Power Dressing

She waited.

She talked "girl-talk"with him at every opportunity and he responded, specially about fashion and clothes. She had some ideas for her own winter wardrobe and discussed them with him and he made some interesting and valuable observations.

But nothing else.

A week had passed and Saturday loomed and, as was typical of autumn, it rained again only less heavily this time. In the way they spent the early part of the day it could have been a repeat of the previous Sunday. Jeans, sweat shirts, runners. her hair tied back, no makeup. They were lounging around after lunch, reading, when Steven suddenly got to his feet.

"Oh God,"he exclaimed quite loudly.

Christine looked up.

"What?"

"Nothing,"he said and walked quickly from the room.

She lay wondering and then returned to her reading.

He came back twenty minutes later and sat opposite her and she looked up.

"Holy smoke,"she exclaimed.

He was wearing his hair brushed out, parted on the side as she had done it for him, with, at least, mascara and lipstick. And he had sprouted bumps.

"You look cute. What brought this on?"

"Let's prove it. You said last Sunday if we went out dressed like this people would think you were the boy and I was the girl. Let's prove it."

"Okay,"she grinned, standing immediately. "But I still have bumps."

"Not so's you'd notice,"he said, mimicking her.

She looked down. "I guess not."

She picked up her shoulder bag with the front door keys and handed it to him.

"You"ll have to carry this."

He shouldered the strap and followed her out the front door. The rain had stopped although it remained threatening. She looked around.

"Some test."

There was not a soul around.

Steven looked somewhat abashed.

"Come on."Christine said, heading for her car. He followed and got in.

"Where are we going?"

"Where there are people."

They drove in silence for five minutes and she parked in the local shopping mall car park. Here there were people. She half expected her brother to reneg but he got out and they walked alongside one another through the front entrance and began browsing the stores. No one took any notice which was exactly what she had expected.

"I don't think this is going to tell you anything Steph,"she said, using the feminine of his name. "No one's even noticed."

"I guess that's telling me something at least."

She steered him into Johnnie Rockets and that sat in a booth. A young male came along.

"Yes girls,"he smiled.

Christine ordered two chocolate shakes.

"Enough?"

"I was still right. He might have thought I was a girl but he still thought you were a girl too."

"So what?"

"It means I'm more girlish then you are boyish."

"So what again?"

"Nothing."

The shakes were delivered.

"You've got the money, honey,"Chrsitine said.

Steven sought around in the handbag for a purse and brought it out and passed over the money.

They sipped the milkshakes.

"How do you feel?"Christine asked.

"Funny."

"In what way?"

"Well...just normal I guess. I mean I know I look different and I know eveyrone must be thinking of me as a girl but it's kind of an anti-climax."

"What made you suddenly want to do it?"

"It's been driving me nuts for a week. What I'm now thinking is that if we were both dressed up - you know, dresses and the rest, people would still be seeing me the same way."

"And you didn't expect them to?"

"I don't know. I think I had this idea that something about me would be saying boy or male or something."

"People see what they see. They"re not looking underneath the facade. Besides in your case they"re have to look a long way."

"But I don't look like a girl when I'm not wearing my hair like this or makeup."

"No. But it's fine line for some guys. The guy in the Klein ad for example. I'm sure he's rather girlish looking. Reggie Hanson. I think some people would be unsure sometimes with you. But they don't really care anyway."

"Who's Reggie Hanson?"
"He works at Sylvia"s place. He's always getting into drag. He's gay. More of a drag queen."

"And he's feminine looking?"
"Very. But he's also effeminate."

"So you're saying I could go home now and dress up pretty and come back down here and the reaction would be the same?"

"Absolutely. Except I think you'd feel a little different."

"How come?"

"Well we talked about this. Right now your, sort of, ambisexual. No one is actually looking at you because you're invisible. But you'd stop being invisible if you wore something special and you'd feel more conspicuous and you'd feel pretty because of the underwear and the stockings and the high heels and all. You wouldn't be ambisexual any more. You'd be female."

"Yes I suppose so."

"Do you want to try that?"

"No. Not yet. I see what you mean and I don't think I'm ready for that."

"What now then?"

"I want to go home. I think I twisted this bra strap when I put it on and it's killing me."

Christine laughed so hard people turned to look.

As they returned to the car a group of young men drove in and one of them leaned out of the window as they got in and whistled.

"You or me?"Steven asked, as she started the car.

"Not me, honey. I'm the plain one today, remember."

They drove out of the car park.

"Can I tempt you into something a little more becoming when we get home?"

He looked across at her. "You're enjoying this aren't you. You want to get me into a dress?"

"Frankly yes. I seem to remember we talked about me having a sister. Besides you will need the practice."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Practice?"

"Sure. Next time we go out you're going for the real experience of a lifetime."

Steven looked out the window for a moment.

"Okay,"he said. "I"d be lying if I said I wasn't interested in seeing myself again."

"But tomorrow I think, Not today."

"Why?"
"Because tomorrow we have all day and I"d like this to be very thorough. What I'd like to do is give you the full makeover and then get you into something very glamorous. I think we should try to see how Stephanie looks in all her feminine glory."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I thought my emerald green Thai silk cocktail dress would be nice."

"I love that dress."

"Well then you should enjoy wearing it. And all that goes with it."