16 ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID

his legs also had no hair on them. They were smoothly shaven or something and from behind they looked just like a girls.

He wore his usual light weight tennis shoes and short white tennis socks.

I felt so sorry for my best friend. I tried to figure out some way to help him but I couldn't. We were drifting apart.

When I invited him over for dinner, he had more in common with my sister. They were dressed in near identical white shorts and oversized sweaters. Emily was showing off a little black dress she was making and Baily was very interested. He even offered to bring over some black lace for the bodice. She took him to her room to show him the accessories she planned to wear with the dress.

What boy would be interested in seeing a girl's high heels and stuff. I walked by her room and tried to listen. Emily was talking about her three strand "Jackie" pearls with the matching pearl earrings. Later I heard them chattering about lipstick colors. What could Baily know about that? I was getting jealous. He came over to see me not my sister!

My father was reading the newspaper and saw me steaming.

"I see you lost your best friend to your sister." he said.

"I lost him to something," I muttered.

He dropped the paper and said, "Sometimes you have to let water find it's own level."

I had no idea what that meant. Eventually Baily and my sister joined me again and we watched some TV. I wanted to watch a baseball game, they wanted to watch a movie, "Love Story."

As our summer vacation started so did the wedding season. Baily had to spend more and more time at his job. I didn't "drop" over nearly as much. He and his Mother had frequent arguments that I hated

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to get into. Baily always lost.

I could see that Baily had lost those waist inches but still wore the trainer. With his trim waist, wide hips and narrow shoulders, he was beginning to be confused for a girl at the shop.

I was there when one customer came in and referred to him as "Miss" the whole time. All he did now was work around girl things. All the clothes he wore were from the shop. His Mother was even teaching him how to alter dresses and sew "seductive" lace onto lingerie.

After a while, everyone in our little town was used to Baily and his girlish dress. Everyone liked him since he always had a friendly smile and was helpful to everyone. It didn't hurt that his mother controlled the business for the town. Even my father wouldn't say anything uncomplimentary as the summer bookings grew.

Baily was no longer self-conscious about what he wore from the shop. We no longer saw him in denim. He wore stretchy pants that zipped up the back and little silk tank tops with delicate sandals that were made with beads on the straps.

The owners of the Chevalier mansion told Baily that he could come over and play tennis or swim in the pool anytime there wasn't a wedding. He even had his own key.

"Let's go swimming," I said to him on one of his rare days off.

"I can't," he said. "I'd look stupid in a swimsuit with my legs shaved and all."

It was a really hot day and I wanted very badly to go.

"I'm not asking you to skinny dip. Let's just run over and jump in. . .in our shorts and t-shirts." I pleaded until he agreed. "It'll be like our old poolhopping days!"

There was no one there but us. He and I jumped