Cody turned the water faucets off and opened the shower door. Soaking wet, but clean again, he reached up and extracted his royal blue towel off the rack from where it hung on the side wall. Slowly, he dried himself off from the top of his blond hair to the soles of his bare feet. The hour was getting late, Being a school night, he wasn't long for bed.

His task accomplished, Cody put his snow-white Fruit-of-the-Looms, and his favorite PJs on, then yawned widely. It had been a fun-filled day for the youngster. He picked his wooden hairbrush up off the countertop and brushed his hair into place. After that, he turned the brush upside down like it was a microphone and noticed his reflection in the steamed over mirror.

Remaining barefooted, like he almost always was when he was home, and any other time he could get away with it, Cody sang a little ditty he'd heard on the school bus transporting him home from Astatula Middle School that afternoon. One he knew he shouldn't sing.

"Momma sang bass. Daddy sang tenor. The whole damn family was trans..."

Cody's diamond-blue eyes looked up. Suddenly, he thought he saw his Dad standing in the doorway of his room.

"gen..." he continued.

"der," then came out and Cody quickly assessed, 'Uh-oh!'

Sheriff Daniels entered the room. He sat down on the edge of Cody's sleek racecar-shaped bed. The sleeper had the Number 13 painted in white letters on the side of it. With a frown on his face he pointed his finger at the boy, then curved it and pointed to the floor in front of him. Cody knew he was in big time T-R-O-U-B-L-E! Without making a sound, he moved to where his Dad told him to reposition himself.

"What did I just hear you say?" Sheriff Daniels asked him.

Never one to not truthfully answer any question his Dad posed, Cody repeated what he had sung. This time he spoke the words.

"Mama sang bass. Daddy sang tenor. The whole damn family was transgender."

"Where did you learn that nonsense from?" his Dad wanted to know, saying, "Little Man, I've never heard you say anything like that before. And, your use of profanity is not tolerated, especially in our home. Is it?"

"No, sir, it's not," Cody admitted. Then, he apologized, "I'm sorry, Dad." He paused, handed the brush to the Sheriff and wondered, "Am I going to be sleeping on my stomach tonight?"

Sheriff Daniels gave a wry smile and replied, "There's a real good possibility of that happening."

Cody certainly didn't want any part of that prospect so he offered a bargain, "Instead of going outside and playing when I get home from school tomorrow, and do all my homework, I'll write five hundred lines."

"We will discuss options in a moment," Sheriff Daniels countered.

He wanted Cody's immediate undivided attention and knew how to receive the desired result. He reached down and placed two not-so-gentle reminders on the boy's posterior with the palm of his hand and asked, "How many times have I told you I do not want you singing those types of songs?"

Cody fixed his diamond-blue eyes on his Dad and replied, "At least a hundred million gazillion times."

"That's one time too many. Maybe now, you'll get the message," Sheriff Daniels said.

"You won't hear me sing anymore songs like that again, Dad," Cody promised.

Sheriff Daniels then asked, "Do you even know what a transgender is, son?"

Unsure, Cody shrugged his shoulders and replied, "You mean like Bruce Jenner becoming Caitlyn?"

"Exactly. A transgender is a boy who becomes a girl or a girl who becomes a boy," the Sheriff told him.

"That's sick, Dad!" Cody exclaimed, "Why would anybody do that?"

"You ask a very good question, son," Sheriff Daniels answered him, "most people have a hard time not only believing, but accepting, that it is okay for someone to be transgender."

"What do you think about them, Dad?" Cody wanted to know.

"A lot of people discriminate against them. However, they are still protected under the law. As the Sheriff, I have to make sure they are treated like everyone else," his Dad told him, "what I don't want is you mistreating anybody. Are you understanding me, son?"

"I guess so, Dad," Cody replied, "what you're saying is to treat all people the same way."

"I'm not going to try to tell you what to think about transgenders, or anyone else for that matter. You have to make those decisions for yourself," the Sheriff stated, "what I'd like to see you do is to be as accepting of people as you can be."

"That doesn't mean I have to agree with boys becoming girls, does it?" Cody asked. He wasn't sure he could ever coincide with that happening.

"No, Cody, it does not mean you have to accept boys becoming girls. However, I don't want you to disrespect anybody," Sheriff Daniels remarked.

"I like being a boy," Cody said proudly.

"I like you being a boy, too," Sheriff Daniels agreed.

Cody hugged his Dad tightly.

"That's all I wanted to talk to you about this subject tonight. It's bedtime, and now..."

(I deliberately left this story open-ended for reader interpretation. You decide what happened.)