Having bought us two of everything,
Mum placed one on my bed and one on Peter’s.
“Now, would you like socks or tights?”
“Socks,” he replied.
“They’re in the second drawer down,” Mum said.
We opened the drawer to find a host of socks and tights.
We complained that they were all girl’s socks.
Mum asked us what we expected.
We pulled on a pair of horrible white knee socks with flowery pasterns running up them,
then mum told us to put on a vest from our knicker drawer.
“And make sure it matches your knickers.” Mum insisted.
We stepped in to our dresses.
Mum turned Peter around and began fastening the buttons that ran all the way up the back.
Then she stopped.
“Why I’m doing this when your brother could be helping you I have no idea,” she said.