The Strange Life of a Cross Dresser

I'm writing this entry from my phone while I get a pedicure. My wife and I are traveling next week so this weekend was for pampering: manicure and hair for Tonya; pedicure for me. The owners of our favorite salon are an awesome husband and wife team. The husband always does my pedicure and the wife does Tonya's nails. It's a challenge to understand them sometimes, but they are lovely people and have become very talkative of late. They alway's ask about her "friend" when I don't accompany her.

I've been thinking about this situation, and others like it, quite a bit recently. There are times that I think it would be awesome to be a cross dresser ambassador to the public. Anytime the situation has arisen it has had a positive outcome and been fun. I vastly prefer stealth, though. I don't want people to know I'm a guy in a dress. If it happens I am generally not too bothered and actually enjoy the inevitable flood of questions. Deep down, though, it's a bit deflating to the ego and is in opposition to how I see my dual gender. 

The problem is that if stealth is my preferred mode, then how do I handle it when people ask how Tonya and I know each other? Sometimes people assume we are sisters; other times they assume we are friends or in-laws. Generally we just go with their initial assumption. But after awhile we forget the relationship each group knows and confusion sets in. As I sit here receiving a heavenly massage, the owner is chatting up a storm. It feels odd to be deceiving him and I feel a loss in not being able to share the wonderful relationship Tonya and Charlie have. Instead I'm trying to remember how he thinks Tonya and Jocelyn know each other.

It's not just the nail salon, either; I spend a lot if time en femme just living life, running errands, etc. There are so many places that I frequent both as Charlie and Jocelyn that I'm shocked the two worlds don't collide more often. Right now I'm sitting in a hair salon while Tonya gets a haircut. I've been here many times as Charlie. How do they not recognize Jocelyn is Charlie? Tonya is talking about our upcoming trip. She's talking about me, but not the me sitting here with her right now. It's an odd feeling, but I suppose par for the crossdressing course.