#mstransformiss

Today was a particularly odd day at the Alcott place. While Mira was used to silliness with her paranormal investigation business and her "part time gender clinic" hustle, she wasn't used to having visitors - especially visitors who appeared to be in their 60s.

There went her Saturday. Mira had been looking forward to seeing the new romcom and spotting the eggs in the movie (and in the theater), but she received word of possible clients the prior day and their wanting to discuss a "delicate matter", as they put it.

What surprised Mira was that her clients requested a more informal setting, rather than her combination office and collection of grimoires. The couple, a man, Stephen, with a significantly receded hairline and otherwise shaven, minus some rather gray stubble, and a woman, Melissa, who vaguely reminded Mira of Bea Arthur from her Golden Girls era, sat across from her at the coffee table in her living room. Before the three, cups of tea filled with the best pekoe Mira had on hand.

"I appreciate your coming to me for my services," Mira chimed in, wanting to break some of the awkward silence. "You said this was a delicate matter that you'd rather not discuss on the phone, and I want you both," looking at the husband and wife, "to understand that I am more than willing to keep this a private one if you wish."

"Ms. Alcott," the Bea Arthur look-alike started, a nervous tone in her voice. "I want to thank you for seeing us, but we're actually here on the recommendation of a friend of my husband's." Melissa took a sip of the tea in a clear attempt to calm her nerves. "Before I bring up the matter itself -" She stopped herself, breathing in and out. The nerves were very present, but Melissa was resolved to get through her story.

"Ms. Alcott, my husband and I have been married for 35 years, and our children are thriving on their own. We couldn't be happier for our sons and our daughters-in-law, but Stephen and I have found ourselves having a great deal of stress about our personal life for a few years -" She stopped again, her breath and voice shaking, feeling a hand on her shoulder. Her husband's. He was smiling with a sadness and tiredness the couple knew existed, and was plainly obvious to Mira.

"Mel, would it be okay for me to continue?" Stephen asked gently.

Melissa could only silently nod as she started crying, her husband hugging her gently while Mira offered tissues.

Stephen spoke up after a minute. "Are you okay with my calling you Mira?"

"Certainly," Mira answered, "and feel free to continue as you're comfortable." Stephen nodded.

"Mira, I'll be honest - my wife and I have had bitter words with each other over the past decade, and it came to a head a few years ago after we both had a COVID scare, and our health wasn't all that great then." A short pause. "We were both scared about things we missed in the past, and regrets we had ..." A longer pause. Stephen looked as if he were mustering the strength for the next sentence, and Mira picked up on the vibe. Her "Egg-O-Vision" confirmed two things, but she wanted Stephen to say so himself.

"My wife angrily said she wished she could have relived her college years and more comfortably embraced her being bisexual - something I never even knew about her - and I responded with a good amount of bile that I wished I could have just been a girl so my mother wouldn't have hated me as much as she did for my being 'weak' and 'frail'." Mira could tell from his careful avoidance of certain words that Stephen's mother and father both weren't pleased with a son who loved playing with dolls and even wore dresses to dull the pain of his being, well, him - to use Stephen's whispered words.

Silence. Silence needing to be broken by Mira.

"Did your wanting to be a girl stop after a while?"

Stephen shook his head. "No, and it was after our fight that I told Mel that I hated that I lost my hair and my chance to be as beautiful as she is. I hated how angry I was at her, and I didn't want to be that angry ever again." He cuddled his wife, who was still crying but visibly calmer.

Mira could only offer tissues while quietly shedding her own. The couple was in such pain, but they had a better shot of growing from it than many others had. If anything, maybe the two just needed someone to listen.

Melissa regained her voice and composure, sitting herself up and sipping more of the tea. "Stephen's friend from work, that I mentioned? She used to work at the M.O.M. factory."

Mira's ears perked up at that and she internally cringed about having been the cause for lost jobs, but the sensation was replaced by a name.

"Our friend now goes by the name Mary, and she's never looked happier. We asked her what happened, and she brought up having been hired by you one day for cleaning and her becoming the woman she is now."

Mira could only sit stunned. Her employee had recommended her?? She would need to have a private chat with Mary on Monday morning about discretion, but now wasn't the time to be mildly annoyed. "Well, it is true that I did help her out, but that's only a part-time thing I'm working on."

"In that case," Stephen responded, "I would like your help with that."

Mira held in a giggle. That's right - her Egg-spotting skills pegged Stephen's being trans, but not Melissa. Her giggle, however, wasn't nearly as contained as she had liked, as her face contorted into a grin that could only be described as "goofy". Stephen himself started to laugh as he felt the tension break in the room. Melissa would soon follow.

Several minutes of tears and laughter later, Melissa re-initiated the conversation. "Mira, my husband - well, I guess wife and I had long discussions over the past couple of years, and we can't get our childhoods back, but we'd like to enjoy the rest of our days as a loving and even happier couple."

"Not to mention that, after we talked about why we were angry, we found more reasons to love and support each other," Stephen added. Mira nodded and pulled out her notebook for quick spells.

"Let me see if I understood this right ... Actually," Mira asked, pointing to Stephen with her pen, "what name would you like to use?"

Stephen looked like he had an answer ready but was now too shy to say it. Neither he nor Mel spotted the slow transformation as he answered with "Stephanie".

"A cute name," Mira cheerily noted, "and perfect for your both moving forward. Now," she added," there's a chance it may sting a bit."

"Sting?-" Stephen asked as he - she felt strong growth pains all over, her chest suddenly more sensitive as C-cups strained against her top, once a green polo and now a green blouse. Thankfully, Mira made sure to summon a bra. Stephen, now slowly becoming Stephanie, also saw her stomach slimming down a few inches and her hips widening, and her gray slacks were now gray capris. Her orthopedic shoes remained the same. Some things you can't magic away.

Stephanie looked to her wife, who was stunned by the process already, and now looking more stunned. Melissa picked up her wife from the couch and brought her to a mirror. Stephanie audibly gasped as she saw her new appearance - the image she hoped to achieve for years, in fact.

Stephanie looked almost exactly like Julie Andrews had as Victoria Grant in Victor/Victoria. She smiled, and sobbed. And sobbed as her wife held her close and shared in the joy.

Mira kept her respectful distance from Melissa and Stephanie, and could only think to herself that she didn't need that trip to the movies after all.