My sister and I came away from Sue’s house both looking and feeling glamorous, with our long painted finger nails and smouldering eyes, but Julie especially so with her new long blonde tresses which looked entirely natural. We’d also just benefitted from lessons in how to apply eye-makeup effectively and what colours best suited us. I even began to wonder whether my previous efforts with a mascara brush had been as alluring as I’d previously thought.

As we were driving back to Woodley, Julie turned to me.

‘Jenny you look so lovely and I feel so good about myself, I just wish we could do something or go out somewhere to celebrate together tonight.’

‘I don’t think Joe would be too happy if I went out ‘on the pull’ this evening, and you’re too young to do so yourself,’ I replied. ‘I suppose we could treat ourselves to a candle-lit dinner in a posh restaurant if you wish, but I’m getting a little worried at the rate you’re spending your money, before our father’s probate is even granted.’

(I didn’t, have quite the same confidence as she had that all would go to plan.) She accepted my caution with good grace, but I felt a bit sorry for her, after all it now looked as if I would be having a social life over the next few weeks, but the best she could look forward to was occasional trips out shopping with me.

‘We could have a candlelit meal at home, and each of us put on one of Mummy’s long dresses and some of her jewellery as we both look so good?’ she asked tentatively as we pulled into the drive.

‘Alright then, but remember there’s a lot more to being a girl than just wearing dresses and makeup.’ I answered.

‘I know, but looking like this helps to endorse my feelings of femininity which probably come naturally to you,’ she answered seriously. Then added in a giggly voice, ‘and dressing up is fun isn’t it.’

I slowly shook my head with scepticism, but somewhere inside me my sister’s infectious enthusiasm for all things girly was beginning to have its effect.

Thus as soon as our evening meal was prepared and in the oven, and the table laid with the best crockery, Julie and I started to play dress up together once again. We eventually settled on two of her mother’s strapless long evening dresses. She chose a bright red, one and I dark blue.

‘How are your hair extensions feeling now?’ I asked.

‘Fine thanks, I’m barely aware of their existence and it feels so nice to have long hair. You should get some yourself,’ she said.

‘No thanks, I like my hair as it is. You’ve already talked me in to getting these, which is quite enough to get used to for the time being,’ I said examining my long nails.

‘Yes, and I bet you’re now pleased that I did so,’ she replied smiling.

I assumed this was a rhetorical question and so I didn’t answer. Instead I changed the subject.

‘Would you like to have your hair up or down this evening?’ I asked.

‘If I had it up I could wear some nice earrings instead of just the studs,’

‘How are your pierced ears.

‘They feel fine too, and appear to have healed quite nicely. Do you think I could risk putting in a pair of Mummy’s earrings?’

‘Strictly speaking you should leave them for a little while longer, but it might be ok. It’s up to you,’ I replied.

‘Will you help me to put them in please Jenny?’

I first showed her how to put her hair up in a French twist and secure it with clips and a pretty tortoiseshell comb from her mother’s jewel box. We then held up several pairs of earrings from her mother’s jewellery box, before she settled on a pair of rather a nice white gold and crystal bomb drop design, which I helped put in for her. She also chose a matching necklace and ring from the jewel box.

In spite of all my worries about her future, I have to admit that Julie looked truly beautiful that evening. Also, although I say it myself, I didn’t look too bad either. However, as soon as she’d finished I noticed that tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. It was as if looking so good had made her sad.

‘Whatever is the matter Julie?’

‘If only Mummy and Daddy could see me now. I only ever wanted them to be proud of me as a daughter rather than a son. I believe that Mummy was beginning to accept me and she thought that in time Daddy would come round as well. But he never got the chance to see me as a young woman.’

I took her in my arms and hugged her.

‘I’m so sorry Julie, I’m sure they both would have been very proud to have you as a daughter, just as I’m very proud to have you as a sister. But in the end you should want them to be proud of what you do with your life rather than what you look like.’

She then dissolved into sobs.

‘How can it be right for me to be feeling so happy to be a girl so soon after losing my parents?’

‘I don’t know, but sometimes things just happen. You didn’t wish your parents dead, but their death has provided you with the chance to discover yourself. It would be wrong not to embrace that opportunity.’

‘Oh Jenny, I really don’t know what I’d have done without you over the last three weeks.’

‘Oh my goodness Jen, now what have you got yourself into?’

She calmed down after a little while and I helped her to wipe her eyes and repair her makeup. We went on to have an enjoyable meal together and afterwards settled down to watch a mindless teenage video together.

The following morning Julie received a phone call from Sue, who’d spoken to her mother and was now asking whether she’d like to come along to the salon as an unpaid helper for two or three days each week. It was no surprise to me that my sister was keen to accept the offer. Since she now looked and acted so much like a girl I could hardly object, although I made her promise to be careful not to give herself away. I agreed to drive her to the salon the following morning and then collect her again at tea time. This suited me quite nicely because there were still a couple of my friends in Bracknell, who weren’t yet working, that I could go and visit.

Mum phoned me during the course of the morning to tell me that there was a large envelope from Nottingham University waiting for me at home, and also that somebody from the Bentalls Department store in the town had been trying to get hold of me. She was also anxious to know how things were going and so I offered to have lunch with her the following day, as I was going to be in Bracknell and I didn’t want to give her any excuse to come over and visit us. In the meanwhile, I returned the call from Bentalls, which turned out to be an invitation to attend an interview for a part-time job, at 10.00 am the following morning — things couldn’t have fitted together more neatly in a jigsaw puzzle.

‘Julie, how would you feel if I took a part-time job in Bracknell as well?’ I asked.

‘Would you continue to live here with me?’

‘Yes, of course, that was part of our agreement.’

‘In that case it would be fine by me, especially if your work times corresponded with my visits to the salon. Susie said that my days and hours could be flexible to suit myself.’

‘If I did get a job you’d only need to pay me a half of what you’re currently paying me,’ I volunteered, knowing that ready money might become a problem for her after a couple more weeks.

‘No, I’ll continue to pay you what we agreed, but it would be great if you could give me a lift into Wokingham on those days that I help out at the salon.’

‘Alright you can still pay me, but if I'm successful you needn’t hand over any more money from now on until after you have received the legacy from your Dad.’

It was odd, but although I was automatically now thinking of Julie as my sister, and I realised that we both shared the same father, I still couldn’t bring myself to say ‘our Dad’. My ‘Dad’ was the guy who’d brought me up, who was a thoroughly decent bloke, even though it had been obvious to me from an early age that he never quite understood the two women he’d taken on.

The following morning we set out for Wokingham and Bracknell, fifteen minutes later than I’d originally planned as Julie insisted that I should change into my black dress and put on some makeup for my interview. Fortunately, now that it was the end of July the schools had broken up for the summer and the morning traffic wasn’t bad. Thus I was able to make up most of the lost time before I dropped her off at the salon.

‘Good luck,’ I said as she got out of the car.

‘You too,’ she replied.

‘Now don’t get too carried away with all the cosmetics, remember that fifteen year old girls are also supposed to be capable of rational thought.’

She stuck her tongue out at me.

‘And you should start acting more like a young lady and less like a tearaway, if you’re to work in a smart department store.’

‘It’s only an interview, they haven’t offered me a job,’ I replied laughing.

There were three vacancies on offer: one in ‘ladies’ wear’, one in ‘children’s wear’ and a third in ‘house and home’, and there were a half dozen candidates being interviewed. In the event, I was quite pleased that I’d been bullied into putting on some lipstick and had my girly fingernails, since grooming appeared to be one of the things they were looking for in their shop assistants. Also the dress I was wearing had been purchased in the shop that I was now hoping to work for, only four weeks before, which seemed to count in my favour. I smiled sweetly and told the interviewers the sorts of things that my mother would want to hear from me. The ploy came off and they seemed to like me. I was offered three days work per week in ‘ladies wear’, but it was made clear that I would be required to wear the uniform provided by the shop, and that I’d also be expected to wear makeup and look ‘well-groomed’ at work each day. It seemed as if the whole world was in some sort of conspiracy to turn me into a ‘Barbie-doll,’ but at least that would be preferable to having to deal with obnoxious kids and their awkward mothers or else selling mops and toilet brushes all day long.

My departmental manageress seemed to be reasonably flexible about the hours to be worked — there was a basic rota but I’d be allowed to swap with my colleagues if necessary and there was rarely a problem in doing so, especially as I didn’t mind working on Saturdays, whilst many of my full-time colleagues preferred not to do so if they could avoid it. I explained about my forthcoming appointment at the Oxford District Probate Registry the following week, but fortunately there was no clash. Before I left the store I was issued with a couple of blouses, a skirt and a pair of black high heels which would be my uniform. I was also told that I could begin working the following Thursday morning.

Mum, predictable as ever, was pleased to see me wearing a dress, lipstick and nail varnish when we met for lunch, and said as much.

‘I’ve just come from a job interview, so don’t get your hopes up for any fundamental change in my lifestyle,’ I said, before she could show too much enthusiasm for my outfit.

‘I might have guessed,’ she said sighing, ‘but you do look nice.’

I gave her a perfunctory and ironic smile in recognition of the compliment.

‘So where’s Julian today?’

‘Er, he’s gone to visit a school friend for the day,’ I lied.

‘So how are you getting on?

‘Alright. Julian seems to be ok most of the time, although inevitably he gets upset at times,’ I answered without giving away too much detail.

‘More to the point, how are you both getting on together?’

‘What does she mean by that?’ I thought.

‘We’re both doing very well thanks, in fact I’ve rather grown to like my younger brother,’ I replied.

She didn’t question me any further on this topic, presumably because she had mixed feelings about the baby who’d brought about the break up of her first marriage. I asked about Dad, and she said he was missing me. Our conversation then dried up; I wasn’t going to mention Joe to her as she’d only want to meet him if I did. She handed over the envelope from the University instead. I had a quick look inside; it was all about my accommodation options for the next academic year, and so I decided to deal with it later. For want of anything else much to say, I proceeded to tell her about the funeral, and the delights of living in Woodley.

‘But what’s Julian going to do once you go to university?’ she asked.

‘I don’t really know, that’ll be up to him, but in about six week’s time when we’ve sorted out his mother’s probate he should be quite well off. He’ll also be sixteen and old enough to live on his own without too much interference from adults.’

‘That’s still very young to be looking after himself, no matter how well off he may be.’

‘I know, but he doesn’t want to go and stay with his Aunt in Australia.

‘Hmm,’ answered Mum in a non-commital way, but then decided to change the subject.

‘Of course, if his mother had died first, your legacy would have been a lot larger than it is now,’ she commented.

‘Why’s that?’ I asked.

‘If she’d died first, then your natural father would have inherited the house, her life assurance payments and a half of her estate. As a result his estate would have been many times larger than it was at the time of his death. As the two surviving legatees you and Julian would have been left half of it each.’

I may be the first in our family to be going to University, but my mother had always been quite shrewd, especially when it comes to money matters. I hadn’t really thought about the accident of fate that determined the size of my legacy, particularly as I’d never expected one in the first place. I shrugged my shoulders.

‘I’ll suppose that’s just the way it goes. I’ll be more than happy with the twenty-five thousand pounds or more that I do receive: especially as I was never allowed to have any contact with my natural father.’

My mother was getting used to my barbed comments regarding my late father. She looked a little guilty as I said those last words but I knew that she’d soon get over it. So I decided to rub a little more salt into the wound.

‘I’ll just have to rely on you and dad to make up the difference to me before you die,’ I said smiling sweetly, but knowing that it was highly unlikely.

‘You could always contest the will?’ she said. 'You might come away with a larger portion.'

‘No, it would be risky, expensive for one or other of us, and in any event I wouldn’t do that to my sister,’ I said, only half aware of what I was saying.

‘Sister? What sister?’

‘Sorry! I must be going Ga Ga, I meant my brother,’ I replied, colouring slightly. ‘He’ll have enough problems to contend with, without me seeking to cause him any more.’

That put an end to any further discussions of legacies or money, and soon afterwards she needed to go back to work. After she left I thought about what she’d said but decided that I wouldn’t wish to change places with my younger sister no matter how much money she’d inherited.’

I just had enough time to call in to see a couple of my friends in the afternoon before I needed to collect Julie from the salon at 5.00 pm. She was wearing a pink nylon tunic and skinny black three quarter length trousers that were worn by the other staff at the salon, but she nevertheless managed to look quite stunning, especially with her new hairstyle and fingernails. Her complexion also looked flawless with just a hint of blush on her cheeks.

‘Hi Jenny, I’ve really had a good time today,’ she said by way of greeting. ‘Sue has shown me how to put on foundation and blusher during a slack period this morning, but most of the day it’s been quite busy,’

‘In that case you’ll have to teach me sometime as well, since it looks as if I’ll have to start wearing makeup for my new job,’ I replied with studied weariness.

‘Great, it’ll be fun for us to get ready together in the mornings,’ she replied without even having noticed the sarcasm in my voice.

I rolled my eyes, but again Julie didn’t notice.

‘Whatever is happening to my sister’s brain?’

I explained the rota for my new job to Julie and Sue, and we agreed that Julie would help out at the salon on those days when I went to work at Bracknell, starting the coming Thursday. We would only have to make the journey on three days each week, leaving us plenty of time for other things.

Once we got home I took a shower and washed off the gunk from my face and began to get ready to go out with Joe. I half wondered whether to just put on my usual choice of jeans and a top as I’d had enough of dresses and make-up for one day and I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea about the sort of girl he was going out with. However, Julie would probably throw a hissy-fit if I’d done so, after she’d suggested the blue dress and we’d both gone to so much trouble looking for the right shoes on Saturday. Eventually I decided to stick with the dress but lay off the makeup and go for a more natural look, even though I did still have the girly painted finger nails.

Of course Julie did the opposite from me. She changed out of the tunic and trousers which had been her uniform for work and put on the dress that she’d worn earlier in the day. I also noticed that she’d quietly touched up her lipstick and mascara, and so she ended up looking more like the one with plans to go out for the evening than I did.

Over dinner Julie commented that my dress and shoes went well together, but didn’t push her luck for the second time in one day regarding my lack of makeup. We finished our meal and I’d cleared the dishes; she stayed downstairs long enough to say hello to Joe when he arrived to collect me. He complimented her on her new hair style, apparently unaware that she’d previously been wearing a wig. Julie thanked him and looked pleased but shortly afterwards disappeared up to her room, having quietly indicated that she would be in bed when we returned. As we were leaving the house, Joe commented that Julie looked very nice that evening, so I pointedly reminded him that she was only fifteen and below the age of consent. I also wondered whether I should have put on some eye shadow and eye liner after all. However, Joe did redeem himself later on by saying how nice my hands looked, as we were dancing, and so I invited him back to the house for ‘a coffee’, and he eventually made his way home, just as it was beginning to get light.

After an unpromising beginning, my summer break, between school and university was beginning to look up, in terms of my social life, my family life and my financial situation.