Chapter 2

Ron was feeling so much better on Monday. One thing he was out of the house and away from his family. Being in the place where they made himbe Rhonda was a constant reminder of how many ways he was let down by those closest to him. He did not know what was worse, being forced to be someone who he was not, no one believing him, no one listening to him, his sister showing her cruel side or his dad downplaying what he did. Another reason Ron was upbeat was that he was going to see Chloe today. Him having a date with her was like the one pearl in all the oysters which was this weekend.

The refuge of school came to an end when Sam Gracia came up to him in the hall between classes. In a terse manner Sam told Ron they needed to talk. Ron was in the mood for being treated unpleasant as much as a tired man wanted to hear his alarm screaming at him to get up. He made sure that Sam knew his feelings by a cut to the bone reply “Bathroom by the wood shop now.”

Before Sam could amp up the animosity between those two Ron was already going down the steps on his way to the meeting. Not liking the disrespect, the senior yells at Ron telling him to stop. The freshman kept on walking at the same pace. A paper towel cleaning up a water line break in the basement had more effect than Sam’s command.

Once they met in the bathroom Sam was going to show Ron who was dominant between those two by getting in Ron’s face. That he was the alpha wolf in this pack. Here is the thing: there is no such thing as an alpha. The study which came up with that concept has been disproven by the researcher who did it. The new reseach was showing that people who claim to be alphas were just trying to justify being a grade a douchebag.

Instead of backing down Ron put his face closer to Sam and then said “What do you have to say.”

“You think you are tough? Listen here I know what happened this weekend. So you are going to do the right thing and tell your mom everything is fine between you and your sister. If you ever try to get her in trouble over nothing again we will be having more than just a little talk.”

“Go fuck yourself Sam. You think her lying about me wearing her clothes, getting me grounded and putting me in a dress is nothing!”

Those words had to be the truth. There was no way a normal teenage boy could share something so embarrassing. Finding out what really happened was like a speck of dust entering Sam’s eye and making him blink. The staring contest between those two ended.

Ron took Sam flinching as a sign of the older boy giving up. He wanted to make sure that his sister’s boyfriend never tried pulling a stunt like this again. On his way out of the bathroom Ron said “Sam, don’t talk to me ever again.”

Instead of going to his next class, Ron went to the nurse’s office. The anger he had about his sister telling Sam about the weekend was making him lightheaded from hyperventilating.

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

Kyle loved being in sales. All he had to do was make sure the customers he already had stayed satisfied. People do not like to make changes unless they have to. That was why when most people were in their office doing some busy work pushing papers Kyle was out on the greens preparing to tee off with another work colleague and 2 higher up from his best customer. When he was bring up his 1 Wood to drive on this 450 yard par 5

Being paid to enjoy life is why he became tee off when he saw who was calling him on his cell phone as he was about to tee off. It was Dr Briscoe, his children’s high school principal. Nothing good ever came from getting a call from where your kids go to school.

The call made the day which was a nice birdie for his company a bogey for Kyle. When he heard that he had to come get Ron he thought that was par for the course lately with his son. Ron has been the rough in Kyle’s life the last couple of days. He did think of calling his wife to do it instead but decided against it. Doing so would have made sure he did not get out the sand trap the disagreement those two were having about Linda’s punishment. He needed out of that sandtrap so whenhe does get Linda to her prom he does end up being in the water hazard. The lead of account knew he had to excuse himself to go get out his son and did.

***********
The only thing Linda and Ron had in common was they both were happy to be at school. The senior felt like she was not getting enough support at home. Even with her dad not wanting to come down hard on her he did nothing as her mom laid out a draconian punishment. She also was going to see Sam. He was a pillar of support by being her boyfriend, best friend and how he said he was going to get Ron to back down now her champion. It was lunch time and they were going to spend it together.

The girl was a little concerned when she saw the look of anger on Sam’s face. He looked hotter than the tamales on his plate. She knew that there was not going to be good news on the prom front yet. The bad news was not what she thought.

Sam was pissed off at her. She did not tell him what happened this weekend. How she got her brother in trouble. Ever since he learned the truth he started to question his Lindz’s actions. How could she lie about her brother? How could she have seen what Ron went through this weekend as fine? How could she not think she deserved her punishment? All these questions led to a bigger question for Sam: does he even know his girlfriend and does he want to be with someone who could act like she did.

Lindz wanting to cheer up her man was sweeter than the churros on his plate by offering her faith in him being able to correct the injustice said. “Cheer up babe, Ron looks up to you. There is still one week until the prom. He will come around when he calms down.”

“Don’t call me babe.”

“Don’t take my brother not listening to you out on me.I am the one who should be getting cheered up not you.”

“Oh, that is not the reason I said don’t call me babe. I do not know if I want to be your babe anymore.”

“I see how you are. I am grounded and we can’t spend time together so you are thinking about breaking up with me.”

“I am thinking about breaking up with you because of what you did to your brother this weekend.”

“Don’t lie. You already knew that. You just are mad that we are not going to be able to go to the prom together.”

“You are the one lying. I know the truth about this weekend. I know how you lied about Ron wearing your dress for some reason.

You know what, we are done. I do not want anything to do with you. If you can do what you did to your brother I would hate to know what you are capable of doing to me.”

“I did nothing. That was my mom and dad.”

“Yes, for you lied about Ron wearing your dresses.”

“I really thought he was.”

“So what will you do to me if you think I am cheating?”

“I would never think you would cheat on me.”

Cheating was more common than a boy crossdressing. This fact was what bases behind Sam saying “Oh come on Lindz. You thought something wild about your brother. I am not taking going to chance it.”

“But you love me.”

“Not anymore. You did your brother wrong.”

Now it was Linda’s turn to go to the nurse’s office. Sam breaking up with Linda made the girl queasy. She could not believe how bad her life has become all from what she perceived as a misunderstanding.

After the shock from Sam breaking up with her settled in, Linda started to feel anger towards Ron. Her little brother was playing with her. He had to be. There was no way he was embarrassed about this weekend if he told Sam. If he told Sam then everyone in the school should know. She made a post on Facebook This train of thinking came from Linda still not wanting to take responsibilities for actions. Seeing herself as some innocent bystander in her life was going to make the runaway train she was on derail.

**********

Linda was feeling so much better after her dad took her for a nice meal at her favorite Thai restaurant before they went home. The warmth she felt from her dad reassuring her that everything was going to be back to normal matched the warmth she felt inside from the green tea she drank during her meal.

Linda’s cozy feeling was knocked with the booming voice of her mother greeting her by saying “You are in deep trouble Linda!”

The girl who was feeling good about her life was stunned. Her mom was in boss mode and the difficulty setting was master level. Even if Linda could respond she would have known better. At this moment saying anything would have just made the trouble deeper.

Kyle on the other hand was sick of being wrong,.He was more concerned about being right than doing the right thing. The prideful man believed his daughter's version of why Ron told Sam about the weekend.

This made Kyle pick this moment as his hill to die on. To him it looks like a little casual walk up a grassy knoll on a sunny spring day. In truth the situation was more akin to hiking up Everest without a guide at night during a blizzard.

“Dawn, this is over. Ron does like to wear dresses. He told Sam about this weekend and he broke up with Linda.

So here is how it is going to be. We are returning that Playstation we got Rhonda. She is going to apologize to me and Linda and Linda. She is also going to be grounded at least as long as you grounded Linda. Also she is going to take her sister’s help in getting in touch with who she is.”

That moment was a key to unlocking a door in Dawn’s mind. Until that moment she always downplayed anything which her Kyle did which showed his true personality. He was nice to her so Dawn took it as him being a good person. Her husband was not. He was a narcissistic bully.

With the door unlocked the truth of what Ron’s bad behavior came to light. She saw that how he joked with people was actually making people the butts of the joke. That he was always more concerned about what he wanted instead of what was best.

Dawn could not hide the contempt and disgust she had towards her husband at the moment. Defending her son was more important.

“Kyle, you only call our son by his name from now on. His name is Ron, use it. You never call him Rhonda again.

You are so much more worried about being right and having things your way. Here is how Sam knew, He tried to force Ron into telling us that Linda can go to the prom and she should not be grounded. Sam said he knew what happened this weekend and it was not a big deal. Ron fired back at him the truth at Sam.”

“It wasn’t that bad if Ron told Sam so I think that with Linda losing Sam because of what Ron did that is punishment enough for what happened this weekend.”

Linda saw her dad on her side so she got the strength to try to add to her case “Yeah the only reason Ron told Sam was too hurt me.”

Outnumbering Dawn was not going to have the desire effect. The mom who was on the right side dug in. “Linda I am so pissed at you. If you know what is good for you then you will stay quiet.

You are in so much trouble. You posted a lie about your brother on Facebook. You knew not to tell anyone about what happened this weekend.

Now give me your phone, go upstairs and wait for me. I will make it clear you do not talk to anyone or post anything on social media.”

Even with the cold winds of the truth hitting him in the face, and he darkness of his pride blinding him Kyle was not giving up climbing that hill he picked to die on. To him what happened this past weekend was being so overblown. “Dawn, Linda is not in any more trouble. In fact what I said earlier goes. She can go to the prom, will have a huge graduation party and she is not grounded anymore.

Our daughter made that post in good faith, just like telling us that she thought Ron was taking her things. She thought that Ron was telling people because he did like this weekend.”

Linda took a step towards her father and held her head high. She knew he was going to support her.

This moment was more that just the events of the past weekend. Right now was about the Dawn and Kyle’s relationship. The fight and disagreement was also about how the family was going to be from now on. To Dawn this was no hill to die on. For it to be a hill then they would have to be a struggle with staying on course. There was none. To Dawn this was painting a thick bright yellow line on the concrete. Her stance was not a line in the sand for they are easy to erase.

“Linda I told you to give me your phone and get upstairs. I do not care what your dad said. You are still grounded. We will talk about this later when I get up there. Right now there are more pressing issues than dealing with you not respecting your brother or me.”

Linda meekly respected her mom’s wishes. Even with her dad’s hard stance supporting her, deep down Linda knew nothing was going to get her out of having being in trouble. Her taking and acting upon her dad’s pardon will damage her relationship with her mom. The teenage girl was hurt right now by not feeling as close to her mom as she used to. Causing more damage will just pull her away from her mom. Linda also knew that this damage was from her turning her back on her mom.

Handing her mom her phone Linda remorsefully said “Sorry, mom. I will be waiting for you.”

*********

Being Juniors in high school meant Joe “Tires” Griffin and Paul Cleveland loved to gossip. Whenever their phones gave notifications they got a little dopamine high. Those bing meant that there was a chance of something new and juicy happening. So when they were informed someone in their social circle posted something they had to look right away.

The notification was the one Linda posted about her brother. Reading that Ron liked to crossdress was sweeter to them as the pieces of cake which were in front of them. This was also richer than the chocolate icing on those pieces of cake. The news was also more delicious.

Not wanting to waste time helping to spread this good news those two gulped down their cake faster than they gulped down all the satisfaction they were going to get from seeing other people’s reactions..

They knew who they were going to share this news with first, Sam Graica. They know he would get a hoot out of this. Afterall, it was always great to give the business to your girlfriend’s younger brothers. What better way to give the business than to pick on their unique sense of fashion.

Sam was still not in a good mood. There was too much drama for him today and the worse part was less than 5 minutes ago. In order, first he found out his girlfriend could not go to the prom. He knew that was going to be so disappointing to her. Then he tried to fix the situation by forcing her brother to forgive. In doing so he found out she was lying about why she could not go. If accusing someone of doing something they did not do was not bad enough, Ron told him off. Sam hated that he could not say anything for he was in the wrong. Finally he broke up with Linda. He did care about her but could not chance being with someone who was so vindictive. He might have been young and naive but he was wise enough to know teenage boys are likely to make bad decisions and mess up.

Tires and Paul were too warped up on getting yet another hit of a natural high so they did not read all the messages which were screaming “Leave Sam alone.” None of Sam’s friends at the lunch table were interacting with him. Sam’s body was coiled ready to go into action and his eyes were staring a death lazer into anything he was looking at.

As Tires was approaching Sam, the rest of the table scooted away from Sam. They did not want to be colateral damage. Even with the last warning sign occurring Tires was still clueless and open his mouth. “Hey how long have you known about Linda’s little ‘sister’”

Sam did not know how or why but knew he was not going to like this conversation. Hearing unnecessary air quotes around the word sister confirmed his assumption. Not wanting to suffer anymore drama and also any fools Sam snapped back “What the fuck are you two talking about.?”

Sam was in the dark for he knew the truth so he could not of fathomed what he was going to hear next. “You know your girlfriend little sister Rhonda. Tell us is she cute when dressed up.
Linda just posted about it all Facebook”

Sam was quick to his feet to show those two he was not playing and also give himself time to think. Finding out what Linda did made him know he was right breaking up with her. Now he had to make sure that his spiteful ex could not hurt her brother anymore. This was the right thing to do, plus Sam knew he owned Ron one for how he tried to intimidate him early today.

“I have no idea what you are talking about. I think it is just my ex spreading rumors because her brother called her out on stealing money from him to their parents. That is why I broke up with her.”

Lying about his ex made Sam feel bad about himself. He wished he could have thought of a better way of protecting Ron from being an object of ridicule. He tired to ease the guilt by thinking that sometimes people need to fight fire with fire. That she started the lying so he was attacking an innocent person.

Paul, after hearing Sam explanation of that juicy gossip, was disappointed. He believed it to the the truth. Then the disappointment went away. Another hit of dopamine came to him when he relaized that he can tell an even more juicy bit of gossip. “That sucks Sam.”

Sam said “Make sure everyone knows how much that sucks.”

“Will do, dude.”

*********************
Even with being only 30, Mike Wort, last name was German so it was pronounced Vort, loved mentoring young people. There were so many positives in doing so. He made him feel young. It helped him with not falling into the trap of always thinking inside the box for the solutions. He stayed informed on what they were teaching about IT at the universities and it felt good to see someone figure out things. This meant was more than happy to take on Nancy in his team.

Mike being 30 and also in a male dominated field made him very informal as the team manager. He gave his team the nickname of the Big Boys. This came from his team was the best troubleshooters Paulson Corp had and when something big needed done they would call his team in. James Brunnel, VP of logistics, was the first to use the moniker. The servers would not save anything and no others teams could fix it and he said on the phone to Mike, I guess it is time to call in the big boys to fix this.

Mike getting a female intern this year made it better. One he wanted more ladies in the field. The more the IT field went away from just being mostly young white men the better the field will become. After all, diversity within a team led to seeing things from a different perspective. Mike using this nickname as a way to unify his team was what made Nancy Coville’s first day at her summer internship being just like her siblings day, bad.

Mike being a casual manager was why Nancy's day was so bad. He treated his employees too friendly. He made the office seem too social instead of professional. That would be bad in any office setting, but IT made that issue worse. IT was laid back as it is. The employees did not have to worry about having a good face to the public so right away there was lack office decorum. Adding a manager who did not see keeping people minding their p’s and q’s to this mix just added to the chance of a huge social faux pas. It just so happened Mike was the one who made it.

Trying to make his new employee feel welcome he said “Hi there Linda. I am Mike Wort so happy to have you on my team. I know you are ready to be a big boy. So after you get settled at your desk come to my office and I will take you with who you will be working with.”

Nancy was already feeling a little out of her comfort zone. This was her first day at a great internship.The half day orientation was overwhelming. There was so much paperwork to fill out and then her getting her picture taken and the meetings. There were 3 meetings about the expectations of the interns, the work environment of Pauson Corp and health and safety. Then the office looking more like a college kids dorm room than a professional setting added to it. The Marvel and band posters, along with cans of pop on the desk and a playstation 4 connected to the television was not the home base she was envisioning. Then Mike making that horribly sexist remark add to it,

Instead of going into her shell Nancy stood up for herself. She was on the defensive since she been back at home and was not going to be cornered into putting up with anything at work. Being young she was still idealistic so she thought that confronting Mike right away would be the right move. After all HR will be behind her and make sure that Mike is preferably reprimanded for what was clearly sexual harassment.

In a forceful manner the new hired made the statement “We need to go to your office to talk right now.”

Mike was not used to anyone in his department not talking to him in a laid back manner. The assertiveness of his member of staff changed his demeanor. He did not want to lose his cool so he gave both of them a cooling off period. “Linda go your desk and put your things away. Then come to my office. Close the door when you enter.”

After listening to her boss, Nancy marched into his office like an invading army. She was showing full force and ready to claim what she thought was rightfully hers. She spoke first “Never speak to me like that again.”

The reasoning of Nancy coming after getting settled in her desk only work on Mike. He was lost so he innocently asked “Like how?”

She said “You know.”

“No I don’t. So please tell me so we both can have a great summer working together.”

“Fine. I will just add this to what I going to tell human resources. You said I was ready to be a big boy. I am not a boy. I am a woman. Your statement was so sexist.”

Mike was relieved this was a misunderstanding. This led to him releasing some of the build up tension with a little laugh. “Nancy, that is what they call my team here. We are the best of the best in the IT department. That was not meant to be sexist at all.”

“Don’t laugh at me and don’t downplay what you said. It does not matter how you see what the name you gave your team. It is sexist.”

“Nancy I assure you I was not laughing at you. I was just relieved that you were upset about a misunderstanding. Please listen to me and you will also understand.”

The self-righteous lady saw the plea from Mike as him mansplaining to her. “Mike, there is no need to explain to me. I am smart enough to know what happened. I will be going to HR now for we have nothing left to talk about.”

Mike might have been laid back and a causal manager but he knew already how the meeting with HR was going to play out. He heard about them too many times to not. He also knew that Linda has pressure on her about this being her first day on her job and feeling like she has to prove she belong. That has to be worse for a lady not only does is she the new person but the mindset of people thinking that IT professionals are only male had to add to it.

“Linda tell HR I sent you OK.”

“I don’t need to do that.”

“You don’t but if you want them to see you today instead of them telling you to send them an e-mail you should. Jolen Dean HR’s admin assistant is a nice lady but all she will say is for you to fill out a form and send it to them. That is how they handle these situations.

After you talk with HR come back here and we will talk. I want to make sure you feel welcomed here.”

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

As Kyle and Dawn were coming closer to the judgment day in their marriage, Linda was heading towards her room. She was walking at a fast pace to lower the small chance of seeing her brother. Seeing her actions were now affecting the entire family took away her strength and resolve. The defeated girl was not going to able to defend her actions anymore.

Linda paused when she got to Ron’s room. She then intensely listen to hear what was going on. The only noise was the sound of gun fire and the music score of what ever shoot up Ron was playing. Not hearing her brother cleverly smack talking his computer opponents made her feel lower. If her brother was not practicing to be as good as the Rock on making sure the jabroni knew their role then he was still not in a good mood.

Hearing that her brother was engaged with his game made it easy for Linda to go to her room. She walked even slower to ensure there was no sound and made it to her room. After entering her room she went to turn on her computer so she could gather her thoughts by typing them down. Then she thought better. It would be better to not be anywhere near social media even if she was not using it. Her mom would assume she was doing something spiteful right away. So she pulled out a notebook from her bookbag and put her thoughts down the old fashion way with pen and paper.

****************
Jolene Dean was good at her job as the office manager for the HR Department. It was not her typing ability or knowledge of Words, Excel, Meeting or Outlook which made it so. Neither was it her ability to organize. People would not doubt that she could plan a great BBQ to be held in the midst of winter. It was how she treated people. She was not a people pleaser, but knew that each person was their own individual so treated them as such.

The secret of Jolene’s success at her job came into play once again when she saw an angry young woman come into the reception area. Jolene was going to listen before doing anything. Letting the visitor say her peace gave Jolene all the information she need to handle the situation in a professional and caring manner.

Jolene treated the miscommunication between Mike and Nancy as a serious issue. This was because it was. The fellow employee who stood in front of her felt like she was mistreated and it was reasonable for her to do so. Instead of downplaying this as an insignificant situation which only needs a form filled out, Jolene listened to Nancy saying that Mike, her boss, sent her and told her to have a seat as she got one of the HR Reps to handle this.

Nancy’s righteous indignation was starting to build. This was for she was looking to be wronged. She thought not being sent right into to talk with the head of HR meant that she was going to be given the runaround. That after waiting for too long she was going to be told that everyone was busy with meeting. Little did she know that Jolene organizational skills made sure that there was always someone free from the meeting. This was so the mission statement of HR could be meet at all times. This department was about making sure their fellow employees had a great working environment, not that the inner circle of the department can make plans to be more efficient at their jobs.

The inner build up of Nancy’s tension subsided when she saw Jolene come out after only a moment away from the back and told her to come with her that Robert Gayle was ready to see her. It might not be the head of HR, but at least she was not being gatekept from talking to someone.

The meeting in the office was more corigal and professional than the IT Department. Then again to Nancy kids playing office would have been. HR depended on knowing its P’s and Q’s. They were a part of the front office and had to deal directly with their clientele.

After offering Nancy something to drink and a seat Loretta asked her why she was here while referring to Nancy as Ms Coville. The question and how it was worded put up Nancy’s defenses.

“Didn’t Jolene or Mike tell you?”

Knowing he had to give as much details as possible with coming off as being pedantic gave an answer which was just the facts. “Jolene did not tell me and I have not spoken to Mike.”

“If Mike did not call down here right away then why did he tell me to say he sent me.”

“Ms Coville, do you mind if I call you Nancy?”

There was a second of silence. Nancy took the question as being rhetorical instead of the man who was taking her complaint treating her with respect. After relaizing it was a legit question Nancy felt more comfortable and answered with “Please call me Nancy.”

“Good Nancy and please call me Bob.

No Mike did not call me. He told you to say he sent you so you would actually talk to someone instead of having to fill out the paperwork right away.”

“Oh so you want this off the book Bob.”

“No. There will be paperwork for you to fill out. It is he thought that whatever you wanted to talk about was serious enough that you needed to deal with a person and not a bureaucracy. Now tell me what the issue is so we can rectify it,”

“The issue is that the Mike is sexist. He said I was ready to be a big boy. I am not a boy. Then when I wanted to talk to him right away he had the nerve to make me wait.”

“Nancy his team here is called the Big Boys. I can assure you that he meant nothing by it. I will make sure that he does not refer to you as one of the Big Boys from now on.

I can also assure you that he made you wait for a professional reason. You have to remember he is your boss so he does set when you have a meeting with him.”

“So nothing is going to happen to Mike.”

“I will look into it more, but as of now it does not look like it. There was a misunderstanding about what he said and he will be corrected about it. If it happens again then something will happen.

Now I will be sending you a link to the forms so we can have this on record.”

The response was worse than any stonewalling or being given the longest runaround. She felt that they tried to placate her with going through the motions. She got up from her chair and said “Never mind doing so. Tell Mike I am leaving so he can have his all big boys club.”

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

As soon as their daughter was out of hearing range Dawn started her assault on her husband.

“Kyle what is wrong with you? You are acting like this weekend is not a big deal.”

“It is simple because it is not. We did not hurt Ron. If anything this weekend will help him to build character if you did not baby him. Now he is acting like he should be in a dress.”

“Don’t you ever say that again!”

“Oh come on, Don’t be so serious! You know that I was trying to make a point by joking.”

“Joking, that is your excuse all the time when called out. I am not buying it anymore.”

“Now you don’t like my sense of humor. Maybe you should get that stick out of your ass.”

“You are not making a joke. You are demeaning our son once again. What you are saying is mean spirited. You also do not know how serious this situation is. You are so close to losing your relationship with our son. Tell the truth you are also close to losing your relationship with me. I do not like what I am seeing from you.I also will not be spoken to how you are speaking to me. Don’t try to put you messing up on me by saying I am too serious in such a flippant manner.”

This argument was a reply of so many other argument which Kyle and Dawn had. In the other ones this was whee Kyle knew he had to give an artificial apology to move on. He knew that Dawn was close to accepting her vision of him was not who he was. This time instead of keeping the illusion going in his wife’s head he kept the death march up that hill he picked to die on.

Kyle dug in by saying “Oh great now I have to deal with two drama queens. You are just upset that your baby boy is mad at you. Get over it. He is your son, not your friend. He has no right to be upset at us, we are his parents and we can have him do what we want. He lives under our roof.”

This time the excuses for his bad behavior were seen as what they were, lies. The lady who was seeing the truth for the first time knew those words were meant to manipulate her. Her husband did not care if he said things to appease her into seeing what he did was not bad or make her submit to seeing things his was. Coming to this relazition hurt.

Dawn was heartbroken to find out that the man she married was not the man she loved. It would have hurt more if she was still lying to herself about the past. She now saw all those times as her husband saying he was joking with someone as the truth, he was making other people the butts of his jokes. That he was nice to her so she saw that as him being a good person.

“Do not speak to me that way Kyle. Do you understand?”

Kyle took the order as a statement, This was understandable for that statement was made so many times before when the argument with his wife got to this point. So instead of showing his wife the respect she deserved he kept on going up that hill he pick for his last breath. “I am just speaking the truth. Ron has been running this house and this has to stop. He is overreacting to this weekend. This needs to stop. We are the parents and made a good faith decision.

Now calm down and we will get this house back in order. This will start with Ron apologizing to all of us for how he has been treating us. We are his family.”

“What part of do not speak to me that way didn’t you understand?

Somehow we mess up big time with our son and you are blaming him for our results of our bad decesion. Ron has been acting the most mature out of all of us,yet you want him to say he is sorry. I would not blame him if he just decided not to talk to us.

You are acting like this is not a big deal. If it is not then we can go shopping now for some new outfits for you to wear to work. Oh, I will show you how to walk in heels.

We made our son dress like a girl, treated him like a girl and would not listen to him. We found him guilty and he had to prove he was innocent. Then after being told not to tell anyone Linda still did.”

“That is nothing Ron told someone first.”

“The only reason he did was he thought that Linda did. Sam said what happened was not a big deal and Ron rightfully corrected him. Linda should have taken her punishment and not try to get out of it by using her boyfriend to strongarm our Ron. That is her brother.”

“Yeah he is not acting like one. He should want her to go to her prom. She should be going. It is not fair that she is missing it. She did nothing wrong.

Yeah I said she did nothing wrong.”

“She lied about her brother, threaten to cut his hair and made her brother believe she told other people about how we humiliated him. You need to learn the difference between right and wrong if you think she did nothing wrong.”

“Oh come on, quit being so literal. I meant that what our daughter did was small. You are overreacting. You are acting like one of those woke parents instead of a real one. Is our house going to be a safe space from now on.”

Rhetoric is a great weapon to use in arguments and debates. People who are against the changing times has made the word woke have a bad connotation. Instead of people thinking of what woke meant in this instant, being alert to prejudice and discrimination, people think of it as someone being oversensitive. Dawn was woke so what Kyle was doing was nothing more than a simple palor trick to her.

“Our house should always be a safe space for our kids.

Kyle we made some bad decisions and you do not want to own up to it. Then again, I should not be shock. You do that all the time when you crossed the line with people. Even when they had enough.”

“Name one time I did that.”

“How about Nadine and her husband Adam.”

“They could not take a joke.”

“Calling her a cougar and saying she is rocking the cradle was not a joke to them. They told you to stop but you did not.”

“They need to grow up and quit being crybabies.”

“ Yeah that is so mature of you calling other people names.”

Kyle still was going to keep going up this hill to die on, but needed to make a camp. He did not like how the argument went to his flaws. There was no way Kyle could keep on guiding his wife to the right destination of getting his way if she did not see him in the best light possible.

“Honey, sorry. I am just upset about how Linda is feeling. She is so upset about the punishment and now Sam broke up with her. With that happening I am thinking that we came down too hard on her. She needs those memories of going to a prom and celebrating a huge achievement with her friends.

So how about she can go to the prom and have her own graduation party. I am meeting you half way.”

“No. We are sticking to the punishment.”

Kyle knew not to press up this hill anymore. He also was not going back to base camp. That would be admitting defeat. “Fine my love. You think this is best.”

Wanting to regain that place on his wife’s pedestal Kyle made an peace offering. He walked over to his wife and while giving her a huge hug said “How about I handle dinner tonight. I will make some fettuccine alfredo with chicken . That is your favorite.”

***********
Nancy came home thinking that even with her mom stating she was done with her with those two could have discussion about today. Her mom had to be there for her, she was her daughter afterall. Parents support their kids. So when the young lady who needed guidance came home she acted like there was no strain and the relationship between them and use the greeting “Hi, mom how was your day?”

“Nancy my day was fine.”

“Aren’t you going to ask about mine?”

“No, I told you I was done talking with you until you saw how wrong you were treating your brother. I was serious when I said that.”

“I had a bad day at work and all you are worried about is Ron taking what I said wrong.”

“Nancy. Here was my day. I was called to school to pick up Ron but missed his call. You know why. Sam tried to force him into forgiving Linda so they can go to the prom. Sam said he knew about the weekend. So Ron told him the truth when Sam said the weekend was not that bad.

Sam took what happened seriously and broke up with Linda. You know what Linda did, she told everyone on Facebook Ron enjoy crossdressing. No one believed her for Sam said she was just mad about him breaking up with her for stealing money from Ron.”

Then that lead to the school calling your dad right away before I missed the call ealier and he took Linda out for a nice meal to comfort her, instead of getting her home to have a talking about how serious what she just did was.”

“That is a lie.”

“Good you are understanding why Linda is in trouble and now she is in bigger trouble.”

“NO WHAT SAM SAID IS A LIE! I swear men stick together. Just like at work today, my boss said I was ready to be big boy. Then talked with HR and the guy there blew me off.”

Dawn knew that even with Linda being 20 she was her daughter and it was her duty to be there for Linda when she needs her. Until she heard about what happened she thought Linda only needed her.

“I am sorry honey. I am.”

“Thank you now about that sexist remark. How nonchalantly Mark said you are one of the big boys now showed he did not even know what he was saying was sexist.”

“Just like you with calling your brother a bitch.”

“Fine Mom I know you don’t care about this so I will be going.”

“You are staying right here. I am your mom. I know how much that guys saying you are one of the big boy affected you. I am trying to point out how much you calling Ron a bitch is the same.

Mike at work might not have meant it as sexist but it was taken that way by you. I am not defending what he said. He should not have said it. He is in a work environment so he should have been talking professionally. You need to talk to him about it. Communication is key in a workplace.If he is a half way decent manager he will understand what happened and take you back”

Linda was an idealist so she could not see how hypocritical she was being at the moment. Even if she could, she would not admit to it. That would mean she was the one who started her new job on the wrong foot and Mike along with HR was right.. “This is so different than what I said to Ron. My brother is acting like a big crybaby. That Mike does not even know me. He is chasing me out of that job. He did not want me. You have no idea what you are talking about.

Mom if you can be done talking to me, I can be done talking with you.”

“Nancy you never were talking to me. You were talking at me. You were not listening yesterday or today. You just called your brother a crybaby to put him down. You allowed yourself to assume the worse of others but do not let them do it for you. You put people down but will not stand it when you think they did the same to you.”

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

Jim Pruitt was drinking and thinking. He was trying to come up with how to be a good parent and a good friend at the same time. He had two different stories from two people he trusted. How could he pick which one was right. As a good father he should believe his daughter. He knew she was honest and so sweet. At the same time why the story his friend told made more sense to him. Klye forcing Ron to wear a dress against his will was so out of character of his best friend.

Then it came to him how he could be both a good father and a good friend. Ron lied. It was the simple solution and the simple solution is the best. That was why people said KISS all the time. Ron lying when found out about being a crossdresser kept his daughter being honest and sweet. If she stated something which she thought was true then she is not lying. Her strong defense of her friend also had the added benifit of making her even sweeter.

Kyle telling the truth made the most sense. His friend would not go to an extreme like. There was no why Kyle would do that even if he caught Ron in a dress. Kyle was not the type to force people into doing what they do not want to. Kyle being right also came with the added bonus of him not being wrong when he took Kyle’s word at face value.

So after coming to the conclusion that Ron was also Rhonda he had a new issue. There was no way he was going to let that boy who was really a girl date his daughter. His daughter was so sweet that she would not see that how she was being used. In being a good father he was going to have to make sure she does not get hurt.

It was going to be hard. Afterall he was a good father so he wanted to make sure he came off as the good guy. That meant he could not forbid her from dating Rhonda. Not only would that make him an ogre in his daughter eyes but also make her feel for Rhonda even more. Then she will be heartbroken by his hands. A good father cannot have dirty hands when it came to what hurts their children. Even if the grime underneath the fingernails came from them protecting their children.

After taking another sip of his whiskey another great idea came to him. Just put the fear of God in Ron. Make sure that Ron knows that he is against that boy dating his daughter. Then when Ron is scared enough to listen for any way out of the predicament he was in give throw him a lifeline. Tell him to go on the date that night and just make sure there is no chemistry between himself and Chole.

After formulating his plan Jim took the last gulp of the whiskey in his tumbler. He was done drinking and thinking. Coming up with the simple solutions to his complex problem was a little tring so he pour himself a nightcap. He deserved it plus it will help chase away away doubts he would had formed if he thought about how his plan really only made him a good friend.

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

As Jim was coming up with his plans to make everything fit his narrative, Kyle and the rest of his family were sitting down to eat. The events of the last three days has made the atmosphere in the dinning for as cold as the iced tea Ron was drinking. The odd part of silence to the father was that his eldest was not even talking about her first day at her internship.

Good news tends to travel out of the recipient’s mouth fast. Getting paid to learn first hand experience in the field of work Nancy was passionate about should filling the room. It would distract him from feeling like he was failing his other daughter. So to get his mind and spirit in a better place Kyle broke the silence by asking “Nancy how was your first day at work?”

The response of his daughter stating that she quit added to Kyle’s feeling of frustration. He worked hard to make sure his daughter got that internship at his company. He asked her why.

“Because Mike Wort is sexist and I will not work underneath him.”

“ You should have gone to HR. They would have placed you with another team.”

“I did and they blew me off saying that people call Mike’s team the big boys so it was sexual harassment.”

Knowing what HR said was the truth did not stop Kyle from siding with his daughter. He had to make sure Nancy kept that internship. He did not want his hard work go to waste. He used up a couple of favors he kept in his pockets and promised a couple of future favors to ensure his daughtering receiving on of those few spots in Pualson’s Corp prestigious internship. The sad part of that hussel was it was needless. She had the grades, and the personality that put her at the top of the candidate list.

“You will be coming to work with me tomorrow. I will fix this. Trust me, Mike will be calling you Ms Coville when he asks you what you want in your coffee for the rest of the summer.”

Nancy’s mood perked up from her dad taking her side. She could not help but take a swip at what she saw as her mom not supporting her when showing her dad her gratitude. “Thank you Dad. It is great when a parent support their child.”

Dawn’s eyes were like die and rolled. Instead of making some witty remark the mother took the high ground. She was better than that. Saying an amusing comeback might make her feel better for a moment. That is not what parenting is about. Her daughter getting back that internship was way more important. Dawn knew her daughter worked too hard in school to not have it.

Other than some bickering from Linda about the fact she is not going to enjoy her rite of passages the dinner was silence. Hearing that the original problem was still with him made Kyle lose the feel good feelings he got from fixing Linda’s issue. He knew his wife would not back down so he was stuck at base camp on that mountain he was going to die upon.

Then a new path came to him at the end of the meal. His friend Jim called with what was great news to Kyle. His friend believed Kyle’s lie about Ron. That was nothing more than a harmless lie but having someone else believed it after geeting proof otherwise made Jim know he could start making Linda’s life as good as it was. If that lie worked on Jim an adult there is no way it would not also work on Sam a gullible teenager. That boy actually believed that high school students were capable of really being in love. After supper it was time to visit Sam at where he worked the local grocery store, Giant Eagle.

He used the excuse of going to get some ice cream as the reason for his trip. Other than people who are diary intolerant or vegan who would object of having some ice cream. They would not think of it as a cover because everyone knew that you scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream.

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

Sam felt like a fool for a good reason. He was one. The teenager used the wrong reason to come to this conclusion and that was just more proof of why he was a fool. He bought that his ex’s dad did not know about them breaking up. There should be no way that was true. Linda was picked up by her dad from school and she would have shared why she was upset with him. Sam knew how close those two were.

Then what solidified him being a fool was just how Mr Coville was out picking up a couple of things from the store. There were two other grocery stores closer to his home and that man did not like to take a step in any store or waste his time driving to one. Mr Coville used to ask Sam to pick up things for him on his way to coming over to see Linda.

Finally the story that Kyle sold Sam would not even have been believed on Reddit. Kyle knew the secret of selling a story was not telling it right away. Another part was gently stroking the ego of the person who you want to buy the story. So instead of just saying that Ron wore dressed, the seasoned spin doctor jokingly mention that Linda has competition for Sam’s heart.

That statement did was supposed to do. It threw Sam off and at the same time made him feel good about himself. People love to hear that somebody fancies them. With a grin on his confused looking face Sam asked the question “What?”

“Oh sorry. I thought Linda told you about Rhonda.”

“She did and that is why we broke up.”

Acting like he was mad “You really think that I would let you date Ron. That would be a huge betrayal of his sister. I thought you were a better man than that.”

Kyle was holding a masterclass on how to manipulate someone at the moment. Even with putting Sam down it was in a way to stroke that boy’s ego. “No!”

“Oh you were trying to be a gentleman and not come between sisters?”

“This makes no sense.”

“Why isn’t it making sense? It is simple. Ron is really Rhonda. That is why he was not in school on Friday. He, no sorry she, I am still not catching myself when I use the wrong pronouns, came out to us and we gave him a weekend to explore who he was. Hell Rhonda even had Chloe over. It was great.”

“Wait then why is Linda not allowed to go to the prom.”

“Her mom is overreacting. Linda was teasing Rhonda a little bit when she admittted she had a crush on you and told her she could not go among other things. I told Linda not to worry, that she will be going.”

Everything was making sense to Sam now for all the wrong reasons. Ron standing up and being mad at him was just frustration of not being able to get with who he wanted to. The story of his parents making him dress like a girl was too far out there to be true. Finally, Linda being shocked about them breaking up. She had no idea what was going on.

“Shit.”

“What is wrong Sam.”

“Ron lied to me and I believed him. I broke up with her because he said a wild story about you and Ms Coville making him be Rhoda this weekend because of Lindz lying. I should have known better.”

“Don’t beat yourself up Sam. Just say you are sorry about not taking her side and it will not happen ever again. If she didn’t tell me about you breaking up then she is holding out hope you will come to your senses.

Also make sure she has the time of her life at the prom.”

“So she can go to the prom.”

“Oh yes, would I lie to you.

Anyway I have to go. I need to get back home. It was good luck for you I happened to be here to set things straight.”

The final nail which closed the lid on the Sam being in a fool’s coffin was him believing this was just good luck. It worked out why too well for what Linda still wanted to happen, to go to the prom and having Sam as her boyfriend. Then again it was easier to swallow those lies becasue Sam also wanted to go the to the prom and be Lindz’s boyfriend.