Without another thought, she stripped, putting every piece of clothing in the dirty clothes hamper.
Then Frances Twist took a long, hot shower, letting the cascading water do its job. She felt the tensions of the day slowly ease from her body, but not her mind.
When the shower was done, Frances let the Jacuzzi tub drain completely before filling it up to soak.
Activating the water jets, she felt the gentle small waves massage human feet that soon became feline paws.
Frances relished and enjoyed each transformation into what she thought of as the physical representation of her true self, for it brought her one step closer to the love of her life, her wife Samantha Twist.
As her furry body slowly sank into the tub, Frances felt herself finally start to relax. It had truly been a long day, being at ground zero of Dymixious Drake's showdown with the police that ended in his death*. She knew Samantha was somewhere downtown and their adopted son Ben was safe wherever he was with his girlfriend Kenya Adaeze, but to say that she was scared was an understatement. Especially when that bullet came through the bedroom window!
As the Jacuzzi did its job, Frances allowed her mind to drift. Naturally it went back to more pleasant thoughts and memories.
Always smarter than her contemporaries and "peers", young Frances Carter suspected she was at least bi, if not outright lesbian, before her family moved to Moon Lake.
While boys were okay, there was just something about females that the preteen liked more. She was starting to get close to one girl in particular, and was trying to figure out how to express what she was feeling, let alone what she wanted, when her family moved to Moon Lake.
That fateful day when they arrived at their new home, everyone else was starting to unload the station wagon when, curious by nature, Frances started taking in her surroundings.
Across the street were two adult females with a girl about her age.
One look at Samantha Twist and Frances knew. She would never be able to tell anyone HOW she knew, but the information was as solid as the fact that she was breathing. There was THE woman of my life!
Frances didn't hesitate to cross the street and introduce herself.
What was even more special, Samantha felt something too from the moment they first met. Frances could see it in her eyes.
A couple of days later when a representative of the Town Hall came to inform the Carters about weres (because the Town Chancellor position that Samantha has now didn't exist yet), let alone the law that at least one of the family would have to join were society, Frances was both flabbergasted and inquisitive. I wonder if Samantha's one, let alone what?
She read what passed for the official handbook of the time, fascinated over all the possibilities. Why her father choose weredog was beyond her. Yet what was truly amazing was that he was willing to go against his religious principals long enough to be changed by another woman. "He did what was necessary, nothing more," was all her mother ever said on the subject.
He in turn changed her mother, and they seemed to have no problem letting her older brother Samson experience the first transformation on his own with someone he wasn't even dating.
Being only 12, Frances was too young, yet her father said the day she was old enough, she would be a weredog too.
I want to be whatever Samantha is, was what Frances longed to say, but just simply nodded her head in silent agreement, for there was a bigger secret she needed to keep.
By this point in her young life, there was no doubt that Frances Carter was deeply and madly in love with Samantha Twist and vice versa. The two had kept each other company whenever they could and grown closer every moment they were together. They talked about everything. From the latest fashions at Awareness, the specialty clothing store in town that catered to weres, to school, since Samantha was a grade ahead of Frances. But the best conversations were always when they discussed their joint future together, especially the talks that required no words beyond "I love you."
Yet the people Frances wanted most to tell she knew who was in her future were also the ones she didn't dare say a word to about Samantha.
While the citizens of Moon Lake seemed to have no problem with same gender couples and Samantha's mothers had welcomed Frances into their family with open arms, the Carters' religious convictions wouldn't allow them to even consider the possibility of two females being in a loving relationship, despite the changing attitudes of the rest of the world.
Yet Frances knew who occupied her heart, and continued to secretly see Samantha whenever possible.
Their first kiss was special. Samantha's hand in hers or vice versa even more so.
But that very first time they had the opportunity to sneak off into the woods and really explore the physical aspects of love...
Samantha was as kind and gentle as a lover should be, happily recalled Frances, while her tail idly swished in the water. Her tender touch... I felt truly alive for the first time with her! It isn't just the physical aspects of love anymore. It's what she means to my soul as well.
That magic moment would forever be etched in young Frances' life and heart, let alone the consequences that loomed on the horizon.
Frances had the closer birth date between them, so except for the two months in-between each when they were briefly the same age, Samantha (she hates being called Sam) was 'the older woman' by a year, a fact that just added to the mystique, charm, and attraction she felt for Miss Twist.
Yet while Frances longed to be a werecat, let alone Samantha's werecat, Samantha wouldn't experience her first transformation until sometime after her 14th birthday. So the two thought the normal Frances would be safe until then enjoying Sapphic love with her girlfriend and future mate, provided they kept their activities secret from the rest of the Carters, who had already forbidden Frances from having anything to do with the Twists after they found out Samantha had two mothers.
Frances couldn't attend Samantha's 14th birthday party. She did give her a present though.
"Don Quixote?" asked Samantha, looking at the cover.
"It's a copy of my favorite book. Doing what's right may seem crazy to some, but you should always hang on to your dreams," explained Frances.
Mysteries and science-fiction were more to her liking, but Samantha accepted the book as if Frances had given her the most precious thing she owned, which she couldn't quite comprehend since they already had each other's heart. It took Samantha weeks to do so, but she read that entire novel from the first word on the front cover to the last punctuation mark on the back cover. Frances is more deep than I first thought, she realized, as her appreciation of having Frances in her life grew.
But besides having to see each other in secret, for those that knew they were together didn't tell anyone else, what hurt the young couple even more was that Frances couldn't be there for moral support when Samantha experienced her first transformation. I wanted to be there to help Samantha, even if that meant becoming a werecat then and getting my parents angry at me before they actually did, remembered Frances.
"I did what I had to do, but the whole time I was thinking of you," Samantha–now a full fledged lesbian werecat–told Frances about attending her first werecat pride meeting, but didn't elaborate.
By this time Frances knew what was necessary to change a normal into a were or make sure a were's first transformation was successful. Yet there was no doubt that she trusted and believed Samantha, for the look in her lover's eyes spoke volumes. There had been times since when they shared women together, most recently ushering Martha Anderson into were society and welcoming Jen Decker back to Moon Lake, but at the end of each night it was only Mrs. and Mrs. Twist who fell asleep in each other's loving arms.
The first chance they had in private, Samantha showed Frances the new her.
"You're even more beautiful now," said Frances, gently stroking Samantha's soft fur as the werecat purred at her lover's touch.
Samantha couldn't help noticing how Frances stared at her naked but now furry body. The thought of having Frances in her arms, let alone being the one to welcome her into were society made Samantha's libido rush with excitement as her heart soared at the thought of sharing the ultimate experience with her future wife.
Frances longed to truly experience the "new" Samantha too, but because of her fursona, Samantha and Frances could no longer do more than hold hands and kiss whenever they could be together without getting caught, but neither knew the die was already cast.
However, Frances' approaching 14th birthday was causing other problems between them, for the Carters still insisted upon their only daughter becoming a weredog like the rest of the family.
"I want so badly to be a werecat like you darling," Frances confided in Samantha on a walk home from school, before they had to split up when they drew near their respective houses. "But no matter what I am on the outside, I'll still be the same girl on the inside who loves you with all her heart and soul," she promised.
While Samantha couldn't attend Frances' 14th birthday, she still gave her a present. A heart shaped locket on a chain as both a token of her love and a promise of the future. Whatever happened, Samantha Twist would love Frances Carter as much as she loved her, until the end of time.
A week later was the next scheduled weredog pack meeting, and Frances' impending welcome into were society.
Although not invited to that either, Samantha snuck off and stayed in the back of the crowd to be there for Frances.
Samantha could tell Frances was a nervous wreck, standing among the other impending initiates, and not just because she had absolutely nothing on underneath the ceremonial robe. The fact that Samantha caught a glimpse of a heart shaped locked around her girlfriend's dainty neck made her own heart soar. She wanted to leap by Frances' side, declare her love and make her a werecat, but couldn't.
Frances was nervous beyond all belief. Not only was she about to become a weredog, when she longed to be Samantha's furry companion, but her parents had already picked out "a nice young man" to be her partner and usher her into were society. She looked across the gathering and spotted him. The grin on his canine muzzle as he nudged the boy standing next to him started to churn Frances' stomach. Oh, Samantha...
As the opening words were spoken, Frances started to moan as a warm flush developed all across her body.
Soon even any normal who might be present couldn't help hearing her sounds of pain as Frances clutched her stomach.
It was a normal 14 year old female who bent over with abdominal cramps, but it was the eyes of a werecat in the process of her first transformation that looked up at everyone and started mewing for Samantha.
Samantha quickly rushed to her lover's side, took Frances off into the woods without a word to anyone, and eased her pain as the two werecats made love together for the first time.
By the time they came back, it was highly noticeable that the gathering was short by three people.
By the time they made it back to the Carter residence, all of Frances' stuff was on the front yard, with no care as to making sure nothing got damaged upon tossing it out of the second story window of their home.
There was a note on top of the pile from her parents, saying that Frances had brought shame and dishonor to their family and that she was officially disowned.
The two girls gathered what they could and went across the street. Samantha explained everything to her mothers. In the end, they agreed that the girls followed the rules the best they could but Samantha, despite not knowing that she could affect a normal at any time, should have been more careful.
The elder Twists agreed to take Frances in and tend to her until her 18th birthday under the conditions that she finished high school and that Frances and Samantha got married as soon as they legally could. Samantha got down on one knee and proposed on the spot, with Frances accepting before she even finished asking the question.
After Frances graduated high school, they had a simple civil ceremony the following week. The only Carter that attended was her brother Samson. "I won't pretend to understand this same gender stuff, but as long as you're happy and Samantha never hurts you, I don't have a say in the matter. Just don't tell mom and dad I was here," he added, before kissing Frances on the cheek and leaving.
That fall Frances went off to college to study hard to become a therapist in order to help others with their emotional problems. A maternal uncle had left her a trust fund that her parents couldn't touch that covered the expenses.
Samantha, still feeling guilty in the belief that she took Frances' choice away from her, was already studying to enter public service. She later took a position in new mayor Martin Stovall's administration as Town Chancellor to help others deal with and enter were society easier.
But through it all, we've never lost each other, or our hope, thought Frances, thinking about Jade Drake and her new daughter.*
Memories of the new arrival brought mixed feelings to Frances. On one hand, she was glad both mother and child were safe. On the other paw, Frances' one unfulfilled wish in her relationship with Samantha was for them to raise a child one of them actually gave birth to. Their adopted son Ben was a good kid, and neither parent would have traded one second with him for anything else in the universe, but it wasn't quite the same as creating your own.
The one pitfall of being a happily married lesbian... thought Frances, as she idly rubbed her stomach. We could easily go the artificial route, and I'm more than willing to endure nine months to bring a new life into the world, but I'd want it to be OUR baby. Mine and Samantha's, let alone have a daughter. Yet there's no guarantees with a sperm donor. Especially an anonymous one, realized Frances with a sigh, as she sank a little lower into the tub so the jets hit the back of her neck and shoulders.
Then a smile crossed Frances' feline muzzle as she heard the bathroom doorknob start to turn.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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*Between recent episodes of this series and Frances' extended guest appearance in our companion Moon Lake, Tad series.—tmw.