James and his father walked through the kitchen door at the same time, but their demeanors couldn't have been more different. Whereas James had a bounce in his step and twinkle in his eye, his dad was sullen and quiet.

James could see that his father's mood was not a good one, and asked him what was wrong. Tom replied nothing. James asked again, and again, his father replied that nothing was wrong. James asked again, and this time Tom snapped at his son. He told James that nothing was wrong and he was to stop bothering him.

James was stunned. He couldn't remember the last time that his father raised his voice towards him. His dad was always so even keel and full of optimism. But now, since he started his new job, he has been quiet, and it appeared that there was always something bothering him. 

Just then Debbie came out of her bedroom. She had been doing laundry, and hadn't heard Tom and James come in. She smiled at James, and went to give her husband a kiss. But something was off. Tom’s kiss was half-hearted and more perfunctory than one of love. Debbie looked her husband in the eyes, and saw that something was bothering him, but would wait until James went to his room to ask.

Debbie left to finish the laundry, and once done, James ask his mom if he could talk to her about something. Debbie could see by the look in his eyes that it was something good, and said no problem. He could talk to her about anything.

But first she reminded him good naturedly that he needed to do his homework. So off to his room he went. He had a paper to write for history, and it needed to be at least two whole pages, so he got to work.

Once Debbie was sure that James was in his room, she made her way to her husband. Tom was just sitting on the sofa with a distant look on his face. Debbie put her hand on his, which caused him to jump. This shocked Debbie. She had never seen that type of reaction from Tom.

She asked him what was wrong. He said nothing was wrong. She called him by his full name and asked again, and told him that she wouldn't accept nothing as an answer.

Tom finally looked at his wife, and recounted the days events. As he was describing in detail his encounter with the secretaries, all Alphas. He told Debbie that the women thought of him as inferior because he was a Beta. And then he explained the physical confrontation, leaving nothing out. He told her that for the first time in his life he was actually afraid. He started to cry. Debbie was stunned. She had only seen Tom cry one time in her life, the day James was born, and they were tears of pride and joy. This was different.

Tom also explained about Susan, also an Alpha, and how she was nice to him the other day, and how she tried to explain his situation to the secretaries, in an attempt to get them to temper their disdain for him. But he didn't know if it would be successful. He also told Debbie that he was on the verge of quitting until Susan talked to him. He knew that he needed the insurance for his family, but he wasn't sure that he would last at the company.

Debbie quietly took her husband’s hand and told him to try and wait to see if Susan could help out in any way. But that if he did have to quit, she would find a job with insurance. She told him that she would support any decision that he made. And then she turned his face towards her and gave him a long, passionate kiss, as if to reinforce her love and support.

Debbie got up and went to the kitchen. Simultaneously, her heart ached for Tom while she seethed in anger and rage towards the secretaries. They may be the “superior” Alphas as workers, but they were “inferior” as human beings. 

Debbie tried to take her mind off her feelings by cooking spaghetti for dinner. She brought Tom a beer in hopes of calming him down. By then James was done his paper, and came out to help with dinner. Debbie pinched his face and told him that she loved him. James’ face was overcome with an ear to ear smile.

By the time dinner was ready, Tom’s mood improved, and he was back to his optimistic self. And the conversation at the table revolved around where to go for summer vacation. The three had different ideas, but they agreed that it should be fun first and foremost.

Once dinner was over, James took care of cleaning up. He normally didn't, but he wanted to give his mom a break. So once the dishwasher was going, he asked his mom to come to his room.

Debbie followed her son in, and once seated on his bed, James told her that he asked a girl out for pizza, and she said yes! Debbie smiled. She was so happy that her son met someone. So she asked him all about this mystery girl.

James told her it was the same girl that he met on the bus the first day of school. Debbie tried to recall the conversation, but she couldn't. James told her that her name was Meg, and that's when it dawned on his mom. She was the Alpha girl that he mentioned, and it was her father that took Tom’s job at the mine.

James immediately saw the dark clouds form in his mother's eyes, and his heart sank. He never expected this type of reaction. He asked her what was wrong. Debbie told him nothing was wrong, but it was her tone the betrayed her feelings.

James didn't know what to say. He was still silent when his mom, with memories of what her husband described earlier and still fresh in her mind, told him that he should find girls more his type, and that she wasn't sure an Alpha girl was right for him. James started to argue against her point, but his mom told him the conversation was over and got up and left his room.

James was both confused and upset. He expected his mom to be happy and encouraging. Instead, she became sour and distant in a span of about 5 seconds. James stayed in his room the rest of the night, wondering what the hell was going on. His parents had always been upbeat, loving and supportive. But since his dad started his new job working with Alphas, and the mere mention to his mom that he asked an Alpha girl out, their demeanors changed dramatically. He didn't know what was going on, but it was upsetting the entire house. James closed his eyes, trying to put the situation with his mom out of his mind, but with little success.

The next morning, James was the first one up, so he showered, dressed, and made himself breakfast. He had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. The talk with his mom didn't turn out like he expected, and the mere mention of an Alpha girl named Meg turned her mood south.

His parents got up just as the bus was arriving to pick James up. He said goodbye as he was walking out the door. Tom was puzzled. James always gave his mom a kiss goodbye, and he just walked out the door without doing so.

So Tom asked Debbie what happened last night with their talk. Debbie, who was still seething about the secretaries treatment of her husband, told him that James had asked an Alpha girl out on a date. And that she told him that he should find someone more like him. Tom told his wife that she shouldn't judge all Alphas by the actions of a few. And the way James talked about the girl, she seemed really nice. And James really liked her. 

Tom told Debbie that James should go on his date. He needed to make his own judgement about Alphas as people. Debbie started to object, but Tom put his foot down. If James wanted to take the girl out for pizza, he will. Debbie looked hurt that Tom went against her, but deep down she knew that her husband was right.