A Sissy’s Neighborly Nightmares
Finally came the time of reckoning.
We were all dressed and ready to go shopping in the town.
I was being taken to the town dressed fully as a girl.
As myself, cousin Karen and Nanny Mitchel walked out the door and along the pathway to the morning air I felt a feeling of in trepidation.
Was this really happening?
Was I really a sissy girl in a mint green dress with ruffles and bows, with white ankle socks, and a pair of cousin Karens shoes I had actually managed to fit into.
Was this really me?
Or was it someone else?
Would this now be forever?
Once again, being a fairly deep thinker most of the time, these questions run around in my head.
Once again the main thought that was to cause me much anxiety during the day was
“What if I saw someone I knew?”
It did not take long for this to happen.
As we walked up the road to the bus stop, Nanny Mitchel spotted her neighbor Sandra.
Sandra was some years younger than Nanny Mitchel, however, despite the age difference they still appeared to have much in common and lots to talk about.
I never earwigged or listened much to these chats as they seem to go on forever.
However, on this particular day, I kept my head down and tried to hide myself behind cousin Karen who was standing upright looking prim and proper, and proud in her own mint green dress.
It appeared that Karen’s dress was not only similar to mine, more to the point it was identical.
A brief thought had come over me in the hallway as to whether Nanny Mitchel had tailor-made both mine and cousin Karen’s dress.
However, this thought was overshadowed by the forthcoming journey itself.
Now standing behind cousin Karen, doing my best to hide from Nanny Mitchel and neighbor Sandra’s chit-chat, I noticed that myself and Karen were definitely wearing the same dresses.
As envisaged the conversation Nanny Mitchel and Neighbour Sandra were having dragged on forever and a day.
However, unlike with my own mother, who I would try to pull away in similar circumstances, I would dare not do so whilst under the charge of Nanny Mitchel.
Before we went shopping I had already been warned in no uncertain terms what would happen if there was any playing up whilst we were out.
This would involve a slipper, a trip over the knee and not being able to sit down for the rest of the day.
Cousin Karen had also been told in no uncertain terms that this applied to her as well.
As feared Nanny Mitchel and Neighbour Sandra’s chit-chat turned to myself and cousin Karen.
Neighbour Sandra had so far not recognized me, which was a relief in itself.
“Has Karen bought a friend round to stay for the weekend, Dorothy? Asked Neighbour Sandra.
“They look like twins”, she further remarked, whilst I cringed with embarrassment with my face turning several shades of red.
“No Sandra”, Nanny Mitchel’s quick reply came as if she had already rehearsed it in advance.
“That is Peter, or Patricia as she is now known”.
There was a moment’s silence between the two of them whilst Neighbour Sandra looked me up and down with enquiring eyes.
Nanny Mitchel was well known in her road as being a little on the eccentric side, however even this was a little unexpected.
The silence was eventually broken by neighbor Sandra.
“He or she does look very dainty in the little green dress,” she said furthering my embarrassing situation.
“Did you make it yourself Dorothy ? she added.
“Yes Sandra, I made matching dresses for the pair of them.”
This confirmed what I had briefly thought earlier about cousin Karen’s dress being the same as mine.
There have been a few problems since Don died”. Nanny Mitchel continued.
Don being my deceased father and Nanny Mitchels son.
“I have had to take Peter under my wing as his mother can no longer cope with him and is getting remarried”.
Sandra listened to Nanny Mitchel intently, as I also did along with my cousin Karen.
“Between you and me I really do not like this new man who she is re-marrying.”
“He is arrogant beyond belief.”
“However, as we all do, they have to make their own way in life.”
Neighbour Sandra being somewhat younger and more modern could understand some of what Nanny Mitchel was saying.
However, she failed to understand why Nanny Mitchel was parading me around in a dress as if I were cousin Karens twin.
Unlike some of the older neighbors, Nanny Mitchel’s neighbor Sandra was not as much of a busy body as some of the others.
Bearing this in mind she did not ask further questions as to why I was dressed in this manner.
It was, however fairly obvious Sandra found the situation somewhat strange
Because of this, the happy chit-chat between the neighbors soon ended.
A baffled Sandra made her excuses and soon myself, my cousin Karen and Nanny Mitchel were on our way to the bus stop.
If the chatting between Nanny Mitchel and Neighbour Sandra had left me embarrassed, there was far far worse to come when the three of us arrived at the bus stop.
At the bus stop, Nanny Mitchel’s long-term friend Shirley, who lived a few streets away was sitting there not only waiting for a bus, but waiting for the same bus as us three.
Shirley was in the same age group as Nanny Mitchel and thus shared the same old traditional principles.
These principals included such things as,
Respect for your elders,
The young should be seen and not heard,
Elbows off the table,
I am as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth,
and many many more.
Shirley was somewhat of the village gossip.
At times even Nanny Mitchel found it hard to get a word in edgeways when they both chatted.
For certain Shirley was the last person I would have wanted to of bumped into, bearing in mind my current situation.
Once again the chatting pursued between this old couple, whilst I once again tried to hide myself behind cousin Karen’s dress.
Cousin Karen had noticed this and had decided that it would be rather good fun if she moved away so that I would be in full view to the world.
As Karen moved away I quickly moved back behind her to hide myself.
It was if it was a silly little game.
“Will you two stop fidgetting” came Nanny Mitchel’s harsh warning tones.
With this both my cousin, Karen, and myself stood still.
This had however bought us both to the attention of Shirley, something I was so hoping to avoid.
Shirley asked much the same questions as Neighbour Sandra had earlier.
This included asking as to whether Cousin Karen had bought a friend around for the weekend, followed by commenting that we both looked like twins.
This time around Nanny Mitchel was a little more forward in her explanation to her friend than she had been with neighbor Sandra.
As Shirley attempted to extract as much information as possible, Nanny Mitchel gave it out freely as if Shirley was her adviser in all matters.
All the while it was as if myself and Karen were porcelain doll accessories and not really there
Nanny Mitchel explained the situation to Shirley and how I had been somewhat of a problem to my mother in recent times.
She also explain how I was not growing up like normal boys as I did not appear to do the things normal boys did.
Shirley seemed to be cutting in with remarks as if she was some kind of expert in sissyfication.
Remarks such as,
“I always did say that I thought Peter was somewhat different”.
Nanny Mitchel eventually explained that it was likely that she would now be adopting me and things would be changing drastically.
She explained that from now on I was to be her other Grandaughter and I would be known as Patricia.
“How lovely,” came Shirly’s response.
“You never really did like boys.”
I was now starting to pay more attention to the conversation taking place.
Shirley explained to Nanny Mitchel how she had petticoated both her sons when they were younger and how their behavior had so much improved as a result.
This was new information to Nanny Mitchel, as it was something Shirley had never let on before.
Shirley went on to explain that she had kept this all to herself for many years as she had been very concerned as to what the neighborhood would say.
Nanny Mitchel had always wondered why her friend Shirley’s sons were so well behaved and obedient, after all, Shirley had very rarely resorted to using smacking.
Petticoating was also something that appeared new to Nanny Mitchel’s vocabulary.
She had never really heard of the term, however, she was now well read up on the word sissification.
Shirley went on to explain that Petticoating was much the same as sissyfication, though possibly a milder version.
She explained that whenever her sons, Simon and George were naughty, she would make them wear the frilliest of petticoats for a few days and call them Simone and Georgina.
This in turn would ensure their best behavior at all times.
I knew very little about Shirley’s sons who were now grown men.
They both appeared to be somewhat of an enigma.
On the rare occasions, I had seen them they both appeared to be men’s men.
By this I mean they were both manly in their attributes.
“Well I never, who would of thought it,” quipped Nanny Mitchel to her friend in a jolly tone.
Whilst this conversation took place, images of Shirley’s sons wearing petticoats filled my mind.
“Dorothy, You must come around sometime for afternoon tea.”
“I still have a wardrobe full of dresses that would fit Patricia perfectly.
I got the impression during this conversation that the petticoating that Shirley had used on her sons was a temporary measure.
In my case, however, it appeared that my recent sissyfication was going to be long-term.
At long last this conversation ceased as the bus appeared.
However, it appeared that Nanny Mitchel’s friend Shirley was going to be with us all day or at least for the duration of the town visit.