Printer-friendly version

Definitely Your Color
By Shawna Stimple

Danny Perry, and Sarah Baker had recently moved in together. This put a bee in the bonnet of Sarah’s Mother, as it was 1968, and was socially frowned upon. Danny saw himself as a revolutionary. He favored socialist ideas, and was not quiet with his opinions. This made it very hard for him to find a job. No one wanted someone so “un-American” to work for them, especially not one of those “long haired hippies“. He’d tried several times to break into writing, but no one seemed to be interested in his work.

Sarah also viewed herself as a revolutionary. She had procured a sales position, at a upscale department store after high school. After a couple of years, she worked her way up to a marketing rep at the corporate office. She was one of the first to climb through the crack of the newly broken glass ceiling that women in the work force faced for years.

Their relationship started with fire and romance, but shortly after they “shacked up”, the stress of the bills started to weigh hard on Sarah. She loved Danny, but couldn’t carry all the weight by herself. As she made her way home from work one night, she smiled blissfully at the opportunity she had just come by. She hoped it would be the thing they needed to save their relationship. She could barely keep it from bursting out the moment she walked in the door.

“Honey, I’ve got good news!” she yelled, as she stood in the doorway removing her gloves, and hat.

“I’m in here. I’m just finishing dinner.” she heard from the kitchen. Sarah had never had the knack for cooking. Danny loved it so much, that he didn’t mind handling a bit of the traditional women’s load of the household duties. Sarah walked in the kitchen, to find Jimmy lighting the candles on their kitchen table. He had a way of making the rickety little table for two, seem like it was meant for a romantic meal, rather than being the only thing that would fit in their tiny kitchen.

She took her seat, and sampled the lasagna that he had prepared. “It’s delicious!”

“Thank you. Only the best for my angel.”

“You’re too much sometimes, you know that?”

After they finished their meal, they sat at the table, enjoying a glass of wine, and talking about their day. Danny started, “Ron says he can get me a shift at the rail yard on Saturday. It’s not much, but it’s a little something.”

“Actually, that’s what my good news was about. I’ve been authorized to hire a secretary at work. I was thinking you could fill the position. It’s my decision after all.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

Sarah started to get upset. “Why not? You need a job. I need some help. I didn’t think you’d have a problem working a women’s job. You say you’re different from the other guys, but you’re too proud to be a lowly secretary.”

“That’s not it sweetie. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to me to work for you. It’s never a good idea to mix you professional, and personal lives. I just don’t want to make it harder on you.”

“It’s make it harder on me, if we remain a one income household. I love you, but I can’t keep doing this. You need to start contributing, or we need to revisit our living arrangement.”

Danny stared at his glass for a second. He knew that he loved Sarah, and didn’t want to make her life any harder. After a few minutes he reached a decision. “If you think it’s a good idea, I’ll do it. I love you, and I’ll do whatever you need me to, to keep you around.”

Sarah’s frown turned into a smile. “You mean it?”

“Of course. I’m at your disposal.”

“Good, because there are a few things you’re going to have to do you might not like. You still ok with it?”

“I promise. Anything you want me to do.”

“I’m so happy you’re doing this for me. I love you.”

“I love you too. What do I have to do?”

“Well first, you obviously have to save your political rantings for after work hours. The dress code is business professional, so you’ll have to shave your beard, and wear a shirt and tie.”

“If it’s a must I guess I will. It’s not really much of a beard anyway. It’s still peach fuzz, and only grows in a few places. I was thinking of losing it anyway. What about my hair?”

“I think you can keep it. The dress code says, it has to be pulled back or something. I never have to worry about it. My hair doesn’t even touch my ears.”

“Yeah I guess not. I hope they don’t make me cut it.”

“The company policies are all about equal opportunity and fairness. That’s how I got my job. I wouldn’t think it’d be very fair for women to have long hair, but men can’t. There is one more thing. You’ll be my secretary, but you’ll answer to Ms. French. She’s an old spinster, who’s the office manager. She’s very set in her ways, and not the nicest person in the world. She may not be able to fire you, but she can make your life a living hell. Just do whatever she ask, and both of our lives will be easier.”

“I think I can handle that.”

“You promise?”

“A thousand times, I promise. Now let’s go to bed early, and celebrate.”

“I think that sounds like the plan.” They kissed passionately before heading to bed.

The next morning, the happy couple walked into work. Danny looked as uncomfortable as he could be in his suit. He hadn’t worn it since high school, and even though he only grew a few inches since then, it was still a little tight, and cuffs of his pants and jacket fell a little short of his hands and feet. He kept his fiery red hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

The fifth floor of the building was almost all women. On one side was the typing pool. The center room held the switchboard. The other side had 3 offices. Two belonged to a couple of designers, and the last was Sarah’s. The company might have liked the press they received for the advancement of women, but the gentleman upstairs didn’t necessarily want to work with them. They figured they’d be more productive, if they could sequester the females to their own space.

Danny found his desk in front of Sarah’s office, and sat down his things. Sarah then walked him over to Ms. French’s office for orientation.

“Hello, Ms. French.” Sarah said. “This is my new secretary Danny. If you could give him the tour, and show him the ropes, I’d really appreciate it.”

Ms. French looked up from her desk. Her cat eye glasses hung on the edge of her nose. “Yes Ms. Baker. Will there be anything else?”

“No ma’am. Thank you. I’ll leave you to it.”

Danny felt a sense of dread as Sarah left him in the clutches of the elderly woman. He’d dealt with her type before. From the pile of permed graying hair on top of her head, to the skirt of her wool suit, she looked like an amalgamation of every grade school teacher, who ever slapped his fingers with a ruler.

“Hello Danny. I am Ms. French. It has come to my attention that you may already be very familiar with Ms. Baker. I must warn you that this is a place of business. Here she is to be referred to only as Ms. Baker. Not any other pet names that you might have come up with in your personal time.” Danny sat and listened to the lecture, feeling just as helpless as he had in school as a child. “You can call the other secretaries by their first names, as well as most of the staff, but the executives are all Mr., or Ms.. I also, will only be referred to as Ms. French. Now please follow me.”

She led him around the floor, showing him where he would need to leave certain papers, and pick up others. The job itself seemed simple enough. He just had to make Sarah’s job as easy as he could. He didn’t even need to type that often. Anything he had written he could just leave with the typing pool.

When the tour was over she led him back to his desk. She stared at his sleeves, failing at hiding her disdain. “On a final note, I’d like to go over the company dress code for secretaries. We believe that one must present a professional appearance to succeed in business. You can wear a pant suit, skirt, or dress. Skirts and dresses must be at least knee length with appropriate heels.” He wondered why he needed to know that. “If you choose to wear pants, they must be accompanied by a button down shirt, and some sort of tie at the neck. Flat shoes may be worn, but they must be clean and polished. If you wear a skirt or dress, you may change into a pair of flats, at your desk, but must change back if you get up for any reason.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” His sarcasm was apparent.

She continued her lecture, unfazed by his response. “Above all else, your clothing must fit. Even a Junior executive like Ms. Baker deserves enough respect, for you to appear at work in clothing that doesn’t look better suited for a teenager. I’ll let it slide today since it’s your first day, but tomorrow I hope you’ll arrive in something a little more adult. There’s also the issue of your hair. Hair must be worn above the collar. I’m afraid that ponytail will not due. You don’t have to get it cut, but you must keep it off your shirt.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

She placed her finger on her chin, assuming a quizzical stare. “Yes…I’m sure you’re not familiar with the standards of professional hair care. I’ll help you today, but I’d strongly recommend learning a little about it before returning to work tomorrow. I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later she returned with her purse. She removed the hair tie from his ponytail, and brushed his hair for about a hundred strokes. Next she gathered his hair at the back, and twisted it around into itself. When she ran out of room at the top, she tucked the remaining length under the twist, and pinned it all into place. She used a comb to slick down the few remaining flyaway’s, and liberally coated his head in flowery smelling hairspray.

“A French twist from Ms. French.” the older lady said, snickering at her own pun. “I think it suits your facial structure well. You should learn how to do it tonight. It’ll keep your hair out of your face, and help you be more productive. I’ll leave you to your duties. Coffee break is at ten, and lunch is at noon. Have a good day.” Ms. French gathered her purse, and headed back towards her office.

Danny headed for the washroom, to find a mirror, and inspect his new hairdo. After one look at the feminine coiffure, he thought about destroying it, and walking out of the building that instant, but he remembered his promise to Sarah, and decided he could deal with it the rest of the day, and get his hair cut later in the evening.

At his desk he worked nonstop, getting Sarah caught up for the week. He only hung up on one person accidentally, while learning the phone system. After an hour of taking messages, and patching calls, he was an expert. Around 10:00 Sarah stepped out of the office for the coffee break, and took a look at her beau’s new hairdo.

“That’s just precious. I must say it looks very professional.” she said, unable to hide her grin.

“Apparently the ponytail wasn’t up to company standards. I have to deal with this today, until I can get my haircut tonight.”

“No! No! Don’t cut it. I love your hair. Please.”

“If the boss insist. I guess we’ll have to work something else out. I just wish I didn‘t have to look so ridiculous in the meantime.”

“You don’t look ridiculous. I kind of like it.”

“Thank you for the compliment Ms. Baker. I will do my best to always meet the company standards.”

They laughed for a while, until it was time to return to the grind. The rest of the day went by without incident. The only abnormality was the stares he received from the other secretaries in the lunchroom. He assumed they were perplexed by the state of his red locks. At the end of the day, he shut down his desk, and headed home with Sarah.

The next morning Danny stared at his half of the closet, hoping to find something ‘presentable’ for work. “What am I going to do?”

Sarah walked out of the bathroom, fastening her pearl clusters to her ears. “What’s wrong honey?”

“I don’t have anything I can wear to work. That witch will skin me if I wear my old suit again.”

“Maybe you could wear my black pant suit. We are about the same size.”

“I’m sure I’d look just lovely, but seriously. What am I going to do?”

“I am serious. It’s black. It’s not very ornate. The lapels are a little larger than normal, but with a necktie it shouldn’t look out of place.”

“You think I could get away with it?”

“Of course do. Worst case scenario…You’re butt looks better in it then mine.”

They shared a laugh as Sarah helped Danny into her black suit. His skinny red necktie looked a little strange beneath the peter pan collar of the white blouse, but overall he did look more professional than the day before. He tried to put his hair up as it was the day before, but he had lost a few bobby pins. Sarah stepped in to help, and was able to keep it up, and it held on by a thread. “I’m sorry I can’t really do any better. My sisters are a whiz with hair, but I’ve never really had time for it. Since I was a teenager I’ve just kept it as short as mom would let me.”

“It’s alright. I’m not really looking for perfection. I just want to keep Ms. French off my case.”

The office was bustling upon their arrival. There was a lot of work to be done. Danny spent the entire morning running various papers to various boxes, making phone calls, scheduling appointments, and mailing letters. He hadn’t worked that hard in years. Around noon Sarah called him over the intercom and told him that she had to work through lunch, and that he should go ahead to the break room, and grab a bite. He was sad they wouldn’t get to have lunch together, but his stomach overwhelmed his sense of duty.

At lunch he devoured his sandwich like he hadn’t eaten for weeks. After throwing away his trash he looked down, and noticed a mustard stain on his tie. “Oh crap. That old bitty will have a fit if she sees this.”

He tried to wipe it off, but the stain remained. He made a break for the bathroom, but after taking two steps out of the break room he literally bumped in Ms. French. “You should take better care to watch wear your going.” the old lady spat. She brushed herself off, and took a gaze at her accidental assailant. “Mr. Perry. This will not do. We talked about your appearance yesterday. That tie is stained, and your hair is flying every different direction.”

Danny reached up, and touched his head. Huge chunks of hair had fallen loose from the security of the bobby pins. “I’m sorry ma’am. I’ve been so busy today, I must not have noticed. I’m not very good at dealing with hair anyway.”

Ms. French looked a little sorry for Danny. It was beginning to show, that beneath her rough exterior, she wasn’t all bad. “Accidents happen I guess. Come to my office, and I’ll help sort you out.”

In her office, Ms. French began removing the bobby pins from Danny’s hair. She ran a brush through it at least one hundred times before pulling a comb, and several more bobby pins from her purse. She quickly set to work teasing, and pulling his hair, pinning away, until she was satisfied. After spraying everything firmly into place, she reached back into her purse, and pulled out a long piece of cloth. “You’re lucky I have an extra tie. I don’t usually keep one, but I haven’t cleaned my purse out in a few days.” She undid his tie and set it on the chair behind him. Then she slipped the long red cloth under his collar, tying it into a huge floppy bow, sitting just beneath his neck. She pulled out a hand mirror, and offered it to him. “This is what professional dress looks like.”

Danny gasp for air, as he took in the image the mirror offered. His hair was in a French twist, the same as the day before, but his hair was teased higher on top this time. The front swept to the side, and back into a bouffant top, two inches high above the crown. The ribbon tie, was like a bow on an unwanted Christmas present. He looked even more feminine than the day before. If he didn’t know any better he would have swore, he was looking at a young woman, starting off as a junior secretary.

“Th-Thank you.” he stuttered.

“You’re very welcome. People think I’m all fire and brimstone, but I really just want to help you young people succeed. I recommend buying some more hair pins tonight, and taking some time to practice. With a little time, you might become good enough to create a better style than this. It’s more fun than you’d think creating elaborate hairdos. I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish tomorrow.”

Danny stared blankly at Ms. French. He couldn’t believe how sincere she was. He thought she was trying to get him to quit, but now it seemed that she genuinely wanted to help. “Maybe she has a few screws loose.” he thought. “I’d hate to see this kind of crazy when it’s angry.” He went back to his desk, and finished out his day.

When Sarah stepped out of her office, traveling gloves in hand, she stopped in her tracks when she saw her girlish boyfriend in his new getup. She placed her hands over her mouth, doing her best not to laugh hysterically.

“You really do love me, don’t you?”

“I guess I’d have to, to put up with that crazy old bat.”

“Well the red bow is definitely your color.”

“Not another word.”

On the way home they stopped by a drugstore so Danny could purchase some hair accessories. As he made his way to the cashier with the hairspray, brushes, combs, and pins, he’d hoped to get out of there as quickly as possible, to avoid the humiliation. The cashier however was very receptive. She asked him what he though of the new fall styles, and what sort of coat he would be wearing this season. He thought it strange, but took his bags, and headed for the door counting his blessings. Just as he was about to leave, he heard her call out, “Have a nice day miss.”

At their apartment, Danny and Sarah shared a quick dinner, before Sarah rushed out the door to meet some friends for a few drinks. Meanwhile, Danny sat at home, trying, and failing to successfully do anything with his hair, that Ms. French would be okay with. After about an hour, he suddenly heard a knock at the door. He quickly tried to pull all the pins from his hair, before he answered. As he opened the door, he was surprised to see a beautiful blonde bombshell, wearing a pink minidress, and white knee high go-go boots.

“Well, hello Peggy.”

“Where’s Sarah?” slurred the nineteen year old. She had obviously been drinking.

Danny let her inside, and offered her a seat. She plopped down hard, narrowly hiding her panties from the worlds view. Digging through her purse, she pulled out a cigarette, and a large bottle of wine. Forever being the gracious host, but also fearing the safety of his furniture, Danny ran to the kitchen to find an ashtray, and a glass.

“Where is Sarah?!” she said again, obviously very distressed.

“She’s out with some friends. Is something wrong?”

“Mom, and I got into it again. I stormed out. My suitcase is in the hall by the way.”

Danny found the suitcase, which looked like it’d been packed in a hurry, and brought it inside. “I take it you’re going to stay here tonight.”

“You guys said, whenever I needed.”

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem, but try to call first next time.”

“It’s not my fault.” she said, defending herself from an accusation that was never cast. “She’s mad because I finished beauty school, but I don’t want to go work in Catherine’s salon. I have bigger plans for my future. You should drink with me.”

Danny always found himself amazed at how blunt this girl could be. Ever since he’d started dating Sarah, Peggy was always what their mother called, a handful. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have to work in the morning.”

“What are you talking about? It’s still early. Isn’t Sarah out right now, doing the same thing?”

“I guess so, but…”

“Well then it’s settled. Go get a glass.”

Danny was quickly running out of arguments. He figured, “Why not?” After a few drinks, Peggy would pass out, and he could return to his losing battle with his red locks.

They sat together drinking for what seemed like hours, sharing stories about Sarah, and laughing about how their mother could be quite the witch. Before Danny knew it, he was very intoxicated. Around that time, Peggy finally noticed the plethora of hair accessories on the table.

“What’s this all about?” she asked, waving around the coffee table.

“Company dress code.” Danny said, laughing at the absurdity of his situation.

“You’re going to need to elaborate a bit.”

Danny told her the story, not sparing any details. When he finished, Peggy’s response surprised him.

“Well your hair would be easier to work with if it had a bit of curl. I’ll help you. Sarah was never any good with these sorts of things.” Peggy opened up her suitcase, and pulled out a bag of rollers, and various sprays, and lotions. “Have a seat right here, and I’ll fix it.”

Danny thought about it for a moment, and couldn’t find any flaws in her logic. She was known for being good with hair. “Why not?”

Twenty minutes later, his hair had been set to perfection. When he got to look at himself in the mirror, Danny laughed hysterically at the giant rollers covering his head. After the novelty wore off, they sat back down resuming their conversation. A few hours later Sarah walked through the door to find her little sister passed out on the couch, her boyfriend asleep in the armchair, sporting a head full of curlers, and an empty bottle of wine.

Danny woke the next morning, to a drum pounding in his head. He reached up to find that he in fact, was still wearing the curlers from the night before. Sarah, hearing the groaning, walked in from the kitchen, and led him to the shower.

“Put this shower cap on, and wash up. You reek of boos. After you get cleaned up get dressed, and I’ll wake up Peggy, and make her finish what she started.”

“Whatever you say honey.” Danny said, feeling the pain of every word he spoke.

Half an hour later he was dressed in the same suit as the day before, ribbon tie, and all. In the kitchen, he found two slices of toast, two aspirin, and a big glass of water. He gratefully downed them all. In the living room, he found an angry looking Peggy, recently stirred from her slumber.

“Sit down here, and I’ll finish your hair.” she mumbled, with half awake eyes.

Danny sat quietly while Peggy removed his curlers. She took a comb, and teased every square inch of his hair, until it looked like a giant tangled mess. She then used the comb to smooth the outer layer around, and pinned it all on top of his crown. She capped off her work with a simple red headband, with a little red bow on top. He now had a fiery red beehive sitting 5 inches high.

“Did you have to make it so big?”

“I take pride in my work.” Peggy answered sarcastically. Then she fell back onto the sofa, and was asleep in seconds.

Sarah snickered at Danny’s new style as they were walking to the car. He had to take special care not to smash his hair into the top of the door frame. As they walked to the building, a car drove past through a puddle, splashing muddy water onto the front of Danny’s suit, soaking him all the way through to his underwear. He yelled out, “Well this just figures!”

Sarah felt sorry for her boyfriend. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s not your week is it. I’m sure it’ll be ok. Go let Ms. French know it wasn’t your fault. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“My word! What happened?” Ms. French said, as Danny was entering her office.

“There was a little accident in the parking lot.”

“Well that won’t do. Let’s see if we can fix this somehow.”

They walked into the main office area, where Ms. French quickly got everyone’s attention. “Girls. Danny here, has run into a bit of a problem. Is there anyone that could loan him a few things?”

The girls could not hide their amusement at his predicament. Everyone retrieved pieces of the extra outfits they kept around in case something like this should happen to them. Before too long, Danny was standing holding an arm full of cloth. Every girl that brought him something made sure to make a comment like, “I’m sure this will go great with your hair.”

He was ushered to the bathroom, where he found himself staring at the pile of clothing, desperately trying to think of a way out, short of quitting. He saw no end to his humiliation. The dress they gave him was bad enough, but why would he need a bra. He decided the only way to approach this was without fear or shame. He would prove to them he could work in the same conditions as the other secretaries.

He struggled with the undergarments, but managed to get them on correctly after a few tries. He balled up some toilet paper, and stuffed the cups of the bra. Next he slid the dark panty hose up his legs. He was amazed at how his sparse blond leg hair seemed to disappear as he reached his waist. Next he managed to get the slip over his head without messing his hair, and he stepped into the dress with relative ease. Zipping it up was a different story. He wondered if every woman was a contortionist, after he finally managed to seal himself in. He stepped into the shoes, and put on all the accessories, and walked to the mirror to take in his new look.

He was wearing a simple red knee length sheath, that was very form fitting, and flattered his faux figure considerably. It had short sleeves, and a belted waist, that made his rear end look a little more on the curvy side. He stood in a pair red pumps, and he had a red, and black patterned scarf tied off the side of his neck, with the tails resting on his right shoulder. He didn’t think he looked too bad, and the red dress went well with his red hair. Summoning up all his courage he walked proudly back into the office. He was met with a stunned silence, as the girls couldn’t believe he wore the dress so well.

Back at Sarah’s office he knocked on the door. “Come in.” she greeted.

“Hi honey.” Danny said, Gingerly stepping in.”

“Oh my god. You look…”

“Ridiculous. I know.”

“I wouldn’t say ridiculous. It suits you. Red is definitely your color. But why?”

“You said to keep my nose down. I’m just trying to stay employed.”

“You really are the best man in the world. I don’t want you to go this far. You still deserve respect.”

“I know I do, but I think if I show them I can work the same as they do, dealing with the same things they do, it’ll make things better in the long run.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“As sure as I can be in this getup.”

“If you’re ok with it, I’ll stay out of it. You could use a bit of makeup though.”

“You’re the boss.”

Sarah retrieved her makeup from her purse. She covered his face in various powders, blushes, and shadows. She finished him off with a few strokes of a mascara wand, and she clipped her pearl cluster earrings on to his ears. She handed him a compact, and a tube of lipstick. He was shocked at how sexy his now smoky eyes looked, as he smoothed the red lipstick over his lips.

“Wow. You look like the kind of sexy secretary the boss gets married to.” Sarah joked.”

Getting into the mood, he winked at her, and breathily said, “Will that be all Ms. Baker?”

The rest of the day went by relatively uneventful. Several of the girls found any excuse they could to walk by his desk, to get a good look at him, working away, dressed so femininely. Around 5 o’clock Sarah buzzed Danny into her office.

“I have a big presentation tomorrow. I’m going to have to stay late. You head on home, and I’ll be there around eight.”

“Do you need me to pick you up?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll take a cab home. Before you leave, you might want me to help you with a few things. You don’t want to be very conspicuous do you?”

“I guess not dressed like this I don’t.”

Sarah gave Danny her white gloves, and a black waistcoat to wear. She found him spare purse, and put his wallet in it. She gave him the keys, and sent him on his way, with a kiss on the cheek, and a pat on the butt.

The entire drive home, Danny thought to himself, that it wasn’t so bad. He had a beautiful woman that loved him. If anything else worked out for him, it was just icing on the cake. As he entered the apartment, he noticed Peggy sitting on the sofa in her Pjs, watching TV.

“Busy day I see.” he said sarcastically to the manifestation of trouble that started his day.

“Hey there. You know that’s a good look for you.” she laughed back.

“Any big plans tonight?”

“I’m going out with a few friends. I know I’m being an inconvenience, but I’ve had kind of an emotional day. Mom’s got a way of hurting me pretty good. It’s like she knows the worst thing to say when she’s angry.”

“I know what you mean.”

“Anyway. I’ll start pounding the pavement tomorrow. As soon as I find a job I’ll be out of your hair. Oh yeah! Some man named Mr. Wexler called. He said he liked one of your pieces. He gave me this address, and told me to have you meet him there, but he’d be leaving at six.”

“Shit! It’s 5:30 now, and that’s all the way across town. What am I going to do? Look at what I’m wearing, for Christ’s sake.”

“I’d just go with it. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? He won’t run your story. He won’t do that if you stay here anyway.”

“I guess you’re right. I’ll see you later.” Danny said, running out the door in a flash.

At the top of a certain newspaper building, Danny found the office of Mr. Wexler. He knocked on the door hoping that he hadn’t left yet. “Come in.” came the gruff voice.

“Hi Mr. Wexler, I’m Danny Perry.”

“Come in Ms. Perry. I must say I was expecting a Daniel, rather than a Danielle.”

“Actually sir, It is Daniel.”

“Oh I see. Well I enjoyed your piece on returning Vietnam vets, and we’re going to run it.”

“That’s wonderful sir.”

“I’m sure it is. How would you like to come on board, as one of our political columnist. We’ve found that there’s no shortage of people interested in leftist opinions these days.”

“That would be amazing. I’d need two weeks for my current job.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. We don’t really enforce a dress code for the writers, so your…style shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Actually sir this is for a…a piece I’m doing on a woman’s struggle in the work place.”

“That sounds like an excellent piece. Have something worked up by your first day. I admire your dedication to your craft. If it brings me good work, you can wear a pink tutu for all I care.”

“Thank you so much sir.” Danny said, realizing he was thanking a man for the offer of wearing a tutu.

“I’ll see you Monday after next. I’ll have payroll call you. Have a nice evening.”

“You too, sir.”

Danny arrive home just after seven. He wanted to surprise Sarah with the good news, over a nice dinner. He realized her wouldn’t have time to wash up before his shower, so he decided to have a little fun with his new look. He reached into the pantry, and pulled out Sarah’s apron. It was white skirt apron with little red ruffles around the seams. “At least it matches my outfit.” thought Danny, as he hurried about the house, preparing dinner, and cleaning up after Peggy.

Sarah arrived home shortly before eight. As she walked into the kitchen, she was surprised to find the table set, and Danny standing behind it, apron, hairdo, and all.

“I see someone’s been a busy little housewife today.” Sarah said laughing.

Danny teetered over to her, heels clicking away, and placed a firm kiss on her cheek, leaving a red lipstick print. “Hello dear. I thought my bread winner could use a nice dinner, after a hard days work.”

“That’s nice, but why are you still wearing that getup?”

“I didn’t really have time to change, and I wanted to make dinner for you.”

“Aww. That’s sweet, but you should have had plenty of time. You left work three hours ago.”

“Actually I had to take care of something. Come sit down and eat, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

They shared a wonderful dinner, laughing while Danny told the story of his good fortune, and the ‘tutu incident’, as they dubbed it, and at the end of the story, he officially gave his two weeks notice. That night they left the mess on the table, and retired to bed early again.

While he finished out his two weeks, Danny made sure to dress every bit as feminine, if not more than the other office girls. Peggy helped him with his hair, and he showed up each day with a more elaborate coiffure. He even participated in the customary Friday lunch out with the girls. He had struggled with his colleagues in the beginning, but by the end of it he’d made a few lasting friendships.

With the vacancy in the position, Sarah decided to give the job to Peggy. Peggy worked out great, and found she was well adept at the organizational skills required for office work. Ms. French liked her so much that she started grooming her for the office manager position once she retired. They got along surprisingly well, even though they constantly butted heads over the length of Peggy’s skirts.

The paper ran Danny’s article, and it took off. He received so many letters of appreciation from working women, and his editor took notice. He offered him a contract, with a healthy signing bonus, and a significant raise, just to keep doing what he was doing.

One night, a year later, Danny had just finished making dinner for the two. He brought the food out to the dining room table, in their new house. It was nice that they could now feed eight people if they wanted, but he liked it best when it was just the two of them. He fixed Sarah’s plate, and took his seat across from her.

Sarah looked at her boyfriend in his red shirtwaist dress, with his hair sitting softly on his shoulders in a loose flip. He was absentmindedly fingering his pearl necklace when she broke the silence. “I like your hair better down. It looked nice in the office, but this seems to be more your style.”

“I guess red is my color. I guess I liked dresses a little more than I thought. When things got back to normal, I guess I missed feeling pretty. I’m glad we can still dress up from time to time.”

“I have to say, you’re just as pretty as you are handsome. You’re also the sweetest person I’ve ever met in my life. I’d be lucky to have you around forever.”

“I was thinking the same about you.”

“Well then, why don’t we make it permanent?”

“Wait…What are you…?”

Sarah reached into her coat pocket, and pulled out a little black box. She slowly opened it to reveal a set of matching diamond engagement rings. “Will you marry me?”

Out of nowhere, Danny started giggling like a school girl. Sarah angrily slammed the box closed, and asked, “What’s so funny?”

Danny took her by the hand, and looked into her eyes. “Of course I’ll marry you. I was just thinking about how your mom’s going to react, when she realizes the groomsmen are probably going to be wearing dresses.”

Sarah kissed him on the cheek, and said, “I think she’ll be more okay with it than you realize. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

And once again, another mess was left for the morning.

The end.

---

If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudo!
Click the Good Story! button above to leave the author a kudo:
And please, remember to comment, too! Thanks.