"A Fantasy" and all its parts are a work of fiction. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. It is a copyrighted work of Caitlin Rose. It may be archived at any web site that does not charge a fee for access, as long as author credit is given and the work is not abridged or changed. There is no sex in this story, but there is some crossdressing. If that offends you, read something else.

 

A Fantasy                  by: Caitlin Rose

 

Part 1

When I was a youngster of about 8, my mom decided that I should start being neater about my hair. She carefully brushed it before I left for school, using some sticky stuff she bought at the drug store.

She warned me that if I came home with my hair messy, she would punish me.

Well, I couldn’t keep my hands away from my hair. When the stuff she had applied to it dried, it was, stiff and crisp. It was kind of compelling to play with the crisp strands. By the time I got home from school, my hair was a mess.

My mom was angry. She told me that she would find an appropriate way to punish me. She made me shower and shampoo my hair. Then she combed and brushed my hair again, this time using even more sticky stuff. She showed me the bottle. It said "Hair Trainer For Unruly Hair."

Just before my bedtime, my mom came into my room with a pink hairnet. I had never seen a hairnet before, and asked her what it was. She told me that it was a net to wear while I slept, so I wouldn’t mess up my hair in my sleep. I knew it looked like a girl’s thing. It was pink and had tiny bows around the edge. I told her I wouldn’t wear it. She told me it was part of my punishment for messing up my hair earlier in the day. She told me that the punishment would be worse if I refused to wear the hairnet.

Finally, I let her put the net on my head and tie it in the back. I looked in the mirror. It looked very girly. Mom said "don’t take it off or you’ll be in real trouble."

I must have pulled the net off in my sleep, because in the morning I found it on my pillow. My hair had gotten pushed up on one side and dried that way. I tried to brush it down but the Hair Trainer had done its job. My hair would only stand up.

I went down to breakfast.

"Robert, is this your idea of a joke? How dare you come down here with hair like that? You went to sleep with it perfectly groomed, with a net covering it to keep it that way, and now you look like a clown."

"But mom, I don’t know...I didn’t touch it...It was like this when I woke up"

"Well I know spite-work when I see it, now you’ll have a punishment you’ll remember."

She let me finish breakfast, then took me to the kitchen sink. She wet my hair with the sprayer and wrapped a towel around it. Then she took me to her bedroom and got a jar of something that looked like pink jelly. She put a big gob of it on my hair and rubbed it in. It smelled sweet. She combed my hair. I saw her get some shiny metal clips out of a drawer and felt her put them into my hair. She had my back to the mirror, so I couldn’t see what she was doing. When she finished with the comb and the clips, she put the hairnet back on my head. Then she took her hairdryer and put that on my head too. She turned on the dryer and made me sit there for a long time.

The dryer got very hot and the sweet smell from my head got stronger.

Finally she turned off the dryer and took it off. She took off the net too. "Now, feel your hair"

My hair was warm and very stiff. It felt like plastic. I could feel the metal clips attached to my hair. She took out the clips and began to brush my hair. It hurt as she pulled the brush through the stiff hair. Finally she said she was finished brushing. She let me look in the mirror. My hair looked different. It had waves on top, and she had brushed the front down into bangs on my forehead. When I touched it, it felt soft.

My mom said my punishment wasn’t finished. "Your hair looks lovely now, and I’m going to make sure you keep it like this all day long." She told me to close my eyes and sit very still. I heard a hissing sound and smelled a strong, sweet smell, as she sprayed my hair over and over.

"Now you smell like a sweet little girl."

Then she used just the hose of her dryer to dry the spray. She put another net on my head. This one was much thinner than the pink one. It was brown, and you almost couldn’t see it. She told me it was a girl’s hairnet and that I had to wear it all day, even to school.

I got to school late that day. My mom gave me a note to give to the teacher. The note was in a sealed envelope. The teacher read the note and smiled. She whispered "Don’t worry, you look very nice, now sit down."

That day at school, I got teased about my hair. I felt humiliated when one of the girls in my class touched my hair and giggled "Ooo, you’re wearing hairspray and a hairnet. You must love having such pretty hair. Are you going to get your ears pierced too?"

But I learned my lesson. I never touched my hair that day, and came back home with it looking just like it did when my mother sent me to school.

My mother gave me a big hug when I got home and said "I love my big boy, and my little girl, all rolled into one"

My mom seemed really pleased that my hair was still just about how she had left it that morning. I felt kind of strange being called her "big boy and her little girl," but what the heck? It seemed like it had been years since the last time she was pleased with anything about me.

Mom set out milk and cookies as she often did when I got home from school, but she did something unusual this time. She set out some for herself and joined me.

"I’m very proud of you. Your punishment is over and you won’t be punished over your hair again, as long as you keep it well groomed."

"Thanks mom, It was embarrassing to wear the net to school, but I saw my reflection a couple of times, and I thought my hair looked nice."

"Rob, would you do something for me? I know I said your punishment was over, but would you leave the net on for a while? We’ll be going out to eat later, with aunt May and your cousin Jen, and I’d like for your hair to look nice for that. You can take the net off just before we leave."

"Sure mom." So I left the hairnet on for the rest of the afternoon. I didn’t feel much like dealing with my friends while wearing it, so I planned to take a short, easy bike ride, alone, then to do my homework. While riding up a hill, I began to perspire heavily. As I did, I could smell the sweet odor of the hairspray from my head. I had forgotten about that aroma after the spray had dried. Now it was back again. I began to think about my mother’s remark about my smelling like a "sweet little girl." I got angry.

"I’m not a girl, sweet or otherwise" I thought. I thought about that most of the way home. I guess thinking about that remark made me feel angry. I rode pretty hard on the way home. I was hot and tired when I put my bike in the shed, and went inside to start my homework.

Mom greeted me at the stairs.

"Where have you been? You look like you’ve been in a wrestling match."

Her eyes turned angry as she spoke.

"I told you we were going out to eat tonight. Couldn’t you stay neat for just a few hours? Look in the mirror!"

With that, she almost dragged me to the hallway mirror, the full length one.

"You’re all perspired, there is mud splashed on your shoes and your hair is a sticky mess. You’ll need a serious cleanup before we go out to dinner this evening."

"But mom, I have to start my homework."

"That will have to wait a little while. You’ll have plenty of time to do it while your hair is drying. Now get into the shower"

I undressed in my room and headed for the bathroom in my underwear. About two seconds after I closed the door, my mother knocked.

"Open the door a crack, I have something for you."

I opened the door about 3 inches, while standing behind it. Mom handed me a bar of soap and a bottle of hair conditioner.

"First shampoo your hair, then put on the conditioner. Leave the conditioner on your hair while you soap up with this soap. Then rinse everything off. I expect you dressed in clean clothes in 10 minutes.

Call me when you’re ready"

"Ready for what?" I thought, but decided not to ask.

I showered as mom had asked. I used the regular shampoo in the bathroom and then the conditioner my mother had given to me. The label said to leave it on for a full two minutes. The label also had a lot text on it about "extra body" and " waves and curls that last." I felt a little silly using it, but it did smell nice. The soap felt about the same as my usual bar, but it had a strong, perfume like smell. I finished showering, dried off and dashed to my room wrapped in a towel, as usual. I dressed quickly, combed my hair a bit and began my homework. Then I remembered that mom had asked me to call her.

"Mom, I’m finished in the shower and all dressed."

"OK Robbie, I’ll be right up there"

"Robbie?" I thought. "What’s that all about?" It was always "Rob" or, if she really wanted to get my attention, "Robert."

Mom came up the stairs and asked me if my homework included any reading assignments. I told her it was almost all reading tonight. She asked me to bring a book or two, and to come with her. We went into her bedroom. She asked me to sit in the same chair as this morning.

"This isn’t meant to be a punishment, though you do deserve one. I realize that young people need lots of exercise, and that exercise can get you sweaty, but I did ask you to stay neat and clean."

"Sorry, mom"

"Well, just cooperate with me now and everything will be fine."

"OK"

"Just hand me one of these each time I ask for one."

With that she put a plastic bowl in my hand. It was filled with hair curlers! Now, this was weird!

"Mom, these are for girls and I’m NOT a girl."

"I know what you are, and if you don’t want to be punished, you’ll cooperate with me."

With that I felt her put something cool on my hair and rub in. I remembered the smell from this morning.

"What is that stuff?"

"Its called setting gel. It helps your hair keep its shape after it’s been set."

"Isn’t hair setting for girls?"

"Boy, girl...What’s the difference? In this case, hair setting is for you."

She took a comb with a long thin tail and began to comb my hair. She soon asked for a curler, which I gave her. I looked at it briefly before I handed it over. It was made of pale blue plastic. It was as big around as a soda bottle cap, and about half as long as a new pencil. There were two metal pins stored on it. I almost recognized these as "bobby pins," but these pins were longer. Mom took the curler and started to do something with it, then she stopped.

"Turn the chair so you can watch in the mirror. I want you to watch this closely"

I turned my chair and sat back down.

"Also, when I ask for a roller, take the pins off it, and hand me just the roller. Hold the pins. I’ll ask for them next. Watch how I do this."

I watched how mom combed one section of my hair at a time. She combed it out, straight out from my head. Then she rolled it around the curler, or "roller" as she called it. She rolled it down until the plastic touched my head. Then she seemed to give it an extra little turn that made it very tight. She slipped in the two pins, one at each end and very close to my scalp. It felt uncomfortably tight.

Then she asked for another roller. I gave her just the roller. I held onto the pins. She rolled the roller down tight, just touching the first one. She asked for the pins, and I gave them to her, one at a time. I watched her slip them into the ends of the roller, close to my scalp. I could feel the pull against my scalp.

She combed another section of my hair up.

"Now you try it."

I felt really silly as I tried to get the hair to stay on the roller while winding it. This was harder than it looked. Everything seemed to work backward. My hair was somehow slippery and sticky at the same time. It stuck to my fingers and slipped off the roller.

I finally got the roller rolled down to my scalp and pinned in place. It looked anything but neat.

"Mom, see. I’m no good at this girl stuff. Besides why do I need my hair set? I thought you just wanted me to keep it neat."

"You told me you liked how nice it looked at school today. I just want you to be proud of how you look, that’s all. All you need is practice."

With that, she took over again, adding more rollers until the top of my head was covered with them. She tried to put a few on the sides, but my hair was too short there. Mom combed the front hair down on my forehead again in bangs, but this time she put some pink tape across from just in front of one ear, to just in front of the other.

"The tape will keep your bangs nice and flat while they dry.

They were a little fly-away this morning"

Mom put the same pink hairnet on my head that I had worn this morning. She told me to get out one of my reading assignment books. Then she brought out her dryer. She put the soft plastic hood on my head and attached the hose. She told me to start my reading.

Then she turned on the dryer. She left the room.

I sat there reading for about half an hour while the warm air and noise surrounded my head. The sweet, damp smell from my hair was very relaxing. The dryer wasn’t as hot as it had been this morning, or I was getting used to it. Once or twice, I thought about what would happen to me, if any of my friends saw me in this condition. My life would be Hell forever!

The warmth, the droning noise, and the boring history textbook finally got to me. I dozed off. When mom returned, I was napping with my head resting on the tabletop, supported by my hands and by the air-filled dryer hood.

"Wake up sleeping beauty, time for your comb-out"

"What’s a comb-out?"

"That’s the finishing part of your new hairdo"

"Mom, I don’t want a hairdo, hairdos are for girls. I want my hair to look nice, but I don’t want to look like a girl."

My mother seemed to change in an instant.

"Listen Robbie, I’m losing my patience with you. I want you to look nice; you want to look nice. Stop fussing about what boys do and what girls do. You are my Robbie, and we both agree that you want nice looking hair."

"Why are you calling me ‘Robbie?’ You always used to say ‘Rob’."

"Rob is a verb for stealing. From now on it will be Robbie, or Robert when you get me angry. Now go take off that Tee shirt and put on a button-up shirt. I don’t want you to mess up your hair tonight, when you get undressed."

I went to my room to change my shirt. This was getting weird.

I liked the name "Rob." Mom had been acting a bit strange lately. She would get really upset every time a "crime" or "violence" story came on the TV news. And why worry about how my hair would look when I took off my shirt?

I took off my Tee. It was tricky getting it over the rollers. I was careful not to mess them up. No telling what Mom would say in this mood.

I went to my closet to get a button-up shirt. I usually lived in Tee shirts and jeans. I hardly ever wore anything else. I took out the first button-up shirt I found. It was a plaid, winter shirt and too warm for this time of year. I looked further and found a light-weight, dark blue shirt. I put it on. The sleeves only came to the middle of my arms, and I couldn’t button it at all. Like I said, I didn’t wear them often. I took it off. I was about to settle for the plaid when my mother came in.

"What’s taking so long? We don’t have all night."

"Looks like I’ve outgrown this shirt, and this one is for winter"

"I thought that might be the problem. I was shopping yesterday and saw some really cute things on sale. I couldn’t resist getting you two new shirts. You can pick the one you want to wear tonight."

She handed me a bag from K-Mart. Inside were two short sleeve button shirts. One was deep pink and the other was bright purple. They were made of some kind of light, smooth fabric. They felt cool and almost slippery. I really didn’t like the colors.

"Well, which one?’

"Mom, Why these colors, didn’t they have blue or gray, or even brown?"

"Don’t be so old fashioned. These are the new summer colors. Com’on you’ll look like a movie star."

Mom was smiling again, and that was a rare event. I picked the purple and tried it on.

It felt cool and smooth. It was very comfortable. I had a bit of trouble buttoning it up. Like I say, I hadn’t worn a button shirt in months, and I was never too good with my left hand.

Just out of the curiosity, I looked at the neck of the pink one. The size label said "kids large." The brand label had been cut out. I asked Mom about that.

"Must be because they’re on sale. Some companies don’t want people to know, that they sometimes sell very fine clothes at sale prices."

"That shirt goes with your coloring. Let’s finish your hair"

Back at the chair, in front of Mom’s mirror, she unclipped one roller and unrolled it. The curl of hair sprung right back into shape, like the roller was still there!

"Robbie, you do this. It’s easy"

I took out the rest of the rollers, and took the tape off my forehead. My hair felt crisp and stiff. It looked shiny and had the shape of the rollers. I shook my head and watched the curls bounce around and settle back into even coils.

"Mom, you’ve made my hair into springs." We both laughed.

Mom took over then. She worked on each curl with a hairbrush and got the stiffness out. She brushed the bangs carefully, until I had a smooth, even fringe on my forehead. She worked on my hair with the brush and her fingers for several minutes. I had never seen my hair like this before. There was no part on the side. There was a kind of part that separated the fringe on my forehead from a bunch of even curls on top. She had split the curl from each roller into several smaller curls. They seemed to go in different directions, but they were all the same size. Finally she got out a can of hairspray.

"Mom, I don’t want to smell like a girl again."

"Don’t be silly, the smell disappears when the spray is dry.

Here, you spray it. You don’t have use as much as I did this morning. If you can leave your hair alone during the evening, and not play with it, you only need a moderate amount of spray."

I took the spray and shot a short burst at my hair. The smell was strong and sweet, like it was this morning. Somehow though, it was pleasant. I finished spraying all around my head.

"Don’t forget the back and the bangs"

I reached around and sprayed the back. Mom told me to close my eyes when I did my bangs. I did.

"Now, go sit in your room and read for at least 15 minutes.

Don’t touch your hair at all. That way you can be sure your hair will look just fine when the spray is dry and firm"

"Mom, didn’t you dry the spray with the dryer hose this morning? Can we do that now?"

"This morning we were in a hurry to get to school. Now we have time. You have reading to do anyway. Also, I want you to be aware, that if you want nice hair, you have to be willing to spend time on it."

Fifteen minutes passed quickly. I had switched from reading my history text to reading a book about inventions. It was fun, even though I was reading it for a book report.

Mom came back into my room and announced that it was time to leave. She had changed her clothes from the jeans and sweater she had on earlier. I guess I don’t usually notice much about what my mother is wearing, but this time how could I miss it? She was wearing a tan skirt, and a blouse that looked just like my shirt!

"Mom, you tricked me!" I shouted. "This is a girls color, see it’s the same as you’re wearing."

"First, Robert do not raise your voice to me. Second, you are being very silly. When I wear blue jeans, does that make blue a girls color?"

"I guess not. Sorry I yelled"

"OK I forgive you. Now I see you’re wearing blue jeans, and they really aren’t right for dinner with relatives. Put on your black chinos and let’s go."

I changed my pants quickly and headed downstairs. As I passed the hall mirror, I got a look at myself. I knew I had a "hairdo" and that I had a purple shirt on, but somehow the whole picture just stopped me. I stood there for a few seconds. Mom came up from behind me. She put her arms around me.

"You look so nice. I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to meet aunt May and cousin Jen at Red Lobster.

We walked to the car together. Mom seemed genuinely happy to be taking me with her. She drove to the mall and parked near the Red Lobster. She skipped the usual "reading the riot act" about behaving myself and not embarrassing her in public. All she said was "I know you will be as charming as you look" Just before we got out of the car she said "Wait a second." She patted my hair gently and did something with her fingers. I squirmed away.

"Don’t do that. I was only adjusting one of your curls. It was sticking up a bit"

She patted my hair again. "There, that’s fine. I can’t wait until aunt May and your cousin see you."

Aunt May and her daughter Jen were already in the restaurant. They were waiting in the lobby. As soon as we arrived, a young woman walked the four of us to a table. I sat next to Mom, facing Jen. Aunt may sat facing Mom. The young woman handed us menus.

"Enjoy your dinner, ladies"

"Hey, wait, I’m a..."

Mom shot me a look, and poked me in the ribs at the same time.

"But Mom, she said ‘ladies’ and I’m boy"

"Well, what did you expect her to say? It is three to one."

I really didn’t have an answer at the time, and I don’t think Mom wanted one.

We decided on what we were going to order. At least Mom let me order fried shrimp.

Mom and her sister May began to talk about adult stuff. Jobs, furniture, basically boring. I looked at Jen. Other than "Hello," we hadn’t said much to each other.

Jen is two years older than I am, and was about a head taller then. She thought she was very grown up. Mom and May are twins. Mom said that when she and May were kids, no one except their parents could tell them apart. People used to say that both Jen and I "took after" our mothers. I guess that means we looked like them. So I guess, when you figure it all out, Jen and I looked a lot like each other.

We both have brown eyes and light brown hair. Of course, Jen’s hair was a lot longer than mine was. She usually had it in a ponytail that hung straight as a stick, almost to her belt. I could tell that Jen was looking hard at something about me.

"Since when do you have curly hair?"

I could feel myself turning red. I looked down at the table. "Com’on, ‘fess up, curly hair doesn’t run in our family" I wished I would drop into a hole in the floor.

"Jen, how’s your new bike working"

"Don’ try to change the subject, I asked you about you hair, about your curly hair to be specific"

I looked to Mom. She was talking to May about floor lamps.

"I think you curled your hair. In fact, I think you got a perm"

"I did not" I didn’t know what a perm was, but I didn’t think I had one.

" Well what is it then? Rollers? Curling iron? I could just see you doing your hair with a curling iron. Were you careful not to burn your hair? It could all fall out, you know."

Jen was almost laughing. I was about to cry.

"Mom, Jen’s teasing me. Make her stop"

"I’m not teasing him. I’m just asking about how he got his beautiful curls. I know they’re not natural."

"Jen, I helped him set his hair on rollers. Robbie has decided that it is worth some effort to have nice looking hair. I think it’s great. Most boys are such slobs. I’m helping him learn to take care of his hair."

Jen looked a bit puzzled. I saw aunt May whisper something to Mom. She moved her mouth, but almost no sound came out. I think she said "He looks adorable." I don’t think I was supposed to hear that.

"Jen, you could use a little shape in your hair too you know."

"Mother, I’m not cutting my hair and that’s that. I think it looks great long and straight, especially when I play my guitar."

"I didn’t say you have to cut it, just put a little curl in it now and then, so it doesn’t look so severe."

Jen looked right into my eyes. "See what you got me into now, curler boy? Just because you want to look like a sissy, I’m going to have to spend an afternoon under a dryer. By the way, is that a shirt or a blouse you’re wearing? I see it matches your mother’s"

Aunt May turned. "Jennifer Sue Ross, What has gotten into you? Mind your manners. I think Robbie looks great today. You could use to take a lesson from him. It was all I could do to get you to wear something other than cutoffs and dirty sneakers this evening."

Aunt May turned back to my mother. "Since we’re planning to be together for the weekend anyway, while my apartment is being painted, perhaps you can help me civilize Jen a bit"

The waitress came and took our orders. Mom and May chatted on, while Jen and I mostly just glared at each other. Anger had replaced the embarrassment I felt earlier.

Actually, I wanted to ring Jen’s neck. Hey, maybe I was dressed a bit funny, but Mom seemed to really love me this way. That meant a lot.

The food arrived and Jen and I ate without talking to each other. I knew how Mom wanted me to act, so I didn’t crown Queen Jennifer with a scoop of mashed potatoes.

On the way home, I asked Mom "Do I really look like a sissy?"

"Robbie you look fine. Jen just doesn’t know how to talk to a boy who cares about his appearance."

It was almost 10 o’clock when we got home. I headed for my room to get ready for bed. Mom knocked, then popped her head in the door.

"Do you want to wear a hairnet to sleep tonight?"

"Why?"

"Well, we worked so hard to get your hair nice today, I thought you might want to keep your curls for school tomorrow."

I hadn’t thought of that. I did like the way my curls looked. Then I thought about how that girl had treated me yesterday, and how Jen had acted last night.

"Mom, I’m not sure I’m ready to go to school with curls, again, so soon."

"OK, It’s your choice" I saw her face fall.

I wanted Mom to be happy with me, but the teasing almost had me crying, both in school and with Jen.

As I put my head on the pillow, I could feel my hair getting pressed flat. I knew my curls wouldn’t look very good in the morning. I got up, and turned on the light. On my bureau was the thin, brown hairnet I had worn to school, and on the bike ride. I smoothed it out and put it on. I turned out the light and got back into bed. I folded my pillow over, so that it held up my cheek, with the top of my head not touching anything.

This way I would still have my curls in the morning. Then I could decide. Curls to school? Or wash them out.

I woke up Friday morning and immediately thought about my hair. The net was still in place and my hair looked about the same as the night before. The bangs were messed up a bit. They weren’t the neat, even fringe they had been. I brushed my teeth and got ready to take a shower. Decision time. Was I "man enough" to go to school with a pretty hairdo? Now that sounded funny! I decided to keep the curls. At least I wouldn’t be wearing a hairnet.

I knew that Mom wore a plastic shower cap when she wanted to keep her hair dry in the shower. I called down to her to ask her if I could borrow it.

"Of course you can, dear. Just shake the water off it and hang it back up when you finish. I’m so happy you decided to keep your curls"

I covered my hair with the cap and showered. I got dressed, pulling the Tee shirt neck over my head as carefully as I could. It barely touched my hair. I looked in the mirror. I definitely looked like a boy, with dark blue Tee shirt and blue jeans. But I had a hairstyle that looked like it belonged on a girl. And the weirdest part was, that I liked the way it looked.

Mom checked me over when I got downstairs.

"Robbie, you look lovely"

"Mom, do you have to say that? I think I’d rather look handsome"

"Well you do. With those curls, you look like a storybook prince"

The next thing was hard to ask.

"Mom, could help me with my bangs? They look messy to me"

"Oh, how fast you’re learning! Here, I’ll show you a trick.

Your bangs are slightly damp now from the mist in the shower. They still have hairspray and gel on them from yesterday. If you brush them carefully, and put some setting tape across them, you can get them to look just about perfect."

Mom got out the brush and the tape, and I worked on my bangs in front of the hall mirror. I put the tape on. It looked sort of silly. Pink tape with zig-zag edges on my forehead.

I didn’t take the tape off until the school bus was at the stop on the next block. Mom showed me how to give my bangs a quick brushing and how to give my whole head a quick shot of spray. Then I left for school.

I hadn’t figured on the hairspray still being wet and "fragrant" when I got into the bus.

I sat in the last available seat. That turned out to be next to Betty Thomas. Betty is in my class. She has reddish hair and freckles. She has two kittens that she seems talk about all the time. As girls go, she’s not so bad. She sniffed the air as I sat down.

"Is that you? I think I smell Aquanett"

I looked down at the floor. She sniffed again, this time closer to my head.

"It is you. You’re wearing hairspray. I think that’s so sweet. Most boys don’t care about their hair at all. I like how your hair looks too."

I could feel my face and ears turning red. I slunk down in my seat.

"Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I really meant it as a compliment."

"I guess I’m a little sensitive about my hair. Anyway, lots of boys keep their hair neat."

"Yes, but almost all of them who comb it at all, go around with it looking wet, parted on the side, and with that silly wave pushed up in front. They look like Howdy Doody."

"I saw you riding your bike past my house yesterday. I tried to call out to you, but you went by too fast. Next time, could you stop by? I’d love to show you my two cute kittens." Was I ever glad I didn’t hear her! I wouldn’t have wanted to stop, not with the hairnet on.

"I was in hurry, Mom wanted me back in an hour and I was already late."

"Maybe you could come over today. Here’s my address."

She pulled a small notebook out of her book bag and wrote something in it. She tore out the page and handed it to me.

It said "Betty Thomas 144 Nicole St. Try to make it by 4:00"

Betty and I chatted for most of the ride to school.

The morning went by quickly. Betty Thomas found me in the lunchroom.

"I hope your hair looks just as nice this afternoon as it does now. My mother used to be a hairstylist, and she says that good looking hair is always a big plus, for boys as well as girls."

"I’m looking forward to seeing those kittens of yours."

I was looking at Betty, when I heard a voice from behind.

"Oh how sweet, Betty the redhead and Robert with the pretty hair.

Robert, I see you went from waves yesterday to curls today. Are you planning to go red like Betty for tomorrow?"

We both turned toward the voice. Before I could say a word, Betty answered

"Be nice, if you know how, Teresa Tubby" So that was her name...at least the Teresa part...

"Are you going to set each other’s hair?"

"Go find your own boy to talk to, Fatso"

That second reference to Teresa’s weight got my attention. I guess I was staring at her. She looked down, turned red, and hurried away.

"Don’t let that fat little pest bother you."

The bell rang, ending lunch period

"See you at 4:00. Don’t forget.’

"I’ll be there. So long, Betty."

The afternoon seemed to drag on forever. We had 3 ½ hours of school before lunch and 2 hours after, but the afternoon sometimes seemed twice as long. Especially on Friday. Teresa was in my class, of course, but she avoided me that afternoon.

I got home and went for my bike.

"Mom, I’m going for a ride to Betty Thomas’ house. She invited me for this afternoon"

"Ok, just come here a minute before you leave."

I walked over to Mom. She put her hands on my shoulders and stood looking at me.

"I just want to make sure you look all right."

She tugged at the bottom of my Tee shirt.

"This shirt is getting a bit short on you. I’ll bring you one to change into."

I waited while mom came back with a fresh shirt. It was the kind of shirt that has 3 buttons in the front, but pulls on like a Tee shirt. I noticed the collar was more rounded than pointed. It was a kind of pale orange color.

"I saw this while shopping today. I think it will look just darling on you."

Mom helped me take off my Tee shirt carefully without messing up my hair. She opened the buttons on the new shirt and helped me put it on.

With the buttons open, it barely touched my head as I pulled it on.

"Here, let me help you fix your hair."

With a few touches of a brush, and a long shot of hairspray, she said I was ready to go. I looked at myself as I passed the mirror on my way out. I saw my head with a bunch of curls above straight, smooth bangs, sticking out from a shirt that was the color of orange sherbet. I had never seen myself in this color before, but somehow I liked it.

I got my bike from the garage and started toward Betty’s house. It wasn’t a long ride, well under a mile. Betty and her mother were in the front yard, pulling weeds from a flower bed, as I arrived.

Betty’s mother looked a lot like Betty. She had the same color red hair as Betty, except that hers was in a style that I didn’t really know the name of. It wasn’t until some time later that I found out it was called a "French Twist Updo"

Whatever it was called, I thought it was very pretty. In fact, I thought Betty’s mother was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.

"Hi Rob"

"Hi Betty"

"Hello, Rob."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Thomas"

"Come on in, I’ll bet both of you would like a snack"

We went into the kitchen and sat at the table. The cookies were already there, and Mrs Thomas got the milk from the fridge. I was on my second cookie when Mrs. Thomas spoke to me.

"When I first saw you coming down the street, I wasn’t sure if you were the boy Betty had told me about. You look so different from most of the boys in her school."

"What do you mean"

"Oh you know. You look more...refined...better groomed..."

"Well, my Mom has been kind of helping me with my appearance lately."

"I can see you’ve been giving some attention to your hair. I know those curls aren’t natural, but they look so nice. They are from rollers, aren’t they?"

I did an instant imitation of a stoplight.

"Mother, please don’t embarrass Rob like that.

He looks very nice, but I don’t think he likes to talk about it."

"Sorry Betty, I guess once a hairstylist, always a hairstylist. By the way, you know we have Aunt Sue’s wedding shower tomorrow. I’d like to set your hair this afternoon, to save some time in the morning. I could do it now. Then you and Rob can play with the kittens. Your hair will take only about 15 minutes."

"Rob, would you mind?"

"Betty, is it ok if I watch"

"Ok with me, Mother sets my hair all the time. No big deal."

I watched as Mrs. Thomas moved a stool over to the sink and had Betty sit on it while she shampooed her hair. I could see her working the lather in with her fingers. She tested the water on her wrist before using the sprayer to rinse Betty’s hair. She put some other liquid on Betty’s hair. I thought I recognized the bottle.

"Mrs. Thomas, is that conditioner?"

"Yes, it is. It leaves hair easier to set, and it helps the set last longer."

Mrs. Thomas finished rinsing Betty’s hair and wrapped a towel around her head. Betty got off the stool.

"I could do your hair, while I’m at it. I know several great styles for hair that’s medium short, like yours. Would you like that?"

"I think I better check with my mom first. She seems very concerned about my hair the last few days."

"You can call her, if you want"

I really didn’t feel comfortable with all this attention about my hair, but Mrs. Thomas was so beautiful, and seemed so kind, that the thought of her hands working on my head gave me an excited feeling that was hard to describe.

I called and spoke with Mom. As it turned out, Mom knew Mrs. Thomas. In fact, Mom said that Mrs. Thomas used to use the name "Miss Ruth" when she worked in a salon, and that Mom was one of her customers. Mom said that she couldn’t wait to see what style Miss Ruth would do with my hair. Mom asked that I give the phone to Mrs. Thomas.

They talked for a few minutes. When Mrs. Thomas hung up, she said

"Robbie, hop up on the stool. Your mom says I can make you as beautiful as I want"

The words sounded a bit scary...after all, girls get "made beautiful," not boys. But Mrs. Thomas’ smile was so warm, and she spoke like she really liked me. I got on the stool without a moment’s hesitation.

"OK Robbie, bend forward over the sink."

She had just called me Robbie twice. I guess my mother asked her to call me that.

Mrs. Thomas wet my hair with warm water.

She ran her fingers through it and added some shampoo. She worked the shampoo around every bit of my scalp. I didn’t think something could feel so relaxing and exciting at the same time.

I could feel her rinsing my hair with water that was so pleasantly warm.

"I’m going to lather your hair again, I want to make sure I get all the hairspray out."

During the second lathering, I told Mrs. Thomas how wonderful it felt.

"Well, I haven’t lost my touch. By the way, you can call me Miss Ruth, if you like"

"I think I’ll stick to Mrs. Thomas"

After the second shampooing, and the conditioning, Mrs. Thomas wrapped a towel around my head. I joined Betty at the kitchen table.

"I’ll set Betty first, she has been waiting"

Mrs. Thomas worked smoothly and quickly. She used a comb like Mom’s, with a long tail. She would use the tail to separate a section of Betty’s hair, then comb it smooth. She would then dip her finger into a jar of a yellow jelly and apply it to the section of hair. Then she rolled the section on a roller and used little chrome clips to hold the roller in place. She put lots of rollers in Betty’s hair.

"I’m rolling Betty’s hair with the rollers vertical. Tomorrow, she will have adorable ringlets. Do you know what ringlets are?"

I said I didn’t know. Mrs. Thomas described them. I realized I had seen them on girls before, usually on very pretty, dressed-up girls. In my mind, I had always called them "tube curls."

Finally, she was finished. I don’t think it really took her more than 10 minutes to put about 40 rollers on Betty’s head. She put a light brown hairnet over the rollers.

"OK Robbie, you’re next."

I was already sitting at the kitchen table. Mrs. Thomas walked to the side of my chair and unwrapped the towel from around my head. I could instantly smell the fragrance from my damp hair. She began combing my hair. As she did, I felt a strange kind of excitement. It was a mix of feelings. The movement of the comb against my scalp was soothing, while all the thoughts about what was being done to me made my heart pound.

Mrs. Thomas said that it was ok with my mom, if she made me "as beautiful as she wanted"

Betty was watching her mother work on my head, as she sat there looking very grown up in her rollers and net.

"You know Rob, you really have very nice hair. I hope you consider letting it grow longer this summer. I know boys often get those awful "summer crewcuts" thinking they will feel cooler, but I doubt it helps at all."

"I think you’re right, Betty. I had a crewcut last summer, and actually got a sunburn on top of my head. Then I had to wear a baseball cap all the time. I think I’d rather just have some hair."

"Rob, I think you would look nice with longer hair. Besides, with long hair, you can try so many different styles. I like trying new hairstyles."

"Robbie, would you like me to try a different style on you now?"

"What do you mean, Mrs. Thomas?"

"Well, I was thinking, we could try something a little more special looking."

"I’m not sure what you mean, Mrs. Thomas."

"Let me try a different style. If you don’t like it, we can just wash it out, and comb your hair into your old ‘regular boy style’"

"I’m not sure how my mom would feel about that."

All the time, while talking, she was combing my hair. Now, she reached across the table and picked up a roller from the same bowl of rollers she had used for Betty’s hair.

"I think if we do something else with your bangs, it will change your whole look."

I could feel her rolling the hair right at the front of my head. When the roller touched my scalp, she fastened it with two of those little clips, same as she had done on Betty. I could tell that this roller was almost right above my eye. I tried to look up as much as I could, and see if I could see the roller.

"Oh, I’m sorry, I guess you want to watch, this is all still pretty new to you."

With that, she went to a drawer and took out a mirror on a stand.

She handed it to me.

"Set this up so you can see me work."

I set up the mirror and watched, fascinated as the rollers were applied to my head. There was a firm, tight feeling to each one. Mrs. Thomas was rolling my hair in a different way than my mom had. When Mom did it, the bangs were combed forward, and all the rollers seemed to be rolled toward the back.

Mrs. Thomas had the rollers in a set of 4, two rolled from the middle to the right, and two toward the left. The rollers behind these were about like my mom had done, rolled toward the back.

"Does your mom set your hair often?"

"No, Mrs. Thomas, just for the last two days"

"And is that a new shirt you’re wearing?" I had almost forgotten about the pale orange shirt I had on.

"Yes, My mom just got it for me today"

"May I look at the label?"

"Sure"

Mrs. Thomas gently lifted my shirt collar in the back.

"No label. It must be one of those expensive samples that sometimes find their way to discount stores. Your mother has a great eye for fashion."

Mrs. Thomas had finished working with the rollers. She had put about 8 or 10 of them in my hair. I thought they were smaller than the ones my mother had used, but I wasn’t sure. She covered my hair with a blue net and tied it in the back.

"Why don’t the two of you go out in yard and play with the kittens. With the sun and the breeze, Robbie’s short hair will be dry in about two hours. Betty, our dryer is still broken, you’ll have to sleep in your rollers."

We headed for the backyard. It wasn’t until I was almost out the door, that it hit me that someone from school might see me. ‘Dead’ wouldn’t begin to describe my fate! Rollers, hairnet, playing with a girl! I might as well be wearing a pink dress and have a Barbie Doll in my hands. I stood still.

"Come on"

Betty was standing next to me with a kitten under each arm. I followed, feeling like the world was about to crash down at any second.

Actually, nothing terrible happened. We played with the kittens. We sat on the grass and threw crumpled paper to them, and they pounced on it. Betty tied an extra hair roller to a string and dangled it in front of the adorable calico kitten. The little cat batted at the roller like it was the best toy in the world.

Meanwhile, the shiny black kitten with the pretty white paws had walked around behind me, and started to play with the long tails hanging from my hairnet.

"Rob, I think they want to grow up to be salon cats."

We both giggled.

We played with the kittens, played catch with a beach ball, and pulled a few weeds from around Mrs. Thomas’ flowers. Betty’s mom came to the back door.

"Robbie" (That name again!)

"You’re going have to be heading back home for dinner soon. Let’s see if your hair is dry enough to comb out."

We walked back into the house. Mrs. Thomas carefully untied the hairnet from around my head and took it off. She took the clips out of one roller and unwound it.

"OK, nice and dry. That sunshine and spring air did the trick. Let’s get you finished."

I was seated back at the kitchen table. Mrs. Thomas had the rollers out of my hair in seconds. I watched in the mirror as she brushed the front of my hair into two curls that went left and right from the center. and ended on my forehead.

She separated the even rolls of hair at the top of my head, and held each small section between two fingers as she sprayed it. She held it for a few seconds longer, then moved to another curl. I could see the curls arranged with the end of one resting on the middle of the one behind it.

"These are called ‘Petal Curls’ because they look something like a flower bud. Do you like them?"

I really didn’t know what to say. These curls were very different from what my mom had done.

If anything, they were smoother, and except for the curls on my forehead, they all curled toward the back.

"This hairstyle always gets lots of spray to keep the petals firm and slightly elevated. It doesn’t look too nice if it gets flattened. Here goes"

I never thought you could put that much spray on one guy’s head! I thought it might start to drip off. But none got in my eyes, and I didn’t die from lack of air. Just then, the phone rang.

Mrs. Thomas picked it up.

"It’s your mother"

I took the phone.

"Robbie, I hope you’re having a nice time and behaving yourself’

"Everything is great, and I think you’ll be surprised when you see me."

"I bet you look wonderful. Miss Ruth is very talented. Start for home soon. Dinner will be ready in an hour."

"Mother, can you comb my hair out now?"

"No Betty, your hair is much longer. It isn’t even half dry yet."

"I wish I didn’t have to sleep in rollers tonight. Sometimes I wake up with a stiff neck from them and tomorrow is Aunt Sue’s shower. I don’t want to be out of sorts for that."

"With the dryer plug burned out, I don’t see any other choice"

"Maybe I can help. My dad taught me how to put plugs on lamps and how to make extension cords"

"Well, I’ll show you the dryer"

The dryer was not at all like my mom’s. It stood on the floor in Mrs. Thomas’ bedroom, and had a big chrome hood. I had seen a row of dryers like this the beauty salon where my mother went. They reminded me of space helmets, like on TV.

The plug was really OK. The burned spot was about 2 inches up the wire. I think the rubber had worn out and the wires had touched.

"I think I can fix it for you."

Betty said "Could you try, please"

I used the screwdriver and wire cutter that Mrs. Thomas dug out of a drawer, and went to work on the plug. I shortened the wire back beyond the bad spot, and began to put the plug on.

I could see myself in the mirror, with a new perfect hairdo, working on the plug. It was almost like my head was out of place with my hands. It looked strange in a way, but in a way it was exciting.

When I finished, I plugged it in and Mrs. Thomas turned it on.

It worked. Soon Betty was sitting under the dryer.

She looked so grown up! Just like the ladies at the salon.

Mrs. Thomas hugged me before I left.

"Thank you. Beauty, and brains too. Please come back soon."

"Thank you for this nice hairdo"

Betty carefully got out from under the dryer and gave me a hug too. I hugged her back. I could feel her warm rollers against my cheek.

"Please come visit again"

"I’d like that, Monday OK’

"See you then"

I got on my bike and started home. I was eager to show my new hairdo to Mom.

I rode my bike home slowly. I remembered the sweaty ride home and my mom’s reaction. Besides, I really wanted to keep this new hairdo just as it was when Mrs. Thomas finished it. She and Betty had been so nice to me.

I had to stop once to wait at a corner for traffic to clear. As I waited, a little boy, younger than I am, walked around the corner.

"Hey girly, why are you riding a boy’s bike?"

"Because I’m a boy, stupid"

"Well, you look like..."

He never finished. Maybe he realized that I was way bigger than he was, and he should just shut up.

I reached home and put my bike in the garage. I came in the back door. Mom was at the sink.

"Hi Mom, surprise!"

"Hi, Robbie."

Mom turned and looked at me

"You hair is adorable. I love those delicate curls on your forehead. And the even curls on top look so...so sophisticated. Miss Ruth is quite an artist.

I hope you thanked her for her work. May I touch it?"

"Sure Mom"

Mom patted my hair lightly with one hand. It felt like she was patting my whole head at the same time. I mean, all my hair seemed to be one piece. I guess the spray had made it pretty stiff.

"She really lacquered it for you. If you’re careful, this hairdo will last a week."

"Mom I like this hairdo, and Mrs. Thomas was so nice, but...do you think I look like a girl?"

"Will you ever stop worrying about that? You look like a very fine, very well groomed, boy.’

"This kid, on the way home...He thought I was a girl!"

"Who is important to you? Your mother or some stupid kid on the street?" Mom was getting angry again.

"You’re most important, Mom"

"Well I say, I like the way you look. There are a lot of things about grooming and behavior that boys would do well to learn from girls"

I really didn’t want to get Mom angry. These last 2 or3 days, she had been happier, friendlier than I could remember. That was worth a little teasing from a stupid kid.

Mom was still looking at my hair. She was smiling.

"That is a fairly formal hairdo. I think I’ll have to do something about mine, so I don’t look like a boy"

I looked at Mom’s hair. It was the same color as mine, a kind of medium brown. It was mostly straight and reached her shoulders. The ends curved in toward her neck. Mom had bangs in the front, but usually brushed them to the side. Sometimes, when she was going someplace fancy with Dad, she would go to the salon and get her hair done.

"Robbie, would you help me do my hair? You’ve watched me, and you’ve watched Miss Ruth, do yours, and I can always use some help with the back. I want to do mine tonight, because Aunt May and cousin Jen are coming for the weekend, while the painters are working on their apartment."

"Ok I’ll try to help"

"Great, lets have dinner first"

We ate broiled chicken and salad. Mom likes salads. I wish she would make more baked potatoes, they’re my favorite.

After dinner, mom took a shower and washed her hair. She came to the kitchen in a robe.

"Roller time, Mr. Robbie"

"What?"

"Just a joke...it seems that every hairstylist in America is Miss or Mr...plus a first name."

"I’m not a hairstylist. That’s a girls job."

"Don’t start that boy’s-girl’s business again. Hairstyling is a useful, gentle, peaceful job for anyone."

"I want to be a correction officer, like Uncle Todd"

"Wouldn’t you rather spend your time making people beautiful and proud, than spend it keeping them in cages?"

"But Uncle Todd is strong and tough"

"Uncle Todd is a bully. He chose a job where he can push people around and abuse them. I really don’t want you to grow up like that."

"I never thought of it that way."

Mom had put a bunch of hair setting stuff on the table in front of her. She had rollers, clips, a hair net, her comb with the long tail, and the jar of pink setting gel. She began comb her hair and to apply the gel.

"Please hand me a roller as I need it"

I handed Mom the rollers. She didn’t have to ask me for rollers, I could see when she was ready for one. Same with the clips. After she had the front of her head covered with rollers, she asked me if I could roll up the back for her.

I said I would try. The first roller seemed to take almost forever. It kept slipping and twisting. The hair kept rolling off the end.

"Take your time dear, you’ll get the knack" I’d never seen Mom so patient before.

I finally got that one roller wound down to Mom’s scalp. Mom had a clip ready for me. Mom’s clips weren’t chrome like Mrs. Thomas’. Mom’s were like a bobbi pin, only much bigger. I tried to open the pin before using it. Mom saw me struggling with it.

"You don’t have to open the pin at all. Just hold it with the bent-up end on the outside of the roller, where the hair is, and slide it onto the roller. Be sure to put it very close to my scalp, so the roller doesn’t unwind"

I did what Mom asked, while trying to be careful not to pull her hair. By the 5^th or 6^th roller, it was getting easier. It sure was much easier than when Mom tried to get me to put a roller in my own hair. Mom made sure I used enough setting gel. The gel seemed to help keep the hair on the roller.

"Wind the rollers a little tighter, if you can. I want the curls to be well defined, like yours"

"I don’t want to pull too hard, and hurt you"

"Don’t worry, a little pulling is expected. Its just part of getting your hair done."

I did some of the rollers, then Mom took over again and did the some hair at the back of neck with just bobby pins. She called these "pin curls"

I don’t think Mom really needed my help at all. I think she just wanted me to try hair rolling again.

When all her hair was rolled up, Mom took the small mirror from the table and carried it to the hall mirror. She used the two mirrors together to see all parts of her head.

"Robbie, you did a fine job. You kept the four rows of rollers even, all the way down. You seem to have a talent for this."

"Thanks Mom, but I’m not sure I really like doing hair"

"You may get to like it. Can you help me with something else?"

"Sure Mom."

"I’m going to sit under the dryer here in the kitchen. I can fold some laundry while I’m sitting. Would you please empty the clothes dryer into the basket, take your things to your room, hang them up, and bring the rest to me."

"Sure Mom."

I went to the basement and pulled the clothes out of the dryer.

There wasn’t much of mine, just two pairs of underpants, some socks, my new purple shirt and my black chinos. I filled the basket, put my stuff on top, and went upstairs. I put the basket on the table in front of Mom.

"Thanks Robbie."

I took few items and headed for my room. As I began to hang my shirt in the closet, I noticed that it looked bigger than my other shirts.

"This must be Mom’s, both shirts are the same color" I thought. I checked for a size label. The first thing I spotted was a label that said "Suzie Q Blouses, Your Mother and Daughter Collection." The size label was a separate tag that said Ladies Medium. I looked at the first label again. It was made of black material with the words sewed on.

I brought the purple shirt back into the kitchen.

"I think this one is yours"

Mom took it from me and looked at the label.

"Yes, I believe it is. This one must be yours"

She handed me the other purple shirt from the basket. I looked for the label. Sure enough it had one label that said "Kids Large." I looked hard and saw where another label had been cut away. Only a little edge was left, but sure enough, it was black.

I was really afraid to ask Mom about the shirts. I guess I knew that they were a matching set, a "Mother and Daughter" set.

I went to my room, hung up the shirt, and began to cry. I wanted Mom to love me, but I was a boy, not a girl. I think I stayed there a long time. Finally, I heard Mom’s voice.

"Robbie, come here. I’m ready to take out the rollers."

I helped her take out the rollers and the pins from the pin curls. Her hair was so shiny! Each curl was like a perfect roll of hair.

"Shall I wear my hair up for a change?"

"I’m not sure I know what you mean."

"You know, pinned up with lots of curls in back, the way I have it done at the salon."

"Oh, I always called that ‘Mom’s Movie Star hairstyle’"

"That’s so sweet. Will you help me do it?"

"It really looks hard to do"

"Well, we probably won’t get it as perfect as the salon does, but we can try"

We must have put 30 bobbi pins and most of a can of spray on Mom’s hair. When we were finished, Mom seemed very happy with her style. I had learned how to roll a curl around my finger, spray it, and wait until it dried a bit, before pinning it in place.

"It will be a great waste of talent if you don’t consider hairstyling as a possible job some day"

Mom was standing next to me. We were both facing the big mirror. Both of us with fancy hairdos. And I liked how we looked. Was I turning into a girl?

It was just too confusing.

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

"What sweetheart?"

"Well, when I accidentally took your purple shirt into my room, I saw the label. That’s how I knew for sure it was yours. It says it is a ‘mother and daughter blouse.’ Is my purple shirt really the ‘daughter’ blouse?"

Mom’s smile disappeared. She looked down at me, right into my eyes. "Would it really bother you if it was a blouse? I want you to wear things that are a bit more gentle and refined looking, sometimes. I am so proud of the way you are learning to take care of your hair, that I want everyone who sees us to know that you are my beautiful child. And I think its just plain fun to wear matching clothes. My twin sister and I did it all the time."

"Is the shirt I’m wearing now, really a girls shirt too? It has no label either."

"I’m not really sure. It may be. Boy’s things don’t usually come in such nice colors and soft fabrics. Isn’t it comfortable?"

"It is very comfortable, but I keep thinking about that kid who thought I was a girl. Also, I like my hair this way, and it was fun learning to help you with yours, but I know kids would make fun of me if they knew" That did it. Mom changed in an instant. She took hold of both my upper arms and squeezed her fingers into them.

"You little brat! I have had to deal with nasty, ungrateful men and boys all my life. You are my child. You will do as I say, groom yourself to my standards, and wear the clothes I give you. Otherwise, you will be punished."

Mom was shouting now. I was about to cry "If you don’t like it, you can take it up with your father, when and if he ever gets back from this assignment in Australia. Do you understand?"

I was whimpering. "Yes"

"Yes, What?"

"Yes, Mom" I tried, not knowing what she wanted me to say.

"Try ‘Yes, Mother’ I’d like to hear how it sounds from you."

"Yes, Mother"

Mom softened her voice.

"Please let me delight in my beautiful child."

I looked up. There were tears in her eyes too.

Her grasp loosened, then turned into a hug. I hugged her back.

"Robbie, how about some milk and cookies before bed?"

I had milk. Mom had tea. We both had cookies.

I went up to my room and got ready for bed. After unbuttoning my shirt, it was easy to get it over my head without disturbing a single curl. I realized that unless I did something, my hair would probably get messed up while I slept. I looked around my room for the hairnet I had used the night before. I couldn’t find it, even though I was fairly sure I had left it on the bureau. Maybe Mom had an extra.

I put on my robe and went downstairs

"Mom, I’m ready to go to sleep, but I don’t want to ruin Mrs. Thomas’ work so soon."

"Yes, and Aunt May is coming over with Jen in the morning. I guess we both want to look nice."

"Do you have an extra hairnet. I can’t seem to find the one I wore last night."

"Those light ‘invisible’ nets are so easy to lose track of.

Here, I bought you something just for sleeping."

Mom got a bag from the table near the door, and handed me a cellophane package. Inside was something pale blue, and silky looking. There was a piece of paper in with it. It said in big, sweeping pink letters "Sweet Dreams Slumber Cap Keeps your coif perfect all night" There was a picture of a pretty lady putting some kind of a big hat over a very large, curly hairstyle.

"Open it, try it on"

I did. It was made of the shiniest, smoothest cloth I had ever touched.

"Mom, What’s a ‘coif’?"

"Its short for a French word, ‘coiffure’ It means a hairstyle, usually a fancy style. This cap will keep your style even better than a net. But don’t wear it over wet hair, your hair won’t dry through it."

"Thanks, Mom. Do you have one too?"

"I have been wearing these since I first saw one in the store. I have three, in different colors, but this one is yours."

I went back up to my room. I looked in the mirror. I definitely did not look like the lady on the Slumber Cap package. I was happy about that.

Well, I wore the Sweet Dreams Slumber Cap to bed that night. I couldn’t remember ever sleeping with any kind of hat on before. But somehow the thought that I was wearing this special "pretty hair" cap was very exciting. I had trouble getting to sleep. I kept thinking about Jen coming over in the morning and seeing my new, even fancier curls.

I kept trying to get comfortable by moving my pillow around. Every time my fingers got near my face, I could smell the hairspray that had gotten on them when I was helping Mom do her hair. I think I fell asleep sniffing the sweet smell of my own fingers.

I woke up early on Saturday to Mom’s knock on my door.

"Aunt May and cousin Jen are coming for breakfast. Better get dressed. No tee shirts, remember your hair."

I didn’t like the last part. I like to wear tee shirts. I have lots of them, and they feel comfortable.

"Aw Mom, can’t I wear a tee shirt? I’ll be careful about getting it over my head"

"You can pick any button up shirt you want."

"But I want to wear a tee shirt."

"That’s it Robbie. Too much back talk. I’ll pick a shirt for you."

Mom came up the stairs quickly and walked into my room. She opened my closet and got out the pink shirt she had bought for me. She handed it to me.

"You wouldn’t choose something acceptable, now I’ll choose for you. Wear this."

I saw that her blouse and my shirt were identical in color. I thought about Jen’s teasing.

"I won’t wear another ‘mother and daughter blouse.’" "You’ll wear just what I say you’ll wear" She tried to hand the shirt to me.

I turned my back.

Mom took my shoulders and turned me around.

"YOU PUT THIS ON NOW!"

Mom fingers were digging into my shoulder. I knew how angry she could get.

"Ok...Ok, I’ll wear the stupid shirt."

"Finish getting dressed and get downstairs. They’ll be here any minute. You better not embarrass me any more today. I still have to decide how to punish you for this scene."

Mom left. I started to put on the shirt. It was different from the purple one. Back then I didn’t know words like "pleats" or "ruffles," but I could see that this blouse was fancier than the other one. I put it on and buttoned it up. I was clumsy with the buttons. I guess I didn’t know that girl’s clothes buttoned from a different side than boy’s stuff either.

I remembered that Mom had been wearing fresh blue jeans. I figured maybe, she would like it if we matched, and not punish me about the shirt. I found one pair of jeans without worn-out knees and put them on. Then I remembered I still had the Slumber Cap on. I carefully took it off in front of the mirror and discovered that it had worked. I thought my hair still looked about how it looked last night.

I hurried down stairs.

"Well, that’s not too bad, but your hair got quite flattened.

Stand in front of the hall mirror."

Mom got hairspray and her comb. She lifted my hair with the pointy tail of the comb while she sprayed it. She made me stay there while she did the same thing to about 8 spots on my head. At last she seemed finished.

"Now, go sit down and don’t move until the spray is dry. And don’t touch your hair."

I sat while Mom set the breakfast table. Her hair was "up" like she had left it last night.

As I sat there, Mom handed me the napkins and silverware for the table.

"You can help with this, you know"

Aunt May and Jen arrived just as we finished setting the table.

Jen sat down across from me.

Mom wasn’t sitting down yet. She was busy at the stove with coffee and eggs. Aunt May was at the counter, pouring coffee.

"Oh how cute. Mother and daughter prairie blouses. Did you pick them out together?" Jen was whispering, so only I could hear.

"And I see you have another new hairdo.

Did you have to sleep in rollers too? Because I did. My mother set my hair last night, see? She said she wanted my hair to look as pretty as yours"

She swung her head around, and I could see waves and curls tumbling down her back, instead of a single smooth, straight ponytail.

"I spent an uncomfortable night in rollers because of you, sissy boy, and you’re going to pay."

I was embarrassed, frightened, and angry, all at the same time.

Mom and Aunt May sat down, facing each other. Aunt May was on my left, Mom on my right. Mom noticed Jen’s hair and commented on how great it looked.

"She looks so pretty with it curled. Do you plan to curl it for her often?"

"Only for special occasions for now, but who knows? How about Robbie? He looks perfectly darling. Did you buy a whole mother and son wardrobe?"

"No just the two tops for each that you’ve seen. You know, the matching jeans today, were Robbie’s choice. He could have picked any pants, but he chose to complete the look."

I think paper would have caught fire on my face right then. Mom was talking as if I enjoyed dressing like her daughter. Jen was blaming me for her unwanted hairstyle, and threatening to get even with me. And Aunt May was talking about me, as if I was Mom’s Barbie doll.

Mom and May continued to discuss their pretty children, while Jen and I just glared at each other. After breakfast, Mom sent us out to play in the yard.

"Would you like to play house Robbie? ‘Robbie’...that’s short for Roberta, isn’t it?

Jen was looking for trouble.

"I have some chalk. Shall I draw a hop scotch court on the sidewalk.? Oh no, I guess it’s too warm for hop scotch. You wouldn’t want to get you hair all damp and sticky from sweating. How about something quiet. Do you have any Barbies?"

That did it.

"Shut up jerk! I’m just doing what my mom wants me to do."

"Yeah, and making me look bad. And making me have to sleep in rollers."

"Well, you look nice with curls, at least now you look like a girl."

"Well, you should know. You’re Roberta the girly sweetheart little boy"

I don’t really know what happened next, but we were rolling on the ground hitting each other, shouting, and kicking all at the same time.

Mom and aunt May were coming toward us from the back porch, but we didn’t know it until Mom had me by the collar and aunt May had Jen by the hair. We were both dragged inside. It was aunt May who spoke.

"It looks like you two cannot be trusted for a second. We will have to baby sit for you, as if you were 4 year olds."

Mom took me into the other room.

"Normally, I wouldn’t punish you in front of visitors, but you humiliated me with that display of unthinking violence. I will have to make sure you know what humiliation feels like, so you learn not to do it to others."

Mom pulled me back into the other room. "First, apologize to Jen for your behavior" "I’m sorry, Jen."

"Now apologize to me.’

"I’m sorry Mother."

"Sorry for what?"

"For fighting with Jen, for getting dirty, for everything I did"

I was ready to scream. I really wasn’t sorry. Jen deserved it. Jen deserved worse.

Aunt May made Jen apologize too. I don’t think she meant it either.

"Evidently, looking neat and well groomed isn’t quite enough to make sure you both act civilized."

Aunt May was speaking.

"June, do you have any suggestions?"

June was my mom’s name. Twin girls named May and June. I guess that was my grandparent’s humor. The old family story was that the twins were born 20 minutes apart. May was born 10 minutes before midnight on May 31^st. And June came into the world at 12:10 AM on June 1^st.

"Well, we could make them be nice to each other, and sit here and watch, so they have no choice"

"I like that idea. Jen could also learn to do a few chores around the house. She acts like it’s all too much trouble for her to bother with."

"Now that they’ve rolled around in the mud like pigs, they could start by doing some laundry...their own."

Jen sat glaring at everyone and absentmindedly playing with her long hair. A small, green caterpillar fell from her head to the floor.

"Yah! Ugh get it away from me!" Jen shouted.

Aunt May looked at Jen coldly.

"Just pick it up and put it outside. In time it will turn into a beautiful delicate creature, instead of a repulsive crawly. You could take a lesson from that."

Jen looked horrified, but did as she was told.

"A pair of shampoos and sets might be in order as well." added Mom.

"You’re right May. They do seem a bit rebellious about the requirements of good grooming right now, but they have to learn to look and act civilized."

We were both sent to take showers and wash our hair. Jen went first. She had a robe and spare clothes with her. I guess the clothes were what Aunt May made her bring for church on Sunday morning. Her stuff was in the spare room. I guess Aunt May had put it there while we were outside. Jen sure hadn’t carried anything upstairs.

She came out dressed in a pale green short sleeved dress that came to her knees. She had sneakers on without socks. Her long damp hair hung loose down her back. It looked like a wet cape. Aunt May was waiting for her in the hall.

"Jennifer, what did I tell you about shoes?"

Jen looked at her feet.

"Mom, I hate those shoes you bought me. Can’t I wear these?

We’re just in the house."

"Get back in there and change. You need some practice in being a lady" Jen walked past me, back into the spare room.

"See what you started, sissy-boy." she whispered as she passed.

I decided to keep my mouth shut. I showered. The only shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom were the ones Mom uses. I left the shower in a robe, with sweet smelling hair that felt soft and smooth.

Mom had laid out clothes on my bed. There were tan chinos, a light green sport shirt and loafers. I guess Jen wasn’t the only one to be a bit more dressed up than usual.

"Come down here when you finish dressing"

I dressed quickly, and brushed back my wet hair. I didn’t want to get Mom any angrier.

When I got to the kitchen, Jen was already there, sitting quietly. The table was just about covered with hair setting equipment. I recognized Mom’s bowl of rollers. There was a big shoebox full of more rollers. Some were plastic, like Mom’s, but some looked like wire springs covered with brown netting. There was a brand new, full jar of setting gel. There were three combs, all of them the same kind, with long tails. There were also hairnets, pink tape, and something that looked like a pack of very tiny Kleenexes.

"Welcome to the May and June Salon, where we believe that a pretty child is a well behaved child."

Mom was actually smiling as she said that.

"Let’s start with Jen."

Mom and Aunt May stood on opposite sides of Jen’s chair and began to comb her long hair.

When they had gotten it all very smooth, Mom called me.

"Robbie, would you help us roll up Jen’s long hair?"

I really did not want to be part of what Jen was sure to consider a punishment.

"I’d rather not, Mom."

"I didn’t mean to give you a choice. You will help set Jen’s hair, and she will help roll you up."

It was hard to roll Jen’s hair properly. I discovered that with such long hair, you have to start with only a few strands. Otherwise, by the time the roller is all rolled, there is hair falling off the ends.

Mom showed how to use the little tissues, ‘end papers’, she called them, to help get the hair started on the roller. Aunt May told me to "make the rollers nice and tight. We want Jen’s curls to last."

"Ouch, you’re pulling my hair"

"Don’t mind her, Robbie, you’re doing just fine. She just has to get used to a little discomfort, it’s part of being pretty."

It took lots of rollers to finish Jen’s set. By the time we were done, we had used up all the plastic rollers and most of the wire ones. There was a good sized dent in the new jar of gel as well.

Jen got her turn to roll my hair. Mom picked out the smallest curlers in her bowl for Jen to use. She made sure Jen rolled them neatly. Jen didn’t need any encouragement to make them tight. She made sure she pulled good and hard on each one. I made up my mind not to say anything. I figured Mom wouldn’t let her pull my hair out by the roots.

When we were both rolled up to Mom and Aunt May’s satisfaction, they added the finishing touches. Aunt May put some extra gel on my bangs and formed them into little curls, flat against my forehead. She put a strip of tape across them to hold them there. Mom took four of the small rollers, like the ones on my head, and after unrolling one roller on each side of Jen’s head, put in the four small rollers.

"These will form the prettiest tendrils around your face"

Each of our heads got covered with a hairnet. This time mine was pale blue, and Jen’s was pink.

Mom showed us where to put all the stuff away.

Then she brought Jen and me down to the basement and had us put our dirty clothes in the washer. My pink shirt, (I couldn’t quite call it a "blouse" in my mind, even though it really was one.) went into the wash along with my jeans and socks. So did Jen’s blue tee shirt and her blue shorts and socks. Our underwear went in too.

"While this stuff is washing, you two can play a quiet game."

We went upstairs and got out some board games. Our hearts weren’t in it. I tried, knowing that I couldn’t go outside wearing rollers and a hairnet. Not here. Not on my own block.

Mom and aunt May watched us all the time, so we wouldn’t get into another fight. We did have a rather short and cut-throat attempt at Monopoly, but it became obvious that it would be a long day. Mom kept trying to get us to talk to each other, but mostly we just exchanged dirty looks.

Mom set up lunch while Aunt May "baby sat." After lunch, we had to do the dishes. Mom gave each of us an apron to wear. Mine had pictures of food on it. Jen’s was decorated with pictures of plants, flowers and butterflies. They were both tied in the back with big white bows.

When we finished the dishes, aunt May said it was time for us to learn to iron. The she had taken our things out of the dryer while they were still damp. The ironing board was in the basement. I had to do my things and Jen had to do hers. It took me a long time to get the hang of it.

My pink shirt was the toughest to do.

The afternoon continued much as the morning had, except we were allowed to watch some television.

At about three in the afternoon, Mom realized she had to go shopping. She asked aunt May to stay and watch us. As soon as Mom was gone, aunt May asked to see our hands.

"I see you both have dirty fingernails. Well, we can fix that." She brought us into the bathroom and made us scrub under our nails with a brush.

"Now let’s see what we can do to keep you more aware of how your hands look"

She made us wait in the hall while she got some things from Mom’s room.

Back at the kitchen table, she showed us how to file our nails smooth. Then she opened a tiny bottle and painted something on Jen’s thumbnails. It was the palest pink. When she asked for my hand I held back.

"No, nail polish is for girls. I don’t want any."

Jen began to laugh. "You look like a girl to me already."

"Be quiet Jen, this is between Robbie and me."

"I’m just saying, he is so pretty, he could be a girl."

Aunt May gave Jen a dirty look and continued.

"Robbie, lots of men wear clear nail polish. It doesn’t show, it just protects your nails."

I finally let her do my thumbnails.

She pointed out how she did them, with just three strokes each.

She then had Jen do the rest of my left hand. Then I had to do Jen’s left hand. Jen did my right hand, and we had to wait until it dried. Finally I did Jen’s right hand.

When Mom returned, aunt May made us show her our nails. Mom seemed very pleased that we were both wearing nail polish.

Just before dinner, Mom asked me to change clothes again.

"Could you put on your pink blo...er shirt and those nice neat jeans you were wearing this morning? I like how we looked wearing matching outfits."

I got my clothes from the basement and went up to change. Jen and aunt May were looking at a magazine in the living room. I returned to find Mom putting polish on her nails. I thought I’d give mine a fresh coat too.

I noticed her nails were now the same pale, transparent pink as mine, rather than her usual bright red.

The evening passed with dinner, cleanup, and TV. Jen and I were weren’t nearly as angry as we had been earlier. As bedtime approached, I asked Mom about taking out our rollers.

"I don’t think so, not until morning. Your hair may be dry, but Jen’s isn’t. Besides, sleeping with them in, will give you something to think about before you act like animals again."

As I got ready for bed, I kept thinking about what the night would be like. How hard is it to sleep in rollers? Is it really as bad as Jen and Betty Thomas say? I guess I was going to find out.

Jen and I were getting along pretty well by the end of the day. Aunt May had helped Mom put some clips in her hair to hold the curls in place, and mom had put a Slumber Cap on too.

Mom had braided aunt May’s hair in one of those braids that was attached to her head from where it started at the top, all the way down to her neck. Mom called it a French braid. She didn’t braid all of aunt Mays hair. She put setting gel on some of the front hair and rolled it into flat curls. Each curl was held with two crossed bobbi pins. Aunt May said pin curls were easy to sleep with. Aunt May had blonde streaks in her mostly brown hair. The streaks really made the pattern of the braid stand out.

We had a snack before bed. We were all sitting around the table. Jen and I were in rollers and hairnets. Mom had her cap on, and aunt May’s hair was braided and pinned.

I went to my room and Jen went to the spare room.

It wasn’t easy to get to sleep. At first, I thought I was comfortable. Within a few minutes, I could feel a roller pressing hard against the side of my head. I would turn my head and the same thing would happen again. I tried sleeping on my back, my sides, even on my belly. Nothing really worked until I had twisted and rolled my pillow into a tight little pile that fit under one cheek and my neck. Then I got to sleep...for a while. Wow, if it’s this hard to sleep with a few rollers in my short hair, imagine what Jen is going through, with her very long hair, and about 40 or 50 rollers!

By morning I was sleepy, and a bit sore. We all had breakfast in our robes. Mom had lent Jen a special "roller pillow" that looked a little like a horseshoe. Jen said sleeping on it wasn’t great, but it was possible. I think Jen and I spent about the same kind of night.

Mom took down aunt May’s pin curls while I took out Jen’s rollers. Jen told me her head itched. I gently rubbed her scalp with my fingertips, being careful not to tangle her fresh curls. Jen took out my rollers and removed the tape from my forehead. My gel curls were still stuck firmly to my skin. They were as shiny as glass.

Aunt May took over with Jen’s hair and brushed it up, and back from her forehead. She used lots of spray and a few bobbi pins. Soon, Jen had a very elaborate hairstyle. The front was high and smooth. Waves and curls cascaded down her back like a waterfall. The four small rollers were still in place. Aunt May had asked me not to take them out.

Mom brushed through my curls very gently, leaving them pretty tight. She loosened the gel curls on my forehead a bit, but mostly left them shiny and stiff.

"Now don’t play with these gel curls. You can touch them now, to see what they feel like, but leave them alone after that. They lose their shine if you touch them too much."

"I like how they look. I won’t mess them up"

Mom finished my hairdo with spray,I had a mass of curls again.

Curls everywhere.

We all got dressed. Mon and aunt May wore light short sleeve dresses in pale colors. Jen wore the same pale green dress she had worn yesterday. She didn’t complain about having to wear her "dressy" shoes this time.

Mom had put out clothes for me again. This time it was dark green chinos and a light green shirt that matched Jen’s dress.

When we were almost ready to leave, Aunt May took out the last four rollers from the sides of Jen’s head. She gently stretched the curls down to form several open spirals on each side. Jen looked like a picture in a storybook.

Mom made us all stop in front of the mirror before we left the house.

"We can all be very proud of how our family looks. Robbie and Jen, we are depending on to act appropriately."

Jen and I looked at each other. I was still a bit angry with her over how she had teased me, but she hadn’t done any of that this morning. Jen looked at me and then looked back at her reflection in the mirror. She half smiled at herself, and then we all headed out the door.

As we walked to the car, I looked at Mom, aunt May and Jen. I realized we all had fresh, pretty hairdos. All our curls had been carefully set with rollers, pins or clips. All our hair was held by spray.

Even though it was on the warm side that morning, and this was way before cars had air conditioning, we only opened the windows a crack. None of us wanted to get their hair messed up, not even Jen.

Mom was smiling from ear to ear as we greeted the minister and his wife and entered the church. The minister’s wife whispered something to Mom. All I could make out was,

"...Like a little angel."

The church service dragged on, as usual. The sermon was about "The Blessing of Peace." He kept emphasizing the need to behave in a humble, peaceful way, and Mom kept looking over at me.

The service finally ended. We were walking back to the car when someone came up behind me and covered my eyes with their hands.

"Guess who."

"Give me a clue"

"I know how you got your curls"

"Hello, Betty Thomas."

I turned around and there was Betty. She was wearing a white blouse and a dark green skirt.

Her hair was curled in those "ringlets" her mother had described to me on Friday afternoon. The curls hung down onto her shoulders and bounced with every move of Betty’s head.

"Ooo Robbie, you have those adorable little curls on your forehead. You look so sweet. I couldn’t help noticing them during the service. My mother said they used to be called ‘spit curls’ but now, hairstylists call them ‘gel curls.’ Sometimes people call them ‘kiss curls,’ and I know why."

With that, she put her hands on the sides of my face, pulled me toward her and kissed me right on my forehead! I could feel myself turning as red as a beet. I was very uncomfortable, but I knew I had to say something to be polite.

"You look very nice too. Are those the ringlets your mother did for you on Friday?"

"Yes, I was careful not to mess up my hair. I thought I might see you here today, and I wanted you to see these curls. After all, you helped create them by fixing our dryer."

Betty’s ringlets kept bouncing as she spoke. "Well, gotta’ go now. See you on the school bus tomorrow" Betty ran back to join her mother. Jen was walking next to me.

"So that’s it Rob, you haven’t been getting your hair done just to please your mother, you have a girlfriend who likes pretty boys too."

"Betty is not my girlfriend"

"I saw her plant that kiss on your forehead. I may be a tomboy sometimes, but I am a girl, and I can tell. Betty has a big crush on you."

I didn’t know what to say. At the time, I was just getting over thinking that all girls were completely yucky. I didn’t have many guy friends either. I think that was because I found most sports too boring to play or watch. Mostly, I liked bike riding, and really enjoyed tinkering with mechanical stuff. I liked animals too, but Mom was anti-pet.

We all got into the car and headed home. Jen and I were both eager to get out of out church clothes and have lunch. The weather had clouded up while we were in church, and it began to rain while we were driving home.

"If this rain keeps up, you kids aren’t going to be able to play outside this afternoon. June, I read that a new exhibit just opened at the science museum. We could take Robbie and Jen to see it. What do you think?"

"I think it would be better than having them in the house all afternoon. We’ll have a quick lunch at home, then go to the museum"

At home, Mom put out sandwiches and milk for Jen and me. Aunt May and Mom had coffee with their sandwiches.

"Can I get out of this dress. I’d rather go to the museum in jeans. My other stuff is clean and dry now"

"Yeah, Mom, I would like to change too"

Mom and aunt May looked at each other. It was Mom who spoke.

"I’m not sure you two have fully learned your lesson about how to behave toward each other yet, but you are improving. I think the clothes have something to do with it. Keep your church clothes on for now."

We ate and left for the museum. Mom and aunt May didn’t change clothes either. They were still kind of "Sunday" looking.

The museum was filled with kids, most with their parents. In front of one exhibit case, I found myself standing next to Tom Brandon, a kid in my class.

"Hi Tom"

"Hi Rob"

"Hey Rob, those curls on your forehead make you look so sweet.

You look like a..."

He paused in mid sentence

"Err...they look nice"

He looked up, past my shoulder. I turned to follow his look. My mother was looking down at him with her best stern look. Beside her was another woman. She spoke.

"Tom, don’t tease that boy about his hair. When you were a baby you had adorable curls. I’m sorry I ever had your hair cut short. Maybe this summer we can see if your hair is still curly when it grows out."

Tom walked away behind his mother. He shot me a dirty look over his shoulder.

Jen and I were trying out one exhibit. It had ropes and pulleys for lifting weights. The guide was showing us how easy it is to lift a heavy weight by using the right kind of pulley.

Jen and I were pulling the rope, hand over hand. The guide seemed to be staring at out hands. Why? Then I remembered we had on matching pale pink nail polish. There was no doubt about it. At home the nail polish looked almost colorless, but in this light it was definitely pink! The bright exhibit lighting glinted off out fingernails. Jen and I had matching nails.

I finished pulling up the weight and lowered it to the floor. As quickly as possible, I stuck my hands in my pockets. I could feel my cheeks getting red. I felt very uncomfortable. More and more people were noticing these "girlish" things about how I looked. I had to talk to Mom.

I tried not to show my hands any more than necessary for the rest of our museum visit.

We got home about six and ate a light dinner.

Aunt May had called and spoken with the painters. She said they were finished. Aunt May and Jen left soon after dinner.

Mom and I were alone.

"Mom, do I have to keep this nail polish on? I think the guide at the museum noticed it, and that embarrassed me."

"Well, it was part of the punishment for fighting with Jen, but I think you’ve learned to act like a gentleman. You may remove it now. I’ll show you how."

Mom brought nail polish remover and cotton and we cleaned off the polish.

"Robbie, there is only one more week of school left this year."

"I know. I can’t wait until it ends."

"Do you want to wear curls this week, or go back to your old hairstyle? Remember, even if you go back, you’ll have to use gel or hair trainer and keep it neatly groomed every day. I will be insisting on well-groomed hair from now on. Personally, I like the curls, but it’s your choice."

I thought about Betty’s comment about other boys and their Howdy Doody hairstyles.

"I’ll keep it curled for now."

Mom smiled and hugged me.

"I think you made the right choice. You look so adorable with a head full of curls."

"Mom, there is one thing I’d like to change though."

"What is that?"

"Well, these gel curls that Aunt May did on my forehead....Betty Thomas called them ‘kiss curls,’ and you know what Tom Brandon was about to say when you and his mother stopped him..."

"Yes I know. I think his mother was so humiliated by his behavior that she may come up with some punishment of her own for him. But these may be a bit too dressy for school."

She gently fingered one or two of the stiff curls on my forehead.

"We can just wet these and set them differently for tomorrow.

The rest of your hairdo looks fine."

I went to sleep in rollers again that night, the second night in a row. This time there were only three rollers, all in the front and wound toward the back. I had the same pink hairnet on, the one with the tiny bows around the edge. I still thought it looked silly on me. Sleeping was easy this time.

With only three rollers, it wasn’t hard to get comfortable.

In the morning, I got dressed before I unrolled my hair. I found I could ease a Tee shirt on without messing up my hair at all. Mom helped me brush the curls up in the front. She did something with her comb that she called "back combing." Mom said it was to add height. She told me to spray the front first and to let the spray dry for a few minutes. She showed me how to position one or two curls when the spray was half-dry. Then, Mom made sure I used lots of spray all over my head.

"It’s going to be humid today and you don’t want your curls to droop by lunchtime."

Mom hugged me as I walked out to get the bus. She whispered. "Keep your hairdo neat, and I’ll have a nice surprise for you when you get home."

Betty Thomas was already in the bus.

"Come here, I saved you a seat."

I sat down next to her. Was wearing a pink short sleeved blouse with little pictures of kittens (of course) on it. She was wearing white shorts. Her reddish ringlets were tied back with a white bow, into a high ponytail.

"I see you changed your hair again. I hope I didn’t make you too self conscious about those sweet little curls on your forehead."

"I’ll probably wear them again sometime, but both Mom and I thought they were a little too dressy for school. Actually, I liked the style your mother did for me. If it wasn’t for my stupid cousin Jen teasing me until we got into a fight, I would have kept those petal curls as long as I possibly could. How was your aunt’s wedding shower?"

"It was fun. Some of the gifts were useful, but some were just funny.

What happened between you and your cousin? If you want to talk about it."

"Nothing much. It happened Saturday morning. She called me a name, I answered, and before I knew it, we were on the ground fighting. We both needed showers and shampoos after that."

"So that’s how she got that fancy updo"

"Yeah, her mom and mine decided to make us both sleep in rollers and then dress us up for church."

"Whatever the reason, I thought you looked just perfect with those little curls. Please do them again for my party."

With that, she reached into her school bag, took out a small envelope and handed it to me.

"Open it."

It was an invitation to an "End of School, Start of Summer" party. It was going to be on Saturday.

The day went quickly. Mom was in the kitchen when I got home.

She looked at me.

"You look fine. Ready for your surprise?"

I had forgotten all about this morning’s promise.

"Since you’ve decided to wear curls, I thought you might like some things of your own. We’re going shopping for your hair styling supplies."

Mom seemed to be in a hurry, so I dropped my book bag, gulped my milk, and joined her in the car. She drove to a Woolworth store about a mile from home.

"We will be able to buy almost everything you need right here.

If we can’t find something here, we’ll go to the beauty supply store.

Let’s try to get what can here, the prices will be better." We went to the "beauty" counter. Mom asked me to pick out what I thought I would need.

I got a black rat-tail comb, two packages of plastic rollers, some roller clips, end papers, hair setting tape, a dark blue "setting" hairnet, a package of brown "invisible" hairnets, a jar of setting gel and a can of super hold hairspray.

We looked for a dryer, but Mom didn’t like the ones they had. Mom gave me money and made me bring all the stuff to the counter and pay for it.

The cashier was an older woman. She looked at my basket full of hair setting supplies and then at me. She didn’t say anything, but I think she was looking at my hair as she said...

"Enjoy your purchases, and have a nice day."

We locked my bag of hair setting supplies in the trunk of the car and walked down the street toward an appliance store. On the way, we passed a big news stand.

"Mom, can we stop here for a minute. I’d like to get a magazine."

"Sure, we have plenty of time."

Back then, there were about five or six monthly magazines with titles like "Popular Mechanics," "Popular Science," "Mechanix Illustrated." I couldn’t get enough of them. They had a mix of articles about everything from low cost helicopters, to building a rowboat, to fixing your TV set. I began to leaf through the selection to decide on my choice. Mom was leafing through magazines at the other end of the rack.

"Mom, I picked one out. I’ll pay for it."

"No need, I’ll pay for it. But first, I’d like you to look at these. You may want to get another magazine as well."

I carried my magazine to where Mom was standing. On the rack in front of her were magazines with names like "Hairdo" and "Hairstyle"

These magazines had pictures of pretty young women on the covers. One had a large picture of a woman with her hair all in tight little curls. There were smaller pictures of other women on the cover as well. All had more or less curly hairstyles. Printed on the cover was "Try these cool curly styles for summer. Complete setting instructions inside." I felt a little uncomfortable about picking up one of these magazines and looking through it.

There was no doubt in my mind that these were "women’s magazines" while my choice was a "men’s magazine."

"Look through it Robbie, it won’t bite you"

I opened the magazine and began to turn the pages. On nearly every page was a picture of a girl or woman with a very pretty hairstyle. There were drawings of how to wind the rollers, and put in the pin curls for each style.

The style of the drawings seemed to be more like blueprints or plans, than like pictures. They reminded me of the plans for building as model. They had arrows to show the direction to wind the rollers and where to put the pin curls. There were even a few photos of girls in rollers.

"Would you like to get one of these books? We could both try out some of the styles during the summer."

"I guess so."

I picked out the magazine with the curly styles on the cover.

The other magazines were interesting too, but everyone in them had much longer hair than I did. Mom got one of those. She said her hair was long enough to try lots of the styles.

"You know Robbie, you may want to try one or two of these some day too."

Mom took the three magazines to the cashier and paid for them.

At the appliance store, we found a hairdryer that Mom liked. It had white soft plastic hood with tiny yellow flowers printed on it. The hood looked like a huge shower cap. A flexible hose connected the hood to the table-top part. The whole thing fit in a case shaped like a drum, with a zipper around the edge. Mom said the hood was called a "bonnet."

It came in a cardboard box with a picture on it of a woman using the dryer. She was sitting a table with the "bonnet" on her head. She seemed to be polishing her nails as she waited for her hair to dry. There was some information on the box about the dryer.

"1000 Watts of drying power. Dries even long hair quickly.

Extra large bouffant bonnet, easy to wear over big rollers. Handy nail dryer door, dries your nails quickly with comfortable warm air."

As it turned out, the dryer was on special sale this week. We bought it, and carried it back to the car.

We drove home.

I didn’t have any homework. It was the last week of school, and the teacher was giving us a break. I remembered the invitation from Betty and showed it to Mom.

"I wish you had shown this to me before we went shopping. We could have shopped for a nice outfit for you to wear to the party."

"Do I really need new clothes? It’s just a kids party."

"Well, not fancy clothes, but something fresh and, you know, ‘summery’"

" I never thought about what I would wear."

"Well, you should think about it. I’m sure some of the other children are picking their outfits pretty carefully."

"Can I ask Betty what she is going to wear?"

"You can ask her what kind of party it is going to be."

"Now, let’s get your hair things put away."

We brought everything we had bought into my room. We found a spot for the dryer on my dresser. It was too high to use it there, but Mom said I could move it to my desk when I was actually setting my hair.

We made room in a drawer by combining my socks and underwear into one drawer. The rollers, clips, gel, comb, tape, and hairnets all went into the empty drawer. Mom added a card of bobbi pins.

"We forgot to get these at the store. You never know when you may need them."

"All this talking about hair is making my head itch"

"It’s not the talking, it’s just the spray and the warm weather. You’d probably be more comfortable if you washed it and then gave yourself a fresh hairdo. Would you like to try out the new things you got?"

"I guess I could use a nice cool shower,"

"There is still plenty of time before dinner."

I showered and shampooed my hair. I used the conditioner Mom had left in the bathroom. I was getting used to the sweet smell and soft feel of my hair. I dressed quickly.

Mom tossed me the "Hairdo" magazine.

"Pick a style you like. Let’s see what we can do with your new equipment."

I really felt silly now. What had I gotten myself into? Here I was, about to pick out a curly hairdo from a girl’s hairstyling magazine and get my hair set in that style. Get my hair set? Heck, Mom was probably going to make me practice setting my own hair. I looked through the magazine without much interest.

I got to the back of the magazine without picking a style and was starting to go through it again.

"Robbie, pick a style or I’ll pick one for you"

"Mom, I think I’ve changed my mind. I’d rather just comb my hair the old way. But I will use my new gel to keep it in place."

"Well, they say it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, but you’re not a woman are you?"

"Of course not, I’m a boy"

"And you did let me spend all that money on hair supplies and a brand new dryer for you. I am going to require that you set your hair this evening, a commitment is a commitment. Now pick a style, right now."

I quickly flipped the pages of the magazine and found a style with neat looking curls. All the girl’s hair on the top of her head was curly. The sides were kind of straight and brushed back. The girl was sitting on a horse. She almost looked boyish.

"I like this one"

"Well...OK. A bit plain for my taste, but I guess it will do for the last week of school."

The style was called "Curly, not frilly" There was a paragraph that described it as "...perfect for the girl with short hair and an active life." There was also a setting diagram that showed 8 rollers on top and bobbi pins along the sides.

The instructions for the style said to "Set the top tightly on ¾ inch rollers with gel or setting lotion. Smooth the sides back and pin in place. When dry, comb out gently to keep the curls well defined. Tease the sides a little for fullness. Spray well to keep this cute style picture perfect, while you enjoy the great outdoors."

"Let’s get started, Robbie. Comb out the tangles and section off hair for the first roller."

"Shouldn’t I put the gel on first?"

"No, you’re going to do this whole roll-up yourself, if you can.

It will probably take you a while to get each roller in, and your hair will be drying the whole time. I’ll show you how to gel each section of hair just before you roll it, so the hair will go onto the roller easier, and the set will take better. Get out your package of smaller rollers, they’re the right size. Get out your roller clips too."

I got everything I needed from the drawer. I sat on my desk chair. Mom had moved my mirror from the wall above my dresser, to the wall above my desk, about two days ago. Now, I knew why.

I used my rat-tail comb to comb my hair straight and smooth. I sectioned off some hair at the front of my head. My hair wasn’t very long at the time, just about 2 or 3 inches. Mom showed me how to hold the section with my left hand while I put down the comb, and dipped the fingers of my right hand into the gel. The gel felt cool and slippery. I put the gel onto the lock of hair.

The hair stuck easily to the roller. I wound it down to my head. It went about a turn and a half.

"Now tighten it"

I rolled a tiny bit further, so I could feel just a bit of tugging against my scalp. I held the roller with my left hand while I put a clip in against my scalp so it wouldn’t unroll. Mom told me to use a second clip from the other end. The first roller was in place, right above my left eyebrow.

The next roller went in beside the first one, over my right eyebrow.

The second pair was much harder to do than the first. It was harder to see what I was doing, and harder to reach. I had to make sure the section was right. Mom made me do one of the rollers three times until I got the section right and the roller wound smooth.

By the time I got to the last roller, my hair was almost dry.

Now I understood about the need to gel each section as I went along.

"Now do the sides"

I reached for the gel.

"Wait a minute"

Mom walked out of the room and came right back. She had the bottle of that sticky "Hair Trainer for Unruly Hair" with her.

"Use this on the sides."

"But the magazine says to use gel or setting lotion."

"I’ll tell you a secret. This is setting lotion. It’s the same stuff with a different label."

"You mean, a lot of boys use setting lotion, and don’t know it?"

"They sure do."

Mom showed me how to pour the lotion onto the comb and comb it through my hair. I combed the sides back. They stayed in place by themselves.

"I don’t think I need any pins to hold the sides."

"Put them in, so the dryer doesn’t blow your hair around."

When the pins were in place, Mom handed me my new dark blue setting net. I carefully put it over the rollers with the tails hanging down in front, just as Mrs. Thomas had done. I brought the tails around, and tried to tie them in back. Mom had to help me tie a firm bow behind my head.

We set the dryer on my desk and put the bonnet on my head. Soon I was relaxing as the warm air flowed around my face. The dryer smelled like new plastic. That smell mixed with the various sweet smells from my hair.

"Here is something to read while your drying"

Mom handed me the "Hairdo" magazine and her "Hairstyle" magazine.

I wondered where I had left my "Mechanix Illustrated."

I sat there reading for more than half an hour. There were so many hairstyles in the magazines! I tried imagining myself wearing some of them. Most of them needed much longer hair than mine. Mom always made me get a haircut as soon as she thought my hair was getting even a tiny bit too long. Would she still do that now, what with all the hair setting she seemed to want me to do? I guess I should admit it, I was getting to enjoy all this attention to my hair. Should I ask Mom about skipping a few haircuts?

As my hair dried, the rollers seemed to get tighter. I guess this had happened the last time I sat under a drier too, but I must have been too excited to notice.

After a while, I had to go to the bathroom. I shut off the dryer and pulled the hose out of the dryer’s base. I went to the bathroom with the bonnet still on my head and the hose tucked into my belt, so it wouldn’t pull on the bonnet. That was my idea.

Before I hooked up the hose again, I decided to see if my hair was dry. I reached under the bonnet and felt one roller. The hair felt dry and stiff. I carefully took off the bonnet and checked the other rollers. They all felt the same. They were still a bit warm, but they were dry.

"Mom, I think I’m ready for the comb out." I was proud I had remembered the phrase. Mom came up to my room and felt my rollers.

"They seem dry to me. Let’s let them cool a while. It helps lock in the curl shape."

Mom helped me remove the bonnet without disturbing the net or the rollers and pins. I looked at myself in the mirror as soon as I got the bonnet off. There was no doubt about it. With the rollers and setting net, I looked something like some of the pictures in the Hairdo magazine. I looked like a boy, getting his hair done like a girl. And, rather than being ashamed, or thinking I looked silly, I felt warm and excited all over. This was fun. I think I was beginning to understand why girls paid so much attention to their hair.

"Robbie, that’s not nice. Take your hand away from there."

Without thinking, while looking at myself in the mirror, I had put my hand on my pants, down near my fly. I don’t know why I did it except that I felt very warm there.

"Robbie, that part of you is private. It isn’t nice to touch it when anyone else is around."

I wanted to change the subject real quick.

"Mom, can we finish my hair? I really want to see this style on me."

"Do you really want the rollers out now? You know, the curls will look better for school tomorrow, if the rollers stay in until morning."

I wanted to see the finished style, and I wasn’t that happy about sleeping on rollers again. Then I looked in the mirror again and decided to wait until morning.

If Jen and Betty could sleep in dozens of rollers with their long hair, I could sleep with just eight of them anytime. Besides, my rollers were just on top of my head. On the sides of my head, where my head touched the pillow, were just a few bobbi pins, holding the hair smooth and even.

"Ok Mom, I’ll keep the rollers in until morning."

"Good, lets get ready for dinner."

I helped Mom set the table. This time Mom had me cut up the lettuce and slice a tomato. I felt proud to be using a sharp knife. We ate hamburgers with the fresh lettuce and tomato on them. After dinner, Mom we had my favorite dessert, strawberry ice cream. Just as I was spooning up the last of my ice cream, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Welmont, the lady from across the street, was in the house before I remembered what I had in my hair.

I didn’t know where to run, or how to hide. As much as I was starting to enjoy doing my hair, I knew what almost everyone thought of boys who "copied" what girls did. I didn’t want Mrs. Welmont to see me in rollers, bobbi pins, and a hair net.

Mom and Mrs. Welmont were standing in the hall. I couldn’t get past unseen, and escape up the stairs, or even down to the basement. The back door led straight from the kitchen to the back yard, but the next door neighbors were outside grilling their dinner at a small barbecue pit. I just sat there as Mom and her friend came into the kitchen.

"Jane, would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Oh that would be lovely, thank you"

She answered Mom, but she was looking straight at me!

Mom served the coffee to Mrs. Welmont and poured a cup for herself.

"Robbie, would like something to drink as well?"

"No thanks, Mom. Could I please be excused?"

"Of course. You’re excused."

I got up and began to walk toward the door.

"Robbie, would you wait a moment please?"

My stomach hit the floor.

"Sure Mrs. Welmont"

"I couldn’t help noticing your hair. I don’t want to be impolite, but I just have to ask. Why the set?"

My mind had been racing as she spoke. I ran through all the excuses I could think of. "Crazy Clothes Day" at school, costume party...nothing sounded any good.

"I guess I just got tired of the same old hairstyle."

"So you decided to curl your hair like a...?"

"So he decided to try curling it for a while. I think he looks great with curls"

Mom had interrupted Mrs. Welmont. That was great, but I still thought Mrs. Welmont was being a bully. Since Mom had already excused me from the table, I knew I could leave now. I still wanted to say something to that old pest. I got up and began to walk out of the room. At the door I turned toward Mrs. Welmont and said "Besides, Why should girls have all the fun? Good night."

I saw Mrs. Welmont’s mouth open as if to say something, but I was out of the room before I heard any sound come out of it.

I went up the stairs, opened my door and closed it, without going into my room. I stood quietly in the hall. Mrs. Welmont was a loudmouth, in addition to being a bully. I could hear every word.

She had come over to speak to my mother about her upcoming party, for next week. It wasn’t a birthday, or anything like that. The best I could make out, she would be selling stuff at the party. Pretty soon, she got back to talking about my hair.

"Do you think it’s a good idea to let him do that with his hair? I guess you do, I don’t think a boy could set his hair like that without some help."

"Robbie looks so nice in curls. He is learning to be careful about his appearance, and he is learning some gentle skills. I think its good for a boy to learn to put time and effort into his grooming."

"To each his own. But I think boys should be boys, and girls should be girls."

"Jane, weren’t you and I the tomboys of the block when we were growing up? We turned out fine. Maybe a boy is best when there’s a bit of girl mixed in."

They chatted a while longer, about flower gardens and the price of meat, but it seemed a little less friendly than their usual chats. I sneaked into my room as quietly as possible when I heard Mrs. Welmont get up to leave.

It was harder to get to sleep that night, than I thought it would be. There was no real discomfort from the rollers, though the bobbi pins poked me a little. The hairnet actually felt cozy against my head. I kept thinking about what I had heard my mother say. Was she trying to mix "a bit of girl" into me? Sure, I found setting my hair exciting, in fact the excitement was part of why I was having trouble getting to sleep. I wanted to keep doing my hair, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be known as a ...I never heard a name for a "backwards tomboy" except "sissy," and I sure didn’t want to be THAT.

I finally fell asleep, with my hand "down there," and pressing my head into the pillow, so I could feel the rollers better.

Mom got me up earlier than usual.

"Put on a shower cap and take a shower. Time to get ready for school."

I showered and dressed. I put on a tee shirt without disturbing a single hair.

"I wish you would wear something nicer than those tee shirts. Though I have to admit, you have learned to put them on without disturbing your set.

Eat your breakfast, and then do your hair."

I ate breakfast quickly.

I got out my rat tail comb, my new can of hairspray, and my old hairbrush. Mom had the Hairdo magazine out, opened to the page with the "Curly, not frilly" style. I stood in front of the hall mirror and took out my rollers and bobbi pins. Mom gave me a bowl for the rollers, clips and pins.

"We’ll have to get you a roller bag or a basket to keep this stuff in."

My curls were very stiff. I must have put a lot of gel onto each one by gelling them one at a time. The sides, set with the lotion, were not as stiff. I didn’t do much with the curls. I just separated them a bit, so they didn’t look like they still had rollers in them. I pulled the comb through the sides. They looked smooth and flat against my head.

"Mom, shall I spray it now?"

"What do you think?"

I looked at my hair in the mirror, and at the hairstyle in the picture in the magazine. Mine didn’t look as nice, but I couldn’t pick out the difference.

"Robbie, can you see that your hair is a bit too flat on the sides?"

Sure enough, that was it. My hair was right against the sides of my head. The girl in the picture had her hair a bit "fluffier" on the sides. It was still smooth, but it wasn’t flat.

"I’ll show you how to tease it a little. That will make a big difference."

"Mom, I’ve been teased about my hair enough"

"We’re going to tease your hair, not tease YOU about your hair."

Mom was laughing as she spoke.

Mom showed me how to give my hair a quick shot of spray and how to use the comb in little movements to build what she called "fullness" in my hair. Then she smoothed my hair back gently with the brush and her hand and sprayed that side more heavily. When she had finished the left side, she had me try the same thing on the right side.

I really couldn’t do it as well as Mom had. Mom finished it for me.

"Very good for a first try at teasing. You’ll get better with practice."

She spoke as she worked.

"There, now both sides look the same."

I sprayed my hair, taking care to do all parts of my head well.

I was really getting to like the swe