RELUCTANT PRESS

I dutifully sat at her dresser and watched as she applied a light foundation which she expertly blended all over my face and neck. There was a touch of rouge on my cheeks and a pale pink lipstick. Next came my eyes. My lashes were curled and mascaraed, my lids were coated with a light blue powder, and my brows were shaped and outlined.

Needless to say, the transformation was shocking. I was a pretty girl and I had mixed feelings about this revelation. It was nice to be attractive, but what did this mean about who I was?

Mom decided I had spent enough time lately with my hair in curlers and spared me this ordeal. She did comb bangs down on my forehead and tied the back in a white ribbon. She had me parade back and forth across her bedroom. With each step I was getting more confident and secure in my heels.

"Just as I thought, Danny. You make a beautiful girl," Mom observed thoughtfully, and I noticed tears in her eyes just before she hugged me tightly. "Want to go out for lunch?" "Like this? No way!"

"Nobody would suspect you were not a girl and I'll bet a lot of boys would be looking you over."

"MOM! That's gross! It's girls that I want looking at me," I blurted out and immediately blushed. I was still young enough that I was a little embarrassed about being attracted to girls.

"Well, I'm sure they will notice you too, but with envy." I managed to talk Mom out of going to lunch, offering instead to cook for her. She slipped a ruffled apron on me before letting me loose in the kitchen. I liked to cook and had often wished I could take lessons at school, but in those days Home Ec was strictly for girls and I had no wish to rock the boat. As my mind became occupied on preparing the meal, I almost forgot about how I was dressed except when the pull of the stockings or the feel of the slip against my uncovered thighs reminded me. And it was not an unpleasant feeling, though the girdle and bra took some getting used to.

We ate and washed the dishes together. Mom and I sat in the living room to watch a movie on TV. Halfway into the thriller, Mom subtly reached over and took my hand in her

RUFFLES & CURLES

By Kammi Morton

lap. I knew she was trying to do this unnoticed, but it is pretty difficult to file a person's nails without them noticing. "They just need a little shaping, that's all," Mom noted when I looked at her questioning.

But she had more than shaping on her mind as she proceeded to give me a full manicure finalized by the application of several coats of light pink nail polish. At this point, I really did not care as I looked so feminine by now anyway.

And now, my hands were as pretty as the rest of me! That finished, Mom had me put my feet in her lap and she removed my shoes and stockings so she could do my toenails too.

Later, Mom took out her knitting and actually suggested I should try it. This was going just a little too far and I politely declined to take up this very feminine hobby.

Mom suggested I take a shower before bed as we would be rushed in the morning and would need every minute we had. She unbuttoned the back of the dress and unhooked the bra.

"Will you be able to do the rest yourself?" she asked. "Yes, Mother," I replied, somewhat sarcastically. At my age I certainly did not want my mother undressing me! I picked up my pajamas and went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. It certainly took a lot longer to take all these things off than my normal clothes. I wiggled out of the dress and hung it on the hanger Mom had provided. She had warned me to handle it carefully or I would be made to iron it, which was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. The slip and bra came off easily but I struggled with the garter snaps before figuring out just how they worked. Funny, something that was a common everyday experience for almost half the population was a total mystery for the other half. The girdle too took some effort, with a lot of wriggling and pulling before I was free of the thing. The panties came off with it. It felt wonderful to have it off and be able to scratch myself. I spent a long time in the shower, enjoying the warm jets of water.

When I came out, my pajamas were not on the hook where I had left them and instead a pink nylon nightie was hanging in their place. All the other clothes had been re-

moved too.

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