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Chrissie: Allison's Summer Vacation

By

Barbara Lynn Terry

I

The Party Dress

As I slipped out of bed, my mother told me that my bubble bath was waiting as we had a lot of things to do today. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and my mother, entreating me not to dawdle, went to answer it.

I sneaked over to the stairs and saw Chrissie being hugged by my mother who thanked her for giving her a daughter. I finished my bubble bath and went into my room and got dressed. Because it was such a nice day, I put on my yellow print sundress, with a cream blouse. This was one of the outfits Chrissie had bought for me on our little shopping trip. I then went downstairs and said hello to Chrissie and gave her a sisterly hug.

My mother, Chrissie and I, then went to a restaurant where Chrissie and I just had a large orange juice each and my mother had a coffee. We sat and planned our day. My mother said we weren't going to Schuster's where she worked, but more uptown to a fashionable boutique for young ladies with exquisite taste. I learned I was to get a party dress and matching undergarments and shoes. When I asked my mother whose party the dress was for, I was told it was for my own birthday party in August and that my mother was going to invite all girls. Chrissie squealed with excitement at that, knowing that in August I was to be officially declared my mother's daughter and Chrissie's sister.

But, before I could even consider any of this seriously, I was told by my mother, that she had been making phone calls all morning and had made arrangements with a psychiatrist to evaluate me and see if this is truly what I wanted. That is why she let me sleep in. I don't know how she managed to arrange this on a Saturday and only in a couple of hours to boot. I asked my mother how she got an appointment so quick, and all she did was smile. I told her I would be glad see the doctor, as I had no worries about appearing in public dressed as a girl.

"I WILL be going to the doctor's office dressed like a girl, right mom?" I asked inquisitively.

"Yes, Allison, you will be going to the doctor in your clothes. I will no longer force you to be a boy. I have talked with Chrissie and she tells me you two did things together as girls. If you want to be a girl, Allison, I will support you, because I love you and I want you to be happy." She said with that mother's smile they always give you when you've done something right.

When we arrived at the doctor's office I saw the name on the door said `Dr. Barbara St. Clair, MD., PHD.' The psychiatrist was a woman. I get along very well with women, and since I have been dressing like this since I was seven, I now considered myself a girl and wanted to be one ever so badly. My mother was called into the office first and I sat in the outer office with my hands in my lap and my knees together.

Young ladies of the fifties didn't fidget with their hands or look from side to side or up and down, while they were out in public. They sat with their knees together and their hands folded in their laps. Chrissie was doing the same. What seemed like an eternity later, the inner office door opened and a nice looking lady, in her late thirties or early forties, looked out and said, "Allison, dear. You may come in now."

She had on a brown, two piece, skirt suit that complimented her hair, which was styled in a bun, a style popular for spinsters back in the fifties. She told me to sit down and began to ask me questions.

I sat in a big chair that had rollers on it, next to my mother who was sitting in one, too. I smoothed out my dress with my hands as I sat down and put my hands in my lap. My mother just smiled at me.

The doctor introduced herself, "Hello, Allison, I am Doctor St. Clair. How are you feeling today?"

"Just fine, doctor." I replied.

"That's good, dear. Now I have a few questions for you. Is that alright?"

"Yes."

"Good. Your mother tells me that she came home one night and found you in your room wearing a dress. Is that right, dear?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, I glanced at my mother and she nodded.

"Why were you wearing that dress, dear?" the doctor asked.

"I was playing with my friend from a couple of houses down. Every time we would play, I would get dressed like a girl and we would then be sisters and play girl games amongst ourselves. That night we had played that we were mothers and our dolls were our babies, and we met each other in the park and started talking girl talk. It was lots of fun," I giggled. "Then Chrissie wanted to lay down and I went home to put the days events in my diary. While I was writing in my diary, my mother had come home from work, early, and I didn't hear her until she was standing at my bedroom door." I had replied fully.

"When you put on a dress, do you get excited down there?" She asked pointing at where my hands were folded.

"No. I . . ., well, I don't know how to say it. When I am dressed as Allison, I feel a strange tingle throughout my entire body. I like it when I walk and the dress follows my every move, and when there is a breeze, how the dress is lifted slightly and the air circles my legs. At first this was a very strange feeling, then as all girls do, I guess, I learned how to live with it and not think about it."

"Now, your mother also tells me that this friend you call a sister, was the one who asked you first, to put a dress on, that it was not your choice. How do you feel about that?"

"Chrissie is the greatest, doctor. At first when she suggested it, I stammered and resisted and complained, but Chrissie would have none of that. She asked me if I ever had secretly wanted to see how a dress would feel if I put one on. I told her then that boys didn't think about such things. I . . . "

I was interrupted by the doctor, who said, "So now you want to go back to being a boy again, and forget all this girl stuff, right, Ronald?"

"Doctor, my name is Allison," I said in a icy voice, "and I am a girl. My sister's name is Chrissie and she is just the greatest sister any girl would be proud to have. I do not know what being a boy is all about anyway. I have never been very good at doing 'boy' things and everytime I would try to get into a game or some other thing that the boys were doing, I was always told I was too short and too skinny." I retorted; she had called me Ronald.

After that, she only called me Allison or dear and we got along well. She asked more questions and I answered, then it was getting on time to end the first session, and the doctor told me to wait in the outer office. My mother was there the whole time but she had said almost nothing except to nod now and then.

I got up and started for the door, then I looked at the doctor and asked, "Doctor, I have one question. Why are you here on a Saturday?"

"Allsion, dear, I am here on Saturdays because I like to help young people like yourself. During the week they have to take off from school and they would miss a day's lessons. This way they can come and see me when there is no school."

"OH," I said then I asked, "How come you saw me right away today?"

"Because one of the children I see is sick today and couldn't come, so I told your mother she could bring you in today. Do you have anymore questions, dear?"

"No, doctor" I replied and then left.

I went out and she closed the door and I realized that my mother was still in there.

The door opened about ten minutes later, and my mother said, "Come on, Allison, let's go and get your new party dress."

I beamed with joy. I was getting my new dress after all. We arrived at an uptown boutique called Jennie's Salon For Young Ladies. We went into the store and I just stood there taking in the fresh scent of perfume in the air. Then a smartly dressed woman, maybe in her thirties, with a very nice figure, came over to meet us. Her hair looked like spun gold, soft and shiny. This was Jennie, the owner of the boutique. She introduced herself to my mother and then looked at me.

"Miss Kingston, I presume. Will you follow me, dear?"

I followed her back to the dressing rooms and instead of a curtain, like at Schuster's, these dressing rooms had doors that went all the way to the floor. Jennie bade me to enter the room and told me she would be right back. The dressing room was nice and had a dressing table, like Chrissie did. Chrissie was in there with me, while my mother went with Jennie to select my clothes for my up and coming birthday party.

Chrissie told me that the rest of the summer would be dedicated to my training as a girl, so that when we were at the party, and other places, I wouldn't make any mistakes, not that I made any thus far. But, it seems my mother and Chrissie have been talking behind my back, and all of it good. Chrissie also said that my mother is getting rid of all the clothes of mine that even remotely resembled being a boy. From now on, I would be dressed as a girl and be treated like a girl by everyone, including my mother.

"It is going to be so nice that we can be sisters in the open and not hide it anymore." Chrissie said with a very happy smile on her face.

When Jennie and my mother came back they had armfuls of dresses, slips, panties, shoes. Understand, a bra would not be needed for another two or two and a half years, as I was only eight, going on nine, now. I looked at the pile of clothes there before me. I get to try them all on, was all I could think about, and it was Mom who was buying them for me. I gave my mother a big hug after seeing the clothes they had brought in.

"What was that for, dear?" My mother asked, seeming very pleased that I hugged her.

"Just because . . . I love you, Mom," I said warmly.

I got to try on three different styles of dresses and I settled on a pink chiffon dress that came to my knees with the matching slip and stockings, and shoes. I would be the belle of the ball, as my mother called it. Mom told Jennie to wrap them and we would be on our way.

We went out into the store proper, and my mother saw the earring display. She looked at me and asked, "Allison, dear. How would you like to have your ears pierced so that you can wear real earrings?"

"Oh, Mother," I exclaimed, "can I, really?"

"Yes, dear, you certainly may."

With that she told Jennie that I would like to have my ears pierced.

Jennie said, "Miss Kingston, will you please step over here?"

I sat down while my mother picked out some very pretty gem-like studs. I was told that by the time my birthday party came around, my ears would be healed, and I would be wearing regular earrings. Being a girl sure is a full time job, I came to realize. My mother said that I would start taking an interest in boys, but probably would not date until after I had started to develop.

Develop? OH! Wow. That means that the doctor wasn't trying to stop me from being a girl, but just wanted to make sure that that is what I wanted. If the doctor was satisfied, my mother told me, that being a girl was my choice, she would recommend to the children's court to allow my mother to change my name legally from Ronald--yuck--to Allison--nice.

On the way back home, Chrissie and I sat in the back seat talking all kinds of girl talk about my new clothes and my pierced ears. She even said I could borrow some of her earrings sometimes. She also said, that if there was a particular dress I wanted to borrow, I could borrow that too. We had indeed become sisters over the past two years. What started out as secret playing, now became my full life. We didn't need to hide any longer.

It took an hour and thirty minutes to get home, we lived in a small town just up the road. My mother pulled into our driveway and parked
the car. We carried the two bags, one with a hanger on it that had my dress in it and a smaller bag with the the other things inside.

We went inside the house, and no sooner sat down, when Chrissie's mother came ringing at the door. She was a woman of about the same age as my mother, twenty-nine, and didn't look a day over twenty. She asked if Chrissie was here and my mother nodded and invited her in. Her name was Joan.

As she walked into the kitchen, she saw me and said, "Hello, Allison, dear. I just want you to know it is nice of you to be an adopted sister to my Chrissie. She has been through so much. What I wanted to say is, wouldn't you and Chrissie like to go to summer camp and be with other girls?"

I began to get excited about the prospect of going to camp. I had never been to a girls' camp before. But, then I stopped short. She saw the look on my face and immediately knew what I was thinking.

She said, "Allison, dear. I have known about you and Chrissie for a long time now. You see, when you and Chrissie started this sister bonding, I
noticed that she was very happy and cheerful and volunteered to do things around the house. When I asked her what got into her, she told me the entire story."

"You mean, you know that I am really a . . ."

She cut me off, "Why yes, dear. And I want you to know that you have made Chrissie very happy by being her sister. That is why I asked you, if you and Chrissie wanted to go to camp. It is an all girls camp, no boys, and it will be my treat to you for being there for my Chrissie."

"Why, that is a great idea. What camp is it?" My mother had asked.

"It's called the Camp of the Willows," Joan answered

"And how long is this camp for? And, what if they find out I`m not a real . . ." I was interrupted by Joan again.

"It is set for two months. July and August. The camp director and owner is a personal friend of mine, and I will make all the arrangements,dear. You are not to worry except go and have a good time. And, Allison, dear. This is part of your complete training. The camp director will know and so will her two daughters, who are the only counselors at the camp. Besides, silly. you are not the only boy I have sent there."

I thought, OH NO! There goes my birthday party.

II

The Doctor And I

The next week went by pretty fast and all of a sudden it was Saturday again, and time to see Dr. St. Clair. When we got to the office I found out that I was going to go on a shopping trip with the doctor, who wanted to see first hand, how I acted in public dressed as Allison.

The doctor and I went by ourselves, and she told me she would drop me off at home when we were through. We went to the shopping center, in the middle of town and the first thing she said was let's get something to eat. I said ok, and we went into Woolworth's and sat down. Woolworth's was a five and dime and they had a very nice dining area. So, we sat there, waiting for the waitress. After we got our order, I sat and took little bites of my salad, and small sips from my soda. When I sat down I had put my hands under my dress to smooth it out, and I kept my knees together the whole time. The doctor noticed these mannerisms, but said nothing. Then we went into the store proper and looked at some stationery.

She picked up a diary, and handed it to me, "I think the one Chrissie bought is almost all filled up by now, right, Allison?"

"Yes, doctor, thank you very much," I said with a big smile.

She said I was welcome and that we had one more stop to make. My hair had become long. In fact it was long enough to get a perm. The doctor took me to the beauty salon next door to Woolworth's and told the lady I needed a shampoo and a perm. When we were done, I fount out that this was what the doctor called a fishing expedition. She did this for persons who wanted to be girls, but were physically boys. If she saw the slightest masculine movement, mannerism, or the ultimate, looking at girls, she would put a stop to the farce, immediately.

But she looked at me and said, "Allison, you are very much a girl. I told your mother last week that she should file for a name change for you in children's court and I would do what I could to recommend it.. I will make my recommendation to the court so that they can proceed. I just want you to know, not all boys become girls, just because they say that is what they want. I had to be sure that you weren't going to change your mind and that your actions and speech were that of a girl. I am not disappointed, and your mother is going to have her daughter after all."

The tears just came out. I was crying and I didn't know why. I was being given a new life. The life of a girl. The doctor noticed my tears and said to me, "Why Allison, dear. What are you crying about?"

When I told her that I didn't know, she took her forefinger and thumb and lifted my chin up, smiled and said, "When a girl is overwhelmed by happiness, she cries for no apparent reason. Now I know that you are truly a girl, no matter what body you have. Only a girl could cry like this and not know why. I am going to also make your records at school reflect your new identity. Will you be afraid to go to school as Allison, when they already know you as Ronald?" she asked.

"No, doctor, I would not be afraid."

"What if you get in a fight with one of the boys? How will you react?"

"I will put my foot where it hurts the most," I said. Then I giggled.

She giggled too.

III

Name Change

Before we knew it, it was time for me to go to children's court. When my name was called, my mother and I walked into the chambers area, and the judge watched me all the time until I sat down.

He said, "I have a petition here from a Mrs. Dawn Kingston, for the purpose of changing her child's name from Ronald Kingston, to Allison Dawn Kingston." Then he looked at me and asked, "Are you the child in question, young lady?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, your honor."

Then he looked at my mother and asked if she was my natural parent, and my mother nodded and said, yes, your honor. The judge went on, "This is a highly unusual case. I have had teenagers come in here to change their names, but those names were always befitting the physical gender of the person. Before I grant this change of name, would you please tell this court, young lady, why do you want to be a girl?"

"Yes, your honor. It all started when I was seven years old. . . ." I told him about Chrissie and how we did things and how I liked wearing clothes like a girl and how I was more in tune with my own feelings and those of the feelings of others around me.

The judge interrupted and said, "Did your mother know anything about this at the time?"

"No, your honor. Not until the last day of school, when she came in and saw me lying on my bed."

"What were you doing on your bed?"

"I was writing the days events in my diary."

"Do you like to keep a diary?"

"Oh YES, your honor. A diary is a girl's best friend. You can tell your diary things you wouldn't tell a living soul."

"Young lady, you are indeed very feminine. This is a petition for a name change of a boy Ronald Kingston, to change that name to Allison Dawn Kingston, a girl. There are representatives from social services, the school district, the young lady's psychiatrist, and the child's mother. Is there any objection now, to this name change?" -(pause)- "Hearing nothing, the court grants that Ronald Kingston, a boy, shall hereafter, and forever be known as, Allison Dawn Kingston, a girl, with all the rights and privileges, thereto. This is the judgment of the court, and it is so ordered."

He smiled down at me and said, "Good luck, young lady. You have really brightened up my day with your pretty smile."

I curtsied and smiled back and said, "Thank you, your honor". Then we went home.

Chrissie was there waiting to hear that I was now officially a girl with a girl's name and all the privileges and rights that went with it. Now, that part was over, but I still had to see Dr. St. Clair once a week. I wasn't going to think about that now. My mother had supported me in being a girl, and she was so happy I was now her daughter.

We began to have mother daughter talks. The first one was about boys.

"Allison, dear. Please come down to the front room," my mother called up the stairs.

"Yes, mother? What is it?"

"I want to talk to you, very seriously, dear. About boys."

I looked at the ground and turned my heel like I was now the bashful type. Well, I was, where boys were concerned. Then my mother looked at me and said, with a serious tone and look on her face.

"For right now, boys still think girls are a pain in the butt, at your age. But, in a couple of years, they will start to notice you and make silly noises like whistles, and hey, good looking. You have to be ready for that, dear. In a about a year and a half or maybe two years, you will begin to develop breasts, which means the boys will notice you more. I am telling you this now, so that when it comes time you will be prepared for it. We will have other talks about boys too, and I will remind you from time to time what we talked about here today."