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Author's Chapter Notes:

Very little action in this chapter but plenty of groundwork being laid for future, more exciting chapters. Some mysteries are getting deeper. What has John really gotten himself into? Only by reading on can you find out.

 

 

Day 6. John had a lot on his mind. Oddly enough he missed the conformity that his cubicle job provided him. Were he there, he would be able to just sit and think. Emma had snuck back into her mom’s room while she was talking with Kate and rescued John, returning him to his original size while he was still unconscious. Yet here we was, the first weekend he was spending with his family and he could barely look Gloria in the eyes. Well, he could, but after getting more acquainted with her body he couldn’t help visualizing her naked form every time he looked at her.

This Saturday, Gloria insisted that they take John on a tour of Bradshaw. “You’re going to be here or a while, you should know all the best spots, best bars, you know, somewhere you could go to impress that special someone.” She laughed and elbowed him playfully. Kate and Emma joined in. John thought of Tatiana, the Gloria. Gloria. Tatiana. If all the rules flew out the window, he knew who he would pick. But, shouldn’t he try to keep his sanity by trying to establish some sort of normalcy? He should take some initiative, he had been too (justifiably) wrapped up in this whole shrinking thing. He decided that he would ask Tatiana out for a drink on Monday.

 

 

Day 7. Sunday. John helped Gloria and the girls clean the house and do various chores. These menial tasks were helping John’s psyche, and the past two days had passed without any shrinking hijinks. Kate and Emma were just normal girls. Emma refused to leave him alone, jealous of Kate, barraging him with the questions any ideas of any normal 9-year old girl. No shrinking, no strange innuendos, just normal family hanging out. Kate talked to him about school, her interests, what he was like when he was a teenager, the usual. But she kept looking at him, like she knew a secret. Like she knew what had happened with Gloria. But how could she? She didn’t know where Emma had hidden him much less what had occurred behind closed doors. Yet she had a strange glint in her eyes, almost predatory, like she was seeing all the things she could do with him and not him as a person.

As John was taking out the recycling, a sheet of paper fell from the bin and onto the floor. John picked it up and noticed it was a bank statement. Normally, he wouldn’t be interested in Gloria’s personal information but, after being inside her, he felt he could take some liberties. Strangely enough, Gloria’s name wasn’t on the bill, it was her husband’s account, still active even after all the time he had disappeared. This purchase was recent, within the month, and enormous. It nearly drained the entire account. John supposed that perhaps this was Gloria’s way of moving on after years of waiting for him to appear, splurging on herself. But it was still odd. Shrugging, he threw it into the mass of recycling and moved on with his life. He hadn’t seen a new car, no fancy new electronics, nothing that could cost that much. He made a mental note to look for some expensive trinket that could explain the odd bill, maybe a piece of jewelry or something. Maybe the dildo was the purchase? He doubted it but hey, who knows how far some people are willing to go to satisfy their niche fetishes.

 

 

Day 7 and 99/100. John was fast asleep when something woke him up. He tried to open his eyes but all he saw was darkness. Pitch black. His eyes felt cold and there was a pressure on his chest. Reaching up, he grasped the thin legs of a young girl. “Gotcha!” It was Kate, sitting on his chest and covering his eyes with her feet. She giggled, scrunching the skin of his face with her toes before bouncing off him and running out of the room.

 

 

Day 8. Monday. “Hey, uh, Tatiana, do you want to grab a drink after work or something?” John asked, stammering nervously but managing to truck through the question.

“Hmm I don’t think I’m doing anything. Ok, I’m down, where were you thinking Mr. Edgy?” She smiled at him.

“First off, I’m edgy now? I was severely anti-edge just last week if you remember. But I was thinking Santiago’s? It’s a little dive bar close by – my, uh, aunt showed it to me over the weekend.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Alright, cool cool, cool cool cool.” John flailed, looking for a way to end the conversation.

“See you later then.” Tatiana flashed him another dazzling smile and turned to walk away.

“Yup.” If he couldn’t think of anything to say he was just going to keep it short and sweet.

The day passed much quicker after that. John basked in the post-success glow of asking out a hot girl. At quitting time, he moved on over to her desk, “so you ready?”

She glanced up, packed a couple loose belongings into her purse, and stood up. “You know it, let’s get that drink.” They walked out of the office. John turned towards the main street but Tatiana caught his arm. “C’mon, I’ll drive.”

“Oh, great. It’s just a couple blocks away though.”

“It’s no problem really, I like driving.” She pulled a keyring out of her purse and pressed the unlock button. Chirp chirp. Goddamn, she drove a Maserati convertible, jet black, and looking like it had just been driven off of the lot.

“There’s no way this job pays you that well. Either that or I’m the worst salary negotiator of all time.” Now John was truly nervous, Tatiana was becoming even more of an enigma.

She laughed, looking at him over her shoulder, “You know it doesn’t, but I have some other business ventures going for me. I’ll tell you about them sometime. Hop in!” John slid into the passenger seat and just finished buckling his seatbelt as Tatiana gunned it down the street. 3 blocks later, so like 30 seconds, they had parked outside of the bar. From the outside it didn’t look like much, a neon relic of an older generation. But the inside revealed a cozy interior with intimate booths and walls lined with wilderness memorabilia.

They both ordered beers, and started talking about what they had in common. They broke the tension by gossiping about their new coworkers, laughing at their quirks and strange tendencies. Soon the conversation moved to their personal lives. She told him that her parents were both cosmetic surgeons in California and that they had a weird interest in collecting antique books. A little shyly, he told her that his parents ran a small sporting goods store in his hometown and that since the recession they had been struggling for money. That’s why he had taken the job here, the faster he could pay off his debts from college the faster he could get his family back on their feet. She didn’t seem to judge at all. He really felt a connection with her. The outside world faded into the background as they talked, ordering another round of drinks, then another. John jumped as the phone in his pocket vibrated. He looked at the caller ID, the call was coming from the house – maybe Kate or Emma needed something.

“Hello?”

“Hi John,” it was Kate, “where are you? You’re usually home by now?”

“Oh hi Kate, I’m just having drinks with a friend, I’ll be back soon, do you need anything?”

“A friend? A girl friend?”

“I suppose so, not a girlfriend Kate, a girl friend. Got it?”

She let out a small laugh, “Oh I got it John. Have fuuun!” She hung up.

Tatiana was smiling, looking at him, “who was that?” She was trying to hold back laughter.

John rubbed his temples, why did that have to happen in front of Tatiana? “Just my cousin, she’s very interested in my love life I guess.” They shared a laugh. The stress of talking to Kate in front of his possible love interest had given him a small headache and he kept rubbing his temple.

“Are you ok?” she looked slightly concerned.

“Yeah, just a headache, but–” a flash of bright light accompanied by dizziness. Why now? What could possibly be their goal here? The table had risen a couple inches. Oh, they’re messing with me, thought John. “I think I should probably go home, but let’s do this again, yeah?”

“Here let me help you.” Tatiana rose out of the booth and helped him to her car. “And let’s definitely do this again.” She kissed his cheek, causing a fireball to run through his body, temporarily distracting him from the headache. He managed to play it cool, getting to the car without too much support. The drive home was a blur.

He needed to confront Kate about this, she had really overstepped herself this time. Who knows what could happen to him if she shrunk him in a public space? Maybe she didn’t understand the consequences of her actions as much as John assumed 

 

Chapter End Notes:

What's up with all the money being thrown around in this small town? Is Tatiana legit or does she have a secret as well? Dun Dun Dunnnnnn.

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