He Should Have Played Ball

Erica Kennel

Part 2

 

Chris climbed into his mom's minivan feeling better about the day. Sure, he was going to have to go with his sisters as they tried on their dresses for his cousin Lisa's upcoming wedding, but he was positive he could slip away to the to the sports section of the department store and avoid all the girly squealing and bonding. Can you imagine the horror, he thought? All those girls talking about dresses, about how they were going to wear their hair, and prancing around in those poofy skirts and high heels. How awful! I'm so glad I am a boy and don't like that stuff, he told himself. I mean, I know I watch the girls a lot at school and church, and enjoy it when they wear skirts and heels and especially those printed dresses in church, but that is perfectly normal, right? Just like dad always tells me, he couldn't get enough of girls when he was my age. It's only natural to stare at pretty girls. His mind drifted to Missy Milam last Sunday at church. He remembered how she looked in that cute printed blue sundress. How he would watch her sit down and cross her legs, and how he would notice how the full skirt would flow down from her waist and out onto the pew. Oh, and those white strappy heels she wore. They were so girly, so dainty compared to his heavy black oxfords. He wondered how she walked in them, how they felt on her feet? Or if the matching ribbons in her hair tickled her neck? Yes, he thought, that was just the cutest outfit! I mean, Chris corrected himself, she looked really pretty in that dress!

He tried to imagine himself grabbing her and kissing her like his father probably would have done at his age. He felt a nervous thought shoot through him. He could never do that. What if she laughed at him? What if she got mad and hit him? I wouldn't want her to think that I was mean, he thought. No, it just wasn't very nice and he made a silent promise never to treat a girl like that. Anyway, it would be better to be a gentleman and talk to her first before he kissed her, he reasoned. Dad would still be impressed. He always said it was time for Chris to start going out with girls, but before Chris always got scared when he thought of asking girls out on a date. Maybe next Sunday, however, he would try to talk to her, maybe even try to ask her out some time.

Chris' thoughts were interrupted as his mom and Staci climbed into the minivan. He noticed Staci had changed into a pair of hip-hugging Bisou Bisou jeans and a white tank top. She was also wearing her black strappy open-toe heels. Even with her hair in a ponytail and wearing jangly silver hoop earrings, he was impressed how much older she looked. He felt a surge of pride to have such a pretty sister and was glad he had helped her earlier in the day with her hair and make-up. He admired her so much and felt he wanted to be just like her - her personality of course! She was still was a just a girl, he thought a little uneasily.

His mom and sister were obviously upset at something when they got in the minivan and he quickly figured out it must have something to do with Molly as she was nowhere to be seen.

Chris couldn't resist and asked, "Where's Molly?"

"Well, it appears your sister went out again today without telling me," his mom said.

"What a little brat," his sister interrupted, "she will do anything to keep from wearing a dress."

Molly was Chris' twin sister and had become, recently, his biggest pain-in-the-neck. Growing up, however, they had been very close and were often inseparable. At about 10, though, Molly started to become more and more aggressive and would often try to pick fights with Chris. He had been reluctant to even try to fight back until his dad said he should stand up to her just one time to show her that girls were weaker than boys. What happened soon after made Chris cringe with humiliation when he thought about it. It was a Sunday, and both he and Molly were getting ready for Church. They were still sharing a room and Chris was just putting on his pants when Molly began pushing him, telling him he should have to wear the dress and not her. He tried to ignore her, but she kept at it, pushing him harder. He could still remember that dress for some reason. It was really frilly, with a full white lacey skirt and petticoats underneath.

He had tried to be nice to her and even had blurted out, "Molly, it is a very pretty dress, you should be glad to be able to wear it."

He even remembered really thinking that it was pretty, and didn't understand why she was throwing such a fuss.

This only set Molly off more and she started taunting him, "If you like it so much why don't yooou wear it Chrissy. Come on, you know you want to. Don't you Chrissy. Sissy Chrissy. You can wear all my dresses. Just think, you can go to church in a dress and play with all the girls. Cooooome on Chrissy, don't you want to wear my pretty little white dress? You said you thought it was pretty." Chris remembered feeling so embarrassed, blushing so his cheeks were a bright red. He wanted to cry. Why was she being so mean? He had tried to stop her. "Molly, stop, please stop. I don't want wear your dumb old dress." But Chrissy wouldn't stop teasing him in a sing-song lisp, "Baby Sissy Chrissy, in her little white dress. Just a little girl, mommy's little girl. Sissy Chrissy, Sissy Chrissy."

Chris wanted so bad to run away and get mommy to make her stop, but he knew his dad would be mad at him for running away so he finally, after another minute of taunting, pushed Molly as hard as he could. Molly, however, saw it coming and easily braced herself against his push. She then quickly grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. In a second he had become totally at his sister's will. She pushed his arm hard into his back and Chris suddenly yelped. He couldn't stop the tears any longer and he began to cry, begging his sister to stop hurting him.

She just laughed at him and kept taunting, "Little Sissy Chrissy, beat up by your sister. I told you, you should be in a dress, not me. You are such a little crybaby sissy."

He just wanted her to stop, and without even her prompting him, said between sobs, "Pleeeeease stop, you're hurting me. I will wear your dress just pleaase stop."

Molly was delighted and pushed his arm hard against his back again, which generated the squeal she was looking for. "Well, Chrissy, I knew you wanted to wear it. But I want you to tell me why you want to wear it."

"Molly please stop," Chris wailed.

Molly responded with "Not until you tell me you are a sissy girl and want to wear it because it is so pretty."

Chris gave in and blubbered out, "I want to wear your dress because it is so pretty. I love the lacey skirt. I'm a girl and I like to wear dresses."

Molly laughed, "I knew it, Chris is a sissy baby girl and wants to wear dresses." She heard someone coming up the steps and quickly came up with a final humiliation. "Ok Chrissy, if you tell me one more time after I let you go and in your sweetest and most girly voice that you are just dying to wear this dress, I promise I won't hurt you anymore so you can put on your little dress."

Molly had left go of his arm and quickly moved away when Chris started to comply with her final demand. Lying on the floor with his back to the door, he didn't notice his dad walk in as he began to speak. In a lispy and sweet voice, Chris said, "Oh Molly, please, please, please let me wear your pretty dress. I am such a sissy and I am just dying to wear a pretty dress."

Molly quickly said for her dad's benefit. "No Chris, you can't wear my dress. But if you ask dad, maybe he will buy you pretty dresses of your own."

Chris' dad was stunned but quickly, on seeing his only son's red face and red back, realized his sister had put him up to this again. He felt a wave of shame for his son. His twin sister had dominated him again! Why didn't he ever stand up for himself? The sound of his little man asking to wear a dress was too much for him, even knowing his sister had forced him. He couldn't bear to look at his weak son and quickly turned and walked out of the room. Chris started crying again and tried to explain what had happened to his dad, but his mom, who had just reached the room, stopped him at the door. She scolded his sister sharply and told her she would be dealt with later. Upon seeing her son, crying at her feet, she bent down and swept him up in her arms, comforting him. Chris grabbed her neck tightly and buried his face in her shoulder. His sobbing grew louder and for a long, time, his mom rocked him back and forth, soothing his hurt feelings.

After things calmed down, Chris' mom got the kids ready and they finally made it to church, with Molly finally grudgingly agreeing to wear the white dress. Chris tried to ignore her during the service, but every time he would catch her eye, he could see how mad she still was at him, for he could only guess at nothing more than not having to wear the lacey white dress. After church Molly was duly punished and the matter was quietly dropped.

Chris noticed afterward that his dad avoided him more often, and seemed to be annoyed with him any time he would talk to him. That episode had been about 2 years before, and Molly still would never miss a chance to tease or just be mean to Chris. Although twins and the same size, she seemed to Chris bigger than he was, and he couldn't stop himself from being afraid of her. Her aggressive streak had not waned, had actually gotten worse, and she had started to have problems at school. At first his parents had tried to be tough with her, but it didn't seem to do any good until Chris' dad took more of a role in her life. They had started hanging out, spending time in the garage working on his old truck - something Chris never enjoyed. As a result, she seemed to be doing better at school - apparently her dad had made a deal that she could continue helping with his truck if she kept her grades up. She was still mean to Chris though, and Chris' mom would often yell at her about it.

Today, as Chris was getting ready to go with the girls to get fitted for their dresses, Molly was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, I tell you what," Chris' mom said from the front seat of the idling van, "she is going to wear a dress for her cousin's wedding. And that's that!"

Staci laughed, "And you know Lisa. All the bridesmaid dresses are, like, sooo girly. And Molly's especially. She is going to totally throw a fit."

Chris mom put the van in drive and pulled out of the driveway, and added "Really? Is it a really girly-girl dress? I haven't seen any of the dresses yet. Well I hope so, it will do her good to get all dressed up for once. She is a young lady now, and needs to know how to get dressed up in nice clothes."

Chris thought of the junior bridesmaid's dress, of which Staci and he had been looking at a picture of yesterday. It was really pretty, he reflected. Very pale pink, with a bright pink sash tied in a big bow in the back. Oh, and a gorgeous tea-length A-line chiffon skirt with a tulle petticoat underneath. With a spaghetti-strap top, it liked the other bridesmaid dresses, but with a fuller skirt and frillier top that seemed to cover a little more skin. It was definitely older and more grown-up than the flower girl dress but Chris still though the dress had a hint of little girl in it.

Ever since seeing the dress, he would imagine the girl in the catalog who was wearing the dress swaying back and forth with the skirt swishing all about her. He couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to wear such a thing. Would it tickle your legs? He felt a light giddiness spread within him when he thought about it, it was just so pretty! Molly was stupid, he concluded, she should be happy to wear a gorgeous dress like that.

While he was absorbed in thoughts about the dress, he heard his sister say, "Chris and I looked it up yesterday, it really is so darling, isn't it Chris?"

Chris, caught up in that moment in the thought of the dress and wanting to join in the criticism of his sister, exclaimed "Oh yes, it is soooo pretty, I can't believe she doesn't want to wear it! I love the full skirt!" He immediately felt silly when he heard his voice say those words, he shouldn't be so excited over a stupid dress.

His sister, though, didn't seem to care that her brother had been excited about the dress, and continued, "I know, I love the pettis underneath, too! I loved it when I was a flower girl and junior bridesmaid when I was younger. I thought the dresses were always so fun to wear and I, like, couldn't wait for the wedding each time!"

"Well," Chris' mom said, "we will just have to convince Molly that she is lucky to have such a nice cousin who wants her to be in the wedding, and how we all would have considered ourselves lucky to get to wear such a nice dress at her age." Chris' stomach dropped when he heard his mom's sentence. Did she just say he would consider himself lucky to wear Molly's dress?

 

He Should Have Played Ball - Part 2

Erica Kennel

  

  

  

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