A Tough Journey Scene 7

As Valerie read her son’s letter, she knew that Aunt Martha must have been stood over him, dictating word for word what he had to write. She recalled the days of her youth when her brother Wilfred was sent to stay with Aunt Martha at the age of eleven. Valerie would have been seven or eight years old at the time and knew nothing about petticoating until Wilfred returned home; wearing a dainty gingham dress, pelerine ankle socks and white Mary Jane shoes. Valerie and her sister loved the fact that their big brother had to wear dresses all the time and they loved to tease him relentlessly… but as Valerie got older, she began to realise just how daunting it must have been for a young boy to all of a sudden have to dress and behave like a girl.