Now We Are Twins

Part 1

James had not been looking forward to this day, he loved his mother dearly and today was the day that she was admitted into hospital for 8 weeks of treatment.
She had told him that everything would be ok and he'd be able to visit whenever he wanted too, but he was still scared that something might happen to her and he had never been away from her for longer than a week before.
As they walked down the white walled corridors to the ward he was pre-occupied by the smell of the antiseptic that was everywhere. When they finally found the ward and the sister had shown them the bed he helped mummy put everything in her locker and settle in.

Before they separated, mummy told her little boy a little story, when she had finished they said goodbye then aunty Helen lead him away with him looking at mummy the whole time. By the time they reached the corridor both mother and child were tearful but they tried to hide it for the sake of the other. James waved one last time before turning the corridor, then began to cry.

"It's ok James," said aunty Helen," you know you'll be able to see mummy whenever you can, and we can phone her anytime too."

He sniffled softly as they walked to the car and was completely silent for the whole drive to aunty Helen's house.

As they entered the house Helen spoke "James, we don't have a separate room for you which means you'll be sharing with Natalie, I hope you won't mind staying in a girls room, not too much anyway."

"I think I can live with that", he replied softly.

"Good boy", she said, ruffling his light brown hair. "As soon as Natalie comes back from her friends she can show you where you'll be staying".

As if by magic they heard the sound of a door and a fresh faced girl with shoulder length blonde hair appeared, she looked about the same age as James. She wore a bright floral dress and jelly sandals on her otherwise bare feet, in her hair she wore a bow.

"Hiya James" she trilled.

"Natalie, I was just saying that you would show James where he'll be sleeping and help him settle in."

"Of course I will mummy, come on and I'll show you my room."

It certainly was a girls room, the walls were very delicate pastel shades, the fluffy carpet was pink and most of the white furniture had ribbons and bows stencilled on to it in rainbow colours. The big bed had loads of frills and flounces, one side of it had lots of dolls and stuffed animals.

"Here's your bed." she said. In the corner of the room near the door was a simple bed. "If we need some more space to play then we can fold it up."

"Come and have a look at this view, its one of my favourite things about having this room." she continued.

James wandered across to the window, the view was wonderful. As the house was on the edge of town they had an unobstructed view of the surrounding countryside. He could see a paddock with ponies munching on some hay, a wood that disappeared into the valley running down to the river at its bottom. On the other side of the valley were some dark rocky crags.

"Isn't it dreamy? At this time of year I like to lay on the hillside and watch the clouds go by."

He just stared at the view, captivated by its beauty.

"Hello, earth to James, this is earth calling" Natalie giggled.

He returned from his reverie and smiled, Natalie smile back and went to show him the rest of the room. A space had been made to hang some of his clothes up and put the toys he had brought with him. She showed him where all her games were and then introduced him to each of her dolls and stuffed animals. By the time she had finished introducing them all it was time to eat. They had sausages and spaghetti O's and baked alaska for pudding which they all enjoyed.

With Natalie and James helping, clearing up took no time at all so they decided to play outside until sunset. Natalie led the way past the rosebed and the vegetable patch to the bottom of the garden.

"Do you want to see my treehouse?" she asked.

James thought it strange for a girl to have a treehouse, to him climbing trees was something that only boys did.

When they got to the lone tree at the end James understood. The stout oak was very squat with the main boughs were not that far off the ground.T he platform on which the treehouse had been built was less than 4 feet off the ground and there was a small flight of steps leading up to it. The treehouse itself looked sturdy, not like the ramshackle attempts he had seen before. It looked like a proper house with white clapboard sides and pink shuttered windows, the roof was red and there was even a mock chimney. Each window had its own window box with flowers growing out of it.

"Daddy designed it and he and a friend made it for me, Daddy draws plans for buildings you see." she said proudly. "You go first."

"Oh no, it's your house, you go first" he said politely.

"Only if you promise to look away, I don't want you seeing up my dress, even accidentally."

James blushed and looked away, once she was at the top of the steps she called and he followed her up. The inside was just as nice as the outside, it too had been decorated in white and pink. There were a couple of rugs and some cushions on the floor. Against one of the walls was a pretend kitchen and in the centre was a low white table.

"It's really nice." he said, "Not quite what I'd expected but very nice."

"You were expecting rope ladders and trapdoors and things weren't you," she said, "my tomboyish friends can always use the backdoor and climb up further. I prefer to use that door when I want to go down the slide."

"You've got a slide here too?"

Natalie walked over to a door near the kitchen area, stepped outside and a moment later she disappeared. James looked out of the door and saw his cousin at the bottom of the slide. Seconds later he had joined her there.

"Is this it or is there a special underground playground you want to tell me about?" he joked.

"I know, I'm a very lucky girl. Daddy did this for me because he hasn't been around much in the last year, he's always off doing something and I don't see him as much as I'd like."

It was starting to get dark now so they returned to the house and got ready for bed. James looked away as Natalie put her nightie on and she did the same as he changed into his pajamas. They were getting ready to settle down for the night when Auntie Helen came in with a phone. James' mother had called so she could tell him a bedtime story. Natalie didn't want to miss out so she sat next to James and they both got as close as they could to the earpiece and listened. When the story was finished Natalie returned to her bed and they were both virtually asleep before aunty Helen turned the light out.

The next day dawned and the two children awoke, Natalie flung back the curtains to greet the morning sun shining on her lovely view and sighed wistfully. Grabbing a robe she left the room, James took her place at the window, yes the view was still there and as wonderful as ever.

Minutes later Natalie returned, "Mummy says that you can use the bathroom now".

When James came back into the bedroom his cousin was already dressed, she had chosen a pink gingham sundress and had a white top with flower trimmings underneath it.

"What do you want to do today, cuz?" she asked.

"I don't mind, why don't you choose?" he replied.

She decided on a game of dressup and got her dressing up things out. James went first and looked through the box for something appropriate. He found fairy wings, some feather boas, parts of a nurses outfit, a gold tiara, but nothing suitable for him. He kept rummaging around in the box and for a moment thought he'd found a policeman's outfit, he quickly discovered it was actually a policewoman's costume. He gave up.

"There are only girls things in there" he said grumpily.

"Mostly, but I'm sure I've got a white coat in there somewhere, you could be a scientist or a doctor." she replied.

"But I don't want to be a scientist or a doctor." he said.

"James have you ever wondered what it would be like if you were a girl?"

He looked at her strangely and said "Not really, why?"

"It's just that it's so nice being a girl. If you were a girl you would be fussed over and looked after and made to feel so special."

"What do you mean?"

"Try it and I'll show you."

"What?"

"Let me dress you up in some of my clothes, I'll say the things that Mummy says to me and treat you exactly the same way she treats me, you'll see what I mean."

Could he do it, should he let her? Before he had realised it he had nodded and she had skipped of to her drawers. She handed him a pair of white cotton panties with little coloured flowers on them and a little bow at the front and a plain white vest with a bow at the neck.

"Here, you are darling, some clean, soft underwear."

He gave her a strange look.

"That's how mummies talk to their daughters." She said, then she realised that the look was embarrassment too. He didn't want to be naked in front of her so she turned her back. He stripped and put her underwear on and told her it was ok to look.

"There's my girl, all snug in her undies. Oh, good girls tuck the bottom of their vest just into the top of their panties. There we are, that's much better sweetheart."

She went over to her wardrobe looking for the rest of his outfit. Finally she found inspiration and pulled a white blouse out.

"Ok sweetie, here's a snowy white blouse for you, left arm out. Now the right. I'll leave you to button it up while I get the rest of your clothes."

As he buttoned it up he noticed how the lace of the short puffy sleeves tickled his arms.

"Step into this darling, now your other leg."

She pulled the pleated tartan skirt up his legs over the bottom of the blouse then zipped up the back and fastened the button. She lifted the bib part up and pulled a strap over his shoulder and fastened it then repeated it on the other side.

"Oh my, don't we look pretty today. Here you put your socks and shoes on while I find the finishing touches."

She handed him some socks and a pair of t-strap mary janes then went to her bedside table. He pulled the socks on, they went almost to his knees and had a diamond pattern all over them. By the time he had buckled both mary janes Natalie was ready for him. She fiddled about at his neck then clipped something into his hair.

"All finished sweetheart, come and see how lovely you look."

She lead him over to her big mirror. He had a matching tartan bow in his hair and another at the neck of the blouse. It was still James in a skirt and blouse but he felt different somehow. He was just about to tell Natalie how nice that was when Aunty Helen entered the room.

"Ok kids, time to get ready to go into town." she said before noticing what was going on. "Umm James, why are you dressed like that?"

"We were just playing dressup." said Natalie innocently.

"James, I need to have a talk with you." said auntie Helen. "Can I get changed?" he asked. "No, stay as you are, just come with me." As he left the room with his aunt both James and Natalie thought they were in big trouble. "James, I need you to tell me exactly what happened." his aunt said.

"James, I need to have a talk with you." said auntie Helen. "Can I get changed?" he asked.

"No, stay as you are, just come with me."

As he left the room with his aunt both James and Natalie thought they were in big trouble.

"James, I need you to tell me exactly what happened." his aunt said.

He explained about their game of dressup and Natalie's question and how he'd let her dress him up to find out about what it feels like to be a girl.

"What do you think then?"

"It felt really good to be treated like that, mummy really looks after me but I don't remember her treating me like that, and I don't mind wearing girls clothes either." he replied

"Oh James, your mummy treated you like that once, when you were very little. But as little boys grow up they get treated differently while most little girls get treated like that for a lot longer." she explained. "Would you like to play a game of pretend?" "How do you mean?" he asked.

"How would you like it if we pretend you are a girl for most of the time you are here? You'll still have to do somethings as a boy but mostly you'll be a little girl like Natalie."

"We could do that?"

"Of course we can, when we're at home we will pretend that you are Natalie's twin sister, and when we are out you will be her girl cousin who wants to be her twin. You'll do absolutely everything that she does."

"Ok" he said, still slightly unsure.

"I think we should call you Natasha, that's a good name for a twin." she said. "Now then Natasha, you wait down here and I'll go and get Natalie ready."

She returned with Natalie in tow, the girl had changed into a tartan pleated skirt and white blouse, the only difference between the two girl's outfits was the pattern of tartan.

"I hear I have a twin sister that I didn't know anything about, I hope she'll be staying for a while." Natalie said, "Oh, do you like my outfit? It's so cool to wear matching clothes" With that she twirled, then they both giggled and hugged each other.

"Are my two daughters ready to go shopping?" asked Aunty Helen.

"But I can't, I don't really look like a girl" James/Natasha pleaded.

"Oh nonsense darling", she used a few strokes of a hairbrush at the sides of his head, "there, stop fussing, noone will give you a second glance now."

He was still unsure, but he trusted his aunt enough to know that she wouldn't let any harm come to him.

The two girls held hands and walked out to the car together. They drove to the nearest mall and shopped till they dropped. Natalie got a few new things but most of their efforts were on getting Natasha some clothing that matched Natalie's so they could be dressed almost alike. They decided to use the play area for a while so Aunty Helen got a chance to do some shopping on her own. A very full car arrived back at the house in time for lunch. They unloaded the groceries to the kitchen and the clothes to the bedroom before aunty Helen whipped up a light snack.

When they had finished eating aunty Helen turned to Nastasha and said that they would have to say goodbye to her for a while so that James could visit his mother in hospital. Before helping her to change back she took a photo of her two daughters in their first matching outfits. Even though he'd only been wearing them less than a day he already felt sad to be out of girls clothes.

They drove to the hospital and all three visited. James ran up the ward, jumped onto Mummy's bed and hugged her as she sat on the side. Natalie hopped up beside him and said hello to her aunt. Auntie Helen sat next to the bed.

"Hello sweetheart, have you been a good boy for auntie Helen?" she asked her son.

He looked at his aunt, "I've tried to be good Mummy and I've had lots of fun playing with Natalie."

"That's nice, I hoped you two would be friends."

"We're more than friends mummy, I've only seen her a few times before and I think of her like a sister already." he said.

Natalie squeezed his hand and smiled, he smiled back. Both parents looked on, happy at how well their kids got on with each other. His mother hugged him again and kissed him on the forehead.

"So what did the two of you do today?"

Natalie answered, "We played dressup and then we all went shopping."

Auntie Helen decided to step in before her sister started asking for more detail about their day. "Natalie, James, here's some money. Why don't you go and and get some chocolate from the machine in the corridor, don't go any further though." They hurried off down the ward, giggling as they went.

"What did you want to talk about Helen, I can tell there's something on your mind."

"Oh Sandy, you should see the two of them together, she really loves having him around and it's really good for her to play with someone the same age as her." "I so wish that we had stayed close and kept in contact, those kids have missed out on a lot of opportunities to have fun together."

"Don't worry Helen, it couldn't be helped then and what's more important is that they are together now, they are going to have the next 2 months to make up for lost time."

Right on cue the two children returned, they had chocolate round their mouths.

"I guess that means that you both love chocolate then." said auntie Sandra giggling.

A wet wipe removed the evidence of the snack and they carried on chatting about all kinds of things. James told his mother about the view, the garden and especially the treehouse. She listened intently to his enthusiastic explanations, so pleased by the way her son had settled in an unfamiliar house with a girl that he had only met before at family gatherings

The boy was in full flow when auntie Helen interrupted him, "I'm sorry to stop you James, but we really need to get home and have some tea."

"But can't we stay a bit longer and then buy something in town or eat later?" he asked.

His mother stepped in, "Auntie Helen is right James, we can talk some more another time sweetie, you run along now."

As soon as they arrived home aunt Helen directed the children to go up to their room and start to get changed while she did some things in the kitchen. By the time she joined them they were going through the wardrobe deciding which dresses to put on.

"Girls," said auntie Helen, "we're going to have a special tea today so it's party dress time".

They giggled with delight and kept on giggling as they were being dressed. When they were finally buttoned up and both sashes had been tied Natasha got to see the full effect of the frilly party dress. All the lace round the hem and the puffy sleeves and the collar looked so pretty and it went nicely with the yellow satin. As she looked at her reflection auntie Helen clipped a yellow bow in the girl's hair. Natalie looked just as pretty in her light blue satin dress with a white floppy collar.

When they sat at the table Natalie noticed they were using the nice china so she asked her mummy what the special occasion was.

"Darling, as it's Natasha's first full day I thought we should give her an un-birthday party. I've got some silly hats for all of us and when we've finished this food I've got some nice cakes and ice cream too."

When they had finished the food auntie Helen produced a box wrapped in pink paper with silver ribbon on it and handed it to Natasha.

"An un-birthday present for the un-birthday girl." she announced.

When the girl opened it there was a big doll inside with the same coloured hair and eyes as Natasha and wearing a pretty dress.

"Every girl should have a pretty dolly of her own," said auntie Helen, "and when I saw her in the toy store I thought of you straight away. So I got her for you there and then. Do you like her?"

"Oh auntie," the girl replied, "I love her, she's so pretty and she's mine, she's the bestest doll a girl could have."

Natasha looked across at her twin, "You can share her too, of course."

Natalie smiled, "I've got plenty of dollies, but this is your first. If you take special care of her she'll be your friend forever."

Auntie Helen smiled, that was the speech that she had given Natalie at the same time as she gave her her first doll.

"Just like us." said Natasha.

"Pardon."

"A dolly can be my friend forever just like my twin." she said.

The girls giggled and skipped off hand in hand to play with their dollies together.

When it was time for bed, Natasha started to change into James' pyjamas but was quickly stopped by her aunt. "Oh sweetie, girls don't wear things like that to bed, I've got something much softer for you to sleep in."

Natasha looked at the long flowing flowered nightie that Natalie had already changed into, she hoped hers would be just as pretty. She was a little disappointed when her aunt produced a frilly pink babydoll top and matching panties.

"Oh darling, you wanted a lovely long nightie like Natalie's didn't you."

The girl nodded.

"I'm sorry but I wasn't expecting you to stay so there isn't a clean nightie for you, but I promise that there will be one for you tomorrow night, is that ok?"

"Yes auntie." she replied meekly.

When she had the babydoll on auntie Helen fluffed out the sleeve puffs, straightening the little bows on them as she went and smoothed the frills. Natalie hugged her and told her how sweet she looked.

Natasha noticed one small detail and turned to her aunt.

"Auntie." she said.

"Yes sweetheart."

"Can I have a ribbon in my hair too?"

"Well Natalie has one in her hair to keep it tidy while she sleeps and you don't really have long enough hair yet...."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeese" she interrupted.

"...but you can wear one anyway." her aunt finished.

With her short hair the ribbon looked completely out of place but if it was what she wanted and it made her feel more girlish then that was fine.

Just when Natasha thought her day was finally over Natalie sprung another surprise.

"Mummy, can Natasha share my bed? It is big enough. Can she?"

If the children had been a few years older this would have made auntie Helen suspicious but she knew that neither of them knew anything and her request was pure childish innocense.

"Would you like to do that Natasha?"

Natasha hugged her 'twin' and they both got into bed, the animals were moved to the bottom of it and one of them scooted across to the other side. Natalie grabbed her white teddy bear and handed Natasha a cute girl bunny then they went to sleep holding hands and hugging a soft toy.

Mummy would have loved to take a picture of them but she knew that the camera's flash would only wake them up so she left the two princesses to get a good night's sleep.

Now we are twins

Part 2

James awoke in unfamiliar surroundings before realising that the previous day hadn't been a dream and that she was Natasha, a sweet little girl. She remembered the dream she'd had, in it there was a girl getting ready for something special, she had a long white gown on and someone was fussing over her, it had to be preparation for a wedding.

She didn't see the face but somehow she knew it was her, what was strange though was that the flowergirl was her too. She giggled.

"What's so funny" said a voice beside her.

"I dreamt I was a fairy princess getting ready for my wedding, you were my bridesmaid and I was my own flowergirl too."

"Oh, is that all." Natasha said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

The two girls lay there for a few minutes longer then decided to get up and play until auntie Helen came in to help them get dressed.

"What are we doing today Mummy." said Natalie.

"This morning I'm going to do some baking, I haven't done any for a while, the two of you can help me if you'd like to."

"Yes please." they said together.

"Then this afternoon I'm going shopping for a little while so I've asked Mrs Johnson to make sure you don't get into any mischief. Later on you've got a ballet class Natalie. But first things first, lets get you dressed and then start in the kitchen."

They had a wonderful time baking, aunt Helen made enough cakes and pies to last until the end of James/Natasha's stay while the girls made gingerbread figures, jam tarts and sticky rice krispy bars. They had fun cleaning up too, spooning the leftover ingredients from the bowls into their mouths before washing up everything. So when it was time for lunch they hardly needed to eat.

Just before aunt Helen went shopping she suggested that they play in the garden as it was a lovely summer day. This suited Mrs Johnson who had really wanted to do some work in her garden. She set about pruning her roses while watching the children at play.

They took their dollies and their favourite stuffed animals and sat them down on the steps of the treehouse so the toys could watch the girls taking turns on the swing. After a few turns Natasha realised that James would have been on a mission to go as high and as fast as he possibly could where she was content to swing slowly and steadily letting the movement rustle her skirts.

When they had finally done enough swinging for one session they picked everbody up off the steps and took them into the treehouse. Natasha found a book, sat down and arranged the dollies and animals around her while Natalie got a broom out of the kitchen area and began to sweep.

"Aren't you going to sit down too?" asked Natasha.

"I will do, but let me make our house spick and span first." her twin replied.

Natasha started to read aloud the tale of Snow White, a little self-conciously at first but she quickly realised that noone would make fun of her and relaxed. In her imagination the dolls smiled when she mentioned Snow White, got scared whenever the wicked queen appeared, looked relieved when the woodcutter spared her life, giggled at the seven dwarves and sighed at the happy ending. Natalie also listened with interest as she finished sweeping.

It was 4pm when auntie Helen returned, she thanked Mrs Johnson and ushered the girls inside.

"Natalie, it's almost time for your ballet lesson, I think you had better get changed." she said. Natalie scuttled to the bedroom while auntie Helen turned to Natasha. "We ought to make sure that these fit you alright." she said pulling some packages out of a bag. "Tights first, then the leotard."

She helped her new niece to change from her pretty dress into the white tights and pale blue practise leotard. Natalie came skipping down the stairs as her mother tied Natasha's cardigan and flared out her gauzy dance skirt. She smiled as she handed them their ballet bags in the hallway, they stood shoulder to shoulder looking incredibly twinlike.

The two girls skipped hand in hand along the street with Natalie's mother a few paces behind.

As soon as they arrived at the class she spoke to the teacher while the girls put their ballet slippers on, then came over to them. "I've explained everything to your teacher, as it's your very first lesson she is going to be extra helpful and understanding with you."

"Ok girls, gather round now.", called the teacher.

"I'll see the two of you in a little while." Natalie's mother said. "Have fun."

The two of them kissed her on the cheek then scurried to the middle of the room to join the rest of the group.

# # # # # #

She had returned just in time to watch them finish the lesson, everything seemed fine. But when she went over to where the girls were changing back into their outside shoes she was met by a tearful Natasha.

"What's wrong honey?" she said, hugging her niece and stroking her hair.

"I tried my best <sob> but I'm just not good enough <sniff>, I'm never going to be a ballerina, I'm no good."

"Oh sweetheart, it was only your first lesson," her aunt consoled. "You've got to give it time." She had another talk with the class teacher and returned to the girls.

"Natasha darling, she says you are not that bad. She thinks that doing a bit of practise at home will make the world of difference." She looked at her daughter. "Natalie, will you help your cousin?"

"Yes mummy, I'd love to help. Soon you'll be as good as ballet as me, or maybe you'll be even better." she said to Natasha.

The girl smiled through her tearful eyes. "Can we do a bit of practising tonight?" she asked, "When we get back from the hospital?"

"Yikes, I'd forgotten we were visiting Sandi."

The three of them hurried home and grabbed a light snack before changing. Not surprisingly Natasha was very reluctant to go back to being James again, even for a short time. Auntie Helen resorted to bribery, telling him the lovely things she had for Natasha when she came back.

Sandra was glad to see her little boy again, even though the nursing staff were caring and considerate all these tests and things made her feel like some sort of show animal.

"Hiya sweetheart, come and tell mummy all about your day."

He climbed onto her bed and sat on her lap. Sandra gave him a cuddle then stroked his hair as he laid his head on her shoulder. Helen pulled a chair to the side of the bed and Natalie sat on her mummy's lap with her head resting on mummy's shoulder too.

"Did you have fun today?" she asked him.

"Yes lots, we helped auntie Helen in the kitchen this morning then in the afternoon we went out and played in the garden, did you know Natalie has a treehouse only it's not up high like a lot of treehouses there are just a few steps up to it and it's nice inside then after that we went to ballet."

She put her hand over his mouth, "Don't babble so much sweetie, it sounds like you enjoyed your day but next time don't rush."

Natalie's mouth had dropped open and Helen was dreading what her sister would say but she was so glad that her child was having fun with his cousin that she didn't think anything of his mentioning ballet.

When they returned home the two children rushed upstairs and changed back into their practise costumes, Natasha wasn't going to waste any time.

Auntie Helen had rolled up the carpet in the hall so they had the whole of the wooden floor to practise on. Natalie showed her cousin the steps that she had learned and Natasha did her best to copy. Natasha knew that

if all learning was this much fun then she couldn't wait to go to school and Natalie was enjoying herself too.

But as they say 'Time flies when you are having fun', so they made their way to bed. Tonight Natasha finally got to wear the nightie that she desired, it was white with different coloured flowers and more importantly had lots of ruffles and ribbons on it, one layer of ruffles on the yoke and the sleeves, two on the hem and little ribbon bows on the collar and sleeves. Natasha fell in love with it instantly, as she looked at herself in the mirror she thought how much better she would look in it with soft hair brushing her shoulders.

Auntie Helen shooed her into bed and went downstairs to think. Three days ago her nephew had come to stay, now he spent most of his time wearing dresses and doing things that most boys would never even dream of doing.

When she had first found him dressed she had decided that as long as he didn't object she would give him a wonderful girlish experience but things had already gone further than she had planned. She sighed and carried on watching the midweek movie.

Natalie threw back the curtains and the sunlight streamed into the room, it was going to be another lovely summer's day. The two girls skipped downstairs for breakfast giggling as they went.

"Good morning darlings."

They were wearing their light blue ballet outfits AGAIN. "I'm sorry but we won't be doing ballet this morning, it's far too nice out ther to spend the whole day indoors."

The girls sighed.

Once they had polished off their bowls of rice krispies they headed back to their bedrooms with auntie Helen following behind them. She picked out a pair of yellow gingham bloomers and a white bloused top for Natalie and also found a yellow gingham ribbon for her hair. Natasha got a bit of a shock when she was handed a pair of blue shorts and a scarlet t-shirt.

"I've put the sandpit out so that you can play with your construction toys James."

Natasha put the outfit on and wondered if she had displeased her aunt or whether this was the end of her time in girl's clothes.

Once they were in the garden Natalie started out playing with her cousin in the sand but she soon drifted off to help her mother with the plants,she had no interest in helping James as he used his digger to shovel the sand into the tipper truck and drive it to the other side.

He played happily by himself until lunchtime.

Rather than eating inside they took advantage of the wonderful weather and had a picnic lunch. Auntie Helen laid a blanket on the grass and got the children to help her bring the food out.

This lunch was a lot quieter than usual, there was no merry chatter between the two children which had become an accepted part of mealtimes, they just ate and glanced at each other. To the woman the silence was almost deafening, even her attempts to start a conversation were met with very little response. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when the children finished eating and went back to playing. James returned to the sandpit and Natalie decided to play on the swings.

Instead of more playing in the sand James sat with his legs stretched out, he pretended to watch his toes as he wriggled them but he was actually watching his cousin swinging. Eventually he went over to try and join in.

"Can I swing too?" he asked.

"Of course you can." she replied. She slowed her swinging then hopped off and scampered into the house.

He had really hoped that they could swing together but he hadn't made that clear. Maybe he had upset her too he wondered as he swung, he also knew that swinging in a skirt felt much nicer than swinging in trousers.

Natalie came back out looking as if she agreed with that thought, she had put on a short yellow skirt with flowers embroidered around the hem. She also had a pair of sunglasses with frames that looked like daisies.

He thought that she would come and play with him now and she was certainly heading his way before she got distracted and went over to a different part of the garden and rested the sunglasses on the top of her head to look at something.

"Mummy come and look at all the butterflies."

James ran over too.

The Buddleia had been in shadow before now but the sun had moved round enough for them to see all the butterflies around it.

"Look at that white one, there's a blue one, they are all so pretty. Oh is that a Red Admiral?" said Natalie.

"It's a Painted Lady and the white one is a Cabbage White." said James.

"How do you know that?" his cousin asked.

"We've got one of these in our garden too, it's a butterfly bush, and whenever the butterflies came I would watch them. Mummy has told me what most of them are called," he replied, "I love butterflies."

Natalie grinned at him and they watched the butterflies fluttering around for some time, once in a while she would ask him what one was called and he did his best to tell her.

Auntie Helen looked on, glad to see that the two children were talking again.

Meanwhile Natalie had followed a butterfly around the garden and left on his own James had sat down on the lawn with his legs to one side. He was doing something with his hands.

Natalie's butterfly had now flown out of the garden and she came back to the Buddleia. James stood up and put the Daisy chains he had made onher, one went around her neck and the ther on top of her head as a daisy crown. She thanked him and hugged him then started to make some daisy chains herself. It wasn't long before both of them were covered in the daisy jewelery that they had made for each other - necklaces, bracelets and rings. They also had daisy chains on their heads and round their ears. They collapsed in huge fits of giggles.

That night as he headed for the bedroom James wondered what he would be wearing. He had no need to worry, two nighties had been laid on the bed.

He put his nightie on and went to climb in one side of the bed.

"Hang on a minute." said Natalie, "Are you a boy or a girl because I only share my bed with other girls."

Her cousin was hurt by this remark and it showed, auntie Helen was about to say something. Natalie giggled and said "I'm only teasing a little, I know you're a girl, even today when you were dressed like a boy. When we it was you Natasha." She hugged her cousin and handed Natasha the white toy rabbit that she slept with.

Auntie Helen looked at the two of them in the bed and knew that Natalie's judgement was right. Now things were at a stage where even boys clothes couldn't hide such a girlish nature.