Ethan’s World

by Daphne Childress

Ethan Martin and his mother live a simple life in a small Southern town... with a twist: She makes dresses to pay the bills and he helps out as best he can.

Chapter Seven: Rainy Day Games

Ethan’s aunt and cousin have some fun at his expense.

The rain hammered the windshield like thrown pebbles as Colleen’s station wagon pulled to the curb in front of Aunt DeeDee’s modest brick bungalow. Ethan sat huddled on the passenger seat, arms folded over his chest, scowling as if the weather were his personal enemy.

“Smile, honey,” Colleen said, squeezing his shoulder. “It’s just a few hours. I’ll pick you up before dinner.”

“But why do I have to stay here? Dani’s probably busy.”

“She’s your cousin, and DeeDee has been wanting to see you. Besides--” Colleen flashed a sly grin-- “it’ll do you good to spend time with other people, instead of moping around the house.”

Ethan sighed. “I’m not moping.”

“You absolutely are. Now go. Love you!”

Before he could protest further, Colleen leaned across him, opened the door, and gave him a gentle shove into the torrential rain. Ethan scampered past his aunt’s vintage muscle car and up the walkway, his canvas sneakers squelching in the puddles, while Colleen waved and drove off into the storm.

Inside, Aunt DeeDee was waiting, one hand on her hip, the other holding a lit cigarette whose smoke curled above her short fiery red hair. A pair of cat-eye glasses perched halfway down her nose. Most important, she wore black slacks and a snug red sweater that enhanced her hour-glass form and tended to attract the attention of males of all ages.

“Well, if it isn’t the storm-tossed sailor himself,” she said, flicking ash into a dish. She caught saw her nephew staring in an all-too-familiar way and scoffed. “Hey, eyes up here, little mister! What do you think you’re looking at?”

Ethan blushed. “Sorry, Aunt DeeDee,” he mumbled. “I, um, was just thinking.”

“Is that what you call it?” DeeDee sighed. “Men. Ya’ll the same. Well, come on in. Dani’s in the den. I’ll get you a towel. You look like a drowned rat.”

“I’m not drowning,” Ethan mumbled, stomping water off his shoes.

“Could’ve fooled me.”

* * *

The den smelled of coffee, cigarette smoke, and hairspray. Dani sprawled on the couch, long legs crossed, munching Doritos while the television played an old episode of American Bandstand. She wore faded jeans and a T-shirt emblazoned with a snarling wolf.

“Hey, Ethan.” She gave him a lazy wave, orange powder dusting her fingertips. “Nice drowned rat look.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh, charming,” Aunt DeeDee said. She went into the attached powder room and came out, tossing a terry cloth towel to Ethan. “Don’t you or your mom own an umbrella or something?”

“We didn’t know it was going to be this bad.”

“We ought to get you into some dry clothes.” Her lips formed a wicked smile. “Hey, since we’re trapped in here by the monsoon, how about we go through some old things I found in Dani’s closet. There ought to be something in there that will fit you. Lord knows she’ll never wear’em again.”

“You got that right!” Dani grinned. “Sissy here can have them.”

Ethan blinked. “Me? But… I’m a boy.”

“That’s debatable.”

“You shut up!”

“Make me, Sissy!”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, will you two knock it off?” DeeDee laughed, waving the smoke away. “They’re just clothes, Princess. And you always look so sweet in something a little… different.” She cocked an eyebrow at him, smirking. “Besides, your mother would love it.”

“I knew it,” Ethan said, slumping into an armchair. “This is a conspiracy.”

Dani laughed. “Don’t look at me. I’m not the one saving my old skirts and dresses. But hey--it might be fun.”

Ethan gaped at her. “Fun?”

Dani shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we’re going anywhere.”

Aunt DeeDee disappeared down the hallway and returned moments later carrying a cardboard box overflowing with fabric in every color of the rainbow. Pink tulle, white cotton dresses, skirts with sunflowers, blouses with tiny embroidered cherries.

“Okay,” she declared, dumping the box on the coffee table, “fashion show time.”

Ethan recoiled as though she’d dumped a box of live snakes. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Oh, hush.” DeeDee leaned down, hands on her knees, peering at him. “You think I’m gonna let these cute little things go to waste? Dani, help me out here.”

“Come on, Ethan,” Dani said, flipping her long, auburn ponytail over her shoulder. “It’s raining. It’s not like anybody’ll see. Except me and Mama. And we’ve both already seen you in dresses before.”

“That was different.”

“How?” Dani demanded, grinning.

“It… it just was!”

DeeDee tapped her cigarette into the ashtray and picked up a soft pink sundress. “Look at this one. Remember this, Dani? Wore it to that ice cream social when you were nine. Ethan, hold it up to yourself.”

“No!”

Dani snatched it and pressed it against his chest. “Admit it, you’d look adorable.”

Ethan tried to twist away, but DeeDee gently grabbed his shoulders. “We’re not asking you to wear it in public. Humor us, kid.”

He clenched his teeth, cheeks flaming. “Fine. One thing. That’s it.”

DeeDee and Dani exchanged triumphant smirks.

Moments later, Ethan found himself standing in the little powder room, stripping off his wet T-shirt and jeans. He was using his towel to finish drying off when the door opened and DeeDee stuck her head in.

“Oooo, nice whitey-tighties, Princess.” She looked him up and down and winked. “Hey, here’s a pack of undies that I found in the box. Never been worn. Leave your stuff on the floor and I’ll put them in the dryer when you’re done changin’.”

Ethan took the plastic package and sighed. “Of course,” he muttered. It held three pairs of girl’s panties, one yellow, one pink and the other bright red.

A moment later he stood in the cramped room wearing the yellow briefs. Little bows were sewn into the waistband. He tried not to think about them as he stared at the sundress dangling from the towel hook. It was baby pink with tiny cap sleeves and a gently flared skirt. He took a deep breath, as though plunging into ice water, and slipped it over his head.

The fabric slid down his torso, cool and whisper-light. The skirt floated out high above his knees, swishing as he moved. He turned to look in the mirror. A boy with damp hair stared back--a boy in a pink sundress.

“Oh God,” he muttered.

From outside the door, Dani’s voice rang out: “Come on, Emily. Let’s see!”

“Shut up!”

He emerged into the den, scowling, arms wrapped tightly around himself. DeeDee and Dani both let out squeals.

“Oh my God!” DeeDee said. “Look at you! Like a little Shirley Temple.”

“I hate you both,” Ethan grumbled. “I’m moving to Australia.”

Dani hooted. “You always say that, but you never do.”

“Oh, hush. Turn around, Princess,” DeeDee commanded.

He turned slowly, face burning.

His cousin grinned. “I wonder if…” She flipped up his skirt and burst out laughing. “Ha! I got it right, he put on the yellow ones! You owe me a dollar, Mama.”

DeeDee frowned. “I was sure he’d go for the red ones.”

“Cute,” Dani said. “Next dress, Sissy!”

Ethan crossed his arms in defiance. “I said one thing!”

But Dani was already digging in the box. “Nope. You’ve unleashed the beast.”

Over the next half-hour, the flustered boy was shuffled in and out of the bathroom like a mannequin on wheels. A white cotton dress with little red roses. A sleeveless yellow dress with a pleated skirt. A pale green blouse paired with a navy skirt.

Every time he stepped out, DeeDee let out a delighted “Awww!” while Dani whistled or clapped.

“See?” DeeDee said, fussing with the collar of a frilly party dress with a tutu for a skirt. “You’ve got the figure for it.”

“I don’t have a figure,” Ethan hissed.

“Sure you do,” Dani said. “A little one.”

“Traitor.”

Finally, DeeDee declared, “One last thing.” She rummaged in the box and emerged with a pink headband with a comically large satin bow. She clamped it onto Ethan’s head.

“There,” she said, turning him to face the mirror. “Perfect.”

Ethan glared. “I look like a birthday cake.”

“You look precious,” DeeDee said. “Dani, put on some music.”

Dani grabbed the remote and scrolled through the channels until she landed on a music video. The opening beat of a pop song thudded through the speakers--a girl group, bright and glittery, singing about independence and fun.

“Oooh!” DeeDee crowed. “Come on, kids. Dance par-tay!”

“Absolutely not,” Ethan protested.

But DeeDee was already pulling him into the middle of the room. “Don’t be a wet blanket!”

“Yeah, Ethan,” Dani chimed in. “Live a little!”

Between the two of them, Ethan found himself bouncing awkwardly to the music, the fluffy tutu of his party dress swirling around his hips, showing flashes of his panties, headband threatening to fall off. DeeDee did a shoulder shimmy beside him, her breasts wobbling, cigarette balanced precariously between her lips, while Dani spun in circles, hair flying.

By the second song, Ethan felt himself loosen. The music was catchy, the rain drumming against the windows created a safe, hidden world. He tried a little twirl. DeeDee whooped and grabbed his hand, spinning him in a circle. Dani cackled and joined in, three of them moving in a clumsy triangle.

After a while they collapsed onto the couch in a heap of giggles. Ethan sprawled out, arms and legs akimbo, breathless. His lace-trimmed undies showed but he was too tired to give a care.

“You,” DeeDee said, pointing at him, “are fabulous!”

Ethan shook his head, cheeks flushed. “I’m never speaking to either of you again.”

“Sure, sure,” Dani said, nudging him. “Admit it. You’re having fun, aren’t you, Sissy?”

He rolled his eyes. “Maybe a little.”

Dani grinned. “Good enough for me.”

The day went quick and fast. DeeDee fixed a frozen pizza while Ethan and Dani danced some more. After lunch the fashion show continued, the two females clapping and whistling as the blushing boy modeled several more of Dani’s hand-me-downs, including a purple polka dot mini-dress that looked quite becoming.

DeeDee crowed: “You could pass for a young Audrey Hepburn in that get up.”

“Who the heck is that?”

“Big movie star, frail little thing, though, short hair, cuter than snot.” She made a kissy face and winked. “Almost as cute as you.”

Ethan frowned. “I’m not that cute.”

“That’s what you think.”

DeeDee insisted on brushing his hair and tying it up with a pink scarf. He drew the line when she broke out the red lipstick and mascara.

“Nope, not no way, not no how!” he insisted.

DeeDee pouted. “Spoil sport.”

The trio was finally danced out and Ethan sat at the kitchen table watching mother and daughter play cards when the front door opened and his mother appeared.

“Well, what do we have here?” Colleen smirked to see her son clad in the polka dot dress and scarf. “Looks like I missed all the fun.”

Ethan felt his face burn. He shouldn’t have been embarrassed, but the circumstances made him feel extra vulnerable.

“I, um, better go change.”

DeeDee and Dani were filling Colleen in on the events of the day when Ethan emerged from the bathroom, still wearing the polka dot dress. In his hands were the clothes he arrived in--soaking wet.

“Uh-oh.” DeeDee looked genuinely apologetic. “Sorry, Princess. Guess we forgot to put them in the dryer.”

“Yeah, right.” The frustrated boy pursed his lips. “You did that on purpose.”

“Ethan! That’s no way to talk to your Aunt DeeDee!” Colleen gave him a hard stare. “Apologize right this instant!”

“But…” He started to raise a fuss but thought better of it. “Sorry, Aunt DeeDee. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s all right, little mister.” DeeDee pulled him in for a hug, pressing his face in between her breasts--triggering a boyish squirm and a smile. “I didn’t either,” she added, kissing him on top of his head. “My bad.”

Before leaving Ethan was given a pair of white sandals. “I ain’t wearing those things again,” Dani said with a grin. “You can’t run in them and they’re terrible for skateboarding.”

DeeDee laughed. “But they sure go good with those polka dots, Audrey Hepburn.”

* * *

In the car Ethan sulked while his mother hummed along with the radio. “So, you had a pretty profitable day at Aunt DeeDee’s, hmm? There’s quite a collection of outfits in that box.”

“Yeah, they made me try on everything. Not. Fun. At. All.”

Colleen shot a glance at her son and grinned. “That’s odd. From what I heard you had all sorts of fun. Dancing and pizza and a fashion show. Sounds to me like you were the center of attention all day long.”

“I guess.” Ethan looked over at his mother. “Do they like me, Mom?”

“Do they?-- What kind of question is that?”

He fiddled with the hem of his dress. “Well, Dani’s always calling me a sissy and Aunt DeeDee calls me princess. It’s like they kind of like me but they like making fun of me even more.”

“And you don’t make fun of them?”

Ethan frowned. “I do make fun of Dani. Sometimes. But I’m too scared of DeeDee to make fun of her.”

Colleen laughed. “That shows good judgment. DeeDee isn’t one to tangle with. But I wouldn’t worry, sweetheart. She got a lot of grief from me and your Auntie Vivian when she was growing up. Vivian was hard on her and I wasn’t much better. I guess she’s just passing it down.”

The tires made a humming noise on the wet pavement.

“You know, that’s what DeeDee called me when she was little. Sissy, I mean.” Colleen smiled at the memory. “I was her big sister--the one that she spent the most time with. So up until high school I was her ‘Sissy.’”

“Huh. I never knew that.” The cross-dressed boy nodded. “Sooo… Aunt DeeDee does like me, then?”

“Oh, honey, she adores you! More than you’ll ever know. If it seems like she’s giving you a hard time, that’s just how she shows it. Trust me, if she didn’t care about you she’d either give you a really hard time--and I do mean hard… I once saw her give a grown man a black eye--or she’d just ignore you.”

Ethan thought for a moment and nodded again. “I guess she must love me a lot to make me go through all this. Now I got more panties and dresses than I know what to do with.”

Colleen raised an eyebrow, a smug, mischievous smile curling her lips. “Oh, don’t worry about that, baby. I have plenty of ideas… tons, in fact.”

Ethan nodded. That’s what I’m afraid of, he thought to himself.

Next up: The Piano Lesson