Christmas Pageant - 6

 

There followed more songs, poetry, and dance recorded on mini DV and camera. At one point Miss B called over Panties and bid her kneel. For more than a year Miss D had been pointedly expressing her preference for Panties as a sissy. She always strongly requested that Panties in her presence be attired as a female or at least in effeminate clothes. Recently Panties had dinner with Miss D in a wonderful Moroccan restaurant in Queens wearing a blouse, slacks, bra and panties without wig or makeup. You could only tell if you looked closely, or thought twice about the handbag, or the shoes. Panties had been resisting going to the opening of a play Miss D had written taking advantage of her reluctance to force the issue. Now Miss B stepped in with authority: “Panties, Miss D has something she wants to say to you and you are to obey. Do you understand?” Panties nodded and Miss D spoke carefully and firmly: “Panties, do you know when and where the play is being performed?” Panties nodded. “I want you to go as Panties.” She went on to instruct Panties how she was to dress for the evening. (“Something nice. A skirt or dress, nothing too short or too slutty.”) Miss D was friendly, but it was no longer a request or a favor. She asked Panties what she had in her closet that might be appropriate. (“Can we see?” asked Miss T.) They wanted a fashion show, but Panties ended up showing several skirt, blouse combinations which Miss D approved of. Finally, Miss D instructed Panties how she was to behave (deferential, soft-spoken, courteous) when she was introduced. “You are not to criticize anything or initiate a conversation.” Her parting words burn forever in Panties’ mind: “I want you to have a good time, dressed as a woman.” Miss B asked for a show of hands (three), who wanted to be addressed from here ever after as “Miss.” With an automatic fine if Panties dared ever to call them simply by name.

For the finale, Panties read a final five poems with the girls trying to guess which was written for whom. Then the girls opened their presents. Each were handed a holiday bag. Inside were gift certificates, candy, chocolate and a copy of their poems. Panties was surprised when she was handed two presents. One was a Barbie “A Wedding to Remember” photo book from Miss B. The other was a Barbie card with a drawing on the front of a girl in a pink dress, frothy slip showing, talking on the phone while holding a date book. Panties felt a sharp pang as she read the note from her one true friend in the room that evening, the fun, pretty, smart girl she had hoped to one day date or even kiss. “Dear Panties, Congratulations on ‘coming out’ and letting go of your manly pretensions. This is a big step for you. All the best in your new life. Ms. D”

It wasn’t close to midnight, but the girls had to work the next day. They exchanged goodbye hugs and kisses. Miss D and Miss T left together, then Panties arranged for a cab to take Miss Di home. Finally Miss B sat Panties down. “Look at the floor...” she began. “Well, I think that was very successful,” she said, “the first in your series of coming out parties.” She asked to see a calendar and picked a date in April. “It’s not like you think, ‘oh, good, that’s over. No, as soon as one finishes, there will immediately be another coming. And then another and another. And they’ll become more and more intense. I think we’ll rent a space eventually, and we’ll invite 50-100 women for you to entertain.” And Panties finally got it. She saw Miss B’s vision for these parties, which were not about Panties, primarily after all. This was a coming-out Party so that Panties could get used to being honest with women, freely revealing her true nature. The parties would dictate how Panties would relate to all women in the future. Miss B wanted to show how obedient, loving and well trained her Panties was. But Panties was just the service, the entertainment, utterly ignored for much of the evening. Even amidst the pink-sissy-Barbie-Panties decor, the main purpose, Panties understood, accepted, happily, the important thing, was for the girls to eat and drink and relax and have a good time, to enjoy each other’s company, without having to lift a finger.

Miss B asked Panties to ready her bed. Panties hurried to obey and returned to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Miss B was reading a book while in one corner of the room twinkled the pink Barbie Christmas tree.