I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn't cooperate. Finally, I was able to get my eyes open, and the bright light hurt them. Everything was blurry. The first thing to come into focus was the ceiling. I don’t have white ceiling tiles in my room! What the heck. This isn’t my room. Where am I?

My neck was stiff, but I was finally able to look around and saw all kind of stuff. What is all this stuff? Then, I saw my dad sitting there, and I whispered, “Daddy. Where am I?”

He looked up at me, and then almost shouted, “Nurse! Nurse! He’s waking up!”

Finally, my dad stood up, looked down at me, and said, “Hi, son.”

“Hi ... Hi, daddy. Where am I?”, I asked.

“You’re in the hospital son.”

“In the hospital! Why?”

Just then a couple of doctors walked in with a couple of nurses and started checking me out. The one doctor, looked at me, smiled, and said, “Well Tommy. You had us worried for a while. But it now looks like you’re going to be just fine.”

“What ... What happened?”, I asked.

“You were in a bad traffic accident. And you’ve been unconscious for a couple of days.”

“Unconscious?”

Then it hit me. I’d been in an accident. What about everyone else? So, I said, “Daddy. Is mommy all right?”

“She’s fine Tommy. So, is your Aunt Linda and Mary.”

“Where's mommy?”

“She’ll be here in a few minutes. She went to get some lunch.”

“What happened?”

“Tommy.”, the one doctor said. “You need to rest. So, no more questions right now. You have a broken leg, some internal injuries that have been taken care of, and you hit your head. And I know your parents will answer all of your questions later. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

I was tired. So, I closed my eyes. I could hear everyone talking, but not what they were saying.

A few minutes later, I felt a hand touch mine, and I opened my eyes. It was my mother. She bent down and kissed me on the forehead. And I saw the tears in her eyes.

“Mommy.”, I said. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry honey.”, she said. “I’m just so happy that you’re awake. We were so worried that you’d never wake up.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay honey. You and Mary were the only ones that were hurt, except the other driver.”

“What happened? Is Mary all right?”

“Mary has a broken arm. Some drunk ran through a red light and hit the side of your aunt's car near where you were sitting. He was going so fast that he caused our car to roll over. Everyone is saying that if your aunt hadn't insisted that we wear the seat belts, that we might have been killed.”

“Really?”

“Yes, honey. Remember how we were all kidding your Uncle Richard when he ordered the car with seat belts?”

“Yeah. I do. I guess I need to thank him.”

“You can. They’ve been in to see you every day, and they’ll be here soon. And they’ll be thrilled to see that you’re awake.”

A little while later my Aunt Linda, Uncle Richard, and Cousin Mary walked into my room. I saw the cast on Mary’s arm. My aunt and cousin kissed me on the cheek. And they all asked how I was feeling.

Even with a couple of tubes running into me, I said, “I’m feeling okay.”

We chatted for a while, and then I started getting tired. As everyone, but my mother, was leaving, I said, “Uncle Richard. Thanks for having those seat belts put in the car.”

“No problem Tommy.”, he replied. “Your father has ordered some for your cars so that they can be added.”

As she was leaving, Mary kissed me on the cheek, and whispered, “I’m glad you’re all right little sister.”

Then it hit me. I’d been dressed as a girl when we were in the accident. And in a panicky voice, I said, “Mary. Stay a minute.”

“Sure. What’s wrong?”

“Tammy. Who knows about Tammy?”

She looked at me, and whispered, “A lot of people.”

“Who?”

“Your dad and mine. I guess most of the people in the hospital. The police. And most of your friends.”

“I’m dead.”

“No Tommy. You’re not dead. You’re the talk of all of your friends. I'll tell you all about it later.”

After Mary had left, my mother came back in and sat with me. She noticed that I had a worried look on my face, and asked me what was wrong. I told her I was worried about everyone, especially dad, finding out about our trip to the museum, and me going as Tammy. She smiled at me and told me not to worry. That my dad was more worried about me getting better than anything else, and that she had explained the whole thing to him. He was completely puzzled by it but was trying to understand.

A day or so later I was laying in my hospital bed, bored to death, with my eyes closed. I heard a few whispers, and then I heard a familiar voice say, “We need to come back. He’s sleeping.”

I opened my eyes, and said, “No I’m not.”

“Oh! Hi Tommy.”, my best friend, Larry, said.

I looked at six of my friends standing there, and said, “Hi guys. Come on in.”

The six friends were, of course, Larry Thomas, my best friend. Jim Lewis, the one boy in my school that no one messed with. He’s a big guy, kind of a gentle giant, and you wanted him on your side. He went on to play college and professional football. There were the twins, Mark and Max Roberts. Probably the two smartest kids in school. There was Maria Martinelli, one of the cuter girls. And then there was Amy Grant.

Amy Grant was, like me, a blue-eyed, blond, and was probably the cutest girl in school or at least in our grade. She was also probably the most mature and level-headed one of us. And would be the first of our group to become a teenager when she turned thirteen soon.

Amy was also the girl next door, as she really did live next door to me. She also has one of those contagious smiles, and her eyes were the prettiest blue that I’ve ever seen. So blue that they appeared to be violet. And right now she was grinning at me. So, I couldn’t help but smile back.

My friends and I chatted about a bunch of things. Of course, they asked about the accident, and I told them that I didn't remember anything about it. They told me what had been going on. Then Amy asked the big question, “Tommy. Is it true that you were dressed like a girl?”

I looked at her, felt my face get warm, and just said, “Yeah. I guess I was.”

“Why?”

“I guess because I wanted to?”

“Wanted to?”

“Yeah.”

“Come on Tommy.”, Mark said. “Why did you want to?”

“Well. I was talking with my mom one day, and I asked why can’t boys wear pretty things like girls do. That I’d looked at the things that girls wear to school, and women wore to church, and I always thought that they were very pretty. I guess I was just curious.

“One thing led to another, and my mom, aunt, and cousin knowing how curious I can be, helped me dress as a girl for a day so that I could see what it was like, and we went to the art museum.”

“You really went out dressed as a girl?”, Maria asked.

“Yeah. Kind of stupid. Huh?”, I replied.

“You’ve always been one of the most curious kids in school. Willing to try almost anything. But, dressing as a girl is really different. weren’t you afraid of getting laughed at?”

“Yeah. But my mom, aunt, and cousin kept telling me that no one would know. And no one did.”

“Tommy.”, Larry said. “You are crazy. But if anyone would do something like that, I guess it would be you.”

“Is anyone saying anything bad about me?”, I asked.

“No.”, Amy replied. “Everyone is more worried about you getting better.”

They stayed and chatted for a while, then Jim’s mother, who had brought them to the hospital, came and found them. And, as they were walking out the door, Amy hung back, looked at me, gave me that big smile, and said, “Bye Tommy. See you later.”

I smiled back, and said, “Bye Amy. See you.”

A few days later, my mother was with me, and during our conversation said. “I showed Amy the pictures of you dressed as a girl.”

“You did what!?”, I asked.

“She came over to visit yesterday, and we started talking about why you had dressed as a girl. And I told her that we’d taken some pictures of you, and she pleaded with me to see them. So, I gave in to her.”

“Mom!”

“Sorry honey. Amy couldn’t get over how cute you looked.”

“Mom. This was supposed to be between you, me, Aunt Linda, and Mary.”

“I know honey. But the accident changed all of that. And I think that Amy is all right with it. In fact, I think she kind of likes you.”

“Likes me?”

“Yes. It’s in the way she talks about you. I think she’s liked you since they moved in three years ago.”

The only thing I could say was, "Oh."

Then to change the subject a little, I asked, “What happened to my dress?”

“Your dress.”

“Uh huh. The one I was wearing the day of the accident.”

“It was destroyed. They had to cut everything off of you in the emergency room.”

“Oh.” And I could feel the tears well up in my eyes.

My mother looked at me, and asked, “Why so sad?”

“I don’t know. I guess I liked it.”

“You thought it was pretty. Didn’t you?”

“Uh huh.”

“And you’re sad that they had to destroy it.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s all right. But it was pretty.”

When my father visited, which was an everyday thing, nothing was said about my dressing as a girl. He was just happy that I was getting better.

A group of my friends stopped in, almost every day, to see me. And Amy was always with them.

I was in the hospital another week, and on the day I was to go home, my mother and father were sitting with me waiting for the paperwork to be finished, and a doctor walked in.

The doctor said, “Mr. and Mrs. Young. I’m Doctor Moore, and I would like to talk to you about Tommy. Would you like to join me in the conference room?”

“Dr. Moore.”, my mother said. “First of all, it's Doctor and Mrs. Young. And, if this is about Tommy, he can hear it.”

Dr. Moore looked at my father a little puzzled, then he started out asking me questions about how I felt about girls, then how I felt about boys. Mom finally stopped him when she asked, “Doctor. What’s this all about?”

He responded, “Knowing that Tommy was found dressed as a girl. In fact, at first everyone here at the hospital thought he was a girl until they started treating him in the emergency room. This threw a few red flags, and we’d like to try and help him.”

I looked at my mother and father, and just said, “Mom!”

“I know honey.”, my mother said. Then looking at the doctor, she said, “Doctor. I was completely aware of what Tommy was doing. He was curious as to how it felt to be dressed like a girl. How it felt, as he called it, to wear pretty things. We were having some fun with it, not hurting anything.

“And if it hadn’t been for the accident, no one would have known or cared. And it would probably be nothing but a memory by now.

“I've talked this over with his father. And he understands Tommy's curiosity. Tommy is a very curious twelve-year-old and has questions about a lot of things. We feel that it's best to allow him to explore things for himself unless he could get hurt.

“I felt allowing him to dress as a girl, and to spend a day that way would help him answer his questions. I was somewhat surprised that he went through with going to the museum, but I’m glad he did. It was fun. So, doctor, what’s the problem?”

“Ma’am.”, he replied. “Aren’t you afraid that something like this will cause him to have problems later on.”

“What kind of problems?”

“I think we need to talk about this in my office.”

“Why? Are you afraid to say what you're thinking in front of him? After all, it's him we're talking about. Are you afraid that he'll want to continue to dress as a girl? Or what?”

“Ma’am. There are so many things that could happen to him.”

“I feel more things could happen to him if we repress his curiosity. I know you have a PhD., and I have a Masters in early childhood education. And I've chosen to not pursue my field of education because of all the narrow-minded people that I've encountered.

“I’ve also done some research on this sort of thing. And I have no problem with it if Tommy wants to dress as a girl once in awhile.

“We’ve also chosen to raise our child as we see fit. And my husband agrees with me completely.”

My father said, “Doctor. I am a doctor, an M.D. I feel the way my wife does. And, as my wife has told you, Tommy is an inquisitive child, as I was when I was his age, and he needs to explore things. And we encourage him to do it. I was surprised when I learned that he’d dressed as a girl. But, after talking with his mother, I understand. And I stand behind him completely.”

The doctor just left the room without saying another word.

“Mommy.”, I asked. “What was that all about?”

“Honey.”, she replied. “Don’t worry about it. But, do you remember me telling you about people not understanding?”

“Uh huh.”

“You’ve just seen some of it.”

“Oh.” Then looking at my dad, I asked, “Daddy. How do you feel about this?”

“Tommy. At first, it shocked me a little. My son wanting to wear girls clothes. Then your mother explained that you were curious about it. And, knowing you, I just figured that it was a one-time curiosity thing.

“I thought she went overboard in what she bought you. Though, when I saw the pictures, I was amazed. You looked just like a girl.

“I also figure that it's probably a one-time thing. So, I'm all right with what you did.”

I saw my mother smile when my dad said, that it was a one-time thing. I wonder why she smiled.

Two hours later, I was hobbling into my house on crutches. I had found out that I’d have the cast off my leg well before school started.

Mom had set up the couch in the den so that I could rest there, read, or watch television. So, I hobbled into the den and onto the couch. Most of my favorite books and magazines were there, and there were also a few library books there that mom thought I might like to read. But I fell asleep.

Mom woke me up for a nice dinner. I'd missed her cooking, and ate, but not as much as I usually do. And, dessert, my all time favorite, homemade cherry pie and vanilla ice cream. The three of us just chatted about a lot of things. After dinner, I decided that I wanted to go to my room, get into bed, and just read.

Luckily our house is one story, so I didn't have to go up steps to go to my room. Mom helped me get to my room after a stop in the bathroom. It felt wonderful to climb into my own bed. I read for a while and then fell asleep. It was the best sleep that I'd had in a couple of weeks.

The next morning, when I woke up, and after a trip to the bathroom, I went to my closet to find something to wear. Then, I saw the clothes hanging there. There was the pleated, black and gray plaid skirt, the white blouse with puffy short sleeves, and the yellow vest. And also there was an outfit, just like the one that I’d worn the day of the accident. The cute red poodle skirt with a black polka dotted ruffle at the hem, a black blouse with red piping and the letter “T” embroidered on it in white, and the matching black polka dotted neck scarf. And, on the floor, next to my boy’s shoes were the pair of girl’s black and white saddle shoes.

Hadn’t they cut up the poodle skirt, and other things, at the hospital? How did it get here?

I just put on my robe and hobbled to the kitchen. My mother was sitting there reading the morning paper and drinking a cup of coffee. She looked at me, smiled, and said, “Good morning. It's sure nice to have you home.”

“Hi, mom.”, I said. “It’s really nice being home. Buy, why is the poodle skirt in my closet? I thought they’d cut it up at the hospital.”

“You were so upset when I told you that they had to cut it up, that I purchased you another one.”

“Mom, I’m not going to wear it again.”

“Okay. I guess we can take it to Goodwill.”

As I said, “And the other stuff too.” But I thought, ‘Do I really want to do that?’

I wanted to go outside and see my friends. But, I was to rest for another few days. So, I just sat around the house, read, and watched television. Then just before lunch, there was a soft knock on the back door, my mother answered it, and I heard her say, “Hi Amy. Come on in.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Young. Is Tommy up yet?”, I heard Amy ask.

“He’s in the den. Go on in.”

Amy walked into the den, looked at me, gave me that contagious smile of hers, and said, “Hi Tommy.”

I smiled at her, and said, “Hi Amy.”

“I thought you might like some company.”

“It sure would be a lot better than just watching dumb TV or reading.”

She walked over and sat down across from me. We talked about what was going on with our friends, and other things. Then she said, that some of my friend's parents had told them to stop hanging out with me because I was strange for being a boy and wanting to wear girl's clothes. I just sat there and looked at her, then I asked, “I'm strange?”

“I don’t think so.”, she replied. “It's just you being as you can be, curious.”

“How about your mom and dad?”

“They know you well enough and just said the same thing, that you were curious.”

“What have my friends said?”

“Most think, just like I do, that it was just you being you. Like the time you were playing with the fake firecrackers, filled one with a bunch of their fuses, and almost burning off both of your eyebrows.”

“Oh. Yeah. That scared me, and boy was I in big trouble with mom and dad.”

“Nothing that you would do would ever surprise me. It’s just you being you. I figure that most of them will just let it go, and forget about it.

“You know that your mom showed me those pictures of you dressed as a girl. Don't you?”

“Yeah. Mom told me that she did.”

“You do know that you make a really cute girl.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. If you were a girl, I’d want to be your girlfriend, but I’d also hate you.”

“Hate me!?”

“Uh huh. You’re so cute that you’d have all the cute boys.”

I know I blushed at that.

She smiled, and added, “But I think you like girls.”

Just then my mom stuck her head in the door, and said, “Kids I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing part of your conversation. And, Tommy, I’m sorry that some of your friend’s parents reacted that way.

“You do remember that I told you that some people wouldn’t understand your curiosity?”

“Yes, mom. I do.”, I replied.

“You're lucky to have friends, like Amy, that sees it like it was.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Young.”, Amy said. “I always knew that Tommy was curious about things and was willing to try almost anything, and it makes him kind of special.”

“Special?”, I asked.

“Yeah. My dad says it’s people with curiosity that makes new things happen. Like Thomas Edison did.”

I just looked at Amy. Then my mom invited Amy to stay for lunch, and she did.

A week later was Amy’s thirteenth birthday. And her parents had a party for her with all of her friends. And, as we did for all my friend’s birthdays, it was a no present party. So, no one brought presents, just a card. Her parents had a lot of food, ice cream, and cake. We played games, danced, and just had a fun time. I was still on crutches so that I couldn’t dance. And I know a no present party doesn’t sound like fun, but with our large group of friends, buying a present for everyone’s birthday could get very expensive. So, it was no presents, just a card.

Mom had taken a week off from work when I came home from the hospital, and when she went back to work, she didn't want me to be alone. So, it was back to my aunt's house. And we had fun doing some of the things that we'd done in the past, but with me using crutches to get around. Of course no swimming for me, but we still went to the lake, and I just laid in the sun.

One day, out of the blue, my cousin Mary asked me if Tammy had ever been back. When I told her no, she asked me, “Do you still think about her?”

“Yeah. Kind of.”, I replied.

“Do you want to be her again?”

“I ... I ... Yeah. I want to.”

“I know that you had fun doing it. Why haven’t you?”

“I’m sort of afraid what people would think.”

“Why?”

“Well, the parents of some of my friends said that I was strange, and they didn’t want their kids to hang out with me.”

“Strange?”

“Those were their words.”

Mary just shook her head, as she said, “Some people. How do your friends feel?”

“Most of them have been over at one time or another, and we’d play board games, or watch TV, or just talked. And no one has said anything about me dressing up as a girl.”

“How about the ones whose parents have told them not to hang with you?”

“A number of them have been over, and they don’t seem any different to me.”

“Maybe they’re your real friends.”

“Yeah. I think they are.”

This little talk started me to thinking. Thinking about Tammy.

My mom had never taken the two girls outfits to Goodwill, and to be honest, I’m glad. Every time I saw them, I smiled and felt warm inside. And, in a way, I wanted to put them back on.

On the day I was to have my cast off, mom took me to the doctors. And it felt so good to have the cast off. Afterward, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch, and as I was sipping on my milkshake, I asked, “Mom. Why do we still have Tammy's clothes?”

“Tammy’s clothes?”, she asked.

“Yeah. The poodle shirt and stuff.”

“I don’t know. You were so upset that day at the hospital that I thought you liked them. And I waited for you to say something again.”

“I ... I did like them. But I’m not a girl.”

“I know. The way you talked about it when you saw yourself as Tammy, I thought that you were going to want to dress up again.”

I was a little confused, and said, “I ... I don’t know. I liked how the clothes felt and how I looked. I just remember that some people said I was strange. I didn’t feel strange. I felt good.”

Mom smiled, “I know honey. That day at the museum I thought I had a daughter.”

“Huh?”

“It was like being out with a daughter. You seemed so at ease with yourself. Like it was you being you.”

“Maybe it was what Mary showed me the day before.”

“That might have been part of it. But you just seemed so natural in doing it.”

“All of it?”

“I didn’t see a boy that day. It was like you changed from a boy to a girl.”

“Mom. Is that wrong?”

“Honey. You are who you are. Maybe there’s a little bit of a girl in you. And you feel her.”

I thought for a little while, then I said, “So. If I wanted to dress like a girl again, it would be all right?”

“As far as I’m concerned. Yes. But let's keep it between you and me. Okay?”

“Sure mom. I don’t think I want anyone else knowing. Not even daddy.”

“Honey. I wouldn’t worry about dad. He is a very open-minded, liberal, person. He was surprised when he found out about what you did that day, but he wasn’t angry or upset.”

Something inside me felt good.

A week later was my thirteenth birthday, and just like Amy, my parents had a party for my friends. And it was also a no present party, well an almost no present party. After the party was over, my parents and I were cleaning up. And Amy had stayed to help. After we had finished, and Amy and I were alone, she said, “I have a little something for you.”

I said, “You’re not supposed to get me a present.”

“It’s not really a present.”

“I didn’t get you anything for your birthday.”

“That’s okay.”

She reached into her pocket, took out a small envelope, and handed it to me. I opened it and inside was her picture. I smiled at her and said, “Thanks.”

In almost a whisper she said, “Turn it over.”

I turned it over, and on the back, she had written, ‘To Tommy, My best friend. Amy.'

I looked at her. And she was blushing and looking at the ground. And I said, “Amy. Thank you. This is really nice.”

In almost a whisper, she said, “You’re welcome, Tommy.” And she ran home.

I stood there, watched her go through the gate in the fence between our yards, and wondered why she had run off. Girls, I’ll never understand them. I took the picture and put it in a special place in my room.

Something else came with my thirteenth birthday. I was allowed to stay home by myself. I still liked to go over to my Aunt Linda's house to spend the day while my mom was at work because we always did fun things. And I did that every once in a while.

Now, I’d asked all of my friends, since I was now a teenager, to call me Tom instead of Tommy. And everyone agreed, except one. When I’d asked Amy, she’d given me that smile of hers and in a cute way just shook her head no, and said, “No. You’ll always be Tommy to me.”

I just smiled and shook my head.

Since I'd had my cast removed, I'd been walking every day to try and build up the strength in my broken leg before school started. A few days after my birthday, there would be no walk today. It was raining. And it was going to rain all day. After breakfast, I went to my room. I'd left the closet door open, and when I walked into my room, I saw the poodle skirt, and it called to me. I took it out of the closet and put it on my bed. Then I just stood there and looked at it.

I jumped as I heard my mother say, “Something wrong honey?”

“Mom. You scared me.”, I said.

“Sorry honey. I saw you standing there just staring at something.”

“That’s okay. I’m just trying to decide if Tammy wants to come back.”

“Oh. Okay. Well if you need any help let me know before I have to go to work.”

“Okay, mom. I will.”

As she started to walk away, I just said, “Mom?”

“Yes, honey?”, she replied.

“Could you help me?”

“Sure honey. What do you need?”

“I ... I don’t know. Maybe what I wore under the skirt and blouse.”

“Like the panties and bra, and maybe the wig?”

“Yeah. I bet they cut those off too.”

“The panties and bra, yes. Take a look in the box on the shelf in your closet.”

I walked into my closet, looked at the shelf, and there was a box. Why hadn’t I seen that before? I took it off the shelf, carried it out into my bedroom, and set it on my bed. My mother said, “Go on. Open it.”

I opened the box. The first thing that I saw was the wig, I took that out, and under it was the purse with the poodle on it. Then there was the package of panties, minus the pink pair. And a brand-new pink bra. A pink bra just like the one that I'd worn the day of the accident. And at the bottom were the glasses with the black frames and rhinestones. I looked at my mom, and said, “You kept all of these things too. Why?”

“Because I thought that you might want them again. I did have to buy a new bra, and the pink panties are gone.”

“What about the wig?”

“Your aunt just told me that it was yours.”

“Why?”

“Because you looked so cute in it.”

I sat on my bed, looked at the floor, and asked, “Mom. Why do I want to dress like a girl?”

“Honey. Do you remember that day in the hospital that we talked to Dr. Moore?”

“How could I forget.”

“Do you remember when I said that I'd researched you wanting to dress like a girl?”

“Sure.”

“Well. I'd remembered when I was working on my master's degree, that I'd read something on people dressing in the clothes of the opposite sex. So, one day, while you were at Aunt Linda’s, I took the afternoon off from work, and went to the university library, and did some research. And I found some interesting things. People who like to do it, can't help doing it. It's just part of them. Something that they can't change. They call it cross-dressing.

“And there are a lot of people who don’t or won’t understand it. That’s why I told you to be careful who finds out.”

Looking up at my mom, I said, “So, I’m this ... this cross-dresser thing?”

“You’re not a thing. But, I think that you could be a cross-dresser. You’ve only done it that one time. If you don’t count the day at your aunts.”

“But I’ve thought about it a lot.”

“That’s all right. I’ll tell you what. I have to run off to work. And it’s going to rain all day, so I don’t figure that you’ll see any of your friends. So, you know where everything is, and if you want to, you can try dressing as Tammy again.”

I thought for a second, and said, “Thanks, mom. I'm glad you understand this. I just wish I did.”

“Honey. I’m not sure anyone understands it. And if you want to talk some more, we will.”

Mom, as she left my room, said, “I’ll see you later this afternoon.” And she headed off to work.

I sat on my bed thinking about this whole thing. Was I one of those people who liked to dress in girl’s clothes? Maybe I was. I liked what the four of us had done. I liked how I looked. I liked how the clothes felt.

I stood up and looked at the clothes on my bed. Then I removed all of my boy clothes, picked a pair of purple panties from the package, and slipped them up my legs. Then I picked up the pink bra, looked at it and smiled. I slipped my arms through the straps, and thought, ‘How am I going to fasten this? Girls don’t have anyone to help them. So, how do they do it?’

I slipped the bra off, looked at it again, and examined how the two ends of the chest strap fastened together. There were two hooks on one end, and two loop things on the other. I thought, ‘That's simple enough. I guess I could slip it back on, reach behind me, and try to fasten the hooks into the loop things.'

So, I tried that, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it hooked. I was getting a little frustrated. So, I took the bra off and looked at it again. I hooked the two sets of hooks and loops together and tried to figure out how to do it behind my back. Then I thought, ‘What if I put it on with the strap ends in front, hook the loops and hooks, and spun the bra around.

So, I wrapped the bra around me and fastened the two fasteners. Then I spun the bra around, so that the cups were in front, and slipped my arms through the straps. I was feeling proud of myself until I walked into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and realized that I had it on inside out.

I took the bra back off, flipped it over, and put it back on. This time it was right side out.

Then I realized that, as my cousin had said, the bra needed something to give it form. I looked in the box and didn't see any nylons. I know my mother had nylons in her room, but I figured that she wouldn't be happy if I went rummaging around in her things. I thought for a minute, trying to figure out what to use to fill them out.

Then, I remembered something. I ran out of my room and towards the door to the basement. Then I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized that I was running through the house in only a bra and panties. I knew there was no one else was home, so what the heck. I went down to the basement, walked over to the utility room, where the washer and dryer were, and I was right. My mother had a few pairs of nylons, down there, that had runs in them, and she was going to throw out.

My aunt had put one nylon in each cup, and it had looked good. So, I did the same, one nylon in each cup. I went back upstairs, to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and the bra looked nice

I walked back to my room and continued dressing as Tammy. First the pair of short white socks. Then came the black blouse with red piping, the cute red poodle skirt with a black polka dotted ruffle at the hem, and the matching black polka dotted neck scarf. And lastly the black and white saddle shoes.

I picked up the blond wig and looked at it, and it appeared that it was a little worse for wear. Probably the accident hadn’t done it any good. I took it to the bathroom, shook it out a little, then slipped it onto my head. I moved it around until I was happy with it. Then, using one of my mother's hair brushes, I brushed it into what I thought was a nice look. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was beginning to see that cute girl. Something was missing. But what?

Then it hit me. I went back to my room, and took the purse out of the box, opened it, and looked in. The powder and pink lipstick were there. I took them out of the purse, and as I was turning to walk back to the bathroom, I noticed the glasses with the black frames. I picked them up and took them with me.

I opened the compact, and looked at the powder in it, but thought, ‘No. Not today.' As my cousin had shown me, I applied the lipstick. Then, I took the glasses and slipped them on.

Looking back at me from the mirror was that cute girl. I smiled, and whispered, “Hi Tammy.”

I walked over to my mother's room and looked in her full-length mirror. Yes, there was that cute girl, dressed in a cute poodle skirt and blouse. Her hair was a little messy, but she smiled back at me.

I spent the day doing some things my mother had asked me to do. I also did some reading and watched some stupid show on the television. For some reason, when I sat to read, I tucked my feet under me, like I've seen some girls do.

I had one scare. While I was reading, and I heard someone on the front porch by the front door. I jumped and went to a window where I could see the door and not be seen. And it was just the postman delivering the mail.

Then just before my parents were due home, I put Tammy away. While I was doing it, I felt a little sad.

As I helped my mother set the table for dinner, she asked me, “So, how was Tammy?”

“Huh?”, I replied.

“How was Tammy? She was here today wasn’t she?”

“Yeah. ... Yeah. I guess she was.”

“Honey. It’s all right.”

“I know mom. You just surprised me by asking.”

“Did you have any problems?”

“No. Except that the wig doesn’t look good.”

“In what way.”

“I just couldn’t get it to look right. Maybe the accident messed it up.”

“Hmm. I’ll have a look at it later.”

“Okay.”

“Honey. Do you think Tammy will be back?”

I thought for a few seconds, then said, “Maybe. … Yeah. I think she will.”

She smiled at me, and said, “I thought so.”

After dinner, my dad was down in his woodworking shop building something, and my mother was on the phone. When she found me a little while later, she said, “Tommy. I just talked to your Aunt Linda. And she told me that the wig is a human hair wig, and you can do anything to it that you can to your hair.”

“Really?”, I replied.

“Yes. So, I'll tell you what. I'll take the wig with me to work tomorrow and drop it off at the beauty shop in the store. And we'll see what they can do with it.”

“You think that they can fix it up?”

“I’ll bet they can.”

When mom and dad came home the next day, mom was carrying a tall box. She didn't say anything but took the box to her room. Then as I was helping to set the table, she whispered, “Wait until you see it.”

“It?”, I asked.

“The wig. It looks wonderful.”

“Is that what’s in the box?”

She just smiled and nodded yes.

After dinner and after dad had disappeared into his workshop, mom took me to her room, and removed the wig, on a form of some kind, from the box. And, she was right, it looked beautiful. She placed it on my head. I looked in the mirror, and even though she wasn't dressed in a skirt and blouse, I saw the girl again. I smiled.

Mom asked, “Honey. Do you like it?”

“No mommy.”, I replied. “I love it.”

“I thought you would.”

“Mommy. Why do you like me doing this?”

“Doing what honey?”

“Me dressing like a girl.”

“It makes me happy, to see you happy. It does make you happy. Doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So, don’t worry about it.”

I couldn’t wait for another rainy day. And there were a few.

The first time I wore the wig after my mother had it styled, I spent a long time in front of the mirror.