66-MOTHER'S NEW DAUGHTER

and white bows.

Her tears were flowing as I looked in the three-way mirror. She hooked my grandmother's pearls around my neck and stood back. "Oh my! You look just like I did in my wedding pictures. Look!"

I looked so much like my mother that it was uncanny. I felt like a nubile, precious young bride to be.

As she dabbed her tears, she said, "I don't know where you are going with all this, but this dress is yours if you ever need it."

I blushed at her implication that I might marry a man. "I can't become a wife," I stated.

"You might change your mind after a while," mother said, getting her camera to snap some pictures of me. "Look at you now. You never thought you wanted to be a girl. Maybe you'll find the right man and want to be a wife, mother and homemaker," she joked. "I can't wait to see you in my maternity clothes and nursing bras!"

Mother led me into the garden and took pictures next to the pink rose bushes---which matched my glistening pink lips.

That night mother insisted I sleep in her bridal negligee "just to get the feel of it."

By the end of the first week, I was following her instructions to a tee. All mother's little reminders and suggestions on how to behave were paying off.

Under her guidance, my movements, mannerisms, and gestures were increasingly feminine. She made me realize that being a girl was much better than being an effeminate boy. We were both happy to let things run their course. I was setting the table for dinner one night, wearing a nice flowered print dress and bibbed apron. Mother smiled at me and said, "Okay! I know we are doing the right thing now. Time for some new rules..."

"What?" I asked as I made sure the silverware was straight.

"For one----no more hiding. I expect you to answer the door, and run errands. I think you should get a job..." I didn't have long to wait. Before she even finished her sentence, the doorbell rang. I jumped, but mother just pointed to the door and said, "You get it. . .it's probably

SANDY THOMAS ADV. --

67

I found myself standing in mother's wedding gown, veil, bustier, silk stockings, gloves, satin high heels, garter, and handmade lacy silk panties while holding her satin bag.