16-MY SON, THE BRIDESMAID

Chapter 4

The next day his mother coaxed him into leaving his nails lacquered, claiming that since he worked in the backroom, nobody would see him. She said, "With polish, your nails won't snag any of our delicate fabrics. Besides, the color is almost natural, I doubt if anyone would even notice."

Then that evening, the silky pyjamas were found neatly folded under his pillow. "You can wear them another night or two before they need washing," his mother explained. And after two days of pink lacquered fingernails, his mother finally cleaned the nailpolish off, reshaped them, and re-did them in a darker, luminous pink raspberry shade.

"MOM!" Robin questioned.

"Shhhhh," she whispered. "We'll take it off if you need to go out or something. Let me show you how to shape and polish them yourself.”

Every few nights, mother and son would sit and 'do' their nails. Mrs. Wilkes always suggested a new color and before Robin knew it, he was wearing strawberry red, coral pink and many other shades of polish on his girlishly shaped fingernails.

It was two weeks before Christmas and Trish was due home for her vacation. Robin's special project, the special dress he was making for his sister was ready for final adjustments. He should have realized that his mother would make him try it on his "perfect size 8 body" for a final fitting and hemming.

He also found out that the dress couldn't just be worn over his own underwear. In fact, because it was an evening dress, his mother insisted on all the "appropriate" lingerie. This included black lace panties, a tight, waist-cinching corset with eight dangling garter straps, dark nylons, full slip, and high heels! The fit was nearly perfect, and, to tell the truth, he had a hard time concealing his own excitement!

Robin held out the skirt of the dress and did a little pirouette, then said, "Oh Mother, isn't it gorgeous?"

TV FICTION CLASSICS-17

Those last days before Trish's arrival were very busy, both around the shop and around the household. Mother and son worked late into the evenings preparing customers' Holiday gowns and dresses, then cleaning, baking and decorating their own home in preparation for the Christmas/New Years break. Christmas was always a significant time in the Wilkes family, a time for family togetherness.

Each night they were dog tired. But, still they changed into something more comfortable, and relaxed in the family room in front of the TV before going to bed. Robin noticed that his mother was slipping more of her nightwear into his drawers. In fact, he had not worn any of his male pyjamas for the last two weeks. In fact, he could only find one male pair in his drawer?! Oh well, he wasn't going to complain. The question was, would he feel as comfortable wearing these clothes in front of Trish? Heck, she had helped him dress up once long before his mother's strange interest became evident. But, with Trish he could, until now, pretend it was all 'just for a joke'.

He looked at his long, 'dusty rose' colored, oval nails. He felt the silky brush of his pony-tail along his neck. No, this wasn't going to be easy to put over as a lark. Still, for some reason, all this made him feel euphoric.

It was December 23rd. Trish was getting a lift home from another student. She would be home by supper time. The Wilkes' household

"Robin in his mother's nightwear."