More fan mail for you, said Stephanie, dropping a bundle of letters in front of her diminutive fiancé.
Great, Adam said, morosely, as she put several dozen huge envelopes in front of him. He opened the first letter, and sighed as he held the poster-sized letter. Actually, this is for you, he said, handing it up to Steph.
She read it with a pursed lip, then crumpled it and threw it across the room. Bastard, she muttered.
Adam thumbed through the pile of letters, dividing them into the usual piles. The smallest, of course, was pile of actually touching and heartfelt expressions of sympathy. Most were banal words of encouragement, which Adam tried to accept in the spirit in which they were sent. Some were exhortations to join a particular religion. A few were business offers of one sort or another, like the offer to custom-make him a tux for the wedding in exchange for his endorsement. He didnt mind those, though most were rejected.
More disturbing were the letters from freaky girls who thought his 33 frame might be fun to take for a spin, freakier guys who thought he was lucky to be 33 and falling, and the suitors lining up for the bereaved widow-in-waiting.
The freaky girls and suitors-in-waiting were fond of sending pictures, because evidently they figured that would work.
Youre awfully quiet, Stephanie said. Dont tell me you gave that letter more than a passing glance.
Be lying if I said I hadnt, said Adam, shuffling his piles. He can probably reach your breasts without stretching.
Yes, but what good will that do him? I wouldnt let someone like that touch me with a ten-foot pole. Hey, have you left me for any of the naked women youve gotten letters from?
Theyre twice as far away as they used to be, so it would take too long.
Stephanie was briefly bemused, before she began to laugh. Was that actually a joke from you?
Adam chuckled in spite of himself. Gallows humor, I guess.
Lets hope not. Its ridiculous, isnt it?
You mean Im ridiculous.
No, youre Adam. Whats ridiculous is these people
youve got women looking to explore their freaky side
Dont forget that one guy, Adam said, shuffling a paper into the heartfelt pile.
Right! And Ive got vultures swirling around me, expecting me to spread my legs because they saw me on the teevee. She came and sat down on the couch, bouncing his tiny frame just a bit. Oops. Sorry, she giggled.
He leaned up against her, the wall of woman who sat next to him. His head leaned up against her bosom, under her arm. She looked down on him with a smile. You know, Ive got the night off. What say I pour us some wine, and I can pretend to be one of the girls in your fan club.
She leaned in to kiss him, but he pulled away.
I
not tonight, he said.
It wasnt that he didnt want to. He ached for her. And he was almost ready. But that last line
yes, it would be easier for her to pretend to be attracted to him.
Adam, she said, you were showing some actual spirit there earlier. Dont give that up. I love you. Ill always love you.
I just
I wish I was still the man you agreed to marry. Its not fair to you
none of this is.
She tousled his hair. Youre the man I agreed to marry. Youre just coming in travel-size these days. That doesnt mean youre not you.
But Im not, Adam said. Im
Im something else. Im under thirty pounds now, he said.
I told you not to weigh yourself.
Im the size of a three-year-old. And at this rate, Ill officially be the worlds shortest man three days before the wedding. And that wont end it, will it? Ill just get smaller and smaller, until
what? Do I just eventually pop out of existence? Have you read The Shrinking Man?
What? said Stephanie, trying to follow his non-sequitur, while not accidentally admitting to him that yes, she had, and that it terrified her.
In the end, he shrinks down to microscopic size, and less. And he keeps living. I cant imagine that, how horrible that would be. His wife is utterly beyond him. Hes lost, and he tries to get her attention and she cant see him, cant hear him, hes nothing. A speck of dust, less than a speck of dust. Hes nothing.
Youre not nothing, she said, taking his face in one hand and turning it toward hers. (It was easy. She was so much stronger than he was.) You are the man I love, and if you become so tiny that I can only see you with a microscope, then Im going to have to buy a microscope. You hear me?
Youll never get that, said Adam, pointing to the table. Stephanie followed his gesture to a piece of paper that sat on it, a brightly colored get-well picture that had obviously been drawn by a little kid. I wanted kids, like you do, Adam said. I wanted to be a dad. But I cant be now, can I? How do I wrangle a kid when theyre taller than me, stronger than me? How do I raise a baby when I cant diaper her, feed her, carry her, hold her when shes sad? What good am I?
Stephanie was quiet. In all the swirling desperation of their lives, she hadnt thought about that. But it was true: marriage to Adam likely meant giving up on motherhood.
I hate that Im doing this to you, hate what youre giving up for me.
Stephanie got up from the couch. Im going out.
Out? Where?
Stephanie gestured to the door. Out. There. You know. Gonna go shopping. She didnt turn to look at him.
Hmm.
What, where do you think Im going?
I dont know, sighed Adam. Away from me. Not that I blame you.
Stephanie wheeled on him. Adam, you have no idea what youre talking about. But I cant sit here and listen to you hate yourself all night. I just
I cant. Ill be back later. I love you.
He said nothing. She walked out the door.
He closed his eyes, and wondered how it would be to be with one of the crazy women whod propositioned him. He wondered, idly, if it would feel better than this. If theyd view him not as an object of pity, but an object of affection. But he shook of the thought; he loved Stephanie. He just wished she still loved him.
* * *
She wasnt sure why she went to the mall; she supposed it was as good a destination as any. She needed space, needed to think. She needed to get away from Adam so that she could return to him in a way that didnt destroy him.
She didnt want to destroy him. She loved him, in the best sense of the word she really did hold his well-being above her own. She hated that she might be giving up on children, but she was willing to for him.
But he wasnt himself anymore, he was right about that, but not for the right reasons. He was spiraling down, and she didnt know how to pull him out of it. She tried; the Gods knew she tried. But she was only human, and she was wearing down herself, and she didnt have anyone she could really talk to, except
.
Steph?
She turned, and smiled, somewhat surprised at the vagaries of fate. Hey, she said, what are you doing here?
Oh, you know, just doing some running around. My sisters birthdays coming up. How are you holding up? I left you a message
.
Yeah, I got it. Its been
.
She stopped, and she burst out crying. Its been hell, she said.
Her old friend Michael put his arms around her, as he had through so many boyfriends past. Its okay, he said, quietly. Come on, well go get coffee. My sisters present can wait.
Giantess World
