I thought this one was a lot of fun to write. :) I hope you like it! It doesn't have all the boys in it (sorry) but I like how it turned out. Can't thank you enough for all the support! The boys send hugs and kisses!
Robert tilted his head back in frustration as his mother pulled him by the hand. "Mummy!" he begged. "I don't want to go! It's so boring!" She pulled the big glass door open. "Don't be silly, darling! Shopping is fun!" she replied.
"It's only fun for you because you're a girl!"
"Nonsense. I'm sure tons of boys like to go shopping."
"Why couldn't you have taken my other brothers and sisters? Why subject just me to this torture?"
"Sweetheart, I need to get you a new dress shirt for Daddy's banquet! We all are going to wear fancy clothes, and you outgrew that old blue one. Ooh, I bet we could get you a matching tie too!"
Robert sighed dejectedly as his mother pulled him into the mall. While the idea of shopping for him and making him try on all sorts of clothes nearly depressed him, it wasn't nearly as bad as what they actually did end up doing - - shopping for cosmetics. Once his mother saw a new perfume or a different shade of lipstick, they were immediately deviating from their path. Robert groaned loudly a lot to remind her that he was severely unpleased with all this.
X x X
Jack smiled as he took a seat in a big plushy chair that was placed in front of a three-paneled mirror. "Go on in with Mummy, dear. I'll be waiting right here for you to come out and show me." he told his little sister. She and her mother were shopping for a new dress - - the Merridew children's aunt was getting married that coming summer, and Jessica was finally old enough to wear a fancy outfit all on her own. They'd been at the mall all day going store to store to find the perfect one she liked. The shop they were currently in was her favorite. She brought four dresses into the fitting room. Jack would have much rather stayed home or gone out with Mary-Sue, but Jessica pleaded for him to watch her try them all on, so he complied.
After a few minutes, Jessica exited the fitting room and walked towards the mirror, her mother smiling proudly behind her. The little pink dress cut off right above her knees. It was very flouncy and sparkly. "Do you like it?" Jack asked as she viewed her reflection. "It's pretty, but I don't like how poofy it is. The top is itchy too..." she replied. Once more, she tried on the second dress. This one was green and had lots of glitter on it. Jessica giggled. "Look, Jackie! I'm a snake!" He laughed, already surmising that this would not be a possible contender. The third dress was medium-length buttercup yellow, with small flowers decorating the skirt. "I think I like this one," she commented. "But I don't feel like a princess yet." Jack glanced at his mother. So far every single dress she'd tried on that day didn't give her that royal sensation. Jessica retreated into the fitting room to try the final choice.
When she walked out, Jack heard himself gasp. Jessica was dressed in a blue floor-length gown that was full, but not overwhelmingly. Sparkles trailed from the top and eventually lessened as they got to the hem. "Darling," he murmured as she stepped before the mirror. "You look like Cinderella…!" She grinned at this. "Jackie? Mummy?" she asked, catching their attention. She beamed. "I feel like a princess."
X x X
Simon held Roger's hand as they walked with their mother through the mall. Simon had grown a bit taller in the past few months, and needed some new pants that could cover his ankles. And Roger…just needed some love. Mrs. Louis was more than happy to bring them shopping with her. She wanted to get them as many clothes as she could - - really make them feel good. So far, their day had been successful.
They stopped at a children's store next. "Simon, do you think you'll need a new polo shirt for church days? Because I think the striped ones over there are nice. Why don't you go take a look and pick some out to try on." she said. Simon excitedly bounced over to the rack of size-small shirts to browse the options. Mrs. Louis took Roger's hands and knelt down beside him. "I know things are hard," she whispered. Roger brought his eyes to the ground so he wouldn't have to look at her. He felt incredibly ashamed of himself. "And I know you're having some difficulty. You're still not sleeping well, right? Sometimes I hear you when you're having nightmares - - even just in your naps. Simon told me you're afraid to sleep sometimes because the nightmares will come back." Roger bit his lip to stop the tears from coming. It hurt so bad inside. She gently rubbed his hands between her palms. "I have an idea, though." she continued. "You should get some brand-new pajamas. I'm sure they'll keep the monsters away when you sleep in them. Do you want to do that? Get some monster-repellant pajamas?"
She reached up to stroke his cheek, but he pulled away quickly. Though she didn't externally react to this, he knew he should explain himself. "I d-don't deserve…" but he couldn't finish. Mrs. Louis gathered him into a hug. After a little bit, she finally convinced him to pick out a new pair of pajamas that even the sales clerk promised would "keep the scary dreams away". The adults shared a wink. As Mrs. Louis paid for the boys' clothes, Roger and Simon thanked her profusely. But Roger cried. She knelt down and asked him what was wrong, this time a little more alarmed. He never showed this much emotion anymore. "I-I'm…so dirty…" he sobbed. "I don't deserve to be…t-treated so good…" Simon wrapped his arms around his brother as Mrs. Louis did the same. The both knew it would be a while before he would start functioning normally again.
X x X
Maurice skipped along with his mother and father in a department store. They were shopping mainly for themselves because they'd been invited to a Peace Society's dinner ball that had a formal dress code. Maurice had come along with them because they were in between nannies at the moment - - he'd managed to scare the old one away when he accidentally forgot to tell her that he was going to store a neat little frog he found outside in a glass jar…that she'd planned on keeping some jam in. When she found it, Maurice swore her scream equaled the intensity of volume when the sound-barrier was broken.
Maurice's father was allowing for his mother to select a dress first, and then he'd pick a suit so that he could match her directly. She took a few into the dressing room to try on. Maurice went in with her instead of standing in the hallway with his father for one reason only - - the fitting room had a chair in it. He sank down into its softness and sighed happily. After doing so much shopping, his feet were pooped.
His mother went outside the dressing room to show her man what she looked like to get his opinion. While she was gone, Maurice began thinking. He wondered what it felt like to not wear pants all the time. Barely recognizing what he was doing, he stripped down to his underwear and pulled one of the dress options off its hanger.
The first obstacle he had to overcome was figuring out which hole was for an arm and which was for a head. Once he got that down, he then had to determine why the collar was touching his ear on one side, but lay flat on the other. He straightened the starched fabric so that it was even. The third problem was the question as to what a thin belt was doing around his waist even though it wasn't holding up any trousers. As Maurice looked at himself in the mirror, he determined the final problem was finding a pair of heels to match.
When the dressing room door opened, he saw his parents never look more shocked. They just stood there, staring at him from the doorway. Maurice swung side to side on his feet, holding the side of the dress between his fingers. "It's a bit big on me," he determined as if this sight wasn't an issue at all. He turned to his parents. "Perhaps I'd take a size zero instead?" His father's jaw dropped. As a saleswoman walked by, she asked if the family needed any help locating an outfit or particular size. Maurice's mother shut the door on her son quickly, hastily explaining that everything was fine. Once the woman walked past, the parents flung the door open again. "Maurice!" his mother hissed. "You take that off immediately!"
"I just wanted to see how not wearing pants would feel…" he explained.
"Just…not in public, Maurice! Why'd you have to do that here?"
"Because the dresses you have at home don't have that sleek new feeling."
"Take it off!"
They closed the door to let him change back into his boy clothes. His mother leaned against the door and put a hand to her forehead. His father wrapped an arm around her. "It's alright. I don't think anyone really saw." he assured. Both were interrupted when Maurice shouted from the other side of the door, "How on earth is a dress supposed to stay on a hanger with these dreadful shoulder inserts?"
