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Jerome stood silently.
Melanie thought Mr. Walker was going to pop a vein.
“Go take that off!” Walker commanded.
“Okay, but someday you won’t be able to pick what I wear.”
A very astute comment coming from a seven-year-old.
Walker turned to his wife. “You knew he was doing this, didn’t you?”
Mrs. Walker covered her face with her hands. “It only happened a couple of times when I was putting the donation box together. I thought he was going through a phase.”
Melanie tried to cool the situation. “Please, everyone, sit down. Let’s talk this through.”
“I’m done talking. I’m taking my son out of this school. Clearly, he’s been spending too much time hanging around with perverts.”
“Perverts?” Melanie was troubled by that word.
“Who else is putting these ideas in his head?”
Melanie thought to herself, Look around, you fool. Influence is everywhere.
“Mr. Walker, I can assure you, we are not aware of any perverts working at or attending this school. I believe your accusations are uncalled for,” Melanie said assuredly.
“Yeah. You’re not aware. That’s obvious, wouldn’t you say?”
Melanie decided it was time to bring in some backup. She lifted the phone and pressed the button for the principal’s office. “Hello, Mrs. Alexander? I have Jerome Walker’s parents here.” She listened for a moment. “That is correct. Thank you.”
Mr. Walker didn’t hear Mrs. Alexander’s comment. “It’s about the dress, isn’t it?”
In less than five minutes, Audrey Alexander rapped on the door and entered. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, my big fat hiney!” Walker boomed. “What in the hell are you running here? A drag show?”
Audrey resisted the temptation to laugh. “I’m sorry. A drag show?”
“Look at him!” He shoved his finger in Jerome’s face.
No one said a word. “What do you have to say about this?” he fumed.
“Mr. Walker. It is school policy.”
“What? Encouraging deviant behavior?”
Melanie had a lot of thoughts concerning deviant behavior. Dressing in girl’s clothes was far from the kind of deviation she’d dealt with.
“Perhaps if we discuss this?” She faced Jerome and gave him a look of assurance. No one was going to hurt him in her room. Her concern was what was going to happen to him when he got home.
“There’s no discussion!” Mr. Walker turned to Jerome. “Go take that disgusting thing off.”
Disgusting? Hardly. Unexpected? Yes.
Jerome obediently walked to the boys’ bathroom and discarded his ensemble. He fell into a sobbing pile on the floor.
After what seemed like an eternity, Melanie began to worry. “Excuse me.” She dashed to the lavatory and found Jerome curled up in a ball. At first, she couldn’t tell if he was bleeding. She quickly moved toward him. “Jerome? Jerome?” She lifted his head as he continued to sob. She cradled him in her arms and spoke softly to him. “It’s going to be alright. We’ll sit down and have a talk. We’ll work this out. I promise.”
He was trying to speak between hiccups and sobs. “You don’t know my dad. He has a terrible temper.”
