10 -ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID

these aprons that he was no longer aware of how sissy they looked.

One time I caught him ironing some of the rentals. He blushed a little when he saw my stare, but continued ironing a large pile of lingerie.

Another warm Saturday, I caught him sweeping the floors. He must have worn short pants underneath because the apron wrapped around him and looked like a skirt. In fact, the prissy white apron closed the back and had a closed skirt in the back up where it zipped up. The bib part pouted out and was tied at his neck like a girl's sun-dress.

His mother, always one for appearances, made Baily stay clean with everything perfectly groomed.

As a matter of fact, his longish hair----I wore mine long too, was always neatly brushed, shiny and healthy. I had never noticed it before but from the back it looked like a girl's hairdo.

My long hair was lucky if it ever got combed, but his was overly neat looking. I asked him, "What are you doing to your hair?"

He blushed and confessed, "Mother makes me wash it every day and use a conditioner to give it body." His fingers went up and flipped at the long smooth locks. "It does tangle less when I blow it dry."

I wanted to say something but I didn't. There was more. His mother kept his nails immaculately clean, filed and polished. His hands were on the slender side and seemed unusually soft and milky for a boy. His nails were almost pretty! I joked about his nails once and he told me that his Mother made him use hand-cream several times a day when he was working to keep them from getting rough.

His long hours at work were taking their toll. His interests were not the same. We no longer talked about football or sports. When I did, he seemed to drift away, uninterested.

One day, in early spring Baily came to school in

SANDY THOMAS PUBLICATIONS -11

a new outfit. He was wearing an off white denim overall. Some of the guys wore blue overalls but his was different.

"What's with the new outfit?" I asked.

"Mother ordered a couple of them for me," he said on the verge of tears. "I think they fit funny."

I looked and noticed that it didn't have a front opening fly but instead the zipper was on the side. It had a tight narrow waist and full cut legs. The high bib-neck had two brass buttons where the shoulders straps were fastened.

Under the overalls, Baily wore a red t-shirt with a V neckline. "The shirt new too?" I asked.

He nodded. It looked too small for him. It was very tight with short sleeves that barely made it over his shoulders.

He looked like he wanted to climb under a rock. I made sure that no one said anything to his face. To my surprise he started wearing similar outfits to school everyday.

My mother told me that she had seen Baily wearing the overalls in the shop and asked his Mother where she got them. Mother said, "Baily's mother bought them mail order and she is carrying them in her store. I bought your sister two pair of them.”

When my sister Emily came out wearing one, I realized that they were girl's overalls! It dawned on me then that I'd seen many girls wearing similar overalls.

No boy would ever wear a girl's outfit, even if it was in denim. But I guess Baily was stuck. It seemed incredible to me that with all the money his mother was making she'd have to dress him from the store's sample stock.

I dropped by the store one Saturday evening after they'd closed and I heard them arguing. His mother was mad about something. I saw Baily dressed in a white jump suit...only this time it was obviously for