Chapter 3
Later that night, Hank gave Bobby a stern talking-to in his room. "Bobby, you're going to explain yourself right now!" ordered Hank. "I can't believe you were wearing a bikini! Not only that, but you were stealing! I am ashamed of you!"
"Well…Dad…" Bobby started, looking around his room. "I've got something to tell you."
"I'm listening," Hank said, giving Bobby a hard stare.
Bobby was stuck, though. He couldn't just flat out tell Hank that he was a transvestite. Hank would be ashamed of him and probably give him the biggest lecture he'd ever heard. Bobby knew it was wrong, but he just couldn't help himself. He was just so attracted to frilly garments.
"Nothing, Dad, never mind," Bobby sighed. "I'll just take any punishment you throw at me."
"Well good, I'm glad that's settled," Hank said. "Tomorrow, you are going to weed out the backyard, and then, you're going to do some maintenance up in the attic."
Bobby couldn't sleep at all that night. He tossed and turned, still thinking about how great he felt in that bikini. He was determined to do it again. But if he did, Hank would never let him hear the end of it.
The next morning, the Hills went to the Arlen First Methodist Church as they did every Sunday. Bobby sat through Reverend Stroupe's long lecture and hoped that it went on for a long time so that he could avoid his punishment. Hank, however, wished Reverend Stroupe would hurry up because he couldn't wait to punish Bobby.
When the Hills returned home, Hank put Bobby to work as he promised. First, Bobby pulled weeds out of the backyard, while Hank stood behind him, watching him work. Bobby grumbled as he did so. He had better things to do with his time than slave for Hank. He couldn't help himself. He was wild about girls' clothes, and it was just part of his personality. He wanted to get the work over with so he could see about satisfying his fetish.
After Bobby was finished weeding the backyard, Hank and he went up to the attic to fix it up. Hank moved everything downstairs so that they could work. Hank and Bobby were nailing plywood to the floor to make a walkable floor. They also started working on a partition. Bobby was curious about the attic work. "Dad, what's this all for?"
"Well, son," Hank answered, sounding calm for the first time in a while, "Peggy and I have been thinking that someday we might adopt a child, and we just want to fix this room up for that child."
"When's that going to be?" Bobby asked.
"Who knows, Bobby? It could be tomorrow or one-hundred years from now. We're not really sure, but we're still thinking about it." Bobby didn't really care about Hank and Peggy's future plans. He just wanted to get his work done. After he was finished constructing the partition in the attic, Hank let him go. "Go straight to your room, mister," Hank said, sounding strict again. Bobby obeyed and went downstairs. He shut the door to his room and locked it.