At home, the situation was not what it had once been. Brenda noticed sooner rather than later that her son was not his usual self. He was restless, and his behavior was suspicious. Brenda was curious to know what was going on with her son. He was now taking longer than usual to open his bedroom door when she rapped her knuckles on it. To say he was late was an understatement. Brenda would stand there behind the door for several minutes with a frown on her face. What could have taken John so long to open the door? Brenda still had no explanation for this. And the worst part was not exactly that scenario. One fine day, Brenda arrived home early. Upon entering, she discovered that John was in the living room but had covered himself with a chair. John’s face indicated that something was wrong with him. He had been startled to see his mother come in and had hidden in time for her not to see anything. Brenda, confused, asked him: “What have you got there, John? Come out from behind that chair, please.” She asked in a soft, gentle tone, then smiled to reassure him. However, John moved to the couch, so he could flee to his room without her getting a good look at him. Brenda stayed right in the same spot, thinking that she should find out once and for all about John’s strange activities when she was away. Brenda then went to the kitchen after freshening up and devised a plan. John’s secret would no longer be unknown to her. Brenda had noticed that he didn’t show himself from the waist down. What was he wearing? Brenda believed that therein lay the crux of the matter. Her mind was going a thousand miles an hour, trying to figure out what John was hiding. And she thought the plan was so simple; she didn’t know how she hadn’t thought of it before. Perhaps she had been distracted without focusing correctly. Incidentally, one afternoon, Brenda came home much earlier than John would expect on regular days. She snuck into the house, making as little noise as possible. She was pleased to find that John was in his room and not in the living room or kitchen, for then she could catch him at whatever he was doing with no chance that he could hide. She slipped into John’s room. Her footsteps were barely audible; she walked very calmly and patiently. John would be too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice she was in the house. Or at least that was what she was relying on. Finally, Brenda opened the door to John’s room. She was delighted that the door was unlocked. What she saw left her breathless, mouth agape, and eyes agape. Brenda rubbed her eyes as she could not believe her eyes. Was it the real thing? Brenda stood there with the door wide open, and the surprise did not let her concentrate […]