Darcy Paige pleaded with her brother, “Come on Harrison! Give my Becki a chance. She is really nice, and she thinks you are cute.”

“For the last time Darcy, no. I do not want to go on a date with Becki.”

“Then at least give me a reason.”

Harrison had given every major and many of the minor reasons why he did not want to go out on a date with the nice and cute Becki Abercrombie. She was too young for him, Darcy’s best friend was 13 and Harrison was 16. They had no common interests. She was not emotionally mature enough for him. Hoping that giving a new reason might stop Darcy from asking the question again he said, “She does not wear makeup.”

Darcy thought that reason was so unfair. Mr. and Ms. Abercrombie had forbidden Becki from makeup until she was in high school. They did not want their only daughter to become sexualized at a young age. Wanting to preserve the innocence of youth as long as possible was their reasoning behind the makeup ban. It was the same reason those two got the school to put pants as an option in the girls’ uniforms. Harrison’s sister said, “That is so unfair. I am telling mom.”

********

Ashley Paige could not believe what her daughter told her about her son. Harrison should give the girl who had a crush on him a date. It would not hurt him one bit. Then hearing the superficial reason made her really mad at her son. So what if she did not wear makeup and wore pants all the time? Those facts were not important to a relationship. It was all about how the two people got along. If they had common interests. If there goals and dreams meshed with each other. If the two people were at the same maturity level. She was going to have a talk with him.

The other reason for the talk was that Ashley was concerned that Harrison was just going to become a clone of his dad. Her ex, Hunter, was the main male role model in Harrison’s life and he'd left her for a younger lady. It was true that Hunter ended up with a younger woman but that was just because they meshed so well.

She believed that the talk, along with Harrison spending time with her friend, Paul Letterman, would make Harrison see the error of following someone on a salt pedestal. Ashley could not see that she should have been more worried about if her son was following her lead instead of his dad’s.

Paul was a great man. He was so respectful to Ashley not wanting to go out with him and remained her friend. The romantic spark she felt for Paul was as strong as the spark one got from striking a wet match. Ashley found that odd, for the two got along together so well. He was smart, caring and considerate, but something she could not name was missing. The apple of Paul’s eyes would not admit to herself that what she found was missing was the hair on his head and height.

The talk between Mother and son was anything but productive. This was because Ashley went into the discussion with her mind as open as the DMV on a Sunday. The ironic part was, loving Mother’s goal was for her son to have an open mind about giving people a chance, and she did not give Harrison a chance to say his side.

Then the discussion came to an abrupt stop when Ashley said, “You don’t understand that some ladies do not want to take the time to put on makeup. You are doing yourself a disservice if you are so shallow about looks that you would give those young ladies a chance.”

Harrison was exasperated by his mom's incessant badgering about him not giving Becki a chance. “Boys don’t wear makeup.”

The irritation in Harrison's voice exacerbated the situation. “Then you are going to so you can understand what a girl go through.”

“No.”

“Don’t tell me no. I am your mother and you will do as you are told. Think of it as a learning experience. You will only have to do it for one day and only me and you will know.”

Harrison knew he could not win the fight. His mom had her mind made up and was not listening to him. He did give his mom one last warning. “You will regret it if you do so.”

*************

Harrison’s “lesson” was delayed until a day where his sister would not be home, and that would not be until Darcy and her friends went to Kennywood. Each day which passed, Harrison contemplated just asking Becki out. That should earn him a pardon from his punishment, but he knew there was a small chance his mom would only put him on parole. His mom could call it whatever she wanted, but Harrison knew exactly what it was.

The next two weeks were dreadful to Harrison. First, he found out more about the ‘lesson'. It was not going to be just a day in makeup, but also a dress. Second, his mom was expecting him to experience the day as a girl. That meant no Playstation, watching sports, or anything else which his teacher considered traditionally associated with boys. Harrison objected, for girls did all those activities too. She was once again closed minded and did not want to hear that stipulation was sexist.

Even if going on the date would guarantee he would never have to live under the threat of being put in a dress and makeup, Harrison knew he could not do so. It would not be fair to Becki. He knew too well about people building up false expectations only to let the person down. His dad did the same with him so many times. Harrison would hear all about the grand plans his dad would make for his weekend visits only to cancel them at the last moment. The last couple of times his dad just ended up telling Harrison it was not even worth it coming over.

Ashley was hoping that her son would finally give in and give Becki a chance; that girl’s personality was as sweet as she was on Harrison. It drove her crazy that the only reason Harrison was not giving her a chance was because of something as superficial as her appearance. If he would look past looks and just give her a chance then Ashley would call off the lesson.

Darcy was waiting for her ride to leave for the amusement park and right then was Harrison's last chance to plead for clemency. The boy who knew his sentence was hard time dressed and treated like a girl for a day did not. Harrison was not going to give someone else pain to get out of his mom’s verdict. Also, there would be the threat of his mom pulling out this punishment again.

Ashley asked her son if there was anything else he wanted to do other than spend the day at home with her. Harrison knew she was offering him an out. He was so tempted because it felt like a taunt about how bad the day was going to be. His mom was going to make it more miserable to be at home with her than to be forced to try to get to know someone who he do not want to. The boy stuck with his convictions and said, “No, but trust me if you follow through with your plan, you will regret it.”

Ashley had to laugh, her son who had no power was making an idle threat to her. The Mom was not going to hold it against her son because she understood. He thought that she was trying to embarrass and shame him into dating Becki, all Ashley was doing was trying to open her son’s mind up to giving her a chance.

Harrison took the laughing as her mocking him and told her he was going to start to get ready for the day. The mom knew she was wrong to find humor in her son getting a little bent, but he was overreacting, so no real harm was done.

The shower itself was horrible. Harrison hated the fragrance of the strawberry body wash. The fruity smell of strawberry of the shampoo was overpowering his olfactory system. Oh how he hated strawberries, and now he was going to be reminded of them all day. His mom knew he hated strawberries and she had that out for him to use. Plus, using two different bottles was a waste. He loved the woody scent of his Old Spice Hair and Body Shower Gel.

After the shower Harrison looked the cotton white bra and panties his mom had bought him to wear. He thought they were the most uber-feminine undergarments he ever saw. The matching bra and panties did have little rose pattern on them but hardly visible, and the bows on them were small. Harrison was convinced his mom was out to make him caricature of girl.

In truth, it took Ashley hours to find the outfit. This was for a lesson and she wanted the least feminine outfit she could pick for her son. The jersey dress, leggings and flats were all black. The shoes did have little bows on them, but she was sick of shopping by then. Plus the bows on the shoes gave Ashley something little about the outfit to joke with her son about..

Harrison was done in the shower but did not want to come out of the bathroom. Standing in only the cotton panties and bra made him feel stupid, weak and vulnerable. He had no idea what his mom was going to have him wear. Ashley was going to tell him, but his reaction of not knowing was so cute to her that she did not. She got a little chuckle out of seeing what she considered over reacting.

Ashley called for her son to come out of the bathroom. Harrison did not answer, she chuckled to herself. How her son was trying to fight this was so adorable to her. When the humor went away Ashley called again and still no response. This time Ashley was not amused by her son's inaction and threatened to come being in a dress would be for the weekend. Harrison said he was not dressed and that was why he was not coming out.

There was no way he was going to ask for the choice of clothing his mom picked for him today. Knowing this fact calmed Ashley down and she left the bags with his clothes at the door. To get a glimpse of her son embarrassed the mom who wanted another chucked at his expense stayed upstairs. When he opened the door and saw her Harrison turned even more red. Ashley laughed at him being even more embarrassed about what she thought was nothing. Him turning a darker hue of red was from anger.

Lighting in the distance struck before Harrison opened the bag. That sound was his reprieve from this punishment. His sister would be coming home soon. Kennywood would be closing for the day if a thunderstorm hit. His mom would surely not take the chance of Dracy seeing him in a dress.

The ‘lesson’ was not called off by Ashley when Harrison told her about the lighting. It was only heat lighting. There was no storm approaching so there was no chance Dracy would come home. Heat lighting not being part of an actual storm was a misoner which Ashley believed.

In reality, The upcoming thundershower was only one of the two huge storms on the horizon for Ashley. This one which Harrison just told her about would only last for a couple of hours. The other one which Harrison warned her about was not going to come for a couple of years but will last at least a decade.

Harrison saw the outfit which was as black as the clouds which were coming in. He pleaded with his mom to call this off. For her to at least look out the window to see he was telling the truth before she continued with this ‘lesson’. Ashley stood firm in her decision without checking to see if Harrison was telling the truth about the weather. Her son just trying to get out of being in a dress was another misnomer Ashley had about the day.

Harrison put on the leggings then the dress and finally the shoes. He stood in the bathroom trying to get himself together before he step outside. That only his mom would know about today helped Harrison face what she wanted him to do. His mom loved and cared for him so there was no way she would do anything which harm him.

After Harrison came out he was greeted to the sound of his mom's laughter. The only thing which was cuter than her son being in a dress was how her son looked. He had the right facial features to look more than a boy in drag even without makeup. His skin was flawless, his lips were full and his eyebrows were naturally thin and arched. The redness from his anger also gave his cheeks coloring.

As Harrison’ appearance changed from that of a boy to a girl; the weather was also changing. The wind picked up and started to howl. Harrison join in about that Darcy was coming home. if Ashley pay attention to hearing them she would have gotten a warning of the two upcoming storms. Even if listen to what she heard, Ashley would not have called off the lesson. She was under another misnomer that Dracy would do as she was told and called before leaving the park

Ashley finished with Harrison's makeup and hair.To her amazement he could pass as a girl, a cute girl even.l to anyone who was not paying close attention when they look at him. She added a bow to his hair. That just added to how adorable Harrison looked. Ashley wanted a picture to remember this. How could she not, she loved her son and seeing him this cute was just a physical manifestation to how dear he was to her.

Joking around Ashley asked Harrison if she could take a picture. The question was not a serious one because she did not care about his permission. Also, his reaction was going to give her a laugh. This ‘lesson’ was not only going to benefit Harrison in becoming a better person, but also provided amusement to Ashley.

Harrison’s response of “You will regret doing so” added more to the entertainment value to Ashley. Her son was just so adorable thinking that he could do anything to get her back. He sounded so serious and forceful in that weak threat. If she only knew his words were as true as his voice was delivering them Ashley would have called off the ‘Lesson’.

After the nonconsenting photoshoot Ashley asked her son what he wanted to do. The blush and foundation on his face hid how red his face was from anger when he replied “Go to my room.”

“No you have to do what a teenage girl would do today. Maybe we will go shopping.”

“No. You said only me and you would know about this.”

“Calm down, I was joking, but give me lip again I will not be. You can’t go to your room Harrison. Now pick something or else I will.”

“I can go to my room. Teenage girls spend their day in their room. You know that. You just want to have your fun at my expense.”

Then the door opened along with the floodgates which were holding back Harrison’s fear. He knew Dracy came home. That storm hit Kennywood an hour ago and now it was at home with his sister. He screamed “Don’t come in here Dracy.”

Ashley was ready to amonish Dracy for not following direction. This change when what came out of Dracy’s mouth as she entered the room made her laugh. “ I can go where I want Harrison, or should it be Paige today.”

Ashley was madder at herself for not coming up with the new nickname for Harrison than at her daughter for not following directions. There was a couple of weeks of not getting more laughter from yet another way to joke with Harrison about this lesson. The mom join in “Yeah Paige, Dracy can go where she wants.”

“Mom, you said no one else would know about this punishment.”

“It is only your sister so there is nothing to worry about. You two should hang out. She can give you makeup tips Paige.”

Before going back to taking the mickey out Harrison Dracy asked why he was in trouble. The reply about her brother not going on a date with Becki made her change her mind. She wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. She knew Harrison was as mad as a scientist in a 1950’s sci-fi movie and his anger would be aimed at her. “I'll hang out with my big sister later. I want to play Sonic Unleashed now.”

There was no way the girl who got Harrison in a dress was going to use his Playstation. Even if Dracy was not to blame for this lesson, Harrison would have still objected. His mom stated that girls don’t play video games. If he could not play then hos sister was not going to either. “No you are not. Right Mom.”

“Yes Dracy. You can't play today.”

“Never again, Mom. You said girls don’t play video games.”

Ashley never understood the appeal of playing those things so she agreed. Not playing today should be no big deal to her Daughter. In a couple of days this would be forgotten and Darcy would be able to play video games again. “Dracy, you can do something else.”

Dracy ran to her room screaming “This is not fair” and slammed her door. Harrison followed suit and went to his room. On his way up the stairs Ashley tried to interject humor to get the situation under control. If not under control she would get a laugh “Where do you think you are going Paige?”

Harrison did not answer. This act of defiance was not right in Ashley’s eyes. She followed her son to his room, went in right behind him and said. “When I am talking to you, you answer me.”

“My name is Harrison, use it. Do not call me Paige. I do not want to be called by a girl’s name.”

“Paige is your last name and I like how it sounds. I will use it from time to time if I want. I am your mother. You do not tell me what I can and can’t do. So what do you think you are doing?”

“Dracy went to her room so I can go to mine. You get her out of her room and tell her that she can never spend time in it if you want me out of my room.”

Putting Harrison in a dress was getting too serious for Ashley. She knew that Harrison would bicker with her until Dracy was out of her room also. Ashley relented. Dealing with two teenagers who were sulking was not an ideal way to spend an afternoon. Also she made her point about not judging a girl by what she wore or makeup and got some laughs out of teaching the lesson.

After a couple of hours to let the moody teenager pout Ashley went to Harrison’s room. She was going to end him being in a dress early. Even with coming somewhat to her senses Ashley wanted to show who was in charge and also get another laugh from her son’s overreaction. “Paige you can change now.”

Harrison did not correct his mom until after he was back to looking like a boy. He knew that she would just change her mind about him being able to change his clothes if he stood up to her then. As soon as he was in his jean shorts, shirt and sneakers he went to Ashley. The boy was on a mission to reiterate what his name was to his mom. “Mom, my name is Harrison. That is what I want to be called.”

Ashley joked back. She knew that would get under his skin and should stop him from questioning her authority. “I know, but I like how Paige sounds. You will get used to it.”

Harrison said You will regret this. Saying those words was a waste of his breath. It was like his mom did not care how her using that name hurt him. Then thinking of how she put him in a dress made him think that his mom did not really care about his feelings if she was not happy with his actions. Right then was the last time he ever uttered those words thinking that they might make his mom change her mind.

************

The next two years Harrison’s mom and sister took every chance they had to not only rib him about the “lesson”, but also use it to their advantage to get what they wanted. They did not see it as blackmailing him, but only prodding him to do what they wanted. How could Ashley or Darcy see it as blackmail? They would never do such a thing to someone they cared about. It was just Harrison was not doing what they thought he should be doing so they used the easiest way to get him to do so.

Ashley also made sure that no one else knew about the dress incident. She might find teasing her son about being in a dress incredibly good harmless fun, but she knew other people would look down on him. Also she did not want to embarrass her son. If Ashley would have thought about the incredibly good harmless fun she was having then she would have quit. Her calling him Paige was way more embarrassing than if other people did. This was for Harrison did admire his mom.

Looking out for her son was the reason she never called him Paige in front of others. Harrison saw his mom hiding the new name as her trying to protect how others saw her. That his mom knew she was wrong and did not want to be judged for her actions.

Other than Harrison still not giving Becki a chance, Ashley thought that putting her son in a dress overall had positive outcomes. The joking she saw as a bonding experience. Harrison had become a model teenage son. All of her friends noticed how nice and polite he had become. Plus, his work ethic became so much better, he picked up every single extra shift he could as a caddy or a waiter at the country club. The best part was now she did not have to pester him to do his chores and to follow curfew.

Darcy thought it was great how now she had power over Harrison. Harrison’s little sister did not use it that much at first, only to get him back for not letting her play his Playstation. Then when she really did not feel like doing her chores. Not having to worry about getting done what her mom wanted her to do made Dracy’s life so much easier.

Darcy was able to quickly parlay making her friend Becki feel better about Harrison not going out with her into making sure that her brother knew the threat was real. Even with her mom stressing Darcy better not share Harrison's being made to wear a dress to anyone, her BFF needed to know. It was only to make Becki feel better about Harrison not going out with her, so no real harm could be done.

Darcy did not consider that Becki was going to share that secret. Becki only shared it to show others that there was nothing wrong with her. That the reason the object of her affection would not go out with her was not something was wrong with her but him. The lie made the rounds at The Phipps School but did not get any traction. In fact, it made many people think that Becki was a vindictive person. Her fellow co-eds saw it as a girl scorned trying to hurt the boy who would not take her out.

Harrison's life became a living hell. If being a normal teenage boy was not enough pressure, he had the added weight of at any moment his mom or sister could share the picture of him uber-feminized. The pressure might have been as fictional as Santa Claus, but to him it was as real as Old Saint Nick was to a four-year-old.

The young man could never truly relax at home, he felt that at any moment he had to jump into action as soon as his mom or sister asked him to do anything. The worst part was he told them many times it was not funny, yet they kept on doing it. Harrison told them many times not to call him Paige, but they did not listen. One day he was going to make them pay for it.

The tension in his life started to recede when he came to the conclusion of not only how it was going to end, but at the same time make his tormentors pay for what they had done. He would move out and far away as soon as possible. The young man already had a job which gave good tips, being a caddy and waiter at the country club. He could save up money from it and have even more by picking up extra shifts. The best part of picking up extra shifts was he would not be at home. Not being at home made it so his mom and sister could not harass him.

Then when he picked up those extra shifts, his mom started to take half his pay. She said her taking the money was for Harrison's own good and also Darcy could have spending money. That made Harrison despise his sister even more. Not only was she making her brother her personal servant, but now she was using his hard-earned money on whatever she wanted. He was paying for one of his tormentors to have fun. Darcy would flaunt that also when she bought a dress. She would also tease that maybe Mom would put Harrison in it.

This was the new normal for the next two years until Harrison graduated from high school. The man who was about to be free at last had a nice little nest egg saved up to go out on his own. He always saved part of any money he got as presents, plus he saved most of the paycheck he got from working. He would have had more fun in the last two years if his mother did not take half of the money he earned. It was over $7,000 more he would have had.

Ashley took the money saying it was for her son’s own good. She took the money to surprise him with a graduation gift along with teaching him a lesson. Ashley was going to match dollar for dollar the money she took. Plus, not having that money to spend taught her upper class son the importance of money and how to be frugal.

It was the day after graduation when Ashley was going to give the money to her son. She woke to Harrison taking down boxes from his room.

“Hey there Paige, what are you doing?”

“I am moving out Mom and for the last time my name is Harrison.”

“What! You cannot move out without talking with me about it first. You and your friends are not mature enough to live together.”

“I am 18 so I do not need to talk with you about anything.

There is nothing you can do to make me stay. Let me guess, you will share those pictures of me in drag? Go ahead! I don’t care! I will be off to college in a couple of months and never live in Western PA again!”

“Put those boxes down, we will talk. You’re not moving out. I was joking when I said that. You know I would never show those pictures to anyone. ”

“Mom, you gave them to Draci. You were not joking and even if you were that joke was sick. Then again, you did put me in a dress and that was sick also.”

“I was joking! Even if putting you in a dress was for a lesson which you did not learn, it did help you become a better person. It hurts that you think I would do anything to hurt you. I would never, I am your mom.”

“Don’t lie mom, you already did so many things to hurt me! You put me in that dress, did you think that would not hurt me? You took any chance you had to make sure I remembered you did it. All the times you made those threats they did not feel like a joke. If I did not jump to do something as quick as you wanted it, you made that threat. I was scared that you would share those pictures. I guess it was also a joke when you would call me Paige. Just like you did now.”

“That is your last name.”

“Yes, but you never used it until the day you put me in a dress. You saying Paige hurt me every time I heard it. You calling me by a girl’s name reminded me of what you did to me. The power you had over me and how you abused it. I would tell you my name is Harrison. That is what I wanted you to use. You were wrong putting me in that dress. You were wrong for not using my name. You were wrong in making me jump every time you wanted something small done. I'm moving out of here mom.”

Ashley thought that she could clear up the misunderstanding with her son by explaining it was all a joke. That he took what she was doing wrong. “I used Paige as an inside joke. That is why I never said it in front of anyone else. I would never hurt you. You are my son.

Also, you know why I put you in a dress! You would not give your sister’s best friend a chance just because of how she dressed, and she wore no makeup.”

“Mom, tell the truth. You never used Paige in front of others so they did not know what you did. You did not care if I got hurt. Quit acting like you were doing everything for me.

You are not listening to me now and you never did. I said, many times, I gave that reason after my dear sister kept on pestering me after I gave the serious reasons. You just do not care about me giving those other reasons. Plus, if they were my reasons you had no right to judge me on that. You never gave Paul Letterman a chance because he is short and slightly balding. You are so hypocritical in thinking I was shallow and needed to learn a lesson. Becki and I would never get along, while you and Paul were so good together. You missed out on something special.”

“Paul and I could have never been anything more than friends so don’t try to compare me not going out with him to you not giving Becki a chance.”

“Becki and I could not even be friends. You talk about giving people a chance for who they are, yet you don’t do the same. I am done having this conversation with you. Like I said I am leaving.”

Harrison started to walk away.

Ashley was not done with the conversation. She knew exactly how to make their talk continue. The lady who now only had one child hoped that how she was going to prolong them talking would make her son change his mind. “Wait, I have your graduation present.”

Harrison kept on walking and said, “Just get it while I keep on packing my belongings.”

“I want to give it to you when we go out for dinner tonight to celebrate your graduation.”

Upon hearing about the condition of the gift made Harrison think his mom was just using a delay tactic. “Then you can keep it. I am out of here. Do you really think that I want to see you again, yet alone to have dinner with you?”

“What!?”

“How can you be shocked? I told you not to put me in a dress and yet you did. I told you to quit making references to it, yet you didn’t. I warned you that you would regret it. Now the warning is coming to fruition.

If reminding me about being in a dress was not enough, you took the money I earned and gave it to Darcy! I warned you so many times.”

All those warnings which Ashley laughed at came back to see if she would laugh now that they were coming true. Even with them being real, Ashley still did not want to face them. She wasn't prepared to give them what they demanded of her, to take responsibility for her actions.

“I just told you, I was joking with you. I thought the warnings were you joking back. If I knew I would have quit.

The money, I would never give your money to Darcy. You earned it. Saying I gave it to your sister was also a joke. That money you gave me is why I want you to stay! I matched each and every cent you gave me and you have a nice nest egg so you never have to work at college. You can focus on schooling. I was looking out for you”

“Well, I hope you have good memories of those laughs and they were worth the damage they did to our relationship. I don’t care about the money; also get it right. I did not give you the money, you took it from from me. I had no say.”

“I am sorry, I just thought it was funny. The couple of times I knew you were annoyed I thought you were being a sore sport.”

“Mom, not liking being put down by people close to you is not being a sore sport. It is wanting them to treat you with the respect you have for them. Just drop it. I want to leave as soon as possible.”

“Where will you go?”

“I rented a place until I go to Pepperdine in the fall.”

“Where is this place?”

“I am not telling you.”

“You will tell me, I am your mother!”

“Yes, but like I said before: I’m 18. I am an adult. If I don’t want to tell you where I am living, then I don’t have to.”

“I’ll be worried about you.”

“Yeah, just like you were worried about how demeaning me would affect me. I warned you. I told you that you would regret putting me in a dress.”

“We covered this so drop it. It was for your own good and afterwards I was only joking to show no hard feelings and it was funny.”

“Yeah, no hard feelings on your part, mine there were. You were not the one who was hurt so how could you joking about it show no hard feelings? You got a rise out of getting under my skin about it. We covered this, and that is why we should quit talking.”

“You should have told me.”

“I did mom! Goodbye.”

Ashley let her son continue to pack up his belongings. She knew it was as useless as using a fork to eat broth to keep the conversation going. She went and wrote out the check, she was going to give him tonight. Then she put it in an envelope. Ashley thought that after a couple of days her son would cool down and come back home.

Ashley gave her son the envelope and told him to open it. He looked at it and saw a check for $14,000. He assumed it was a bribe for him to stay. “Mom I will take this gift, but it does not change anything. I will consider it payment for the pain and suffering you put me through the last couple of years.”

The gravity of the situation hit and Ashley fully understood why her son saw the gift as a bribe. The money was not given as a cashier's check and the cautious lady always used them for large sums of money. She preached about using them.

“At least say goodbye to Darcy before you leave.”

“Fuck that bitch.”

“Don’t use that word about your sister. You can be mad at me, but she did nothing.”

“That little bitch is the reason I was put in a dress! She lied to you when she said I never gave those other reasons. She also lied and said she was not pestering me about going on a date with Becki. She is the one who started calling me Paige.

The worst was what she learned from you. She held those photos you took over my head. Why do you think I do all of her chores? She threatened to show my friends at school if I didn’t do what she asked.”

Ashley was mortified at hearing Darcy’s actions. “She was joking, she did not even have the pictures. Plus, she would have never told anyone; yet alone shown, those pictures.”

“Joking, that is your excuse for everything. If it was a joke, then why did she have me do her chores? You said you shared the pictures with her, so I believed she had them. Also, she did tell people. The first time I said no she told Becki.”

“I did not know she told Becki, she told me she just joked with you about telling her. I thought she was joking with you when you were just helping your little sister.”

“You did know mom, and quit saying you it was a joke! I told you she told Becki. I told you I was being forced into doing her chores, and you chose not to believe me. You knew I did not like how you two were treating me. You did not want to see what was really going on. It would have ruined your fun...your little joke.”

“I handled it wrong. Call me once you cool down. Promise me you will do that.”

“Why should I? You will not believe me if I make it.”

“I love you Harrison.”

Harrison walked out of his childhood house for the last time without saying I love you back. Harrison not returning the sentiment was what hurt them the most. This was because they both knew that right then if he said I love you that would have been a lie.

There were tears forming in both of their eyes. Harrison’s were from relief. The man finally did not have the constant pressure of being forced to wear a dress hanging over his head. Ashley’s were from sorrow. The mother knew that she hurt one of the people she should have been protecting and nurturing.

Ashley needed to start to rectify the situation. The first course of action was to get Darcy on the right page of how she should treat her brother. The Mom called for her daughter to come downstairs. There was no response, so she went up and saw the sound sleeper still in her bed. Yes the argument between her and her son was not loud, but still, it along with the noise of Harrison moving the boxes filled with his belongings should have woken the girl who was hibernating.

“Wake up now Ashley, we have to talk about how you have been treating Harrison.”

“What does Paige have her panties in a bunch about now?”

Hearing how natural that joke came out of her daughter's mouth reaffirmed to the mother how serious the situation was. Then the mother who was seeing reality was shocked when she knew that every other time Darcy made that joke, she would laugh. No wonder Harrison thought Darcy was a bitch, she acted like one towards him. “You do not talk about your brother in that manner around me ever again! Show him respect and call him Harrison.”

“Oh mom, you call him Paige all the time and say the same thing.”

“I was wrong in doing so.”

“Fine, I will stop too. I am going back to sleep.”

“No. You need to get a start on your chores.”

“They will get done later.”

“I know about you blackmailing Harrison about doing your chores. Darcy, you are in a lot of trouble.”

“I am not doing his chores also. That panty wearer is lying. I did not blackmail him into doing my chores. He was just showing his love for me by helping out.”

Hearing Darcy call her brother a panty wearer made Ashley cringe. It was nonstop with the put downs of Harrison. Those words came out of her daughter’s mouth so casually. Those words also affirmed Harrison’s assertion to Ashley the incident became weaponized by her and her daughter. The simple reason why was teasing itself is a weapon. It was a form of humor which used putting others down to get a laugh. “Young lady, don’t bullshit me anymore and show your brother respect. I know the truth about you forcing him to do your chores and how he feels about you. He is mad at you and doesn't think he loves you. Harrison called you a bitch.”

“Paige is not going to get away with that.”

“Darcy, for the last time, I told you to treat your brother with respect and I meant it! His name is Harrison and you will refer to him as such from now on. Don’t even think of trying to get him back. He has left home and how we act will determine if it is for good. How we acted in the last two years I do not blame him for moving out. If you dare tell anyone again about him being in a dress you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Fine, I will be down in a couple of minutes. I need to check Facebook before I spend my Saturday doing chores.”

“You really think you are going to check Facebook? You are banned from all social media. I am not giving you the chance of telling anyone else. I will be taking your cell phone. You will not be contacting anybody. You will not be leaving this house without me until further notice. You are grounded.”

“This is not fair! I was just joking when I said I told Becki, like you were. I would have never told anyone about him being in a dress. It is not my fault he did not stand up for himself. Plus, how are you going to be punished?”

“I told you not to bullshit me. You told your friend Becki. You held it over him to have him do what you wanted. You took advantage of your brother not wanting his friends to know about what I did to him. You better start being truthful or else you will be in deeper trouble than you already are. Lastly, I’m being punished, my son walked out of my life for now.”

“I only told Becki, so she did not feel bad about Harrison not dating her. It made her feel better about it when I said he was a crossdresser. I didn't tell her to hurt Harrison, I did it to make my friend feel better. At least let me say goodbye to my online friends.”

“I told you no.

I told you to quit bullshitting me and you lied about telling Becki. Then the reason you lied about your brother was to appease your friend. You know full well he is not a crossdresser. I wouldn’t put it past you to try to spread that about Harrison again.”

“Mom, we joked about it all the time, so I did not see the big deal. Anyway, I’ll just say bye to them later.”

“Oh, don’t think you will be getting online when I am at work. You will be staying at Papi and Mémé’s during the day.”

************

Julie and Edgar Degas were more than happy to watch over their granddaughter. They were disappointed in hearing why they had to. They immediately reached out to Harrison, there was no answer and he did not return their calls. Harrison’s estrangement from his mom’s side of the family was so serious it called for the drastic measure of someone over 60 sending a text. Harrison sent a text back a couple of days later telling them goodbye and not to contact him. The grandparents understood because they believed the boy was ashamed that they knew he was in a dress.

Ashley so wanted to call her son and tell him not to take out his anger over how she treated him on her parents. The mother was wise enough not to, she knew that would just push him further away. Ashley also could not deal with her son not answering the phone if she called.

Instead of facing the chance of the painful rejection, Ashley called her ex husband, Hunter Paige, to talk to their son. The shameful woman tried to tell Hunter the least amount of details possible. Her ex already knew something was up between Ashley and their son. Harrison sent feelers out a couple of times of moving in with his father. The loving father thought it was just a minor disagreement and shut down Harrison’s suggestion each time he hinted at them. Hunter did not want to be used as a trump card against his wife. Hunter pressed his ex on why and she would not reveal her hand. Then Hunter played the only card he had left and told her he would not. The man who wanted to know what he was getting into hoped his wife did not call his bluff.

Ashley could not go all in so she played the hand she dealt herself. “Harrison moved out because he is mad that a couple of years ago...I made him wear a dress and put on makeup.”

“You did what?”

“He would not give our daughter’s friend Becki Abercrombie a chance over her not wearing makeup and skirts.”

“No, Harrison did not like her. He told me about being annoyed about Darcy always asking him to go out with her.”

“I know that now.”

“Hold on, even if Becki did not wear makeup was the reason why he would not date her, you should not have done that to our son! Still, I know Harrison, he would not be this mad over this a couple of years later.”

“Well, I took pictures. Harrison was so cute in that dress. I just wanted to save that moment for myself. I would joke around about showing them to people and called him Paige after that day. I did not want him to be so worried about looks, like some people I know.”

Hunter knew the last part of that statement was a passive aggressive swipe at him. Ashley believed he traded her in for a new model. Yes, after they divorced, he remarried a younger woman; but their marriage ended for those two just could not get along.

“Ashley I am not even going into why you were wrong about what you did. I am only going to say just because you are so concerned about looks and do not like that fact about yourself. You should not have taken it out on Harrison.”

“Hunter, it is you who's worried about looks. I did not want our son to be a clone of you.”

“Yeah, how about Paul Letterman? You would not give him a chance because he is short and balding.”

“That is different. He and I could only be friends.“

“Enough about the reasons why. This is about our son and he ran away. He is on the streets.”

“No, he rented a place.”

“That will eat into his savings.”

“Not that much he has over $25,000”

“How could he have that much?”

“While I was taking half of his pay and matching it as a graduation gift.”

“You were taking half of his pay on top of putting him in a dress? No wonder he wanted to move in with me, and now he moved out. You should have told me when I asked if everything was OK between you two.”

“I thought everything was. I was only joking around with Harrison. I believed he was taking it well. I thought him telling me to stop was him joking back. The money, I did it to teach him about finances.”

Hunter was not in the mood to talk, let alone fight with his ex-wife after hearing how she was treating their son. He knew that she would just make excuses. Hunter did not know that he was also a pro at making excuses about how he treated their son. He could have made time for him, but never did. He was just so busy raising his twins, they were toddlers when Hunter started to not have the time for Harrison. Hunter told himself that toddlers take up so much time and energy and teenage boys do not really want to be around their parents.

“I will give our son a call in a couple of days and then talk with you.”

“Call him now. I am so worried about him. Do something for someone else once in your life!”

Hunter was not going to take the bait Ashley put out to get him into a fight, “I can’t call him now, he will know something is up. You know I have not seen him since Christmas and not talked with him for over two months. I've just been so busy...”

Now it was Ashley’s turn not to take what she saw as bait for a fight. Hunter could have made time for their son, but did not. Now Hunter being an absentee Father made it, so he had to wait to call so Harrison did not become suspicious. Ashley knew it had to be Hunter’s way. “Sorry, I am just worried about him. He is just 18”

“No matter what Harrison’s age is you would worry about him, you are his mom.”

Hunter waited until the planned delay to call Harrison. The last thing he wanted to do was let his son onto his knowing about him moving out. The proud father was going to have a cookout this weekend in honor of his son's graduation in the top 10 of his class and being accepted to Pepperdine. Harrison was like the light bulbs in a darkened room, off, when his dad did not bring up him living on his own. Surely, his mom would have told her ex.

Harrison was happy to take the invite, even if it meant spending time with his step mother, Mimi, and two half-brothers, Emmett and Flynn. Mimi saw Harrison as part of her husband’s past and the twins were only 6 years old. Other than the small talk, accompanied with dirty looks when he arrived and left, with Mimi; Harrison would not even know she was there.

The cookout was going true to form until Hunter brought up the rift between Son and Mother. Hearing his mother told his dad about her stupid decision of putting him in a dress made got the response; “She told you about forcing me to wear a dress.?”

“So, you knew the entire time and blew me off when I asked to move in? I am out of here.”

“Hold up Son, I just found out a couple of days ago. I should have been more up front.”

“Your mom told me when she called me to find out about you. She had to explain about you moving out. She was wrong; but you moving out was drastic.”

“No, Dad, her actions were drastic. I was not going to be subjected to them anymore.”

“Yes, they were and now your mom sees it. You should move back in with her. She is worried about you.”

“No, she was not worried about me the last two years. I told her many times to stop it. Her blackmailing me with the pictures she took, to jump every time she said to do something, was so stressful. How she took the money I earned was also just wrong. She acted like it was used to give to Darcy. It is not healthy for me to live there.”

“It is not wise for an 18-year-old to live alone.”

“Then I should move here.”

“You know you can’t. There is just no room.”

“There is room. Dad. The spare bedrooms. This is a four-bedroom house. The truth is that Mimi does not want me to move in.”

“They are not spare bedrooms. One is a home office and the other is a study. Mimi is your stepmom, and you will call her that.”

Harrison was not going to back down from moving out. The lame renaming of those two rooms as the reason there was no room at his dad’s was as believable as a late-night infomercial. The home office had a dusty desk chair and filing cabinet in it and the study was used only to store some bookshelves. The lame renaming of those two rooms also tied in how Harrison saw his dad's use of Stepmother for Mimi. She was only his stepmother in name only.

“Yeah, right about the bedrooms. Never mind me moving in because I have a place. Also, Mimi never acted like one so why should I call her Mom or Stepmom?”

“Out of respect. This chip on your shoulder from what your mom did is not good for you.”

“Dad, I gave Mimi respect and got nothing in return. Did she ever once call me Son after I called her Mom? Don’t reply for we both know the answer. I tried to accept her as part of your life, but she never wanted to respect that I was part of it too.”

Even with trying her hardest not to eavesdrop into the conversation, Mimi overheard everything. Mimi knew that Harrison needed some support in standing up for himself. Her husband was downplaying the emotional abuse Harrison had to endure from his own mom. The worst part was Ashley did not realize the damage she did to Harrison and her relationship with her son, Hunter’s ex saw it as good-natured fun. Mimi knew she could not stay out of her stepson’s life anymore. Even if she could she did not want to have that distance between them anymore because Mimi knew right then she might only have wanted two children but had four. She interjected herself into the talk. “Harrison your dad is right, it is not wise for you to live on your own. How about you move in here for the summer?”

Harrison was cautious about the offer. It is wise to look a gift horse in the mouth if being nice was out of character to the giver. “You are offering just to look better than my mom, Mimi?”

Hunter said “I told you to give your stepmom respect.”

Mimi knew that Harrison was right in not using any version of the title of Mom. A person calling another Mom was an honor. It showed the high regards they held that other person in. Mimi knew she needed to earn hearing those words from her step-son. “Hunter it is fine. Harrison is right, I have not acted like a mom or stepmom to him. I need to earn it. I should have done more to make your son feel like part of our family, and I am going to from now on.”

“Mimi, that is a kind offer, but I have sublet on an apartment which I have to pay. I’m not going to pay for something which I’m not using.”

“A cousin of mine works in real estate. He will be able to find someone quick to take over that sublet.”

Harrison wanted to know exactly why the change of heart from his dad’s wife. He was sick of beating around the bush and went like a track star, quick and direct, to the point. “Why are you offering this to me when you wanted nothing to do with me up till now?”

“For what your mom did was wrong, and it showed me I was wrong also. I caused you and your father to drift apart. If I was more open to you this would have been resolved a long time ago.”

“Thank you and I would love to stay here for the summer. It will give me a chance to better know my two brothers and you also.”

Hunter was happy that his wife warmed up to his son. He still did not like Harrison calling her Mimi but was not going to trade the fight he had with Mimi about those two getting along for a new one. “Good it is settled, I will call your mom to tell her you are fine and living here this summer.”

“I am not staying here if you tell my mom where I am at. I do not want to see her and if she knows where I am, she will come to try to talk.”

Hunter, “Son, she has the right to know.”

Mimi said, “Darling, she gave away that right by how she treated her son the last two years. If Harrison does not want her to know then she should not know. Tell Ashley her son is fine, but nothing more.”

Hunter went along with what Mimi said. He knew his wife was right. Even with it feeling wrong, Harrison had the right to not have his mom in his life.

*************

Ten years had passed since Harrison had any interactions with his mother. He did try to reconnect with her side of the family, but they would put pressure on him to do so with his mom. This was the real reason he did not return his grandparents calls after he walked out of his childhood home for the last time. Harrison did not want Papi and Mémé to put pressure on him to try to make amends with his mom. He was wise enough to know that his mom was not going to budge and try to see the situation from his point of view.

His grandparents thought it was good enough that their daughter knew what she did was wrong and Harrison disagreed more with that assertion than an old school Bill Murray fan hated the new Ghostbusters. His mom needed to know why it was wrong also or else she would not change. Ashley would still have the attitude that she could run roughshod over him

Now Ashley Paige would finally see Harrison after a decade in exile from her son’s presence. Her estranged son was coming back home to attend Paul Letterman's wedding. Harrison stayed in close contact with Paul. The man who was like a surrogate father to Harrison was the only person who never put any pressure on him to reconcile with his mother. So when Harrison got the invite he knew he would be accepting it. It would be great to spend a week back at home and catch up with some of his high school friends face to face. He has been back home a couple of times in the last decade, but it was during the Holidays. Everyone was so busy so it was hard for all of them to hang out together.

Paul being in his 50’s and having a big wedding for the future Ms. Karen Letterman was exactly why Ashley knew that man was the one who got away. Karen’s first marriage was held at the justice at peace because there was not time to plan it. Ashley wondered to herself why she never had a chance with him. The lady conveniently forgot that she put the kibosh on Paul’s advances towards her when they first met.

The Mom who wanted to make her family whole again had enough couth to not approach her son at the wedding, but not enough to stop her from following her ex-husband when he went to the hotel their son was staying.

Darcy came along with her mom because she missed her brother. The girl who was now a woman was hurt that her brother did not even say goodbye to her. She still was putting the blame on him, Harrison should have been more forceful in telling her to quit teasing him about being in a dress. He should have stood up to her about the chores. It was over ten years ago and her brother should get over it.

Harrison was over how his mom and sister treated him. He had forgiven them a long time ago and moved on, but the young man had not and would not forget. Forgetting could lead to a repeat of the past with how those two downplayed what they did. His tormentors never tried to see it from Harrison’s point of view. They also told him the lies they told themselves to justify their actions.

It was easy enough for Ashley to get her son’s room number from the front desk clerk. The man gave her the information with a smile. He worked at the front desk long enough to be able to read people who wanted information and could tell Ashley was telling the truth. Also, it was a common enough occurrence that a close relative would come and ask for a guest’s room number that the clerk just gave it to her instead of hassling the manager for the go ahead. The last time he did so he was given a talking to about wasting management time.

Ashley’s willpower gave her the strength to hold off the tears of joy like the 300 held back Xerxes’ Immortals as she approached room 316. She knew there was so much to hear about her son’s life. The spring in Darcy’s step grew also as the two ladies got near. Harrison’s little sister could not wait to reminisce about the past. Those two had countless good times together growing up.

Darcy was right that those two had many good times together and were close siblings growing up until Harrison was put in a dress because of her. The younger sister’s action causing the humiliating punishment and her use of it to get her way for two years overshadowed all the good times between Ashley’s offspring.

Harrison heard a knock at his door and went to answer it. He was not expecting anybody but thought it might be his buddy, Corbin Van Dyne. He opened the door to see the second mistake his mom and sister made that day and heard the third mistake. The first one was following her ex to the hotel. The second mistake was getting Hunter’s hotel room number. Darcy made the third mistake by trying to get rid of the uncomfortable vibe by jokingly greeting her brother with; “Hey there Paige, long time no see.”

Harrison just looked at both of them and knew they had not changed by the greeting. His mom was still an enabler who did not take what she did seriously and his sister was still a bitch. He was not going to engage them and just closed the door on them without saying a word.

Ashley made the fourth mistake. Instead of chastising her daughter for her comment she started to pound on the door demanding her son talk with them. Ashley was going to have a good talking to with Darcy but in her mind that could wait. She needed to make the relationship between herself, Darcy and her son right. Ashley needed to get her family back.

Harrison knew his mom and sister were not going to leave unless they were heard out or forced out. He did not want to get anyone else involved for this was a personal situation. He opened the door and made his stipulations known before he allowed those two strangers who shared his last name in. He also took the opportunity to tell his sister what he thought of her. “I will hear you out, but if that bitch or you call me Paige again you will leave.”

Her brother calling Darcy a bitch hurt her and she was ready to fire back. Before she could her mom agreed to Harrison’s stipulations. Darcy was fuming and could not believe her brother was so childish as to resort to name calling. If she paid attention to his words, she would had known it was his honest opinion of her. The use of bitch had no malintent. Harrison had no respect for either of them and only if they treated him respect then he would do the same.

Ashley started the conversation, “Harrison this little feud between us have to stop. You made your point. You putting us out of your life has hurt us so much. You got your payback. I am sorry that you were hurt.”

“Ashley, this is not a little feud. I am not trying to get payback by hurting you. I put you and your daughter out of my life for it is what was best for me. You really do not understand how miserable you made my life. You don’t understand how wrong your ‘lesson’ was.”

Darcy once again put her foot in her mouth by saying, “Quit being a drama queen.”

“Stay out of this Bitch. You had me do all your chores for over two years. You told your friend Becki that I was a crossdresser. She told the school. I am lucky that most people did not believe her. The only reason they did not was for my friends knew she liked me and I wanted nothing to do with her.”

Darcy’s anger got the best of her, “Paige you never call me a bitch again!”

“Bitch, I will call that for that is what you are to me. There is nothing you can do to me to stop me. You cannot threaten to spread lies about me like you did when we were in high school.
Now both of you out of my room right now.”

Ashley was not going to be turned away when she believed she was so close to her goal of mending the relationship between her and her son. “Harrison, that was over ten years ago. Darcy made some mistakes, but she has changed. She messed up by trying to break the ice with that bad joke. If you would be civil to her you would see so. You really upset her when you called her a bitch.”

“Ashley, you are leaving. I am done with you two. All you do is make bad excuses for bad behavior, instead of owning up to your and Darcy's actions. When I showed I was upset you would always say 'it is a joke'. I do not know why you even came here. You have not changed and do not want to own up to your actions.”

“I am your mother and you will not call me by my first name. I let it slide once but you will call me what I am, your mother. I raised you. You owe it to me to call me Mom. You also owe it to me, your sister and yourself to put this behind us! This is not healthy for any of us.”

“You gave me birth, but you quit being my mother the day you put me in a dress.

And, I have put this behind me a long time ago. Think of it: you had me in a dress, mocked me, took pictures of me that night in a dress, and blackmailed me. Why would I want anything to do with you ever again? Why would it be healthy for me to have you in my life when you think what you did was only a joke?”

“Like I said too many times it was a joke and I didn’t mean any harm to you. You still haven't put it behind you. You still haven't forgiven me and Darcy. Your sister was just a child.”

“Please! Darcy was just a child? Well, if she was so was I. Darcy is only two years younger than me. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She knew that lying was wrong, she knew that blackmailing her brother was wrong.

Like I said, I have forgiven both of you, Ashley. I just have not forgotten. What you did made it so I never want to be around you.”

Darcy had to defend her actions, “Harrison, I wasn’t thinking when I did that.”

“No, you were thinking. You were and still are inconsiderate. You did not care to think about how your actions affected me. You would have hated it if the same happened to you. You took advantage of your flesh and blood and that is why you are a bitch.”

“And with how you are acting now, I am happy I did Paige.”

“And with the bitch still being a bitch is exactly why you two should leave now, Ashley.”

“Harrison, you said those bad things about Darcy and called her that name to provoke your sister. You knew how she would react so you can say we broke your terms. It has been over 10 years and I want my son back! Darcy wants her brother back! I want my family back!”

“No. I’m doing so for the same reason why I am calling you Ashley. I am driving home a point of what you two are to me. You have your family, I am not part of it. You are not my mom and she is not my sister. I told you would regret putting me in a dress.”

Ashley knew no matter how long they talked the space between them would not shrink. It was finally then, when it was too late to do anything, she took all the warnings that Harrison gave her seriously. All that could happen to remedy this tragedy was somehow Harrison would open his heart to both of them. That was unlikely for her and her daughter were the ones who boarded it up. “Come on Darcy, we should respect Harrison’s wishes.”

Darcy also knew getting her brother back was a lost cause. She saw how her brother by blood only was not getting upset. He was just stating the facts. He was not emotionally invested in this reunion like her and her mother were. Until seeing him Darcy thought that he was the prodigal son, that he recklessly threw away his family. Now she saw the truth, she was the prodigal daughter and standing next to her was the prodigal mom. She knew that they were foolish to think that there would be a banquet honoring them when they went to see Harrison. This was for they thought he was in the wrong but in reality, they were.

Both of them knew that they had to pay the price for their actions. This still did not change how they felt about Harrison. They both took the painful actions of saying goodbye for the last time to someone they loved and then announcing their love knowing it would not be reciprocated.
There was a surprise, Harrison did return the love back. That just made the pain worse. They knew the person who renounced being their relative cared for them, but he could never be in their life again.

After the encounter with Ashley and Darcy, Harrison did some soul searching. Even with the somber man believing he was right, the man had to treat that there was a chance what his uninvited visitors said was valid. He asked himself the questions if he was being too hard on them? If he was stuck in the past? If he would expect to be as easily forgiven as those two did? His answer to all these questions was the same, no.

Even after coming to the right conclusion, Harrison repeated the process. He wanted to be wrong. He missed his mom and sister. Even with missing them and wanting to reconnect with them, he could not. They have not seen how damaging their actions were to him. Those two people who visited him were not them. They quit being his relatives when they mistreated him and could not regain their old standing in his life until they came to terms with it. Their connection was in blood only.

Harrison moved on when he knew that no matter how much he thought about the situation, it would not change his conclusion. Being back in the moment broke him out of somberness. He had to be in the present and not allow himself to live in the past. Harrison knew that if he stayed in the past, resentment and bitterness would creep into his feelings about Ashley and Darcy. If Harrison had those emotions associated with those two, then he would not be open to having them in his life if they ever realized the gravity of their actions.

Author's Note: This short story can be seen as a treatment for a longer story. I would like to know if people would want more details about the two-year gap between the punishment and Harrison leaving and also more details about the ten-year gap between Harrison leaving and his mom and Darcy trying to reconnect with him.