Jimmy Meets His Match

by Jennifer

 

CHAPTER 15

 

TO THE LIBRARY AS SUSAN

 

Another fine day dawned, and after my usual morning wash, Aunt Mary prepared me for my solo visit to the library in town. As on the previous Friday, I was to wear Susan's summer school uniform; a maroon and white candy striped dress with a peter pan collar; short sleeves, a long back zip, and with the dress pulled in at the waist with a buckle belt. For my feet, white ankle socks and a pair of brown T bar sandals. On top of the dress I wore Susan's maroon blazer, and as I was putting it on, she came into my room carrying her school hat. 'No hair ribbons today please Mum' she said, 'He is supposed to be me, and you know I never wear them.' Aunt Mary brushed out the pageboy wig and placed it securely on my head before combing it neatly in place with a fringe at the front. We then went downstairs for breakfast, and Susan hung her hat on the back of a chair. Just before we sat down, Susan heard the front door letterbox rattle. 'Post' she shouted as she rushed out to fetch it. She came back with a letter for Aunt Mary, who recognised it as being from my mother by the handwriting. She sat down to read it before starting to eat. 'Well guess what girls?' she said, 'Aunt Elizabeth is coming up for a few days with Diana and Tricia. They'll be arriving a week next Friday.'

'Oh fabulous' said Susan, 'That means that we can show them what we do with Jimmy. Great, they'll love it!'

'Well that's not the only reason they're coming' said Jane, 'But it will be good fun having them here as well. I must email them and ask them to think up some really humiliating ideas for him.' I wasn't happy.

After breakfast, I was to be the first one to leave the house, and Susan and Jennifer kept giving me some final advice on how to be a convincing girl. Jane suddenly said 'Now Jennifer, I'm just going to make quite sure that you can't take off that cute little school dress while you're out. Take off your blazer for a moment.' Puzzled, I removed the blazer and held it over my arm. 'Now' said Jane, 'Just stand still.' She stood behind me, and taking a small thin chain from her pocket, she slipped it round my neck and adjusted the length so that it was a firm fit but not too tight. 'Susan' she said, 'The padlock. It's in my pocket.' Susan took a small padlock from out of Jane's pocket and gave it to her. She carefully passed the hasp of the padlock through a hole in the slider of the zip, and then through the links of the chain. With an air of finality she clicked the padlock shut, and tucked the chain down out of sight below the neckline of the dress. 'There' she said, 'Try taking that dress off now, Jennifer!' I knew that undoing the zip would be impossible, so I was effectively locked into it. 'Oh that's brilliant' said Susan, laughing.

'All right Jennifer' said Jane, grinning with satisfaction, 'You can put your blazer on again now.' I did as I was told, as Susan added 'And let's not forget your hat.' She picked up her school hat from off the back of the chair, put it firmly onto my head, and pulled the elastic under my chin. As a final touch she straightened the hat, and I was ready.

'All ready?' said Aunt Mary, coming into the room. She looked at me with approval. 'Yes, you look perfect. I can honestly say that if I saw you in the street I wouldn't give you a second glance. Excellent. Now Jennifer' she said, 'Here's some money, enough for your bus fare and the few little trinkets you're going to buy. Have you got the list Susan?'

'Yes, here it is' said Susan, 'And my library books and card.' She handed them to me and said 'Now remember Jennifer, on that list are all the little items you're to buy, and the shops you'll have to go into to buy them. Keep the receipts so that we'll know which shops you bought them from. And remember, if you don't know where the shops are, you'll probably have to ask someone, so don't forget to use that cute little girl voice you're developing so well.' Walking me to the door, Aunt Mary opened it and I nervously stepped outside. 'Just a sec' said Jane, 'Come on Susan, we'll take Jennifer down to the bus stop just to make sure that she gets on the bus.' They came out to join me, and after saying goodbye to Aunt Mary we set off along the pavement and down to the bus stop. In a few minutes the bus arrived, and I stepped up into it. 'Bye Jennifer' called Jane, 'See you later' and the girls laughed and waved as the bus pulled away.

I paid my fare without incident, and sat down feeling as if everyone on the bus was staring at me. But it was an illusion, and everyone just ignored me. I got off the bus in the town centre, and wondering where the library was, I went up to a traffic warden and asked him the way in my best little girl manner. It worked perfectly. Without hesitation he told me the way, and off I went after thanking him. My confidence was growing. I soon reached the library and went in through the door. Going up to a desk marked 'Returned Books', I put Susan's books down on the counter. The assistant looked at me and said 'Have you got your library card?' I gave her the card, and she scanned it along with the books before putting them on a trolley. I thanked her, and walked out of the library. Well that was easy. So far so good. Now, shopping next. I headed for the shopping precinct, took the girls' list out of my blazer pocket, and started reading it, groaning at the type of items I had to buy. Jane and Susan had obviously chosen the items and shops for maximum nerve wracking effect.

First the hair ribbon. I went into the haberdashery shop on the list and looked at the rolls of ribbon, unable to quite decide. While I was pondering, a voice behind me suddenly said 'Can I help you dear?' I looked up and saw a middle aged shop assistant talking to me. I blushed slightly, and then said in my best girlish voice 'I need some pink and some white hair ribbon please, about two yards of each.'

'Certainly' said the woman, 'Is it for you?'

'Yes' I said, and she picked up two reels of ribbon from the shelf. 'This is about the best width for you to use' she said. We went over to the counter and she cut the lengths of ribbon with a pair of scissors. Then she threw me. Looking at me, she asked 'How come you're wearing your school uniform today? You're on holiday aren't you?' I thought fast, and then said 'Oh, Mum's just taken me to the shop for my new uniform. I wanted to do some shopping.' Satisfied with my answer, the assistant rolled up my ribbon and put it in a bag. I paid for it, and after thanking her, walked out of the shop. One down, six to go. I continued my shopping excursion, and with the items I had to buy felt so humiliated, even though the shop assistants that served me had no inkling that I was really a boy. Until the last one.

Perhaps I was becoming overconfident, perhaps I was getting careless. The last items on my list were a doll's baby bottle, a dummy, and some hair slides with plastic bows for me. I went into a toy shop, and a young assistant came up to me. I asked her where the doll accessories were, and she took me over to them. As I was looking for what I'd been told to buy, she jokingly asked me if they were for me to play with. I was confused, and blurted out that they were. Immediately I could have bitten off my tongue. 'Really?' she said, 'For you?' She said to her companion 'Hey Maggie, this girl plays with dollies!' The other girl laughed and came over to us, looked at me and giggled. Now I was beginning to lose my nerve, and felt trapped. I don't know what it was that gave me away. Maybe it was my voice or my manner when I stopped concentrating, I'll never know. But suddenly, one of the girls looked closely at my face and said 'Just a minute, you're not a girl, are you? You're a boy!' and she leaned forward and pulled off my hat and wig. I automatically put my hands to my head as I stood there speechless with humiliation, while the two girls went into peals of laughter.

After they had calmed down a bit I explained my position to them, but they just thought that this was hilarious as well, and showed no sympathy at all. 'Well' said one girl, 'From what you've told us, I think you got just what you deserved. Wow, what a punishment. It's brilliant! I can think of any number of boys I'd love to do this to.'

'Anyway' grinned the other girl, 'We can't pass up this opportunity to have some fun. Let me see. We're going to let you go in a minute, but first you're going to have to pay a small forfeit before we give you back your wig and hat. I don't imagine you would fancy travelling home dressed like that without them.'

'Of course not' I said. 'Very well' said the girl, giggling, 'As a forfeit, you are going to walk down to the end of the precinct and back pushing a doll's pram with a pretty dolly in it. Won't that be lovely?' The other girl grinned as she selected a colourful doll's pram, and took down a large doll from the shelf. She put the doll in the pram and wheeled it over to me. Smiling at me, she said 'Right little girl, take your dolly for a walk. You'll get your wig and hat back when you return, so off you go.' Blushing to the roots, I walked out of the door pushing the pram. As soon as I was outside, hoots of laughter from all sides assailed me, and it was even worse than when I'd had to visit the police station without a wig previously. I gulped, gritted my teeth, and set off down the precinct. Little girls ran alongside me calling out to me, and older girls made various humiliating suggestions. It was sheer hell. I reached the end of the precinct, and then had to return by the way I had come. Arriving back at the toy shop I dashed inside, almost in tears.

'That was lovely, little girl' said one of the girls, falling about with laughter, 'Great fun. All right, we'll let you go now, and don't forget to pay for your bottle and dummy.'

'Can you please put my wig and hat on again?' I said, 'I can't do it properly.'

'OK' said one of the girls, 'Sit down here.' I sat down on a chair, and for once I was actually relieved to be putting on my wig, as the alternative was far worse. She placed the wig carefully back on my head, and brushed it neatly in position. Then she put my school hat on again, and I almost felt normal. I stood up to pay the bill, and as I was leaving, one of the girls said, 'I must say you do look pretty convincing. If you hadn't lost your cool, we'd never have guessed. Anyway, have fun, and don't talk to any strangers on the way home!' I left the shop and started walking towards the bus stop, wondering what Susan and Jennifer would make of my little escapade. I wasn't sure whether to tell them or not. I waited at the bus stop for a few minutes until my bus arrived, and paid my fare before sitting down. Three girls from the village who recognised me came over and sat next to me with wide grins on their faces, but they didn't let on, and they carried on a conversation with me as if I really was a girl. At least it wasn't as bad as being teased and jeered at, and they seemed to enjoy the novelty.

We all got off the bus at the village, and the girls waved me goodbye as I walked home. I was relieved when Aunt Mary opened the door to let me in, and once inside, I put all my purchases on the kitchen table and sat down feeling exhausted. Jane and Susan came into the kitchen, and looking at me, Jane said 'You look a bit upset. Did anything happen in town?' I decided to tell them what had happened, which elicited no sympathy whatever. 'Well' chuckled Jane, 'That was a bonus I didn't expect. A dolly in her pram. How lovely, I wish I'd seen it. Oh well, that will teach you to concentrate more, which is what you will need to do tomorrow. Mrs. Sewell's having some ladies over for tea who don't know about you, and she wants to see if they think you're really a girl if they meet you. So she's invited us all over to meet them and see if we can pass you off as cousin Jennifer. She's very curious to see if they do spot you as a boy or not, as she doesn't think they will, so it will be interesting to find out. Before we go we'll have a practice session here to make sure you know just how to walk, stand and sit, and so on. I don't have any worries about your appearance, that's fine by now, but I still think we should polish up your mannerisms.'

Aunt Mary had now prepared tea, and as soon as we sat down, I attacked it with gusto, only to be brought up sharply by Jane. 'Now Jennifer, that's not how young ladies eat. You must practice eating daintily and politely like a proper little girl under our supervision.' It was a slow meal of instruction, and while we were eating, Aunt Mary said 'About tomorrow. I was talking to Mrs. Sewell, and she told me how impressed she was with Jennifer's appearance the other day. She said that she was completely taken in when she first met Jimmy, and thinks that we've done a very good job in converting him from a loutish boy into a demure little girl. Anyway, as you know, she's got her aunt and two of her friends coming to tea tomorrow. Now apparently they are pretty straight laced and old fashioned, especially her aunt, and that's why Mrs. Sewell asked if you would go over there to give Gillian some company and moral support. Gilly always feels uncomfortable when her great aunt visits, because she has to dress and behave like a proper little lady. So Susan, I'm afraid that means that you'll have to behave like a little lady as well.'

'Oh God' said Jane, 'Does that mean that we all have to go? What are we going to wear?'

'Well you can wear your best blouse and skirt' said Aunt Mary, 'Something reasonably mature. But Susan, you'll have to wear something more in keeping with your age. A dress of some sort.' Susan's brow began to darken, almost as if she knew what was coming. Aunt Mary continued. 'Mrs. Sewell wants to give her aunt exactly the right image of two little girls sitting politely together, with a good upright posture, legs crossed and hands together. And that's what we're going to give her. Jennifer will wear her yellow dress, and Susan, you can wear the matching pink one. I want you to look as similar as possible.'

'No way!' screeched Susan, jumping up. 'No way! I wouldn't wear a dress like that for any reason!'

'You will wear it' said Aunt Mary, slightly put out at such vehemence, 'And I'll tell you why. If you refuse to wear it, I will lock away all your pairs of slacks, shorts, and any other tomboyish clothes you have. I'll just leave you cute little dresses to wear for the rest of the holidays. I know how much you'd like that. So what's it to be?' Susan stood there on the verge of tears. 'That's blackmail!' she said.

Aunt Mary smiled. 'I don't care what you call it' she said, 'You'll wear that pink dress tomorrow regardless. Do I make myself clear?'

'But what if my friends see me walking down the street dressed like that?' wailed Susan, 'I'll be a laughing stock.'

'Then you'll have a slight idea of how Jimmy's been feeling' said Jane. 'Oh come on Sue, it's only for a few hours.'

Susan sat down again and sighed. 'Oh well' she said, 'I suppose I don't have any choice. And it is to help Gilly. OK, I'll do it, but I'm not going to enjoy it.'

'Well done dear' said Aunt Mary, 'That's my girl. Now' she said, looking at the clock, 'It's time our other little girl was in bed, so up you go Jennifer.' I stood up, said goodnight to the two girls, and went upstairs. As I went to remove my summer dress, I suddenly realised that I couldn't, because the back zip was still padlocked shut to the chain around my neck. I called out 'Jane, could you please come and get me out of this dress?' In a moment Jane came into the room smiling. 'Can't you get your dress off?' she said, and producing the key, unlocked the padlock, removed the chain around my neck, and unzipped my dress for me. I soon removed the rest of my clothes and put on my nightie. A quick trip to the bathroom, and a moment later I was in bed. After a few minutes Aunt Mary came up to tuck me in, and once again I drifted off into the arms of Morpheus.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 16

 

TEA WITH THE OLD LADIES

 

The next morning I woke up early, listening to the sound of the rain on my window. I got out of bed, drew the curtains, and then got back into bed and lay there watching the rivulets of rain running down the window pane. Eventually my door opened and Aunt Mary came in. I got up and went to the bathroom, and when I returned my clothes were neatly laid out on the bed. As had been already decided, I was to wear my primrose yellow dress. With Aunt Mary's normal efficiency, I was soon wearing the dress with all the back buttons done up and the belt tied in a neat bow behind me. On my feet I wore white ankle socks and a pair of white leather sandals. Aunt Mary attended to my hair, and tied two bows of pale yellow hair ribbon in it to match my dress. These were secured with two yellow hair slides to make sure that they stayed firmly in place. Aunt Mary stood me up for inspection. 'Lovely' she said approvingly. 'I think Mrs. Sewell's aunt will be most impressed. All right Jennifer, go downstairs and have some breakfast, and send Susan up here. It's time to turn her into a pretty, demure little girl for once.'

I went downstairs to the kitchen, where Jane and Susan had just finished their breakfast. Susan was still in her pyjamas and dressing gown. 'OK Susan, you can go upstairs now' I said, 'Your mum wants you.' Susan gave me a glare and went upstairs, while Jane gave me my breakfast. About ten minutes later there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and Aunt Mary and Susan came into the kitchen. I stared at Susan for a moment, and couldn't prevent a grin of satisfaction from crossing my face. Susan saw it and gave me a venomous look that I knew didn't bode well. There she stood, red faced and embarrassed, and no wonder. She was wearing my pale pink dress with an air of utter resignation, while on her feet was a pair of white ankle socks and white sandals identical to mine.

'Oh delightful' laughed Jane, 'Perfect.' Pausing for a moment, she said 'Come into the lounge you two, I want to try something.' We all went into the lounge and Jane said 'Now sit next to each other on the sofa, I want to see how you look together.' We sat down next to each other, and Jane crossed our legs and put our hands together in our laps. Sitting us both quite upright, she said to Aunt Mary, 'Well Mum, d'you think they'll pass?'

'Oh yes, they're perfect' said Aunt Mary. 'They remind me of those paintings of little girls by Gainsborough or Sir Joshua Reynolds. Very charming and delicate.'

'Yes I know what you mean. Do you think Jimmy will be all right?'

'Jimmy? No problem. It won't even occur to them that he's a boy, especially now that he has the right voice and mannerisms. No, he'll be fine.' Jane nodded in agreement and said 'Good.' Suddenly she went behind the sofa, and standing there, put one hand on Susan's head. 'There's just one thing missing' she said, 'Susan needs some hair ribbons as well.'

'Oh no, please Mum' said Susan desperately, 'You know how much I hate wearing them!'

'But you must' said Jane, 'It will spoil the effect if you don't. Come on, just this once. I'll go and get the ribbon.' Before Susan could protest any further, Jane dashed upstairs and returned with what she needed. 'You'd better do it Mum' she said, 'You're good at it.' Aunt Mary then proceeded to arrange Susan's hair. First she wound some pink elasticated bands around a bunch of hair on each side of Susan's head. Taking a length of pale pink hair ribbon, she wound it firmly around one bunch of hair, and tied it tightly in position in a non-slip bow. 'Ow!' said Susan, 'That hurt, it's too tight!' I grinned inwardly with delight at her discomfort. I'd forgotten that these ribbons were being tied into Susan's real hair, not a wig. 'Nonsense' said Aunt Mary, 'That's how it has to be.' Repeating the process with the other bunch of hair, she finished off the effect by clipping two pink plastic hair slides into Susan's hair. 'That's much better' said Jane. 'They almost look like twin sisters, the way they're wearing matching dresses but in different colours. They look lovely together, don't they?' Susan scowled back at her. If looks could kill.

Jane and Aunt Mary stood back to look at Susan and myself, and looked well satisfied. Going to the sideboard, Jane took out her camera, and despite some protests from Susan, took a range of pictures of us sitting on the sofa both together and separately. Susan certainly wasn't too pleased at being recorded dressed like that, and Jane couldn't resist teasing her a little. 'After all Sue' she said, 'I might just find a use for those pictures at school next time you annoy me.' Susan glared at her, 'You wouldn't dare' she said. 'Oh wouldn't I?' laughed Jane, putting her camera back in the draw.

We had several hours to wait before going to Gillian's, so we spent the time playing scrabble and watching television. But finally Aunt Mary said it was time for us to be off, and we went out into the hall to put our coats on. Aunt Mary opened the door and we saw that it was pouring, so Jane picked up an umbrella, and Susan went to do the same. 'No Susan' said Aunt Mary, 'I think you'd better wear a raincoat. I don't want you to get that dress wet, so wear your school mac. You should prefer that, because it will hide your dress if any of your friends see you. That's what was worrying you, wasn't it?' Susan morosely agreed, and took down her grey school mackintosh from the coat rack. She buttoned up the front, did up the belt, and then put up her hood, fastening the tie tapes under her chin in a bow. In the meantime, Jane took down my red rubberised satinette mackintosh, and held it out for me to put on. I slipped my arms into the sleeves and she pulled it on over my shoulders. Then she buttoned me into it and fastened the belt Finally she pulled up the hood, buttoned it firmly under my chin, and pulled the hood well forward. 'There' she said, smiling, 'If that aunt saw you now, she wouldn't think twice that you were a girl. Well, let's go and convince her, shall we?'

Now we were ready to go, and Aunt Mary saw us off. We walked out into a torrential downpour, and soon our mackintoshes and feet were soaking wet. But at least the macs were completely waterproof, and the large hoods kept our hair completely dry. We walked on through the driving rain, and at one point passed three of Jane's friends, all well wrapped up in their grey school macs and hoods. As we walked on, Susan said 'Thank goodness it is raining, if it had been sunny they would have seen this disgusting dress I'm wearing. What a ghastly thought.' We continued walking for another half an hour or so until we finally reached the Sewell's house. Jane rang the bell, and Gillian let us in. 'God' she said, 'You are wet, aren't you? Come on, take off those wet coats off and come inside.' We removed our dripping wet macs, and Gillian hung them up on the coat stand.

Gillian looked at Susan, and Susan looked at Gillian. She had two bows of white ribbon in her hair, and was wearing a childish white satin frock with a peter pan collar and long puffed sleeves with cuffs at the wrist. Her dress had a back zip and a pink satin sash fastened in a neat bow behind her. She wore knee high white socks, and a pair of mary jane black patent strap shoes on her feet. 'Well, grinned Jane, 'I don't know which one of you looks the most cute. I reckon it's a draw.'

'Never mind' said Gillian, 'Let's get on with it. Now the old bat's a real stickler for old fashioned ideas, so humour her. Just remember for once that we're demure little girls, and butter wouldn't melt in our mouths. And Jennifer' she said, looking at me 'You're the star. Mum's depending on you not to give the game away like you did with her, so keep your wits about you, and only speak when you're spoken to. All right girls, here we go.' We walked down the hallway, and entered the living room.

It was a comfortably furnished room, tastefully decorated. A log fire burned in the fireplace, and seated around it were three elderly ladies, together with Gillian's mother. She stood up and introduced us. 'Girls' she said, 'This is my aunt and two of her friends. This is Mrs. Grace Hall' the lady nodded, 'This is Miss Audrey Jenkins, and this is my aunt, Miss Maude Hurley.' We politely acknowledged each introduction, and then it was our turn. 'Ladies' said Mrs. Sewell, 'I would like to introduce three school friends of Gillian's. This is Jane, this is Susan, and this,' gesturing towards me, 'Is Jennifer.' We received a very slight bow of the head from the three ladies, and I almost felt like curtseying, it was so formal. Mrs. Sewell told us to sit down, so I sat in the centre of a large settee between Jane and Susan, while Gillian sat on an upright chair. Susan and I sat daintily together in just the way we had practised at home, legs crossed, hands together on our lap, and with very straight backs. Our rehearsal was certainly paying off. 'Actually' said Gillian's mother, 'Jennifer isn't one of Gillian's school friends, she's a cousin who's staying with Jane and Susan for the holidays.'

'How nice' said Miss Hurley, looking at me, 'And how do you like it here Jennifer?' Right on cue I opened my eyes a little widely, and with my most innocent expression said 'Oh it's lovely here, the countryside is so beautiful, and such a change from Brighton, where I live.' Miss Hurley gave a slightly disdainful smile and said 'Yes, well I can understand that. Brighton, such a vulgar place.' I nearly burst out laughing at her pomposity, but no problem, I was feeling well under control this time. She turned to Mrs. Sewell and said 'Well I must say Vera, I'm pleased to see Gillian and her friends so nicely dressed. Most suitable. I do so detest girls wearing trousers these days, and as for those jean things that some of them wear, well, I ask you. Why, with their awful short hair, you can hardly tell whether they're boys or girls sometimes!' She put back her head and laughed, along with her two friends. We just looked at each other and smiled politely, although Susan nearly had a fit of the giggles. If the old lady had only known. 'No, I must say' she continued, 'I do approve of girls looking like girls, as well as behaving like them. And I don't approve of treating the young ones as older girls before they're ready, either. They should be allowed to experience the joys and constraints of childhood. Take young Jennifer here, she's the very picture of a little girl, a credit to her mother.'

'Yes' ventured Jane, 'Only this morning my mother was looking at Susan and Jennifer sitting together, and she remarked that they reminded her of those paintings of little girls by Sir Joshua Reynolds.'

'Absolutely' said Miss Hurley, 'Exactly my feelings. Your mother is astute my dear.' It was by now obvious that we had completely fooled the three ladies, and I felt quite proud of myself. A little later, Mrs. Sewell went out and brought in some tea and sandwiches, and we helped out, politely handing round the sandwiches and generally behaving in the demure manner expected of us.

Finally, it was time to go, so we stood up and made our polite farewells. Out in the hallway we put on our mackintoshes again, and Gillian said 'That was absolutely brilliant. You really pulled it off Jimmy, well done, you didn't lose it for a moment.' Smiling, she stood in front of me, lifted up my hood and buttoned it under my chin. Pulling the hood forward she said 'Now off you go, little girl!' This time, she said it in a smiling, friendly way, and I knew that for once I wasn't being teased. I grinned back. She opened the door and we dashed out into the rain as Susan put up her hood and tied it under her chin. We walked briskly and cheerfully home with the rain beating down.

Aunt Mary let us in, and we hung up our wet macs before Jane and I went into the lounge to report to Aunt Mary on the afternoon's success. Susan lost no time in running upstairs and changing into something more to her liking. She came down again in slacks and a T shirt and started removing the ribbons from her hair. 'Never again' she said with feeling, throwing them onto the table with the hair slides. 'One Jennifer in the house is quite enough.' Although we weren't very hungry, we managed some tea, and were soon relaxing in front of the television until at six o'clock sharp it was off to bed for me. Compared with other days, I'd almost enjoyed it, and at least the girls hadn't been nasty to me. However, tomorrow would be very different.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 17

 

SION CONVENT OPEN DAY

 

I was woken up by Aunt Mary, and after washing, was dressed by her. She reminded me that today was open day at Susan and Jane's school. I would be going with them, and that meant wearing Susan's spare school uniform. She dressed me in the maroon candy stripe summer dress with white ankle socks and a pair of brown T bar shoes, but just as she sat me down on a chair and was about to put the wig on my head, Susan and Jane came in, both dressed in their school uniform. 'Ah' said Jane, 'Mum, we want him to wear the long shoulder length wig today, because we'd like him to have his hair in plaits, you know, a nice pair of old fashioned pigtails, with hair slides and pretty bows at the end. Can you do that?'

'Yes of course' said Aunt Mary, 'If that's what you want.' She went over to the chest of draws and took my long mid brown wig from its stand. Putting two lengths of white hair ribbon and pink hair slides aside, she laid the wig on my head, and pulled it firmly down into place. 'Now' she said, 'We'll do your hair just like Susan used to have hers.' The wig hung down my back to my shoulder blades, and she divided it carefully into two lengths before starting to plait each one. On reaching the end, she secured it with a white elastic band. Then she wound a hair ribbon tightly round the end several times, and tied it tightly in a neat non-slip double bow. As a finishing touch she inserted a white plastic hair slide in the shape of a small bow into my hair on either side of my head.

When she was done she said 'Now stand up Jennifer.' I stood up, and she neatly arranged the pigtails hanging down my back. Susan and Jane murmured their approval and we went downstairs to breakfast. Once we had eaten, the girls and I washed up, and once we had put the breakfast things away it was time for us to be off. As we went out of the door, Susan rammed her school hat firmly on my head and pulled the elastic down under my chin to keep it on, and then we were on our way to the bus stop. The bus soon came along and we got on, surrounded by other girls all dressed in the Sion Convent school uniform. As we travelled, Jane explained my presence to them, and after a number of appropriate comments, the girls promised to keep mum. After about twenty minutes we arrived outside the school, and the girls poured off the bus and in through the school gates. We started walking up the main driveway, but as we neared the rather imposing Victorian main building, Jane grabbed my arm and said 'Not that way, round here.' Accompanied by Susan and Hilary, she hustled me along a side pathway which led to a large wooden hut in the far corner of the school grounds. When we reached it we went inside, and Hilary locked the door behind us.

The inside of the hut had been converted into a dancing studio, with one wall covered by a huge mirror, and a ballet practice bar attached to the wall opposite. In the centre of the room was an old fashioned school desk. It had a bench seat with a back rest, and a cross bar to rest the feet on. It also featured the usual hinged lid with a groove for pencils, and an empty inkwell in the corner. Several ominous looking straps hung over the back of the desk.

Standing next to the desk were Gillian and Fiona, and lying on top of the lid were some items of girl's schoolwear. Behind them stood a clothes rack on which hung more clothing, and there were a few pairs of shoes on the floor.

'Did you get all the clothes?' asked Jane.'No trouble' said Fiona, 'There were tons of things up in the uniform storeroom and we've got the lot. You did say he was size 10, didn't you?'

'Yes that's right, size 10.'

'Good, that's what we thought, so they should fit him perfectly.'

'All right then, in that case let's get started' said Jane, taking charge. 'Jennifer, let's get you undressed.' She removed my hat and pigtailed wig, and Susan took them from her. Then everything else came off. First the blazer, then the dress, the shoes and socks, and finally my vest and knickers. In a couple of minutes I was standing there completely naked, blushing with embarrassment. 'Oh don't worry about your modesty' laughed Jane, 'We've all seen boys with nothing on before, even Susan. Haven't you Sue?' Susan just grinned and nodded. While Jane had been undressing me, Gillian and Fiona arranged the items of clothing on the desk top ready to be put on in the correct order.

'Now Jennifer' Jane said to me, 'You are about to find out what it was like to be a schoolgirl here at Sion Convent in the 1950's, and what their punishments were like.' Picking up a pair of large, baggy, maroon knickers, she held them up for me to step into. I did so, and she pulled them up my legs, arranging the tight elasticated waist and leg openings neatly. Then came a white vest which she slipped over my head, pulled down, and tucked into the waist of the knickers. Fiona handed her a white blouse, and Jane pulled my arms into the sleeves and pulled the blouse on properly. She buttoned the front of the blouse up to the neck, and fastened the buttons at the cuffs. Next came a maroon tie with grey diagonal stripes, which she tied in a neat knot and tightened firmly around my neck. Turning down the collar, she said 'Socks next.' Sitting me down on the end of the desk seat facing out, she took a pair of white ankle socks, pulled them well up onto my feet, and turned the ends over neatly. 'And your shoes' she said. Gillian handed her a pair of black leather T bar sandals, and Jane slipped them onto my feet, pulled the straps tight, and fastened them tightly with the buckles at the side. Giving the sandals a good tug to be sure that they were on securely, she said 'Well you won't be able to get those off. Now stand up.' I did as I was told, as Jane picked up the next item from the desk and held it up.

It was a grey serge box pleat gym tunic, with three box pleats front and back. It opened at the shoulders, where it could be secured with two buttons at each shoulder, and around the waist was a belt that ran through two keepers sewn onto the waist of the tunic at the sides. The belt had a buckle fastening at the front and a keeper just to one side of it. Two buttonholes at the end of the belt meant that it could be buttoned at the back to prevent the belt from slipping open. Jane smiled. 'And now for the one item of school uniform that all schoolgirls detest' she said, 'Your gym tunic. In you get.' She undid the buttons at the shoulder to open the top of the tunic, and held it down low for me to step into. I did as I was told and obediently stepped into it. Then she pulled the gym tunic up and buttoned it closed on top of my shoulders. 'Now let's give you a bit of a waist' she said. Threading the belt through the buckle and its keeper, she pulled the end through the other keeper at the side of the tunic, and buttoned the end of the belt securely at the back. Finally, she put her hands under the hem of the tunic, and pulled down my blouse so that it was neat and tidy at the top.

Standing back so that everyone could see me, Jane grinned and said 'Yes, I must say that there's nothing like a box pleat gym tunic to really make you look like a schoolgirl. All we need is your wig now, and that comes in a minute. However Jennifer, it's not just time to dress you as a 1950's Sion schoolgirl, it's also punishment time. As you can imagine at a convent school, swearing is about the worst crime we can commit, and they still have a very traditional punishment for any girl caught swearing. Most of us have been through it at least once, and I can assure you that it cured me from swearing, at least when I'm at school. Well now you are going to find out what it's like. Sit in the desk.' Hilary cleared the top of the desk and I sat down as expert hands now set to work. Placing my feet together on the foot rest, Gillian strapped my ankles to another bar running across the desk behind them. Another strap was used to hold my legs firmly together just above the knee. Rising up behind me was a thick vertical wooden post attached to the back of the desk, with the top of the post level with my neck. Fiona and Hilary now strapped my body to the back of the desk with straps going round my waist, chest, and neck.

'And now for your hands' said Jane. She lifted up the lid of the desk, and I saw that two semicircular holes had been cut in the upper edge of the desk in front of me. 'Hands in' said Jane. I placed my hands into the inside of the desk with my wrists resting in the holes. She then put down the lid and shut it, effectively trapping my wrists in the holes and my hands inescapably inside the desk. Swinging down two hinged hasps attached to the lid, she slid them over two metal D shaped metal loops screwed onto the body of the desk. Finally, she took two padlocks and locked one through each loop. The desk lid was now locked shut with my hands immobilised inside, out of mischief.

'There we are' said Jane, 'now all we have to do is to make sure that you contemplate your punishment in silence and prevent you from calling out. Fiona, have you got the punishment dummy?'

Fiona grinned. 'With pleasure' she said, and opening a drawer in a small table beside me, she took the dummy out and gave it to her. Jane held it up in front of me and said 'Now Jennifer, you've seen something like this before, haven't you?' I looked at it and slowly nodded. It was a large version of a baby's dummy, and similar to the one I had been forced to endure when I'd spent the night in a cot at the baby shop. 'Yes' said Jane, 'It's just like the one we used on you when you spent the night in your cot. But there's a slight difference. This dummy is made for punishment, so the rubber bulb is much bigger than the other one, and is guaranteed to keep you absolutely silent, as you are about to find out.' She arranged the pink securing ribbons carefully, and then, holding the dummy in front of my mouth said 'Right, get his mouth open.' With my neck already secured I could hardly move my head, and Fiona and Gillian had little trouble in forcing my jaws open far enough to enable Jane to push the large rubber bulb past my teeth and deep into my mouth. She swiftly wound the securing ribbons around my head in opposite directions several times, keeping them pulled tight all the time. Finally she tied the ribbons in a non-slip bow behind my neck. 'There' said Jane, 'He won't get that out in a hurry. Susan, give me the wig will you?' Susan gave her the wig, and Jane lowered it back onto my head, and pulled it down firmly in place. Then she arranged the plaits so that that they hung down neatly at the front and came down onto my chest.

Standing back to admire their handiwork, the girls grinned. 'Well there we are' said Fiona, 'One naughty little schoolgirl being punished. Now Jennifer, you're going to find out what we have to endure when we get out of line. I think about eight hours like that should give you some idea of what it's like.' Eight hours! The thought of eight hours in this humiliating position was more than I could stand, and instinctively I tried to protest. I began to heave and strain desperately to free myself, and tried to yell. 'Mmf, mmp mmm' I gurgled into the punishment dummy. This just made the girls laugh even more of course, as they appreciated that I was completely and helplessly immobilised, and entirely at their mercy. 'All right' said Jane, 'That will keep him nice and quiet. We'd better go and join the rest now, but before we do, we'd better draw the blinds if we don't want anyone to see him through the window. I'll lock the door as we go.' The girls partially closed the Venetian blinds, but plenty of light still entered the room. With a little wave and a few last titters, they left the hut and locked the door behind them.

For a little while I sat quietly, just staring at the reflection of myself in the mirror. There in front of me I could see a typical little pigtailed schoolgirl sitting at her desk. Unfortunately, with the way the girls had cunningly placed the desk, I had no choice but to look at myself. But gradually, the frustration of my enforced immobility got the better of me, and I began to heave and strain in an effort to free myself. Hopeless of course, and after a while I relaxed again, panting after my efforts.

Time passed. As the sun outside grew higher, its rays on the roof of the hut began to increase the room temperature. Dressed in the blouse and thick serge gym tunic, I began to perspire, but there was nothing I could do but put up with it.

After what seemed an eternity, I heard the sound of girl's voices outside and the rattle of the key in the door. In came Jane, Susan, Fiona and Hilary. They walked over to me, and Fiona said 'Hello Jennifer, warm enough for you?'

'Mmmf mmm mmp' was all I could manage in reply. 'Well we've come to make sure that you don't get cold.' laughed Jane.' She went to the clothes rack and took down a light grey rubberised mackintosh with a maroon lined hood. 'This' she said, holding it up for me to see, 'Was the Sion Convent regulation school raincoat of the 1950's. It looks almost identical to the one we have to wear today, but there's one big difference. This mackintosh' she continued, holding it up, 'Is double texture, which means that it's twice as thick, and therefore twice as hot to wear as the one we wear now. In summer it must have been absolutely dreadful to wear, not that the girls had any choice. Now since you are already dressed in the uniform of that time, you must of course wear the correct raincoat to match, mustn't you?' I groaned into my dummy as I realised what I was about to endure. Holding the mac over her arm, she said 'OK, undo the straps and stand him up, but leave the dummy in his mouth.' Fiona and Hilary quickly undid the straps that restrained me, and with some relief I stood up. My relief however, was to be short lived.

Jane held up the mackintosh for me to put on, and the two girls thrust my arms into the sleeves and pulled the heavy mackintosh onto my shoulders. Jane fastened the buttons at the front up to my neck, taking care to tuck my plaits inside. Then she did up the buckle belt and secured it with the buttonhole on the end. 'And now to warm you up a little' said Jane, grinning, 'You're going to really hate this.' She pulled the hood up over my head and tied the tie tapes tightly under my chin in a non-slip double bow. Then she pulled an additional flap across my throat, and buttoned it securely in position. The hood was now very securely fastened on my head, and Jane grinned as she said 'Right girls, let's put Jennifer back in her desk.' Strong hands sat me back in the same position as before, and I was soon immovably restrained again. 'Good' said Jane. 'Now Jennifer, I've noticed how hot it's getting in here, so you have a nice uncomfortable afternoon, and when we've finished we'll take you home dressed like that. Won't that be fun!' With more giggles, the girls went out and left me in silence once more.

The afternoon was a torment. As it grew hotter in the room, my body heat was imprisoned in the heavy rubberised mackintosh, and the sweat began to pour down my face and inside the sleeves of the mac, dripping down onto my legs. Several times I began to writhe and wriggle as I frantically tried to free myself, but my efforts just made things worse. I gradually lapsed into a sort of stupor, and almost dozed off with exhaustion. But eventually my deliverance came when after an interminable wait the girls returned. As they came into the room, I noticed that they were all wearing their school macs. Jane said 'All right Jennifer, time to go home. You'll be delighted to hear that it's just started raining, so it's quite appropriate for you to keep your mackintosh on.' They unfastened my restraints, and once I was standing up they escorted me to the door and out into the rain. 'Just a moment' said Jane, 'I don't think we need the dummy now.' She removed my hood and untied the dummy, which she put in her bag. Then she replaced my hood, and once more fastened it securely with both the tie tapes and the button flap so that there was no chance of it coming off. We set off along the path down to the school gates, and than to the bus stop. I stood there in the pouring rain with lots of the girls jeering at me, the rain drumming on my hood and dripping down onto my bare legs and onto my feet. I felt miserably humiliated.

The bus eventually arrived, and we all climbed aboard. As usual, I was not allowed to remove my hood, and had to sit there with my hands in my pockets, feeling and smelling the awful wet, clammy rubberised cotton wrapped around me. The girls continued teasing me, but at last we eventually reached our bus stop, and Jane, Susan and I headed for home. Aunt Mary opened the door for us, and as I removed my wet mackintosh she said 'Goodness Jennifer, your clothes are saturated. What happened?'

At this point I decided to appeal to her better nature. 'I'll tell you what happened!' I exclaimed, 'They've been torturing me!' I launched into a tearful description of my day in the punishment desk, laying it on as thick as I could.

I was wasting my breath. The girls just stood there with their arms folded defiantly and with wide grins on their faces. Worst of all, Aunt Mary listened without showing any sympathy to me at all. When my complaining finally ground to a halt, she looked at me intently for a moment and said quietly 'Now Jimmy, you seem to need reminding as to why you are here. You are here to be punished and humiliated particularly by Jane and Susan, who you have treated abominably over the past few years, and they are also punishing you for what you have done to your sisters as well. On top of that, there's the business of your breaking into St. Catherine's. Oh no my boy, the girls have been given carte blanche as far as humiliating you is concerned, as long as you are in no danger of actually being injured. That's where I come in, to decide if and when they are going too far. But for the present, you will just go on putting up with whatever they want to do to you, and you'll do exactly what you're told. Now is that understood?' Tears began to trickle down my face as I realised the hopelessness of my position, and for the first time I felt my spirit beginning to break.

'Now,' said Aunt Mary, beginning to smile, 'Go upstairs and leave that school uniform on the washing basket, take a bath, and put your nightie on. Then come downstairs for tea.' I went up to the bathroom, and was relieved to remove the heavy serge gym tunic and uncomfortable coarse blouse. My neck was quite sore.

During tea, Susan suddenly announced 'Hey, it's Thursday tomorrow isn't it, the day Jennifer has to go to the police station?'

'That's right' said Aunt Mary. 'Well' said Susan, 'She hasn't been out in that cute little pink and white gingham dress yet, has she?'

'No, that's true' said Aunt Mary, 'Good point. All right Jennifer, tomorrow you'll wear your gingham dress.'

'Oh please no' I pleaded, 'That's the most humiliating one to wear, especially without a wig. Not that one, please.'

'Don't be silly dear' said Aunt Mary, 'As I told you just now, humiliation is the whole idea of why you're here with us, so that's settled, you'll wear the gingham dress tomorrow.' I groaned with disappointment, but by now I'd learnt that obedience was the only way to avoid even worse punishment. As soon as tea was over I went up to bed, and Aunt Mary saw me off to sleep.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 18

 

THE POLICE STATION AND POLLYANNA

 

Thursday. Police station day. Without a wig. Exposed to the entire world plainly as a boy dressed as a cute little girl. Ugh! In the morning, these thoughts went through my mind as I walked back to my room from the bathroom to be dressed by Aunt Mary. Everything was ready for me. First she put me into my white vest and knickers, and then came the dress. Pink and white gingham, with a peter pan collar, back button fastening and a sash belt tied in a neat bow behind. On my feet went white ankle socks and a pair of white leather sandals. I knew that this was going to be an awful day. We went down to breakfast to be greeted with a shriek of delight from Susan. 'Oh yes!' she laughed, 'That's exactly the one for today, because without the wig everyone will know that you're really a boy dressed as a girl in the prettiest little pink gingham dress. Just what I wanted you to look like.' She continued to grin at me through the whole of breakfast. All too soon it was time to go into town, and as we left I had to be pulled out of the door by Jane and Susan.

Walking down to the bus stop it began. We saw Fiona, who laughed loudly and called out 'Oh Jane, what a cute little sister for Susan. Delightful!' The journey into town on the bus was worse, as grins, laughs and titters from the other passengers accompanied me all the way. Again, utter humiliation as we walked through the precinct to the police station. When we arrived, we went up the stairs and into the main reception area. The policeman at the desk recognised me, and a broad smile crossed his face. 'Just a moment' he said, and opened the door behind him while he asked for Jean. She came out, and leaning on the desk, looked at me. She grinned and said 'My my Jennifer, don't you look pretty today? What a lovely dress!'

'I chose it' said Susan.

'And what a good choice, I must say. So cute and little girlish, and very suitable for a summery day like today.' With a little chuckle, she signed the book, and we were free to go. When we were out in the precinct again, Susan said 'Mum, can we go to the matinee performance of 'Pollyanna?' It's on at the Odeon and starts at two o'clock.'

'Yes, all right' said Aunt Mary, 'We'll go to the film, and then we can have some tea afterwards.'

'Great' said Susan.

'Well count me out' said Jane, 'I've got better things to do, so I'll see you back home.' She wandered off, and we did a little window shopping while I endured an endless series of catcalls until the time for the film drew near. We set off for the cinema, and as we arrived I realised why Susan had selected this film in particular. The audience was largely made up of little girls dressed very much like me. As we entered the cinema foyer, the comments from both little girls and mothers were almost unendurable. One woman looked at me, grinned, and said to Aunt Mary 'Well it's nice to see him being dressed appropriately, just like his sister. Doesn't he look cute?'

'It's a punishment' said Aunt Mary.

'Well he must have done something pretty bad to merit this.'

'Oh he has, believe me.'

'In that case I thoroughly approve' said the woman, and laughed. Aunt Mary bought our tickets, and we went in and sat down. An endless sea of little girls, chattering and squealing throughout the film, surrounded me. God, if my mates could have seen me now! I heaved a sigh of relief when the film eventually ended, and we made our way out of the cinema and back into the precinct.

'Time for tea' said Aunt Mary, 'I know just the place.' In a few minutes we reached a rather old-fashioned tearoom, went in, and sat at a table in the corner. I was made to sit with my back to the wall, conspicuously facing into the room. At first glance we made a typically pleasant sight. A mother with two little girls, properly and demurely dressed. Typical, that is, until one quickly noticed that one of the little girls was a boy. The majority of the customers were middle aged ladies, and as they stared at me and commented to their companions, I was acutely aware that I was becoming the main topic of conversation. A lady sitting at the adjoining table turned to Aunt Mary, and said 'Please excuse me for asking, but why is the boy dressed as a girl?' Aunt Mary was getting used to this, so she gave the lady a short explanation. When she had finished, the woman said 'Well, I must say that's a wonderful way of punishing him. I used to be a primary school teacher, and I found that humiliation is far preferable to the cane for naughty boys. On a number of occasions I punished boys (with the consent of their parents) by making them come to school for an appropriate period of time dressed in the girl's uniform. In summer, a blue and white gingham dress, and in winter, a blouse and gym tunic. I can honestly say that I've never had to apply this punishment to any boy more than once!' A murmur of approval rose from the other women, and they returned to their conversations.

We ate a rather nice meal of tea, sandwiches and cake, and then got up to leave. Aunt Mary paid the bill, and as we left, the other lady smiled at me and said 'Bye bye little girl!' I blushed to the roots, but we were soon outside, and made our way to the bus stop. Once more the inevitable catcalls rang in my ears as we walked through the precinct, and I continued blushing furiously on the bus home when Susan met a couple of her school friends. She pointed to me and said 'How do you like my new sister?' which their mothers also found particularly amusing.

It was good to get off the bus and get home to relax. Susan and I sat in the lounge watching television, and at one point there was an advertisement for baby's disposable nappies. She gave me a sidelong grin and said 'Oh look Jennifer, it's almost like a trailer for tomorrow.' I knew what that signified, and realised that my days in nappies were by no means finished yet. Not a particularly comfortable feeling, since my experience as baby Jennifer so far had been pretty horrendous. I was quite glad to get away from Susan's attentions when Aunt Mary packed me off to bed at six, in preparation for another day of purgatory.

CHAPTER 19

 

A DAY IN THE PRAM

 

I knew that this was going to be a bad day as soon as I was being dressed. When I came back from the bathroom after my morning ablutions, the first thing I spotted in my room was a large neatly folded terry towelling nappy lying on the bed, my baby frock hanging on the door of the wardrobe, and the baby reins hanging on the bedpost. 'Now Jennifer' said Aunt Mary, 'Jane and Susan are taking you into town today, but they specifically want you to be dressed as a baby. Don't worry, they're not taking you in the pushchair, and they're going to let you wear a coat on top, so it won't be so bad. Now lie down on the bed and let's put your nappy on.' I laid down, and Aunt Mary expertly wrapped the nappy around me and pinned it firmly in place. Taking a pair of baggy plastic pants, she said 'Botty up.' I raised my bottom, and she pulled them on over my feet, up my legs, and up to my waist before tucking them in neatly around my nappy.

'Now stand up' she said, taking the baby frock off its hanger. I stood up, and putting my arms through the short puffed sleeves first, she put my head through the frock and buttoned it securely up the back. Then she tied the broad sash belt behind me in a neat bow, and pulled the frock down so that the hem was just above my knees.

Sitting me on the chair, she pulled a pair of white ankle socks onto my feet and turned them down neatly. Opening a drawer she took out a pair of black patent mary jane shoes with a single strap that fastened with a buckle at the side. With the aid of a shoe horn, she pushed the tight fitting shoes onto my feet, and buckled them on securely. 'Now for your hair' said Aunt Mary. Taking my pageboy wig, she put it firmly on my head, and divided it into two bunches. Each was held in place with an elastic band, so that each bunch of hair stood up in a babyish way. Next came two white bows of white hair ribbon tightly wrapped around the bunches, which she finally secured with two pink hair slides. Aunt Mary stood back and looked at me, satisfied. 'There we are, all ready for your outing' she said.

We went downstairs for breakfast, and as we entered the kitchen Jane looked at me and smiled. 'Oh yes' she said, 'That's just about perfect for what I have in mind today.' I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I knew it wouldn't be good. 'By the way' she said 'Where are the baby reins? We're definitely going to need them.'

'I'll get them' said Susan enthusiastically, and ran upstairs to fetch the reins. She soon returned with them, and said 'Let's put them on now, there's nothing to stop Jennifer eating in them.' Jane held the reins while Susan willingly pushed my arms into them. Then she pulled the straps tight behind me and fastened the buckle. Uncomfortably restricted by the baby reins, I sat down to eat.

Breakfast was soon out of the way, and it was time for my journey to town with Jane and Susan. As we went into the hall, Jane looked out of the window and saw that it was yet again pouring with rain. Looking at me, she grinned and said 'Now Jennifer, you don't have to go in the pushchair today, because we've got something else in mind for you. But we still need to cover up your baby frock with something, and I know just what we need.' I groaned as she took down the red rubberised satinette raincape from the hall stand and slipped it over my shoulders. She buttoned it up to my neck, pulled up the pixie hood, and fastened the button fastening firmly under the chin. Aunt Mary opened the door for us, and picking up their umbrellas, the girls escorted me out into the rain and down to the bus stop. The bus arrived after about ten minutes, and we climbed aboard, the girls sitting me down between them. I went to remove my hood, but was stopped immediately by Susan. 'Now now Jennifer' she grinned, 'You know you have to keep it on because it makes you look so cute, and I also know how uncomfortable it is.' The ride into town wrapped in the wet cape was inevitably a damp, hot and sticky one for me, but I just had to bear it.

We got off the bus at the town centre, and the girls hurried me through the rain to the baby shop, scene of my night in the cot. We went in and up to the counter where Angela was doing some paperwork. She looked up as we came in and said 'Hi everybody, glad you could make it.' Then she looked at me and said 'Hello Jennifer, are you ready for your next treat?'

'What treat?' I asked. Angela grinned. 'Oh of course, you don't know yet, do you. Here, let's get you out of that wet cape.' She unbuttoned my raincape and put it on the counter. Then she looked me up and down. 'Excellent' she smiled, 'Perfectly dressed for the occasion. Hang on a second, I'll just lock the door and we can get started.' She went to the door and locked it, and then said 'Right, into the other room, I've got everything ready.' We went into the storeroom where the by now familiar cot lay, and on it were a number of straps and other restraints, ready for use. 'Now before we start' said Angela, 'We want to keep baby Jennifer's hands out of mischief, don't we?' She picked up a pair of soft leather mittens and pulled them onto my hands. They kept them in a clenched fist position, and as she buckled up the securing wrist straps, I realised that my hands were now completely helpless. Next came a pair of white woollen fingerless mittens, which she put on each hand over the leather mittens. Then she tied them on securely round each wrist with the sewn in pink ribbon in a non-slip bow.

'Good' said Angela, 'And now for your pram.' She went out of the room into the showroom, and a moment later came back wheeling a large very traditional dark navy blue pram. She wheeled it up beside me, and said, 'Jennifer, this is just for you, and you're probably thinking that we can't possibly fit you into it. Well, I'm afraid we can.' She removed the clear plastic storm cover, the pram apron, the attached shopping bag, and put down the pram hood. I looked into the pram, and my heart sank. At the foot end of the pram, a hole about eighteen inches wide had been cut, and the interior of the pram had been fitted with a range of white leather restraining straps attached to the inside. I didn't like the look of this one bit. Before I had time to say anything, Angela said 'Right girls, lift him in.' They lifted me up and lowered me down into the pram, pushing my legs through the hole, and bending them underneath the pram. While Susan and Jane held me down, Angela buckled straps around my ankles which secured them to the underside of the pram. Then she took another strap and secured my legs together just above my knees. My legs were now immobilised.

My upper body was next. The restraining straps attached to the interior of the pram were now buckled tight around me, going round my waist, and holding my wrists and upper arms down securely by my side. Four other straps were clipped onto each of the four D rings attached to my baby reins. One in front of each shoulder went to the corners at the top end of the pram, and one on either side of my chest connected to the sides. Angela went over to the cot and came back holding a large dummy fitted with securing ribbons. 'Now' she said, 'We want a nice quiet baby, so we'll make sure that she can't object. Hold his head.' Jane and Susan held my head still, and pinching my nose, forced my mouth open. Angela quickly and expertly pushed the large rubber bulb of the dummy deep into my mouth and wound the securing ribbons tightly around my head several times. Then she tied them in a non-slip bow behind my neck. Pushing my head down flat on the floor of the pram's interior, Angela fastened one more restraining strap around my neck, and then went round tightening every other strap so that I was now utterly unable to move.

'Right' said Angela, 'Relax everybody, that's the hardest bit done. How does our little baby feel now then?' The three girls looked down at me, and I felt literally as helpless as a baby. 'Now,' said Angela, 'Let's tell little Jennifer what we are about to do. Jane, do you want to tell him?'

'With pleasure' grinned Jane. 'Well Jennifer, we don't want to waste all this effort of getting you into your pram, so we're going to take you for a nice long walk around town first, and then all the way home. We're going to show off our little baby girl. Isn't that nice?' Even restrained as I was, I exploded with indignation. 'Mmf mmp mmm!' I gurgled incoherently. I tried to thrash around in my rage, but all I could do was barely rock the pram as the girls held onto it, and I subsided in a heap of frustration. 'Yes, I knew that's how you'd feel' laughed Jane, 'Which is exactly why we planned it this way. Now let's get you ready to go out.' Picking up the plastic storm cover, she folded it up and placed it in the shopping tray underneath the pram.

I could now see just how truly ingenious Angela had been. I'd thought that if the girls took me out into the street, people would see my legs sticking out under the pram and wonder what was going on. No such luck. Angela picked up the dark navy blue 'shopping bag', which I now realised was simply to hide my legs, and fitted it onto two rails under the pram. She slid the bag up the rails so that my immobilised legs were completely hidden from view, and secured it in place. Jane put up the pram hood and locked it into position, and Susan went over to the cot and brought over the pram apron to cover me with. Spreading it over my helpless form, she fastened the securing clips around the edge which attached it to the pram. Then smiling down at me, she raised the flap of the apron and attached the top corners with elastic loops to the locking levers on either side of the hood. I was now hardly visible to anyone unless they looked in under the pram hood and over the raised flap. All I could do was lie there looking up at the white plastic interior of the hood and the inside of the pram that surrounded me. It had a distinctive plastic and infant smell about it.

Jane now disturbed my thoughts. 'Right then' she said 'Let's be off. Thanks for the loan of the pram Angela, it's just what we needed.'

'My pleasure' said Angela, 'Anything to help, and please hang onto the pram for as long as you like, it's second hand, and we can't sell it now anyway.' Jane and Susan said goodbye to her, and I suddenly felt the pram brake being released. Then we were on the move, and as I was wheeled out into the shop, Susan picked up my wet raincape off the counter. 'Put it in the tray under the pram' said Jane. Susan folded up the cape, put it under the pram, and then we went out of the store and into the precinct, where I could hear the noise of people, but see nothing out of the pram. Now what happens? I wondered. I didn't have to wait long to find out. After a few minutes, I heard a door open, and I knew we had entered another shop. But restrained as I was, I couldn't see anything out of the pram. I heard some high pitched giggling, and suddenly the pram apron was removed and the hood lowered. We were in the toy shop! The two girls who had teased me with the doll's pushchair a few days before were looking down at me, and burst out laughing. 'Oh that's absolutely delightful' giggled one. 'How on earth did you get him to cooperate?'

'Blackmail' grinned Jane. 'He's so far in it up to his neck by now that he has no choice. He's just our plaything now, and it's fun!'

'I'll bet' said the girl, 'Oh God, I can't get over it. He looks gorgeous, absolutely cute. What are you going to do with him?'

'Well, said Jane, 'We're going to just walk around with him for a while, and then take him home. The way he is now, we can keep him in the pram for as long as we like, perhaps overnight even. Let's face it, he won't have to go to the toilet, he can just go in his nappy. I don't think Mum will object.' I gulped at the prospect. The girl in the shop said 'Look, I wonder if we could babysit him for a couple of hours, here in the shop. He looks so cute, and I'd love to show him to a few customers.'

'What do you reckon Susan?' said Jane 'I suppose we could. I wouldn't mind a coffee anyway.'

'Oh yes' said Susan, 'That's a good idea.'

'OK' said Jane to the girl, 'We've got a few things to do, but please keep him here in the shop. Don't go taking him for a walk or anything.'

'No, that's fine' said the girl. 'We'll just park the pram over here by the counter and everybody can have a good laugh.'

'All right' said Jane, 'We'll see you in a couple of hours then.' Looking down at me she grinned and said 'Bye Jennifer, be good.' She and Susan gave me a little wave, and were gone.

'Now baby Jennifer' said one of the girls, 'Let's put you over here.' She wheeled the pram over to the end of the counter, put on the brake, and left me helplessly in full view.

The next two hours were about the most humiliating of my life. I just had to lie there restrained in the pram, open to all the comments of the two girls and their customers. They even brought in the staff of some adjoining stores to laugh at me.

But at last, Jane and Susan returned. 'How did baby behave?' asked Jane. 'Beautifully' said the girl, 'She certainly couldn't give us any trouble, and gave us some wonderful laughs. Thanks for the loan of her.'

'My pleasure' said Jane. She now replaced the pram apron over me and secured it in place again with the fasteners around the edge. Then she put up the pram hood and attached the apron flap to it again. After a few more exchanges, Susan and Jane left the shop, and were soon once more wheeling me through the precinct. 'Well we might as well go home' said Jane, 'Let's go.' The journey began, and after about an hour I started to hear the patter of rain on the pram hood. At least I was well covered up. 'Where's the storm cover?' said Susan. 'Underneath' said Jane, 'Here it is.' She took it from a small basket underneath the pram, and the two girls draped the transparent PVC cover over the pram and secured it in place with the fitted press studs. We began our long walk through the rain, and after about another hour, we eventually reached home.

Aunt Mary opened the door, and Jane wheeled the pram into the hall. 'Good Heavens!' exclaimed Aunt Mary, 'What have we got there?'

'Our little baby sister' giggled Susan. She removed the pram's storm cover and apron, and lowered the hood to reveal my helpless form. Aunt Mary took one look at me and roared with laughter. 'Oh my goodness' she exclaimed, 'You've brought home a baby. Doesn't she look cute? Come on, you'd better take the pram into the dining room, it's dripping wet.' Jane pushed the pram into the dining room and put the brake on. 'Mum' she said, 'I was just thinking. Since we've taken all this trouble to get Jimmy into the pram, it would be such a waste to let him out of it so soon.'

'What are you suggesting?' asked Aunt Mary.

'Well' said Jane, 'Why don't we leave him in the pram until say, this time tomorrow? He's got a nappy and plastic pants on, so he can't leak, and he won't need to use the toilet, will he? We can just leave him in the pram where he can't be a nuisance. Besides, I really do want to show him around the village tomorrow.' Aunt Mary looked down at me and smiled. 'Well I don't see why not, and he certainly can't come to any harm where he is, can he? All right, you can keep him in the pram until this time tomorrow, but then you must let him go.'

'Oh goody' said Susan. 'Does that mean I can feed him baby food and give him his bottle? We've got everything.'

'Certainly' said Aunt Mary. 'All right, let's get tea ready.'

Afternoon tea was not a pleasant affair. Not only did I have to lie there in the pram next to the table, watching the others eat a meal of steak and kidney pie, trifle and cake, but I then had to go through the humiliation of my own tea, being fed completely by Susan as if I were one of her dolls. Beforehand, Jane released the strap around my neck, removed my dummy, and tied a bib around my neck, while Susan stood over me holding a plastic bowl of mixed vegetable baby food. Leaning over me, she began to spoon the tasteless mush into my mouth. Next came a bowl of Farex, and finally the humiliation of a baby bottle of milk. I could have wept with humiliation as Susan held the teat in my mouth while I sucked on it in true baby fashion. Aunt Mary looked on with a broad smile on her face, and said 'Well Susan, now you know how you used to have your tea!' That done, Jane forced the dummy back into my mouth and tied it tightly in place before restraining my neck again. 'There we are' she grinned 'Baby's fed and ready for sleep. Mum, where shall I put baby Jennifer for the night?'

'Oh just leave her in the dining room' said Aunt Mary, 'And don't forget to make sure that the pram brake is on.' Jane pushed the pram into a corner of the room out of the way, and put the brake on. Then she clipped the pram apron on and put up the hood. Raising the apron flap across the opening of the hood, she secured it in position, and finally picked up the pram's clear plastic storm cover. 'This is just to make sure that you're properly covered' she grinned. Draping it over the pram, she secured it in position. Aunt Mary and Susan came in to join her, and said goodnight to me with wide grins on their faces before going out of the room and closing the door. I lay there quietly for a while, and for one moment got the idea that I could break free from my cocoon. Wrong. I began to heave and strain at my restraints experimentally, but as I found that I was unable to even move, my attempts became more and more desperate. Making one last hopeless attempt, I strained my utmost to sit up, but the baby reins anchored me firmly into the pram. I sobbed with frustration into my dummy before drifting off into a fitful sleep.

During the night, I was woken up by an extreme urge to relieve myself, but I obviously wasn't going to get to the toilet. As had happened on a previous occasion, I struggled desperately not to wet myself, and strained and heaved against my restraints trying not to let go. But it was inevitable. With a sob of humiliation, a flood of urine poured out into my nappy and trickled into my crutch soaking everything in its path. With the strain gone, I managed to doze off again into a dreamless sleep.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 20

 

AROUND THE VILLAGE IN THE PRAM

 

I was awakened by the sound of a blackbird. Semi conscious, I instinctively tried to turn over, and was quickly reminded by my restraints that I couldn't move. Suddenly wide awake, I tried to stretch my limbs, but being securely immobilised, I could only lie helplessly in my pram, waiting for something to happen. Eventually I heard the sound of stirring, until finally the dining room door opened, and Jane and Susan came into the room with Aunt Mary. She removed the pram's plastic storm cover and apron and lowered the hood. Then she leaned over me, untied the dummy, and took it gently out of my mouth. I sighed with relief and moved my aching jaw. 'You know girls' said Aunt Mary, 'I think that dummy is a bit brutal isn't it?' Alarmed at the prospect of being forbidden to use it, Jane quickly said 'Oh no. Look, he's still all right, and he is supposed to be being punished, isn't he?'

'Well I suppose you're right' said Aunt Mary, 'But try not to overdo it, that's all.'

'OK Mum' said Jane, grinning. It obviously wasn't going to make the slightest difference. 'Now' said Aunt Mary. 'I'll get breakfast ready. Jane, bring Jennifer into the kitchen and you can feed her in there.' Jane released the brake of the pram and wheeled me into the kitchen. Once again I had to go through the process of watching the others eat a proper meal, while my meal consisted of baby food and a baby bottle of milk. At least my neck was unstrapped while I was being fed.

Breakfast over, the girls started planning the day ahead, and about mid morning, Jane said to Aunt Mary 'Mum, we're going to take baby Jennifer for a walk around the village and show her off.'

'Right ho' said Aunt Mary, 'Try not to be too late back.'

Jane folded up the two pram covers, put them in the basket underneath the pram and said 'We'll leave the hood down for the time being, I want everyone to see him today. But I don't want anyone to hear him.' She suddenly leaned over me, and before I knew what was happening I once more found myself humiliatingly silenced by the dummy. Jane then restrained my neck before saying 'Right, let's go.' Susan opened the door, and we were soon walking along the pavement. Several people stopped to say hello and make the most of my embarrassment. There I was, a baby dressed in her pretty little white summer frock, with cute little bows in her hair, being taken out in her pram for a walk in the sunshine. It was dreadful. Jane and Susan took me all around the village, and we dropped in to see several of their friends. We had lunch at Fiona's house, where she took great pleasure in giving me my feed, and her mother thought the whole thing was hilarious. As we were leaving, a cold wind blew up, and the girls took the opportunity of putting up the pram hood and covering me with the apron again. 'He looks so cute lying there' laughed Fiona.

I was wheeled home, and finally into the lounge. At last my moment of release had come, and Jane and Susan uncovered me, removed the dummy, and unfastened the pram restraints. They helped me out of the pram, and unable to use my cramped legs, I promptly sat down heavily on my bottom. 'Just like a proper baby' laughed Susan. Aunt Mary told the girls to help me up to the bathroom to clean myself up, and I was at last able to remove the humiliating baby clothes and have a shower. It felt wonderful. Clean and dry again, I made my way to my bedroom, where I put on my nightie before going downstairs to tea, a real one this time. As I sat there nibbling on a chip, Aunt Mary said to me 'Now Jennifer, don't forget, I'm taking you over to Scarborough to visit Joan Banfield and her friends tomorrow, so just as you did at Mary Sewell's the other day, I want you to behave as a proper little girl should. Let's see if we can fool them, shall we?' I sat there in silence, miserably nodding my head. Another awful day was obviously in store. After tea, I was allowed to watch television until my usual infantile bed time before being packed off to bed in readiness for a long day tomorrow.

CHAPTER 21

 

A VISIT TO SCARBOROUGH WITH AUNT MARY

 

Aunt Mary woke me at six thirty. Pulling back the curtains, she said 'Come on lazybones, off to the bathroom. I'm going to make you look your prettiest today.' I made my way to the bathroom to wash, and by the time I returned to my room, Aunt Mary had all my clothes laid out ready for me to put on. I was to wear the primrose yellow dress. First I was put into a white vest and pale yellow knickers, and then it was time for the dress. Aunt Mary held it up and I obediently slipped my arms into the sleeves, and put my head through. She pulled it down over me, buttoned it up the back, and fastened the hook and eye behind my neck for extra security. Next came my sash belt, which she tied behind me in a large, neat non-slip bow. Sitting me down, she put a pair of white ankle socks onto my feet, and turned the tops down neatly. On top of these went my white leather sandals, securely buckled on. Now for my hair. Taking the pageboy style wig, she placed it securely on my head, brushed it, and without arranging it in bunches, tied a neat bow of pale yellow hair ribbon in my hair on each side of my head. Finally she made sure that they would not fall out by securing them firmly with two yellow plastic hair slides. 'Let's have a look at you' said Aunt Mary, and stood back. 'Very nice' she smiled, 'A very convincing little girl. Yes, you'll pass, so let's go down and have some breakfast.'

We went downstairs, and Jane and Susan inspected me. 'Well I must say' said Jane, 'We really have worked wonders with him in the last couple of weeks. If I saw him walking down the street I wouldn't even give him a second glance, he looks so convincing. He's even acquiring a lovely demure little expression, and his walk and mannerisms are just about perfect. Yes, I think we've really succeeded in turning a nasty little boy into a dainty little girl. Well done, Mum.'

Aunt Mary looked at her and said 'Yes, well let's see if he fools Joan Banfield and her friends at Scarborough today. If they believe he's a girl, then I'll be satisfied. Joan's a pretty observant person.'

'I'll bet they think he's a girl' piped up Susan confidently.

'Well I'll let you know when we get back' said Aunt Mary. 'Now get on with your breakfast.'

Breakfast was accompanied by a lively discussion between Susan and Jane on the finer points of my appearance, and by the time we had finished, they had come to some sort of agreement. As we rose from the table, Aunt Mary looked at her watch and said 'We'd better be going, so I'll leave you two to do the washing up.' We all went into the hall and Aunt Mary put on her beige poplin raincoat and put her folding umbrella into her bag. Then she took down my red rubberised mackintosh and handed it to me. 'It's quite fine at the moment Jennifer' she said, 'So you don't need to wear your mac yet, just carry it over your arm for now. There's some rain forecast for later though, and you'll probably need it then.' I hung my mackintosh over my arm, and after saying goodbye to the girls, Aunt Mary and I were soon walking down to the bus stop. The bus into town arrived almost immediately, and we climbed aboard.

I was beginning to acquire some confidence as to my appearance by now, so I sat demurely and quietly next to Aunt Mary, and no one even glanced at me twice. So very different from some of my earlier bus journeys. We got off the bus at York station, and went into the booking hall. At the ticket office Aunt Mary said 'One adult day return to Scarborough please, and one for the little girl.' That expression still made me grind my teeth with embarrassment. I may have looked like a sweet little girl, but I sure as hell didn't feel like one. After collecting our tickets, we went through the gate, and onto the train platform. I stood there in the sunshine while we waited, my feet neatly together and my arms crossed in front of me with my mac hanging over them. After a short wait our train arrived and we got in. We found a seat facing forward, and Aunt Mary placed me next to the window. I went to put my mackintosh on the luggage rack, but she said 'No Jennifer, keep it on your lap. I don't want you to lose it accidentally on purpose, do I?' She had read my mind, and I held the mac on my lap for the rest of the journey.

We reached Scarborough in about an hour, and as we came out of the station a cold sea breeze blew in our faces. 'Goodness, it's a bit chilly' said Aunt Mary. 'You'd better put on your mac now Jennifer, give it to me.' She took the mackintosh from me, and held it up while I slipped my arms into it. Then she buttoned it up to my neck, and did up the belt. 'I don't think you need your hood up for now' she said, so standing behind me she tidied the hood so that it hung down from my shoulders neatly. 'There, that's better' she said. 'Feel warmer now?' I did, and for once I was almost glad to be wearing the hated mac. 'Come along then' said Aunt Mary, 'it isn't very far.' We walked through the town to Joan Banfield's house, and once again no one took any notice of me. They just assumed that they were seeing a mother and daughter.

We finally arrived at the house, and as we stopped at the door, Aunt Mary said to me 'Now remember Jimmy, you're my niece Jennifer, and you're nine years old. So play the part, all right?'

'Don't worry Aunty' I said, 'I've had enough practice by now.'

'Yes, I believe you have' she said, 'Well let's find out, shall we?' She rang the bell. A moment later, Joan Banfield, a pleasant faced middle aged woman, opened the door to let us in, and we entered the hallway. 'Let me take your coats' she said, and Aunt Mary and I removed them for Joan to hang up. As I handed my mackintosh to her she held it up and said 'Oh what a lovely little mac. D'you know, I used to have one just like this when I was a little girl. They're not very popular these days, which I think is a pity, as they are so completely waterproof.' She smiled at me, and led the way into the lounge. Two other women were in the room, and for a brief moment it made me think of our encounter with Mrs. Sewell's dreadful aunt. Fortunately, these ladies looked much more relaxed and much les forbidding.

'Let me do the introductions' said Joan. 'This is Anne White' she said, indicating one woman, 'And this is Maureen Turner.' Taking Aunt Mary's arm, she said 'This is Mary Turnbull and her niece Jennifer.' The women greeted us pleasantly and we all sat down in separate armchairs. I took care to be on my best behaviour, and exhibited all the attributes expected from sweet, dainty little girls. Aided by my appearance I had no problem in convincing them that I was most definitely a girl, and I was almost beginning to enjoy the deception. The topics of conversation were boring to say the least from my point of view, until the subject of children's behaviour came up. Here I gave it my undivided attention. 'I just cannot understand most of them these days' said Maureen. 'Most of them go off the rails by the time they reach their teens, and all the girls seem to want to do is behave and dress more like boys every day. Do you know, in a school near me, the girls wear trousers as part of their winter uniform instead of skirts or tunics? I just don't understand it.'

'Yes' added Aunt Mary, 'I've noticed it's just the same with my two girls, although thank goodness their school still insists on a traditional style of uniform for them. Mind you, they still hate wearing it because they get teased terribly by the girls from other less formal schools. As soon as Jane and Susan get home they can't get out of their uniform and into slacks and T shirts quickly enough. Anything as long as it isn't a dress.'

'Well it's nice to see that Jennifer hasn't been converted yet' said Joan. 'Mary, she really does look charming. That dress she's wearing is so pretty, and exactly how I like younger girls to look. Just look at her, sitting up properly, legs neatly crossed, hands together on her lap. And the two matching bows in her hair complete the picture so well.'

'That's just what I was thinking' said Maureen, 'She really is as pretty as a picture. Jennifer, do you usually dress like that at home?' I looked at her, smiled sweetly, and said 'Oh yes, mummy insists on it. I'm not allowed to wear trousers at any time. Once my brother lent me his jeans, although she had warned him not to. He and I went out together and she was furious when we arrived back home. She punished him by taking him out the next day wearing my most babyish dress, ankle socks and a pair of my mary jane shoes. She put bows in his hair, and then made him go with her to a fair that she knew all his school friends were going to. They never let him forget it. He cried most of the day, and he never lent me any of his things again.'

'My goodness' laughed Joan, 'That's what I call a real punishment. Ingenious, but very effective I should think.'

'Oh definitely' said Anne. 'Actually, when I was in my teens, one of my friends and I tricked my brother David into trying on my school uniform as a joke. Unfortunately for him, what he didn't know was that my friend's older brother Mike was standing by to complete the joke in a way he didn't expect. Along with a couple of my other schoolfriends, we dragged David out to Mike's car, forced him into it, and took him for a nice long drive. We found a quiet spot to stop, and we four girls pulled David out onto the pavement. Mike drove off, so David had to walk six miles home with us. It took about three hours, and he was so embarrassed. He didn't have a wig of course, so as you can imagine, we had a really fun filled walk home. It still makes me smile when I think of it.' The conversation continued for some time in similar vein until Joan prepared afternoon tea for us. I sat there demurely with my plate on my lap, the very picture of a well behaved little girl.

Eventually it was time for Aunt Mary and I to be on our way home, and after we had said goodbye to Anne and Maureen, Joan took us out into the hall. Aunt Mary put on her coat, while Joan took down my mackintosh from the coat stand. Through the window we could see that it was raining steadily, and Joan held out my mac for me to put on. I slid my arms into it, and she began to button it up. 'Well this will keep you nice and dry' she said, fastening the belt. She pulled up the hood and buttoned it closed under my chin, and pulling the hood forward she peered closely at my face and smiled. 'I always think that little girls look so sweet when they're wearing their mackintosh hoods' she said. 'I suppose they look a bit like a bonnet, really.'

'Yes, I know what you mean' said Aunt Mary, 'And as you said earlier, these rubberised satinette raincoats are so waterproof as well as making the wearer look like a proper little girl.'

Joan opened the front door, and after saying our goodbyes, Aunt Mary and I stepped out into the pouring rain. The sea breeze blew the driving rain hard against my mackintosh, and I must admit that once again I was quite glad to be wearing it, even though the rain poured down it onto my bare legs and soaked my feet in their short ankle socks and sandals. As we walked along, the hem of my wet mackintosh slapped against my bare legs, and the hood restricted my field of view. Eventually we reached the station, and went onto the platform where our train was waiting. We stepped on board, and soon found seats, again facing forward. I went to remove my mackintosh, but Aunt Mary said 'No Jennifer, keep your mac on, it's too cold to take it off. Leave your hood done up, put your hands in your pockets, and sit down.' I miserably did as I was told, and sat there like that for the entire journey. My wet mackintosh started to feel cold and clammy, and the rubberised satinette material smelt. The cuffs of my sleeves and the hem of the mac continued to drip water.

At last we arrived back at York, and as we stood up to get off the train Aunt Mary allowed me to take my hands out of my pockets, but still not to take off my hood. It had stopped raining, but was still very cloudy with a cold wind blowing in our faces, so my mackintosh hood gave me some protection. We walked to the bus stop where our bus was waiting, and climbed aboard straight away. One of Susan's school friends, wearing a pink PVC raincoat with the hood down, was already sitting on the bus with her mother. Aunt Mary obviously knew them, so we sat down next to them. The little girl turned to her mother and said 'Mum, that's the boy whose got to dress as a girl. Doesn't he look sweet!' The woman looked at me and said 'Well I must say I wouldn't have guessed if you hadn't told me. Is he really dressed as a girl under that mac?'

'Certainly' said Aunt Mary, 'I'll show you. Stand up Jennifer.' Turning to the woman she said 'We call him Jennifer because it's so much less confusing for people when we're in public.' I stood up, and Aunt Mary removed my mackintosh and put it on her lap. My dress and hair ribbons were now revealed as I sat down again. The woman grinned broadly, and said 'Well I must say I'm amazed. He really does look like a little girl, doesn't he? But he must feel incredibly humiliated, so why does he have to dress as a girl?' Aunt Mary explained, and when she had finished, the woman said 'Well it's certainly an exquisite way of punishing him, and now that I know what he's been up to, I think that he deserves all he gets. And I must say' she said, smiling, 'I'd love to show him to a few naughty little boys I know. If they could see him like this and we threatened them with the same treatment, I'm sure they'd be as good as gold. Could it be arranged do you think?'

'Certainly' said Aunt Mary, 'Glad to help. Jane and Susan are always taking him out, so you may well get the chance to see him again. As a matter of fact, are you going to the village fete next Sunday?'

'Yes, I imagine we will be' said the woman.

'Good' said Aunt Mary. 'There's always a children's fancy dress competition, and Jane and Susan have hit on the bright idea of entering Jimmy in the competition as Alice in Wonderland. We've got a lovely Alice outfit for him to wear, with a nice long wig and an Alice band to match. You never know, he might even win it! Anyway, the main intention is to humiliate him, and I think we can guarantee that.'

'Oh what a delightful idea' said the woman, 'I wouldn't miss it for the world.' Turning to her daughter she said 'Would you like to see him all dressed up as Alice in Wonderland?'

'Would I!' said the girl, 'I'd love to. I'll tell all my friends from school to come too.'

'Good' said the woman, 'We'll see you next Sunday then. Hope the weather's better. It's started to rain again' she said, looking out of the window. Aunt Mary saw that indeed it was. 'Stand up Jennifer' she said to me, 'And let's put your mac back on.' I stood up, and once again I was dressed in my mackintosh like a little girl. As Aunt Mary finally buttoned up the hood, the woman looked at me and said 'I'm just so impressed. With that mac on and the hood up he really makes a convincing looking little girl. Amazing.'

We arrived at the village bus stop and all got off. Saying goodbye, Aunt Mary and I set off homeward through the rain, until finally we opened the front door and went in. We removed our wet coats, hung them up, and went into the lounge where the girls were watching television. Aunt Mary said 'Here we are again, mission accomplished.'

'You mean they didn't realise?' said Jane.

'Not for a moment' said Aunt Mary. 'As far as they were concerned, he was just a nicely behaved little girl. Worked like a charm. Jimmy, I'm almost proud of you. Now go upstairs, take off those wet shoes and socks, and bring down a pair of dry socks and your black T bar sandals. I'll put them on for you.' I went up and did as I was told, and I was soon back in the lounge wearing my dry ankle socks and T bar shoes, firmly buckled on. Tea time soon arrived and we sat down to eat. After the tea things were cleared away, we all sat down to watch television. While we sat there, Aunt Mary looked around the lounge and said 'Where's the pram gone? It was here this morning.'

'Oh we put it in the shed' said Jane, 'Angela said we can hang on to it for now in case we want to use it again.'

'I see' said Aunt Mary, smiling, 'Another little outing for Jennifer?'

'Something like that' grinned Jane.

I was actually allowed to stay up until seven before being sent off to bed. It had been quite a day, and I didn't need much persuasion. I was soon tucked up in bed, and drifted drowsily off.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 22

 

THE BABY IN THE GARDEN

 

After being woken up by Aunt Mary, I made my way down to the bathroom to wash, and on returning to my room was greeted by the sight of a folded nappy on my bed, my white baby frock hanging on the wardrobe door, and the baby reins hanging from the bedpost. My heart sank, since my days as a baby were always guaranteed to be particularly unpleasant. I obediently laid down on the nappy, and Aunt Mary securely pinned it on, and pulled a pair of plastic pants up my legs. My baby frock came next, and I was soon buttoned firmly into it with the belt tied in a non-slip bow behind me. Sitting me down, Aunt Mary placed my white ankle socks on my feet, before a pair of black patent strap shoes were tightly buckled on. Next, she held up the baby reins, I put my arms through the straps, and she fastened them securely behind me. Lastly came my wig, decorated with two neat bows of white hair ribbon. 'There' she smiled, 'Pretty as a picture. Down we go.' We went down to breakfast, which at least didn't consist of baby food for me this time, thank goodness. During breakfast, Susan kept looking at me and grinning in anticipation of the day ahead, but I had no idea what it could be. After the breakfast things had been cleared away, Aunt Mary said that she would be in town all day, so would the girls take care of me? Needless to say, they agreed to this idea with smiles of gleeful anticipation.

Just as Aunt Mary was about to put her coat on, there was a knock on the front door. She opened it, and there was Jean Baker, the policewoman. Aunt Mary invited her into the lounge. Jean took one look at me standing there and grinned. 'Well well' she said 'I see that Jennifer's a very little girl today, in fact, a baby! How delightful. I would say that's about as humiliating as it can get. Well done girls, brilliant idea.'

'Oh that's nothing' said Susan, 'You should have seen some of the things we've done to him so far.'

'Such as?' enquired Jean. Susan and Jane then launched into a detailed description of some of the things they had done to me, and Jean's face was a picture of mirth. By the time the girls had finished she had tears in her eyes. 'Well I must say, you girls have a talent for humiliating him, don't you?' she said. 'I think I can rest assured that his punishment will continue, thanks to you. Well I must be off, I just wanted to be sure that you are keeping up the good work, and you certainly are.

'Just before you go' said Susan, 'Let me tell you what we're going to do to him today.' She started whispering in Jean's ear, and when she had finished, Jean grinned and said 'What a lovely idea. Well it will certainly make him look like a baby all right. You know, I really would like to see him like that, and I'm going to be around the village for another few hours. Would it be all right if I pop back then and have a look at him?'

'Sure, we'd love you to' said Jane. 'Good' said Jean, 'I'll see you later then. Now I really must go.' Aunt Mary saw her to the door, and she was gone. 'I must be off too' she said, and putting on her coat, she said goodbye and let herself out, shutting the door behind her.

Jane now looked at me with a malicious grin. 'Right' she said, 'Let the fun begin. Susan, go and get the straps and other things and bring them out onto the patio. Jennifer, you come with me.' She took my hand and led me outside onto the patio. 'Now wait there a minute' she said. She went back indoors, while Susan came out and threw a selection of straps and other items from my previous pram and cot punishments onto the ground. A few moments later, Jane returned carrying a folded baby's playpen and a plastic covered mattress covered in nursery logos of babies, rabbits and small nursery characters. She laid the mattress on the patio, and propped the playpen up against the wall. 'These are especially for you,' she grinned, 'Aren't they lovely?'

'Jennifer' she said, 'Sit down on the mattress.' I did as I was told and sat down cross-legged. 'Now hold out your hands and make a fist' said Jane. I held them out to her, and picking up the leather escape proof mittens, she pulled them onto my hands and buckled up the wrist straps. Then she took the white woollen mittens, pulled them on top, and tied them on with the pink securing ribbons round my wrists. Next, she placed a leather strap around each of my wrists and buckled them on tightly. 'Right, now cross your arms behind you' ordered Jane. She took another strap with a clip at each end, and holding it across the front of my waist, clipped each end of it to a D ring attached to each wrist strap. The strap had a buckle in the middle just in front of my navel, which joined the two halves of the strap together. Pulling the strap through the buckle, she effectively shortened the strap, and fastened it securely. This pulled each hand of my crossed arms nearer and nearer to the front of my waist, immobilising them. With the mittens on as well, I was helpless. Finally she took two more short straps and used them to pinion my upper arms to the baby reins.

'Lie down on your tummy' commanded Jane. I uncrossed my legs, and Jane and Susan held my upper arms and lowered me face down onto the mattress. 'Now' said Jane, 'Bend your legs up behind your back, and cross your ankles.' I did as I was told, and Jane tied my crossed ankles together at right angles to each other in the form of a cross. Taking another piece of rope, she doubled it and tied it around my bound ankles. Then taking the two long ends of the rope, she passed them up my back, over each shoulder, and threaded them through the D rings attached to the baby reins at the back. Then she began to pull the ropes tight, and as she pulled them through the D rings, my crossed feet were pulled further and further up my back behind me, until they were resting on my bottom. Jane tied the ends of the ropes securely onto the D rings and stood up to admire her expert handiwork. 'Try and roll over Jennifer' she said. I tried to roll over onto my side, but because my knees stuck out so far on either side I couldn't possibly do it. I struggled and strained, but after a short while I gave up, panting. 'It's impossible' I groaned, 'I'm stuck on my tummy.'

'Good' said Jane, 'That's exactly how I want you, as helpless as a baby. But we don't want our baby to cry too much, so let's make quite sure that you keep nice and quiet.' She went indoors for a moment, and came out again. Crouching next to me, she said 'Susan, take off the wig and pull his head back.' Susan did as she was told, and pulled my head well back up off the ground. Without warning, I felt the large rubber bulb of the dummy being swiftly and expertly forced past my teeth and deep into my mouth, filling it completely. Jane wound the securing ribbons tightly around my head and tied them securely behind my neck.

'And now for your head Jennifer' said Jane. 'We don't want you getting too much sun, so instead of your cute little wig and hair ribbons, which you could easily shake off, we've got a pretty baby's bonnet for you to wear.' Susan handed her the bonnet, and she held it in front of my face for me to see. It was made of the same white material as the baby dress, and had a large rim that stuck out around the face, framing it sweetly. Two broad ribbons were attached at the front to secure it on. Jane now brushed my own hair forward in a neat fringe and pulled the bonnet down firmly onto my head. Then she pulled the ribbons tightly together under my chin and tied them in a non-slip bow. She stood up, and looking down at my helpless form she grinned and said 'There we are, one helpless little baby in the garden enjoying the sunshine. Go on Jennifer, try and get the bonnet off.' I obliged her by straining at my restraints, trying to free myself and get the bonnet off my head. I shook my head desperately, and wriggled and writhed in my frustration, but I couldn't move, and the bonnet remained firmly in place. At last I gave up, and lay there on my tummy, just like a baby. 'Can't you move?' teased Susan, 'Well if you can't move, you'll just have to stay there, won't you?' I tried to yell back at her. 'Mmp mmf mmm!' was all I could mumble. 'Quite' laughed Jane. 'Now one more thing, just to keep you secure.' She went over to the wall and picked up the playpen. She and Susan unfolded it, and then placed it down around me. I felt truly imprisoned, a helpless baby in her playpen.

Jane now took some more ropes, and tied my knees, elbows and baby reins to the sides of the playpen so that I now had no hope of moving in any direction at all. 'There we are' said Jane, standing up again, 'That's perfect. Now let's ring the others and let them know that Jennifer can't wait to see them!' The thought of being seen like this by all their friends was too much, and I instinctively tried to object, but again, 'Mmf mmm mmp!' was all I could manage. Tears of humiliation began to well up in my eyes. 'Now Jennifer' grinned Jane, 'We're just going to phone our friends, and then we're all going to have tea in the garden with you. Isn't that lovely? Don't get into any mischief, will you?' With a cheery little wave the girls went indoors, and I could hear them talking to their friends, interspersed with occasional shrieks of laughter. When they had made their calls they brought some rugs out into the garden, laid them out under the trees, and sat down. From time to time they looked at me and made various teasing remarks. They left me lying there for what seemed an eternity, and after a while my back started to hurt. As the pain increased, I tried to tell them, but with the huge dummy filling my mouth it was impossible, and all that came out was a muffled 'Mmmph mm nmmp!' that just produced more giggles from them.

After some time I heard a knock on the front door. Jane went indoors to open it, and a moment later she came out through the french windows with Hilary and Fiona. They immediately surrounded the playpen, and leaning forward with their hands on the rails, looked down at me. Hilary and Fiona started giggling loudly, and making baby noises. 'What a beauty' said Fiona, 'A really helpless infant. God he looks hilarious! A little baby lying on her tummy in her playpen. I just love the imagery, it's brilliant.'

'It's such a typical set up' said Jane, 'We'll all be sitting around having tea in the garden, with our little baby to look after. Perfect.' At that moment there was another knock at the door, Susan went to open it, and a few moments later, returned with Gillian. Gillian took one look at me and burst out laughing. 'Oh yes' she said, 'Yes, he looks even more ridiculous than I expected. I like the way he's so utterly helpless. And I just love that baby bonnet, it's so cute, and it frames his face so prettily.'

'Yes, I thought you'd like that touch' grinned Jane. 'Well, everyone's here so we'll bring the sandwiches out.' She and Susan went in for the tea things, and set them out on the rug on the lawn. The girls sat down on the rugs, eating and drinking in a thoroughly relaxed manner, while making witty remarks at what a well behaved baby I was. As if I could be anything else.

Hilary had been looking at me for some time when she said 'You know, it must be getting a bit painful for him being tied up like that. How long's he been there?'

'Oh about an hour and a half I suppose' said Jane. They stood up and came over to where I lay. By now, I was beginning to groan with the pain in my back. 'Um, you could be right' said Jane, 'All right, I don't want to actually hurt him, so let's change his position into something a little more comfortable, but also a bit more appropriate for tea on the lawn. Let's get the playpen off first.' She untied the ropes attaching me to the playpen, and two of the girls lifted it off me, folded it up, and leaned it against the wall. Jane untied the ropes restraining my legs, and with a groan of relief, I unbent them and straightened them out.

'OK' said Jane, 'Stand him up, bring him over here, and sit him down on the grass next to us.' Hilary and Gillian helped me to my feet and walked me over to where they would be sitting, where they had no difficulty in sitting me down cross-legged on the grass. Jane picked up some rope, came across to me, and crouched down next to me. Taking a long piece of rope she expertly tied my crossed ankles together securely. 'Now, lift up his bottom' she said. Hilary and Gillian lifted me up slightly, and taking the remaining two lengths of the rope, she slid them under me and passed them back so that they protruded out behind my bottom. Moving behind me, Jane took hold of the two lengths of rope and pulled them tight, which pulled my ankles in close to my body. She now passed the ropes up my back and under my crossed arms, and threaded them through the D rings at the back of the baby reins. Giving a final pull to tighten the ropes, she tied each one to a D ring. Standing up, she looked down at me, grinned, and said 'There we are, that should keep baby Jennifer quiet.' With my legs securely and immovably crossed, my arms still immobilised, and the dummy tightly tied in my mouth, she was absolutely right.

Chattering happily, the girls finished their tea with more humiliating taunts launched in my direction. I had to just sit there demurely and silently, like their plaything. Susan suddenly said 'You know, I do love the effect of the baby bonnet framing her sweet little face, but I still prefer the effect of the hair ribbons. They are just so, so girlish.'

'All right' said Jane, 'We can soon change that. Now that he's sitting upright, it won't be so easy for him to dislodge the wig, and if he does, we'll simply secure it on with the baby bonnet as well.' She stood up, and going over to the patio she picked up the wig and brought it over. Leaning over me, she untied the securing ribbons of my bonnet, and removed it. Then she placed the wig on my head and pulled it down firmly. Brushing it in place, she retied the hair ribbons neatly and securely. A murmur of approval went up. 'Yes, I think Susan's right, said Fiona, 'Those bows in the hair really do remind me of how I used to look. Mum used to make me wear my hair like that right up until I was ten, and I used to hate it by then. I felt a right twit.'

'I remember' said Jane, 'And I had to wear my hair in plaits until two years ago. You can imagine how I felt about that!' Just then there was a knock at the front door. 'Well I wonder who that can be?' said Jane, 'I wasn't expecting anyone else.' She went into the house to see who it was, and returned with Jean Baker, the policewoman. Jane said 'This is Jean Baker everybody. She checks on Jimmy every few days to make sure that we are still keeping him here dressed as a girl, under the terms of his punishment.'

'Which you seem to be doing very efficiently' said Jean, looking at me and grinning She bent forward and said 'My goodness, what a charming little baby girl. Pretty as a picture.' Instinctively I tried to appeal to her to untie me, and staring wide eyed over the large pink circle of the dummy covering my mouth I said 'Mmmph mmp mmm!' She grinned, and inspected my restraints. 'Expertly done' she said. 'I don't think I could do better myself. I see that Baby Jennifer is being kept well under control, so I'll leave her in your tender care.' She thanked the girls, and turning to me said 'Bye bye Jennifer, be a good baby, and I'll see you at the station next Thursday.' Jane saw her to the door, and soon returned.

'Just a minute' said Susan with a grin on her face, 'We haven't given Jennifer her feed yet, have we? Can I go and get it ready, and give baby her bottle?'

'Of course you can' laughed Jane. 'You know what to do.' Susan got up and dashed indoors while the girls chatted quietly. In a few minutes Susan returned with a tray and set it down. On the tray were a bib, a plastic bowl of Farex baby food, and a baby bottle of milk. Jane stood behind me, untied the dummy, and took it out of my mouth while I heaved a sigh of relief. Susan picked up the bib and fastened it on with the tie tapes behind my neck, and then, holding the bowl of Farex in one hand, she spooned the tasteless mush into my mouth. As an added humiliation, she smeared much of it around my mouth to give a more babyish effect. 'What a messy eater' laughed Fiona. That part done, Susan wiped my mouth with the bib and picked up the baby bottle. 'Now Jennifer' she said, 'Open your mouth.' Accompanied by the jeers of the girls, she pushed the teat of the bottle between my lips, and I began to suck. I had no choice, and I knew it. When it was finally empty she put the bottle down.

'There Jennifer' said Jane, 'You've had your feed, so now it's time for a little rest.' She removed my wig, picked up the dummy and said 'Come on, open wide.' I knew by this stage that resistance was pointless, so I obediently opened my mouth. Jane once again pushed the dummy deep into my mouth and tied it tightly in place. Then she replaced my wig, and I was once more sitting there, helpless and humiliated. The girls now laid out in the shade, sitting on the rugs in gentle conversation.

As I sat their immobilised, the sun began to move round, until eventually I was sitting in the warm sunshine. I was starting to get hot. Gillian looked at me and said 'Jane, I think Jennifer's getting a bit warm in that sun. D'you think we should move her into the shade?'

'Can't be bothered' said Jane, lazily, 'Besides I want him to suffer a bit.'

'Yes' replied Gillian, 'But I don't think we should let him get sunburnt, I think that would be going too far.'

'Umm' said Jane, sitting up, 'Yes, perhaps you're right. Mum wouldn't be too pleased if we let him get burnt.' She stared at me for a moment, and then grinned. 'All right' she said, 'We'll cover Jennifer up to keep the sun off her, and I've got just the thing to do it with.' Still grinning, she stood up and went indoors. She came out again in a few moments, carrying the red satinette raincape. I looked at it with dread, as I knew what I was in for next. 'Here we are' she laughed, 'This will keep the sun off her.' She came up to my helpless form, placed the cape over my shoulders, and buttoned it up to my neck. Then she pulled up the pixie hood and buttoned it securely under my chin. Pulling the hood well forward, she said 'There you are Jennifer, I don't think there's any chance of you getting sunburnt now!' Kneeling down, she tucked the hem of the rain cape under me all the way round, so that I was now firmly enclosed in a red rubberised satinette cocoon. 'Satisfied Gilly?' she said, as she sat down again with the others. 'Oh yes' grinned Gillian, 'That should do nicely I'd say. You know Jane, you really are a past master at humiliating punishments, and this is a perfect example. He is going to get so hot and uncomfortable, while the little cape and pixie hood makes him look really cute. It's a brilliant combination.' Unfortunately she was right.

The girls continued with their desultory conversation, and the warm afternoon sun beat down on me. I soon began to perspire profusely as the inside of the raincape grew hotter and hotter. Soon the sweat was pouring down my face, and this wasn't helped by the fact that I was developing a strong urge to wet my nappy. I tried to resist it, and began to wriggle and moan into my dummy. Unfortunately, Jane noticed me and immediately guessed the reason. 'What's the matter Jennifer' she said, 'D'you want to go to the toilet?'

'Mmmm' I mumbled. 'I thought so' grinned Jane, 'Well, you're a baby, so wet your nappy, that's what it's for.' I groaned with frustration, and held on for as long as I could. But eventually I had no choice but to let go. A flood of urine filled my nappy, increasing my discomfiture as I was now both soaking wet and boiling hot all over. The girls giggled loudly as they knew what was happening, and then they just continuing to chat with one another, barely giving a second thought to my obvious discomfiture. After a couple of hours, Jane stood up and came to have a look at me. 'My word' she laughed, 'His face is like a beetroot. Well, we're not going to let you go yet Jennifer, I think you can suffer for another couple of hours.' I groaned behind my dummy, while she went back and sat down again.

After a further long period of suffering in the raincape, I was relieved to see the girls standing up and getting ready to leave. They came over to me, and Fiona said 'Well Jennifer, we're going now, but don't worry, I'll be seeing you tomorrow. We've planned a nice outing for you, which I'm sure we'll enjoy. Don't know about you, though.' With a giggle and a little wave she went out to the front door with the others, accompanied by Jane and Susan. They soon returned, and Jane said 'All right Jennifer, I think you've suffered enough for today. Let's get you out of this.' She bent down, unbuttoned the raincape, and pulled it off me. Putting it on the ground she looked at me and said 'My goodness, you are a bit wet, aren't you? I reckon you must have shed a couple of pounds. Now let's see if I can undo these knots.' She removed my wig and the dummy, untied all the ropes, and helped me to my feet. 'All right' she said, 'Go upstairs, have a shower, and come down in your nightie. It's four o'clock, so you'll be going to bed in a couple of hours anyway.' I made my way unsteadily into the house as Jane added 'And put your wet clothes in the linen basket. I'll wash them now, and I think I'd better wash your raincape as well, it's wet with sweat on the inside.'

'Right' I replied wearily. I made my way upstairs, and by the time I had had a shower and changed into my nightie, I felt much better. As I came downstairs again, Aunt Mary arrived home, so I was soon enjoying a proper meal, commenting that it tasted a lot better than baby food. After that, bedtime soon arrived and I was very glad to go upstairs to my room. Once in bed I rapidly drifted off to sleep, drowsily wondering what tomorrow was going to bring. Time would solve that little mystery.

(continued)

 

 

 

*********************************************
© 2002 by Jennifer. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.