"Let's go where I'll keep on wearin' those frills and flowers and buttons and bows, rings and things and buttons and bows." -- Dinah Shore/Livingston and Evans

  

A Life Ever Changing

by Angel

#26 Buttons and Bows

  

I looked at them and continued...

We heard applause from the doorway then and we all looked to see the adults standing just inside the room behind and to the right of us. My mother had a big smile on her face and all of them looked happy. A big difference than when I had seen them in the kitchen. All the girls ran to the adults all talking at the same time as usual.

My mother came to me smiling she said, "Ricky I am so proud of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of and what you did was thoughtful and kind. You were thinking of others again as you always seem to do and your singing was even better than I ever dreamed. They let me listen to the tape in the kitchen when I didn't really believe them when they said your voice alone was a very rare thing. I can't wait to see those pictures they took of you while you were singing and right after. They told me you were glowing and very beautiful to see."

I turned red and said, "Mommy! Please don't say that!"

She laughed and picked me up hugging me tight and said, "Oh Ricky, you have always been my little Angel and I agree with the name they have given you." Oh darn! She continued, "So, you have now decided to join the choir and be a member of their family? I heard you agree to this with my own ears. All the adults heard it, Ricky."

I answered by saying, "Mommy, they made me an honorary member not a real member."

She said, "No Ricky, or should I call you Angel? (She chuckled) That was in the beginning. What you agreed to as I heard it was to be a full-fledged member. You even agreed to take part in what they do. Didn't you listen to Tracy when she said those things to you?"

I answered, "Yes. I listened to every word. Oh brother! I did, didn't I?"

My mother laughed and said, "Yes, dear, you did. So, did you mean what you said or should you go and tell them you changed your mind? It is your decision and I will stand by you no matter what you decide."

I said, "I like them, Mommy, and they like me. For the first time, I can belong to a group and not be called names and be beat up. So I guess I want to be a full member."

My mother said, "You guess or you want to?"

I answered, "I want to and I want to be a part of their family and have good friends."

My mother smiled, hugged and kissed me and then led me over to the adults and girls.

As we approached them Pastor Kit asked, "Well Angel, you are now part of the choir and everyone has agreed that you should be the soloist as well." I looked at Tracy and she was smiling and seemed happy.

I said to her, "Tracy, you are the soloist and I don't want to take your spot!"

Tracy answered, "Oh Angel, you have to earn and deserve the soloist position. You have done both already. I will be happy when my singing voice comes back and I can rejoin all my friends singing again. You should be our soloist and you are our soloist by unanimous decision I should add!"

I blushed again of course and they all giggled and laughed. I was hugged and kissed by everybody! I then asked the big question in my mind, "This is an all girls choir and I am a boy. How can I be a part of an all girls choir?"

Pastor kit said, "Ladies, this is the question you must answer and be very thoughtful in the words you use. Angel is a very sensitive person and please keep that in mind."

He swept with his hands and arms like they should take over from here. I looked at my mother and she smiled and nodded letting me know she knew what was going to be said and had agreed to it.

Mrs. Russell came over to me and laid her hand on my shoulder and led me away from the others. She said, "You know Ricky, Angel is the perfect name for you. We are listing you on our official roster as Angel O'Hare Soloist. With the title of soloist it means you will be judged tougher than the other girls. One thing I know you will be happy about is that the soloist wears white and not pink like the chorus members. Now I want you to know officially there are no physical requirements to be a member of the choir. That means no one will be checking to make sure if you are a boy or a girl. It is all in what you appear to be not in what you actually are. Do you understand what I just said?"

I looked up at Mrs. Russell and said, "You are telling me I have to appear as a girl and not as a boy, right?"

She answered, "Angel, you have no problems appearing as a girl you understand that much. Even dressed as a boy like you are now people still have a hard time thinking of you as such when they see you. When you sing, it is impossible to see you as a boy. That is just how it is, Angel. Those are the facts. I know that no one will even think of asking about you once you have performed. I know you don't like to hear this, but when you sing you are a very beautiful child and no one would ever believe you to be a boy. The girls in the choir all know this and that is why they had a meeting and they all decided that you would be perfect and they even decided to protect you and make you a full member of the family. That means everything to them and they do a lot of things together. A lot of fun things and they want you to be a part of all that they do. That is a big honor to give to someone and all of them agreed. Not one of them spoke out against you in any way! That means a lot, Angel! Even Tracy had a few of the girls not wanting her to get the soloist position."

I looked around and saw that everything was very quiet and just a few people were whispering. I said, "My mommy said it was ok?"

Cindy said, "She left it up to you to decide Angel, but she did say she would stand by whatever decision you make. That means she will support you and stand by you no matter what happens, ok?"

I said, "The choir doesn't stand a chance in the competition if I don't join them right?" She just nodded. I continued, "So what comes next? How am I going to look to everybody? What will I be wearing and are you sure nobody is going to make fun of me?"

Mrs. Russell said, "First, you will appear as the beautiful Angel that you are. Second, you will be wearing a very beautiful white gown, a tiara, and a veil all the other girls will be wearing pink gowns and hats with little veils. Third, nobody would dare to make fun of you now, Angel. You are a part of a very close family with many connections and I assure you that all of us think you are a very brave and special little boy. As for what comes next?" She turned us around so we faced everyone and announced, "Ladies and Pastor, I proudly present to you Angel, soloist and newest official member of our choir!"

Holy cow! What a scene! Everybody was hugging everybody including my mother! My mother came over to me and said, "Ricky, I am so proud of you. Once again you have put others first and your wishes and wants second. I know this is going to be hard for you. But you have a lot of people and friends that will be standing by you and watching out for you. Before this happened you were all by yourself and I worried about you. I want you to know how much I love you and I won't ever let anyone hurt you and if they do they will answer to me and all of these new friends of yours okay?" I said okay and we joined everybody else.

My mother had new friends and I had new friends. I don't know yet if I still have a job or not. I will have to ask later. To, much is going on now.

My mother finally took my hand and said, "Are you ready to go?"

I said, "Yes please, Mommy, I need to go somewhere quiet."

She laughed and we said our goodbye's, which took a long time! I put my bike in the trunk and we left. We were headed in the wrong direction so I asked where we were going.

My mother said, "Honey, we are going out to eat and then we are picking up Aunt Harriet and then doing a little shopping okay?"

I said, "Okay, I love to eat out! Aunt Harriet is a lot of fun and we always have a good time when we are all out together."

Present Time:

I looked at Grace and Marjorie they were both looking at me intently trying hard not to interrupt me. You could see the questions burning to be let out.

I laughed and said, "Okay, out with it! Ask away, but be brief I am getting hungry and thirsty."

Grace said, "Okay, let's go downstairs get something to eat and drink. We can ask our questions and you can continue the story afterwards." We all got up and went downstairs...Funny how I felt so much better!

Everybody smiled when they saw us and we all sat down. Barbara sat next to me and asked if I felt better. I said I did but there was more that needed to come out and for me to face and deal with. She nodded and got up to fix me something to eat.

She said, "You just sit there, Rachel, and let me get you some food and something to drink. Would you like tea, coffee or something cold?"

I said, "COFFEE! And keep it coming."

Everybody laughed and we just had a regular time conversing about regular stuff like nothing at all had happened. Marjorie took my mother in another room for a short time and when she returned Barbara and her mom went with Marjorie along with Aunt Harriet. I guess the plan was for me to just relax and she would fill everybody in on my progress and condition. After we had eaten and had a few cups of coffee, Grace grabbed a big pitcher and filled it with ice and just a little water. We headed back upstairs and once again I was to tell the story.

First were the questions and Marjorie started them off with asking, "Rachel, how did you really feel knowing you had to dress and appear to be a girl back then?"

I answered, "I was scared and afraid everybody at school would find out and the kids would be even meaner and try to hurt me real bad. But, I also knew I now had a lot more friends, friends that would be looking out for me and would stay with me no matter what other kids said about me or tried to do to me. That part made me very happy and I worried a little less. My biggest problem would be changing back and forth or so I thought at the time. It turned out it was actually really easy."

Grace asked me, "Rachel, why do you think you have buried this memory and I gather a few more for so long and so completely?"

I answered, "Well, I think it was when I started getting older and all the other kids were changing and I stayed the same. The girls were sprouting and everything else. I recognized, as they did, a few differences that I did not and would not believe were happening to me. I decided I would just shut them away so they did not exist. But that is actually part of the story I am telling you."

Marjorie asked, "Why didn't you refuse to wear the girl's panties and I noticed you are not a bashful boy when it comes to undressing or being undressed and dressed in front of others why?"

I answered, "It is a funny thing I guess, but I seem to accept situations without too much protest. If someone makes a good reason or a lot of sense about something I should do I tend to not protest if the reasons are sound. Now, if they don't have a reason or they just want to play with me. I will protest loudly or run away if I can. Sometimes I didn't realize this until it was too late to do anything about it, then what can you do? You just do it and get it over with."

Grace asked, "You do sing beautifully and they were right about how you look when you are singing. Can you tell me where you go when you do sing?"

I answered, "Well, I really don't know the answer to that one. I have tried to answer that question myself, but I really don't know. I think it is more of becoming a part of a whole and not really going anywhere. It's like my voice joins with whatever sounds are required. When a four-piece band starts to play if they are good they join together each in there own way to make a particular sound. They still have their individual sounds they are making themselves, but together they make a unique sound, which includes all four of them at the same time. When I sing I become that sound I give of myself so it is me that joins with the other sounds making a unique joining and I actually take part in that joining. I feel it and sense it I become one with each of the sounds. That is the best I can describe it. I really don't know exactly what happens."

I looked at Marjorie and she had a funny inquisitive look on her face so I asked, "What?"

She said, "Oh nothing, I don't have any more questions right now. Why don't you continue your story?"

She gave Grace a look I couldn't see and Grace said, "Yes, Rachel, please continue your story." So I did.

 

Back to the past:

We went to my favorite place to eat! A real Italian restaurant I always loved to go to because when you ordered spaghetti you got a huge bowl full! Enough for you to eat it for days! I always took the leftovers home because you could only eat about one quarter of the bowl at a time. Add sausage and I was in pure heaven!

While we waited for our order to arrive I asked my mother, "Mommy, is it really okay for me to do this? I mean I'm not making you ashamed of me or anything like that am I?"

My mother looked at me kind of with a shocked look on her face and said, "Oh Honey! You are doing no such thing! I am very proud of you for what you are doing. I know it is a little out of the ordinary for you to do this, but just look at all the benefits for you. You have a lot more real good friends and not the kind that just use you and dump you. You can finally sing in front of people without worrying about being picked on and hurt. If you are dressed as a girl how can people make fun of you like they have? They can't, Honey, they will see what they always thought they had seen when they looked at you. Now for the boys at school, you have all your other friends to be with and they want to be with you so there is less of a chance you will be picked on or hurt because these friends will help protect you and stand by you. It is really a win-win situation, Honey. I want you to know that you can stop at anytime and I will respect that and stand by your decision, okay?"

Wow, did I get an earful with that! I said, "Okay, Mommy and thank you."

She smiled and we talked about going to Aunt Harriet's. We finished eating and deciding on no dessert because we were just too full I got my doggie bag and we were off to Aunt Harriet's.

When we pulled into Harriet's driveway she came out to meet us at the car. She gave me a hug and a kiss and sent me into the house saying she had a surprise inside for me. COOL! I heard her tell my mother as I was going through the door.

She said, "Julia I have had the most interesting phone calls the past hour and a half. Is it true?"

That is all I heard as I went inside and started looking for my surprise. All I saw was a bunch of hair stuff she used for doing other ladies' hair. I decided to put my doggie bag in the fridge and that is when I saw a bowl of my favorites of favorite's dessert! STRAWBERRY SUPREME! YES!!!! COOLEST OF COOLS! You always had room for strawberry supreme! I took out the bowl and grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer and off to Heaven I went! I finished my dessert and they were still outside talking! GEEZ! So I went into the living room and turned on the TV. Yuck, soap operas and game shows. I turned it off and I heard them come into the house.

Aunt Harriet called for me and I went into the kitchen. I thanked her a lot for the dessert and she smiled and said, "Well, you are now officially our little Angel and I can help you be a better looking Angel at that! Sit here, Honey, and let me do my magic, okay?"

I looked up at her and said, "Auntie, please don't make me look too girlish, okay?"

She laughed and said, "Honey, what ever I do you can comb it out at anytime and then part it just like a boys haircut, okay?"

I said okay and sat in the special chair she had just for me. It had a pump on the bottom she pushed with her foot and it raised the chair up so I didn't have to sit on a booster seat like I used to.

She said, "Oh no this will never do, your hair is a mess and all sweaty, to the sink Angel!"

Off to the sink I went and I had to use that booster seat after all. This was a special sink Auntie had put in just to shampoo hair. My hair was washed, rinsed, washed and rinsed again and gunk put in it. Then it was rinsed and rinsed again. She wrapped it in a towel and had me sit in my chair again. She combed it out in little sections snipping just a little here and there. Then she combed it forward over my eyes and cut it straight across. She then started doing something funny she never did before. She wrapped little sections on these strips of cloth smearing them with gunk and put Bobbie-pins in them so they were close and tight next to my scalp. She did this at both temples then she took these real small curlers added some little papers and a bunch of gunk and rolled the hair at my back in them real tight! She pinned them to. She put this plastic bonnet on my head and tied it real tight. Then she put cotton in my ears! She hooked a hose to it and all of a sudden I felt hot air surrounding my head.

She handed me a bottle of soda pop and I sat there for a long time. Well, it felt like a long time. I was done with my soda pop before she took the bonnet off of my head. She took out the curlers first and brushed out my hair just a little bit. I saw my mother smile and Aunt Harriet was real happy. She took out the pins at my temples and very carefully removed the cloth strip from each one. She took some hairspray and while holding one sprayed it a lot and then used the hose to dry it.

She did this to each one and said, "PERFECT! My little Angel looks just like an angel now."

My mother was all smiles and said, "Those petal curls are darling! Shopping is going to be a lot more fun now."

I was stunned! I said "What? Petal curls? What are those? What are petal curls and am I am going shopping with curls?"

My mother said, "Honey, you need a few things for choir and Auntie Harriet has agreed to go shopping and get you a few more late birthday presents."

Auntie Harriet said, "It is Angel's birthday today so I thought since you needed a few things when you have to practice and for when you sing in front of others I would pick them up as birthday presents for our Angel, okay?"

What could I say? I said, "Okay auntie, but I am wearing boy clothes and everybody will think I am a sissy."

Auntie said, "Well you just wait a couple of minutes okay?"

I said okay and she left the house and went over to her neighbors. I could see her through the back door, which was open.

My mother said, "Honey, petal curls look like little flower petals and are real cute, but hard to do and keep in. That's why auntie sprayed them a lot and dried them. Now they will last a long time if you don't play with them or touch them too much."

I said I wouldn't do that and asked, "Mommy, how long will they last?"

She chuckled knowing what I had meant and said, "Don't worry, Honey, they wash out real easy and will disappear."

I said, "Okay mommy, but what do we have to go shopping for exactly?"

She said, "Well we already told you and I know auntie would not want me to spoil her surprise so why don't we wait and find out."

I didn't like that answer too much, but I said okay and left it at that. I saw auntie coming back and she had a big paper bag that looked stuffed with her. She also had a covered plastic bag that had a hanger sticking out which she was holding.

She came in and said, "Julia, bring Angel and come upstairs to my room."

So we followed her upstairs to her room. Once we got there my mother started undressing me and auntie emptied out the bag. OH NO! FRILLIES! There was a petticoat and tights. There was a silky looking undershirt with frills on it, a pair of open toe shoes and a belt.

I looked at them both and said, "Why do they have to be so frilly?"

They both chuckled and auntie said, "Honey, beggars can't be choosers. I promise once we get to the store I won't buy you anything real frilly, only what we have to, okay?"

I said "Okay, but what do you have to get for me that has to be frilly?"

She shook her head and said, "Angel, please stop and think, okay? One of your outfits is going to be real fancy. Your white gown needs some frillies as you call them. You also need some jewelry and a few other things. Now enough of these questions! We have to get ready and leave soon. Mrs. Gilmore who you met today owns one of the shops we are going to go to and she will be waiting for us. She called me and was one of the ladies that told me what had happened today."

Oh brother! One of the ladies, that means a bunch of them called her. Auntie was a hairdresser and she knew everybody and they talked about everything and everybody! I bet she knew more about my jobs and what when on more than my mother!

My mom had me stripped down to my new blue flowered nylon panties and auntie said, "Well, we don't have to worry about you dressed in boys underpants now do we. Those are cute!" Oh brother! She continued, "How do they feel, Angel?"

I rolled my eyes and they both laughed and then my mother said, "Harriet, I was told Angel here likes the way they feel, they are thinner, tighter and much cooler than the boys underpants. Isn't that what you said, Honey?"

I said, "Yes, I said that and it's true, but I wish they were white and not covered in flowers!"

Auntie said, "Well, that is wonderful, Angel! I am glad you can appreciate the many differences in girl's finery than the boys drab stuff. You will have a lot more fun if you can enjoy the feel and freedom of girl's wear."

My mommy then said, "Honey, you will see we girls have a lot more fun shopping than boys do. There is a lot more very nice things made for us and it is always a fun time shopping for girls."

I said, "Really? (A little sarcasm here.) I can hardly wait to go and get a bunch of girl's stuff I will only wear a few times."

Mommy said, "Don't get smart with me! I am not lying to you now and I have never lied to you and you know it!"

I said, "I'm sorry, Mommy, but this is all new to me and I am really nervous and scared!"

They both grabbed me then and hugged me and kissed me with auntie saying, "Oh my little Angel, don't you be scared. We love you very much and you know we will keep you from any harm. This is going to be a lot of fun for us and it will be for you to if you will just relax, trust us and think about all the singing you can do! You know how everybody loves to hear you sing and only a few stupid boys think differently! So don't be scared and hold your head up high and just go with it and have some fun okay?"

I smiled and said okay, it was then they started putting the frillies on me. First was the vest thing with the frilly lace! Then came the tights, they were white and my auntie put them on me by rolling them down to the feet and I had to sit down and put one foot in and then the other. I had to stand back up and she and my mommy pulled them up until they were smooth and tight! They went far up and over my waist and covered my belly.

Then they had me step into the petticoat and pulled it up and tied it around my waist, then the dress. Oh brother! It was pink and buttoned up the back! My mommy buttoned it up for me and auntie handed me a little white purse! My mommy put the belt around my waist and tightened it.

Auntie had me sit again as she fastened the opened toe shoes on my feet. They had a strap that went around my ankle with a tiny buckle. They were shiny white. Mommy showed me how to sit wearing a petticoat and a dress.

It was different but I knew I had to keep my hands on my lap when I sat or the petticoat would show real good. I didn't want that to happen! I had to use both my hands to hold the back of the dress tight to my fanny before I sat down. They told me this would keep the wrinkles out and be much more comfortable for me to sit. So then after a few swipes of a brush to each of us we were off to a shop owned by one of the mothers of the girls in the choir. I wondered what type of shop it was, but was afraid to ask and just kept quiet. I would see soon enough!

Getting in an out of a car wearing a dress was another lesson! Especially when Auntie's neighbor came out to meet Angel! Oh Brother! She gave me a girl's necklace! She said it was for her daughter but her daughter wouldn't wear it. It was a fine gold chain, which attached to a silver charm that said "PRETTY GIRL!" OH GEEZ!

My mommy and auntie really liked it! I thanked her for her gift and smiled. She gave me a hug and a kiss and told me to keep the items she had loaned me!

She said, "Joanna is such a tomboy she will never wear it or anything nice."

Auntie gave her a hug and thanked her for me and so did my mommy. Finally we were off to the mystery shop! Auntie knew where the shop was so we took her car and I sat up front with her because she asked me to. My mommy sat in back and talked to us the whole way! We talked about a bunch of stuff, mostly about Auntie's friends and what she had heard from the many phone calls she had gotten. I tuned them out and just looked out the window. I did as they asked and held my head up high and just went with it! I heard them laugh loud and long.

I wondered what I had missed when Auntie said, "Here we are girls!"

I wish she wouldn't say that.

As we approached the shop I saw the name in big pink letters it said "EVERYTHING GIRLS" I thought maybe we wouldn't have to go anywhere else. We entered the shop and Mrs. Gilmore came rushing over all happy with a big grin on her face that got even bigger when she looked at me.

She said, "Julia! Harriet! I am so happy that you made it to my shop. Oh and Angel, you are so pretty! Don't get mad at me please?"

I smiled and said, "I won't, Mrs. Gilmore I just have to start getting used to being called girl things and names. I'm not used to that yet and when ever I was called those names before it was almost always meant to hurt me and not said in a nice way at all."

Mrs. Gilmore hugged me and said, "Oh, you poor darling, I should have known that, can you forgive an older lady's stupidity?"

I looked at her in surprise and said, "Mrs. Gilmore, you are not stupid and I am the one who has to be forgiven for acting stupid."

She chuckled and said, "No my dear, but let us forget about the misunderstandings and start shopping, ok?"

I said okay and off we went to see what was here.

Mrs. Gilmore said, "Let us start from the skin out okay, ladies?"

Everybody but me said okay to that!

Mrs. Gilmore asked, "Julia, what type of clothes are we getting for Angel today? Oh and please call me Lorrie."

My mommy said, "Okay, Lorrie, and we should really get Angel some regular practical things and some nicer things for practice and a few really nice things for the competitions."

Auntie added to that by saying, "We can start with a few plain white items and then progress up to the real finery, alright?"

Lorrie, Mrs. Gilmore, said "Okay, this is going to be a fun time for all!" OH BROTHER! "Julia, why don't you take Angel into the fitting room and undress her? We will be coming in and out with different sets of nice undergarments for her. You can help her try them on and decide which ones are keepers and which should go back to the rack, okay?"

My mommy said, "alright Lorrie, but I would like to pick a few things out for her myself as well."

Auntie jumped in and said. "I tell you what, Julia, we will each pick something out and switch places, okay?"

"Great Idea!" the ladies said almost together! Oh no! Now I will be naked in front of another lady! Oh well, I should have known!

My mommy took me in the back to where Mrs. Gilmore showed us the fitting room was. This was a room separate from the dressing rooms and more private. I was glad of that! There was no other customers there right then so I really felt at ease; well, as at ease as I could be at the time! I was completely undressed down to my panties and my mommy said I could keep them on so we wouldn't get any of the other ones dirty and could safely return them.

Just then auntie came in holding some plain white items.

She said, "Lorrie would like you to put these on so you can try on the others safely so they can be returned if you don't want them. She said you can keep these as a gift from her."

My mommy said, "Oh, great idea, I think the panties she has on have been worn a little too long this will work out just fine."

With that she pulled my panties off and I stepped out of them. She held the white nylon "full cut" girls panties for me to put on. I noticed these were thicker and tighter than regular panties like I just had on. My boy part seemed to disappear when mommy pulled them up tight and smoothed them out.

She said, "Perfect! These give you a nice flat front even though you really don't show that much in regular panties." Oh brother!

There was a nice plain, shiny, slightly padded bra that came next. This went on back and forth several times with each of them taking turns. They were having a lot of fun and I must admit I was getting into it as well. Happiness is contagious!

We did this for awhile and then Lorrie said, "It looks like no other customers are going to be popping in so I am closing the shop early and I will pull the curtain and Angel can come out here and join in the fun. How does that sound?"

Everybody thought that was great and auntie and my mommy thanked her and I was brought out into the shop in my latest set of undies.

It now was time for the real finery as auntie had called them. Wow, were they fancy and some were very frilly! Lorrie took a bunch of measurements and even my feet and made a phone call.

My mommy found a set of frillies she liked a lot and had me get into them. Now, these were too frilly in my book, but all the ladies loved them on me so I knew they were going to be mine! Let me describe them for you. The panties were full cut but very light my mommy called them cover panties because I was supposed to wear them over my pantyhose. They had rows and rows of white lace from the top to the bottom in front as well as in back! Panties to go over panties, girls really go overboard, I thought!

I now had several bras and panty sets. Different colors and several different styles, even two that had no straps! Some were padded lightly and a few were padded even more giving me a shape as if I had real boobies! Then they had what's called fanny helpers that had pads in them at the hips and it shaped my fanny by lifting and spreading my fanny cheeks!

My mommy said "You know lady's I don't think Angel needs these at all."

My mommy took the fanny helper off and everybody started staring at my fanny and front! Mrs. Gilmore even put her hands on my hips and made me turn back and forth! She even felt up my fanny! GEEZ!

Auntie Harriet said "Your right Julia, she has a very pretty fanny, as perfectly shaped as any little girl."

Everybody had to touch and pinch my fanny!

I had enough of that and said "PLEASE STOP THAT!"

They all giggled and apologized. So, at least I didn't get any fanny helpers added to my pile.

Then I had to try on the other stuff. Blouses skirts and dresses! Shorts, tops, and a few slacks and even several pairs of jeans, all in girl colors of course! Then we heard a knock on the door and we all jumped. Lorrie laughed and said it was Helen who had a surprise for me. Helen was also one of the ladies at the Russell's house. Lorrie peaked through the curtain to make sure it was Helen and it was.

At the time I had on a big girl's bra. It made me look like I had boobies. Small ones but more than a ten-year old girl would have! I had over that a yellow light summer blouse pull-over that allowed everybody to see my bra! Then I had on green shorts that were kind of short and fit loosely. They were belted at the waist with a tiny belt.

Helen came in and when she saw me she went nuts! She quickly handed several bags and a big garment carrier to my mommy Harriet and Lorrie.

She rushed over to me and hugged me and kissed me and said, "Oh, Angel you are a beauty! I can't wait to fit you with your soloist's gown!" She giggled and turned to the others and said, "Well, girls, start unpacking those bags!"

They all had a lot of fun pulling items out of the bags and when Helen unzipped the garment bag and withdrew the gown everybody, including me, gasped! It was beautiful! Even I had to admit it was the fanciest and prettiest thing I ever saw! It was even better than the wedding gown I saw one of my fathers sisters get married in! (My father had left us but we got an invitation so we went, it was the last time we attended anything from my father's side of the family.)

I think it was a wedding dress! It was made for a young girl though so it couldn't have been. My auntie started giggling a lot so we looked at her and she was holding this funny looking white lacey thing.

She said, "Helen, were did you find a fancy garter belt for someone so small?"

Helen said she had made it herself along with a few other items.

She said, "I have a few clients that like to dress their daughters up in the same things they wear, so I make a few extra of everything they order. I have even found a Paris distributor that makes nylon and silk stocking for children."

Oh Brother! Sure enough Harriet pulled out several pairs of nylons and one pair she said, "Oh my, real silk?"

Helen just nodded. They were very sheer and white. They found four petticoats! Four of them went with this gown! There was a pair of long gloves with no fingers! No fingers? They were pink! There was a pink sash that wrapped around the waist of the gown and a pair of white high heels! Three-inch heels! I would kill myself if I had to walk in those!

Then Helen very gently removed something from another compartment in the garment bag. It was the veil! WOW! Like the dress it had a lot of small pink beads sewn into it! They were a very light pink color and the veil itself was made of patterned very sheer lace. Then from somewhere else in the garment bag Helen removed a tiara. Holy cow! It was like a small silver crown and it also had light pink stones, but they were clear ones and very shiny! When you twisted it the stones gleamed!

Helen then said, "Okay, everybody, let's get this beauty stripped and we will dress her in her very own Angel dress!"

I was ambushed! Each of the ladies removed something until I was naked as the day I was born! Then the assembly began! Wow, what a lot of work this was! Since the shoulders of the gown were made of very sheer lace I had to have a strapless bra. This went on first as Auntie fastened the garter belt around my tummy just above my waist. I had to sit as my mommy and Lorrie put a pair of nylon stocking on me and then I had to stand up again so they could fastened them to the garters. My auntie had these little pink lacey elastic round things she slipped up each leg until they covered the garter clips. I hated standing there with my little private showing! Then my mommy had me step into a very light, silky-sheer slip that tied around my waist. Then a thicker one with stiffer lace and then another still thicker and another thicker and stiffer and last but not least a very long one with layers and layers of stiffened lace! All of them tied around my waist!

I said "WAIT!"

Everybody stopped what they were doing and gave me that 'WHAT?' look.

I said "where are my undies? You didn't give me any panties to wear!"

They all started laughing and giggling! I didn't think it was funny at all!

My mommy said "Well Honey, it's a little to late now so you will just have to do without panties until were finished."

OH CRAP! I felt so funny under there without any undies on!

I said "I will have panties to wear when I wear this won't I?"

Helen said "Of course you will Angel. We just in all our excitement forgot this time that's all."

I said "Okay then, but don't ever forget again! You promise?"

They all laughed again! GEEZ!

With all this stuff on it got heavier and heavier. How could I even move? Then the gown! It took the three of them to put it over my head and slip it on very carefully. When that was done Helen used this funny thing to fasten the million buttons in the back!

I had to hold on to mommy as Lorrie helped me into the heels. Then Helen and auntie put the veil on my head. My mommy fastened the tiara with these pink beaded pins that went through the veil and into my hair. The veil had little holes made just for this purpose Helen had shown mommy where they were. Then the gloves with no fingers. Helen showed me a little loop I had to slip two fingers into it so it would allow me to lift my gown enough so I could walk. When I did this the long petticoat showed!

Heel lessons! Mommy and all the other ladies told me over and over to walk on my toes and put all my weight on the balls of my feet and gently lower my heels to the floor. The other thing they kept telling me was to put my feet directly in line and in front of the trailing foot.

Oh Brother!

My mommy and auntie held both my arms one of them on each side as I walked. They kept reminding me over and over what to do. I must have walked around Lorrie's shop ten times! Then I noticed my mommy and auntie weren't holding me anymore. I did it! My fanny felt funny because walking this way made me wiggle my fanny a lot! My hips went back and forth pretty far! That and I didn't have any panties on underneath!

All of a sudden I saw flashes of light! Yes, there were two cameras being used and a lot of film! I bet they took fifty pictures! I had to smile and Helen even put pink lipstick on me! Finally it was all over and I could get out of this gown and those torture devises they call heels! My ankles and feet hurt!

Helen told me that I would have to have three people to help me get ready each time and if I had to go potty I would need help with that as well! Oh brother! I never have seen such happy ladies in my life! They were like little girls all giggling and so excited!

My mommy had tears in her eyes and said, "I never would have believed someone could make you more beautiful and yet here you are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen!"

Lorrie and Helen beamed with pride and auntie said, "Helen and Lorrie, you have outdone yourselves! This is utterly amazing! I would never have believed it if someone told me she would look this beautiful if I had not seen it with my own eyes!"

Lorrie said, "Yes, but look at the Angel we were blessed to have to work with!"

Helen added, "Put a beautiful girl in a beautiful gown and all you can do is enhance the beauty that already existed to begin with."

Helen then said, "I have to call Sylvia, she is waiting for my call. Next stop jewelry!" The four ladies got excited again! Helen made her call as Lorrie my mommy and auntie began the process of undressing me very slowly and carefully. It took them over a half hour to get me undressed! I was back in my pink dress and the other stuff I started out with. I did have on clean panties though thank goodness and one of my new bras. The other one was a little tight. Off we went to another shop where another of the ladies was waiting for us.

Sylvia was waiting for us and as we pulled into a parking space in front of her shop she came out to meet us. She greeted everybody and when she saw me I was hugged kissed petted and told in a never-ending stream how pretty I was and it didn't stop there either!

We went into her shop and she had a funny contraption with a bunch of various sized metal rings on a chain. She took some off and started sizing all my fingers! She wrote down the sizes and then she measured my neck in several places and wrote them down as well. She even measured around my ankles!

She said, "Well, ladies what do we need for the gown?"

Helen who made the gown and knew what would look best with it said I needed a choker but of course it couldn't impede my vocal cords or be too tight.

Sylvia smiled and said, "I have just the thing we need. What color, pink or white?"

Helen said pink and Sylvia went and got two beautiful chokers. One was white with pink beads the other was pink with those shiny clear pink stones. They both were adjustable and the excess just hung down the back of my neck in a straight line. They were perfect according to the ladies. So they got both of them.

Next came earrings that clipped on and they matched the chokers and gown nicely according to the ladies. Two pairs of those! Then an anklet they called it. Jewelry for your ankles, I was going crazy. Two of those and then came the rings. Oh brother! This took the longest because one would like something and another would not. Finally I had six rings! Three for each hand!

I really thought this was a bit much! I never had seen anybody wear six rings at the same time! So I asked them about it and they all giggled and laughed calling me silly. I never did get a straight answer about the rings!

Then Sylvia gave me a very pretty girl's wristwatch. She fastened it on my wrist and said it was a gift from her to me. I thanked her gave her a hug and a kiss. She was a very happy lady!

Finally we were done and headed homeward! I asked my mom about Jerry and she said he was fine and the babysitter was staying overnight. We had a three-car caravan! Helen, Sylvia, and Lorrie, all in their own cars were following us to auntie's house!

We arrived at my auntie's house and everybody pitched in to help carry everything in the house. There was a lot more stuff than I thought! Holy cow, there were a bunch of packages and boxes and bags! Garment bags and shoeboxes and well, just a ton of stuff!

My mommy took me upstairs and ran me a bath and then undressed me. I could get used to being pampered like this! I loved it now, where as before I resented it, now I even looked forward to it! I wondered why. I slipped into the tub and the water smelled like flowers and was oily.

Mommy told me to just relax and she would be back in a few minutes. So I lay back and relaxed. Oh this felt so good! My mommy did come back but it was longer than just a few minutes that she was gone. She had a funny looking sponge and she put something on it and washed me all over.

She had me stand up and washed my privates and fanny real good and then had me sit down again. When she was washing my privates she mumbled something I couldn't make out so I asked her what she said and she answered, "Oh, nothing, Honey, I just noticed something but it is nothing for you to worry about, okay?"

I said okay and forgot all about it. She washed and rinsed my hair and true to her words and aunties, the petal curls were gone. I still felt some curls at the back of my neck though! The front of my hair fell just over my eyebrows and a little into my eyes. My mommy combed this part straight back and it felt much better.

She helped me out of the tub and patted me dry. She held out a pair of plain white nylon panties for me to step into and then she helped me put on a long silky white shirt. It came to just above my knees. There was a picture of a teddy bear on the front. Where did this come from?

She then said, "Ok, Honey, you are all set for bed now. How about joining us for a bedtime snack okay?"

I said ok so down stairs we went...

  

  

  

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