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 go out 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
Harrison. That boy 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 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 plea 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 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.
ADDmore
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
inaction and threaten 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 stay
upstairs. When he opened the door and saw her Harrison turned even more
red. Ashley laugh 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 horizons for Ashley. This one which Harrison just told
her about would only last for a couple of hours. The other one which
Harrison warn 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
continue 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 his was greeted to the sound of his mom
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 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 is she took a picture. The question
was not serious becuase 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 open 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 a scientist in a 1950's sci-
fi movie and his anger would be aimed at her. "I 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 they she was not going to
either. "No you are not. Right Mom."
"Yes Dracy. You cannot 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 cut 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 to 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 idea 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 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 feeling if she was not happy
with his actions. Right then was the last time he ever utter 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.
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 getting done
what her mom wanted her to 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
not 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 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 on his 18th birthday 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. "
"Mom 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. It was
you reminding me what you did. I would tell you my name is Harrison.
That is what I wanted you to use. You were wrong putting me in that
dress. I'm moving out of here mom."
"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."
"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 for 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."
Harrison hearing about the condition on the gift thought 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 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. That
was also a joke. That money you gave me is why I want you to stay! I
matched each cent you gave me and you have a nice nest egg so you never
have to work at college. You can focus on schooling."
"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, you took the money from me. I had no say."
"I am sorry, I just thought it was funny and 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 for 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 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
and said I never gave those other reasons. She also lied and said she
was not pestering me about going on a date with Becki.
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 show 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 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 woke 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 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. How are you going to be
punished?"
"I told you not to bullshit me, you were not joking. 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 we done 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."
"No! I told you to be truthful 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 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 M?m?'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 for 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 worry 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 good. 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, 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 she sees it. You should move back in with her.
Your mom 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 be 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
M?m? 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 was 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 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 managements 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 the 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 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 calling 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 were 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.