It took a second to process.

And when it did, you decided the situation had gotten to Will. He was seeing things. That figure who had just come into the house was a big, serious, beautiful, mature woman. And you were a college kid, barely past being a teenager. She looked confident, slightly impatient, and would have looked down upon you like the kid you were.

That wasn’t Courtney Rugger.

You recalled Courtney’s face, brightly. Her eyes that pretended to be disinterested but locked onto you immediately when you looked at her and became suggestive. The pitch shift in her voice when she talked to you. Her college girl energy, nerves and easy moods.

Over the top of that mental image, the giant woman’s features swam into in your mind, impressionistic, like you viewed her from behind rain-lashed window. If you squinted, sure, they looked alike. But that woman came from a different place, practically another country, to college girl Courtney. You hadn’t gotten a detailed look at her face. It was too far away. Her body was graceful and mature, and swelled in the right places. You had noticed her thoughtful eyes, the way they were glazed slightly with pretended interest. You noticed the thickness of her tempting lips. 

That wasn’t the Courtney Rugger you remembered. Did Courtney and Will have another sister. An older sister?

Then you remembered you had thought the same thing about Jake. But it was true. This woman had even an inkling more resemblance to the woman who had greeted you at the front door, at Will’s 12th birthday, who thought you were so adorable in your frog costume, and then scolded Will for saying ‘pussy’.

“Which sister?” you said, dumbed with disbelief, so much you momentarily clean forgot Will only had one sister.

“Huh?” Will said, thinking you were trying, and failing, to be funny. “Is it her?” he asked no one. “Her and Jake..?”

“Maybe she’s just visiting,” you said.

“Katelyn makes sense. This is just…crazy. Court?” he repeated in disbelieve.

You said slowly, embarrassed to have to point it out:

“Don’t you recognize her?”

“Yeah, my own sister, Fuzz. And that was some lady.”

You could tell he saw it too. The woman had an uncanny resemblance to Courtney, but she was…different. Like Jake, more defined.

“Jake looks different, too,” you said.

Will didn’t reply. He had started off rolling,, following the window-side wall further along. You started in a quick spin to tail him.

“Wait a minute,” you said, “where are you going?”

Viewing the world in a steady revolution, you fought to keep Will in your sight, or anything much. Your shoulder continuously bumped the wall for guidance. It was the most you could do to roll in a straight line. But you were keen on not losing Will. He was after all a tiny ball in a humungous living room, as were you. If you lost him, you wouldn’t know the first place to look to find him again.

The two of you stayed behind the curtain, for cover, slowly rolling your way to the far corner of the room, gradually edging closer and closer to the kitchen and dining room entrance.

Stopping to check you were behind, Will surged on through the entrance, following the wall skirting. A moment later, you emerged into the dining space. The rugged carpet turned to lino, which made rolling easier. Although the ceiling wavered with cooking steam, the floor was cool and clear. You were swept with gentle draughts from Jake’s movements as he stepped around fixing dinner.

Will and you were silent, tenacious as you followed the kitchen wall, while Jake finished up with the cooking. The stovetop shut off and a draught brushed you as Jake opened the kitchen window to let out the steam. His shoes squeaked past you as he passed on into the dining space.

“You done?” he called out. “Come eat!” Jake always had a boyish energy about him even if he looked older now. There was no doubt in your mind it was really him.

Doggedly chasing Jake, Will built up some speed, practically hurtling to the dining entrance. You pushed on, following Will inside, and a bare minute later, the woman swept in on your trail. 

Your breathe caught, stunned. If you’d come seconds later she might have tread on you.

Now everyone was in the same room, it was too late to back out. The giant couple were hungry and just wanted to sit and eat. This was your chance. It was a clear opportunity to get their attention, as they were focused on their meals. It allowed you and Will to get close without the risk of being stepped on or accidentally brushed aside. For a few minutes the only sound was of the cutlery digging around the plates. At the same time, Will and you were rolling up to a table leg which was like a rectangle oak tree trunk. Here you paused to consider how to get someone’s attention. Directly above, the underside of the dining table created a flat canopy high over, bordered by a towering pair of legs on either side. There was Jake’s in a pair of casual jeans, and the woman – (Courtney, really?) – in black pantyhose. Her toes kept scrunching and rubbing against each other, and scratching the hose. You couldn’t help notice you were the exact size of one of her big toes.

“Hey, Jake, all the’ soft touch’ stuff,” the woman murmured. “You don’t really have to.”

“Well, too bad,” he said casually between bites. “I’m trying here. It would help a guy to know what the problem is. So what’s up?”

The woman teetered.

“You know,” she said finally, “the other night. I’m…sorry,” she answered. “It’s that time of the month…heavy. Don’t even ask.”

“It’s not nothing,” Jake said. He took a deep breath before going on. “I know what this is really about. This is a special day. I don’t know what the correct ritual is here to acknowledge it, whether you even want me to bring it up, or…You don’t need me to remind you. I’m sorry, someone needs to check in, and it’s probably got to be me.”

The woman didn’t say anything for a moment, but her toes gently swirled against the floor as if she was trying to scrub something. Jake went on:

“That’s why I cooked tonight. So, you just relax.”

Across from you, the woman’s hefty toes screwed up and then, as if taking Jake’s advice, began to relax. It was hypnotic; the movements of her toes kept distracting you and making it hard to come up with a plan.

Will seemed to have a better time of staying focused. Of course, if the woman was Courtney, he was naturally immune to the effect she was having on you. But you still weren't sure it was her.

Will began to survey the distance to the male and female feet and then rolled right up to you.

“Wait there,” he instructed, “I’m going to push into someone’s foot and hopefully get their attention.”

You stared at him, dumbfounded.

“What if you get squashed? There has to be another way to do this—”

He didn’t answer, he’d already started to roll further in under the table, assessing what to do next. He seemed to hesitate about approaching the woman’s feet; they were shifting and scrunching so much. Jake’s feet weren’t moving at all, which was probably the safer bet.

You held your breath, dreading the worst: that if Will brushed someone’s foot, it would tickle them and the foot would jerk out, not only smashing him flat, but sweeping you across the floor. Without realizing, you subconsciously began to roll backwards, slowly getting out from under the table, until you could see the table edge straight above. The shoulder strap of a woman’s handbag dangled over the edge.

“But you skipped bowling,” the woman was saying. It sounded like she was digging at her meal but not eating.

“Not a good night for bowling,” Jake said brightly. “I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much, knowing you’re here, thinking about today…unless you wanted to join me?”

“I...” she sighed, “...I think I would probably just honestly be back here sitting in the bath with a bowl of microwaved pasta and a bottle of wine and cramps.”

“So long as there's warm water in the bath that sounds normal,” Jake said mildly. That was definitely Jake, you had to admit; the last guy in the room to freak out, ever.

“God...” the woman came back at him, “you think that’s just what I do when you’re out bowling? That's coping."

"You're doing good," he said calmly.

"Not if I get preoccupied."

"Things like this are timeless, They stay, and that's normal. You're doing fine."

“You know what? I can’t even argue with that. You’re probably right. No sense ruining the whole night.”

“Neat. Does that mean I’m still getting laid tonight?”

“You asshole. That’s what this meal is all about.”

“I’m joking. It’s a good meal! Don’t knock it. Are you being serious about the bath? What if I make you up a totally game-changing bath later?"

“...Maybe I’d like that.”

There was a pause. Her feet seemed to have relaxed for good, and you watched as Will appeared to decide to approach them, aiming for her left foot while it was idle. Being a fleshy ball, he didn’t look so different from her big toe.

He seemed in a hurry now, impatient with their flirting, maybe wanting to get them to knock it off.

“It’s ten years today, you know,” she said suddenly. “And,” she went on slowly, “kind of hard to separate that…them from ‘us’, in a way.”

She explained, pausing and thinking in moments:

“That night, when you drove me to my place, I was kind of pissed. And then we…you know. And, you know, it all kind of followed that, eventually. And sometimes I wish I could take back that moment and give it to a better day, you know? Of all days.”

“It was…sudden and out of character,” he admitted thoughtfully.

“Sorry—”

“Hey, you didn’t know then. Neither did I.” He paused for a long moment. “And then we did.”

“—It’s just that I was feeling stupid and pissed off because I really, really wanted…” there was a beat and she sighed, “…to catch dinner and have a nice night and then time got by, I was still stupid; I thought they went somewhere else without telling me.”

“But you think they did?” Jake said hesitantly.

The woman was quiet for a moment. Then she said ruefully:

“Then it would have to be Will’s idea… because it would have to be. Will led and Fuzz followed. It irritated me like nothing. God, I was such a kid. They were just kids, too. We all were. Kids who might have got in deep trouble...” Her breath caught before she was able to continue:

“For the longest time it’s felt like a story going the wrong way. Or just not ending.”

The enormous feminine feet started absent-mindedly grinding the floor again.

“Yeah?” said Jake, mildly.

“You ever feel like that?”

“I guess,” he said, reluctantly. He changed tack. “But it’s your life, too. You get to decide how the story goes.”

Then Jake said something and it felt like your stomach plummeted over a cliff.

“…Courtney?”

Her reply sounded very far away. The pieces in your mind trying to fit together didn’t fit. You suddenly had difficulty concentrating. The moment she stopped speaking you realized she had just said something but you missed it.

Will rolled rapidly into the inner side of her left foot. He crashed into her arch and bounced back, confused. You snapped back into awareness. So did Courtney.

Her foot jolted back and she let out a squeal. Her arm flung out and knocked her handbag over the edge of the table.

You watched, completely frozen as the gigantic handbag overtured and came speeding over your head. With a clap it crashed onto the floor right in front of you – any closer and it would have squished you. Your heart fluttered like crazy and you were rooted to the spot, wondering if you should feel relieved.

When the bag landed, feminine accessories were flung out on impact, and sped past you. For a second you stared into the dark silk-lined inside of the bag, in wonder at how cavernous the inside was compared to you. If you had a flashlight you could have gone caving in there.

Then, with a couple of bone-shaking thumps, Courtney re-positioned her feet as she slid over to reach her bag. She was so focused on her bag, that she failed to see you at all. Her foot carelessly slipped over to you. Without warning, what felt like a truck plopped directly onto your body as her foot chose you to land upon.

You were alarmed to feel a powerful stretch run full-body along your spine. Holding on you, the weight of her foot pulled your little body from head to toe from a ball shape into a tube shape.

When she felt you poking her gently under her sole, she stopped reaching for her bag. Instead she went to shift her foot to investigate what you were. Her foot shifted so the ball of her foot balanced on your lower half, keeping you trapped in place. Then she unthinkingly nipped your head between two of her toes. Her first two toes acted like a vise on your flexible head, accidentally tweaking it into a tapered point, like the tip of a bullet. Then her foot’s weight lifted completely. But one of her toes made one last contact with your body, swishing your insubstantial weight aside without meaning to.

You flicked over the carpet at rapid speed, and came to a stop right before Jake, who had also shifted in his seat to help pick up the bag and its contents. His foot was about to lower but he had just enough time to prevent from stepping on you.

“Let me get that,” he said.

With a sweep of his great hand, he quickly piled the spillage back into the depths of her bag. He also plucked up a plastic packet that had fallen out of the bag, and landed beside you. He was about to put it back in when his gaze fell squarely on you. You were so surprised that you failed to react, not even when Jake’s gigantic form shifted in his chair to lean over and examine you closer.

The plastic packet in his hand was cylinder shaped and used to have an eyelash wand inside it, which had slipped out when the bag crashed on the floor. It just happened to be the right fit for your size, and Jake assumed you had tumbled out of the packet, and decided to poke you back where he thought you belonged. After giving you a cursory look over, his forefinger and thumb grasped your chest and lifted you off the floor, completely taking you by surprise. He then smoothly worked at stuffing you into the packet. Your bullet shaped head was well-shaped to drive straight inside and wedge in place. He gave the plastic a quick tug, tightening it around you until you were enclosed completely. Then he dropped you into the bag.

You bounced onto the silky folds of the bag lining and rolled into a crease, hiding you away from sight. For a second you stared up through the bag opening at Jake’s face before the zip was pulled up, and everything went dark and sound muted.

Jake then pushed the handbag under the table over to Courtney’s side, where she took it and put it against a table leg, close to her ankle.

“Did you poke me?” she asked Jake.

“No.”

“Oh, crap," she said under her breath. "Mice.”

“You saw a mouse?” he said. His voice muffled by the leather bag surrounding you.

“No, but I felt it,” she insisted.

“It was probably just something that spilled out of your bag.”

“Hope you’re right.”

As if nothing had just happened, the couple went back to finishing their meals, both of them blissfully unaware you were now a prisoner of Courtney’s handbag, like just another feminine accessory in her personal kit.

There you lay, waiting patiently to be retrieved, but Courtney and Jake quickly forgot about you, as they carried on with a conversation over dinner. Their casual banter went back and forth over your head for some time, and you lost track of time.