April 1, 2013 |
It was another Thursday evening at Dez Bordel, the hottest brothel south of Rio. While Jakinda shaved her legs in preparation for her evening appointments, Verissima was changing the sheets on her bed and restocking the condom drawer. Her mother had always told her, when she was a little girl growing up in the shantytown of Dancin’ Days, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Verissima had spent her days admiring the exotic ladies who lived across the road from them, and who had men fawning all over them, lavishing them with expensive gifts, and dreamed that one day she would be just like them. But Verissima had one dark secret that stood in the way of her dream. For, despite her breasts, luscious hair and shapely legs, Verissima was a boy. She had never revealed her secret to anyone – she was terrified that if anyone found out, Madame Somoche would surely turn her out onto the streets. And come hell or high water, there was no way Verissima was going back to her hustling days. So, for now, she kept quiet, and worked hard at being a maid, cleaning the sheets and restocking the bedside cabinet, while saving every penny she earned for the operation that would finally let her become what she had always dreamed of being: a woman.
“Verissima, Verissima!” Jakinda screamed from the bathroom.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I’m out of shaving cream and I still need to do my left thigh. Do you have any I can borrow, angel? You know how I hate to be lopsided. It wreaks havoc on my performance. And then maybe you could shave the backs of my thighs? They’re such a bitch to reach.”
Verissima sighed to herself. Until she had enough money she would have to be at Jakinda’s beck and call. As she climbed up the ladder to the attic where she slept, she noticed the hatch was open. How strange, she thought to herself. She was sure she had closed it on her way down that morning. It’s probably just another one of Gigi’s drunken homens, she thought. Why does she always have to ply them with drink? Why can’t she give them Viagra like Jakinda does? The drink always made Gigi’s suitors rather lecherous, and she was sick of going up and finding one in her bed waiting for her. That Gigi would give it away for free if it weren’t for Madame Somoche. That girl has no self-respect, Verissima reflected as she heaved herself up through the hatch. As she made her way to the vanity table in search of shaving cream she heard a noise behind her. She reached for her statue of the heavenly goddess Oxum, a gift from her mother, which due to its Cuban origin, resembled a giant vulva, a symbol of love and fertility, and slowly turned around. “Why are you holding that statue above your head?” asked a voice from beside the bed. “Are you not happy to see me?” Verissima shuddered. It was Affonso, her old pimp from her days as a street hustler in Rio. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Verissima screamed. “I had a customer yesterday who was telling me about this sensuous maid who refused to sleep with anyone. A rather feisty creature who would practically castrate you if you tried to touch her. And I put two and two together. How many bordels do you think employ a maid who won’t spread her legs for the homens? Not many. Anyway, I just came up here to let you know that I have spoken to Madame Somoche and arranged a very special evening for us. I will be back at nine. I’ve bought you something to wear. I suggest that you’re here when I return. After all, you don’t want to make me angry now, do you?” And with that he left.
Verissima feel to the floor clutching the statue of the heavenly goddess Oxum to her breast. “Oxum, what will I do?” she cried. She fingered the parcel on the bed. She knew what was inside it: a peach latex maid’s outfit complete with matching cap. He had always had a thing for a she-male dressed up as the help. So maybe running away to become a secret she-male maid hadn’t been the wisest move, but she had hoped that Affonso had moved onto someone new by now. She had certainly never expected him to come looking for her. Let alone ever find her. “Verissima! Verissima! Are you okay, angel? I’m comin’ up.” It was Jakinda. She had forgotten about the shaving cream. Why oh why had Jakinda run out of it today of all days.
“No. Don’t. I’m fine. I’ll be down in a second,” she called back. But it was too late.
“Angel, who was that man? Have you finally joined us sisters? Why are you crying?”
“Oh Jaki,” Verissima wailed. “He’s a shady character from my past who wants to reveal my secret to the whole world. I thought I had left him behind in Rio with my hustla ways, but he’s found me. Oh Jaki, what will I do? Even Oxum cannot help me now.”
“Breathe, angel. Breathe. And now tell me, what is this secret you speak of? I can’t help you unless I know what I am dealing with.”
“But I can’t tell you, Jaki. Madame Somoche will throw me out onto the street like a rabid dog.”
“Angel, Madame Somoche would never do anything of the sort. She’s a saint. Like a mother to us girls.”
“That’s the thing… You see, Jaki, I am not a girl. I am a boy.”
“A she-male?”
“Yes.”
“Is that why you only clean for your money, angel?”
“Yes. I so want to be just like you, but first I must complete the change. Every penny I earn I save, and I almost have enough, but now Affonso is back and I am so scared that my dream of finally becoming a woman will be snatched from me again.”
“Oh, angel, you can never let any man snatch your dreams away from you,” Jakinda said as she cradled Verissima’s head in her arms.
“But Jaki, he’s coming back tonight. And if I refuse to do what he tells me I just know that he will reveal my secret to Madame Somoche and take me away from here against my will. I cannot go back to turning tricks, Jaki. I can’t. Oh, what will I do?”
“Verissima. Stop crying and get a grip. Jaki is here and ain’t nobody gonna hurt you now. All we have to do is come up with a plan. And tell Madame Somoche.”
“But we can’t. She’ll throw me out.”
“Oh, sweet, sweet angel. Do you really think you are the only one who has ever been scared of revealing her true self to the world? Why do you think Gigi has such big hands and feet?”
“She’s a boy, too?”
“Was a boy. I was once one as well.”
“But Jaki, you’re so feminine. All womanly curves. You can’t have been.”
“But I was. Let me show you.” And with that Jakinda removed the scarf that she always wore around her neck to reveal an Adam’s apple. “They’ve yet to come up with a surgery to remove it. So while, yes, I may be blessed with a flower, until my bump is removed I, too, will always be more she-male than she.”
“Oh, Jaki, I feel so relived. I’m not the only one. But what will we do? Affonso will be back in two hours.”
“Fear not, angel. I have a plan. We will kill him. At the stroke of midnight. And bury his body on the beach. But first we must talk to Madame Somoche.”
What will happen next? Will Madame Somoche welcome another pre-op she-male into her coterie and nurture her throughout the change, or will she kick Verissima out? Will their plan to kill Affonso work, or will it backfire in a spectacular fashion? Will Affonso have his wicked way with Verissima? Will Verissima wear the latex maid’s outfit? And, most importantly, will there ever be a surgery that will rid Jakinda of her Adam’s apple, the only thing stopping her from being a sensuous female?
Text Natalie Dembinska
