Josie was a bit of a pain on Sunday morning, dressed in her smart girly clothes which tended to show the rest of us up whilst also preventing us from going on to the pier. Maybe I was a little hard on her by calling her ‘Princess Barbie,’ after all she is new to all of this and doesn’t have a lot of choice about what to wear. For that reason I was happy to go shopping yesterday afternoon to help her to find something a little more practical to wear for today. At least Josie is willing to spend a little of her own money on clothes, which would have been quite out of character for Joe.

As soon as Mum got back from her meeting last night we were sent to our respective hotel rooms to change into something less casual, as she was intending to take us all out to a restaurant. (Presumably she was able to charge some of it towards her business expenses.) As usual, Sue and I took a little longer to get ready than the Karen, so when we eventually came down we found Mum, Josie and Karen in the hotel lobby already in earnest conversation with one another.

‘Josie and Karen have been invited to stay with Denise’s parents for a fortnight,’ announced Mum. ‘We shall be dropping them off at Llangollen on our way home on Tuesday. Unfortunately they only have room for two girls to stay, but Jean and I will find a way of making it up to the other two of you.’

‘That’s alright; I’m not sure that I’d want to spend a a whole fortnight in Wales with Denise and her mother. Also I’ve plenty to do at home,’ said Sue, clearly thinking of those two guys from our village.

I felt pretty much the same myself. At least I wouldn’t now have to look after Joe if Mum had to stay away overnight, and there would now be no danger that anyone in the village would find out about Josie for the next fortnight. On the other hand though, I didn’t want to make things too easy for Mum or my sister. I wanted it to look as if I was being magnanimous.

‘I see,’ I said flatly, with a tone of studied disappointment. ‘Maybe you could take Sue and I out somewhere for a treat instead, Mum.’

‘I’ve already discussed some ideas with your mother, Sue. She would be quite happy to have Jenny stay during the week and I have promised to have you both at weekends, and maybe we can go somewhere nice.’

‘That would suit me,’ said Sue.

‘Me too,’ said Karen. ‘The only trouble is that all the clothes that I brought with me to Southport will have been worn by Tuesday.’

‘In that case I suggest that you and Josie should do some laundry straight after dinner tonight, so that everything can be washed and ironed by Tuesday morning. If there is anything else that you are going to need from your home, tell Sue where to find it as Denise’s father will be driving from Crawley to Llangollen on Friday and I’m sure he’d be happy to bring another suitcase with him.’

‘I might need a few more clothes as well,’ said Josie.

Mum sighed, but I knew that she was making much better money now compared to before her promotion.

‘I know, and I’ll give both you and Jenny fifty pounds each to get yourself something when you next go shopping.’

‘Maybe there are some advantages to having a transgendered sister who needs to be kept out of the public eye,’ I thought to myself.

‘I’ve also got my birthday coming up in a fortnight; can I also get myself something as a present from you?’ asked Josie.

Mum sighed.

‘If you are sure that’s what you want for your birthday.’

The five of us went out for our meal, but didn’t stay too long as Josie and Karen had to prepare for Tuesday. In fact Sue and I also managed to wring one other small advantage out of our having been left out of Denise’s invitation, by suggesting that they might also do our laundry whilst they were doing their own. Somewhat to my surprise they both agreed without any argument. Mum was more concerned with getting herself ready for her work presentation the following day, which was the reason why we’d come to Southport in the first place. Sue and I therefore went out on the prowl, talent-spotting, for an hour or so. We even made it to the end of the pier where we hung out for a while with some local lads, but otherwise it was an uneventful evening.

This morning Karen and I were the last down to breakfast, to find that Mum had already left for her work, and that Sue and Josie were chatting to two guys in the lobby. The taller of the pair, who was talking to Sue was really quite something. The other one, who appeared to be his younger brother seemed a little shy, but was quite presentable, all the same. They were just leaving as we arrived.

‘See you this afternoon then girls,’ the taller one said.

‘Yeah, sure,’ said Sue smiling.

Josie didn’t say anything and looked a little embarrassed.

‘Josie and I have just been invited out to the New Pleasureland, this afternoon,’ said Sue smugly. ‘It’s the last day in Southport for those two brothers and so they’ve asked us to join them.’

‘How come Josie gets all the invitations?’ I said feeling a little bit aggrieved.

‘Maybe if you hadn’t spent so long in the shower this morning and held me up in the process?’ suggested Karen.

‘I had to deal with my period,’ I replied.

(It’s strange but I would never have dreamed of mentioning my period if Joe had been there, but it wasn’t an issue with Josie present.)

‘Don’t blame me, I never said a word to encourage them,’ said Josie.

‘I know, but the older one wouldn’t have asked me, if you hadn’t also been there to keep his brother company,’ said Sue.

I could see that Josie was feeling a little guilty about this second invitation in two days, although I realised it wasn’t her fault.

‘Maybe I could pay for you and Karen to go on one of the rides, this afternoon,’ she offered.

‘Alright, and I’ll go halves with you,’ added Sue.

‘The lads are bound to take them on at least two rides, so why don’t we chip in for a ride each as well?’ Karen asked me.

‘At least I’ll be able to keep an eye of my sister, and make sure he doesn’t try to put his hand up her dress.’

‘I won’t be wearing a dress,’ said Josie, slightly horrified by the prospect.

‘Oh yes you will, and so will I. The ‘Barbie Princess’ look is what we should be aiming for if we are being taken to a funfair. That way they’ll feel obliged to help us on and off the rides.’

Sue and I indulged in a little gentle teasing of my younger sister during the course of the morning, as we sorted out our laundry.

‘Be careful what you hold on to when they take us on to the ‘Wild Mouse, Josie, you may give him the wrong idea,’ said Sue.

‘We’re all leaving Southport tomorrow, so he’ll hardly be expecting to go to bed with you, but you should be prepared for some heavy petting on the ghost train, all the same,’ I added.

‘There isn’t a ghost train,’ said Josie, blushing.

Eventually Karen told us to lay off the teasing, and leave her alone.

In the event, the two lads didn’t mind us all going round the fun fair as a group of six, although there was an unspoken understanding that Karen and I would share a ride together and pay our own fares, leaving the guys to pay for our respective sisters. Josie’s escort, Richard, was just as shy as she was; there was a little innocent snuggling or else holding on to one another during the most exciting rides, but nothing more. Sue, who was far more experienced in dealing with boys probably had the more fun with Douglas, the elder brother, but even she didn’t let things go too far as both groups would be going their separate ways in the morning.

Mum was going to be involved with her work until nearly 8.00pm and we’d arranged to have dinner ourselves, and so joined the lads to go to a Pizza Hut, although on this occasion everyone paid for themselves. I must say though, Josie dealt with the slightly awkward parting quite well. She smiled sweetly and thanked Richard for his company, and for taking her on some rides. When it looked as if he was unlikely to respond, she kissed him chastely on the cheek. The poor guy went bright red, but didn’t look as if he was unhappy.

‘My goodness, if some of Joe’s school fellows ever learned what went on in Southport, he would never be able to show his face within fifty miles of his home,’ I said to the others after Josie left us that night.

‘Joe? Who’s Joe?’ asked Karen.

I smiled.

‘Alright, I’m pleased that my sister Josie seems to be enjoying herself so much this summer, but I am worried about her future.’

‘From what I’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, I should think she’ll be alright,’ added Sue.