I stayed in the kitchen momentarily to wait for a bowl of punch mother was preparing.

"Patrick doesn't seem too pleased with his costume," mother com- mented to Mrs. Malley when he and the girls had gone.

"Yes I know and I'm to blame. I told the girls they could dress him up but I had no idea they would do such a job of it," Mrs. Malley said end- ing with an uneasy laugh.

"Boys that age hate to be sissified," mother observed with a hint of disapproval.

"Patrick's no different, of course," Mrs. Malley defended. "But I can't feel too much sympathy for him. I've warned the girls not to tease him all the time but he is supposed to be suffering a little. He's been getting into the girls' clothes lately and they wanted to teach him a lesson about it. I thought it might embarrass him a little to wear a dress here tonight but you know those twins — I had no idea what they were up to. Sharon put her merry widow and panties on him and they even made him sit still for a nail manicure and that hairdo. I don't know how they did it!" She threw up her hands in amazement.

"He's been getting into the twins' clothes you say? Whatever for?” Mother looked concerned.

"I don't know really. he won't talk about it. I think he is just curious about his sisters. You know what I mean," Mrs Malley added in defer- ence to my presence.

"I suppose a boy could be curious," mother admitted. "But what does Bob say about it?"

"Well Bob is away just now on a trip so we haven't discussed it. I do hope that I've handled it right."

Mother was silent. The punch bowl was ready. I took it out to the table and went to join the games that were just beginning. Patrick was across the room between the two black cats on the girls' side of a circle game. Patrick and his pink dress were the focus of my attention the rest of the evening until he disappeared out the side door leading to the parking lot. Around his shoulders was Susan's silver mouton evening wrap.

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