Two weeks had passed since Karen and Peter McCall spent a long weekend in Chicago. Allen had not seen or spoken to Mr. Smith since his encounter with his neighbor in the park. It had also been two weeks since he had dressed as Jennifer, and he badly wanted to. The phone rang, and Allen's mother picked up the red wall phone's receiver. His sister, Marsha, who attended Southern State University, was on the other end, and hi...

Your father is taking me to Chicago for a long weekend,” his mother explained. "Cool. You guys will have a blast.” “Will you be ok?” she asked, concerned. “Oh, sure. Is it ok if I go to the movies?” Allen asked. “Yes. Remember, your curfew is midnight. Not one minute later!” She held her index finger up with a warning wag. Mrs. McCall kissed his cheek, stood up, and left the room. Allen popped his headphones back on and r...

“Baby, I’m leaving now. I’ll call you later to see how you are doing.” Mrs. McCall snatched her valise from the kitchen chair, then scooped her keys off the table. "Yeah, okay," came a mumbled reply. “I should be home around six tonight. Bye, Baby,” the well-dressed businesswoman called upstairs. Allen lay in bed with the blankets pulled up under his chin and listened to his mommy’s station wagon start and back out of the...