The next morning I awoke in the spare bedroom at Tom's house, and for a moment lay there relaxed until the events of the previous day came flooding back and I started to shiver with fear. I had to go back home after school, and what sort of a mood would my father be in when I saw him?

Tom's mother knocked on the door and asked if I was awake as she was about to prepare breakfast.

“Yes thank you Mrs Shore. I'll get my shower now if I may?”

“Of course you can. We'll see you downstairs in about twenty minutes, alright?”

I quickly had my shower, dressed and ran downstairs to where Tom was already eating his breakfast. I was given a plate of bacon, eggs and a sausage, all on two pieces of toast. It smelled and tasted delicious! There was a glass of milk to wash it all down.

After breakfast, Tom and I walked to school. That day was not one of my best. I was worried about my reception at home, and more than once a teacher inquired caustically if I would 'honour' him with my attention. On our way home, Tom looked at me with a worried look on his face. I hadn't told him what it was all about of course, but he knew it was something serious.

“Do you want to come home with me again Mike?”

“No Tom. It's very decent of you, but I'll have to face the music sooner or later, and Dad might be even madder if I don't turn up today.” With that I turned off to my street, my heart thumping with fear. When I came in sight of the house, I was relieved to see that Dad's old truck wasn't there yet. I could find out what happened last night before I had to face him.

When I entered our house it was unusually quiet. I wondered what was wrong and walked into the kitchen to find my mother sitting at the kitchen table staring into space.

“Mum?” I said.

She turned slowly and looked up at me “He's gone.”

“Gone? Dad?”

“Here. You're old enough to read it for yourself.”

It was a short note scribbled on a piece of paper torn from an exercise book and read 'Jane, I've moved out. Last night was the final straw. Don't ask me to come back as I'll be with someone else. I'll send money for the kids, so don't worry about that. Jim'

Tears welled up in my eyes, not because my father had left, but because it was all my fault and Mum would blame me for ever.

When I told her as much, she managed the ghost of a smile and held out her arms, saying “Come here you silly possum. It's no-one's fault, it's just the way things turned out.”

“Mum, what happened last night when Dad got home from the hotel?”

“Nothing really,” she replied. “He was so drunk it's a wonder he managed to stay on his feet and find his way home. The girls and I dragged him upstairs and I put him to bed.”

“But did he say anything about me?” I persisted.

“Well only indirectly. As we half-carried him up the stairs he was muttering 'Three daughters! Now I've got three frigging daughters!' She even managed a smile when she said it.

“And this morning?”

“He was still asleep when I left for work, and I thought it was best to leave him to it.” she said, “Michael, do you know who that 'someone else' is that he's gone to live with?”

“I think it must be Gloria. She's the secretary at a company where he's been doing at lot of work lately.”

I had seen Gloria a few times when I reluctantly went along to local football matches with Dad. She was very much the peroxide blonde, loud and brassy, with a penchant for short skirts and revealing tops. I remember one day hearing a mate of Dad's say to him “She's got a great pair of puppies” and in my innocence I asked what their names were and could I see them? They both roared with laughter and I had no idea what I'd said that was so funny.

Besides her physical attributes, Gloria had something else that made her attractive to Dad, three strapping brutish sons who were into all the things that I wasn't. They barely had half a brain between them, but that actually appealed to Dad who valued brawn above brains any day. The eldest played for one of the local amateur football teams and I was sickened one day to see him spear an opponent into the rock-hard ground and walk away smirking, leaving the other guy convulsing on the ground. He was 'sin-binned' of course, but I wondered why behaviour which in the street would have landed him a jail sentence. was apparently acceptable in a football match. I heard later that the guy he injured made a fair recovery but never played football again.

“Gloria.” my mother mused “Yes, I think you're probably right there.”

“I suppose my sisters told you about me?” I ventured, changing the subject again.

“Yes. I confess I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to say anything before you did.”

“But are you alright about it?”

“You are my child darling, whether you're my son or my daughter, it doesn't matter.”

“So does that mean you don't mind if I dress as a girl?”

“If it's what you want to do, but please, only in the house at this time, for your sake as well as ours. People can be very cruel.”

I believe that she thought it was probably a phase I was going through and that I would grow out of it, so when I asked if she minded seeing me dressed as a girl she nodded her assent. The girls were up in their room so that Mum could talk to me alone, so I ran up the stairs and told them what we had agreed.

“She wants to see me dressed as a girl.” I said. That wasn't strictly true of course, but I couldn't wait to dress in pretty clothes once more, and also to prove to her that I would look convincing while wearing them.

Kate and Bessie looked at each other, and Kate said “Ok then, lets see how pretty we can make you.”

They selected a pair of knickers for me and left the room while I stripped off my boy clothes and put on the knickers. Then they came back in and got to work on me. Strangely this time I didn't feel in the least embarrassed, even though there were two girls in the room with me. I didn't even get an erection, because girls can't ok? That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the sensuous feel of the gorgeous garments I was slowly putting on, and I'm sure my feelings were obvious to them.

This time my appearance was even better, because they expertly applied makeup to my face, and Kate had a wig of long curly black hair which she'd used in a school theatre production and somehow never returned. They had turned me away from the mirror while they applied the make-up and adjusted the wig, and then said “Alright, now you can turn round and see yourself.”

I did saw, and what I saw in the mirror rendered me speechless. I could scarcely believe that the girl in the mirror looking back at me really was me.

“Welcome, new sister.” said Kate. “Oh I forgot to ask, what is your name?”

“It's Mandy, Kate. I hope you like it?”

“Mandy” said Kate and Bessie simultaneously. “Yes we do.”

The two of them were wearing jeans and a top, so I was the only one wearing a dress, stockings and heels. I realise now they did it deliberately so that I would look the most feminine of us three. They took up station one on either side of me as I carefully walked down the stairs in three inch heels, the first time I had ever done so.

When we entered the kitchen and Mum saw me dressed for the first time, she sat there with her mouth open so long that Kate said “Catching flies Mum. So what do you think of Mandy?”

Mum seemed to come back to earth, and in a whisper said “I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.”

“She looks good doesn't she?” said Bessie,and Mum nodded slowly.

“It seems your Dad was right after all - I have three daughters now.”

To be continued