The main character is
not
me. This is a pure fantasy scenario.
Malcolm Lawrence was good at keeping his secret. He hid what he considered to be his true self from everyone. His marriage to Marybeth was going strong after 25 years, and although she knew he had a fetish, he gave no indication to her about how much it meant. After being open about it, for a time, early in their relationship, she asked him to basically give it up as she just didn't understand the idea and didn't want to. After being told that, Malcolm just kept it completely to himself. He had no desire to share his nature with close confidants, his mental health counselor or any anonymous characters on the internet. And he didn't worry about blurting it out as he never got drunk or high. It was very personal to Malcolm, and until he met Trinity, he thought that he would carry that secret into his grave.
The secret did involve items to hide. Malcolm was able to do that mostly in plain sight of Marybeth at home in his own bedroom dresser. It was he that handled all the laundry, as he always had, so there was no need for Marybeth to go through his dresser drawers. Even if she did, there was that one drawer of his that was seemingly stuck shut. Only he knew the trick to opening it. She likely thought that it was unusable, and as it was his chest of drawers, she gave no indication that it mattered.
Malcolm had little trouble obtaining items to put in his drawer. Although Marybeth handled the money for the family, he had a cash allowance to purchase lunches. He would often use cash saved to pay for the items. And over the years, he learned that certain large chain stores didn't itemize their reciepts electronically. So he had little trouble keeping minor purchases from his wife. The only other issues with the items were timing and discretion. For that, he relied, mostly, on his wife having a far more active social life than his.
Marybeth had weekly choir practice as well as her charity events and her standing biweekly date with her mother to play slots or bingo at a casino. Should she arrive home early from an event, there was the warning of the garage door that gave Malcolm plenty of time before she secured the car in the garage before reentering the house. He used that time to simply put on his black kimono style robe and matching bottoms. Underneath the robe, he was dressed in women's lingerie.
Did this make Malcolm a crossdresser? Not in his mind, as he was never out in public or posting his image online. This was very private. And it would have remained that way if it weren't for his neighbor, Trinity.
Malcolm and Marybeth's house was in a rather quiet suburban community. They had few neighbors, that they knew well, despite being rooted there for nearly twenty years. Their kids were off on their own yet close enough to visit or entertain the grandkids. So with Marybeth out of the house most evenings, Malcolm could finish his shift as a bus driver and be home in time to dress in his evening attire just after 4 pm. He would enjoy the privacy and solitude by selecting lingerie, then taking it to the bathroom where he could shower before dressing. Only after covering himself with his robe would he go preapare his dinner before relaxing on the sofa with the TV and his laptop. Porn was bedroom only, and even then he rarely indulged. By 8 pm, it was time to retire as his day started at 4 am. Marybeth would come to bed late around 12:30 am, if she didn't just fall asleep in her chair. When she did join Malcolm, she would find him in a pj top and a long or short legged bottom. Underneath, whether she knew it or not, was Malcolm's lingerie.
Malcolm's collection was in a variety of colors, sillhouetes and styles. But it was really all about the feel of the fabric for him. He loved the smoothness of silk and satin, the delicate unevenness of lace as well as the hug of spandex. Without looking, he could find an outfit in his drawer from the subtle difference in the feel of each piece. And on occasion, he enjoyed nylon stockings and garter belts. Those were for occasions when he
knew
that Marybeth would not be coming to bed.
As far as the actual obtaining of Malcolm's lingerie, besides the large chain stores when they had clearance sales, there was one local independent retailer he that got his repeat business, Babe-a-lon. The staff was helpful but would let him browse without interruption. The selection in plus size was unequaled, and it was a place where there was little if any chance of running into any of Marybeth's friends. Upon his first couple of purchases, he talked as if the items were for his wife. But in his several subsequent visits, the staff never inquired about for whom he made the purchase. So, for years, he had the perfect secret obsession. He just didn't count on having Trinity get a peek underneath his robe.
Trinity was a thirty something Irish woman who had moved into the house across the street from Malcolm and Marybeth about a year before their encounter. Her roommate was Ailish who was later discovered to be her first cousin. Their closeness and public familial affections fooled the neighborhood into the belief that they were lesbians. Ailish was the classic Irish redhead with a model's physique. She definitely was a bit of eye candy to Malcolm who had a thing for redheads. But Trintiy, despite being more curvy, was even more interesting to him. With her raven hair partially shaved off one side and several tattoos showing including a Chinese dragon on her right arm and a jeweled stud in her nose, she had a clear punk look. But for Malcolm, it was her greyish blue eyes that didn't quite go with her naturally black hair and contrasting alabaster skin that gave her the intrigue.
About a month after Trinity and Ailish had moved in and the neighborhood had pinned the lesbian couple tag on them, Malcolm finally got a chance to meet Trinity at the communal mail box cluster. She mentioned getting help moving from an ex-boyfriend and that she and Ailish were closely related and were closer than her own brothers and sister who were several years older. Malcolm welcomed them to the neighborhood and invited them to come over some evening to meet Marybeth when she wasn't busy. He thought very little about the Irish cousins for awhile as they did not take him up on the offer. There were a number of subsequent freindly encounters at the grocery store, while wheeling out garbage cans and again at the mailbox. But there was nothing to indicate the future connection.
Spring, Summer and most of Fall passed before that night that Trinty came to knock on Malcolm's door. While Marybeth was at a charity auction for JDRF, Malcolm had dressed for the night in a black and purple corset-like basque with garters for his favorite back-seemed, thigh-high stockings and matching thong. He always kept a robe nearby for those very rare surprise knocks at the door. One of his felines had barfed on his long black robe, so he had both the kimono and the bottoms in the living room as he watched HBO and surfed the internet.
It was late November on the Friday before Thanksgiving, and the weather was nasty. The rain was intermittently heavy along with 20 mph winds gusting to 40+ mph. Malcolm noticed that the power was out across the street. That was typical of their neighborhood as the grid was split down their street. But not only did Malcolm still have power, but his cable and internet were still on with no issues. He was blissfully ignoring the storm that rivaled the one viewed on his TV before his life changing encounter initiated.
The actual knock startled Malcolm so much that he scared Reba, his orange tabby who occupied his lap. She bolted up and out of the room leaving him with small claw punctures in his leg. But he did manage to get quickly off the sofa and slip on the black satin bottoms and the kimono. With the remote in reach on the way to the door, he muted the TV before opening the door a crack. He saw a drenched Trintiy in a hooded heavy raincoat with a watch cap covering her head. She had her arms tight to her side and a look of misery on her face. "Hi. I'm sorry to bother you. But our power is out, and I need to charge my phone to get ahold of Ailish."
"Of course. Come in, please." Malcolm reached out to beckon Trinity in then closed the door behind her to keep heat in. "Why, you look like you're nearly hypothermic! Let me hang up your coat. You can slip out of those boots and have a seat near the vent. That should warm you up...How long were you out there?"
"Well, I had to walk a couple of miles after the bus broke down. I didn't think it rained like this in Seattle. I thought that it just misted."
"This is unusual for us. But we can get a few storms this time of year. Let me get you something hot to drink. I have tea, coffee or cocoa. What would you prefer?"
"Tea would be lovely. Thanks."
Malcolm was off to the kitchen to heat the kettle of water. He called back to Trinity. "I have a pad charger over on the desk near you for your phone. Or, there's a power strip for your charger if you have it."
"Thank you...I found it...You have a very nice home here. I like the colors of the walls and trim."
"Thanks." Malcolm poked his head around the corner to be able to see Trinity and still be close to the kettle. "It's all Marybeth's doing. She has a artist's eye for these things."
"So, are these her photographs and paintings out here?"
"Yes...Oh, what kind of tea do you like?"
