Chapter 4

A middle-aged lady came out with our meals. As she set the soup down, she looked closely at me.

“Well, I never. Are you raiding the history books, Yvonne? This one looks like Zoe when she was starting out. I had a picture of her during that time in my room at university. We all wanted to be Zoe Hamilton, but I could never be tall, red, or skinny, enough.”

“She’ll be working for the same outfit, Jill. She has her first shoot in a couple of days.”

“Good luck, girl. Don’t you touch that soup until I bring you a proper napkin. You wouldn’t want to stain that dress.”

After she had handed me the napkin and I had laid it over my lap, I looked at Yvonne.

“University graduate and waiting on tables?”

Yvonne looked stern, and then grinned.

“Lesson number one, Harry. First impressions can be deceiving. Jill has a degree in accounting. She married Benjamin and they got a job managing a pub. It’s called the Flowerpot and is in Maidstone. They built it up to the point where they were making good money. They put a deposit on buying the licence here. This is their dream and also their home. Jill does the books, as well as for the sandwich bar. Never judge a book by its cover, something that you’ll be subjected to in time to come.”

I took a bite of the delicious bread and picked up my spoon. I was wondering how you could make enough to buy into a London pub when you’re managing one in Maidstone. I wondered if Jill and Ben may have been growing something more lucrative behind the Flowerpot. I kept the thought to myself as I figured out how the hell I was going to eat the soup. When I tilted my head forward, as I normally did, the hair tried to go for a swim in it. I ended up sitting on the edge of the seat, head erect with my hair pushed behind my shoulders and taking care not to overload the spoon while wiping the bottom on the bread before it cleared the bowl.

Not looking down at the table, I was able to look at the other patrons, most of them looking at me. This was something that I was used to in my days as a freak. Now, though, if anyone saw me look towards them, they smiled rather than a scowl. The meal was great, as much as I needed at the moment. When we were finishing our wine, Yvonne looked at Sally.

“Sally, although you’re listed as Harrys’ cosmetician, I expect you’ll be on the shoot. It’s likely that they’ll rope you in to wear something in the background. You’re certainly pretty enough. Mavis won’t let a chance go by to make her outlay work. I’ll organise for both of you to have membership of Equity. I have applications in the office and am authorised to issue temporary papers.”

We left the pub and walked back towards the office, Yvonne pointing Sally and I in the direction of the doctors. We went in and gave our names, and the receptionist told us to sit and wait. Sally and I were alone, so I held her hand.

“It’s a different world, isn’t it?”

“You bet, Harry. Even sitting here is different. In Braintree I have to book an appointment with the doctor weeks before I knew I’m sick.”

“And getting membership in Equity on the same day will be interesting.”

Sally was called in first and I read a fashion magazine as I waited. It did give me some idea of what to expect on Thursday as I looked at the pictures of beautiful people in beautiful clothes, posing in an impossibly beautiful house. That was when I saw some pictures that made me freeze. There were well dressed models with elegant men behind them, with one or more arms around them. In a couple of days, that may be me, with a guy breathing on my neck. I captured the thought as Sally came out with a smile.

“You’re next. He’s kind of cute and he has his very own hand warmer.”

I stood and gave her the magazine.

“Look at the pictures. They look like what we’ll be doing on the shoot.”

I walked into the office. The doctor was entering something on his computer.

“Sit down, Miss Sharpe. I’m just entering my notes on Sally. You two have certainly lit a fire under Yvonne, if her voice on the phone was anything to go by.”

He finished entering, and then punched another couple of keys. He turned the screen so I could see it.

“Yvonne emailed this picture this morning, with a note that I could prove to myself by taking that wig off. Sally has told me that there are twenty pins holding it on, so I just need you to confirm that this is you.”

“It is me, doctor. I’m told that it’s genetic, and my grandmother told me that she had seen one of my ancestors looking the same. I do not have a single hair on my body.”

“Has anyone suggested hormone treatment for it?”

“No. When I was born, I’m told that Mum was informed that there was nothing that could be done. In my years, I can only remember seeing a doctor to get vaccinated. I think that the school bullies were afraid of hitting me, in case it was contagious. They just called me Hairy Harry.”

“Right. Today, we won’t do anything special. I’ll listen to your chest, take blood pressure and heart rate as the base line. Then we’ll get some blood and urine to see if everything else is good. It’s what I do for Yvonnes’ girls and boys. Take that coat off and let me start.”

He did, indeed, have a little air blower to warm his hands as he went about his business. I was warming to him as we chatted while he worked. In the end, he took some blood and sent me into another room to fill a pee bottle, which was rather easy, considering that I hadn’t gone since Liverpool Street. There was another container he wanted filled. It took me several minutes to fill it, thinking about Sally. It wasn’t the first time I had thought of her in this way. Once I had done that and got decent, I washed my hands and took them back to him.

“Thank you, Harry. I’ll get in touch with Yvonne if there’s anything I need to see you about. I’m usually available should you want to see me. Yvonne has sent me your details, so you’re now listed as a patient. I don’t see much of her staff, as you all eat healthy and keep fit.”

“I’ll try to follow their example, but it’s a completely new world for me.”

He asked a bunch of questions about smoking, drinking, taking hormones or other drugs.

“How long have you been passing as a woman?”

“Since eleven, today. That photo that she sent you was taken last week, before Sally was tasked to try and change me into someone else. Today, Yvonne gave her a photo and told her to create the person you see in front of you. Leaving the office, wearing a dress, was the first time I’d been seen by anyone outside the group that made me.”

“Have you worked on your voice for long?”

“No. My voice is as it’s always been. When I used to make phone calls to someone who didn’t know me, they would often call me Miss. Those that I speak to, face to face, just accept me as a soft-spoken guy.”

“Harry, I take my hat off to you. Yvonne has had other transexuals working for her, both pre-op and post-op, and you’re up there with the best of them on your first day. Good luck with your new career. If you need any specialist advice, I have a big list of doctors I can call.”

When I left his office, Sally put her arm through mine and we walked to the agency. There, Yvonne had contracts for us to sign. I read mine carefully but saw nothing bad, so I signed. We would be getting five thousand a week, less ten percent and tax, for six months. After that, we would either be out of a job or have our future contract renegotiated. It all depended on how well we did in that time. Make a splash and we would earn more. Belly flop and we were back in Braintree with some money in the bank.

I was then back in the clothing store with Sally, to be changed into something more normal for a girl going shopping. I ended up in a skirt and blouse, with a woollen jumper. Sally measured me and wrote it all down. The shoes were replaced with lower ones that she called pixie boots, and we put the coats back on to join Robin on our shopping expedition.

That was a whole new experience. We tried a lot on, but only ended up with two skirts each. They were matched with two blouses and a new woolly jumper as well as two pairs of shoes and a normal winter coat to replace the furs. The lingerie department added panties and bras, mine with a pair of fillers, as well as more packets of tights and nighties. A quick stop at Tesco’s got us toothbrushes and paste, and our own wet bags for the toiletries were added, all chosen by Sally.

Back in the office, we changed into our new outfits and Sally checked our make-up. We both got a sports bag with the agency logo on to put our extras and the items we had arrived with. We waited by the main doors while Yvonne went to the basement to get her car. When she pulled up, we put our bags in and got in the car.

On the way to Camden Town, she told us that we would be pampered on Wednesday. Mavis would pull out all the stops to make us happy, but to make sure that we didn’t end up with so much that it would be difficult to carry. She parked outside the hotel and took us in, with her card being used to pay for four nights and meals. Then, she gave us hugs and left us.

There was a message for us when we got the door cards. We would be picked up at ten on Wednesday morning, and to dress casually but keeping up appearances. We took that to mean that the replica Zoe was to be on display. We took our bags up to our rooms and put our things away. I left my original clothes in the bag and put that in the wardrobe.

Alone, I stood in front of the mirror and took stock of who I had become during that day. Between now and Saturday, I was Harriette, a Zoe Hamilton replica, and was expected to act the part as if I had done it for years. It was a daunting prospect, but not impossible. I sat on the bed, making sure I didn’t wrinkle the skirt, and thought about whether I was good with all this. I had seen the money and signed the papers, so I had to follow it through, if not for my own sake, but for Sally as well.

We were to be together for six months, and her mother had been good with that. I wondered what she and my own mother, would think of how I looked now. I put my hand up to my ear, which now sported a stud, rather than the drops. The simple silver chain was certainly lighter than the previous necklace, and the outfit seemed much more ‘normal’ than the elegant dress I had worn that day. There was a knock on the door, and I opened it to let Sally in.

“I’ve just been wondering if this is a dream, Sally, and I’ll wake up as a hairless freak.”

“If it’s a dream, love, we’re both dreaming the same one.”

I smiled as what she called me registered in my brain.

“What now?”

“Now, we wait until later to both ring home and lay everything out for our families. But now, I want to see if those lips of yours are as good as they look.”

I put my arms out and she closed in, holding me and kissing me. It was, to me, the oddest feeling, knowing that we were both wearing skirts, and that her lipstick tasted different from mine. The feeling on the lips was very different, as I seemed to be more cushioned than the last time that we had kissed like this. We continued for a few minutes, and then she pulled away.

“Here we are, alone in the big city. There’s a bar downstairs where two girls can get a drink, already paid for. And then we can eat a good dinner. You must be hungry with just the soup.”

“It wasn’t the soup, so much. It was the way I had to hold myself to stop the hair going for a swim.”

“I saw that. It also made you look more like the regal way that Zoe carried herself. Come along, I’ll retouch those gorgeous lips and we’ll go downstairs and find a kind barman. You’ll have to learn to redo your own lipstick before too long. You have a lot to learn, Harriette Sharpe, but I’ve seen you learning things quickly.”

We went downstairs, our keycards in our bags, along with all the other things that I was coming to learn were indispensable. In the small bar, we charged a couple of glasses of wine against the rooms and sat to discuss where we went now. We were both well aware that the first six months would set us up for life, as long as we did everything as asked with a smile for the camera.

While we were sitting there, we were approached by a couple of travelling salesmen, who were friends that worked for opposing companies. They were interesting companions, with a lot of funny stories about their lives on the road. Sally intimated that we were a couple, and they didn’t take that badly, remaining entertaining and pleasant until we said goodnight to go up to our rooms. Sally gave one a cheek kiss and I followed suit with the other. On our floor, she said that she would help me get ready for bed.

In my room, she removed the wig and the skull cover. Then she showed me how to clean off all the make-up without poking my eyes out and leaving the brows and lashes in place. With the clothes properly hung away and the underwear removed, I was helped to put the nightie on and she kissed me.

“I’ll knock when I come back. Don’t go away.”

I sat on the bed, able to see myself in the vanity mirror. A bald boy in a nightie looked back at me. There was a knock on the door, and I let Sally in, wearing her own nightie under a hotel gown. She was kissing me before the door was fully shut, and we were in bed together not long after. I wanted her, but wasn’t in a rush, not after this afternoon in the surgery. She showed me what to do, woman to woman, and then what to do in a more conventional way. I was taken to heaven and back again, twice.

We fell asleep in each other’s arms, only waking to relieve ourselves. She kissed me and put the gown back on, leaving me to go to her own room. It took me a long while to go back to sleep. When I did wake, it was to the sound of the alarm beside the bed. It was six in the morning and I remembered that she had told me to shower with the gel she had bought and then dress myself. She would be in to take me back to looking like Zoe.

I got out of bed, took the nightie off and padded into the ensuite to do my business and shower. I took my time, luxuriating in the warm water and breathing the heady smell of the gel. Whatever else happened today, I would smell good. After I had dried myself on the softest towels, I used the new underarm roller bottle and went back into the bedroom. I realised that being bald had always relieved me of the bother of hair drying, and the amount of hair on that wig would take ages to get right.

I dressed carefully for a day in the city. The gaffe was a necessity and I now had fresh panties. I put a bra on for the first time, having some trouble getting it fastened. With the fillers, I looked at my reflection with interest. This was certainly a different look.

Sally had told me that I had to wear the slip that we had bought, as it would allow the outer clothes to move without catching on my skin. There was so much to all this that was new, but I could see the logic. Of the two skirts I had, I had worn the black one yesterday, so would wear the ivory one today. But first, I needed to put the tights on, following the method I had been shown. The blouse was Royal Blue, and very silky. It took a while to button it up, as the buttons were on the wrong side and my grip was terrible because of the nails. I learned to cope by using the balls of my fingers more than the ends. The skirt was quite tight.

I had just finished dressing when there was a knock on the door. I let Sally in, and she gave me a quick kiss before examining me.

“You’ve done well, Harry. I’ll just undo a few of these top buttons. Us girls need to flaunt our lovely necks, and yours is amazing for a boy. Hardly any Adams Apple and a defined dip in the middle that makes this all possible. Sit at the vanity and I’ll create Zoe again. Follow what I’m doing in the mirror and try to remember it all. You’ll need to be able to do it yourself one day.”

For half an hour I followed her every move as she prepared my face and then proceeded to add a touch of colour here and there, line my eyes, mascara the lashes, redden my lips and then put the skull cover on. She shook the wig to allow the fall to settle into shape before putting it on and used pins to attach it firmly to the head cover.

“There you are, Harry. All good and nearly ready to go. I’ll get you to do some of this yourself tomorrow, but we can be easier on the look as I’m sure they’ll have something in mind for the shoot.”

She put the pair of ivory shoes at my feet and then turned away.

“I’ll go and get my bag. Make sure that you have yours when we go down. I’ll help you when we get ready to leave. If there’s a car coming, you’ll only need your new coat.”

We went down and ate breakfast, then I looked at my watch.

“Mum will be having her breakfast. I forgot to call her yesterday. Are we going home over the weekend?”

“I think we’d better.”

We went back to our rooms to brush our teeth and make our calls. I was sitting at the vanity when I rang home.

“Good morning, Sharpe residence.”

“Mum, it’s Harry. I’ve got a few quiet moments and had to call you again.”

“All right, dear. How are you this morning?”

“I’m good. I had a good night and have just had most of a full breakfast. I’m in my room, and we’re being picked up by car at ten. I believe that we’re going shopping at the clients’ store.”

“That sound interesting. You do need some new trousers.”

“Actually, Mum. I’m sitting here in a long wig, with a Royal Blue blouse and what I’m told is a pencil skirt. I’ve been given a contract to model as a replica of Zoe Hamilton in her early years.”

“This, I have to see!”

“We have a photo shoot tomorrow and Friday. If we finish early enough, Sally and I can get a late train home. If I give you a call, can you pick us up at the main station. We may have a couple of cases.”

“You’d be travelling as a couple of girls?”

“That’s one of the stipulations. I have to stay in character for the six months of the contract. They’re paying five grand, so I’d better follow instructions.”

“Five grand for six months, that’s hardly modelling money!”

“It’s five grand a week, Mum.”

There was a few moments of silence, and then I heard the scrape of a kitchen chair.

“Did you say five thousand pounds a week?”

“Less ten percent to the agency. That’s to be renegotiated or finished at the end, depending on how well we perform.”

“Have you been outside in the clothes?”

“We walked to a pub yesterday for lunch, and Sally and I had dinner with a couple of very entertaining salesmen last night.”

“They suspected nothing?”

“Not one idea, other than the usual, crossed their heads, Mum. We even gave them a kiss on the cheek when we went up to our own rooms. Sallys’ phone can take pictures. I’ll get her to take a selfie and send it to your phone. Anyway, I’ll give you a call on Friday to let you know if we’ll be on the train. If not Friday, it may be the Saturday morning. Love you, Mum.”

“Love you too, daughter.”

I pressed the exit button and looked hard at my reflection. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d told my mother that I loved her, and now, less than twenty-four hours of looking like Zoe Hamilton, I had told her easily. I decided that they must put additives in the shower gel.

I picked up my bag, put the phone in it and checked that I had everything. I would need to look at something to replace my grubby old wallet. I had the door card, so popped it in the bag as I left the room. Sally was just coming out of hers, so we went down towards reception.

“Sally, can you take a selfie of us to send to my mother, please?”

“All right. There’s a couple of big mirrors in reception. We can take one that shows us full length.”

In reception, we faced a big mirror, and she took more than one picture. I gave her Mums’ mobile number, and she sent her the best picture. Then she sent one to her mother and another to Janice, with the message, ‘ready for another day’.

We were still waiting for the car when my phone chirruped. I saw that it was my mother.

“Yes Mum.”

“Tell me the truth. Was that picture of you or two other girls?”

“Didn’t I tell you what I was wearing when I spoke to you earlier?”

“So, the one in blue and ivory, was you?”

“Got it in one, Mum. How do I look?”

“Amazing. Got to go now, call me when you’re coming home. I’ll slaughter a fatted calf.”

“Don’t have that kind of appetite now, Mum. A salad for me now. Call you when I know, Bye for now, love you, Mum.”

“Love you, Harry.”

The car arrived and we had the back doors opened for us by the staff. When we were comfortable and belted, the driver spoke as he drove away.

“Good morning, ladies. It’s a pleasure to be driving for you this week. I will bring you back today and will be picking you up on Thursday and Friday to take you to the shoot. It will be a lot earlier, I’m afraid. We’ll need to get to the shoot around seven, so that things are ready to start by eight. You’ll get lunch from a food truck and should finish the internal pictures by five. If the outside light is good, there may be more pictures in the sunset.”

“Thank you for that, we seem to have been chasing our tails since yesterday morning. A little advance notice is a lot better. I’m Sally and this is Harry, the main model on the shoot. What’s your name?”

“I’m Jeremy, or just Jerry. I’m at your service while you’re working on the campaign. I work in security at the main store but was lucky to get this job. I’m afraid that a lot of the security don’t like working with models.”

“Snooty bitches?”

“Usually.”

“That’s not our way. Up to Sunday, we both were working retail, so expect us to be keen to be made aware of what’s going on.”

“That’ll be a good. The next two days will be a six ‘o’clock pick up. The hotel will do early breakfast to your rooms. Are you staying on after Friday?”

“We’re thinking that if we can get back here in time for an early dinner, we can get the train from Liverpool Street in the early evening, if we can. Otherwise, we’ll need to get one on Saturday morning.”

“That may be the best. Friday night, the trains aren’t the best places for a couple of beautiful girls. I’ll be able to take you to the station. That way, you can stay on for the after-shoot get-together. Mavis will organise that. She normally has a slideshow of the best shots. If you ask her nicely, she may even email the file to you as a keepsake.”

Marianne Gregory © 2026