Home alone, I was trying on Mom’s clothing when I heard the garage door open – Mom had returned from shopping much earlier than I expected.
I had some time to switch from girl mode to boy mode because we had a manually operated garage door, which meant that my mother had to open the garage door, walk back to the car, drive the car into the garage, get out of the car, close the garage door, then gather up whatever she had purchased and carry it upstairs (the garage was under the house).
I managed to switch modes and return Mom’s wardrobe to its original state before she climbed upstairs to our living quarters. I was pretty pleased with myself because I had dodged the bullet. But a few minutes later, after Mom entered her bedroom, she asked, “Stanley – why are my shoes out?”
Nuts! I forgot to put her high heels back in her closet!
I had to think fast. Back then, I was drawing a lot – a cartoonist in the making – so my very lame excuse was that I borrowed her shoes because I was drawing shoes and I needed a model.
She bought it and I was very relieved. But years later, I discovered that she knew about my crossdressing and I imagine that the high heel episode was just more evidence of my secret.
Mom never confronted me about my crossdressing, although on countless occasions she asked, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
I realize now that she was reaching out to me, but I was a clueless idiot and always said, “No,” which I will regret forever.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Crossdressing couple, circa 1910 |
