It’s not as unusual as it may seem since plenty of househusbands have been frocked, and that includes some of his friends’ fathers… but it’s not common for someone who’s still at high school.
Charles faces his reflection and wonders what Mike must have thought. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just a frock and apron. It’s the face full of foundation, the sandy eye-shadow and brown eye-liner, the mascara coating his lashes and the nutty red lipstick that’s most startling about his appearance. Normally he only wears full make-up on the weekends and just wears lipstick on a school day (although he removes it before school)… but since it’s the half term break, it’s full make-up everyday until his daily shores have been completed. He returned to sweeping the stairs and worried about Mike gleefully telling all and sundry about Charlie’s appearance.