James stood, washing up and thinking. He wore an apron to keep splashes off his brand new linen skirt. And that was why he was thinking.

Outside, the darkness lay unresponsive against the windows, imperfect mirrors reflecting his thoughts and offering no comment of their own, content to let him reach his own conclusion. In due time.

It was a lovely skirt: nearly white, reaching to his calves, it was light and swished when he walked; it was cool in the warmth of the evening. And yet… and yet.

And yet, he admitted in a hurry, he didn’t like looking down at himself and seeing a skirt. Women can wear trousers, he reasoned, why does this look, simply put, wrong?

Women wear trousers because they’re practical. A quick visit to the supermarket makes that much obvious. Trousers are wonderfully practical.

He reached for another plate and found no way to avoid a conclusion that left him as unresolved as ever: Women wear trousers because they’re practical; men wear skirts because they’re women’s clothes.