My Foster Mom Wants A Daughter - Book 1 Of A Series

Chapter Four: Desires

"Mom," Angelo yelled, as he emerged from the bathroom wearing the thick, fluffy bathrobe Mary Elizabeth had left for him. "Come here! Please?"

"Yes, honey," Mary asked, hurrying into the room. She knew full well what was causing Angelo's paniced yell.

"Y-You have a dress laid out on the bed. Should I put it back into the closet? Or, um, d-do you . . . You don't expect me to wear it, do you?"

"Well, I uh, I thought I . . . was hoping you might wear it for me. Would you like to wear it for me? Just do it for me once, please?"

"Wear a dress? Me? " Angelo asked. "Why? I'm a boy."

"Well . . . I personally think you'd look lovely in it, if you would just give it a try. Just this one time before we get rid of all that girly stuff. "

"Oh? But do I have to?" Was Angelo's question to her, but inside he was screaming, 'YES! YES! I'll wear it, and all the other things, too, if you'll just leave it all for me and not get rid of any of it!'

"No. You don't have to if you don't want. I won't force you to, but . . .," Mary Elizabeth paused before revealing what she believed to be true. "Angelo, when you were here the other day, while Alice and I were talking in the other room, you were in this bedroom. After you left, I came in here to see what you had been doing and I noticed that the closet door wasn't completely closed, so I knew you had been in there. I opened the closet door and discovered that this dress wasn't hung up correctly. . . Open the closet."

Mary Elizabeth motioned towards the closet and Angelo stepped over and opened the door.

"Notice how all the clothes in there are all perfectly lined up, and hanging straight up and down?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Well this dress, it was sticking out, indicating it had been put away in a rush. Also, look at how every dress and top faces to the left. This dress was facing right. Not only had you taken it out, but you also took it off the hanger. That told me that you had a real interest in it. I ended up in there for quite some time, imagining you standing here holding it up to yourself in front of the mirror."

Angelo looked over at the bed and gazed at the thin, sleeveless sundress that was lying on the bed. It was a sunny yellow on top that faded into light sky blue then into a deep ocean blue before becoming a sandy beach tan color towards the bottom.

He dropped his gaze to the floor.

He was embarassed and couldn't bear to look at Mary now.

She saw this and responded, "I bet you would look so pretty in it. Just once, will you please let me see?"

Continuing to stare down at the floor, Angelo replied, "Is it right for a boy to interested in wearing girl's stuff? Boys aren't supposed to, right? Besides, what if somebody sees me?"

"I see no right or wrong in this," Mary Elizabeth said. "If it makes me-err, you happy. If you like wearing girl's clothes, then why not? . . . Look, for now, if it makes you feel better, we'll just do it here in the house. No one else will know. Although, I have to say, all my neighbors know how excited I was about adopting a girl. I never told any of then about a boy. So, when they do see you they'll be expecting a girl. Plus, if they meet you, then you switch later, well, it'll just be easier . . ."

Angelo looked up at Mary Elizabeth with a blank expression. 'Wait, switch?' he thought. What is she planning for me? After a moment Mary Elizabeth saw that he was smiling in his eyes.

"Okay," Angelo hesitantly began, "I want you to be happy. You're giving me a home, free from all the abuse and other garbage I've had to deal with before. You're adopting me and finally giving me a family, a real family. This is all more than I deserve, and I don't want to screw it up, so if you want to see me in this dress, I'll try it. Just for you."