Transvestia

11

When the day came, I was almost in tears but tried to contain my emotion as Aunt Joyce put me on the train. Because I could not suddenly appear as a boy in the vill- age, it had been arranged that I remain a girl" until I reached London. When I arrived at Paddington station mother met me at the platform. She kept saying amused- ly "what will your father say when he sees you". Appa- rantly whe had told him of my attire, but whether only recently or whether he had known earlier I can not say. I was in agonies of dread on the way to my new home, wondering what he might say or do. For the trip I was put in my Sunday best, my prettiest dress and coat, with my hair in pigtails tied with ribbons.

It was dark when we arrived, and mother hurried me inside lest any neighbors see me. Father's reaction was

a sort of gruff heartiness, summarized thus, "well you've had a bad time, lad. We'll have to get you straightened out and make a proper boy of you".

Because I had no boy's clothes, I had to spend two days indoors until my parents could purchase a new ward- robe for me. I was extremely upset, for they were al- most strangers to me, particularly my father whom I had not seen for three years. In his own way I suppose he thought he was helping me for he spoke as though I had undergone a terrible ordeal and that he would get me 1, back to normal. When they had bought my boy's clothes, father cut my hair short. I was in tears of misery at this and cried myself to sleep for days afterward. It was months before I stopped feeling miserable about my hair and I don't believe I have ever really stopped regretting it.

When my hair was cut, and I was back in trousers, father did his best to make a 'normal' boy, insisting that I play cricket and rugger. My three years 'girl- hood' was never mentioned or discussed in my hearing. I remember one time when mother was annoyed with me over something, and she said that I should have stayed in dresses. Father was very angry when he heard this. telling her to leave me alone. The subject was never again raised.

Perhaps this was a good thing, for I soon fell into

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