Fifi book 2 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – It’s the thought that counts

It was Saturday, 20th February, and according to her birth certificate, Fifi Genevieve LaRue was turning twenty-one. David had been trying to play down the occasion all week, but unfortunately, Annisa was having none of it. She was determined to celebrate the momentous event in style, if David, trapped pretending to be the prissy Parisian girl, wanted to or not.

Looking down at the party invitation, which he gripped between his freshly painted and extended pink fingernails, David wondered what had become of the real Fifi LaRue. Did she get cold feet and decide not to get on the plane? Was she back in France? But what about her bag? Had she collected it? It was also strange that she had never contacted Annisa to cancel her exchange. But, then again, that was probably for the best as it would have led to a rather awkward conversation, one in which David would have a lot of explaining to do.

Perhaps she was in a similar position to him, he thought as he glanced at his feminine reflection in the salon mirror. Perhaps like him, she had just been waxed, plucked, and painted to within an inch of his life. Perhaps on the other side of the world, she too was sitting in a salon chair examining her overly made-up face. Those had been some of the thoughts flashing through his worried mind as he was getting blonde highlights and long extensions clipped into his hair. An experience only made worse by the fact he'd have to walk all evening, showing them off as everyone at "his birthday party" commented on how beautiful he looked.

But it wasn't his first rodeo. After a few trips to the salon, David was slowly getting used to the visits. And with each visit, he found the ordeal a little less stressful. No longer worried about being outed as a boy in a dress, he found it easier to just let the stylist do her thing. In his mind, he already looked like a girl, so what difference would a different nail colour or a new hairstyle make?

“Fifi! It’s time to get dressed,” Annisa said, snapping the feminised man from his trance-like state.

“Urg… what?” A surprised David replied after jumping slightly on his swivel chair.

“Sorry,” Annisa said with a smile. "I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you ready?"

“Oh! That’s ok,” David replied as he stared at the girly reflection in the mirror. “But do I look ok? He asked as he examined the masses of hair piled up in a high ponytail atop his head. “Are you sure this isn’t too much?”

“You look beautiful! Like a princess!” Annisa shot back while linking her long-nailed fingers between David’s. “Are you nervous about your party? Well, don’t be. Everyone there is coming to celebrate with you. It will be so much fun. You’ll see.”

Cringing at the princess comment, David thought carefully about how to answer.

“Oh, sweety, It’s ok,” Annisa added, taking his silence to confirm her suspicions. “I’ll be with you the whole time, just like I was in the government building. There’s nothing to worry about, really.”

“Apart from the fact I'll be celebrating someone else’s birthday dressed in a short pink dress with comically tall high heels strapped to my feet. All the while pretending to be a ditzy girly girl to avoid anyone becoming suspicious,” David thought as he forced a smile onto his glossy pink lips.

“I know. Thanks, Ani,” David said while squeezing her hand. “And seeing as you mentioned the trip to that government place. Are you finally going to tell me why we went there? You said that you’d explain everything on my birthday.”

The terrifying trip to the government office still played on his mind. It just didn’t make any sense to him! Surely Annisa wouldn’t want to hurt him! And even if she had found out the truth, nothing about her personality was malicious or conniving. Meaning the visit must have been for some other reason. But what? Immigration? He had overstayed his thirty-day travel visa, but then again, that was in the name of David Lubis!

“I did say that, didn’t I?” Annisa innocently replied. “But I don’t want you to think about that now. I’ll explain everything soon, I promise. And when I do, you’ll understand why I wanted to wait. So, for now, how about you put on your pretty party dress and think about how much fun we're going to have at your party later?”

“Ok,” David said, wanting to ask her more questions but knowing that once Annisa changed a subject, there was no going back.

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As the night air swirled around his bare legs, David's legs wobbled on his tall stiletto heels. Tottering forward with the hum of bass from the cocktail bar behind ringing in his ears, the overwhelmed man leaned against a glass panel of the outside patio barrier and took a deep breath. The humid Jakartan was not as refreshing as he’d hoped, but even so, it felt good to be by himself for a second.

Below him was a bustling Asian city where thousands of lights shone bright, each one a person with their own thoughts, feeling, and problems. Were any of their problems as troubling as his? David thought as he caught a glimpse of his legs reflecting back from the glass panel while instinctively pulling at the hem of his tiny pink dress. The image of his shining legs made him sigh as he suddenly remembered what he looked like. A pink Asian barbie doll dressed to the nines on her birthday, perching atop spindly skyscraper heels.

Shaking his head, he remembered the shocked expression on his painted face when he’d first seen his reflection in the salon earlier. Before being shown, he knew he’d look feminine. That part wasn't a surprise, but still, he’d gasped. Perhaps it was the professional makeup job or the perfectly styled hair. Perhaps, it was the fact that after following Annisa’s calorie-counting lifestyle, and busy schedule, he hadn’t looked that thin since his early teens. Perhaps, it was the unsettling feeling of thinking that he looked sexy. Or, perhaps, it was all of the above. All he knew was that he had changed beyond all recognition and that it had happened so gradually, he hadn't noticed how drastic the changes were until that moment.

“I shouldn’t be here!” He thought as he angrily stamped his high-heeled foot. “It should be the real Fifi. She should be here enjoying this party and living this life, not me. I bet, for her, it would be like a dream come true, but for me, it’s a nightmare. I wish I could go home.”

“Fifi! You ok?” sounded out the voice of Kartika from behind.

Spinning around on his heels, handbag in hand, David shifted his weight onto his right leg and sheepishly looked over at Kartika in her flowing ivory dress. “Yes! I’m fine. I’m doing ok,” he shot back.

(See image 2.1)

Kartika clicked over before stopping in front of him. “You sure? You look angry! Something wrong?”

“Oh… err… no,” David spluttered. “I… just… well. I was just thinking of home.”

“Ah! I understand,” Kartika said, nodding her head. “You miss family on birthday?”

“Urm… yes,” David quietly replied as a tear ran down his blushing cheek. “I miss my home and my family.”

Stepping forward, Kartika swept David into her arms. “It ok,” she said while gently rubbing the back of David’s head. “I think family miss you too but perhaps see them soon.”

“Perhaps,” David snivelled, not holding out much hope of seeing his family any time soon but feeling safe and comforted in the beautiful Indonesian woman’s arms. “I hope so.”

“When they see you, they very proud,” Kartika said. “When you arrive here, you boy. Now, you pretty girl. They be happy.”

“Thanks,” David slowly said, wondering what she meant by the comment. Was the word Tomboy lost in translation? Or did she know the truth? Either way, at that moment, David didn’t care. He just wanted to be held.

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A week later, after another busy day spent preparing for an upcoming wedding, David said goodbye to Annisa before leaving work early for his weekly Salon appointment. Stepping outside the store, he suddenly felt overdressed, or was that underdressed, in his short red dress and matching towering heels. But today was a special occasion, or so he’d been told. In truth, he had no idea why he was meeting Annisa later. At least, this time, it was in a restaurant and not a mysterious government office! So, how bad could it be, right?

As he tottered over to the waiting car, he thanked the driver for holding open the door before smoothing his short skirt between his legs and entering. As he arranged himself comfortably on the luxurious leather back seat, he was still thinking about their dinner date. It wasn’t unusual for them to go out for a meal midweek, but there had just something unusual about the face she pulled when announcing the dinner date the previous evening. There was this glint in her eye when she suggested he wear his new red dress. When he asked what was so special about the occasion, she pulled a face and told him nothing. That it was just dinner and there was nothing wrong with looking nice. The problem was, David had spent so much time with her by now, he knew when she was lying.

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After a blow-dry and a manicure at the salon, David felt even more self-conscious about his appearance as he entered the high-end restaurant. At least in his mind, his hair was a more manageable length with a shorter set of extensions clipped in, even if his makeup was a little dramatic around the eyes.

The maître d greeted him with a smile before glancing down to check out his long smooth legs. Used to people staring at his legs, David ignored the blatant and unprofessional act but pondered for a second whether or not to tell Annisa. He quickly decided against it as he pictured her complaining to the restaurant manager. That was some attention he could do without.

Shown to his table, the maître d offered to take David’s jacket. He refused, partly because he didn’t want the man’s hands on him but mostly due to the chilliness of the room. For some reason, Indonesian restaurants always blasted freezing cold air into their rooms. Yes, it was hot and humid outside but was that any reason to go to the other extreme?

After waiting a few minutes, Annisa approached, escorted by a smiling maître d. Standing to greet her, he suddenly paused, wondering if he was doing the right thing or if standing to greet a woman was considered a manly action.

(See image 2.2)

“You look beautiful, Fifi,” Annisa announced as she bounded over to hug David.

“Mercy,” he replied while blushing, still finding it difficult to accept compliments on his feminine appearance.

After seating himself opposite Annisa in a position where he wouldn’t show his frilly white panties, David smiled over the table. Annisa smiled back before reaching for the drinks menu. Keen to avoid any awkwardness, David quickly reached over to pick up his own menu before flicking through the pages with his dark red nails.

As he read the description of a caipirinha cocktail, which he had never heard of before but sounded delicious, he could feel Annisa's eyes watching him. He looked up, only for her to look away. Trying to ignore her, he went back to reading his menu until his anxiety got the better of him. “Is something wrong?” He asked after catching her looking once again.

“No,” she cheerfully replied. “Nothing’s wrong.” She then went back to scanning through her menu.

The strangeness continued until a waiter came over to take their drink order. But as soon as he left, David looked over at Annisa with his head tilted to one side. “Ani, why are we here?” he asked. “Please, tell me what’s going on.”

He watched as Annisa opened her mouth and then closed it again as her eyes darted from side to side. “Err… ok. I wanted to wait until after we’d eaten, but I'm so excited that I can’t wait any longer.”

“Can’t wait for what?” David nervously asked.

“It’s here!” She blurted out. “Sorry that it took so long. I so wanted to give this to you on your birthday,” she said and handed David an envelope with a huge, beaming smile on her face.

With no hint of a smile on his glossy red lips, David frowned down at the envelope, not really sure if he wanted to know what was inside.

“Go on! Open it!” Annisa excitedly announced, rubbing her hands together with glee as she leaned across the table.

Taking a deep breath, David slid his long-nailed thumb under the seam of the envelope and prised it open. The item inside was as equally shocking as it was disturbing.

“Happy birthday, Fifi,” Annisa called out as David’s shaking hands pulled out a French passport. Turning to the ID page. What he saw there made him gasp. “But… how?” He stuttered as he glared down at his feminised face next to the credentials of Fifi Genevieve LaRue.

“Well, normally, lost passports take a lot longer to replace, but Daddy has some friends in the government.” Annisa happily said.

“I… I… so that place you took me was to get a passport?” David asked as panic washed over him. “Oh no! This is bad! Really bad!” his terrified mind thought. “If I wasn’t a criminal before, I definitely am now. This is identity theft. They’ll throw me in jail for sure!”

“How was this even possible?” He continued to think, completely zoning out from what Annisa was saying. “Can rich people really get whatever they want, this easily?

“Fifi, are you listening to me? Annisa said in a louder voice. Snapping back to reality, David apologized before asking her to repeat what she'd just said.

“I said, now there's no need to feel homesick. So get packing, girl. We’re going on a trip!”