ROSE PETALS
There were two bridal shops in town. One was a lot more expensive than the other and had a much larger selection of gowns for the bride, the bridesmaids, and for the flower girl. Auntie had taken Maryanne’s measurements and phoned them in to the shop. Now she went with Auntie to see if the flower girl gown fit or needed any alterations.
The shop was located in the “better part of town”, as Auntie would say. After she had parked her Continental near the entrance, they both shook their skirts and petticoats to fluff them up. Auntie took Maryanne’s hand and the two of them walked in the entrance of the shop. Maryanne’s eyes widened as she saw so many different types of gowns and petticoats on display! Most of the petticoats were much longer than the ones she was used to wearing. And everything was so pretty!
Auntie looked down at her and smiled at her wide-eyed expression. Soon a pretty lady came over to them and asked if she could help them.
“We’re here to see about the flower girl gown for the Pendergast’s wedding”, Auntie said.
“Oh, yes,” said the woman. Follow me, please.” She led them over to a couch where Auntie could sit to view Maryanne’s gown after she had changed and came out onto a raised circular modeling stage. “Please wait here a moment while I let the owner know you’re here.”
After a minute or so, another pretty but somewhat older lady came over to them and introduced herself to them. “I’m Mrs. Graham. Are you the pretty little girl that’s going to be the flower girl at the Pendergast’s wedding?”
“Yes,” answered Maryanne, “and this is my Aunt Corinne Beliveau.”
“Well, Mrs. Pendergast’s has already picked out the gown,” said Mrs. Graham, “and I’m sure it’ll look just darling on such a pretty girl like you. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll get one of the girls to help you try it on in a dressing room and then you can come out onto the modeling stage so your Auntie can see it.”
“Yes, Mrs. Graham,” said Maryanne, and she took Mrs. Graham’s hand and was led off to the dressing rooms. She looked back at Auntie. She was still sitting on the couch and was smiling at her. Gosh, I’m glad Auntie turned me into a girl, she thought.
Inside the dressing room, Maryanne took off her dress and bouffant slip. Then the lady that was with her helped her to put on the long poufy white petticoat she would wear. Next came the pretty gown. The lady slipped it over Maryanne’s head and it settled down over her petticoat. Maryanne thought they were the prettiest things she had ever worn! The petticoat was made out of shiny white taffeta with a netting of tulle under it, and then a soft cotton underskirt so her legs wouldn’t feel scratchy. It had three overlapping layers of scalloped lace at the hem of it. The gown was white and it had a lot of lace on it. All down the skirt were pink flower patterns. Both the petticoat and the gown came all the way down to about an inch or two above the floor. It zipped up her back and was tight, but not too much. A pink sash went around her waist with a big pretty bow in back. Then the lady knelt down and put some white stockings on her that came up to her knees with an elastic top and some shiny white flats on her feet.
“Now, honey,” said the lady, “come over here and see how pretty you look.” She took Maryanne’s hand and led her to a full-length mirror. The dress made a lovely swishing noise as she walked over to the mirror. When she saw herself, her heart skipped a beat! She never knew she could look so pretty! A flowered band went over the top of her head instead of a hat.
Then the two of them went out to the modeling stage. The lady reminded her to lift the front of her gown and petticoat up a little as she stepped up onto the platform to let Auntie see her.
Auntie looked up at her, tears beginning to fill her eyes. “Oh… …sweetheart,” she said, “you look so darling…even prettier than when you wore your special dress to the bridge party. You’re the closest thing to an angel I’ve ever seen.”
Maryanne looked down at the skirt of the gown, twisting back and forth a little so her gown swished around a bit. “Auntie, isn’t it beautiful?” she asked, a big smile on her face.
“Oh, yes, Maryanne,” said Auntie. “And we’ll fix your hair nice, too.” By now, Auntie had left her seat on the couch and was standing close to the modeling stage. She couldn’t take her eyes off her little niece. But she thought of how her sister would be coming home soon from New York, and that Maryanne would be going back to live with her. The prospect of losing Maryanne tugged at her heart. Perhaps she had made her too pretty!
After Maryanne was back in her dress and they left the bridal shop, Auntie started the car to drive back home. She looked over at Maryanne with a loving smile, but her thoughts were very troubled. As soon as her sister came home, she was going to lose Maryanne. The idea of living alone again made her heart feel like lead. But it was more than being alone. She wouldn’t have Maryanne anymore; a sweet little girl that she had come to love. She wondered if Marie would put Maryanne back in jeans and tee shirts; turn Maryanne back into Timmy again. It would be such a tragic waste, especially since Maryanne had become so happy being a girl. She tried to put the thoughts out of her head for now, but all evening long her mind kept drifting back to them.
She also realized something else…something about herself. The loneliness of not having Maryanne about her would leave her with nothing to do but go back to the shallow empty life of the country club, the soirees and cocktail lounges she really didn’t care about any longer. She had never realized before just how big a part of her life Maryanne had become. And the idea of losing her now was almost unbearable.
There was one other thought that came to her, a question that she had never really considered before. Had she been wrong to make her nephew become her niece? Had she done it for no other reason than her preference for girls over boys? She mulled it over in her mind for about a half a minute. Nonsense! Women and girls were definitely better than men and boys. She believed it implicitly. Having her nephew become her niece was the best thing she could have ever done for him. And now he was happy as her niece. The question vanished from her mind. She had done the right thing. And that was that!
Two days later Corinne and Maryanne went to the church for the wedding rehearsal. It wasn’t a dress rehearsal, but Corinne had put Maryanne in a pretty dress, and the bride and bridesmaids met her for the first time. They all made a ‘big-to-do’ over her, telling her how pretty she was, with some of them giving her a hug and kissing her cheek. Maryanne smiled and giggled, her eyes twinkling at the attention of such pretty women.
On the wedding day Auntie woke her extra early so she could take a bubble bath before they left to go to Mrs. Pendergast’s estate. Mrs. Graham had brought all the gowns to the estate, and she would stay there to help everything go smoothly. Once there, they would all change into their gowns and then go to the church in limousines.
Before Maryanne took her bubble bath, she and Auntie sat at the kitchen table, Auntie having a cup of coffee and Maryanne some orange juice and toast. Naturally, the closer the time for the wedding came, the more excited Maryanne seemed to get. But there was one thing that spoiled the day a little: they hadn’t heard from Mommy for the past two days, and Maryanne had hoped she would be there. But Auntie said that maybe she would be there if she had been able to catch a train on time. That might be the reason why she hadn’t called last night. Maryanne really wanted Mommy to see what a pretty girl she was now.
“Don’t give up hope, Maryanne,” Auntie said. “Mommy might have been too busy catching a train to be able to call you.”
“I hope so Auntie,” replied Maryanne. “I wish I had known that she wanted me to be a girl so much before she left.”
“But sweetheart,” said Corinne, “you didn’t want to be a girl then. Did you? Mommy told me that she had asked you a couple of times if you’d like to be a little girl, and you always said no.”
“Yes,” she replied a little sadly. “But that was before I found out how much fun and how nice it is to be a girl. You were right, Auntie. Being a girl is a lot better than being a boy. Now I wish Mommy had made me become a girl like you did. I didn’t know how much she wanted me to be a girl, or how nice it would be. Do you think she’ll let me stay a girl, Auntie?”
“Oh, I think so Maryanne,” said Auntie, “especially when she sees how pretty and happy you are now…,” then added, “…at least for a few years, sweetheart.”
“What do you mean, Auntie?” she asked. “Why can’t I stay a girl forever? I don’t want to become a boy again. I like being a girl and that’s the way I want to stay.”
“I know honey,” said Corinne. “But in a few years your body is going to start changing, and you’ll begin getting some of the features of a boy changing into a man. But maybe a doctor could help you to stay a girl. That’s up to Mommy, dear. She’ll be the one to decide. But I know she’ll want to do whatever makes you both happiest.”
“Auntie, I don’t think I’ll ever be as happy as I am now if I have to be a boy again,” said Maryanne.
“And Mommy will understand that too, Maryanne,” replied Corinne. “So she’ll probably do whatever is necessary to have you stay as a girl. Don’t worry about it now, dear. Both Mommy and Auntie want whatever is going to make you happy. We both love you so much, Maryanne.”
“I love you and Mommy, too,” said Maryanne. “It’s funny though. When I first came to stay with you, I thought you were mean to be turning me into a girl. But now I’m happy that you did.”
“Well,” said Corinne, “Mommy is going to be very happy when she actually sees what a pretty girl she has now. I bet she’ll be hugging and kissing you all day long when she gets here.”
Maryanne giggled and said, “I like it when ladies and big girls do that to me, Auntie. All the bridesmaids were doing it to me at the rehearsal.”
Corinne grinned at her and then reached across the table and held her hand. “That’s because you’re such a cute girl, Maryanne. And I hope you always will be, darling.”
Maryanne let go of Auntie’s hand, got up and walked over to her, and began hugging her.
“I’m glad I’m a girl, Auntie,” she said. “I’m real happy now.”
Corinne hugged her and said, “So am I honey. But don’t say ‘real happy’. Say ‘really happy’.”
“Oh Auntie!” said Maryanne with a giggle. “You’re always telling me what to do.” Then she hugged Auntie again. “And I love it when you do that.”
After Maryanne took her bubble bath, Auntie helped her to get dressed. When they finished Maryanne was wearing a pretty yellow dress with a little white collar with rounded corners at her throat, ‘a secretary collar’ Auntie called it. It had white trim on the short puffed sleeves, and she was wearing one of her prettiest white petticoats under it. Her panties were pink and had white lace around the leg openings. She wore her white shoes with the strap on them, but Auntie told her she might be changing them into white flats at Mrs. Pendergast’s home and she changed into the flower girl gown.
Auntie fixed her makeup, putting some mascara on her lashes, and just a little color to her cheeks along with some pink lipstick. She tied her hair up into a bun at the back of her head and circled the base of it with a narrow gold band that had rhinestones on it. But she kept the bangs on her forehead.
“Wait here, dear,” said Corinne. “I have something else for you to wear.” She left the bedroom and after a couple of minutes came back in with a little black cube of a box and another box that was longer and flatter. A week earlier, Auntie had pierced her earlobes, and given her some tiny gold studs to wear. When Maryanne opened the little box there was a pair of little diamond studs for her ears.
“”Oh, Auntie!” she exclaimed. “They’re so pretty!”
Corinne opened the other box and inside was a necklace made up of little diamonds. Maryanne’s eyes lit up when she saw it. “Oh, Auntie!” she said again, and reached inside to pick it up.
“Here, honey. Let me put it on you,” said Corinne. She fastened the clasp behind Maryanne’s neck. “Now see how nice it looks on you, dear.”
Maryanne turned around and looked in the mirror behind her dressing table, turning her head to the left and right so she could see her ear studs, too.
While Maryanne had been taking her bubble bath, Corinne had dressed up for the wedding. Instead of a sheath dress, she was wearing a pretty shiny dark gold dress that had white flowers with green leaves on it. Black petticoats under it made it very poufy. Maryanne noticed them now.
“Auntie!” she said. “You’re wearing naughty petticoats.”
Corinne smiled at her and said, “Well, you never know. Auntie might see some handsome gentleman there that she likes.”
“I still don’t understand why black petticoats and red ones are naughty,” said Maryanne. “Red seems like a happy color to me. But black isn’t any color at all. But they do look nice on you, Auntie. And your dress is very pretty. What do they call the way you have your hair, Auntie?”
“A French Twist, honey. Do you like it?”
“Yes, Auntie. It makes you look like one of the rich ladies in magazine pictures.”
Corinne began laughing and covered her mouth with her fingers. She shook her head. “Sweetheart, you don’t miss a trick.”
“What do you mean?” asked Maryanne.
“Never mind, dear,” she said, still laughing a little. “Now let’s go over to Mrs. Pendergast’s home and get you into your gown for the wedding.”
The Pendergast’s house was a beehive of activity when they arrived. People seemed to be everywhere and were going in and out of rooms all the time. Mrs. Pendergast was happy to see them arrive a little early and asked Corinne if she’d like some coffee. She told Maryanne she could have some fruit juice if she wanted it. But Auntie said they had already had a little breakfast.
“And how is the prettiest little girl I know today?” she asked, bending down to Maryanne with a nice smile.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Pendergast, “and excited, too.”
“Well then,” said Mrs. Pendergast, “let’s get you dressed for the wedding. Come with me upstairs please.” They followed her up a wide curving staircase and down a hallway to a bedroom where her petticoat and gown were laid out on the bed.
Mrs. Pendergast picked up a phone and punched a button on the set. It would ring down in the kitchen where Mrs. Graham was having coffee. On the second ring someone answered it and she said to tell Mrs. Graham that they were upstairs getting Maryanne dressed.
“Why don’t you begin to take off your dress and slip, dear,” said Mrs. Pendergast’s. “She’ll be up here to help get you into your gown in a minute. And I have some other things to do, so I’ll see you a little later.”
Auntie began to unbutton the back of Maryanne’s dress. Soon the door opened and Mrs. Graham came in. By then Maryanne was in the pretty petticoat. “Ready for the ‘big day’ sweetheart?” asked Mrs. Graham. She checked the fit of the petticoat.
After a half hour of dressing, putting the flower band on her head, and primping her hair, both Mrs. Graham and Auntie agreed they couldn’t make her any prettier than she already was. She was all set for the wedding.
Maryanne looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She loved the way she looked and smiled at herself. Auntie stood behind her and smiled, too. Then she bent down and whispered into her ear, “Isn’t it a lot more fun being a pretty girl than a boy, sweetheart?”
Maryanne turned around and hugged Auntie. “Oh, yes. It’s a lot more fun than I ever thought it would be, Auntie.”
They went downstairs to the front parlor where the bridesmaids were all checking themselves in mirrors and talking excitedly among themselves. Everyone looked so pretty! For a while Auntie and Maryanne sat down on a love seat to wait for the limousines that would take them to the church. But every now and then a bridesmaid would come over and tell Maryanne how pretty she was and bend down to give her a hug and kiss her cheek.
In the meantime, Auntie kept reminding her of what she was supposed to do at the wedding. But they had gone over it very well at the rehearsal, and Maryanne knew by heart what to do.
“You didn’t have much to eat this morning, dear,” said Auntie. “Does your tummy feel alright?”
“Yes, Auntie,” she replied. “I feel wonderful!”
Actually, it was Corinne that felt a little nervous. She wanted so much for everything to go right. It would be such a wonderful time for Maryanne, and would be a lovely memory for her darling little niece.
Then she thought of Marie coming back home, and she hoped so much that she would continue to keep Maryanne as she was now, and not turn her back into a boy. It would probably crush Maryanne to have to become a boy again now that she was so happy as a girl. But then she thought of how her sister had wanted to dress her little boy like a girl herself. So at least for a while, she was pretty sure Maryanne would remain Maryanne.
But again she had heart pangs about Maryanne leaving her to return to her mother’s house. How could she ever be happy without Maryanne? But for now she decided to face that question when it came. Today was Maryanne’s day, and she didn’t want to appear gloomy and spoil it for her. She loved her little niece so much! She almost felt that Maryanne was more her little girl than her mother’s.
Soon her thoughts were interrupted by the announcement that the limousines had arrived to take them all to the church. At the last minute the bride appeared. Maryanne thought she looked like something out of a fairy tale book. She carried the long train of her gown doubled up in the crook of her arm so it wouldn’t get dirty or caught on anything. Her big pretty gown reached the floor, and she had to keep the front of it lifted up a little so she wouldn’t trip on it. At the church she would be slowly marching down the aisle with small ‘hesitation steps’, so she wouldn’t trip on it then.
At the same time, Auntie pointed out to Maryanne how the bride kept the front of her gown up a little, and reminded her that she would have to do the same when walking, except when she slowly walked with small steps down the aisle herself.
“I know, Auntie,” she said. “Don’t worry. I won’t embarrass you.” She remembered Auntie threatening her if she embarrassed her when they went to visit Mrs. Cabot. That seemed like a long time ago, when she still wasn’t sure she liked being a girl. Now she wondered how she could have ever felt that way!
Soon they all left to get into the limousines and began the drive to the church, which was only a couple of miles away. Auntie didn’t go in the same car as her. She drove her Continental to the church. But some of the bridesmaids were in the limousine with her, and they all chatted away during the ride.
