Don Venuto's Sissies

"Mom, what are those for?" Mark asked already knowing since he was the only one in the room. His mother was holding a pair of light pink ruffled panties.

"Silly question! Now go on and finish that shoe then put these on." Mark's mother said.

"Panties? You want me to wear girl's panties now?" Mark said shocked that his mother would consider such a thing.

"Going to sooner or later so doing this now is going to make it a lot better later." Mark's mother said.

"How is me wearing panties now going to make it better later?" Mark asked.

"Honey, some of this anguish your feeling is because it's so odd. It's odd because you've never worn this kind of stuff before. I'm just thinking that if you do wear everything, including the panties, then it won't be as bad on Saturday? Worth a shot, right?" Mark's mother said hoping her explanation sounded plausible.

"Hadn't thought about that." Mark said blushing at his decision to put those panties on as he added, "Can you step out for a second."

"Tell you what, when you are dressed just come out so we can see you in the light. How's that?" Mark's mother asked.

"OK." Mark said taking the panties from his mother. His hand shook slightly. They felt like silk and he blushed again thankful this time his mother wasn't watching. It took a bit to get under all of his slips and dress but he got his underpants off before stepping into that pink nylon. He suddenly worried over the risk of ruining that delicate fabric but he realized it too late to do anything about it now.

"OK." Mark said from the other side of the doorway. He stepped out as he said it and flushed anew when he spotted a couple of girls between their mothers watching. The girls and their mothers were smiling. Mark, as best he could, smiled back. Maybe his mother was right Mark mused as he moved to the mirrors.

Mark saw Steve in the mirrors reflection and that face on Steve reminded Mark of himself when he had seen Ralph wearing his dress. Steve looked like he was agony and Mark wanted to shout, wave and say, "it's not that bad". Only Mark didn't dare such a thing, but suddenly did think that.

"So, what do you think?" Mark's mother asked.

"Mom, I'm in a dress!" Mark answered.

"Hello! I know that, but what about the style, the look of it?" Mark's mother asked.

"I'm not supposed to care about that!" Mark said fighting the slight grin Carol couldn't help but notice.

"OK, try this then... Do you think your sister would like it?" Mark's mother asked looking at Mark in the mirror.

"My sister? Oh, right.... Well, I suppose my SISTER would love this sort of dress." Mark said overemphasizing the word sister. She would also love the panties Mark mused as he stood moving slightly for that reason.

"Well, I guess we've got your... I mean your sister's outfit then." Mark's mother said.

It was pretty, if felt pretty on and suddenly, with Mark knowing that those in the store more or less approved of it or at least didn't think him a sissy for wearing those things, made it somehow better. Mark knew it was coming to an end or at least this part anyway but wondered what he'd look like with long hair.

"Mom?" Mark asked.

"What honey!" Mark's mother said fusing with the collar for a second. She too grew slightly sad that the moment was passing.

"Are we... I mean did that woman say we had to wear long hair or anything?" Mark asked.

"You know, I was thinking that very thing. I mean it would make perfectly good sense now wouldn't it?" Mark's mother said picking up on Mark's question as she added, "so would makeup, as I think about it! I mean when the time comes. I'm guessing the better the look, the better Don Venuto is going to feel about it."

"I would think that as well?" Mark said feeling slightly giddy over the prospects of makeup and hair and perhaps even a bow. He was angry still but with the Don to blame he could let up a little.

"If you want my opinion I'd say yes on the wig and definitely yes on at least a little makeup." Mark's mother noted.

"Think so?" Mark asked hoping to make it sound like his mother's idea.

"Definitely!" Mark's mother noted.

"So now what?" Mark asked as that last question was asked.

"Well, we should think about getting you a wig so I suppose that should be our next stop then. Perhaps that woman Helen can help." Mark's mother said.

Carol took that as a cue to go talk with Helen leaving Mark there by the mirrors alone. He twisted quickly and made a few quick steps to catch up gasping a little, more to himself, as the dress moved and rustled about him. His shoes clacking like a tap dancers on the tile walkways between the islands of carpet as he caught up.

"Don't do that!" Mark said clutching his mother's hand. "Oh, I'm sorry honey. Thought you could stand there for a moment or two." Mark's mother said as they walked up to Helen.

"Lovely! Absolutely adorable!" Helen said ignoring what Mark might say about that. Mark blushed and didn't say anything over the complements.

"Helen, we're thinking about a wig?" Carol said.

"Now that's a thought! Trouble is they are somewhat expensive unless you can find a store that sells the Halloween type of wigs. Oh, wait! You know what, I mean if you want, I could loan you one of ours. We've got a few that we use on our mannequins. If the party is Saturday, you could bring it back on Monday. How's that?" Helen said.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you so much!" Carol said.

"They're in the back. Wait a moment and let me get one and see if it's going to work on not." Helen said as she moved past the counter towards the door at the back. She returned a few minutes later giving Mark a chance to look for Ralph and Steve.

Ralph was trying on shoes and Mark found Steve over in the bridal section. Ralph still looked sad but not as sad as Steve was. Mark, for whatever reason although he was sure about some of it, didn't feel nearly as bad as before. Those girls with their mother were no longer concentrating on him but on Ralph since they and he were near the shoes.

"That's a pretty dress." A girl's voice said breaking Mark's concentration on what he was wearing and his friends.

"What? Oh... Thanks I guess. It's not for me! I mean it's for a party!" Mark said laughing nervously and feeling flustered while twisting to see the source of the voice. He didn't know the girl and suddenly being her focus made him blush more.

"So what's the occasion that makes a guy buy a dress? I mean why are you guys dressing up like this?" The girl asked.

"Costume party on Saturday. All the guys are supposed to go as girls." Steve answered, not to easily but not nearly as hard as it might have been earlier.

"How cool!" The girl said and added, "be better if you had longer hair!"

"We're going to try that." Steve said and added, "Lady is going to get a wig that she uses for her mannequins."

"Right now?" The girl asked.

"Yes." Mark said.

"Way cool. Going to be interesting to see your transformation." The girl said and then added, "I'm Tracy. Tracy McCall."

"Mark! Mark Evans!" Mark said extending his hand when Tracy extended hers.

"You from around here?" Mark asked forgetting suddenly that he was in a dress.

"Sort of! I mean we just moved here. Looking for something to wear for a wedding." Tracy said and asked, "so what's the school like?"

"What can I say, boring!" Mark said casually but catching himself trying to act suddenly macho and that made him laugh.

"What's so funny?" Tracy asked.

"This... I mean me and you... I mean us talking like this with me wearing these things... Just struck me as funny is all." Mark said feeling almost relaxed suddenly.

"I like it!" Tracy said.

"The dress?" Mark asked.

"No, you in the dress." Tracy said and added, "kind of cool in a way. Not sure exactly why but I think it's kind of cool."

"Kind of sissy!" Mark said suddenly blushing again.

"Definitely, but in this case not a bad thing." Tracy said.

"Not a bad thing?" Mark asked and added, "why?"

"Don't ask me, just is. Sort of like you crossing over to the other side for a bit. Kind of nice knowing a guy that can do that. Hate it when guys get all macho and stuff. I don't really know why except it's... It's just cool is all." Tracy said.

"Hello!" Carol said moving back over from the rack of hair bows she was looking at.

"Hi mom, this is Tracy. Tracy, this is my mom, Carol. Tracy just moved here. She's going to my school." Mark said nervously and added, "she thinks I'm weird!"

"I do not! I think you're cute in that!" Tracy said extending her hand to Mark's mother's as she added, "Hi! He's fibbing! He is cute in that and I told him so."

"Nice to meet you Tracy. Yes, he is. We're hoping that a wig will make him even cuter." Carol said.

"Can't miss! Oh, oh, that's my mom waving. Got to go. So, will I see you in school?" Tracy asked.

"Sure!" Mark said smiling at the prospects.

"Now isn't that just what I told you!" Mark's mother said slightly amazed at the interaction she'd just witnessed. How casual Mark was suddenly and, remarkable, how accepting that girl was of her son. She liked Tracy she decided.

"I guess you're right mom. Weird! She told me the dress was pretty then just started talking like it was an every day kind of thing.

"She said the wig would make me look less sissy if you can imagine that?" Mark said.

"It will, I'm sure of it. It would be more of a costume then." Mark's mother said.

"I guess you're right about that." Mark said watching Tracy walk off.

"Here we go!" Helen said walking back with a blond wig that made mark's chest flutter a little. It was curled in large soft flowing curls from top to bottom and long as she added, "this one is really just too cute."

"It really is!" Mark's mother said feeling slightly faint over the wig she was looking at. It was such a little girl style between the color and those curls.

"Here, they go on easily enough." Helen said as she stepped in front of Mark while gathering the wig so she could slip it over his head.

"Be right back!" Carol said from behind Mark at the moment. Mark couldn't turn his head to see where his mother was going as the wig came on.

"How does that feel?" Helen said as she began twisting it slightly before tugging it front and back.

"A little snug I suppose." Mark said trying to gauge if that was a good thing or bad thing. It didn't feel all that tight on.

"Should be a little snug honey to stay in place." Helen said as she fussed with the curls and Mark's new bangs.

"Here, can we try this one?" Mark's mother asked from behind. Helen had stopped fussing with the wig.

"That would be the one I'd of picked for sure!" Helen said taking the bow from Carol.

"A bow?" Mark asked just as he saw it. It was huge. It was satin and chiffon and looked a little like it went with his dress. His dress he mused thinking of that dress as his. He should have considered that with long hair there might be a bow. It hadn't dawned on him till that second and too late now to make an issue of it.

"Definitely need a bow!" Helen said.

"I agree obviously!" Mark's mother noted.

If Mark was right, and he couldn't see the bow in place yet, but if he was right it would be sticking out from either side given how big it was. He felt the weight of it tug at his wig, but it was his mother's face that said it all in those few seconds.

"Oh my God!" His mother said as she brought her hands to her mouth before adding: "I can't believe it!"

"What?" Mark asked knowing at least that the wig had more than likely changed his appearance slightly.

"Amazing isn't it?" Helen said moving to Carol's side.

"What?" Mark asked impatiently.

"Mirror!" His mother said pointing to the mirrors where they had first gotten his dress. Mark walked with his mother those few steps till he stood in front of the mirror.

"Can't be me?" Mark said looking at the little girl looking back.

"It isn't honey! It's your twin sister!" Mark's mother noted again with her hands at her mouth as she added, "and no camera! Damn!"

"We've got one! A digital that takes disks instead of a memory card. We use it when we are doing our ads." Helen said.

"Could you oh please, could you?" Mark's mother pleaded.

"Wait right here!" Helen said as she turned and walked off in a hurry.

"Too weird!" Mark said but not taking his eyes off the image he was seeing.

"You are absolutely adorable honey! I mean it." His mother said fussing with a curl.

"Not suppose to be!" Mark said.

"Oh now stop and tell me that you can't at least admire that image for just a second without your ego getting in the way of this. Honey, you are so cute!" Mark's mother noted.

"I guess so." Mark said blushing.

"You are!" Mark's mother said bending down and taking his cheeks in her hand.

"So at least we know what I'd look like as a girl now." Mark said trying to find a way to say what he was thinking. He couldn't believe how he looked. He couldn't help it but he felt so oddly wonderful looking at himself and not seeing any of the boy at the moment.

"Here we go! Mark, why don't you stand by yourself for a couple then with your mom." Helen said coming over with a large digital camera.

Mark turned at Helen's voice and smiled. Carol moved off to the side as Helen brought the camera up. The flash went off and another a second later.

"Now one with mom!" Helen said.

Carol moved closer putting her arm around Mark as Helen brought the camera up. Another flash and then another again after that.

"Mark, take hold of your skirt between your forefingers and thumbs." Helen said.

"What?" Mark asked not sure what Helen meant.

"Forefinger and thumb. Like this?" Helen said making an 'O' with her fingers.

"Like a girl?" Mark asked sounding shocked a little. He didn't exactly want to do that.

"Please?" His mother asked.

Mark took up the skirt a little in that dainty sort of way and again smiled when Helen said so. Another flash and a second flash a moment later.

"OK?" Mark said getting uncomfortable with standing there as a girl might. He wasn't sure where Steve and Ralph were but a boy posing like that worried him a little.

"Good enough. Thank you!" Mark's mother said.

"Then I guess we're done!" Helen said as she clicked the small disk out to hand it to Carol as she added, "they are JPG files. If you've got any sort of package that reads those you can see them easily enough. Good resolution and if you don't have a graphics package just use your Internet browser."

"Helen, you are such a treasure. Thank you so much!" Carol noted as she took the disk from her.

"Come on and I'll write up the tag and let Mark here change." Helen said.

Mark wasn't sure why, but the thought of changing made him suddenly sad. So did his mother for that matter. Mark's eyes met his mothers and her eyes made him blush a little.

"About that?" Mark's mother said as they made their way towards the sales desk at the back.

"About what?" Mark asked.

"Changing?" Mark's mother said pausing.

"Changing what?" Mark asked not sure what the context was for that word.

"OK, so I'm crazy for asking this and no is going to be just fine with me, but... I mean.... damn this is awkward. OK, I'm going to try this again. So what do you think about not changing till we get home?" Mark's mother asked.

"What?" Mark said trying to sound shocked but not sure it came out that way. He was almost sure it made him sound too excited and a large part of him was.

"You know, just for the trip home. No stopping, no side trips... just straight home. We can pull straight into the garage." His mother noted almost speaking too fast, obviously nervous.

"Why?" Mark asked.

"So I can enjoy this a little bit longer. Sounds nuts I know, but besides today and then Saturday it's the last time I'll see you like this. Just too short a time is all." His mother said in frustration and than added, "stupid idea isn't it?"

"Ye... Yes. I mean... I... I'm not sure? I mean it's not stupid I guess but if I say yes what does that say of me?" Mark noted as he imagined the trip outside and then the drive home. He thought of them driving down Third, then on to Baker Road before the freeway and finally his neighborhood. The risk along the way, the risk near home and then at home.

"It says that you understand what I just asked of you and why I hope it's a yes, but like I said, your no is going to be OK." Mark's mother noted with a soft smile. There was hope in her eyes but also in Mark's as she watched for a sign either way.

"We'd pull into the garage right?" Mark asked.

"You'd never have to get out of the car till then." Mark's mother promised.

"Then what?" Mark asked.

"Then dinner, some television and bed?" Mark's mother noted with a smile now slightly wider as a hint of a yes caught her off guard.

"But still dressed?" Mark asked.

"Right up to bed time if I can manage it." Mark's mother noted.

"I guess so." Mark said trying to keep any hint of excitement out of his voice. It was the wig he thought. The image of the bow came back as the weight of it still tugged at his hair. His hair, he thought as the soft curls tickled his ear, his neck and occasionally his cheek. His bangs, the panties, the dress and slip. He thought of it all.

"Thank you!" His mother said giving him a light hug as they reached the counter.

"It's all covered and the only thing you'll have to do is return the wig on say.... say Monday or Tuesday. OK?" Helen said as she started writing down the tags on the card she now sat in front of her.

"That's really very kind of you, Helen." Carol said.

"Then that's it. I'll get a dress bag for the slip and dress." Helen said.

"He's going to wear these things home." Carol said happily.

"Well now that's wonderful. How about I get the bags and then we put your clothes in another then?" Helen said looking at Mark then at his mother.

"That would be perfect." Carol noted.

"And a purse?" Helen asked.

"Purse. Now that might be a good idea. Is that covered?" Carol asked.

"It can be... sure, why not! Yes, that's covered. Mark honey, why don't you go find something suitable for that dress while I finish this order with your mom?" Helen said.

Mark wasn't expecting to leave his mother's side, but nodded as he looked in the direction for those purses. It was towards the front of the store and his panic rose a little that he'd have to cover that distance alone.

He turned and walked off hoping no one would notice. A few did including those two girls and their moms who were near the jewelry and that girl Tracy, now standing in front of those mirrors in a lavender floor length dress. She waved. Mark waved back briefly and blushed.

Mark looked for Ralph but didn't see him although he did see Steve. There was no recognition in Steve's face when their eyes connected. In fact, Steve broke contact almost instantly and it made Mark wonder if Steve thought he was just another girl suddenly. Why that thought pleased Mark made him giddy a little but it did.

Steve's eyes were puffy and red from crying and it looked recent as his mother stood behind him. Steve was wearing a white lace little girl's dress over tights without shoes. He was standing near Tracy when she had waved.

It really wasn't that bad, Mark thought to himself as he neared the purses. Not worth crying over, Mark decided as he smiled. Definitely not worth crying over as he picked up a little black patent leather purse. The clasp had Cinderella in enamel on it. "This one!" Mark mused out loud before suddenly realizing he'd just done that.

"Got one, I see?" Mark's mother said looking at his choice. He'd picked black patent to match his shoes. Why that delighted her was something she'd have to think on but what a difference in him since that trip here. The thought of him as a girl was odd but less so when she imagined it in this way, this pretend sort of way. He could be his twin sister she mused as Helen took the tag from the purse to add to the list.