in general, and I was good at impersonating women." Jonathan said to Marsha.
"And, did you get hassled for playing women in the plays?" Marsha asked him.
"Not among the kids in the dramatic society. They recognized that it was a necessary thing for some of the boys to take female parts, and since not too many of them really liked doing it, they thought that it was great that I sought those parts.
In fact, I only played one man in my two years and oh, maybe, ten plays there. And, I had all starring roles after my brilliant first performance in a featured part." Jonathan told Marsha.
"And, what about the other boys in the school?" Marsha asked him.
"Oh, there were some who bothered me. There was a bit of the 'Elton is a faggot' type number.
But, I'm certainly not gay. And, in fact. I was doing more sexually than most of those boys, and they found out about it, due to a little exploit that I made sure that everyone found out about." Jonathan said.
"What was that?" Marsha asked him.
"Well, all it amounted to, really, was sneaking a girl into the hallowed halls of our masculine dormitory. And, getting blown by her." Jonathan said.
"Oh, and did everyone stand around and watch?" Marsha asked him.
"No, but they did see me with the girl, walking into a large linen, closet. And, they could see the glint in my eyes when I scurried the girl back to the outside." Jonathan said.
"So, what roles did you play?" Marsha asked Jonathan.
"Well, let's see. I was Rosalind, in 'As You Like It.' That was one of my favorites." Jonathan said to Marsha.
"Oh, that's a nice play. And, so that was real Shakespearean style casting, with a boy playing a girl playing a boy." Marsha said.
"Right. And, let's see. I can sing pretty well too, and in falsetto, too. I played Buttercup in 'Pinafore.'" Jonathan said.
"Oh, and were you a pretty, or a dumpy Buttercup?" Marsha asked him.
"Well, I played her as sort of a older, plumper woman who had been a vain, young beauty. Even though that's sort of against the text, as Gilbert was really against older women, and his portraits of them are vicious, really. But, I think that that's unkind." Jonathan said.
"So, what else did you play? I find this fascinating." Marsha added.
"Well, I was Maria in 'The Sound of Music.'" Jonathan said.
"That's wild! Julie Andrews must've turned over in her box-office poison grave." Marsha said.
"Yeah. And, we did a Shakespeare every year. Every year one of the bard's and one musical. So, I did Katerina in "Taming of the Shrew.'" Jonathan said.
"No kidding! I did that too, in our junior high school Shakespeare club. But. I didn't like the guy who played Petruchio, so when I kissed him in the end, there was about a six inch space between our faces." Marsha said to him.
"Yeah. Well, our drama teacher insisted on accuracy. He wouldn't stand for petty embarrassments. It was a real hard-core drama school." Jonathan said.
"So why did you leave?" Marsha asked Jonathan.
"Well, my father didn't see me in any plays until the one at the end of my sophomore year. He hadn't paid any attention before to what I'd told him about the plays that I was in.
My mother came to see me, but nobody else in my family did. And, she loved what I was doing.
In fact, she would come back stage, and want to put on my make-up, but the drama coach had to shoo her away, because he was very strict about us getting professional type, stage make-up." Jonathan said.
"So, what happened with your last play?" Marsha asked him.
"Well, it was 'Streetcar Named Desire.' It was really a senior special workshop production, but there were no seniors who could play Blanche DuBois as well as I could. I mean, I was a natural for the part. And, it was very well done. These were all very serious drama students.
Well, my father came by himself to see me in it. My mother had a headache.
And, he was like, totally shocked to see me come out in those clothes, and start talking like that. With a blonde wig, and all that.
Fortunately, he was in a state of shock. Because, otherwise, he might have stormed the stage, and I would have been so upset at that." Jonathan said.
"So, he made you leave the school?" Marsha asked him.
"Yeah. And, I really don't think that that was fair. I was really learning to act well. And, I would have gone on to male parts once I was in a mixed sex theater, I was just acting them because males had to act them at our school." Jonathan said.
"But, didn't you like acting them?" Marsha asked him.
"Oh, yeah. I mean the women's part in lots of those plays are some of the meatiest ones. I like a real emoting part." Jonathan said.
"And, you liked to fit your meat into a meaty dress part, right?" Marsha asked.
Jonathan blushed. He took the money into his long, slender hands, and took out his silver chain purse with the other hand.
"I love your purse. Oh, I told you that, already, didn't I?" Marsha said to Jonathan. "And, I told you why I had it." Jonathan said.
"Oh, but that wasn't the only reason. Don't you like a little prettiness about you, even if it has to be hidden?" Marsha asked Jonathan.
Jonathan didn't say anything. His face had blanched.
"Oh, you can tell me. There's nothing to be ashamed of with me. I understand these things. You like pretty things. You like to be pretty. You shouldn't try to deny it." Marsha said to him.
Jonathan looked into her eyes. He looked like a startled sparrow.
"Can we go someplace else?" Jonathan asked her in a near whisper.
"Sure, beautiful. How about my place?" Marsha said to him.
"No, why don't we go to my place? You know, where Debbie used to live." Jonathan said to her.
"Okay, Joan." Marsha said to Jonathan.
"What did you call me?" Jonathan asked her.
"Your real name, sugar. Joan. Isn't that it?" Marsha asked Jonathan.
Jonathan shuddered and looked around. But, Marsha noticed that there was a marked rise in the lump in his pants.
And, there was a beautiful excited look in his fair face as he walked her toward the bus stop. Indeed, once they left the main part of the campus, and the other people weren't around, Jonathan really warmed to the subject of his secret desires.
"I bet we can have a lot of fun. I don't really have a close girlfriend this year. And, it would be nice to have an intelligent, funny girl to dress up with, and stuff." Marsha said to Jonathan.
"Yes, that would be nice." Jonathan said, softly, in a high voice.
"Here comes the bus, Joan. Do you have exact change?" Marsha asked Jonathan.
"I'll make do with what I have." Jonathan said to her, his cheeks glowing.
They rode the bus to Jonathan's apartment, Debbie's old one. Marsha continually whispered "Joan" to Jonathan during the bus ride, and at the end, they were both in giggles.
Finally, they got into the apartment. It was a two bedroom.
Debbie had shared it with this really straight girl, who was also religious. She kept a rag doll on her always made bed.
But, whenever Marsha had come over to visit Debbie, she had put the rag doll's stubbed hands over the rag doll's crotch. Marsha had had some good times with Debbie, and she looked forward to even better times with Joan.
"Well, here it is." Jonathan said to Marsha.
"Do you have a roommate?" Marsha asked the boy.
"Yes. His name's Dan. He went to my boarding school with me, but my father never let me contact people from there, so we didn't meet up again since he called to answer my ad for a roommate." Jonathan said to Marsha.
"Oh, and did he play women's roles, too?" Marsha asked him.
"Oh, no. He's always been really big and hairy and old and masculine looking. He always played the real macho parts. In fact, he played Petruchio against my Kate." Jonathan said to Marsha.
"Well, what will he think if he sees you cross-dressing?" Marsha asked Jonathan.
"I don't know. I don't think that he'll mind. But, maybe we should just do it in my room, with the doors locked, for now." Jonathan said,
"Okay, but don't think that you'll get out of exposing your true self so easily," Marsha said to him.
"I don't. He'll think that we're fucking if I lock the door." Jonathan said to Marsha.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You certainly can't tell a man by the dress he wears, Let me tell you. Well, we'll see. Maybe if you're good." Marsha said, slapping Jonathan lightly on the ass.