RELUCTANT PRESS

thought to myself that this was not too bad. "Now we tighten! Take a deep breath and hold on."

Now I knew what all the fuss was about. Like a vise, the garment compressed not only my waist but also my rib cage. "How do you feel?" Mom asked.

"Wow! It's really tight!"

"I know. I can leave it like that, or I can make it tighter. The tighter I make it, the better you'll look. Your waist will be narrow and it will also help push up your top so it will look like you have breasts. But of course it will also be more uncomfortable. What do you say?"

"Do it as tight as you can!" I answered, feeling very brave about my willingness to suffer for beauty's sake.

I was sure that I heard, and felt, something crack as my mother used all her strength to pull the laces as tight as she could.

She fumbled with the front and stuffed two pads into the "bra".

"Take short breaths, dear. I'll let you sit for awhile to recover. When you're ready, put on your stockings. Be careful! Roll them up slowly and don't snag them on your nails."

I felt like I had been kicked by a mule. This was far worse than I ever imagined but I told myself that if weak little girls could put up with it, I could too!

"Ready?" my mother asked, interrupting my thoughts. She stood before me in a sequined black dress with spaghetti straps showing more of her, ah, you know, breasts, than I had ever seen before. She was holding up my dress, which was exactly as she had described it in the shop.

First Mom had me pull up one and then a second set of petticoats around my waist. I was almost shaking as she carefully lowered the dress over my hairdo and covered my corset and petticoats. Even with the corset as tight as it was, Mom still had to struggle to get the dress buttoned up my back. She fussed a little with the skirt and then decided that a third set of petticoats was needed to get the chiffon sticking out the way she wanted it. All this time I was not allowed to look in the mirror. She draped her pearls around my neck and clamped the earrings on tightly. (Ouch! That hurt!) She sprayed me liberally with her best perfume and led me to her full length mirror.

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"Voila!"

RUFFLES & CURLES

By Kammi Morton

I don't know if it was the excitement of the day and all our rushing about, or the super tight corset, or what! I almost fainted when I saw a beautiful, elegantly dressed and coifed young lady stare back at me. It could not be possible, I thought as I put my hand on my mother's shoulder to steady myself. I had a very narrow waist from which billowed pink clouds of chiffon folds and above my waist I had CLEAVAGE! Now, it was not much, but to me it was a miracle. All the discomfort I felt disappeared when I saw the results it had produced. There was no question about it. I was a girl! "Mother, how did you do it?"

"Oh, it was nothing," she answered modestly, but I could see a tear in her eye. "Just a little tugging here and a little pulling there. But it would not have been possible without the raw materials to work with. Welcome, my beautiful daughter, Danielle," she announced emotionally as she held out her arms to me and we hugged for several minutes. "Oh damn! Now we have to touch up our make-up!" Mom tied a sheer white silk scarf around my hair and hand in hand, we walked to the car. For the first time, I did not give a damn whether the neighbors saw me or not. I was floating on air. I carried a white leather clutch bag in my other hand. Mom had filled it with some lipstick, powder, tissues, a comb and, with a devilish smile, a tampon!

"Never know when you might need one of these," she had said with a wink.

I think the shock on Susie's and Mrs. Wales faces when they saw me was as great as my own when I saw myself for the first time in the mirror.

"1

"Oh my gosh! Is that really you, Danny.' "Oh no, Mrs. Wales. I'm Danielle," I declared solemnly after which everybody laughed.

The rest of the evening was a continuation of my dream. The four course dinner, accompanied by wine (my first time!) was like nothing I had ever experienced before delicate china, silver tableware, crystal, beautiful Irish linen table cloth and matching monogrammed napkins...! The food? I guess it was great too but I was so wound up I could hardly eat (nor would my corset allow me to add much to my body) and barely tasted the food.

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