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A Sitter for the Summer

Chapter 1

"Damned it mom! I'm 20 years old now! I don't need a babysitter!" Implored Timothy.

Tim's mother just closed her eyes to compose herself. Then she opened them again in order to lay down the law of the land to her son once again.

"Now Timothy, ever since the accident that made you the size that you are now you've been dependent on me for everything. I have to cook, clean. I have to work now that your father died too... I need a break from all of this and a Summer vacation is not asking too much and you even agreed to this."

"But I never agreed to be watched over by a kid!" Tim interjected.

Tim's mother continued. " You and I both know that you can't take care of yourself like you used to be able to do Timothy and the sooner you accept that then the sooner you can become happier with what life you've got left. And as you know, the courts decided that everyone stricken with the miniature desease have been deemed legally unfit to live on their own and must be accompanied by a normal sized guardian at all times. It's the law now Timothy!"

Tim's mother Janet never liked to remind her son of his now diminished legal rights and possibilities for life and only brought the topic up in the most stressful of arguments that left her no other alternative.. She also knew how it depressed and angered him to hear these words too but she figured that enough was enough of his whinning and she did indeed deserve a break from him before she had lost her mind. It would do both of them well for the two of them to have some time out from each other so when her best friend offered to flip the bill for a trip to the Bahamas with her she thought that her prayers had been answered. But this left her in an akward situation as she knew that Tim did not wish to be seen or cared for by anyone other than herself admitting to her the humiliation in being so small had pressed upon him.

Tim now stood no more than 3 inches in height like most others who had contracted that dreadful disease. About 1% of the worlds population had succumbed and were now dependent upon their families or legal guardians to help them. There even was a cloths line and accessories for them on certain websites that specialized to "little people's needs" as it was coined.

So once Janet had enthusiastically accepted her best friend's offer her mind went to work on what to do with Tim. She sure as hell didn't want him coming along as all of her problems at home would simply follow her right to the Bahamas and there were no family who could look after him in the meantime as her mother lived in Maine which was very far from Oregon.. Almost about as far as one could get from there to be quite honest.. And this would involve her flying to Maine and then flying all the way down to Florida and then another flight to the Bahamas.. And Tim had quashed that idea anyhow as he begged his mother not to put him in the hands of her mother as it was again just too humiliating for him.
What Janet came up with was a compromise that allowed Tim to stay at home with the one condition that she find him a live in guardian while she was gone.

This is when Wendy came into the picture. Janet hat put out a Babysitter add on Craig's List for the care of a little person who lived in their home town of Ocean Breeze. There were several replies but the prices that were asked for were cost prohibitive. And that's when Wendy replied to the help wanted add...

Wendy was a 14 year old "all American girl next door" who was very interested in the little people around the world... There were online classes that a person could take for extra credit to school that she had immediately enrolled in back in junior high. With enough credit hours and good enough test courses a person after 4 years of online study could qualify as a bonefide foster parent of a little person. And that's exactly what she wanted to become one day. The thought of taking care of her own little person or persons captivated her young imagination and she would see this dream one day become a reality she had gleefully told herself and her parents.

There were even internships that allowed people like herself to temporarily look after little people for a full 12 extra credit hours! So when she saw the Craig's List wanted add she almost screamed with excitement. She immediatly replied to Janet's request and explained to her about all of the courses she had already taken (4 in all so far) and that the ciriculum did allow for such a internship that would make the entire affair legal. She also explained that she was already a licensed sitter for normal sized kids in the State of Oregon making matters even easier. And to top it off she'd look after Timothy for free.

In no time at all the two were talking on the phones and Wendy filled Janet in on the whole proceedure and the reports that she would have to file back with the educational advisors who were based out of New York. This would involve her doing basic check ups and submitting questionaires to Tim while she was there with him and an few other things too.

She also explained that she only lived two blocks away so her parents were behind her idea as well and could help with taking her grocery shopping or anything else that might crop up.

Janet for her part did arrange to go visit Weny's house and meet her along with her parents and found Wendy to be a sweet intelligent girl with very nice parents who talked with her while serving her tea and cookies. They all got along very well that afternoon in their nice, and tidy home that Janet judged to be very respectably within her standards. Janet also double checked Wendy's story about her internship aspirations and if her parents would indeed allow her to spend the summer in her home due to school being out and to take her out to attend to Tim's eating, entertainment, and clothing needs along the way which they proved willing to do.

So it was settled, that not more than two weeks later Tim would have a chaparone to contend with as she left for her vacation. But now was going to be the most difficult part.. Breaking the news to Tim.

Tim had agreed in theory to a sitter but had not defined what he thought one should be in the regards of age or gender. Tim was still basking over his victory to stay home rather than to dwell on phase two of this predicament. So when the fateful day came when his mother broke the news to him about who was going to be taking care of him in her abscence he was quite litteraly knocked off his feet about it.

Janet had fixed him some of his favorite pumpkin pie and had even filled him a thimble of coffee which he loved to drink while he was eating such delicacies.
Then in a casual tone of voice she began to tell Tim what was in store for him.

"Timothy"

"Yeah Mom?"

"I've found a sitter who can look after you for the summer while I'm gone. She's a little bit younger than you but is very enthusiastic to meet and care for you. "
Sitting on the kitchen table, upon a spool of thread he dropped his piece of pie onto the overtuned bowl that served as his table and immediately inquired.

"Younger than me? How much younger?" He said still chewing the mushy substance in his mouth.

"Well, she's 6 years your junior Timothy." Tim's mother feeling the storm brewing calmly answered looking away out of the kitchen window as she did so.

"Then that would make her only 14 years old mom! What the hell are you talking about?"

Tim could feel the blood draining out of his face as he began to anticipate the problems that such an age difference could mean for him.

Janet composed herself for the next salvo.

"She's very mature for her age and has had several classes in how to care for people like yourself as she wants to be a foster parent to little people one day."

Janet winced as she said little people remembering how much Tim had hated to be referred to as such. So she quickly pressed on.

"Her school is out for the summer so she will intern with you while I'm away, there's even questioinaires and tasks that her curriculum will have her do with you, as it seems that this field is still very new and they are trying to gather as much information about you all as possible in order to make your lives better as time goes by.. You'll actually be helping yourself in the long run by helping her."

Janet was proud of her answer that she had given on the fly and had hoped that this would smooth the waters some.
Tim's face had turned beat red though.

"So I'm supposed to be some girl's toy guinie pig for the summer while you're away? That's so fucked up! Next your going to ask me to -"

"Now Timothy Bender! You are not to use that kind of language in this house and you know that!"

Janet said raising her voice and swooping down low close to Tim in order to try and take back the initiative. She had found that doing such would normally scare the daylights out of him and that would be the end of the argument. After all, it was not every day you could parry a verbal assault from a Giant who could stuff you into her apron for a hot and dark time out period while she attended to house cleaning.

Tim nervously looked at his massive mother who was now crouched down with her hands on her hips exposing the very white apron with the front pocket just under the wrap around belt that he had found himself in before and it was not a pleasant place to be.

Timothy now remembering his true place in this household tried to change his tactics being that he was treading thin water at this point judging by the look on his mother's face.

"Mom, I know it has been difficult looking after me these last two years and I know it has kept you from having as much fun as you would like but try and see it from my point of view. Just as I was about to leave home and start my life it was ended as I knew it. And now all the things that you take for granted I can only look on with anguish and envy. I can't even take a bath now without somebody lifting me up to the sink for crying out loud."

Tim wisely avoided any foul language as he tried to plea his case.

"Isn't there anyone else who is closer to my age or older that you could find?"

Janet's eyes were beginning to water as she shook her head in the negative

"None that didn't want a fist full of hundred dollar bills who were just as foreign to me as Wendy was before I first met her and her family."

Tim's eyes got wider, his mother had not told him about any previous meetings with his potential new sitter and had taken extrodinary measures to put all of her pieces into place by not informing him of what she was doing when she had left the house on grocery trips as he assumed that they all were.

Then Janet began to cry placing her head into her hands as she sat upon a kitchen chair next to Tim..

"It's just not fair Timothy, I have to do everything now and I just need a little break.. Do you know how difficult it is to find a job nowadays? Especially when you've been out of the workforce for as long as I have? How demeaning it is to wait tables for snot nosed college kids half your age? I've suffered just as much humiliation as you have lately Tim and all for your sake. I'm just asking you to do this one thing for me for once and the girl that I found is a really sweet one Tim. Her parents are going to stay out of the scene and just take her to the store when she needs something for you guys. It will only be you and her so that you wont feel so bad.. We've really talked this through from the standpoint of not hurting your feelings Timothy."

When Janet pulled her hands away from her face in order to see what Tim was about to say next she was surprised to already see him next to her arm that she had just sat upon the table.. He was even reaching out to it and rubbing her forearm with the type of love she had not seen from him in a long time.

"Oh mom I'm sorry I've been so difficult about this. It's just that It's like I'm dead but still alive and life is just one humiliation after another now. And I know that you've been trying your best and if you will promise me that you will never do something like this to me again then I'll go along with this just this one time. "

Tim for his part learned over and hugged his mother's massive arm. He didn't even see her move her opposite hand over to behind him in order to scoop him up. She normally never did this but she was just too filled with joyful relief in order to stop herself.

So she hoisted the tiny lad up to her cheek and squeezed him into it. Then she showered him with motherly kisses all over his squeaking protests..

"Don't you worry my little Timothy, this is going to work to the best for both of us and you might even make a new friend in the process! And don't you worry, I promise that I'll try to never allow something like this to ever happen again."

Then much to Tim's relief his mother set him back down to his pumpkin pie and informed him that she had several calls to make and that she was going to tell Wendy that the deal was on and that she was going to start getting things prepared with her boss at work for her short leave of abscense and that she had to set up the bills to autopay and so on as she trounced out of the kitchen to get started.

Tim took a big piece of pie and held it before himself regarding it while he wondered what he had gotten himself into... He also wondered if he really had a say in the whole matter to begin with truth be known.. As the depressing thoughts began to enter his mind he could hear his mother in the next room excitedly talking to his new to be babysitter.

Tim sat down upon his spool of thread and took a big bite out of the fist sized wad of pie that he held trying to push the thoughts of impending humiliation to the far corners of his mind.

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