Abigail’s dad had recently caught a virus that caused him to shrink to only two inches tall, and now had to be cared for by his wife and kids. But his wife had been going on business trips more often lately because they paid more, and he wasn’t able to work anymore. So now it was up to Abigail and her younger brother to take care of him while he was gone, but he was only in grade school so he couldn’t really be of much help, leaving the bulk of the responsibility on her.

“Well daddy, I guess I’m gonna be watching you for a couple weeks, huh?”

“Yes honey, but I can get by fine on my own. You don’t need to be my babysitter.”

Abigail giggled at the notion of her babysitting her own father, and smiled mischievously down at him. “Well, I don’t thi—“

“Abi, did you brush your teeth this morning?” her dad asked, noticing some food stuck in her braces. “You have to take extra care of them now with your braces.”

Abigail rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but I—“

“Abigail, we paid a lot of money to—“

His daughter gritted her teeth and pressed her thumb down against her dad’s face, smushing his mouth against the ridges of her fingerprint. He was so small that just her thumb was enough to cover half of his body, more than enough to cause him to be quiet. “Shut up! You always used to get mad at us for interrupting, so don’t interrupt me!” She couldn’t even see his body, so she retracted her thumb so she could take face-to-face again. “I was trying to tell you that I did brush, but it’s still really difficult for me to do. She brought him up close to her face, and smirked down at him. “Maybe you can help me out, daddy. You can get the food out between my teeth way easier than any brush I have.”

Her dad gulped nervously, not enjoying the idea of entering his daughter’s mouth. What if she accidentally swallowed him? Or bit down on him? “You’re right Abi, I’m sorry for interrupting. And I know I’m small, but I don’t want to go in your mouth.”

“You know, there’s a lot of chores I don’t want to do, daddy. But I do them because I’m a part of the family. They’re not fun, but they need to be done. My toothbrush--”

"I know, but—“

“What did I say about interrupting!” Abigail exclaimed, squeezing her dad just a little bit tighter, causing him to wince in her hand. She smiled, enjoying the power. “Mom told me before she left that I can give you some chores to do to make sure you do your part around the house, remember?”

He looked down solemnly. “Yes.”

“So this is going to be your chore for me. I’m going to go get changed into my bikini so I can lay down by the pool, and then you can service me there.” She placed him down on the counter and headed upstairs. When she returned a few minutes later, he was still standing there patiently. She laughed a little to herself. “Part of me thought you might run off. But you’re still here, good boy." 

Her dad chuckled hesitantly, weirded by his teen daughter, decades younger than him, calling him a ‘good boy.’ “Where would I go?”

“Exactly!” Abigail said triumphantly. “I’ve gotta take care of you whether you like it or not, and now you get to take care of me!”

Abigail’s dad sighed, knowing it was no use to argue with his daughter, as she picked him up and headed outside towards their apartment’s pool, the cut off tip of a kid’s tooth brush in her other hand. He could do nothing as he swung in her hand, front to back. He would use a remote controlled car around their home to get around, because he didn’t like the humiliation of being carried around like some item.

Abigail settled into a lounge chair and placed her dad and the brush on her belly, putting on sunglasses as she laid her head back, feeling the sun start to warm her. “OK Daddy, I’m ready,” she said with a smile, showing off the work he’d be doing.

“Abigail, in public too? This is humiliating,” he said, causing her to lift her head from its reclined position so she could look at him. He clasped his hands together. “Please...”

She said nothing for several seconds, letting the silence hang between the two of them. “Remember when I was younger Daddy? You used to give me spankings. And I remember, every time, you would say you ‘didn’t want to do this,’ but that you had to, because you and all the other parents were convinced that spanking me was the only way you’d get us to learn. You didn’t want to, but you had to. I don’t want you to have to do this either. But you have to.” She lay her head back again.

"Now brush my teeth, Daddy.”