Dawn being on the high ground and Kyle doing a lowdown dirty trick was adding more turbulence to the storm front on the mountain her husband choosen to die upon. She could not believe that he drove Linda to school without also taking Ron. How early they left meant that he was also getting them Micky D’s for breakfast. That was not how they treated their children. If any of their children were going to the same place then they all got a ride. If they were going to give one child a small treat then they all get a small treat. Her anger slipped out like a glass in a wet hand when she asked Ron “Why didn’t you go with them.”

Even with his mom apologizing for her actions, admitting how wrong she was not to believe him and have been making a good faith effort to make amends he answer was still defensive. “Don’t try to put this on me.”

Being a parent meant Dawn knew she had to do the right thing instead of wanting to be right. The anger left her voice like the unwanted guest it was and said “Sorry Ron. I worded it wrong. I was not trying to put what your dad did on you. I am just pissed off that he pull this stupid stunt.”

“Mom this was not a stupid stunt. He is doing what he always does, play favorites. He wants me to know that he is mad at me.”

Her son calling out Kyle’s behavior for what it was caused more ice to form on the path her husband was making on the hill to die on. He was going to slip and fall soon. “I know and I will have a talk with him. Now if you want I can give you a ride to school also. Sorry that we do not have time to stop for breakfast.”

His mom trying to do the right thing was good enough for Ron. He did not want to have her start her day not only in a bad mood but also rushing around. Hugging his mom he said “It is no big deal.I can take the bus. Also don’t worry about the breakfast. Now you have a good day, I know I am going to.”

*************
Linda’s stomach felt a little queasy as she exited her dad’s car. She chalked the unsettling feelings to what she just had for breakfast. Micky D’s Sausage McMuffins were greasy and that iced coffee was loaded with caffeine. If she was as honest with herself about why her stomach was acting as she was about the content of her breakfast she would have felt instantly better.

The real reason behind Linda’s stomach was stress. This uneasy feeling came from her dad telling her his plan to make sure that her senior year’s summer was going to even better than she planned. If she had not been blinded by wanting to get back with Sam and having the just rewards of finishing high school, she would have known this. Ron still being cold towards her helped her stay in the darkness also. If her baby brother could not start being nice to her she was not going to think how the method of her getting what she wanted along with her getting her way would affect him.

Linda had to do some severe rationalization going along with her father’s plan. The heartache of being broken up with by the boy she loved was punishment enough. It does not matter that them not being a couple will only last less than a day. That was real pain for those hours. The two lies about Ron are just harmless little lies. Kyle told her to make sure that Sam never tells others about Rhonda's “crush”on him. If anything Sam knowing about this “crush” will make him nicer to Ron.

Sam coming to her as soon as she got out of her dad’s car made her start to feel better. The look of remorse on his face told her he was going to ask her to be her girlfriend again. She was wrong and that pit in her stomach started to act up again. Instead of saying let’s get back together Sam pleaded for forgiveness. This was not right, Sam did nothing wrong. She knew the truth made her sound vindictive.

Telling Sam to stop it made her feel better. She then told him not to tell anyone about how Ron’s feels about him. She considered that asking for the truth because she did not mention the so called crush. Her subconscious made it so it was impossible to actually say that. The heavy duty ralionalzation she did made it so if she did not say about the crush then Ron could not hold it against her.

Then Sam trying to lighten up the mood Sam made light of the crush by giving his word on keeping the secret with a joke. “Don’t worry my Lindz, I might make sure Rhonda gets some nice looks at what she can’t have but I will never tell anyone.”

Linda’s subconscious went to work again and she in a decisive tone involuntrally asserted “Quit That!!”

Sam took the tone of the order as seriously as it sounded. He figure the reason behind it was the trouble she got into about teasing Rhonda about that. “Sorry. I will not joke about Rhonda’s crush on me anymore.”

Linda’s tone stay the same when she declared “His name is Ron.”

“Sorry again. I will never mention any of this ever again. I am just happy that I am your babe again and we will be so enjoying our senior summer together. It is going to be epic.”

Hearing about the good times ahead of them made Linda feel better once again. It was hard to focus on what she was doing wrong when the girl was dreaming about how great of a time she was going to have.

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

Here is a list of three things that Mike Wort hated. He hated meetings. They were mostly a waste of time where people repeat themselves over and over again. He hated having meetings with management from other departments. The management from other departments had a tendency to forget they were dealing with equals. He also hated unscheduled meetings. These types of meetings are the worst. They were usually held by people who did not care about other people’s time or opinion. These meetings were more about someone trying to give an edict about an issue they had no authority over.

What was about to happen to him was going to check off all three of those items on this list with two more things that could be added on the list, coming into a room without knocking and salespeople. As Mike was finishing his breakfast of a bagel with a glass of OJ, his intern Nancy came into the office behind her dad Kyle Coville.

Kyle started the conversation because Mike's mouth was filled with the buttery goodness. “Mike, it is great to see you. We need to talk about yesterday and how you handle your team.”

Before Kyle could get the ball rolling on his presentation Mike put his finger up. That was the international sign of my mouth is full so I can’t talk right now so please wait until I can respond. Kyle knew that and was happy. That meant there would be no speed bump to slow him down as he steamrolled how this summer was going to be for his daughter.

“What you did yesterday was unacceptable. You are lucky that I understand you didn't know better. After all you are just techie, not a business person. So instead of getting you fired. I am going to tell you how my Nancy’s intern is going to be. Trust me you are lucky that I am keeping her with your team. I got her there so I can move her.”

“You will apologize to Nancy in front of everyone for making such a sexist statement. You will call her Ms Coville while giving it. This is for everyone who will be calling Nancy, Ms Collive. She deserves that respect. Plus with her minor in management she will be moving up the ladder quickly when she gets hired. They will need to get used to that.

Ms Coville gets to pick her work. She also gets to pick who will be working with her.

Ms Coville also works half a day on Friday.”

Nancy was feeling good about this impromptu meeting until Mike was done chewing his food. As soon as Mike swallowed the last bit of bagel in his mouth he started to chew out Kyle. What Mike was going to say was no bump on the road which was going to impede Kyle sharing his train of thought to its final destination, but a road block which closed the road.

Mike, wanting to make sure that Kyle knew he meant business, looked him straight in the eyes with a stare that could cause more deaths than a blue screen on a computer. “First thing Kyle, you do not charge into someone’s office when their door is closed. I was eating my breakfast before I started work. It is not a good way to get someone to listen to you by interrupting their personal time.

Another thing is you know that when someone puts their finger up that means wait a minute. I had a mouthful of bagel. You know that.

Now onto what you said. You did not get Ms Coville on my team. She did. Your daughter’s resume was amazing and did great at the interview.

I will not be apologizing to Ms Coville in front of the team. I will do it now. Ms Coville, I am sorry about the misunderstanding we had yesterday. I do see how what I said can be taken as being sexist. I do not think it is professional, so my team will not be called the Big Boys any longer. It will be the Big Dogs. The guys on the team like having a nickname and I do not see how that can be seen as sexist. Please tell me if I am wrong.

Ms Coville will do as everyone else and follow the list she is given. That means she will work with whoever I team her up with for the day. If she forms a good rapport with another team member I will have those two together. That is how I run my team.

Lastly, she can work a half day on Friday or be off. The work schedule is flexible here, so she can do 4 ten or work 9 hours Monday through Thurday and leave before lunch on Friday if she wants. As long as she gives me 40 hours I do not care.”

Kyle was not going to let some kid wearing an unbutton shirt with a t-shirt underneath it talk to him like this. He was the best sales person they had at Paulson so he can throw his weight around to get his way. “I do not think you understand….”

Not being business savvy meant that Mike did not care about protocols and once again interrupted Kyle.”Ohhh,I beg to differ, on the contrary I do understand. You are in my office. It is my office not yours and it is my department not yours. That means it is my rules. My rules fit the company’s handbook so there is nothing you can do about it.

So Kyle we are done here. You can leave and I will talk with Ms Coville.”

“I am staying for that so I can be a witness,”

“If you want to stay then it is simple. Ms Coville your internship is over. You left work on the first day without telling your supervisor, That is a fireable offense if there was not due cause for the absence. There was not. Now, I will be walking you out.”

Knowing that Mike was not buffing Nancy was in protect mode. She wanted this internship. She knew she was going to learn so much this summer, plus get paid. That was a sweet deal in her eyes. Sweet enough to deal with Mike. “Wait, no Mr Wort. Dad leave. I can handle this on my own.”

“Klye you heard Ms Coville. Now close the door on your way out.”

After Kyle left Mike said “If you want to be called Ms Coville by everyone that is fine. I will have to warn you that they will not like it. They will not be as helpful as they can be. They will only do the bare minimum. They will not share with you the little tricks that they learn. They will not point out what you are doing wrong until it gets close to them not being able to fix what you are messing up. Trust me you will do major messups if not caught. We all do at first. There are many funny stories that you will miss about them if you want to be called Ms Coville.”

Sounding as defeated as her dad was by Mike Nancy No. Even with it not being her idea she liked the sound of Ms Coville. That made her feel powerful and important. She just knew that she would be losing too much to gain that stroking of her ego.

“Nancy cheer up. You are going to be part of a great team now, not just working with them.

After you went to HR yesterday I felt bad. I was trying to make you feel like you belonged and I did the opposite. I am sorry about that. That was when I made the decision of us not being called the Big Boys anymore.”

“I just had personal things going on and I overreacted. You do not need to change the name of the team for me Mr Wort.”

“I told you to call me Mike. Also I am not doing it for you. I am doing it for you were right. It can come off as sexist. I really want your opinion about Big Dogs. I know it is not as professional as someone who aims to get into upper management would like, but having a nickname forms unity on my team and makes them work better.”

“Mike I do not want to be upper management. I want to be the best at my job. I want to fit in. I think that it is even less likely that anyone would find Big Dogs sexist compared to Big Boys.”

“If someone can find it sexist then maybe we should not use it.”

Nancy was on the verge of taking a big chance right now. Mike was showing that he was not as bad as she made him out to be, so she was going to make a joke to see if she can fit in. The joke also has the added benefit of her stating she went overboard yesterday “Mike the only way anyone can find Big Dog sexist is if they had a bigger stick up their ass than I did yesterday.”

It was not the best joke but it made Mike laugh. The build up stress of situation was gone and laughter was his release value. “Good. Now we are going to have a great day. I will tell the team that you had a personal issue yesterday. They will know nothing about this.

Now if you don’t mind. I want to finish my breakfast. I am having you work Fred Arnold. He has the most experience and loves sharing it with anyone who will listen.”

“Thank you Mike.”

“You are welcome Nancy. I just want to make sure you know what I did for you I would do for any of my workers.”

As Nancy was leaving the office she was thinking about misunderstanding. That maybe her brother and mother some valid points and her sister was being treated fairly. As Nancy was contemplating being wrong about how she handled the situation between her brother and sister. Mike was just being content. He got rid of the issue which happened yesterday. If that was not enough he still have half of the buttery goodness of his breakfast in front of him to enjoy.

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

Chloe wore an oversized green Michagan State Sweatshirt and black leggings to school. She wanted to be the three Cs: cute, comfy,and cozy.Being the three Cs made her at her best and that was needed today. Her boyfriend Ron was going to need some support. Yesterday at school was bad for him. It was never good when an older student got in your face in the bathroom. That was not enough. His sister lied about him being a crossdresser.

Chloe saw Ron antsingly approaching the front door. That fidgety walk the stress out freshman had would give credence to that vile Facebook post his sister mad. Wanting to make sure the students working the rumor mill still was operating on Linda being mad for some reason at her brother Chloe meet her boyfriend at the door and grabbed his hand.

Her touching his hand was what Ron needed to feel at ease. Knowing that Chloe was at his side made it so what other people thought or said was as meaningless as a class the day after taking a final. Ron being confident register to anyone who saw him. This meant the aspiring page 6 workers would still be following that Linda was just trying to stir up drama for her brother. It was a cold move but woud not change the opinion people already had of her. Her friends would try to justify it as a joke and the kids who did not like her would be reaffirming their dislike for her by what she posted.

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

Sam was walking down the packed hall between classes and made direct eye contact with Ron. The senior chuckled thinking about how stupid Ron must look in a dress and how delusional Ron must be to think that Sam would be even be interested in going out with a boy. To Sam it was fine if boy wanted to be treated and act like girl and would do so, but that did not make them females.

Sam was like almost everyone else in the crowded hallway and did not notice him laughing to himself. This moment of self amusement would have been forgotten as soon as it happened only if Ron did not see it. It did not take being a Vulcan to for Ron to logically deduce the laughter was aimed at his direction. It also did not take being a Kilgon for Ron to confort Sam about the laughing. The freshman already knew his sister and Sam got back together so somehow she got her boyfriend to think she was in the right and Ron was in the wrong.

Seeing Ron right in front of Sam was surprising to the Senior. The surprise went to shock when Ron open his mouth and said “Don’t you laugh at me.”

Being caught off-guard Sam said what he thought was the truth. “I was not. You need to chill.”

“Yeah right. Come on I know you find it funny what my sister did to me. If not you would not have gotten back together with her.”

Then it dawned on Sam that he did chuckle. Getting enjoyment again from thinking Ron had a crush on him made a smirk appear on Sam’s face.

That smirk disappeared as soon as it appeared when another shocking statement came out of Sam’s mouth. “You will get that grin off of your face if you know what is good for you.”

Ron was making a stand. He was not going to let being forced to dress like a girl follow him around. There was no way that anyone was going to put him down for something he was forced to do. That his sister lying was not going to affect him in a negative manner.

Sam was not happy that some freshman freak who wanted to be a freshwoman was getting in his face. He was not going to be dissed in that manner. There was no way people would let him live it down. There was no way he would let himself live it down. A panty wearer with their panties in a bunch was not going to tell him what to do. “Just get out of my face. You are lucky that I don’t hit bitches.”

Right before Sam could say anything else Ron ended the converastion he said “Yeah you only go out with them.”

Sam was getting ready to defend his girlfriend’s honor. Then he thought better. He knew if he did anything at that moment to Ron then he would now be the reason they were not going to go to the prom. The fact that he also will be around Ron more often now also meant that he could wait to get the payment Ron’s disrespectful comment made for him.

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

Coming home from a long day at work, Dawn was dreading opening the front door. She was upset at her husband, and disappointed in her daughter over how they were handling what happened to Ron. How he was not taking responsibility for his actions and sweeping them under the rug was making her see the man she loved in a different light. She was actually starting to question if he was who she thought he was. Linda could not see how she messed up big time by lying to get her way. Finally her oldest, Nancy had no empathy for Ron and tried to force Ron into seeing that nothing bad happened.

Entering her home should have felt more like being on a battlefield after a battle, but did not. Dawn would have welcomed this change if it was not too quick and the mood was different. Linda being chipper was unlikely, yet she greeted her mom with a hi attached to a smile. A teenage girl who had their senior summer ruined does not go from sulking to happy in a span of less than 12 hours. The next sign something was amiss was her interaction with Nancy. Her daughter was finally acting somewhat like a big sister to Ron, but still was trying to be right about how she treated her little brother. Her daughter should have been on board with how wrong Linda was.

The situation became even worse when Kyle came home. He had a little smirk on his face. That smirk was a sign he was getting one over on someone and Dawn had a feeling that someone was her. That smirk was also from getting something more than taking only their daughters to get breakfast today. That victory was too small and long ago for him to still be gloating about.

Dawn’s question of why are you so pleased with yourself acted like a wash cloth and wiped that smirk right off of Kyle’s face. The accusatory tone in his wife’s tone was them picking up where his trek up the hill Kyle was going to die upon. Most people who have seen this but his pride and arrogance was blinding him like the sharp winds gust.

“I am sorry that I am in a good mood about having a productive day at work. I will not come home happy anymore.”

“Don’t be scaratic with me and also do not lie. Remember we have been together for over 20 years and I know you. I know how to read you that. That smile is not your had a great day after work smile. It is hard to see your smile after having a great day at work for you are talking about it as soon as you are home.”

Kyle was too blinded to see that the benefit of the doubt was temporarily gone in the relationship. That he had to get back the trust in his relationship by being honest. This will be hard because he always depended on his charisma to get people to like and trust him. So instead of working on his wife seeing him in the light he used to Ron decided to take the easy path to where he wanted to go, having Linda be able to go to her prom.

“All right, I am still happy that I took Linda out to breakfast without Ron. She deserved it. How harshly we are punishing her is not good for her self-esteem. She needs to know that we are still on her side. Plus, even if I did invite Ron, he would not have gone. He is still acting immature about this weekend.

I know this is stressing you out, so how about you and your sister Tammy have a nice spa weekend at Seven Springs. I will handle all the stuff around the house. You need some time to relax and quit dealing with this pass weekend.

I might not agree with Linda not going to the prom but I will back you on that decision. Us fighting about it is causing a tear in our family and giving Linda false hope. Ron thinks he needs her to be punished. He might regret it later, but we do need to give him this.

Then next weekend we will go have a nice romantic dinner at that French Bristo you like. We have been at each other throats and need that personal time together. ”

His attempt to butter up his wife worked. She was not his roll anymore, but she wanted to believe her husband. There was no way he would try to pull off a stunt so Linda can go to the prom. Plus she was only a little over a hour away. She can make it back home if she found out her husband was up to shenanigans. She would know for she will make sure that Ron will call her. If she knew the truth their marriage would be over right then, “I will take you up on the Spa, but I am still mad about breakfast. We need to work on our relationship with Ron and you excluding him from that nice little treat did not help.

We do not need to work on our relationship with Linda. She is mad at us, but we need to be more concerned about her seeing what she did was wrong. That is how we will work on our relationship with her. We cannot appease her.

I am trusting you to keep your word.”

“Honey you have my word, I will not do anything special with Linda.”

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

Being a teenager makes time go slowly when you could not wait for something. Chole was looking past the rest of the week because her focus was on Saturday. She has gone to the movies before with Ron, but this time it was going to be so different. He was going to be her date. She was looking forward to be treated like his girlfriend and treating him like her boyfriende. Chole was not the pating part that she cared about or him getting the door for her. It was holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder.

She knew it was going to be a great date. They were going to see the live-action version of the Little Mermaid. Those two used to watch that movie together. They must of seen it more than times than there were fishes in the ocean. They would also play Little Mermaid together. She used to be jealous of Ariel being the Princess of the Ocean but now she was not. This was for Chole was now the Princess of what she cherished the most, Ron’s heart. She knew that was her kingdom because Ron was the one who suggested the movie.

Seeing his daughter entering the living room so happy made Jim sad. He knew that his princess heart was going to be broken and the higher she got in her happiness about thinking this date with Ron was real the further the crash to Earth will be. He knew he could not banned her from going on the date, that would make him a tyrant. Instead, the loving father was going to try to lessen his daughter's greater expectations so that fall was not from a wuthering height. He did not want the strong winds of a teenager’s emotions to cause her to crash about so much during the fall.

Jim called his daughter over. before she could make out of the room by saying “Hey kiddo can we talk.”

Chole loved it when her dad called her kiddo. That term of endearment meant to her that he was looking out for her. “We can always talk daddio”

“You know I think that Ron is a great kid, but do not expect anything magical to happen on Saturday. There is a great chance this will not work out. You two might only be meant to be friends and nothing else.”

“Dad, Saturday is going to be great. We are going to see The Little Mermaid then go Sam’s Town. I am looking forward to the sharing that strawberry milkshake with him.”

With Jim thinking that Ron was really Rhonda no matter what his daughter said the date was it would be wrong. He assumed that Ron let her pick the movie. “See right there kiddo is what I am talking about. A man should plan the date he asked a woman out on and he let you pick it. That is what friends do, not a boyfriend. He would have picked a movie you both wanted to see.”

This was the first time ever hearing her dad called her kiddio felt partonzing. This made her not feel as close to her father and her choice in words showed that. “Dad you are wrong. He pickled the movie, not me.”

Ron not being able to do anything manly in Jim’s eyes made that movie the wrong choice. “What guy would want to see that movie?”

“A guy who is going our with a girl that he used to watch the original version with when they were toddlers. A guy who knows that that movie has a special place in their friendship.

You still think that Ron like to wear dresses. Why can’t you believe me. I am telling yo the truth.”

“Kiddio you are just believing what you want to believe.”

“Don’t call me kiddo. I am not. I know Ron. You want to believe this for you cannot bare to think that your friend would do what he did. Call Mrs Coville about it.

I am going to get a drink and then go back to my room.”

Wanting to be a loving father and show his daughter that he would always be there for her Jim said “Kiddio, when it does not work out I will be here for you. I will always be here for you.”

Those words come off as hollow as ocean reeds. How could her father be there for her when he would not listen to her? As she was leaving the room Chole said “I wouldn’t need you for the date is going to be great and even if I did how can you be there for me when you will not even listen to me now? I told you not to call me kiddo

“I am sorry Chole, I am just worried about you. I do not want you to be hurt.”

There was no reply to those words for by the time Jim said them Chole's body was already where she was emotionally from her dad, far away. There might be a little pain now but Jim knew he was doing the right thing, setting up the protection for his daughter fall into heartbreak

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

Nancy was getting flustered with the tension in her home. She did not like the fact that she felt like she had to watch what she said. Then her brother and mother were not giving her or her sister, Linda, the benefit of the doubt. Nancy was in the right to make sure that Joe did not say anything which could be taken the wrong way. There was no way that Ron should have taken being called a bitch by her how he did. That was just being childish. His immaturity was also going to cause a hugh rift between him and Linda. Linda might be going to the prom, but their mom would not be their to share it. That is taking away a life long memory from Linda.

Sitting there doing nothing was about as productive as putting a roast in an oven which was off, so she made the decesion of having trying to be the peace broker between Ron and Linda. This was the first mistake she made. She was not a neutral party, Nancy had a desired outcome and would try to push her agenda during the the talks.

The second mistake came when she went and got her sister to go into Ron’s room. If she wanted to be an arbitrator between her brother and sister she would have wanted to appear neutral. Coming in with one of the parties which have the grievance to the other one’s room does not come off as being neutral.

The third mistake was her not reading her sister. Linda was pensive about the idea of her sister brokering peace. Talking with Ron was just too risky, the situation was more likely to get worse than better. The status quo was the best for Linda right now. She trusted her dad and knew that if thing just stay the same his plan to have her be able to go to the prom would work.

Yet even with Linda thinking Nancy’s plan was as good of an idea sticking a fork in a socket she went along with it. The reason was simple, she did not want to lose Nancy’s support. She could not bear the thought of having both of her sylbings being mad at her. She knew that it was going to take a long time for Ron to come around and would need to have Nancy be there for her/

On the way to the room Linda was becoming antsy. She was not feeling good about having to face her brother. She knew why but would not admit it. She knew going along with the lie that Ron was Rhonda and had a crush on Sam was as wrong. She was betraying her brother to get what she wanted. Yeah, she thought the punishment she was facing for stating why she believed was too harsh, but she knew that two wrongs do not make a right.

Here is the fourth mistake Nancy made she entered the room without knocking. It was a wonder that she did not learn from her dad’s mistake of just barging in on someone earlier today. She was too concerned about getting her desired results than to think about the best way of getting them or if they were even possible.

If the eldest of the Coville’s brood would have thought she would have known that what she wanted was simply out of reach. Ron had too many bad feelings about his sister and this past weekend. Those feelings of contempt, bitterness, and betrayal were not going to start going away until Linda showed remorse. Linda was too selfinvolved about her missing out on what she deemed she earned to even consider how Ron’s feelings towards her was justified.

As soon as Ron looked up from his Earth science book in an crossed voice “Get out now. I am studying and do not want to deal with either of you two.”

Nancy said “No, Ron this is important. We need to figure out how to repair yours and Linda’s relationship. It is not good for a brother and a sister to not get along. We are family and we need to look out for each other.”

Ron was getting more annoyed and became irritated. How dare his sister come in her talking about family. Just two days ago she called him a bitch and said he enjoyed being in a dress. “Family, really? If how everyone treated me is being part of this family I do not want to be part of it. Now leave.”

Nancy was doing her best to be patient. She told herself her brother was just being immature because he is only a freshman in high school. He did not understand that he would regret it if he was the reason that his sister missed out on her celebrations of finishing her senior year. How graduating high school was a hugh life event.

What Nancy did not take into account is who really caused the reason why Linda was missing out on honoring her achievement. It was Linda. Linda caused this.

“Ron you need to quit thinking that we are against you. I am looking out for you. I only being trying to make you see why you are wrong. I do not want you to make a huge mistake. You will regret it if Linda is punished.”

Nancy trying to sell him a false bill of good mad Ron’s annoyance going past being, irked, incensed and irate right to pissed off. How dare she tell him she was looking out for him. She just wanted Linda to get her way. Raising his voice for the entire house to hear “ So you were looking out for me when you called me a bitch, and said that I liked being in a dress.

If anyone is a bitch it is you. This is twice you come barging into my room and try to dictate to me what I should do and how I should feel.”

“Don’t you call me a bitch.”

Linda knew a lot of damage had just been done to her chances of going to the prom. Seeing how mad Ron was made her think it might not be worth it. Instead of things between them getting better or staying the same they were getting worse. How could that be because people say time heal all wounds. That is true but for treated wounds, untreated wounds linger and become worse. Her making a mea culpa would start the shrinking the riff between them.

“Come on Nancy, let’s go. Ron is not going to listen to us.”

Nancy was trying to state that her brother did not want to have this or any conversation with them. That is not how Ron took it. He took it the worse way possible for he saw them in the worse light possible. That Linda wanted to go for she knew she was not going to get her way.

“Linda you are wrong. I am listening to you, it is just that I am not agreeing with you. Just face it, you are not going to the prom because of what you did.”

Nancy was not going to take Ron making Linda out to be in the wrong. “She did nothing. It was mom and dad who put you in the dress.”

“That happened because accused me of taking her clothes. That happened because she made up me wearing her panties.”

Dawn and Kyle now entered the room. Once again they had to be the referee between their children. Kyle hated it because it was hard work. Dawn did not like it because it meant their was disharmony in the household.

Kyle shouted out some orders “Ron you need to get over this weekend. You do not call your sister a bitch.

Linda and Nancy do not talk to Ron unless he talks to you. Linda is not going to the prom. Your mom’s decision is final. I might not like it, but I support it.”

Dawn added “Thank you Kyle, but Ron needs time to get over this weekend and he can call Nancy a bitch, she called him one.”

Kyle bit his tongue for a moment to make sure his reply did not worsen how his wife was feeling. He did not want to come off as being a bias ref. He just wanted this situation to go done so his soon to be revealed plans can work smoothly.

During Kyle’s silence, Nancy let her opinion be known. “Rhonda will not disrespect women. I think she needs to be treated like the bitch she is. Being butt hurt about a misunderstanding that Linda had so bad that she is missing some of the biggest events in her life.”

Kyle shook his head, he said “Nancy your brother’s name is Ron and he is a man. You do not misgender him. You did call him a bitch so your mom is right he can call you one. Do not dish out anything you cannot take.

Now you and your sister come with me.”

Ron saw his dad’s defense of him for what it was, bullshit. The reason is he caught his dad’s microexpression of a grin. Ron was like his mother and knew what that grin meant, that his dad thought he was pulling one over someone. He did not want to or care to know what his dad scheme his dad had cooking. Kyle’s son had a visceral feeling that whatever it was that it will blow up in Kyle’s face.

After Kyle left the room with his daughter Dawn said “Sorry you had to deal with Nancy and Linda again. At least now they will not be putting pressure on you and know not to try to get my decision changed.

I know your dad is still not 100% on your side, but at least he is on board with the punishment.”

“Mom, I think Dad is up to something.“

“He is better not be. We had a talk and he gave me his word that he is going to support Linda’s punishment. Please trust me if he tries to pull something he will pay, he will regret it. You know to call me if he does.”

How shadows accompanied the words he will regret it made Ron believe her. He knew that whatever his dad was cooking up with explode in his face. This fact is what made Ron fine with his mom going away for the weekend. Dawn was a wife and mother and she could not also be a warden in her own home. She had a lot of stress the last couple of weeks and deserved to relax, she was the only one who was taking what happened to him seriously.