Finally a bus came and Victor held his pink dress nervously against any gusts the double-decker might generate. He let the old lady go first. âSuch a polite girl!â she complimented him. He went to go upstairs as he usually would but then he saw a man sitting opposite the stairwell and remembered that he often sat there in the hope of looking up girlsâ skirts as they climbed the stairs.
He reconsidered now that the boot was on the other foot, as it were, and stayed downstairs sitting behind that man, gathering his skirt carefully as he sat into the seat. Sure enough, every time a lady went up the stairs wearing a skirt or dress the manâs eyes followed them up all the way.
Two teenage girls got on at the next stop. They passed by Victor and sat at the back. He definitely caught their attention in his pink dress and ribbons as they passed him and he heard them giggling behind him. He desperately hoped that they didnât realize that he was really a boy. He was unsure how convincing he looked.
The bus dropped him a couple of streets away from his auntâs house. He walked along clutching his purse nervously. He had rarely visited his aunt because her children were a good bit older than him and they had little in common. She was going to be the first one to see him who knew that he was a boy.
As he came along her road he saw her standing at her front doorstep. She was talking to a neighbour. He hesitated, not wanting to be seen by the neighbour but his aunt saw him and waved excitedly âhello!â He cringed. She had given him no choice now but to continue along and be seen in his pink dress and white tights by the neighbour.
As he walked up the garden path, he saw the neighbour look him up and down from his pink ribbons to his t-bar shoes and she smirked. âThis is my niece Victoriaâ, his aunt introduced him. He twitched at the use of the female version of his name.
âHello Victoria. What a pretty dress!â Victor was fairly sure she was being sarcastic but had to smile and say âThank youâ. âVictoria has come to stay with me for a little while, havenât you?â Victorâs immediate concern was how long âa whileâ might be but he smiled again and nodded.
âCooee!â Another neighbour called and she came over to speak to them. Victor cringed in his pink dress as he had to endure more compliments. âSo lovely to meet a girl who loves pretty dressesâ, this new neighbour observered. Victor squirmed in his tights.
Eventually they got inside. Almost immediately Victor asked âcan I get out of these clothes? Please!â âWhat? No! The neighbours have all seen you as Victoria so thatâs the way you will have to stay as long as you are here.â Victor winced. âBut I donât need to be dressed like this in the privacy of the house!â
The doorbell rang. âMy friends drop in all the timeâ, his aunt whispered as she went to the door. âI heard your niece has come to visit!â the latest neighbour said. Victor tried to rustle up a smile in his pink dress and tights.
Once she was gone his aunt brought him up to his room. âThis was my Itaâs roomâ, she said opening the door. âItâs 15 years since she moved out but I havenât changed a thing.â Victor sighed. It was decorated in an old-fashioned girly way â lots of pinks and whites and lacey trimmings.
âDonât worryâ, his aunt told him. He looked up hopefully wondering what he didnât have to worry about. She opened the wardrobe. âWe have lots of pretty dresses and skirts for you to wear.â Victor froze on seeing the row of pastel coloured and flowery dresses and skirts hanging there. At the left end there was a collection of frilly blouses.
âI only kept the very prettiest of her clothesâ, she told him, sounding very pleased with herself. Brian scanned the wardrobe for anything like a pair of pants or shorts but there was nothing like that to be seen.
âAnd we still have all the accessories necessaryâ, his aunt told him happily as she opened the drawers of the chest beside the bed. The first contained a selection of tidily folded panties â all in pastel shades with lace trimmings and some with rows of frills. Beside them appeared to be rolled up stockings and tights.
Victorâs shoulders sagged. The next drawer had a row of bras and other underwear that he couldnât identify. The bottom drawer looked like cardigans with pretty floral patterns. Beside them appeared to be a selection of nighties.
A couple of the neighbours dropped in again over the evening and Victor had to accept that he had to continue his disguise indoors. His mother rang saying that the special school had phoned her about his disappearance. She claimed to know nothing about it but it was only a matter of time before the police contacted her or called to the house. Victor had to stay where he was for now.
âSorry thereâs no pajamas. I gave all of them away to charity shops but I couldnât part with these pretty nighties.â Brian cringed looking at the lemon chiffon nightie laid out on the bed with a matching pair of panties. It was clear that his aunt wasnât leaving the room until he was dressed for bed.
He tugged the hem of his nightie which only just cleared the lace trim of his panties. She made him go to the bathroom and brush his teeth. This required bending over the sink and he kept checking the mirror nervously knowing what it must look like from behind as his nightie rode up.
She made him get into bed under the flowery lace-trimmed duvet with matching pillow covers. He was resolved to taking the mortifying nightie and panties off once she was gone. She turned out the light but left the door open.
So Victor tossed and turned and squirmed in his chiffon nightie and lacey panties as his aunt pottered about, passing the door frequently so that he couldnât slip out of the bed and strip.