A Promise Kept by Brandy Dewinter "Elly, come in, come in. You look fabulous!" "Well, thank you, too. Yes, I have lost some weight. Nice of you to notice. Of course, I owe it all to Sam. We've been on a diet together for just ages!" "You like it? Sam likes my hair longer, so I've been letting it grow." "No, not too much. Well, actually yes, it is a bit of bother to take care of, but Sam's worth it." "Please, sit down. It's been so long since we've seen each other." "Us? We've been busy. I've been working out at the club at least four days a week. Sam likes my new, or maybe I should say, renewed figure. Then there's the time spent getting my hair done, and my nails done. Do you like them?" "Oh, not too much bother, really, once you get used to them. And Sam likes them so much." "Of course I'd do whatever it takes to please Sam. We're married and owe each other as much pleasure as we can provide." "Well, no, I guess I didn't always feel that way. That was a problem for us. You know Sam, just as honest as the day is long. Sam would never break our marriage vows, but I was letting myself go and I could see 'the old wandering eye'. Sam never gave me any good reason, but I became insanely jealous. Mostly from guilt, I'm sure." "No, even when I was ranting and raving, Sam just kept being honest and honorable. But wistful, and sad, too. I was tearing us apart." "We talked, of course, really talked. I don't mean to be judgmental, but maybe if you and your George had talked more, you'd still be together." "Okay, maybe sometimes talking alone isn't enough. But Sam convinced me we needed to do whatever it took to stay together." "Yes, it is easy to say that. But Sam was serious. Though at the time I was so jealous, guilt really, that I demanded proof of Sam's commitment before I would believe." "What sort of proof would you ask for, if you thought your spouse were straying? The first thing I decided to require would make it pretty embarrassing for Sam to do more than look at any one else." "Why, panties of course. I insisted that Sam wear only lady's panties, in wonderfully feminine styles." "No, I bought them myself. We're almost exactly the same size, so I pretended they were for me. In fact, as time went on and I saw how pretty they looked, I started wearing them myself. Now we share the same underwear drawer." "No, not enough. I was just too insanely jealous then. I became convinced that Sam's lover would forgive panties, especially since I was the reason. You have to remember. Sam never, ever lies. Everyone knows that. If Sam said I required the panties, well, that was all the proof anyone needed. Anyone but me, of course. Besides, I thought that Sam might have bought some regular underwear and switched when I wasn't around." "Something that couldn't be undone when I wasn't around, of course. Sam had to shave." "No, silly, all over. Every bit of hair below the eyebrows." "Yes, even there. Every single square inch of skin had to be clean and smooth at all times." "I don't know, maybe it should have been enough, but I was pretty far gone at that time. I saw some sports show on TV, with swimmers, and I decided even a shaved body could be explained away." "I decided Sam needed some feminine clothes that couldn't be removed. I found this seedy little sex shop downtown that had the wildest things. They had a stiff leather corset that could be locked on once it was laced. It was expensive enough that I knew Sam couldn't just cut it open and buy a new one every day. Besides, those things sort of form to your body after a while. You can tell a new one from one that's well broken in. Believe me, I know." "Yes, that's why my posture's so good. I wear one now, too. Sam likes the look." "Chandler and 26th, dear, but don't go down there after dark." "Be careful, hun. And don't get one that's too tight, to start off with. I was really cruel to Sam. It took forever before the corset was comfortable." "They always say that you should get one about 4 inches smaller than your uncorseted waist size, to start with." "Me? About six inches. Of course, my waist is smaller now, about 25 inches. Sam just loves it that my corseted waist is less than 20 inches." "The same. I told you we are the same size. Well, actually Sam's uncorseted waist is a little over 26. We both laugh at that, a t least until we lace in. Sam can't breathe enough for a good laugh after I get the edges together, but both our waists get down t o a little less than 20 inches." "No. I'm ashamed to say that even that wasn't enough. I decided that Sam still moved too much like a man. I didn't want women attracted to my darling, even if they were eventually going to be surprised." "High heels. Is there anything that makes someone's motion more intensely feminine than high heels? You just can't walk in heels without your hips swaying and they force you to take such tiny steps. I started making Sam wear heels anytime we were home." "At least 4 inches, even in the beginning." "I know, but you can get used to them, if you don't have to walk too far." "Oh, no, we're well past that. I can't remember the last time either one of us wore less than 5 inch heels." "No, our feet are not the same size, too. Our closet looks like a shoe store, with two pairs in all sorts of colors and styles." "Eight inches. They're called ballet boots. But you can't really walk in those. They're just for fun." "Yes, same place. Chandler and 26th." "No, even that wasn't enough. Sam still moved too strongly, forcing the heels instead of letting the shoes be in control. I decided that the sweet hip sway and short stride would wear off as soon as Sam wore flats again." "Actually, Sam provided the inspiration for the next thing I demanded." "Not deliberately, no. Sam still didn't like my demands, but a commitment is a commitment. No, one day Sam bumped up against the edge of a drawer. If that had been me, I'd have torn my stocking, so that made me decide Sam should wear stockings." "Of course not. We were both wearing corsets, so naturally we wore stockings instead of pantyhose. You should try them. Besides, I wanted Sam to have to pay attention to the seams, too, as part of the attitude training." "Yes, just like these. Sheer and shiny and delicate." "Well, what good would it do to wear stockings, if Sam still wore pants?" "Of course short ones. I wanted Sam to move daintily, all the time aware of fragile clothes. The skirts just barely covered the tops of Sam's stockings." "Yes, that required a host of nicely feminine mannerisms. Knees had to be held together, skirts smoothed, that sort of thing." "No, you have to understand, dear, that I was sort of crazy back then. Sam had never given me real reason for jealousy, so of course I felt ever more guilty, which I took out on my darling." "I decided that Sam needed to spend a week wearing heels and minis." "Yes, a full week, from the end of work on Friday, till Saturday morning a week later." "No, not to bed, silly. At night Sam wore a nightgown, long enough and delicate enough to require just as much care in moving around." "No, I wouldn't let my poor darling stay in the house the whole week. I decided I needed to see how Sam acted outside the house, to see if women were still attracted." "For once Sam put one of those dainty high-heeled feet down and refused to be publicly embarrassed." "No, I was adamant. Sam had to wear a miniskirt and heels for a full week, and in public so that I could see how other women reacted. It's a good thing Sam's so creative." "Sam found a way not to be embarrassed, of course." "Well, you have to remember that by this time, Sam looked very feminine from the waist down. Long, toned legs, swaying hips, carefully delicate mannerisms. We just completed the picture." "Six months ago. Oh, there's the garage door. That must be Sam." "Sam, darling. Come meet my college roommate. Elly, this is Samantha." "Yes, I was quite flattered when she decided to be a blonde, just like me." "Now tell me, would you doubt someone so beautiful? When I saw my sweet Samantha, I was convinced that I never had to worry about another woman stealing her away from me. Since then, I've done whatever Sam asked of me, to make our marriage stronger." "Of course she does whatever I ask, too. Don't you dear? That's what makes our relationship so strong." "Really? But, Elly, you just got here." "Oh, I don't know. I guess it won't get dark for another hour or so." "That's right, Chandler and 26th." "Tell Bobby Joe we said hi. We'll look forward to seeing both of you real soon." --- I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. - - - - - Brandy Dewinter