Cover art by Erin Halfelven
©2026, SammyC

I poked my head through the curtain of my stall and looked down the long corridor of the fitting room. Spotting Elena and Jeremy sitting on Bergere chairs in the waiting area, I swallowed hard and, in a voice barely above a whisper, called out to Elena.

“Elena. I need your help…” When there came no response, I ratcheted up the volume to a conversational level. “Elena! Come here, please.”

Elena slipped into my stall and found me clutching the first of the three bathing suits she had selected for me in front of my underwear-clad body. I was visibly shaking.

“What is it, dear?”

“Elena, I can’t put these on! Especially the bikini!”

“What’s the problem? Are you bashful? Lindsey, the costume you wear as your father’s assistant is just as revealing—”

“At least the costume covers the…the naughty bits…which I don’t have or have more than I should—”

“Which ‘bit’ concerns you the most?”

“They all do! But…but…how can I wear the lower part without announcing to everyone that I’m really a boy?”

“Oh, is that all?” She rummaged in her oversized Hermès black leather handbag. After a long minute, she presented a flesh-colored garment to me that looked like a pair of briefs for an indeterminate gender. “Put this on. It’ll solve the issue with your lower bits.”

After dropping the bathing suit, I eyed the briefs with uncertainty, then turned around to face away from Elena.

“Lindsey, get on with it. I’ve seen it all. I raised two boys and two girls!”

It was a very tight fit but, true to her word, the briefs, did a remarkable job of concealing my extra equipment. So much so that it gave me a flat front down there, with less irritation than I had feared. When I Iooked up to see Elena’s reaction, she had a broad smile on her face.

“Now try on that bikini first,” she implored.

“That solves one problem but, Elena, there’s the sad fact that I have no boobs. I can’t get away with stuffing socks into the cups. It’ll be hilariously obvious. My costumes are different. The bustier is so tight I can use tape to simulate having cleavage.”

“Pish posh, child. Just try it on.” She gave me a determined stare. “Lindsey?”

The bikini panties fit me perfectly and I looked like a biological girl from my waist down. But the bikini top just hung limp on my chest. I could see that stuffing it with anything would be futile. My frown grew as my eyes started to tear.

Elena took both my hands in hers and cooed, “You wish you had real breasts…like a girl…don’t you?”

I nodded as tears uncontrollably fell on Elena’s hands covering mine.

“Close your eyes, dear. Think. Think hard about having a pair of 34 B size breasts to fill that bikini top. Concentrate. Envision it, Lindsey.”

I did as she asked. I summoned an image of me, as if looking in a full-length mirror. I was wearing this bikini. Gradually, I could feel and see two fleshy hillocks filling out the top. They had some heft to them. I felt like jiggling them inside their cups. Suddenly, I heard Elena snapping her fingers.

“Open your eyes, child. Take off your top. Look at your new breasts.”

I slipped the straps of my bikini top off my shoulders and exhaling with anticipation, I fumbled with the clasp in the back until the thing fell into my hands. To my astonishment, I looked down at two perfectly formed, appropriately-sized breasts, their perky nipples seated in aureoles that resembled pink islands. Gasping, I turned to face the mirror in the stall. I shook my head wordlessly as the reflection confirmed the fact of my breasts.

“They’re real, Lindsey,” Elena assured me as I nervously touched them.

“How?”

“Remember I told you about the power of the mind? You can bend and reshape reality when you harness its powers.”

“Will you teach me?” I took Elena’s hands in mine. “Is there a way I can become a complete girl?”

“Do you wish this only to help your father’s magic act? Is this just for the summer?”

“I’ve always wanted to be a girl, Elena. I just didn’t think there was any way. Even with a sex change operation, I wouldn’t be a complete woman. One who could have babies—”

“It’s a very serious decision to make, Lindsey. After this summer, you’ll be going back to school and your father will hire a new assistant. Enjoy the present moment for all it’s worth, dear. Tomorrow is promised to no one.”

“You mean these breasts aren’t permanent. They could go away…disappear?”

My tears began to fall again. Elena must have seen the stricken look on my face. Her expression softened.

“I will need to be convinced that your destiny is to be a woman. The proof will show itself as the summer progresses. I will not make promises. Life is not a child’s game.”

“Yes,” I said solemnly. “I understand…I think.”

“Now I’d love to see you model these bathing suits.”

“Your young friend looks so cute in these swimsuits, Mrs. Ross,” Mary, the store manager, said admiringly, as I did my best catwalk impression in a white rainbow print bikini.

“My new protégée for the season is developing nicely, wouldn’t you say so, Jeremy?” asked Elena.

“You can say that again, grandma. I think you should definitely ditch the baggy tomboy clothes, Lindsey. And you should wear these at the pool. Even if you can’t swim. They have umbrellas for the sun loungers if you’re afraid of getting sunburnt.”

“Jeremy can teach you to swim, sweetie. Anyway, it’s good to find a buddy for the summer. Someone your own age,” Elena added.

“Well, Aaron Felder, the general manager, invited me out to go riding. He said the trails in the park are scenic and beautiful,” I said as I turned toward the fitting room to try on the next swimsuit.

“Aaron? He’s too old for you, Lindsey. I think he’s 30 if he’s a day. On top of that, he’s a well-known letch. And he’s only got worse since his parents retired to Florida and left him in charge of the Lodge. Stay away from him at all costs,” warned Elena.

“But he’s our boss. I can’t just ignore him. He could basically fire us without cause. Besides, learning how to ride a horse through Catskill Park sounds like a wonderful new experience. And he’s kind of very good-looking.”

“Do what you think is best but be very careful. He’s not someone you want to antagonize,” Elena cautioned.

“I didn’t think she was the type who’d go for older men,” Jeremy said to Elena as I disappeared behind the curtain of my stall.

On the drive back to the Lodge, Jeremy listed all the bad things he’d heard about Aaron Felder, including his penchant for dating teenagers and an illegal gambling habit. I wasn’t convinced any of that was true or if it was just Jeremy exposing his jealousy. But he didn’t really have anything to worry about. I’m not going to be dating either of them. After all, I’m not really a girl. Right now I’m a boy with temporary boobs.

What really concerned me was the time. With all the shopping we had done, Elena had managed to cut our return to the Lodge dangerously close to 7PM when the early show starts. The traffic in the middle of rush hour destroyed Jeremy’s optimistic prediction of an hour and a half drive home. I could imagine Dad’s nervous anticipation of my return. It was another boulder of stress Dad didn’t need added to his already mountainous pile of worries.

At one point I wanted Jeremy to stop at a gas station or roadside restaurant so I could use a payphone to call my father. Even if we didn’t arrive in time to start the show, Dad wouldn’t be envisioning me being in an accident. The guy who invents a portable telephone would make billions. I’d buy one!

“We can’t have this happen again,” Aaron Felder emphasized. “We’re on a tight schedule. The second show starts promptly at 8:30 and now Bucky and his boys will have to cut his set down by the 15 minutes you’re late getting out there.” Aaron was visibly upset, unconsciously punching his fist into his other open hand as he spoke.

“It won’t happen again, Mr. Felder,” Dad said, trying to placate him. “You can be assured of that.”

“Alright then,” Aaron said as he turned the knob of the dressing room door. “The audience is patiently waiting for you. One good thing is it gives them more time to order food and drinks. There’s that. But, I expect to see you two on stage in five minutes max!” He slammed the door behind him.

“I’m sorry, Dad. The traffic was brutal leaving the city—”

“Mrs. Ross, I appreciate your taking an interest in Lindsey but we’re here to do a job, for which we get paid a relative pittance to hit our marks on time, every night, two shows a night,” Dad said in a stern tone.

“I accept all the blame, Mr. Ace. We should’ve have minded the time more closely. Please forgive us. It won’t happen again,” Elena offered remorsefully.

Elena and Jeremy took their leave as I went behind the screen to put on my costume.

“My god, Lindsey, how much did Mrs. Ross spend on all these clothes? How can we ever manage to pay them back? You know the bookings for the Fall are really coming in slowly. I was hoping some good notices from our summer here at the Lodge would help drum up some business for us later in the year.”

“Elena said not to worry. It’s a gift. You know, she owns the store. Yeah, Ross & Stone. You’ve heard of it, haven’t you?” I stepped out from behind the screen and sat down at the vanity table to apply my stage make-up and brush my hair.

“Really? Ross & Stone? She’s the Ross half? Well, I’ll be. Say, are my eyes getting worse with age or do you look somehow different in your costume tonight?”

“I made some alterations in the bustier, that’s all, Dad.”

As Bucky Wilentz and his band trudged past the open door of our dressing room after completing their portion of the early show, Dad and I waved to them in a friendly, collegial way. Bucky stopped and halfway barked at us.

“Thanks a lot. That was the shortest set we’ve ever done. We barely got through the third number. There’s such a thing as being professional.” He threw up his hands, drumsticks still in his right hand.

Vincent, the guitarist, just winked at me as he walked past, giving me the thumbs up. I had to laugh. I turned to share my laugh with Dad when I noticed he was bent over, his hand over his abdomen.

“Dad, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. My stomach’s upset. Must have been something disagreeable in the Danish I had before you arrived back from shopping. It’ll pass…one way or the other.” He made his way toward the bathroom connected to our dressing room.

I was worried about Dad. Lately he’s been complaining about fatigue, lack of appetite, and now digestive issues. There was a doctor on the premises at the Lodge. I’ll have to ask Mr. Felder about having Dad looked at by the doctor.