Tug of War 5

When Timothy finally entered the dining room to have breakfast, his father didn't look at him right away since he was absorbed in the newspaper reading. Then, without raising his eyes, the man began to complain about the news. 

"Gay pride parades… Humanitarian aid to those refugees… Some crazy feminists talking about women's rights… That's why this world is getting lost. People need more discipline and less bullshit! Are you listening to me, Timothy?" he asked, looking at his soon for the first time. 

As mentioned before, Richard's face could get very flushed when he was angry. This time, however, it was so, so much worse… His face was as red as a fire hydrant, and he looked as someone who could kill a tiger with his own teeth. 

"What... happened... to... your... hair?" he asked, barely able to say the words. 

"Oh, did you notice it? What do you think?" Timothy asked, smiling and turning his head so his father could see it better. His hair was tied in a high ponytail by a pink hair tie – the kind of ponytail that someone like Ariana Grande could wear, although his hair was way shorter. 

Hearing that question, Richard's expression was that of someone who not satisfied in killing a tiger with their own teeth, was trying to swallow the whole animal… at once. What disturbed him most was how girlish his son looked – almost as a younger version of his late wife. 

"What I think?" Richard said. "I think that you..." the man spent the next ten minutes cursing his son with all the bad words that came to his mind, and he even created a few new ones. The boy heard all that peacefully, while he ate the delicious pancakes and drank the orange juice made by Susan. 

"I don't know why you're so mad, daddy" Timothy said, at the end. "It was you who said I should have been born as a girl. Maybe you're right… Getting in touch with my femme side definitely sounds like a fun idea… One thing I know for sure… I totally love my hair stylized this way. Now I have to go or I'll get late for school. Bye, daddy!" 

The boy left the place under the horrified look of his father. Susan, on the other hand, was overjoyed, and she had to struggle to hide her feelings. Her plan was working better than she had expected, and now it was time for the second part of it. 

"Are you okay, honey?" she asked her husband, exactly as she had done the night before with Timothy. 

"Oh, sure! I've never felt better! My dream has always been that my son, my only son, turned into a faggot. What father wouldn't be pleased by that, right?" and saying so, he punched the table so hard that it almost broke in half. 

"Calm down, dear" Susan said, standing up and caressing his back. "Here, drink some juice. Would you like more pancakes?" 

"No! I want is to know why this is happening to me. I don't know where I went wrong with this boy, Susan!"

"Well, maybe..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just a silly idea that crossed my mind." 

"What idea?"

"I don't know if you'll agree with me."

"For God's sake, woman, talk!"

"Well, I think that maybe Timothy is just trying to mess with you." 

"What you mean?"

"Just think about it. I guess he knows that your greatest fear is to have an effeminate son. Then, taking advantage of what you said yesterday, he's doing this little acting because he thinks this way you'll let him do whatever he wants, just for him to stop behaving like a sissy, as you say."

"Do you really think so? But would he be willing to expose himself to ridicule in front of his friends just to make his point?"

"All this is just a theory, you know... But if I’m right, I think he's only doing it at home. He's probably acting normally at school."

"That bastard! This actually makes sense. We'll have a good talk when he gets home! I’ll force him to confess the truth, no matter what!"

Susan took advantage of the fact that her husband was distracted to roll her eyes. Why did he have to be so dumb? She hoped that by then he would have already figured out by himself what to do next, so he would think that it had been his idea. Instead, she would have to intervene a little more. 

"This could work" she started, "but maybe you should try a different approach." 

"What you suggest?"

"I thought of something, but it will be very, very hard for you."

"Just tell me what you have in mind!"

"Oh, honey, I don't know if you can do that!" she added, knowing that once challenged Richard would do anything just to prove that he was capable of doing so. 

"Oh, really? I’ll show you!"

Perfect, Susan thought.

"If you insist… I think you should try to play his game. Instead of scolding him, you should encourage him to act more and more like a girl." 

"Are you insane? What do I have to gain from it?"

"If I'm right, that is, if what he's doing is really a farce, he won't be able to keep this charade for long because it’ll get increasingly humiliating for him. Sooner or later he’ll be forced to say the truth. Then, you can say that if he wants to go back to being a man, he’ll have to be a real man this time, doing exactly what you want. This may be your best chance to turn him into the son you've always dreamed of having."

"Yeah… I see your point now. It actually sounds like a good plan. A little extreme, but I think this can work! That’s decided then. If he wants to play this little game, I can do it, as well. Let's see who will throw the towel first!"

----------

Timothy could hardly believe what was happening. It was as if he had stepped into a parallel reality where his father was a reasonable and understanding man. As soon as Richard got home, he called his son to talk and apologized for everything he had said that morning. And that wasn't all. He said it was okay for him if Timothy wanted to get in touch with his feminine side. 

At the end, he even said that Timothy looked pretty with his hair in a ponytail! After that, Timothy wouldn't be surprised even if a group of alien rats invaded his house saying that he needed to save the entire universe from an infamous race of killer pies. All he would ask was what he should wear. 

Still dazed, he went to his room. Susan appeared a little later, asking how the talk with his father had been. When he finished his impressive narrative, Susan went silent for a while, pretending that she was reflecting on the issue. There was nothing to reflect on, of course, since Richard had just done exactly what she had advised him to do. Even so, she had to stay in character.

"Oh, I think that I know what's going on here!"

"That's good" Timothy said, "because I'm completely lost."

"I think your father realized that what you were doing was just a charade. Deep down, he's furious, but instead of confronting you, he decided to play along."

"It doesn't seem like him... Why would he do something like that?"

"I don't know for sure, but he certainly has some ulterior motive. Maybe he's planning to wear you down. Keep this situation to the point where you'll be forced to assume that you were lying." 

"So, it's over, right? Our plan didn’t work." 

"Oh, no, Timmy, you can't give up now!"

"Why not?" 

"Because if you do so, you won't get what you want, and your father will keep trying to control your life. This will probably be even worse than before, since he'll know that you were trying to trick him. He might even actually spend your money unless you do what he says!"

"Oh, crap! What am I supposed to do then?"

"You know your father. I'm sure that he'll give up pretty soon. You just have to push him a little harder." 

"Umm... How exactly?"

"Well, I have some ideas..."