Josh Meets Carmen Pt. 02

I drove home, floating on air. I hadn't felt like this in a long, long time. Carmen was probably fifteen years younger than me, but I didn't care. We had connected.

I texted her throughout the week. I wanted to make sure she knew I was interested. At one point, I asked if I could call her. She sent back a wink emoji followed by this answer. "Not yet papacita, not yet."

"Carmen, I want to hear your voice again. I want to hear your laughter. Your laugh is musical, it hypnotized me that night."

Her only reply was the emoji blowing kisses. I didn't push it; I didn't want Carmen to worry in any way that I was aggressive like James.

Finally at the end of the week, Carmen texted me. It was short and to the point. It just said, "Tomorrow at 6:00 pm." That was followed by an address that I could only assume was her mother's.

I rang the bell exactly at 6:00 pm. I had a bouquet of flowers. Carmen answered the door. "For me? You really are old fashioned."

"No, not for you. These are for your mama."

Her musical laughter rang out. "Not only cute, but you're very smart." She led me into the house. It was small but clean and neat. There was a tiny woman standing in the living room. Her gaze locked onto mine; she was eyeing me suspiciously. "Mama, this is Josh. Josh, this is my mama. I'll be right back; I'm going to put these flowers into water."

"You no hurt, Carmen. My daughter hurt too much. You no hurt, Carmen."

I nodded. I walked over and hugged Mama to let her know I wouldn't dream of hurting Carmen. Carmen came back in with the flowers in a vase and set them on the coffee table. She saw me hugging her mother and smiled. Just then, the doorbell rang. The two of them exchanged questioning glances and both shrugged. Carmen went to answer the door.

When she unlocked it, the door burst open knocking her backwards. James forced his way into the house and grabbed Carmen by the throat. "Quit hiding from me." he yelled. If it was possible, he was drunker than the first night I'd seen him. Mama screamed and began sobbing.

Did I forget to mention I'm an ex-Marine? I'm a 4th degree blackbelt in the MCMAP which stands for Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. I moved smoothly to where James had Carmen pinned and grabbed the arm he was holding Carmen by. I dug my fingertips into the tendons of his wrist, loosening his hold on Carmen's throat. Simultaneously, I stepped into the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground. I slipped his arm behind his back, forcing it upwards while I continued to stand on the back of his knee forcefully. Everything happened in a few seconds.

Mama was staring at me. "Carmen, please go get a piece of paper and a pen." She was in shock but nodded.

I leaned down and whispered in James' ear. "If you struggle in any way, I will break this arm off and beat you with it. I'll let you go very soon." I eased my grip on his arm, just a little, to let him know I meant what I said.

Carmen returned and looked at me. "Write this down." 'James, by the time you're sober enough to read and understand this, I will have taken out restraining orders on you. If you come near this house again, if you come near me again, I'll have you arrested. Leave me alone, stay away from me. That's all I want from you. Carmen'

When she finished writing I said, "Put it in his pocket where he'll find it when he sobers up." Carmen did as I asked and then stepped back. I leaned down to whisper in his ear again. "I'm going to let you go. Leave or I'll hurt you, badly. Don't come back tonight or we'll call the police and have you arrested. Do you understand me?"

He looked at me through hazy eyes but nodded. I let him get up, escorted him to the door, led him outside and went back into the house. Both Carmen and Mama were standing in the middle of the living room, staring at me. I looked at Carmen and said, "When I told you that first night at the club that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, I meant it."

Carmen began crying uncontrollably and ran to me. Mama was crying also; I motioned to her to come to me. I held them in my arms, consoling them. I was kissing the top of Carmen's head while squeezing her shoulders gently. I rubbed Mama's back, trying to get her to relax. Eventually they both cried themselves out; I led them to the couch and continued to hold them.

Mama looked at me and said, "You good man, Mr. Josh. You good for my Carmen." She hugged me, I hugged her back.

I looked at Carmen. "I think Mama said I can go on a date with you. I'll pick you up for dinner tomorrow night at 6:00. What's your favorite kind of food?"

'Oh, you and Mama have decided, have you? What if I changed my mind and I don't want to go out with you? I love Italian food; how should I dress?"

I just looked at her and shook my head. "It's kind of a fancy restaurant. I'm going to be wearing a suit and tie."

"I think I can handle that. I'll be ready at 6:00."

Even with Mama sitting underneath my other arm, she pulled my face to hers and kissed me deeply. I returned her kiss just as passionately. "Thank you, Josh. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't been here. Thank you for taking care of me, thank you for taking care of my Mama."

I returned the next night promptly at 6:00 in a charcoal gray, pinstripe suit with a white shirt and bright green and blue Jerry Garcia tie. I rang the bell; Mama answered the door. When she saw me, she smiled, took me by the hand and pulled me into the house. She gave me a big hug, looked over her shoulder and called, "Carmen, El Guapo esta aqui." I smiled.

Just then Carmen came around the corner. I gasped. She was wearing a black chiffon off the shoulder mini dress with puffy sleeves. The neckline was slightly plunging, showing just a little decolletage. It had a tight waistline and the A-line skirt flared out; it was about 3" above knee length. She was wearing black silk stilettos with 4" heels. "Will this do, gringo?" she teased.

"Te ves como una diosa!" I whispered.

Mama smiled and hugged me again.

I looked at Mama and asked, "What time do you want me to bring Carmen home?"

She looked at me quizzically. "Carmen, please tell your mother what I said."

Carmen did, Mama brightened and answered. Carmen translated. "Mama says you should have me home by midnight because it's our first date. She also said you are a true gentleman, and she appreciates the respect you show to her. So do I."

I kissed Mama on the cheek and offered Carmen my arm. After making sure the front door was securely locked, I escorted her to my car, opened the door for her and helped her in. As she was sitting down, she winked at me and slid her hemline just high enough for me to see she was wearing garter stockings. I groaned and licked my lips.

I got behind the wheel and headed to The Florentine. "Did you like what you saw, gringo?" Carmen giggled.

"Baby, that is so hot. You're so hot and you're also a big tease. I'm not going to be thinking of anything else all night long."

She smiled, satisfied. "I didn't tell you the night we met but I like the same styles you do in women's clothing. I almost never wear pantyhose, only stockings, my lingerie always matches, and I love high heels. I love looking and dressing like a girly-girl."

I groaned again.

Dinner at The Florentine was amazing. Everyone, men and women, kept looking at Carmen, she was that beautiful. The food and wine were exquisite and just like the first night we met, the conversation was scintillating.

When we moved to the lounge area after dinner, Carmen told me more of her life story; this time it was my turn to listen. Carmen was an only child, her father had left her and her mother when she was only three, she barely remembered him. Sometime, early in grade school, she realized she was much different than the rest of the boys. All her friends were girls, and when the girls played dress up, they dressed Carmen up too. Those times were when she felt most natural. As she got older and was left home alone, she would dress up in some of Mama's clothes. She began to experiment with makeup and would ask her girlfriends for tips. They loved dressing Carmen and doing her makeup, it was as if she was their living Barbie doll.

When she got to high school, everything changed. They were the worst years of her life. Her girlfriends from middle school started bullying her because the boys they liked bullied her. She had almost no friends, became a recluse, and even contemplated suicide. Somehow, she managed to graduate from high school, but just barely. Mama knew something was wrong, but Carmen just couldn't tell her what it was.

After high school, she went to a local community college. She began to discover a new world where she realized she was not alone. She found the local LGBTQ+ chapter and joined. She learned there were lots of different personalities and behaviors in that rainbow spectrum. It was also during college she presented herself to Mama. Mama had always known there was something different about Carmen and told her, "Yo so'lo quiero que seas feliz, mija!"

After college, she really began to immerse herself in the spectrum and experimented with a lot of different lifestyles. From gay, to drag, from sex with other crossdressers, to a lot of other lifestyle choices, she finally began to realize none of those lifestyles were for her. She was a woman in a man's body and began to live like a woman. It was just before her 30th birthday that she realized she wanted, no, she needed to begin her transition. She needed to become the woman she knew she was inside.

Over the course of the next two years, she started hormone therapy, facial laser hair removal, had her Adam's apple shaved, which was followed a few months later by voice feminization surgery. She'd had breast, hip, and butt augmentation surgery. She let her hair grow out and began to study makeup and hair styling videos. She went to nail and hair salons. She did everything she could possibly think of doing to become the woman she knew she was.

Carmen was all woman. She was intelligent, beautiful, confident, caring, and funny. There wasn't a man alive who wouldn't want to be with a woman like Carmen, except for one kind. They were those men would never be able to get over their prejudices about who a woman was.

It took a long time for Carmen to finish pouring out her story. She peered into my eyes. She waved her hand over herself. "Is this the kind of woman you want to spend time with, Josh?"

"I have no idea what you mean when you say 'this kind of woman' but yes. You are a woman I want to spend more time with. You are the woman I want to spend more time with."

She smiled. Her smile was radiant. It was every bit as amazing as her laugh. I glanced at the digital clock over the bar. It said 11:28 pm. "Time to go girlfriend. I am not going to lie to Mama the first time she lets me take you out on a date. I will have you home on time!"

We were standing on the front porch by 11:57 pm. Carmen molded her luscious body to mine and pulled my face to hers. I lost track of time in that kiss; the porch lights were flickering. Mama opened the door giggling. "You good man, Mr. Josh. You good for my Carmen." Reluctantly we broke our embrace and Carmen went inside; I went home.