After our visit to Denise on Saturday morning, the six of us met together at our house for lunch. Karen and I had done the dutiful daughter act and prepared sandwiches for everybody. The two mothers reported back on their favourable discoveries. Jenny’s mum also explained that she would have to re-organise her schedule to take the next Friday as leave to make up the time. Thus it would be necessary for her to be away for four nights in the coming week. My Mum immediately came to the rescue by saying that Jenny and her brother would be welcome to stay with us for those nights — which of course would also suit Karen and myself (as long as he decided to co-operate). Karen reported our conversation with Denise. Joe didn’t look too happy that we’d let someone else in on the story, but Karen explained in her soothing voice that it was necessary to secure Denise’s agreement and that we’d also sworn her to absolute secrecy.

It appeared that all the potential obstacles had been overcome and it was now up to Joe to decide whether or not our plans for the next weekend could go ahead. He was well aware of the trouble that everyone had gone to, and the weight of expectation that was now on him. Yet the scale of the task and the complication of the arrangements seemed to be growing all the time. At first it had been suggested that he should enter a single competition dressed as a girl. Then it grew to his spending the whole of next weekend as a girl. Now it was clear that we were also expecting him to dress as a girl for the whole of the next week in order to gain the necessary practice, and that we would also be holding a dress rehearsal at Denise’s house on Thursday afternoon.

‘Are you sure I couldn’t just go along as a male spectator?’ he asked fairly lamely (as if this was going to satisfy us for all our trouble).

We were expecting a little bit of token resistance on his part, and we'd agreed a strategy beforehand. Karen and I would begin by playing the roles of ‘Miss Nice’ and ‘Miss Reasonable’ respectively, whereas Jenny would come in as ‘Miss Nasty,’ later on, but only if it proved to be necessary.

‘I doubt if the hotel has a spare room vacant for a single male,’ I said. ‘But if you agree to come as Jenny's female cousin she wouldn’t mind sharing a hotel bedroom with you and we would all help you to get ready’.

‘Joe it would be such a shame if you were to attend but didn’t enter the competitions, particularly as we now have two brilliant costumes for you to wear. In any event, without your presence it would spoil our group entry,’ said Karen using her best ‘pretty please’ voice.

My sister has always been better than me at persuading people into doing things against their better judgment. That is why she was selected to be the potential ‘Miss Nice,’ with me in reserve, and then Jenny only if he didn’t agree to play ball. Joe looked as if he might be on the point of agreeing, but there was still something that was preventing him, so my sister came up with a suggestion.

‘Look Joe, before making up your mind will you at least try on Denise’s other costume?’ she asked. ‘It’s a lovely dress and I promise that you’ll really look great wearing it.’

I think Joe quite likes my sister - not in a sexual way — but as a friend. Somewhat to the surprise of everyone present, he agreed to do so, and so the three of us hurried away to find him some suitable underwear and Mum’s long wig to wear. Our two mothers said nothing, not wanting to put any more pressure upon him. Denise’s dress was made of pale pink satin and was both glamorous and expensive looking. It fitted pretty well except it was a little tight at the waist and there was a slight bulge evident between his legs. The colour suited him well.

‘Don’t worry, there’s a corset that will hold in your tummy on the night and we can easily find a way of disguising that tell-tale bulge,’ said Karen.

Believe it or not, I actually felt a little envious of him wearing that dress, although it would have been too small for me to wear. In fact everyone admired the dress, saying how well it suited him, and that he made a truly convincing and attractive young woman.

‘I could also put on some extensions to make your hair and finger nails look better if you wish,’ commented Mum.

Everyone looked expectantly towards him, but still he didn’t answer.

‘Alright it is decision time now Joe, you can’t keep the girls waiting any longer,’ said Aunt Carol.

Jenny’s brother sighed, and then he shrugged his shoulders.

‘All right then, I’ll agree but only on the condition that everyone promises to do all they can to help me to avoid detection and to keep my taking part a secret. Also, I don’t want to become the butt of your jokes during the coming week, or afterwards for that matter,’ he said.

Everyone looked relieved, and we were about to begin making detailed plans, when my sister announced that she’d like to say a few words on behalf of the other members of our team. I looked across at Jenny, but she’d no more idea than I did about what Karen was about to say.

‘Go ahead then,’ said Joe.

‘First of all, Joe, we appreciate what you are agreeing to do for the sake of our entry, and we accept your conditions,’ she said.

Jenny and I murmured our agreement, but Karen wasn’t finished speaking.

‘However, we also have some conditions as well. If you are going to remain undetected, then you will have to co-operate willingly with us, and get as much practice as possible over the next week. It isn’t just a question of your dressing as a girl and learning our dance routine but also learning how to walk, talk, and gesture as a girl, as well. It is therefore essential that you spend the whole of the next week living as a girl and even thinking like a girl, in order for you to have enough time to take it all in.

‘I couldn’t go home dressed as a girl, I’d never live it down in the village if anyone saw me,’ he said.

‘I know, and Mum has said that there would be no problem with you and Jenny staying here for the week. It needn’t be all work, and I’m sure that we’ll have some fun together over the next few days, but you must willingly co-operate with us. So if we ask you to paint your toenails then your answer should be, ‘what colour?’ Do you understand?’

Mum smiled at my sister’s use of metaphor, but seemed to agree with the general drift of her meaning.

‘I think Karen is right Joe, the only time I’ll have available to fit your hair and nail extensions will be this weekend. Since you’re going to be looking like a girl for the next week you may just as well get used to wearing female clothes at the same time’.

We looked expectantly, waiting for a reply.

‘I suppose I don’t have much choice. I’ll agree to Karen’s conditions as long as you all agree to mine,’ he said.

Even Mum and Aunt Carol looked pleased by his decision. Jenny, Karen and I were ecstatic and we hugged and kissed him to thank him and assure him how nice he was going to look in his various costumes. But even this wasn’t enough for my bossy-boots sister who started to assert herself once more.

‘My first suggestion is that from this point onwards, until after the competition, we should forget all about ‘Joseph’ and give you a girl’s name,’ she said. ‘We should also start referring to you as ‘she’ and ‘her’ between ourselves.

For a moment I thought that Karen might have gone too far and that he might chicken out and change his mind, but after a few seconds he smiled and replied: ‘Which one?’

‘Good for you, I think you’re getting the right idea,’ said Karen laughing. ‘However, I think we can probably let you choose your own name, as long as we approve’.

‘Shall I use my mother’s middle name - Josephine?'

We looked at one another and Jenny and Karen both nodded.

‘Alright, as long as you don’t mind us calling you ‘Josie,’ I said.

He nodded, and even looked quite pleased with himself (or perhaps I should now start saying herself)..

Now that the decision had been made, both Mum and Aunt Carol were preparing to leave us.

‘I have to get ready for my trip,’ said Carol, ‘but if you like, I’ll call in tomorrow and take everyone out to lunch before I begin my journey. I should like a chance to see my new ‘daughter’ once again before I go away’.

‘Hang on just a minute Mum,’ said Jenny disappearing upstairs.

She returned a few minutes later with the clothes that Joe had brought over and also those that he’d been wearing until fifteen minutes beforehand.

‘Please will you take these clothes home with you, Joe won’t be needing them over the next week; Josie has plenty of things to wear.’

Aunt Carol looked across to ‘Josie,’ as if to ask ‘her’ permission. She shrugged once again as if to tell her mother to go ahead. A few minutes later Aunt Carol left, taking with her all remaining traces of her son.