To See Through a Glass Darkly 16

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To See Through a Glass Darkly

by

Anam Chara

Chapter 16

When Sasha wakes up Saturday morning from his sleepover with Sonia, Tina and their friends, his memory of the previous evening is sketchy. But now he seems to everyone more girl than he ever could have believed possible.

Russian Language Notes

Водка [VOT-kuh], vodka, lit. little water.

Да [DAH], yes.

Мама [MAH-muh], dim. Mama, Mom, Mommy.

Моя Саша [mah-YAH SAH-shuh], fem. my Sasha. In Russian, Sasha is a nickname for both Alexander and Alexandra. Using the possessive adjective моя emphasizes that Sasha's mother is calling him by a girl's name.

Папа [PAH-puh], dim. Dad, Daddy, Papa, Pop, Pops.

Спасибо [spah-S'EE-buh], thank you, thanks.

Often, my first morning sensation would be an aroma from the kitchen. Today, though, a flowery fragrance that greeted me—perfume! It was the scent that Tina wears so often. I seemed to have a slight headache, some dizziness, and a light-headed feeling. My vision seemed a little blurry as I awoke. I was not in my usual bed but lying on the floor on a bedroll. When I sat up, the dizziness and light-headedness seemed to become worse, so I laid down again.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" I recognized Tina's voice.

"He's always groggy like this on a Saturday," my sister's voice answered. "In fact, that may be all that remains of his boy-self now!"

"I'm not sleepy," I protested. "I'm dizzy and have a headache. What happened?"

I raised myself up again, this time on my right elbow and my eyes began to focus on Tina's smiling face and Sonia's mischievous grin. Looking around I recognized our conservatory.

So I had gone through with the sleepover. I glanced at myself and saw that I was wearing a long, royal blue, satin nightgown trimmed in white lace and ribbons, held up by narrow shoulder straps. It felt very nice to wear, actually. But then I noticed something else. My fingernails. A French manicure with white tips. Just like Tina's and Sonia's. Vaguely, I could barely remember telling them that I wanted mine to match theirs. But the tips were shorter on my left hand.

"I made sure that they wouldn't get in the way when you play," Sonia told me. "They might look a little funny that way, but I didn't want your manicure to get in the way of your music."

Touching them with my other hand, I realized that my left-hand fingernails weren't any longer than usual. How did they get the white tips on there at all? My right-hand nails were extended a little beyond my fingertips and shaped into a pleasing oval, just like my sister's and girlfriend's.

"We just thought it so sweet that you wanted your nails to match ours," Tina added to the discussion.

Red-headed Debbi was the next to speak. "And we can't wait to do your hair. I've never styled a boy's hair like I'll be doing yours today. I think you'll look perfectly like a girl when we're done."

Something suggested that these girls were having way too much fun with me.

Two other girls were there smiling at me as well. One looked Latin, the other Asian. Vaguely, I seemed to recall that the Latin-looking girl was Marcia, so that meant the Asian-looking one had to be Jacqui.

"G'morning girls," I addressed everyone. "Please, don't mind me, but I do have a headache today."

They all began giggling. That couldn't be a good sign.

Then Sonia held up a half-empty bottle of a clear liquid and it's label read:

Liuboff's
Premium
VODKA®

No! Is this a hangover? My first hangover? Oh…!

"Моя Саша! I see you have hangover today," Mom said entering the music room. "I told you that to drink водка not wise."

"Couldn't you have stopped me?" I asked Mom.

"I try. You not listen," she answered. "But you say you are too afraid of girls. So you need—how you told me?—some liquid courage!"

Fuzzily, I recalled but fragments of conversations and actvities from the previous evening. It all had started when I caught and broke a fingernail on my a-string. My third finger. The ring finger. I looked at my left hand again. Someone did a good job repairing it. After that, the evening became pleasant enough, but I still couldn't remember exactly what had frightened me so badly that I needed "liquid courage" to make it through.

"I'm sorry, Мама," I apologized. "I hope I didn't do anything too stupid while I was—was—"

"The word you're looking for is drunk, Li'l Bro," Sonia teased me. "And of course you did stupid and embarassing things while you were. That was the whole point! But we love you for being so vulnerable with us."

"Yes," Tina added tenderly. "Whatever happens at a sleepover stays at the sleepover. That's private, among us who love you."

"Today, however," Jacqui spoke up, "you go public—really public! Because today we're all going—everyone together now—"

"Shopping!" they all sang out in chorus, triggering a new impulse of my morning's headache.

"Ow! That hurt," I whined, covering my ears with my hands. As I did, I could hear as well as feel the painful throbbing in my head.

"We're too many for the kitchen table, today. Everyone to the dining room!" Mom announced, for which I was grateful. Even from here, I could smell the coffee brewing. Likely she had brewed it for our guests this morning, since we preferred tea. Maybe I was one of the guests, too, because I most certainly didn't feel like myself today.

Sis and Tina pulled me to my feet and helped me into a dressing gown that seemed to match my nightgown. Then as they held me steady to step into the maribou slippers that Sis had let me wear, I noticed that my toenails glistened with a clear sheen. My expression must have been something of joy to the girls as they all giggled.

"We thought you needed a pedicure, too," Sis told me with a gleam in her eye. "But we didn't want to freak you out completely, so we just did your toenails in a clear luster. Next time, though, I think you should try a shade of pink."

Next time? What had I gotten myself into?

Since I was still unsteady in my sister's heeled slippers, she and Tina escorted me to the dining room and sat me down in my usual place. Marcia and Jacqui were already seated, Marcia taking coffee, and Jacqui, tea. But Mom did not ask me what I wanted. She placed a mug of hot, black coffee in front of me.

"Мама, I'd rather have tea," I complained.

"Coffee is better for headache," Mom decreed. "Today you drink coffee"

Everyone giggled but me.

"Sasha, you were so cute at the party," Jacqui said. "I should thank you."

"What?" I asked nervously looking over at Tina, but she began giggling even more. "What happened? Did I flirt with Jacqui?"

Tina smiled as her giggling escalated to an amused, squealing laughter, while she herself blushed.

"He doesn't remember what he did as her, does he?" Deb remarked wide-eyed to everyone. "The look on his face was just so precious!"

"Моя Саша! You really don't remember?" Mom said, smiling and tapping a small stack of pizza boxes on the counter, as if taking her cue to tease me. "I would think that you must remember!" She continued tapping the pizza boxes, but I could have sworn that she were playing tympani at a fortissimo.

"All right! What happened?" I fumed, sipping the hot and bitter, black coffee. "How badly did I embarass myself?"

"The pizza delivery boy made a pass at you!" Sonia told me. "He asked you for a date. You just stood there and stared at him!"

"I know the guy, Barry, and like him," recounted Jacqui. "So, when you didn't even answer him, I took your hand and led you away. Then he asked me out instead. So now we have a date later tonight. So I should thank you for—what? I know!—being scared at just the right moment! I had to rescue you and it worked out well for me, anyway."

"After he left, you went for the vodka!" Marcia added as everyone giggled. "You may not believe this, but you were hot, girl!"

I put my head down on the table. I felt sick. A boy made a pass at me? No wonder I went for Dad's liquor cabinet. I wanted some vodka in my coffee right then.

"Why did you have to tell me?" I lamented. "I didn't want to remember that. That's why I went for the vodka."

"Don't worry," Tina consoled me. "Every girl feels better after a session of retail therapy. You'll get to experience that today, too."

I sipped more coffee. Why did I ever agree to do this? Those hallucinations had seriously distorted my thinking.

"Retail therapy?" I asked.

"Shopping!" they all seemed to yell loudly at the same time.

"Ow!" I yelled back as the pulsing began in my ears again. "Not so loud!"

"If didn't know he had a hangover," Sonia observed, "I'd think Sasha was having her first period!"

Everyone giggled at that—except myself! I was too sick for their teasing even to upset me.

"Got any aspirin?" I asked Mom.

"I've got some Midol Teen® in my bag," Tina teased.

"Does it work for hangovers?" I wondered aloud.

Everyone was giggling or laughing at that as well.

"Моя Саша, Mom addressed me, "you simply need to drink your coffee, eat breakfast, and get moving. Today for you is very important."

"Will coffee and breakfast cure my headache?" I asked.

"No, but you need it anyway," Mom said. "Headache will go away when hangover finish. You still must eat." She opened the oven door and removed a baking sheet covered with pastries. Sis helped her place them on small plates and distribute them to us.

The pastries were hot and my headache lessened a little as I smelled their aroma. I raised my head from the table and looked at everyone.

"Thanks for including me in your sleepover," I offered them gratefully. "It was—a new experience."

"Did you have fun?" Tina asked me.

I looked down at my pastry. "I really can't remember," I apologized.

"Then you did!" Jacqui concluded as the others laughed.

"I still can't believe that the pizza guy—," I stopped, blushing. "He really made a pass at me?"

"Uh-huh!" Tina affirmed, smiling at me. "But you're already taken!"

I felt Tina's gentle kiss touch my cheek. When she did, I felt all my apprehension, misgivings, and fear about the previous night melt away despite my headache. I reached for her hand and she grasped it. Sonia took my other hand. Sitting up I could see that we all had joined hands and everyone was smiling at me. So infectious were their smiles that my own dimples were creasing. I breathed deeply and sighed in relaxation. My headache throbbed all the more, as if it were angered that I dare feel good defying its torture.

"Is your headache gone?" Jacqui asked me.

"No," I answered, "but I'm feeling better anyway!"

"I think Sasha understands," observed Marcia. "This is almost like a menses for him. He can feel the joy even through the pain."

"Girl, you're one of us now," declared Deb, making eye contact with me directly. "I think you're more girl on the inside than you know."

"You've always been," confirmed Sonia to me. "I've been after you to let your inner girl out to play since we were toddlers. At heart, you've always been my little sister!"

"Is that why I've looked up to you so much?" I asked Sis. "So often I've secretly wanted to be like you."

"Yes," she answered. "But it was never all that secret—not to me, anyway. That's why I wanted so much for you to dress up. You need it, really. You've needed it for a long time"

"But I'm a boy!" I protested. "And I'm only attracted to girls."

"Yes. And you're my boyfriend," Tina assured me. "But your also my girlfriend. You're a girlfriend to all of us, now, and we're all your girlfriends. More like sisters, really. Welcome to sisterhood, Sasha."

She kissed him on the cheek again, as everyone else in the room applauded briefly.

Everyone at the table was enjoying their coffee or tea and pastries along with a free-flowing conversation that mostly dazzled me, since I just didn't have my wits about me to keep up with it. So, I finished my coffee and pastry by small sips and slow nibbles. Very slowly, I felt my headache begin to clear…

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Something felt—and smelled—very different in the shower. Sis had me supplied with body wash instead of soap. It had a very nice scent to it, like apricots, although it had a grainy feel to it. And my skin tingled just a little as I rubbed it all over myself. I think that I was enjoying myself maybe too much, since I heard Sonia ask, "Are you almost finished. We're all waiting, too!"

"I think so," I replied. "It's just that I can't believe how nice this body wash smells. But it seems a little grainy to me."

"That's the exfoliant in it," she explained. "Remember? We talked about it two nights ago. It strips away dead layers of skin cells."

"So that's how it feels?"

"Uh-huh," she confirmed. "I left a nice plush bathrobe out here for you."

"Oh! Do I need that hair remover again?" I asked. "Uh—depilatory as you called it?"

"I don't think so. Your legs still looked baby smooth to me."

"Thanks. I'll be right out, then."

Sonia had left the bathrobe on the hook next to the shower door. When I put it on, it was barely long enough to cover me. Also, the fragrance of the body wash lingered about me and I felt very relaxed by it. I could get used to it. There was no reason that I couldn't use it, even as a guy.

I wandered down the hallway to my bedroom to find Jacqui and Marcia standing guard outside my door, while Sis, Tina, and Deb awaited me within. Tina had already laid out a set of undergarments for me.

"Sasha, here we have for you a training bra with matching panties," began my girlfriend. "This is a camisole, often just called a 'cami.' And this is a half-slip, to be worn under your skirt. It's not always necessary, but sometimes it's still nice to have."

"This I know," I replied. "You forget that I grew up with a sister and that guys see a constant stream of girls wearing not much more than what's there. And Sis has been covertly training me for today since birth. Well, it's been mostly covert."

They paused a moment. Then Tina grinned at me. "Are you sure you know how to put it all on?"

"I think I can figure it out. I did wear Sonia's dress yesterday after all."

"Then put something on," ordered Sis.

"Uh… I don't wanna dress in front of everyone," I said, naked under the robe.

Everyone else giggled, but somehow, I just smiled at Tina and giggled back. Then I grabbed the panties and stepped into them, pulling them up underneath my robe. They felt smooth and cool, even silky.

A squeal went up with a bit of applause from everyone there.

"Thatta girl, Sasha!" approved Debbi, smiling as her eyes glanced about the room. "Certain others here, and they know who they are, do the same thing in the girls' locker room! You did that just like they do."

Suddenly everyone but Deb was blushing, including myself. Jacqui and Marcia had entered my bedroom, crowding it even more. So now six of us were in there and I was sitting somewhat awkwardly on the corner of my bed. This was too crowded for me to move around much.

"Girls, I don't have room enough to dress with all of you in here," I told them. "Tina's in charge of my wardrobe, so she stays to help."

"But I'm your sister," appealed Sonia.

"You did it yesterday, Sis. It's her turn," I said. Everyone else, but Sonia, giggled.

"Huh!" snorted my sister as she crossed her arms and strutted out of my room, her long ponytail swishing as she turned away from me. I heard her and her friends outside squeal in uncontrolled laughter after the door shut behind them.

"I love how she does that, Tina!"

"What? Storms out of the room?"

"No, not so much that. It's how her ponytail swishes when she turns around. It's so cool. I need to learn that."

Tina smiled at me again. "You're really into this! You really are trying to be girly, aren't you?"

"Sonia wants to share her girlhood with me. And that's more than just her wardrobe. She very clearly wants me to enjoy it. And I need to try getting into the role of a teenage girl and sister as best I can—like a method actor does."

"I hope that both of you appreciate just how lucky you are to have each other as brother and sister."

"Sonia really is a wonderful sister," I affirmed, "but she had me so freaked out with her teasing me over dressing up, until you talked to me about it Thursday afternoon."

"You really thought she was trying to embarrass you?"

"Yes and no."

"Oh?"

"I couldn't think of any other reason for a girl to dress her brother up."

"So you never thought that girlhood was something she might want to share with you?"

"Well until you brought it up, I had never even wondered if it was something that a girl could share with a boy."

"That makes sense enough to me," my girlfriend conceded. "But then what changed your mind?"

"First, when you described what Sonia wanted, I knew it was true. The idea of sharing her girlhood with me sounds so much like something she'd think up, it had to be the truth. And then, in my hallucinations, dressing up like a girl for you somehow seemed normal. I got curious enough to try it."

"That's honest enough for me. But we do need to finish getting you dressed, though."

"Pantyhose?"

"You want pantyhose?"

"Yeah. They felt nice yesterday," I confessed as I let the robe open and fall off my shoulders. I knew that I was blushing. "I—I really liked wearing them. Gosh! I'm so embarrassed!"

"That's all right, Sasha. I understand," Tina assured me as she picked up the training bra from my bed. "I love to wear them myself. And don't be too embarrassed because you like wearing them. You said that Sonia wants you to enjoy this. It sounds like you've already found something to get started with."

Tina held the straps of the bra up for me.

"I guess I do," I admitted, reaching through the bra-straps. "I'm just scared to be liking this so soon."

"But why? It's really who you are," she continued, gesturing for me to stand up and turn around.

"Really who I am?" I asked, holding my arms out as she hooked the bra from the back.

"Mm-hmm! You are so girly! Well, at least in the ways we hoped you were," Tina said to reassure me. "Everyone of us here have noticed this about you for a long time."

"Y'know, Ms. Tollefson gave me this test for androgyny. I scored high on both sides, masculine as well as feminine."

"Maybe that's why you're taking to all this so well?"

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are, Sasha. You're as pretty as a girl as you are handsome as a boy."

"That's what this androgyny thing's all about. I should be as competent at girls' things as I am at boys'."

"You seem to be doing that so far. And it's not just your looks, either. We all noticed that while you're dressed up, you act a lot like your sister. Especially you stand, walk, and gesture like Sonia."

"I wasn't aware of that, but it makes sense. Sis is the girl that I know best and knows me best. I'm not surprised that I'd copy her style. And we're both prob'ly gonna copy Mom, so that makes sense as well."

"Well, you do have much of your sister's style. Even as a boy you share quite a few things with her. I've noticed that you both like wearing the same colors and listen to the same music. You both like the same popular music as well as classical."

Tina continued helping me dress and I soon had everything on except shoes.

"I liked those black pumps with the ankle straps that I wore yesterday," I confessed. "By the way, I like it when you wear shoes like that."

"Well, they are a classic look," Tina informed me. "And I do like them. They go with just about anything you wanna wear. They're a wardrobe standard for any girl. But we do wanna get you into something else today, though."

"Oh? Whaddya have in mind?"

"Hmm? I had been thinking maybe a pair of strappy heels?" Tina mused, then grimaced. "Y'know what, though? I think the ankle-strap pumps do look better with that skirt and blouse. Since you like them, that's the call!"

These were the same shoes from yesterday, Deb's three-inch heels. I had managed to walk quite a lot wearing them without any real discomfort. My biggest problem is that my visual perspective was seriously altered suddenly being three inches taller.

I knelt down to put them on, but Tina stopped me and suggested that I sit a certain way to buckle the ankle straps.

"That's right, Sasha! Knees together and lean…"

The way she had me sit to fasten the straps made me feel, well, elegant. And to my chagrin, I actually liked sitting that way.

"You look so cute, hubby!" Tina squealed with a full smile. "Perfectly girlie!"

I noticed she and I were both wearing our wedding rings. The LEDs on the clock shone green again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Next, Tina led me to the kitchen where Deb and the others had set up a makeshift hair salon. Apparently places to sit and a large sink were a sine qua non for this enterprise. She directed me to the chair and sat me at one end of the table so that the sink was right behind us.

"So Sasha, which of the hairstyles that we tried yesterday do you want to go with?" Deb asked as she covered my blouse with a huge plastic bib and fastened it behind me.

"We tried hairstyles?"

"Yes, we did. But I suppose that memory got dissolved in the vodka, too?"

"I guess it did."

Deb sighed rather loudly, then shouted, "Jacqui! Bring your laptop!"

A moment later, Jacqui padded into the kitchen with a laptop tucked under her left arm, sat down to my right, and flipped up the screen. "Whaddya want?" she asked.

"Show him the photos of his hair from the sleepover."

"Parallel views?"

"That'd be best. Show the three-quarter views first, next frontals, then profiles."

Jacqui quickly pulled up two photos side-by-side. At first, they looked like Sonia with darker hair, but then I realized that they were both pictures of me. I couldn't remember either of them.

"Well, Sasha, what'll it be?" Deb asked me.

"I don't know," I admitted cluelessly. I had no idea what to choose, nor even how to go about deciding on one. "What do you like? Or ask Tina or Sonia. I don't have any idea."

"You can't remember anything from yesterday?"

"Sorry, but I'm clueless. I don't know what's important in a hairstyle."

"What do you think, Jacqui?" Deb asked.

"I think he'll look cuter with the one on the right."

"I was thinking that, too," Deb concurred. "Quick! Go get the others!"

I don't think it took much more than a minute and Sonia, Tina, and Marcia were all there."

"The one on the right is best," opined my sister.

"Do the style on the right," instructed Marcia.

"The right is cuter," my girlfriend judged.

I guess that was a consensus. It would be the style on the right side of the screen. And it just screamed "girl!" But since I didn't want to be recognized or mistaken for a boy in a skirt and blouse, I simply chose to yield to their unanimous opinion.

"Then go for it," I told Deb. She smiled back at me and went to work on my hair. My sister and girlfriend hugged one another as they both emitted loud squeals of delight.

They were enjoying this entirely too much.

"This style is like a flipped semi-pageboy but much longer," Deb explained. "Although I've trimmed it a little, I only want to style your hair today, not cut it. If you really want me to cut it, then I can do that another time. Besides, you may not want to look too different when you go back to being a boy—if you go back to being a boy."

"What's a flipped semi-pageboy?" I asked.

Jacqui turned to me. "My hair's in a semi-pageboy," she said. "When it's flipped, the ends are curled to the outside instead of underneath like mine are."

"And what do you mean by if I go back to being a boy?"

"Well, after this weekend, I think you won't wanna go back!" Deb predicted.

"We hope to entice you to stay a girl," declared Sonia. "You're looking so good moving from Li'l Bro to Li'l Sis, that it'd be a shame to waste that."

Geeze! What had I gotten myself into? I had only promised to do this through Monday. I had to be back in school Tuesday and that would be the end of it. Or did they want to have me doing this as a hobby? It wouldn't be that bad, dressing up after school. Tina, Sonia, and I often studied together anyway, sometimes our house, sometimes Tina's. It's not like it would be in public, would it?

Then I listened to myself. This was getting out of control. And that was because somehow I had liked it. Maybe Ms. Tollefson was right. Maybe I was androgynous and needed some kind of feminine expression? But did I have to dress up like a girl for it? Maybe I should ask her a few questions about this? I didn't know. This whole thing was beginning to scare me.

"Can I have a mirror?" I asked. "I'd like to see what you're doing to me."

"Not yet," Deb answered. "Not until I'm done. Then you get to see the whole thing all at once. Seeing it halfway might scare you unnecessarily and we don't want that. Remember, you're gonna be seen with us all day, so I'm making you look as nice as I possibly can. We don't want this to be your first bad hair day as a girl, too."

"No, I guess not," I concurred with her.

"Li'l Sis, I wish you could remember more of the sleepover," remarked Sonia. "I've never seen or heard you have so much fun in your life. One thing's absolutely certain—you party like a girl!"

"At least you did until Barry made a pass at you," Jacqui reminded me. "Then you went for the booze."

And the lingering after-effects of it were still with me, although the intense, throbbing pain of earlier in the morning now had lessened to a merely constant, lower-grade headache. But what I really regretted that apparently I did enjoy myself but couldn't remember any of that. So, the alcohol had ruined the party for me, but not them. I was the only one who couldn't remember that I had a good time.

I looked down at my left hand to examine my manicure again (no wedding rings). The girls could have done them in any color, or made them really long, but they didn't. No, they did it to match Tina's and Sonia's because I had said that I liked theirs. And they did my nails short on my left hand so I could play my violin without any problems. I'd heared some awful tales of what girls did to the first one who dozed off at a sleepover. Then I remembered what the point of this exercise was. Sis wanted to share what was joyful with me. She'd kept the teasing to a minimum. She'd invited me into her circle of friends. They were still working to make me presentable as a girl. That would protect me from discovery. Indeed, they were all trying to make this fun for me. For the first time today, I flashed a brief smile in spite of my hangover.

"Sasha, you're taking to all this so much better than I hoped you would."

"I promised you that I'd try to enjoy myself while I did this. And except for this hangover, it's all been fun so far. Mom was right. This seems to be turning into a good experience."

Sis dropped down and kissed me on the cheek. "I'm happy you see it that way," whispered Sis in my ear. I could see her eyes moistening. I knew that girls cry when they're happy. Really happy. And my eyes were moistening now, too.

"Did I tell you that I went see Father Alexei yesterday after I got back from lunch?" I whispered to my sister.

"No," she answered also whispering.

"Well, he saw me and commented that you had gotten your wish."

"Omigosh! Was he—?" Sonia raised her voice.

"He was only concerned that he hadn't seen us much at church for a while," I said, my own voice still sotta voce. He made me promise to come Sunday and he wants you there, too. And I'm going dressed like a girl, so don't you dare not show up there with me. He wants to give us a blessing."

"Why would he wanna bless us? And you in drag?"

"Maybe because blessing is what priests do!" I smiled again.

"But I would've thought he'd be all judgmental about it and everything!"

"No, he wasn't at all," I said. "In fact, it seemed a little weird—almost like he was expecting me to show up wearing a dress someday."

"I kept telling him that I always wanted to dress you up like a girl."

"Yes, that seems to have been the case."

Now, Sonia blushed—deeply! Maybelline®, Cover Girl®, or Revlon® could use that color to inspire a whole new line of reds!

"It's okay, Sis," I assured her. "I really do understand now why you wanted this for me. And seeing how happy it makes you, I'm happy, too." She was crying now and so was I. Fortunately, neither of us had done our makeup yet.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Deb had finished with my hair, about half an hour later, Jacqui set her laptop up with its camera for me to get a look at myself. I was frightened by my own appearance. I couldn't see the least bit of boy in my face. The hairstyle made me look really cute.

"Sasha, this is close to how you looked when Barry made that pass at you," Jacqui informed me. "Except for your deer-in-the-headlights stare!" She giggled.

"I can't say that I'm surprised," I conceded, examining myself carefully on the screen. "I would never have thought I could look anything like this."

"So, you like it, then?" Deb asked me.

"Yes. Yes, I do. It makes me look like a real girl. You did a great job with it. If you wanted to make me think about staying a girl, you couldn't have made a better argument!"

"Yeah, Deb," said Tina, flashing a wicked grin. "It's kinda hard to know whether to let him go back to being a boyfriend or just to keep him like this. There's cute, and then there's what I'm seeing right now!"

"Now, all we have to do is just get a little make up on you to complete the look," Sonia said to me. "Up to my room, Li'l Sis!"

Deb unfastened the plastic bib and let me go. My sister took me by the hand and led me out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom. She sat me down at her vanity and I got another look at myself in the mirror. Deb had really done such a nice job with my hair. In spite of my anxiety about it, this seemed to be working out.

"All right, Li'l Sis," Sonia addressed me. "Let's get started on your face. You'll be trying different clothes on, so I think we should keep to a lighter, natural look today."

"Whatever you think is best," I conceded to my sister. "You're the expert here." And she really had become expert with cosmetics, as much as any teenager could. So I had no doubt that she would complete my look as beautifully as possible.

"You're likely to try different colors while shopping, so we need your face looking as natural possible to get a fair idea of what will look right on you."

"That makes sense to me."

My sister worked her magic on my face with her collections of lotions, potions, and powders for nearly half an hour, explaining each step as she continued to work. She described to me the purpose of the various brushes and applicators, the contents of the jars and vials that she used, educating me about every choice she had made for my look.

"So whaddya think now, Sasha?" Sonia asked me. I studied myself in the mirror. There was no hint of a boy looking back at me. It was kind of eerie that I looked all girl. Fascinating, really. Just the intellectual puzzle how a boy could be made to look exactly like a girl occupied my mind for an extended moment.

"Wow!" I said, grinning at my sister. "This is amazing. I could never have imagined looking this good. How did you?"

"I've been planning this day for years," she reminded me flashing a wicked smile at me. "I've had a long time to figure out exactly how to make your face up."

That she had studied me for this purpose did sound a little creepy, yet I also knew that I could trust her judgment for the very same reason. I could not help but be pleased with the transformation that Sis, Tina, and their friends had given me. I had never looked so handsome as a boy as I was now pretty as a girl. I resolved that after this exercise was over, I would make every effort to groom myself as guy with an equivalent effort. I felt a sudden need to be worthy of Mom, Sonia, and Tina as a son, a brother, and a boyfriend.

"Well, Sis, I'm looking forward to going out now," I admitted. "I think today is going to be fun after all!"

My sister squealed and, kneeling on the floor, hugged me from behind. Somehow we managed to squeeze both our smiles into the oval mirror of her vanity.

"There's just one more thing we need to do, Li'l Sis."

"What's that?"

"Stand up!"

We both got up and she grabbed her atomizer off the vanity and pumped up a cloud of mist in the air and walked through it.

"You do the same," she said as she thrust the atomizer into my hands. So, I sprayed my own cloud of perfume and went right through it, too. Just as I did, the doorbell chimed the "Bells of Westminster."

"Oh, Geeze!" I exclaimed. "I wonder who that could be ?"

"Well, we're done here," declared Sis, taking me by the hand. "Let's go see."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sis and I had hurried down the stairs to see who the new visitor was, but we stopped because there with Mom stood our Aunt Svetlana. And suddenly my heart sank and I began to feel embarrassed once again. Why did Mom have to tell her of all people about this?

Mom was busy introducing her sister-in-law to Marcia and Jacqui. She already knew Tina. Then, when Aunt Svetlana spied Sis and me, she ran right across the room to us.

"Sasha! Dat you?" my aunt almost screamed. "I cannot belieffe dat you so pretty!" She squealed and pulled me into one of her patent-pending hugs and did a little victory dance. "Wen your мама told me dat you do dis, I not know dat you do so well!"

"Спасибо, Auntie!" I said. "But it's all the work of Sonia and her friends. They want me to look as pretty as they are."

"Да. You go to mall wit dem. Dat is khwy I come, to drive big van," Aunt Svetlana explained. "And I tell you khow I dress your папа khwen khe was boy. Khe was also pretty girl. We khad much fun khwen children!"

"Dad dressed up like a girl?" I asked. So maybe that was why Mom called and asked her to come? Well that, and she drove a van.

"Да! Dat much fun for us bot!" affirmed my aunt. "We make big game of wkho most pretty girl! Your папа say khe more pretty girl dan me. And khe very pretty girl but not so pretty as I."

The doorbell rang again and Mom asked me to get the door. So I opened it and the person there was someone else whom I had not expected this morning.

"Marjorie?"

"Good morning, Sasha!" Marjorie greeted me. "How are you?"

Oh, this day was just getting better and better!

Continuandum…

©2011, 2017 by Anam Chara.

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Comments

"Oh, this day was just getting better and better!"

I know that's not how she means it, but she's right. Her day is amazing. One I wish to God I could have....

Dorothycolleen, member of Bailey's Angels

DogSig.png

wow, I completely forgot

wow, I completely forgot about this series :--) glad to see it spring alive again ^^

I don't generally post

I don't generally post comments, I know I should and I will try to so from now on, but I'm so glad to see this story continue. THANK YOU for all your efforts.

Sasha is seen more as a girl

than as a boy by the family. Could that be the reason for the dreams/hallucinations?

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine