Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Sunday's family party

I didn’t sleep well after Saturday night’s party. I think in part still being wound up after all of the fun and laughter, and part not knowing what was going to happen at Sunday’s party with our family members.

Linda had done a good job of teasing, but keeping things under control the night before. I had expected being exposed to my friends as her sissy househusband. There were some comments made, mostly by two of her friends, about what a good cook I was and how I kept the house looking so nice. Fortunately, they didn’t expound on it in front of their husbands or the other guests, so I was spared some humiliation. I was sure that Sunday’s gathering would be a different story.

I was pleasantly surprised Sunday morning when Linda didn’t have any instructions for me on what I was to wear. She did say that, since it was going to be rather warm, I should wear shorts. For most men this would not be a big deal. But I keep my body shaven, head to toe, because I am often wearing dresses or skirts, and hairy legs would look gross. So I knew that by wearing shorts that my shaven legs would be on display for all to see. I know that there are a lot of men out there who have very little leg hair, but in my family the opposite is true. I come from a family of hairy men, so my shaven legs would really stand out.

As I was preparing the dinner (I know, I had to do all of the cooking for my own party!), Linda walked into the kitchen, looked at me, and got an expression on her face that screamed ‘you had better put on an apron!’. I reached into my apron drawer and took out one her mother had given me, one that was long but not overly feminine. However, it did cover my shorts completely and looked like I was wearing a dress and my smooth legs really stood out. This is how her mother, sister, and my brother-in-law discovered me when they arrived. My sister commented on how cute I looked while John just shook his head and walked out of the room.

My mother was next to arrive with my sister and her husband Bill. Mom got a perplexed look on her face as I walked past her carrying food to the table. When she saw me from the back she exclaimed “oh, you are wearing something under that apron. I thought maybe it was a dress.” The ladies all laughed at that as I turned beet red. Fortunately, Linda didn’t say anything to me as I removed the apron to sit down to eat.

The dinner conversation was light and my previous appearance was not mentioned. After dinner, I briefly thought that perhaps I would be excused from cleanup duty to be able to relax with John and Bill in the other room, but a quick look from Linda cancelled that thought. As I got up to clear the table, John made a comment reminding me to put on my ‘pretty apron’. As I slipped it back on I realized that the ladies had remained seated at the table. They were going to sit there as I cleaned up. So there I was working away as everyone else in the house relaxed. On my last trip from the table to kitchen Linda told me to wash the dishes by hand because the dishwasher was so noisy that they wouldn’t be able to talk. I could see my sister whispering something to my mother and she nodded her head in agreement. As I stood at the sink Mom said “you really have nice legs. I bet they would look good in high heels.”

“Oh, they do.” Linda answered. Turning to me she said “Why don’t you go get a pair and put them on. And put hose on with them.”

I stood there, shocked by her instructions. Then, without a word, I left the kitchen and went to the bedroom. Unfortunately, this trip requires walking through the living room so John and Bill saw me wearing the apron. Of course the return trip was worse as now I was wearing nylons and women’s shoes with 3” heels. The men burst out laughing when they saw me. The women had me stop by the table so they could look at my legs and shoes.

My sister was the first to comment. “You do you have great legs. I’m sure Bill and John thought so too.”

My mother asked if those were Linda’s shoes and Linda informed them that the shoes were, in fact, mine, and that I had several pairs of ‘nice shoes’.

I was sure that the conversation was going to take off on discussing my feminine antics, but nothing further was said. Instead, talk centered around summer plans, movies everyone had seen, and other normal, mundane topics. I was left to finish my dishes, clean up the kitchen, and serve coffee. Nothing more was said about my appearance, not even by the men as I took coffee out to them. They just said ‘thanks’ like there was nothing out of the ordinary and it was any of the ‘women’ serving them coffee. I had been partially ‘outed’ to our family members, and everyone took it in stride. Even as they were leaving and hugs were given to the women, and handshakes to the men, no comments were made about my shoes, my shaven legs now clad in nylon, or the apron I wore that looked like a dress with my ensemble. It was almost eerie how accepting it was. I could only imagine what the future would hold me. Would it be long before Beverly became a part of the family gatherings?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Bev:
I don't think that was "partially" outed! And I am amazed at how well/calm the group behaved - there had to be some fore-warning by your wife - Don't you think?
And would it be too much to ask for a "anonymous" picture of some of your other participants (wife/mother/mother-in-law?
Thanks
michael

Beverly said...

You are right Michael. they did appear to be too accepting now that I think about it.
As for the photos of family members, I am not about to post their photos on this or any website. I look different enough when I am dressed as Bev that casual acquaintances shouldn't recognize me. But putting up a photo of my wife or family members is a sure way to bring undo attention to the innocent. But thanks for asking.
Bev

Unknown said...

Bev,
I understand the need for privacy!! Just was looking for visual context (ala -"NO Head" shot!)
You wrote alot about what happened - not alot of the why or how you feel about it? Feel like sharing? Or is that am "email" question?
Mike

junior said...

It seems that Linda outs you before you even know it. But that's a good thing because you can feel comfortable that you aren't shocking anybody when you put yourself on display. i think eventually your whole family will know about Beverly.