The Perfect House

Chapter 9: Irene's solution

Irene looked Florian (as Florina) over.
"Your hair's not too bad; try to get it up a little bit higher, it will look better on you. But I have to say your lippie's not great, Flor. You need to practice more."
"Irene, I didn't expect to have to keep doing this."
"Fair enough, but there is no harm in upskilling yourself to be ready should the need arise, and it seems that it has arisen."
"Yeah," Florina replied with a sigh.

"Okay, now stand up and face away from the mirror. Good. Now, put your hair back into your man-bun and wipe your lipstick off."
Fiddling, "It's hard to get my hair straight without a mirror . . . okay, I think I'm about right."
"Have a look."
"Not very good is it?"
"No, and you missed some lipstick."
"Oh shit . . . and I know what you're going to say now."
"Yep. Turn away from the mirror and do your hair and lipstick again (she had told him to bring his lipstick and hair gear with him when he had rung her). Here's an old compact of mine, Flor, use the mirror in it to do your lips."

"God, this is hopeless, Irene. I might be able to do my lipstick, but my hair . . ."
"Don't despair, love. You keep practising your lipstick using that small mirror; you'll get the hang of it."
"Okay, but what about my hair and my clothes . . . and (raised eyebrows) my bust?"

 
"I've got some ideas. Tomorrow morning I'm going to take a couple of hours off work, and you and I, my dear ducks, are going shopping."

The following afternoon, Florina stood in her bedroom admiring herself in her full-length mirror. Irene was so clever; what would I do without her?

She was wearing a cute yellow beret with a peak. She could put her hair into a bun at the back of her head and hide it all under the beret. Alternatively, she could put her hair into a unisex-style low ponytail tied at the nape of her neck and let it hang out under the beret. Removing the beret left her with a hairstyle that was at least neutral.
Her clothes were androgynous - indeterminate, neither clearly female nor male. This would allow her/him to swing both ways without the need for a change of attire. The padded bra she had worn previously was gone, replaced by a pair of stick-on fake boobs. They were fairly small but they looked good.
She had a bra that she could wear over them, but wouldn't wear it going to and from the uni. Once past Mrs Stein and through the gate each morning, she could reach inside her top, peel off the boobs and stow them in her bag, Then remove the beret, wipe off the lipstick and presto, Florian re-emerges

Going back, reverse the process. Use the small mirror to do his lipstick and get the beret right; then stick the fake boobs back on. That last bit was rather tricky, so Florian had used a pen to ink some guide marks on his chest.
Practice, practice, practice.
Hopefully, he/she could give it a run tomorrow morning.