As he waited, he walked over the large armoire in the corner, where all the girls’ older dresses were kept. Opening the door, he began running his hand across them, in an idle manner, wondering which he would be forced to wear.
“They really are so pretty,” he thought. He remembered this one he had worn once…and this one…and this one – they all seemed to hold a memory. Most unpleasant from the humiliation, but some were not so bad.
Here…this green frock…what a day that was!
He remembered it well; it was a rather windy, but warm, day this past early spring. His older brother Harold, feeling sorry for him, and wanting to console him, took him up the hill to the south field for a little picnic. It was there, for the first time, that Patty got a sense of how a girl must feel in a similar situation – he was surprised that he rather liked it. It seemed incongruous to him that Harold call him ‘Patrick’ with he in a pretty dress with ribbons in his hair, so he insisted he called him Patty. His brother did, awkwardly at first, but after awhile, Harold seemed to begin behaving toward Patty the way he acted toward all girls – gentlemanly. It was strange feeling, especially since Patty was only twelve. He even helped him with his skirts when the winds began to blow them, holding them down. Harold even had difficulty picking a subject for conversation – something he never had before. Patty surmised that his garb presented itself to Harold as female, making it difficult for him to relate to him as a boy – a boy in petticoats. The illusion was furthered by the fact that his hair was even longer than a boy’s – after his first week in frocks, Gram never allowed his hair to be cut.
Once, that first time, Patty had begged Harold to loosen his stays for a short while, which he did while they hid in a closet. Of course, his frock had to remain open until Harold retightened it. But this time his brother demurred, saying something vague about having hurt his hand, and therefore, he could not retighten him. After that day, he never related again to him the same – things were just different, and Harold was always gentle toward Patty, even when Patty was not in dresses.