Chapter One - 16 years previously

 

16 Years Previously

 

 

Chapter One

 

            At first, there was just Oliver and Jillian. The two had been friends since before they could remember, as their mother's had met and become friends in the maternity ward. As toddlers, they had played together in the sandbox and in school they'd helped each other learn how to write their names and, later, basic arithmetic. 

            Then, at the beginning of second grade, a new student arrived in their small coastal town of Chester, Maryland. And right from the start, Oliver was in love with Sophie Harris. She was a small girl, with golden hair and big green eyes. It was hard not to love her.

            She'd moved to Chester with her mother, a former paralegal and her step-father, a successful psychiatrist with a private practice in Baltimore and now, here. Sophie's birth father had died just three years previously, when a drunk driver ran him off the road. Now, she could barely remember him and as far as everyone was concerned, her step-father was the real thing.

            Oliver would have never formally met Sophie, had his own father not been a doctor as well – a prominent heart surgeon, no less. Both physicians owned practices directly next door to one another and Oliver's parents had decided right away to invite the new neighbors over for dinner.

            Soon after, Jillian met the shy, doe-eyed Sophie and immediately liked her. Her father wasn't a medical practitioner as well, but instead a successful investment banker that had time and time again made Oliver's parents money. As the time went on, all three families grew closer and closer. The fathers went golfing together, the mothers shopped and gossiped together, and the children spent every waking moment together. They all got along so well, that it was almost too good to be true.

 

            Sophie awoke with a start. Her bed was wet, her pajama pants moist. Had she wet the bed? It couldn't be – she was12 years old!

            She pulled back the comforter and stared in horror at the dark red stain between her legs. Immediately, tears filled her eyes out of both fear and confusion.

            "Mommy!" she shouted, "Daddy!" She was crying now, her sobs coming out in loud gasps.

            Her step-father burst in, his eyes wide with concern. Brian Harris was, at 35, a very handsome man. He was well over six feet tall, with broad shoulders, a square jaw line, and aftershave commercial good looks. His emerald eyes were not unlike Sophie's and his thick blonde hair was brushed back out of his face. Unless someone was told otherwise, they would easily believe that he was Sophie's birth father.

            "What's the matter?" he asked, and then his eyes fell on her pajamas. His face softened and he breathed a small sigh of relief. "Oh, Sophie, baby, it's alright."

            "What do you mean?" she demanded, nearly hysterical now. "Did you see this?"

            "It's alright," he repeated calmly. "It's just your period – you learned about that in school, didn't you?"

            She nodded, feeling stupid now for having gotten so worked up.

            "It's perfectly normal," he assured her.

            "Where's Mommy?" she asked, frowning.

            "She's still sleeping, honey," he replied. "It's still very early. But let's go and get you washed off."

           She slowly got out of bed and cringed when she saw the stain on the sheet. "What about that?" she asked.

            "Don't worry about that." He knelt down and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll handle your bed – just go into the bathroom and take a hot shower."

            She nodded. "Thank you, Daddy."

            He smiled. "Of course, baby."

            In the privacy of the bathroom, Sophie stripped down to her underwear and noticed for the first time how badly her abdomen hurt. She yanked off her now stained underwear and ran the bathwater.

            She poured in bubbles and the Epsom salts she saw her mother use often and stepped in, settling back and closing her eyes. She drifted into a light sleep and when she opened her eyes moments later, she gasped.

            Brian stood there, smiling down at her.

            "Sorry, honey, didn't mean to scare you," he said with a smile. "You left the water on so I just came in to turn it off. Oh, and I brought you these." He held up a fresh pair of folded pajamas with a pair of clean underwear on top. He set them on the sink and looked at her again.

            She crossed her arms over her budding chest, aware that some of the foam had dissolved.

            "Thanks," she said with a quick smile. "You can go back to bed now, I'll be okay."

            He nodded, but didn't move. "It's so strange," he said. "It seems like only yesterday you were asking me to check for monsters under your bed. And now. . ." He trailed of wistfully. "I guess you're not my little girl anymore."

            "Sure I am," she said. "But maybe we could talk about this later, y'know?" She silently willed him to get the hint and go.

            "Before I know it, you'll be going off on dates and forgetting all about your dear old Dad,' he continued with a sad smile.

            "Come on," she said, getting a touch impatient now. "That won't happen. But Daddy, I really do need to wash up. I have school in a few hours."

            He stared at her for a long moment before his head snapped to attention.

            "Right," he replied. "I'll see you down at breakfast in a little while."

            She nodded, relieved when he finally let. Because things were so different now. She was indeed becoming a woman and her body was changing everyday. There was no way she was going to let Brian see her naked any more. She wasn't a little kid now and her woman parts were hers.

 

            Since Jillian only lived a couple of streets away, Sophie stopped by to get her on the way to school. Oliver, seeing them outside of his house a few doors down, hurried out to catch up.

            "So," Jillian was saying, "you're sure that's what it was?"

            "Definitely," Sophie replied. "I mean, what else could it have been? Plus, that's what my dad said it was and he's like a doctor."

            "What are you guys talking about?" Oliver asked curiously.

            "You're so lucky," Jillian continued, ignoring him. "I've been stuck in this body forever and I'm never gonna get out!"

            Sophie laughed at her dramatics. Thought as far as she was concerned, Jillian's body was nearly perfect.

            She had long, dancer's legs, clear blemish-free skin, and reddish-brown curls that fell down her back. Her chest, however, was flat as a board and she was slightly on the lanky side.

            Much unlike Sophie, whose was already starting to grow breasts and whose body, though small and petite, was starting to have a more womanly shape to it.

            "You really are lucky," Jillian said again. "You're, like, a woman now."

            Sophie rolled her eyes. "I guess so. But it really doesn't feel all that great. It hurts and it's so gross."

            "What is?" Oliver demanded.

            "Did you talk to your mom about it?" Jillian asked her, waving a hand in his face to silence him. "You know, to show you how to put in a . . . well, you know."

            She rolled her eyes. "Don't even get me started. It was so awkward and I wasn't even going to tell her, but my dad did." She made a gagging noise and both girls erupted into a fit of giggles.

            Oliver glared at them, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair. He was a full year older than them and as a 13 year old he felt it was his right to not be kept in the dark about anything.

            "Why can't you guys just tell me what you're talking about?" he demanded.

            "It's a secret," Jillian replied mysteriously.

            Suddenly he grabbed Sophie around the waist and began tickling her stomach.

            Sophie giggled, squirming in his arms. "Stop!" She cried, tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard.

"You better tell me," he threatened, "or I'll never stop!"

"Sorry," Jillian sang, a big smile on her face. "She can't do that."

"Why?" he asked, tickling underneath Sophie's arms, causing her to laugh even harder.

"It's a girl thing," Sophie said, still trying to squirm away.

"I'm going to find out sooner or later," he replied. "So you might as well tell me."

            "Alright!" Sophie cried, breaking free from his grasp. She walked backwards, facing them. "This morning, I. . ." She gave Jillian a knowing smile.

            Jillian smiled back. "This morning, our little Sophie . . . became a woman!" She shrieked.

            Both girls erupted in laughter and ran ahead, arm in arm.

            Oliver stared after them, shaking his head in wonderment. Everyday, it seemed, he fell more and more in love with her. No matter how eccentric, ridiculous, or crazy she was – it would never change his feelings for her.