Crystal's Texas Gal

Author's Note: This is the story about a young boy who is forcibly introduced to cross-dressing by his sisters, and their friends. The experience quickly changes his life as he discovers what's been missing in his short life, for so long.

"Alright… can I have your attention please, folks," Alex Robison shouted at the crowd assembled in the church parking lot. "Everybody who's going on the bus should board now. We will be leaving in a few minutes."

People immediately began queuing up at the door of an enormous couch-liner. At least it was enormous to me. At ten years of age (soon to be eleven), just four feet, eight inches tall, and about seventy-three pounds, my perspective of the world was a whole lot different than that of an adult. Feeling like the stranger that I was to all these people, and totally uncomfortable in this situation, I waited on the periphery of the crowd as the bus slowly filled. It had been chartered to take my Cub Scout pack and their family members to a "western" theme park in upstate New York, from my hometown in Newark, New Jersey. Having been a member of the scouts for less than a week, I didn't really know any of the other scouts. At least not well enough to call them my friends. None of them attended my school or lived in my neighborhood. Nor did I know any of the family members that were with them. My own family, like others who had decided to go at the last minute, was driving there in the family car. I had literally begged my father to let me go in the station wagon with him, my mother, and my three older sisters, but he adamantly refused. He said that by going on the bus I would be spending more time with my fellow scouts, and thus would more quickly establish friendships among them. I had only been to one 'den' meeting with my 'pack' and wasn't even sure I wanted to establish a friendship with any of them. The only one that had responded to my overtures of friendship was the kid whose mom was the pack's Den Mother, and he sort of had to because I was a guest in his house and his mom was watching.

I felt incredibly alone as I climbed the steps of the bus, even though I was surrounded by dozens of people. I walked slowly down the aisle looking for an empty seat next to one of my fellow cub scouts, hoping that I could find someone sitting alone whose name I remembered. Unlike school buses, the seat backs were very high and I couldn't see who were in the seats until I got right next to them. I quickly learned that all my fellow scouts had already paired up and I didn't find a vacant seat until I got to the rear of the bus. In the next to last row, both seats were vacant on the right side; so I stepped sideways into the area in front of the seats and sat down on the hard, green, vinyl-covered seat next to the window. Across the aisle was a young girl whose age I estimated as five, and an elderly woman who I figured must be her grandmother or great-grandmother. The girl was in the window seat, playing with a doll, while the old woman had her eyes closed as if she was asleep. I couldn't see forward because of the seat heights so I stared out the window. A young boy should have been excited about the prospect of going to see the 'Cowboys and Indians' at the 'Dodge City' theme park, on this beautiful spring day in 1966, but I only felt miserable, alone, and dejected.

The bus began to vibrate as the driver of the bus started the engine and closed the door. A loud 'whoosh' could be heard as the air brakes were released, and the bus lurched as it began to move out of the parking lot. I knew that for the next three hours I would be trapped inside this behemoth. As the bus pulled out of the lot I could see the cars moving into position to follow us. I longed to be in my family's car where I knew my sisters were talking and joking with each other, but I would have to suffer through this day and hope time passed quickly. I sat back in the seat as the bus swayed and bucked while the driver wove his way through traffic on the way to the turnpike, and I thought about the events that had led up to my being here today.

I'd never had any desire to join the cub scouts, my father had 'volunteered' me. It was like being drafted into the army. Just eight days ago, on a mid-April Saturday morning, the three goddesses of fate had conspired to send my life along a new tangent, but not one that I would have chosen had I been given the choice.

On that Saturday, my father had already left for work when I awoke. As a self-employed contractor, he always worked at least six days a week, and frequently seven. By building quality, single family homes at reasonable prices, he never lacked for customers. His business had been growing steadily and he poured back as much of the profits into the company as he could, procuring land and new equipment to continue the business's expansion. I figured he was an entrepreneurial genius. I often heard him telling Mother how well things were going. She would comment that we could use a little more money in the household budget and he would say that would come soon enough. He wanted to stick with their plan for scrimping along now so that life would be good later. They always ended their financial discussions by reminding each other that they had four kids to put through college. Although we owned our own home, a small, older, wood frame house on the edge of the city, we kids would have loved to live in one of the beautiful new homes that Father was building for other people's families. There was never any question of our parent's love for us, although we were frequently disappointed when our friend's families got new cars and home items such as stereos and color televisions, while we always had to do with the old things for as long as they were serviceable.

After preparing breakfast for her brood, Mother had gone grocery shopping with one of her friends. That usually meant an extended absence since they would invariably stop somewhere for lunch and then for coffee at her friend's home when Mother drove her there and they carried in the packages. We kids never enjoyed the grocery trip and were relieved of having to go now that we were older; or at least now that my oldest sister was fourteen and could act as sitter for the rest of us.

Judy, as the oldest, got the job of watching over us when required. Whenever we disagreed with her protectiveness, and control over our lives, we called her 'Miss Bossy', but her decisions were never arbitrary or vindictive and she always tried to explain why she told us to do something, or not allowed us to do something. We usually followed her orders without question since Mother had told us that she was 'in charge' during Mom's absence. As 'second mother', Judy was always the most serious of my sisters with her intensity escalating as the situation warranted.

Mary at thirteen, was fourteen months behind Judy. I had always thought that all my sisters were beautiful, but secretly I felt that Mary was the prettiest. She shared the same light auburn hair color and brown eyes of the others but there was something about the way that her face lit up when she was happy that made you feel happy too. She smiled a lot more than Judy did, probably due in part to her lesser responsibility in having to govern younger children. She could be more of a child herself.

Susan was twelve, as of two months ago. The baby of the family until I came along, I don't think that losing that position ever bothered her. Probably because of our similar ages, Susan and I usually played together, while Judy and Mary shared other activities more in line with kids their age. As the prankster of our family, Susan's mischievous nature caused a seemingly never-ending chain of impossible situations in my life. All too often I was blamed for things that happened to me, while the architect of the event put on her most angelic face and escaped without blame.

Aside from certain obvious gender attributes, my appearance is not really so different from that of my sisters, with a few notable exceptions. There's certainly no doubt that we are closely related, as our facial structure clearly shows, but while they share Father's hair and eye color, I got Mother's. My hair is golden blond and I have medium-blue eyes. In most black & white pictures taken when I was very young, it appears as if I'm bald because of my very light hair color, and because it was so very short at that time. I hated it and always complained. If my hair couldn't be long enough to plainly determine from the photos that I in fact had hair, then I wanted it to be brown like my sisters. I guess that Mother either shared my dismay, or at least understood my feelings on the subject, because she gave instructions to my barber to allow it to grow out as much as would be acceptable for a young boy. He took her instructions literally, and after that he simply trimmed my hair whenever I was sent in for a haircut, until it grew as long as he dared let it. For a time I began to look like the kid in the Buster Brown shoe commercials whose long, straight, thick blond hair fell almost to his neck, except in the very front of his face, where it ended at his eyebrows. But in a couple of years I far surpassed him. Since the Beatles have changed everyone's perception of acceptable hairstyles, my shoulder length hair gets very little kidding from my friends at school. In fact, they tell me that they are trying to get their parents to let them grow theirs longer. With advances in color photography, and my longer hair, I now appear like a normal kid in family pictures.

I'm quite thin for a boy my age, and Mother tells me that with my fine bone structure and straight hair, that I definitely take after her side of the family. At the parochial school that I and my sisters attend, my slight frame and limited athletic ability means that when sides are being chosen for games, I'm always the last to be selected, if I am selected at all. On those all too frequent occasions when I am the 'odd man out', I usually just sit down and watch my classmates having fun. I have tried to infiltrate the activities of the girls a number of times when they engage in things that I do with my sisters at home, such as 'jumping rope'. But if the nuns see me playing with the girls, they immediately send me back over to the 'boys' side of the schoolyard. Since the girls all wear knee length, dark blue jumpers over their white blouses, with a funny looking dark blue bow-tie that resembles an enormous ribbon, I stand out quite dramatically in my dark blue trousers, starched white cotton shirt, and dark blue school tie. Unless the school yard 'warden' is involved with something or someone out of the line-of-sight of the activity I want to join, then I don't even try. But when I do try, the girls, one or more of which might be one of my sisters always welcome me.

With Mother having left to do her shopping, my sisters began cleaning the kitchen and breakfast dishes and cooking utensils. As always they shooed me out of the kitchen while they did the 'women's' work, but not before handing me a bag of trash to take outside to the garbage pails. After depositing the trash in an empty container and putting the lid back on to keep out the neighborhood dogs and cats, I re-entered the house and went upstairs to my bedroom to read. I have a rather extensive library for a ten-year-old, and I use the books and novels there to escape the boredom of my normal existence whenever I can. Because I spend all my spare time with my nose in a book, my reading skills and vocabulary are well beyond what most kids my age have attained. I had just begun to re-read a novel that I had received for Christmas when I heard some commotion downstairs. I marked my place, put away the book, and went to investigate.

Gina and Maria Marcoti, our neighbors, schoolmates, and my sisters' best friends, had come over to visit and they were all about to start a game of Monopoly in the living room. The board was setup on the coffee table in the middle of the room and the girls were seated on the floor all around it. I asked if I could join and was invited to sit down between my sister Mary, and Gina Marcoti. Gina was the older of the two neighbor girls, being fourteen like Judy, while Maria was my sister Susan's age of twelve.

My strategy in Monopoly was to buy everything that I landed on while my sisters tried to buy certain sets of properties in order to put up houses and hotels. After a number of go-arounds on the board, I had managed to collect enough property to be a spoiler for anybody trying to put together a set. Additionally, I had managed to purchase both Boardwalk and Park Place, a feat I only rarely was able to do. With the money that I had collected in rents and by mortgaging most of my property, I was able to put hotels on Boardwalk and Park place. My sister Mary criticized my strategy, saying that now I wouldn't be able to collect rents on most of my property and since I had very cash left I would be unable to pay when I landed on someone else's property. She said I would be bankrupted out of the game. I told her that she should watch her own position because she didn't have much cash either. On her next move she landed on one of the squares that required her to take a card and do whatever it said. When she picked it up and read it, she just out a small groan. She dropped the card on the board so that we could all read it. It told her to go to Boardwalk and pay any rents due the owner. This, of course, bankrupted her. As a ten year boy is prone to do when winning out over an older sibling I smirked and gloated a little bit and said, "HA!"

At this point she said, "Ha, is it. I'll give you a ha." She grabbed me and started tickling me on my stomach and sides. Being very ticklish, I started to thrash around. Gina had to grab my legs as a means of self-protection or I could have kicked her accidentally. With Mary holding and tickling me while she laughed, and Gina holding my legs and laughing, I guess that the other girls felt left out. But not for long. Before I knew what was happening, all five girls were working on me. Someone pulled off my sneakers and socks and I felt fingers ticking the soles of my feet, and since this is the most ticklish part of my anatomy, it sent me into new spasms of squirming and laughing. I guess that Mary decided that she wasn't getting as much of a reaction from her tickling as the girls at my feet so she grabbed my tee shirt and pulled it over my head and off of my arms and then with renewed vigor attacked my sides with her soft fingers. So there I was, thrashing and laughing as five girls tried to outdo each other in tickling my half-naked body. Suddenly somebody grabbed the cuffs of my pants and pulled my jeans down and off of my legs. All at once everybody stopped tickling me. I stopped thrashing around and tried to get air back into my lungs, not realizing why they had stopped tickling me until I heard Judy say, "Well, it looks like somebody forgot to put their underpants on this morning. Susan, run upstairs and get David some underwear, please." Susan jumped up and ran up the stairs. As I got my wind back, I felt myself beginning to turn crimson, Judy said, "Oh David, don't be embarrassed. Everybody here has seen you naked when you were a baby. Some of us even helped to change your poopy diapers. You don't have anything now that we haven't all seen before."

Just then Susan returned and handed Judy what she had retrieved. Judy said, "Susan, I meant for you to get a pair of David's underwear, not a pair of my panties." Susan, always the prankster, replied that she hadn't specified whose underwear to get so she grabbed a pair from the first bureau that she got to. Judy said, "Well, since they're here we may as well use them. Here David, this will restore your modesty" and she slide them up my legs. Gina was still lying across my torso where she had been almost since the tickling had started and I was still physically spent. Mary was sitting on the floor near my head while Judy and Maria were sitting near my feet. Susan was standing a couple of feet away, where she had been since she returned from the bedroom that she shared with Judy and Mary. I asked if someone would please hand me my jeans.

Susan said, "It seems like such a shame to cover up such pretty panties with those yucky jeans." Four female heads turned to look at her and then they started to giggle.

I didn't understand what they were talking about so I ignored them and asked Gina to please get up off of me. She said, "Not just yet. I'm comfortable and I still have some tickling to do," at which point she, Judy and Maria started in on me again.

They stopped the tickling when Mary and Susan returned carrying a bunch of clothes in their arms. I felt somebody putting socks on my feet and then shoes but I was still trying to get my wind back from the latest round of tickling and did not have the strength to try to see who was dressing me.

When I managed to sit up, Judy said, "Put your arms out." I raised my arms over my head expecting her to put my tee shirt on over my arms and head but instead she said, "No David, I said put your arms out. Like, in front of you." Confused, I lowered my arms so that they were in front of me.

Mary immediately pulled a padded training bra over my arms and clipped it in the back. It took me a second to realize what it was and that they were dressing me in girl's clothing. I looked around for the clothes that I had been wearing when I first came downstairs but they were nowhere in sight.

"Raise your arms up over your head, sweetheart," Mary said. I refused and said that I wasn't going to put on any more girls' clothes.

Gina giggled and said, "That all the excuse I need," and started tickling me again until I hollered, "Okay. You win. Please just stop tickling me."

Mary told me to raise my arms and I did so as soon as I could manage to sit up. She slid a full slip down over my arms. I was amazed at how soft and cool it felt. Gina got off of my legs and I got my first look at the white satin panties that had been put on me. I also saw the white socks and black school shoes that had been put on my feet.

As Mary and Gina lifted me to my feet, the slip fell the rest of the way down, almost to my knees.

When I did, she started to pull a blouse onto them. I pulled my arms back, but saw Gina start to come towards me, and quickly extended them again. Mary pulled the blouse on over my arms and buttoned it up my back. I knew that I could not stop them from doing whatever they wanted to so I gave no further resistance. Besides, I kind of liked the way that the panties and slip felt against my young hairless body. Next they told me to raise my arms over my head. As I did, they slid a school jumper over my head and after letting it fall into position, closed the full-length back zipper. It seemed a little snug and then I realized that it must be one that Susan had outgrown. They then tied one of the silly bow ties that they had to wear every school day, around my neck.

"There David," Mary said, "Now you can join us in the school yard and Sister Mary Frances will never know that you're there." At this point all five girls started laughing and giggling.

Gina whispered something to Susan who immediately turned and ran upstairs. Gina then took my hand and led me to the kitchen. She had me sit at the table. Susan came back down and handed Gina a brush and a comb. Maria brought over a cup of water and over the next ten minutes Gina proceeded to style my hair with the aforementioned items plus a small supply of bobby pins. While this was going on, Susan was filing and shaping my pitiful fingernails on my right hand while Mary did the left. When they were satisfied that they had done the best that was possible, they applied a coat of polish. As they waited for it to dry they decided to do my feet as well. So it was that I received my first manicure and pedicure. They used the same polish on my feet as my hands. After a half-hour, they announced that they were done. Gina came back over and worked on my face for about five minutes. She smeared something all over my face and then powdered it. She told me to close my eyes and I could feel her doing something to my eyelids and the area below my eyebrows. She put something called mascara on my eyelashes, and finished up by telling me to pucker my lips. She then applied a coating of light red lipstick and said, "Voila."

Judy brought over a hand mirror and handed it to me. I looked at myself but I no longer looked like me. Instead I saw a young girl staring back at me.

"She's so pretty that we can't keep calling her David," Susan said. "We need a new name for our youngest sister. Anybody got any suggestions?" The other girls all started suggesting names.

Judy spoke up saying, "Since David's initials were "D.A." for David Alexander, we have to come up names that will not change her monogram." I had learned to keep my mouth shut and not resist after the last tickling episode but I was getting increasingly worried over their constant use of "her" when referring to me.

"Motion carries by a vote of five to one," Judy said. Walking over to me, she put her hand on my head and said, "I christen you Darla Anne Drake. That will be your name from now on whenever this group assembles."

Mary ran into the living room and immediately put some 45's on the record player.

Taking me by the hand, Maria led me into the living-room and said, "Miss, may I have the pleasure of this dance."

I responded that I didn't know how to dance but she took my hand and pulled me towards an open area saying, "That's okay, I'll show you."

Over the next two hours, one of the girls was my constant partner showing me how to do the latest dances. They worked in relays and in between working with me would dance with each other. Then Gina decided to show me how to slow dance. She was at least half a foot taller than I was and since she would be leading, she took the male dancing position and had me take the woman's dancing position, although I didn't even realize that there was a difference at the time. I was so intent on following her lead without stepping on her toes that I never gave it a second thought when she told me hold up my right arm and put my left hand on her shoulder while she put her right hand on my waist.

As I started to improve in following her lead, she told me that when you found that special someone, the way that you hold your partner changes. She had me put both of my arms around her neck, and she put hers around my waist and pulled me in tight. She put her head down along side mine and pressed my head to her shoulder and we danced like that for several songs. I found it much easier to follow her lead dancing like that.

My sisters and Maria were giggling almost the entire time that Gina was slow dancing with me but I thought that they were laughing at my clumsiness and it didn't bother me. I was having such a wonderful time with all the attention that I was getting that I had even forgotten that I was wearing a dress. When Elvis Presley's 'Love Me Tender' song ended, Gina and I separated. I thanked her for the dance, as all of my partners had instructed me to do, when I suddenly realized that everyone was staring behind me towards the kitchen doorway. There, in the doorway, stood Mother with her arms full of groceries.

She walked over to the kitchen table and put the grocery bags down, then returned to the living room. She came over to me and bent down putting one hand on my back and one on my chest. The padded bra that the girls had put on me must have been visually obvious but I guess that she wanted to confirm it. "Honey, what's going on?" she asked.

Tears started to well up in my eyes. I figured that I was really in trouble now. I stammered, "The.. they dressed me up like this. I didn't want to but they tickled me and tickled me until I let them do it."

Mother looked at my sisters and the Marcoti sisters and after a minute of thought said, "Girls, I'm ashamed of you. You should know better than to do this to your little sister. She's much too young to be wearing eye makeup."

She lifted the front of my dress and said, "My, what pretty panties you have on dear. I'll bet that they are really soft and comfy."

She smiled and said, "I thought so." By this time the tension in the room had dissipated as it had become obvious that she was not really angry. She said, "Gina, Maria, it's time for you to go home now. We have to start getting dinner prepared. Please don't mention today's events to anybody else since they could prove embarrassing."

Both girls promised that they would keep it to themselves and after saying their good-byes, left for their home, a block away.

"Judy, Mary, Susan," Mom said, "pick up your records, put the Monopoly game away and straighten up this room. Davy, come into the kitchen with me."

Mom scrutinized me again and after a few seconds said, with a mischievous smile, "Why that is a perfectly lovely name. I like it. Okay Darla, come into the kitchen with me."

I groaned. Now mom was calling me by a girl's name. After we got into the kitchen I said, "Mom, can I go change now?"

She looked at me and said, "Oh honey, you look just fine. I'm not angry with you for having eye makeup on but I think that you should wait until you're older before wearing it out in public. Nice girls don't wear any until they are at least thirteen. No gentleman wants to marry a girl who has a reputation as a tramp, and I don't want any daughter of mine to ever get such a reputation. So no more eye makeup for at least two years, young lady. You'll thank me for being strict when you find the man of your dreams and he proposes. Now come over here so I can put this apron on you, I don't want you to soil your dress while you're doing your kitchen chores."

She must have read the look on my face because she came over to me, bent over, and said, "I always wanted to have another daughter and I love you for letting me have one for the rest of the day." Then she kissed me and hugged me and led me over to the panty where the aprons were. After putting the apron over my neck so that it hung in front of my dress, she tied the apron strings behind my back in a big bow.

She gave me potato peeler and sat me down with a paper bag in front of me and showed me how to peel the potatoes. By the time that I had finished the pile that she had given me, I was getting pretty good at it. I had often watched Mother cook our meals but she had never involved me in the preparation before. She complimented my progress and gave me pile of carrots to peel. Showing off my newly learned skill I cleaned the carrots in short order. Then she gave me a stalk of celery that she had washed and a paring knife. She showed me how to slice up the celery and told me to go very slow and be very careful lest I cut myself on the sharp knife. When I was done she took the celery pieces and added them to the stew that she was preparing. She had cut up the potatoes that I had cleaned and she had diced an onion.

While I was cutting the celery, she had browned the meat and the onion. She took me over to the stove and had me watch as she added all of the ingredients together, added the spices, and put the top on the pressure cooker. She explained how the pressure cooker worked and what temperature was best to use. She said that my sisters already knew all this and she was glad to be able to show me since we could never know when it might come in handy. Then she got that mischievous smirk on her face again and said, "Someday you'll find the right man and when he makes you his wife you'll want to be able to cook and care for him and your children. There's more to being a woman than just wearing soft, pretty clothes." By now I was getting used to these remarks and didn't get upset. "Okay, young lady, time to set the table while the stew is cooking."

She got a tablecloth out of the pantry and together we spread it out on the table. She handed me dishes from the cupboard and I arranged them on the table. Then she gave me a silverware tray and I arranged the place settings as I had always found them when I came to supper. I folded paper napkins and placed one next to each plate under the fork. She took glasses out of the cupboard and put them on the counter, where I took over. I carried them to the table and put one in back of each plate. Then I got the butter dish from the refrigerator and put it on the table. A loaf of bread from the bread drawer went onto the table next, and then the salt and peppershakers. I never really used it myself, but Dad liked to add ketchup to his stew, so I retrieved that from the fridge and put it on the table. I started to take the milk out of the refrigerator but Mom stopped me, telling me that we wanted it to stay cold until mealtime. By this time the pressure cooker had been shaking its pressure release cone for the correct amount of time, and Mom announced that the stew was almost cooked. She turned off the stove and, as she set it in the sink, said that we would wait until the cone stopped shaking so that the pressure reduced enough to get the top off. She told me to follow her upstairs. I was happy that I would finally be able to put on my own clothes.

She led me into the bathroom, turned me around and unzipped the jumper. I raised my arms and she lifted it off. Then she unbuttoned the blouse and removed it when I held my arms out in front of me. I raised my arms for her to remove the slip but instead she draped a towel around my neck and shoulders and told me to bend over the sink. She removed all the bobby pins from my hair and turned on the water. After getting the temperature right, she wet down my entire head and then poured some sweet smelling shampoo onto it and worked it up into lather and rinsed it off. She repeated the process and then announced that we were done. I straightened up and she patted my hair dry with the towel that had been around my neck. She went into my sisters' bedroom and returned with a pink party dress that I knew that Susan had outgrown because she didn't wear it anymore. She said, "Raise your arms dear."

She said, "Don't be silly dear, you can't eat dinner in your slip. Now raise your arms up, Darla Anne." I groaned, put my arms up, and she slid the dress down over my head. When it had settled into place, she zipped it up to my neck and fastened some kind of extra closure. She then took each of my arms and buttoned the sleeves. I hadn't ever noticed before, when my sister had worn this dress, that each sleeve had five buttons at the wrist. No wonder it always took girls so long to get dressed. Looking down at the dress I noticed the details in the fabric. There were little flowers embroidered all over the skirt. Funny that I had never noticed them before even though I had seen my sister wear this dress dozens of times. Mother put a white belt around my waist and fastened it. She said, "It's lucky that you're almost the same size as your sister Susan. You will be able to use the dresses that she has just outgrown but that we haven't given away yet." The she went into her bedroom and returned with a brush, comb, scissors and some other things in a small basket.

Back downstairs, she told be to sit at the kitchen table. She again placed a towel around my neck and shoulders. She combed my long blond hair and then took the scissors and trimmed it in several places. She opened up the basket that she had brought down with her and began taking rollers out and rolling them into my hair. When it felt like there was no hair left on my head that wasn't being pulled out by the roots, she closed the basket and took a scarf out of her pocket and tied it over my head and under my chin. Then she carried her things back upstairs and came back down. She bent over me and put a very fine gold chain, with a gold cross, around my neck and closed the clasp. She pinned a gold brooch on my dress and took my right arm and put three loose bracelets on my wrist and a gold ring on my hand. Then she took my left arm and put a small wristwatch on my wrist.

She said, "A girls' not fully dressed until she has her jewelry on. I'll lend you some of my things for tonight Darla Anne. Now that you've become a young lady you'll start to accumulate your own things." By now I was tired of hearing about how I was a "young lady" but I loved my mother dearly and I decided to go along with her little joke without further complaining because I knew it was a joke and that she was enjoying it.

Mom then stood up and returned to her cooking duties. She explained that she always ran cold water over the top before trying to open it. This helped cool down the steam left inside and that it would open easier with the lower pressure. After removing the top and stirring the contents she placed the cooker back on the stove and put the top on to keep it warm. She got a large serving bowl out of the cupboard and placed it on the counter in preparation for putting the stew in it.

Just then we heard the front door open signifying that Father was home from work. Mom looked up at clock and said, "Wonderful. Right on time. Remember Darla Anne, it's important to try to have a hot, delicious meal ready for your husband when he gets home from a hard day at work. It will go a long way towards keeping him faithful and loving during all you're married years. Also, always greet him with a kiss and a smile, even when you're not feeling well. Make sure that you always look pretty for him when he gets home. It gives him a good reason to come home promptly when he's looking forward to seeing you. Remember what I taught you when you find that special man." I was now beginning to wonder if Mother had forgotten that I was a boy.

I didn't say anything but I did roll my eyes. She couldn't see me because she was standing behind me checking my hair.

Mom walked over to the living-room doorway and said, "Judy, Mary, Susan. Come to the table. Your father's home. My sisters came into the kitchen and were shocked to see that not only was I still wearing a dress but that I had put on a different dress and had my hair up in curlers. We all sat in our usual places. They didn't say anything but they were all staring at my hair and the jewelry that I was wearing. Father came downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Mother was at the doorway to greet him with the smile and a kiss. I had never really noticed before but I sure did today. Father didn't look very happy when he came into the room but as soon as he saw Mom, and she threw her arms around his neck, greeted, and then kissed him, I sensed that his entire mood changed. He slapped her on the fanny and I saw her hand sneak behind him where I think she pinched him. When they separated his face was lit up with a big smile.

He came over to the table and pulled out his chair. Mother had taken up a position behind her chair, which was right next to his, and she was watching his face intently. As he started to sit down, he noticed me for the first time since he had come in. He stopped in mid-air and stared at me. Then he stood back up. He looked at each of my sisters as if trying to see if anything was unusual about them. Then he looked over at Mother and I saw an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Father looked back at me and arched his eyebrows. Then he said, "That stew smells delicious, Hon. Let's eat." and sat down in his chair. Mom went over to the cooker and emptied the contents into the serving bowl that she had set out for that purpose. She brought the stew back to the table and set it in front of Father. Then she sat down and we said grace, offering our thanks to God for the health and fruitful bounty that he had bestowed upon us.

Father rose up from his chair and dished out portions of the stew as we passed our dishes to him. Mother had brought the milk to the table and filled everyone's glass. We helped ourselves to the bread and butter, passing them around the table so that each could take what they wanted. Father never said anything to me during the meal. The secret message that Mom conveyed to him in the blink of an eye kept him silent, but I did notice him surreptitiously looking at me when he thought my attention was elsewhere.

When he had finished his meal, Dad patted his stomach, turned to Mom and said, "Honey, that was absolutely delicious. You are by far the best cook in the state of New Jersey."

She gave him another hurt, pouty look and said, "Only in the entire United States?"

At this point he looked at her, smiled, and then she suddenly jumped while making a little noise, followed by a giggle. Father's hands were under the table and I assumed that he must have pinched her for teasing him.

As he straightened back up, she said, "Actually, I can't take full credit for tonight's dinner. Darla Anne prepared a good portion of it. She was very helpful in the kitchen today and I think that she learned a few valuable lessons in food preparation also."

My face began to turn beat red and mother said, "Yes. You're youngest daughter, silly. But we can talk about that later."

Witnessing this interaction, I gained a new respect for Mother. She had always seemed so subservient to Father. He told her what to do, and she did it. But now I began to see how she manipulated his actions. Reflecting back on what I had observed over the years, combined with what she had told me earlier, and what I was observing now, I began to realize that she did do what he said without question, but that she got him to tell her to do only what she wanted to do in the first place.

Father rose from the table and went into the living room to sit in his favorite chair and read the evening paper. I had finished eating so I asked Mother if I might be excused.

She looked at me and said, "Why Darla Anne, are you trying to get out of helping your sisters with the kitchen cleaning chores?"

I was shocked and my jaw dropped. I looked over at my sisters and they were all smiling at me. Susan actually giggled a little. I had never had to do cleanup work before. I had always been told that that was woman's work. All I ever had to do was take out the trash, after being chased out of the kitchen.

Judy went to the pantry and retrieved four aprons. She put hers on after handing one each to Mary and Susan who also donned their aprons. Then she stepped behind me and hung the last apron over my neck to cover my pretty dress and tied the apron strings behind my back as Mother had done earlier.

Judy and Mary cleared the table while Susan put our small step stool in front of the sink and after stepping up, began to fill the sink with soapy water. As the dishes were scraped clean into the trash, they were put into the soapy water to soak. Judy removed the tablecloth and took it out the back door to shake out any crumbs, then returned and went down the cellar stairs to the laundry area. I knew that she would wash out any spots resulting from our meal, rinse the tablecloth, and hang it up to dry on a line in the cellar.

Meanwhile, Susan removed my wristwatch, ring, and bracelets. She unbuttoned the sleeves on my dress and rolled them up my arm to my elbow. Then she told me to get up on the stepstool and proceeded to show me how to wash the dishes in the warm soapy water. She said that she would dry when I was finished. Mary was sweeping the floor and would then wipe down the counters and cabinets. As I washed the dishes and stacked them up on the sink sideboard, Susan wiped down the refrigerator and then the condiments before putting then away.

After I had washed all the dishes. I opened the drain and let the soapy water run out. I turned on the tap and rinsed the soapy dishes that I had stacked up, placing them in the drying rack as I finished each one. Susan came over and began to dry them and put them away.

During all this activity, my parents had gone upstairs to their bedroom. For them to both go upstairs this early meant that they were going to have a private conversation. I suspected that it was about me. I figured that once they were upstairs, Father would lay down the law and I would be released from my feminine clothes. I was looking forward to removing the bra. I was not used to having anything so constricting on my chest. I have to admit, however, that the other clothes were softer and far more comfortable than my jockey shorts, jeans, and tee shirts. The sensation of the soft fabrics on my hairless body was intoxicating. I was no longer angry at my sisters for doing this to me, but the mores of our society told me that this wasn't right and that I must take off the feminine garments as soon as I was able.

When the kitchen was cleaned, we sat down at the kitchen table. We knew that as soon as my parents came back downstairs, I would be out of the feminine clothes in a matter of minutes. My sisters all told me what I big help I had been and that they had never finished this quickly before. My sister Judy came over to me and gave me a big hug. She said that she loved me and that she was so glad that Darla Anne had come to visit with them today. She said that it had been wonderful to have a new little sister for today and that she would miss Darla Anne when she was gone. My other sisters came over and hugged and kissed me and echoed Judy's sentiments. With my sisters hugging and kissing me, and telling me how much they were going to miss me, I began to feel as if I was leaving my family. I actually began to feel sad about reverting to my male identity. Tears actually began to well up in my eyes when I saw my parents coming back downstairs.

Father returned to the living room to finish reading his paper. Mother came into the kitchen and saw her four 'daughters' embracing. She said, "Now what's all this about?"

Judy spoke up first and said that she, Mary, and Susan were just saying goodbye to Darla Anne before she left.

"But Darla Anne isn't going anywhere," Mother said. I figured that she meant that I would still be here once I had changed back to David. She continued, "Daddy has said that Darla Anne can stay until David returns on Monday morning."

My sisters squealed with delight and began hugging and kissing me all over again. I responded to their enthusiasm without thinking and hugged and kissed them back. I no longer knew what I felt, should feel, or even wanted to feel. On one hand I wanted to become David again but on the other hand I wanted to stay as Darla because this had been the most wonderful day of my life. The attention that I had received from my sisters, the Marcoti sisters, and even from Mother had been overwhelming. While I had always felt loved in my home, I frequently felt a bit lonely when I saw the bond that my sisters shared. At school I was often alone during recess because of my limited athletic ability. But today I had not felt a moment of loneliness. My spirits had been high ever since I started playing Monopoly. Even while I was rebelling against being put in lacy undergarments and a dress, I was also reveling in the attention that was being paid to me. My fears of being punished by my parents for being found in feminine attire had not diminished my joy at being the center of attention.

Susan grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. She said, "Come on Darla Anne, I have a beautiful dress that I can't wear anymore. I want to see how it looks on you. I saw Mom smile and then Judy and Mary started giggling and ran after us. The four of us hurried up the stairs and we went into the girls' bedroom. Judy, Mary and Susan shared a large room at the top of the stairs. It had a full wall of closets. I suppose that this would have been classified as a, 'Master' bedroom on the blueprints. I have a bedroom right across the hall but it's only about one quarter the size of this one. My parent's bedroom is at the end of the hall and is just a little smaller than that of the girls.

Susan unhooked my dress's closure at the back of my neck and pulled the zipper all the way down while I unfastened the belt. She delicately lifted the fine gold chain that I was still wearing so that it would not get caught on the dress and then pushed the dress down over my hips until it fell to the carpet. The sleeves had still been unbuttoned from when I washed the dishes. Susan rolled the sleeves back down, zipped the dress, and placed it on a hanger. She attached the belt to the same hanger by putting the buckle over the hang hook. She said to me, "Always hang your clothes up right away Darla Anne so that they stay in top condition." She knew that, as David, I usually just tossed my clothes over the nearest chair. She told me to take my shoes off and then asked Judy if Darla could borrow her new heels. She lifted my slip up to my waist and put a garter belt around me and clasped it. Then she knelt in front of me and rolled stockings up my legs and attached them to the garter belt. When I rubbed my nylon covered legs together, the sensation traveled all the way up to the rollers in my hair. I could not believe how wonderful it felt. My sisters noticed immediately because the first sensation had caused me to suck in my breath and I actually trembled. Susan giggled and said, "Great, huh?" I could only nod my head.

Mary told me to raise my arms and then lifted my slip up and off. Then she unclasped the training bra and removed it as well. I rubbed the area that it had been covering, glad to be free of it. But my relief was short-lived. Mary held out another bra and had me hold out my arms while she affixed it to my chest. Then she took some nylon stockings, filled the small cups and replaced the full slip that she had removed. Susan added a petticoat over the top of that and then another. Then she brought over a beautiful, creme-colored, taffeta, brides-maid dress that she had worn last year at the wedding of Gina Marcoti's eldest sister. As she held it over my head waiting for me to raise my arms, time seemed to slow down. I watched as the dress started to descend over my torso and I felt myself becoming giddy with excitement. The sensation of feeling the material glide down my body was almost more than I could bear. As it settled on the petticoats I suddenly remembered to start breathing again. Without realizing it, I had been holding my breath. I was feeling a little light headed but I wasn't sure if it was from holding my breath or from the excitement of wearing this beautiful gown.

After the dress was zipped up, Susan held my arm while Judy told me to lift up my right foot. She placed one of her new shoes on it and fastened the ankle strap. It was only a little loose as she had such tiny feet. Then she told me to lift my other foot and as I shifted my weight into the shoe that she had already put on, I felt myself rise up three inches. The height was necessary or the dress would have dragged on the ground. Susan was taller that I was. After she finished buckling the strap I put my foot down and tried to balance myself. I probably would have fallen over if Susan had not still been holding onto me. With her help I started to move around the bedroom. Judy had taken position at my other arm and was offering me tips on walking in heels. Within five minutes I was walking unassisted.

Mother came into the bedroom and beamed with delight upon seeing me walking around in the brides-maid gown and heels. She said, "Oh Darla Anne, that dress looks wonderful on you. I just got an idea. Judy…Susan…Put on your matching dresses. Susan, put on your new prom dress. Fix your hair and faces girls, then come downstairs. Darla Anne, come into my bedroom. Oh, Susan, give me the gloves that you bought to go with this dress. Thank you dear."

I followed her down the hall feeling wonderful with the new height that was provided by the shoes. Mom told me to sit down at her makeup table and she went to work on my face. First she removed the makeup that Gina had put on. Then, starting with a new foundation, she worked her magic on me to transform my face in ways that I would not have believed possible. She took the scarf off my head and removed the rollers from my hair. Then using a comb and brush she styled my hair, giving me bangs that fell to my eyebrows. She put gold clip-on earrings on me and took the delicate chain necklace, which I still wore, out from under the neckline of my gown so that it rested on the dress. She had me put on the elbow length gloves that she had gotten from Susan, and then put the bracelets and wristwatch, that I had worn earlier, back on my wrists.

While she had worked on me she had reminded me to sit up straight, cross my legs, and other little tips that I should know. Now she had me stand up and walk around the bedroom so that she could see the final results. She told me to take shorter steps and to place each foot in front of the other, and that, if I swiveled my hips a little I would have better balance. After a few minutes of practice, she told me to concentrate more on walking on the balls of my feet so that my foot would come down evenly on both the heel and the front of the shoe. She also told me that I was holding my arms out too far. They should be tighter to my body. She said to continue practicing while she checked to see how the other girls were doing. I had now become so used to being referred to as "her" that I did not realize she had said "the other girls" until after she had left the room. I continued practicing my walk while incorporating all of the tips that Mom had given me. She was gone for about ten minutes and by the time that she came back, I felt perfectly natural in the three-inch heels. I wished that Gina were there so that I could try to slow dance in the shoes.

Mom watched for a couple of minutes and then came over to me and hugged me. She said that it was always such a thrill to see a young girl learning to walk in her first heels. She added that I had taken to them like a duck to water. Most girls have to work their way up from low heels before they become as proficient as I already was with my first pair. She took me over to her closet and opened the door. She had a full-length mirror mounted on the inside of the door and I got my first good look at myself. Prior to this I had only seen my face in the makeup mirror. I stood and stared at my reflection. What I saw was a pretty girl, who appeared to be about fourteen-years-old, and who looked just like one of my sisters. For this special occasion Mom had violated her own rule and used makeup around my eyes. She must have known what I was thinking because she told me that it was okay because I would not be leaving the house looking like this. I turned to see myself from several different angles as I had seen Mom and my sisters do when they were trying on dresses while shopping. I could hardly believe that this was my reflection.

Mom came over and said, "Yes Darla Anne, that's you in the mirror. you're a beautiful young girl. I just used the make-up to make you look a little older than your ten years, but the bone-structure of your face is all yours. I couldn't fake that. In a few years you'll have every young man in town calling you for a date. Remember all the things that I have told you, and will tell you, about how to be the perfect wife to your husband. A good marriage does not just happen. You have to work at it. You will have to suppress your own ego in favor of your husband's. You must be supportive and caring at all times unless your husband shows that he is not deserving of your support and care. Selecting the right man for marriage is difficult. Sometimes we women become infatuated with the wrong man. You can not always trust your heart alone. You must use your head as well. But when your head tells you that you have found Mr. Right, your heart must agree. If you're very lucky, you'll find someone as wonderful as your father. And remember, you must save yourself for your husband until you get married. Don't pay any attention to all this talk of free love that so we hear so much about these days. Love is not free. There are always prices to pay. No good man wants to marry a tramp. He may be willing to use a tramp for sexual release and gratification until the right girl comes along but he won't marry one. Will you remember all that I've told you tonight?"

She laughed and said, "Of course I remember, darling. Through an innocent game that your sisters started with you, and with the consent of your wonderful father, you're being given a marvelous gift. you're being allowed to see what life looks like from the viewpoint of women. Until Monday morning you will live like, and be treated like, a girl. On Monday morning your father says that you must return to your true identity of David Alexander Drake. I hope that by that time I can teach you enough about what it's like to be a woman that you will be a better man for the experience. I know that what you learn this weekend will stay with you for your entire life. So, since your father has consented to this, until Monday morning you're officially a young lady; and until then I'm going to treat you just like I treat your sisters. The things that I tell you are the things that I have told them. The things that I show you are the things that I have shown them. I can't compress thirty-four years of experience into one weekend but I'll teach you everything I can in that time. We'll do our best to see that nobody outside the family learns about your little secret; except for the Marcoti sisters, but I don't think that they'll tell anyone. Just enjoy the experiences and don't have any guilt about them since they're outside your control. Now give me just a minute to fix myself up a little."

Mother sat down at her makeup table and brushed her hair. Then she touched up her face and pressed a tissue lightly between her lips after applying her lipstick. She went to her dresser and picked up a bottle that she referred to as an atomizer. Then she sprayed a small burst of perfume into the air and stepped into it. She called me over to her side and showed me how to hold the bottle so that I could duplicate her actions. I could smell her perfume on her, and in the air. I sprayed the atomizer, and stepped into the mist as she had. I was instantly enveloped in the fragrance.

"Perfect," she said. "you're such a quick learner. Now, young lady, lets go downstairs."

As we passed my sisters' bedroom I saw that they were getting dressed. Mother told me to wait at the top of the stairs while she went down to the kitchen. She came back out with her camera and started giving me directions. "Now remember, you're the most beautiful girl in the world. I want you to smile… Bigger smile… Now start to walk down the stairs… Pick up the front of your gown like I showed you and look down to see where you're walking…. Remember to smile… Bigger smile… That's perfect Darla Anne... Now stop on that stair and look at me… Smile…. Bigger…. Put your left hand on the railing…. Turn a little to the left…. Now turn a little to the right…. Now start walking down again…. Beautiful…. Perfect…. Keep walking…. Big smile.. and look at the camera." All the time that she was giving me directions, she was snapping pictures with her Nikkormat camera. The flash was making me see spots. After I reached the bottom, she sent me up to do it again. And when I next reached the bottom, she sent me up a third time. When I reached the bottom stair for the third time, I needed a break from the flash.

My sisters had finished getting ready and mother now turned her attention to them. I watched them as they came down the stairs. They were all so beautiful in their gowns that any one of them, or all of them, could have been a fashion model. As I watched the graceful way that they descended the stairs, I hoped that I looked even half as graceful as they did. When Mother finished with the stairway photos, we filed into the living room and lined up in front of the fireplace. Mother positioned me between Judy and Mary because we were all wearing matching gowns. Susan was wearing her new prom formal and mom positioned her on the left side. After every two shots we changed positions. Then it was time for the close-ups. Mother had us sit on the carpet with a footrest in front of front of us, for us to lean on. Mother had put a piece of blue velvet material on the footrest so that it resembled a photographer's model bench. Next came several shots of each of us sitting on the velvet-covered footrest. Mother would have us pose in all sorts of positions such as looking over our shoulder, or with our heads and eyes raised upwards. While she was shooting one of us, the other girls would be looking through magazines for ideas for interesting poses.

Father had awoken in his easy chair and was sleepily watching us from his reclined position. Susan leaned over to me and told me to watch everything that she did, very carefully. I watched closely as she went over and sat on his lap, and gave him a big hug and a kiss after saying, "Hi Daddy."

He was busy watching what Mother was doing and absently said, "Hi sweetheart," and kissed her on her forehead. He put his arms around her and pulled her down to cradle her against his chest. She snuggled in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder with her forehead resting against his cheek. She then asked him if he would pose for Mother. He replied that he was not dressed properly to have his portrait taken.

"Okay Daddy," she said, and climbed up off of his lap. She came over to me and whispered, "Did you watch me closely?" I nodded and she said, "Okay, now you." I just looked at her, and then I saw that old mischievous look that I had come to know so well. That gave me the courage to do it. I got up and walked over to his chair. His attention was still fixed on Mother's picture shooting so he did not pay any particular attention to me. I climbed up onto his lap as I had watched Susan do and gave him a big hug and a kiss after saying, "Hi Daddy." He said, "Hi sweetheart" as he put his arms around me and pulled me down to cradle me against his chest as he had done with Susan. He absently kissed me on the forehead as I snuggled in his arms and I put my head on his shoulder with my forehead resting against his cheek. As I lay in his arms, I tried to remember the last time that he had held me. It had been so long that I could not recall it. Men did not embrace other men in Father's world. I was enjoying Father's embrace. I could feel the strength in his arms that was the result of his construction work.

Suddenly I heard Mother say, "Darla Anne, come over here and stop bothering your father."

I gave him a big kiss on his check leaving a lip stick mark there and got up off his lap. Mother said, "Oh Darla Anne, now you've smeared your lips. Susan please get the lipstick from my bedroom and fix your sister's face. Thank you honey." I looked over at Father. He had his eyes closed and would have appeared to be asleep if it had not been for the way that his jaw was clamped so tightly shut. I was sorry now that I had played the little joke on him. I had not wanted to hurt him.

Mother, as always, immediately understood Father's mood and decided to get me out of the room to defuse any potential problem. She was currently taking pictures of Mary, and Susan had left to retrieve the lipstick so she said, "Judy, would you take your sister out into the hallway and help her practice her walking and deportment."

"Of course Mommy" Judy said. Taking my hand, she led me out of the room. Judy had me walk back and forth, the length of the hallway, a few times.

Susan had come back downstairs with the lipstick and I stopped so that Judy could touch up my lips. She said, "Now pay attention Darla Anne, you have to learn to this for yourself. Your sisters won't always be around to put on your makeup." I watched carefully in the hall mirror to the way that she held the lipstick and applied it to my lips. Then she gave me a tissue to blot any excess.

When she was done, Susan came over to me smiling, hugged me, and said in very low tones, "Oh Darla Anne, that was priceless. I thought that I was going to pee my pants when Daddy realized who he was holding."

I smiled back but Judy, always our 'second mother', scolded us. She said, "That was terrible. You shouldn't have embarrassed Daddy that way. Susan, haven't you learned ANYTHING from Mother. It's okay to do things like that to friends our own age, but as young women we must never embarrass our parents, boyfriends, or husbands. They occupy a position of authority and such actions will undermine the sense of respect that we must maintain in these relationships. Don't forget that respect works both ways. When we give respect, we receive it as well. If that respect is lost, then the relationship could be damaged or even destroyed."

Susan rolled her eyes and said, "Oh boy, you've been spending way too much time with Mother. This in the 1960's not the 1930's."

Judy ignored her and turned to me. "Now Darla Anne, I want you to walk back and forth some more. I think that you're doing wonderful with those high heels. Much better than I ever would have expected given the short time that you've been wearing them, but you're holding your arms a little bit too far from your body. It looks like you're trying to balance yourself on a tightrope. Pull your arms in and glide into each step. Put your weight on the balls of your feet and try to place each foot directly in front of the last. Now concentrate and walk." After several trips she said, "Pretty good but your arms are still a problem. Here, try this. Put your hands together. No, don't interlock your fingers; just lay one hand on top of the other with both palms facing each other. Good, now relax, with your hands no lower than your waist and your elbows at your sides. Good, but relax a little more. Pretend that you're holding a small bird in your hands and you certainly don't want to crush it. Now walk back and forth."

I continued to walk the length of the hallway for the next ten minutes with Judy offering praise at times and tips for correcting me at others.

Then she said, "Okay, time for a break." I was relieved to hear those words because my feet were killing me. I couldn't wait to sit down. I walked over to chair and plopped down. Judy was aghast.

I practically jumped to my feet. "What's the matter," I sheepishly asked; "Can't I sit down."

She replied, "Of course you can sit down but a young lady never falls into a chair, as you just did. I'll show you the correct way to sit down." She came over to where I was standing. She turned her back to the chair and slowly descended into the seat while smoothing her gown behind her. She said, "By running your hands over the back of your dress as you sit down, you help to minimize wrinkling while insuring that you're covered properly. You will know that your dress is not sticking up giving a free show to anybody behind you. Now you try it. Better, try it again but go slower. Good. Try it again but don't bend so low. Someone standing in front of you should never be able to see your back as you sit down. Good. Try it again. Again…again…Again."

"Now try it while holding this teacup in your right hand." She had taken a decorative teacup off a display shelf in the hall and she handed it to me. "No, hold it by the handle between your thumb and forefinger. Okay, now use just your left hand to smooth your skirt. Try it again, if the cup had contained tea, you would have spilled it all over yourself. Again….Again….Again." This continued for the next ten minutes. Then she had me walk the length of the hall with the teacup and return to the seat and sit down. She made me repeat this a half dozen times until she felt that I was making progress. She took the teacup and placed it back up on the shelf.

Then she went into the kitchen and returned with one of our inexpensive teacups, a small saucer, a small pitcher of water, and a dishtowel. She had me stand, handed me the saucer with the teacup on it and proceeded to fill it half way up with water. Then she told me to walk the length of the hallway, return and sit down. When I was again seated, she lifted the teacup and told me to dump the water from the saucer into the pitcher that she held in her right hand. She had Susan dry the bottom of the teacup and the saucer and refilled the cup halfway. Now I had to get up from the chair, walk the length of the hall, return, and sit down. I practiced this until I could do it without spilling a single drop.

Then she filled the cup to almost full and had me do it until I completed three trips without spilling a drop. She had me empty the water into the pitcher, then took the teacup, saucer, pitcher, and very damp dishtowel out into the kitchen. Susan went with her and they closed the kitchen door behind them. I could hear excited voices in the kitchen but I was exhausted and just wanted to sit on the hallway chair and rest my aching feet.

The kitchen door opened several minutes later and Judy re-entered the hall. She looked at me and in her scolding voice said, "Darla Anne, sit up straight. A lady never sits like that. You must always keep your back straight and your head high. Even when you're alone, because if you let yourself have poor posture when no one else is around, then before you realize it you will be doing it in front of others. Now stand up." While she had been talking, I had straightened up as she instructed. Now I rose from the chair slowly and with all of the grace and dignity that I could muster. Judy threw her arms around me and cried, "That was perfect. you're a wonderful pupil. I've been very hard on you for the past hour and you have not complained even once. And you have learned so much in such a short period of time. I'm so proud of my little sister that I could bust. I love you so much." All of my aches and pains vanished in the face of this praise from my oldest sister. I beamed with pride as she took my hand and led me to the kitchen.

Mother, Mary, and Susan were all seated at the kitchen table. Judy led me over to the seat next to Mother's and indicated that I should sit down. Using everything that I had learned in the past hour, I gracefully sat down in the chair, kept my back straight and my head erect, put my hands in my lap, and smiled demurely at Mother. She had watched my every move and said, "Oh Darla Anne, you're a natural. With only a couple of hours of training, you've almost mastered things that many other young girls take years to learn to do well." She leaned over and squeezed my hands.

I said as softly and sweetly as I could, "A great deal of the credit has to go to my wonderful teachers."

Judy, who had been standing next to me, bent over and squeezed my upper arms. She said, "We've loved helping you. That's what sisters do for each other."

I immediately suspected a setup as the teapot was on the table directly in front of where I had been led to sit down. I had seen women do this many times in old English movies broadcast on television so I figured that I could emulate their actions. I recalled a movie where a young girl who looked like Elizabeth Taylor had been required to serve tea to a group of visitors. I threw myself into the role and said sweetly, "Of course Mommy. I would be happy to," omitting the English accent. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Susan and Mary trade looks, but I didn't let on that I'd observed it. I took a cup and saucer in my left hand, and picked up the teapot in my right. Bringing the cup up to the spout of the teapot, then tipping the teapot while raising it, being careful not to allow the teapot to actually touch the cup, I filled the cup until the tea was about ¾ of an inch from the top. Then lowering the teapot to its starting position, I made sure that the final drops fell from the spout before I moved the teapot away from the cup and set it down on the table.

I put a spoon on the saucer and held it out, over the table, for Mother to take it. She reached over and took the cup and saucer from my hand saying, "Thank you dear."

Then I poured a cup for each of my sisters, passing each to Judy who was now sitting in the chair on my right. When everyone was served I poured myself a cup and put my hands back on my lap as I had seen the girl do in the old English movie that I was imitating. Then I smiled sweetly at Mother and my sisters. There had not been a sound while I was pouring but now they all started to giggle or laugh and then began to clap for my performance.

Mother reached over again and squeezed my hands. She said, "Girls, I don't think anyone, and I mean ANYONE, could have done that any better. Do you agree?" Judy, Mary, and Susan all starting talking at once so I couldn't catch everything they said, but they were obviously agreeing with Mother. I felt myself blushing so I stared down at my hands.

Mother said, "Darla Anne, we set up this little tea so that we could teach you how to pour and serve, but you have already mastered the procedure. You were PERFECT! Who taught you?"

"There was an old English movie on television a few months ago," I said. "I saw a young girl serve tea to some visitors. I simply imitated everything that she did in the movie.

Mother smiled and said, "Well, we've discovered a new talent in the family. Girls, I think that your sister deserves a reward for that performance. After church services tomorrow we'll have to find something special to do."

"Of course you can't go to services dressed like that, dear," she said. I started to relax a little, until she said, "I've already told you that you can't wear eye make-up until you've become a teen-ager, and ten-year-old girls do not wear three-inch heels either. Tonight was a special dress-up night just for us girls, and, I also wanted you learn some of the things that you will need to know in preparation for going to church tomorrow. That is why Judy spent so much time with you practicing your walking and sitting. She tells me that you have done marvelous, and after observing your performance in serving the tea, my own eyes tell me that you're ready to face the challenge to going outside of the house. So tomorrow, Darla Anne will debut at church services at St.Peter's Church."

Addressing all of us, Mother said, "St. Peter's Church is in the next town. I've been wanting to see their new church since I heard about it last year. The church building is actually round, as opposed to the rectangular, gothic style that we from St. James parish are so familiar with." I started to relax again. It was extremely unlikely that anyone that we know would be attending mass at St. Peter's Church.

"Unfortunately, your father has to work tomorrow," Mom said. "He'll be leaving very early because he has to drive to the airport to pick up a prospective customer."

As I knew that the airport was an hour away, I asked, "Why does he have to pick up somebody that he doesn't even know. I thought that he mainly dealt with local architects and buyers?"

Mother said, "When you're dealing with very important people, whose time is very valuable, then sometimes you need to do things that will allow you to spend more time in their presence. Mr. Burns, the customer, will only be here until tomorrow night. He has an eleven o'clock flight back to Chicago. By picking up Mr. Burns at the airport, and bringing him back again, your father will be spending an extra two hours with him."

"Why so much time?" I asked. "Usually he only spends a couple of hours with prospective customers, not an entire day."

"Mr. Burns is not an average customer," Mother said. "He controls a syndicate that develops huge areas of land. He's interested in an area where your father owns a purchase option on a large tract of farm land."

She answered, "That's when you buy the right to purchase something, at a set price. Seven years ago, your father purchased the right to buy some land from a farmer, who had grown too old to farm it anymore. Each year he sends a small sum of money to the farmer. This enables the farmer to pay the taxes and to continue to live on the land."

"He did try," Mother said, "but there were no buyers at that time. He was in danger of losing the land for back taxes. Your father couldn't afford to buy the land, and couldn't afford to make monthly mortgage payments on it while it sat empty. Until now there's been little need for new homes in that area. But he could afford a purchase option. The farmer was able to save his land from the government, continue to live on the land, and till a small area where he runs a truck garden, and your father locked up a future building site for his homes. Everybody won. Recently, the federal government announced that a new interstate highway would pass very near the area where the farm is located. This means that there will be a new market for homes in that area since commuters will have easy access. Mr. Burns' syndicate is exploring the feasibility of developing the entire area, which will mean new homes and shopping centers. He and your father will spend the entire day with a team of surveyors and planners from that area. Perhaps it's best that he will be busy elsewhere tomorrow. That way we girls can spend the entire day doing girl things, without any men to worry about." My sisters all giggled while I just smiled sheepishly.

I knew that it would do no good to protest. Mother had made up her mind. So, I decided to throw myself into this new role as I had done when I was serving the tea. I would think of myself as a girl, refer to myself as a girl, and make sure that everybody that I met tomorrow would believe me to be a girl. I would use everything that I could remember, from every movie that I had ever seen with young girls in key roles, and supporting roles. I absolutely did not want anyone to know that I was a male in female clothing, so if I could convince MYSELF to think of me as a female, I felt that I could pull off this act and have everybody else think of me as a female also.

In my mind, I pictured myself as David Alexander Drake packing a suitcase and leaving the house to climb into a waiting cab that would take me to the airport for a two-day trip. As the cab pulled away, Darla Anne Drake stood on the porch and waved, then turned and walked back into the house. Now only Darla Anne would be here with her family until Monday morning when David would return from his trip. Darla had been born a female and had never known any other existence. Female gestures and mannerisms were second nature to her. Males were the opposite sex. She could never be male, with their sloppy behavior and sometimes-crude manners. Most of the time they could not even talk to a girl. They were always tripping over their tongues. I rubbed my legs together to feel the nylons and thought how lucky I was to have been born a female. The sensations from the nylons, and the feel of the soft panties, slip, and petticoats as I shifted every so slightly in my seat and ran my gloved hands lightly down the taffeta of the beautiful bridesmaid gown where it covered my legs, combined to give me an inner warmth. I looked down at the delicate chain necklace that rested on my bosom and the gold wristwatch and bracelets that I wore. Yes, I was indeed lucky to be a woman. I didn't care for the constricting bra that I wore on my chest but I reminded myself it was necessary to give support to my breasts as they started to grow. Since I would have to wear one for the rest of my life, I would just have to learn to live with it. My feet ached from the high heels but this too was a necessary evil. Men loved seeing women in high heels, so I would have to put up with them to make myself more attractive. The more attractive I made myself, the more men that I would have around me to choose from when it came time to select a husband. Mother always gave such good advice and I knew that if I did everything that she said, I would find a man like my father, and make a wonderful home for him and my children.

"Darla Anne?……... Darla Anne!!!" I looked up and realized that Mother had been talking to me. My mother and my sisters were all staring at me.

"Yes Mommy, I'm fine. I was just daydreaming a little. What is it that you were asking me?"

"We were talking about our plans for tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be warm and clear tomorrow so after church, we'll go for a walk in Pioneer Park, return here for lunch, then go to the new Tri-County Shopping Center to do a little shopping. How does that sound to you?"

"Of course," I said, "I love to shop every bit as much as Mother, Judy, and Mary and you." Susan just stared back at me.

"Okay, that's what we'll do then," Mother said. "Time to start getting ready for bed, girls. It's been a long day. Don't wake your father in the living room. He needs his sleep. I'll come down and get him after we finish getting ready for bed, and take him upstairs."

As we rose from the table, I picked up the teapot and my saucer, cup, and spoon, carrying them over to the sink. I opened the pantry door, took out my apron, and put it on. I tied the apron strings behind me, removed my wristwatch, bracelets, and gloves, then went to the sink and poured the tea that was remaining in the teapot, down the drain. I put the rubber stopper in the drain hole, and after putting some liquid dish washing solution in, ran warm water until the suds came half way up the sink. I shut the water off and turned back to the table. My sisters and Mother were all just standing next to the table, and staring at me. "Well," I said, "do I have to do everything? Isn't somebody going to carry over the cups and saucers?" Nobody moved. I said, "What's the matter, is my slip showing?" With that I bent forward and looked down to where my gown almost touched the floor, then straightened back up, twisted and bent back to look at the rear of my dress. Everything looked okay to me.

My sisters and Mother started laughing. I put on the pouty face that I had seen Mother use on Father earlier and said in a hurt, little girl's voice, "I don't think it's very nice of you to laugh at me and not tell me why you're laughing." This caused them all to laugh harder. I suddenly remembered a movie scene where a boy had been teasing a young girl until she started to cry, so I put my hands up to cover my face and started "boo hooing" in my hands trying to make it sound like I was upset and really crying.

Mother rushed over with my sisters right behind her, embraced me, and said, "Oh Darla Anne, please don't cry honey. We're sorry. We weren't laughing at you. It's just that you continue to surprise us so much."

I stopped my false sobbing, put a Mona Lisa smile on my face and put my hands down. Mother looked at me, her mouth dropped open, and then she smiled as she said, "Why you little faker!" My sisters all started laughing again.

Mother turned to my sisters and said softly, "Girls, quiet down now before you wake your father. Susan, help your sister clean up. Judy, Mary, go upstairs. Help each other to change out of your gowns and then Judy, press a shirt for your father's meeting tomorrow, and Mary, please shine his good shoes. I'm going to pick up my camera equipment and our props in the living room. Remember girls, never go to bed until your home is clean and organized no matter how long it takes. You always want it to be a place that your husband can't wait to get back to at night. If he's anxious to get home, he won't be stopping at bars to drink with his friends after work each evening. You must make yourself, and your home, the center of his life. Never delude yourself into thinking that you're a slave to your man, as some foolish women do, simply because you do all of the cooking and cleaning. Remember that if you have no family you will still have to cook and clean. The little bit extra that you have to do for your husband is more that offset by the fact that he puts a roof over your head, food on the table, and fuel in the furnace." She smiled then and added, "And if he happens to light up your life in bed, then so much the better." We all giggled. "Okay," she said, "lets get to work so that we can get to sleep." Mother, Judy, and Mary then all left the kitchen to perform their tasks.

Susan removed her gloves and donned her apron. I stepped behind her and tied her apron strings. She turned back to me and said rather sheepishly, "Darla Anne, are you angry at me?"

I looked at her and said, "No, why ever would you think that I was angry with you."

She said, "Because it was me that started all this when I brought down a pair of Judy's panties and then suggested that we shouldn't cover them with your jeans."

I looked into her eyes. Normally she's about three inches taller that I am, but because I was still wearing the three-inch heels, while she had on only 1½" heels, she was only a little taller.

"Susan," I said, "I love you. You're my big sister. No matter what you do, I will always love you. As far as what has happened today goes, I have never been happier in my life. I have had so much fun today that I can't believe it was only this morning that we played that Monopoly game. Even though we have shared the same house for all of my almost eleven years, I have never felt even remotely as close to you, Mary, Judy, and Mother as I do today. I'm not angry with you. I'm grateful to you for helping me to see another side of life that I was unfamiliar with."

She leaned over and hugged me, and with her head resting on my shoulder, she said, "I'm so glad. I was really afraid that you might hate me. I couldn't have stood it if you did."

I put my arms around her and said, "How could I ever hate you. I'm your little sister." She laughed a little laugh, then started to cry. I realized that this was the release of all the tension that she had been holding in while fearing that I was harboring some resentment towards her. I was so happy that I had been able to dispel her fears that I started to cry too.

We clung to each other and cried like that for several minutes. We separated and looked at each other. Then we both started to laugh until we cried. Our mascara had run down our cheeks and we looked like refugees from a Holloween fright night party. Susan got a few tissues and cleaned my face, and then I cleaned her face. As I finished, she said, "Darla Anne, you're the best little sister that a girl could have. I love you, too." We hugged and kissed each other, and then went back to our cleaning chores.

After finishing in the kitchen, we turned out the light and went upstairs. In Susan's bedroom we removed our shoes then helped each other to remove our gowns and petticoats. When the dresses had been hung in the closet, we took off our hose and garter belts. Then Susan sat me down at the makeup table and helped me to remove all my makeup. After I was done, she took off her makeup while I sat on the bed and watched. Then she stood up, removed her slip, bra and panties and put on a bathrobe. She handed me a bathrobe and said, "Here Darla Anne, we better take our baths tonight, there's never enough time on Sunday morning with a house full of women and only one bathroom. I hope that someday we can move to a house like my friend Jennifer Talbot has. They have two full bathrooms upstairs plus a ½ bath downstairs." I removed my slip, bra, and panties, and put on the robe.

We went into the bathroom and she started to run a bath. She poured something into the water from a gold colored bottle that looked like olive oil but smelled heavenly. Then a capful of pink crystals, from a box in the cabinet under the sink. She said, "You can go first Darla Anne. I'm going to see if Mother needs anything more done before we go to bed." She left the bathroom. I removed my bathrobe and slipped into the warm, bubble bath filled tub. The water smelled and felt wonderful. I let myself relax and felt all the tension drain from my body. Susan came back in and smiled, "Wonderful, isn't it." I smiled and nodded. She came over and said, "Sit up, sis." She took the hose attached to the showerhead and wet my hair. Then she squeezed some shampoo from a bottle and rubbed it into my hair until I had a full head of lather. Then taking the hose again she rinsed my head. She handed me a strangely shaped bar of soap.

She said, "It's just for us girls, we keep it under the sink so that Dad and David don't use it accidentally." She smiled at me, felt my hair, and said, "You know, sis, I've always envied your hair. It's so beautiful and fine. I wish that my hair were like yours. Too bad your hair isn't just a little longer though. I would love to braid it in Swedish style braids. Why don't you let it grow longer?"

"We'll gang up on her," she said. "I'll get Judy, and Mary to help also. Together I bet that we can convince her to allow you let it grow longer."

I had finished washing so I stood up. Susan got a towel and handed it to me. While I dried myself she took another towel and wrapped it around my head like a turban. "I want your hair to stay a little damp so I can put it up in curlers," she said. "You don't have a perm and we want it to look nice for tomorrow." After I put on the bathrobe we went back into the bedroom.

Mom came in and said, "Why don't you take your bath, Suz, I'll put the curlers in your sister's hair."

Mother took her basket of curlers and went to work on my head. When she was done, she covered it with a hair net. She told me to take off the bathrobe. She handed me a pair of pink panties, which I put on. She held up a padded training bra and waited for me to raise my arms.

She smiled and said, "I know, but since you just started to wear a bra, wearing this at night will help you get used to it more quickly. You won't feel so uncomfortable during the day tomorrow because you'll be used to it from having slept in it all night."

"Okay Mommy," I said. I knew that she was right. She held up a silky nightie for me and I raised my arms and allowed it to settle down over my body.

"Okay," she said. "Hop into bed." I started to walk towards the door. She said, "Where are you going?"

"No dear," she said, "that's your brother's room. You sleep in here with the other girls. Judy and Mary share one bed, Susan and you share the other." I smiled at her and climbed into the bed. She said, "Your sisters will be in shortly. Judy and Mary are just finishing up their chores, and Susan should be just about done with her bath." She pulled the covers up to my chest and bent to kiss my forehead.

"I know, and I love you Darla Anne," she said. "I could not have hoped for a prettier or cleverer daughter. Now don't keep your sisters up all night talking. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Nite, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Mommy." She straightened up, gave me a strange wistful smile, turned and left the bedroom.

Susan came in first. She smiled at me and went over to her dresser. She removed a silky nightie like the one that I was wearing. She took her bathrobe off and pulled it on over her head. She put on a pair of yellow panties, and put big fluffy slippers on her feet. She went over to the makeup table and spent several minutes examining her face.

Then she took a pair of tweezers and started working on her eyebrows. She looked for any new hairs growing and pulled them out if the were long enough to grab with the tweezers. While she was doing this, I reached up and felt my own eyebrows. They were pretty thick even though I knew that they were difficult to see because they were so light. I got out of bed and went over to the makeup table. Susan finished her removals and stood up. I asked her if she would pluck my eyebrows. "Of course, sis," she said, "sit down." I sat and she proceeded to pluck. "Oh Darla Anne," she said, "you have to do this more often, hon. There's so much to remove that your forehead is going to be red and swollen for hours. It's a good thing that we're doing it tonight so that it will be normal by morning. You're eyebrows are so light that I didn't pay any notice to them earlier. The eyebrow pencil lines that Mother had drawn were quite prominent. Okay. That just about does it."

I looked into the mirror. My forehead was red and starting to swell where she had pulled the hair out. She told me to put my head back and hold still. All of a sudden she yanked out a nose hair. I winced. She said, "Yeah, they hurt the most but it's a real turn off for a guy to kiss a girl with hairs sticking out of her nose." We both giggled. She proceeded to pull out several more and then declared me hair free. I hugged her and got up from the chair.

The door opened then and Mary came in. She looked at me and said, "Darla Anne, what happened to your forehead?" Susan told her that she had just plucked my eyebrows and since it hadn't been done in a while, there was a lot to do. Mary went over to her dresser and brought back a tube of medicated creme. She rubbed some on my eyebrows and said, "There, that should help some. It will be okay in the morning." They did feel a lot cooler now with the creme on them.

Susan and I went over and sat on the bed so that Mary could use the makeup table. She hadn't yet taken her face off even though she had removed her dress and hose. She cleaned her face and then performed the ritual of self-examination. Using the tweezers, she plucked a little here and a little there until she was satisfied. Then she applied a coating of cold creme to her face and used a moisturizer on her hands, arms, and legs. Susan whispered to me, "I can't stand going to bed feeling all greasy but I guess that I'll have to start using that stuff in the next couple of years."

Judy came in, closing the bedroom door behind her. "Well, Daddy is all set for tomorrow. I pressed his shirt, slacks, tie and a handkerchief. I brushed the lint and dandruff from his suit jacket and polished the buckle on his belt. With the shine that Mary put on his shoes, he should look like a million dollars. All done Mary?" she asked, as Mary stood up from the makeup table.

Mary said, "Yep, all yours Jude. Suz, did you and Darla take your baths tonight?"

Susan said, "Yes, we did. We get to sleep in while you, Judy and Mom fight over the bathroom tomorrow."

"Nobody gets to sleep in tomorrow," Judy said. "We have too much to do. Mom wants us to work with Darla Anne up until it's time to leave for services. Darla has shown us today what a wonderful actress she is but Mom wants us to go over things until they are so automatic that she will do them without having to think about them. No matter how good the actress, you can't be acting all the time. You just can't keep that up level of concentration in all things. Some things have to be automatic. Darla Anne, when we get up tomorrow, you go down and help Suz make breakfast. Okay honey?"

"Good." Then as she sat down at the makeup table, she said, "God. I can't remember when I felt this tired. This day has really drained me." She removed her makeup and performed her examination and tweezer work. Then cold creme and moisturizer. She took off her housecoat, then her slip and bra. She donned her nightie and climbed into bed. Mary had also undressed and put on her nightie. She was waiting by the light switch until Judy had gotten into bed then flicked the switch off and climbed into bed. Susan and I had already stretched out under the covers. "Goodnight," Judy said.

Judy and Mary both said, "Your welcome, sis." Susan just reached over, found my hand and squeezed it. We feel asleep holding hands. I have never been happier. That night I dreamed about life with my sisters, as one of them, sharing hopes, dreams, aspirations, and … clothes.

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© 1999 by C. Sprite. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may be 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.