Far Eastern Adventure

locker-room others had worried about how slowly the hair on their
chests was growing, while he of all people had to sit and watch
the hair on his chest growing at what seemed like an exorbitant
rate. It wasn’t fair he had often thought. Why couldn’t people
simply will their hair to go grow or go away as they wished? It
wasn’t until much later that he had realized that if he couldn’t
control its rate of growth, at least he could regulate its
appearance.

After removing all the hair from his arms, legs, and chest,
he would rise from his bath, wrap himself in a full-length, pink
bathrobe, and glide gracefully into his walk-in closet to select
his attire for the evening. As a bachelor he spent nearly every
penny of his salary on clothes. Not on the dull male uniform
that he wore to the office each day, but on a wondrous array of
brightly colored blouses and skirts and dresses. He loved
nothing better that to spend the evening trying on one outfit or
another dreaming all the while that he had somehow been
transformed into a wild and exotic creature.

He had with time become rather expert at applying make-up to
cover his beard and soften his masculine features. He could
spend hours experimenting with shading and contouring and had
come to know his face like an artist knows a canvas. Depending
on his mood he could create a face that reflected passionate
emotions, gentle contemplation, serene peace of mind, or
simmering sexuality. After selecting and adjusting a wig to suit
his mood, he at last felt as if he could begin to live.
Unfortunately, the night by this time was flying by and he
ventured out only rarely, fearful of discovery and the inevitable
ridicule and disgrace which he was sure must follow. The few
times he had managed to screw up his courage and step out the
door had been entirely uneventful. A trip to a shopping mall in
the suburbs had been his most adventurous outing, and to his
relief no one had even noticed his presence. He had taken care
not to over-dress for the occasion, restraining himself to a pair
of designer jeans and flat-heeled pumps instead of his favorite
dresses and skyscraper heels.