We need the money. Marry this fine gentleman," Papa pleaded with me with his eyes. I turned to Mama for support but she just faced the window. "Mama? ...lease don't let Papa do this!" I begged. Mama turned to me with an angry and tired expression. "Bella, stop being so selfish and do as your Papa asks!" she snapped. I felt my eyes welling up with tears. I will not marry this disgusting old man for money. "No!" I cried. I turned and ran out the house and lifted up the skirt of my dress as I ran as. " TheMadame blew a cloud of smoke in Alex's direction.Desperately Alex tried to capture memories of life in her male body,growing up, school, his courtship of Mary. "You look like a woman. You must be a woman." The Madame said firmly.Alex tried to argue against these statements in his mind, but foundshe could not contradict their logic. Did she not have a woman'sbody? She rubbed her large breasts. That felt good. She looked downat them. She admired them, even took pride in them. Though. Jeanette glanced after him, then back at Katie. "Something's up, isn't it?" she said cautiously.Katie nodded. "Something isn't right." She stared for a while, her eyes having a far-off look. "Did you notice anything strange?"Jeanette thought for a second. "Now that you mention it, he did seem strange. Like he was scared of us." She laughed. "Who could blame him?"Katie shook her head. "No, that's not it." She turned back to her cousin. "Sure, he was scared. But that wasn't what I was. "Are you alone?" he asked her.She looked at him."Yes, for this week anyway." she said.He pulled off his wedding ring and handed it to her.She looked at him."For this week, I'm yours, I will be your husband and you'll be my wife and we will say and do the things that we wish our spouses would say and do, if we become friends, that's fine, if we go further, that's better. For this week, I am yours and you are mine." he said.Michelle rolled his ring around. She looked at him some more and then.