Chapter 3 – Never lie to Mom!

After we got home from the game, I decided to knock out my homework quickly so I could play my new Mario 64 game, which came with our Nintendo 64 that we just got. My buddies were always psyched when we invited them over to play Mario Kart 64, which we picked up a little bit afterwards. My brothers, Nick and Ben, both a few years younger than me, would love racing me as Mario and Bowser, while I typically played Wario as I got a kick out of his laugh, and his driving style clicked well with my gaming skills. We’d play that thing whenever we got the chance.
While I was running around taking out goombas and flying across the countryside while waiting for them to finish their soccer practice, in my mind I was going back and forth about the whole Annie Oakley thing.

On the one hand – it would be really weird!

On the other hand – Mom thinks it could be fun, and she’s an expert on that topic. Also, the girls really loved it when Jimmy and Tom got all dressed up for Halloween…even though the kids laughed when I pulled Annie’s name out of the hat, Jimmy and Tom had it made with some of the most popular girls in our class.

Even though I played hockey and was a pretty good defenseman, my friends tended to be the smarter, quieter kids, not quite the “popular” groups developing that would eventually be the typical jocks and cheerleaders…still though, this could be quite interesting, as I would finally get to figure out what it felt like to wear a skirt with nylons.

On the other hand – what would my friends think? Would they make fun of me, or worse, shut me out of our hockey team?

And of course, the giant Doozy that I hadn’t even considered: “What would Dad think!?!”

This could get seriously out of control!

I’ll see if Mom and I can talk together after dinner…

After we ate a wonderful home-cooked meal, I asked Mom if we could talk about a homework question. My Dad knew that I always went to Mom with the more difficult Math problems…while no slouch himself, he also appreciated that Mom was way better with numbers. Dad was our resident History buff, and really good with Science, so I usually went to him for guidance in those areas.

We went upstairs to my room and I shut the door.

”What’s got you stumped Mikey?”

“Actually it isn’t about Math…it’s Annie Oakley.” She could see the clear expression of worry on my face in the way that Moms always do, just intuitively.

“Oh, you’ve been thinking about that quite a bit, have you?”

“Yes, and while I’m thinking it could be a neat experience, I’m scared too and not sure if I really want to do it,” I said.

Mom came over and gave me a big hug. Isn’t it amazing how Mom’s hugs always make everything better?

“Mikey, you’ll always be my honey bunny and my wonderful, brilliant, handsome Son. I was thinking on the way home about how much fun we could have, going shopping for all the things I’d need to make your costume, buying some special clothes for you to wear, and doing something just for us, like the time you spend with your Dad fishing and hunting. And besides, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a daughter.”

Now I really needed to think hard on this. This really could be neat and fun, as she said. Then she threw me a curve ball out of left field.

“Mikey, do you like to wear my nylons?”

I froze again, just like in class, only this time my face turned bright red.

“Uh, um, Mom, uh, why would you think that? I don’t, well, I - never!”

“Mikey, I found a pair in your room a few months ago…you must have forgotten to return them to the laundry.”

Damn, she nailed me. And I thought I was so careful!

“Michael John Jacobs, don’t you lie to me! I won’t punish you or tell your father if you tell me the truth.”
Mom looked at me with that “stern” face of hers that made it impossible to do anything else but be totally honest.
I let out a huge sigh. “Ok Mom. Yes.”

“And why do you like to wear them?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at me quizzically.

“I just really like how they look and feel on my legs. One time, when I wore your navy blue ones I pretended I was Superman! Plus they make my legs look like the girls at school do when they get all dressed up, and I love when they do that. And I really love it when you dress up too.”
My face was red as a tomato.

“Please don’t think I’m a wimp or a sissy!” At that point I was so overwhelmed that I started to cry.

“Oh Mikey, come here.” Mom held me while I bawled my eyes out.

“Mikey, you’re at an age where you’re going to start noticing things about girls that you never thought about before, and feel some things around them that you never felt either. Your father will tell you more about this very soon, but now I’m going to tell you a secret.”

I wiped my eyes and blew my nose. “What secret?”

“We women, and girls, even though we rarely admit it, really like it when guys notice how we dress, when we look pretty, and want to give us their attention. Sometimes I dress up extra nice just because I know your father loves it and I want to make him feel extra special. What you told me about the girls in your class doesn’t make you a sissy at all. Your father certainly isn’t. Do you like it when Miss Russo wears nylons?”
Now she really had me. I loved, admired, and deeply respected my Father, and the last thing I would ever want was to somehow fall short as his oldest son.

“YES! I love how her legs look when she wears them!!!”

“Mikey, that’s all part of becoming a man, and that’s what happens when boys start taking a more active interest in girls!”

Wow, that made a ton of sense. I thought I was going crazy over the last few months.

“Don’t worry about your Dad. You’re his oldest son and he loves you very much. He’s very proud of you.”

“I know that Mom! I just don’t want him to think I’m a sissy if I dress up like Annie Oakley!”

“Let me worry about explaining this to your Father. You worry about getting a good night’s sleep.” Mom kissed me on the top of my head and gave me another big hug.

“And Mikey – from now on, if you want to wear my nylons, just ask my permission. They really do make your legs look and feel nice and energized, and I can see how you might like that same feeling too. You know…if you decided to dress up for your book report, you could definitely wear them as part of your costume.”

Now that really sounded kind of…well I didn’t really know how to process it, but I felt these strange butterflies in my stomach when I imagined what it might be like…

“Ok Mom, I won’t steal your nylons anymore. I love you!”

“Love you more Honey Bunny, sweet dreams!”