==========================
Monday, November 2 (cont.)
==========================
Marcus held Jessie’s hand as she happily waltzed through the store, browsing the aisles of clothes and looking for something to buy. From far away, the two of them might’ve looked like any other parent shopping with their kid, but upon coming closer and seeing their faces, it became clearer that the roles were reversed. A fully grown adult man being pulled along by someone who was just a teenage girl.
Clearly, Marcus had agreed to take her after suffering a humiliating defeat from their wrestling match. Since he had stubbornly insisted that he hadn’t technically lost despite being smothered against his daughter’s smelly armpits, she figured that completely sitting on her dad would be the most indisputable method of declaring her victory. Being driven to the store to get some new clothes was just a little bonus on top that she had asked for, since all real wrestling matches came with some kind of monetary prize, right? It was just unfortunate luck for the man that his daughter’s best friend had decided to FaceTime her as soon as Jessie had covered him with her feet to mock his idea of ‘being completely pinned down.’ And he had had plenty of time to think in those six and half minutes that her pink and pale soles rested against his little face.
Maybe it made him a bad parent, but there were times—even before he shrunk—that he sometimes felt like it was just easier to give up and give in. He was careful not to do it too much when Jessie was really young, like rewarding her temper tantrums with exactly what she wanted, since he knew that that would just teach her that crying and screaming would give her what she wanted. But after an unusual session of physically draining wrestling that had sapped all his energy, he had just decided that yeah, sure, he’d take her to the store. He didn’t know what she would’ve done if he’d said no—would she continue to keep her dad under her feet until he relented, or be the good daughter she’d always been and let him up like she was supposed to? Because if it had been the first, he wouldn’t have had the energy to get mad at her and punish her later for how she treated him. And as the weeks went on, he was starting to realize that parenting a child who was twice his size, and especially one entering their teenage years of life, would require a bit more finesse and careful thinking on his part. Continuing to do things and act as if he was fully grown would just be stubborn and foolish on his part; there were real world effects of his size, such as losing his job (or being powerless while his daughter sat on him). But the opposite of that, being completely passive and too scared to enact his authority, would mean neglecting his duties as a father. It was times like this that he really wished he had a partner, obviously a full sized one now, to help him out. But for now, the wrestling had left him too drained to spend the night arguing with her or even worse. So in the back of his head, a little voice told him that the best decision as soon as she got off of FaceTime was to just agree that her prize for having won their spontaneous wrestling bout was to just take her to the store and let her get some new clothes. He cooked up a quick dinner for the two of them since it had been almost 6, and then they left.
So he was pulled along with her as she browsed through the aisles of Altar’d State, a southern-themed store that had just opened up in her area. One of her friends from school had gotten some clothes from there that Jessie thought were cute, so she decided to check the place out for herself. And while she was milling around the store, another idea came to her mind. In her head, this whole trip to the mall was just another fun day of hanging out with her dad, so she figured it could be fun to keep doing stuff together. Her dad didn’t seem to be in as good of a mood as he normally was, he was more quiet than usual, so she suspected that the fact that he still hadn’t found a job might be on his mind. Even though the reality was just that he couldn’t shake the memory of his humiliating defeat from less than an hour ago; he couldn’t glance at the floor without seeing his daughter’s sandaled feet and instantly being reminded of the feeling of them on his face while the giddy adolescent girl declared her victory. But Jessie didn’t know that, so she had an idea for a way to cheer him up.
“Hey, since we’re already hanging out tonight and stuff, we should go see a movie,” she suggested excitedly. “There’s a new Marvel movie that was released a few weeks ago, and then like some kind of Kevin Hart comedy that I think just came out too.” Marcus sighed and hesitated to show support for her idea. I’m already pretty tired, but another two hours? Since her dad hadn’t immediately responded to her proposal, she decided to sweeten the deal a little bit. “Aaaaand I’ll buy your ticket since you’re buying my clothes,” she cooed, hoping he’d agree.
I do like the Marvel movies, he admitted to himself. And actually a movie is probably the perfect way to get my mind off of everything. Escape for a few hours and just have fun. Although he didn’t actually remember agreeing to buy her any new clothes, only take her to the store in the first place. Maybe he had misunderstood when she asked him, but it was kind of her to offer to buy their tickets in return, splitting the cost of the night out. That definitely isn’t a kind of behavior I want to discourage though. “OK, I guess that sounds like it could be fun,” he relented, and she grinned happily, pulling him towards the side of her leg for a hug.
But unknown to Marcus was that Jessie had also expected to have to pay for whatever she picked out at the mall, initially just wanting her dad to give her a ride. That was why it was taking her so long to shop around the store. She’d secretly snuck in the idea that he’d buy some clothes for her when she offered to buy the movie tickets, knowing full well that their tickets would be cheaper anyways. So half of her excitement was from the fact that she’d just covertly roped her dad into buying her more stuff!
She pulled out her phone and Googled the showtimes for the Marvel movie. “Oh, there’s one playing in like 5 minutes!” she exclaimed, showing the screen to her dad.
“That’s pretty soon,” he replied, “we’d miss the beginning of the movie, when’s the next one?”
“In like an hour and a half,” she said, typing away at her phone. “The start times are never accurate though, I think that’s just when the trailers start or something so we have more like 15 minutes I think. But we’d need to leave pretty soon.” Lucky for them, the theater was at the same mall they were already shopping at, so it was only a few minutes of a walk away. “I’m already buying our tickets,” she told him, glad that her phone had her debit card info memorized. Barely 60 seconds had passed before she was already done. “Boom!” she announced. “I forgot this theater had reserved seating so it was kinda crowded already, but I found us a spot in one of the middle rows.” Just one, not plural, spots? He brushed it off, but he’d soon find out that she hadn’t misspoken, and had already concocted another plan for the night.
“I guess I gotta pick out something to buy pretty quick now,” she stated, slipping her phone into her back pocket and returning her attention to the store’s wares. Knowing that her dad would be buying whatever she picked though changed things; now that she could essentially pick whatever she wanted and not have to worry about her modest bank account, she knew just what she wanted. Obviously she wouldn’t be crazy and pick out the most expensive thing in the store, since her dad could easily change his mind or say no. But there was something she’d seen earlier that she liked…
Grabbing her short daddy’s hand once more, she pulled him along through the rows of women’s clothing towards the shorts, arriving in front of the jean versions. She grabbed a pair that she had seen earlier, and proudly held them up for her dad to see. They were high-waisted white jean shorts, with golden buttons in place of a zipper, and frilled on the bottom edges. They weren’t anything fancy or especially unique, but she really liked the buttons and thought they set the clothes apart a little bit. Besides, they didn’t have time to go shopping at another store anyways. The important thing was they were cute, and her dad would be buying them for her. “These are what I’m getting then,” she declared, while her dad eyed them doubtfully.
“They look a little… short,” he mused. He knew some shorts could be a bit too revealing, and was hesitant to buy anything for his daughter that showed too much.
She giggled at his little comment, “Well then good, cuz they’re shorts. Like, you know, literally; they’re supposed to be short.” She looked inside the waistline at the tag. “And they’re 12 inches long, I don’t think that’s too revealing if that’s what you mean.”
“Well most of that’s probably above the waist,” he noted, “normally when people say how—“
She interrupted his technical argument with a loud groan, “Ugh, whatever, if you don’t want to get them then fine, we have to leave for the movie soon though so I just picked out something I saw earlier. And I feel like we already talked about modesty a few days ago anyways.”
He still wasn’t sure about buying the clothes for her, but they definitely weren’t overboard in how much they showed off. And besides, she was right, they had to leave soon, and he didn’t want to wait for her to find something else to buy when ideally he would’ve already left for the theater. “Alright, fine, I guess they’re not that bad,” he sighed, reigniting the spark that lit up his daughter’s face in a joyful smile again.
“Great!” By now, he knew the drill, as she eagerly wrapped up his tiny hand within hers and dragged him towards the front of the store so he could make the purchase for her.
* * * * * *
Marcus was riding piggyback on his daughter’s back as she walked quickly towards the movie. He had casually mentioned how he was a bit tired, so she offered to let him ride on her back on the way there. It was yet another activity that seemed like something for a parent and their child, not a child and their parent. But Jessie had convinced him nonetheless, so there he was, bobbing up and down slightly as his legs gripped her waist with his arms around her neck.
She had taken her sweatshirt off in the store, but on their way across the mall, she’d decided to put it back on while her dad was still riding piggyback. He had been confused as he watched her put it on and slowly slide the warm, thick fabric over the top of her body, enclosing him inside as well, but he hadn’t let go. His daughter could be weird sometimes, but he didn’t see the harm for the time being. He certainly liked riding on her back more than having to walk across the entire plaza, a distance twice as long for him because of his shorter legs.
“Wait… I have an idea,” Jessie giggled as they approached the theater. The only part of her dad that could be seen from the outside observer was his head popping up behind hers, looking over her shoulder. His arms and knees were too skinny to be noticeable through the thick material of the hoodie. “I kinda wanna see if I can sneak you in without anyone noticing,” she whispered.
“I don’t know if you should do that, Jess,” he warned, unsure of what would happen if she was caught or he was discovered.
“Don’t worry, I paid for the tickets and stuff,” she answered. “Here, get under my hair,” she told him, and scooped her hand beneath her hair and lifted it up and behind him. It briefly brushed against his face, and he was greeted with the familiar scent of her pleasant smelling, fragrant shampoo, before he found his head shadowed beneath her locks, hunched directly behind her neck and under the back of her head. And as an extra layer of security, she grabbed the hood of her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head, darkening his world even more. “Hold on tight!” she whispered with an excited giggle, knowing that if he lost his grip or let go, he’d fall out from under her clothes and the two of them would be caught. Which wouldn’t have been a big problem if she’d bought both of them tickets like she had implied. But there was only one good seat in the mostly sold-out theater, and since she’d save 12 bucks by not having to actually buy her dad his own ticket, sneaking him in beneath her clothes had been her plan since the beginning. She was just passing it off as an impromptu idea. And she’d saved a couple bucks for herself too, by buying a “12 and under” ticket even though she was technically a year older.
After waiting for a few other people in front of her, she got to the employee who was scanning and checking everyone’s tickets. With a friendly smile to the man, she pulled out her phone and showed him her ticket’s bar code. BEEP! “Theater number three on your left, enjoy the movie,” the employee told her.
“Thanks!” she replied, her heart racing from excitement as she felt her dad clutching on her back, completely silent and going along with her plan.
“So, can I get off now?” her dad asked from within the confines of her hoodie. He could hear the theater worker and knew they were past the ticket scan, but couldn’t see anything, keeping his head hidden behind her neck just in case.
“Uhhh… not yet, I still see some employees walking around,” she told him, continuing to head towards their destination. She opened the door to their theater, and now he could definitely tell from the sudden dimness of lighting and sound of a trailer playing just around the corner that they’d arrived. She didn’t stop to let him down though, so he continued holding on as she walked up the ramp and made her way towards their seat. He finally felt her stop, and just as he thought she might take off her hoodie or crouch down to let him hop off from underneath, he felt her turn, and then a sudden backwards momentum, before being slammed against a soft cushion behind him. Did she just sit down?! The question was rhetorical, as it was obvious from being pinned between his daughter’s body in front of him and the leather seat behind him that she’d just sat down while he was still riding on her back.
“Jessie, augh, what the hell?!” he clamored from behind her. His voice was just muffled enough, and the trailer music was so loud, that nobody had even heard him, other than his mischievous daughter.
“Oh yeah, sorry, I almost forgot,” she giggled, leaning forward and relieving the pressure. She unzipped the front of her hoodie and lifted up the back of it, allowing him to climb off as she leaned slightly to the side to allow him to climb around and in front of the seat.
“What was that for?!” he coarsely whispered up at her, and she was biting down hard on her lip to keep herself from cracking up. A few of the people seated beside them had seen the small man climb out from behind her, and looked at the two of them with confused expressions.
“Jeez Daddy, relax, I was just playing around,” she whispered, rolling her eyes and settling back into the chair.
Marcus looked to either side of them, and noticed that all the seats in their aisle were occupied. “Where’s my seat?” he asked.
“Well technically, it’s in the second row at the front,” she lied, “because this was the only untaken one with a good view. I think I said, like, it’s reserved seating and most of the good ones were taken, like it’s a Marvel movie you know, what do you expect?” She shrugged, “So you can sit up there if you want, I just figured it’d be more fun if we sat together.”
“As in, you want me to sit on your lap?” he asked.
She nodded and half-shrugged again, “I mean it’s up to you, but this was the best case scenario, and the only way we’d be able to sit together,” she said. “Come on, my lap can be comfy,” she said, grabbing him under his shoulders and hoisting him up onto her lap while turning him around so he was facing the screen. He stayed sitting upright though, and turned to look behind him, hesitantly looked at the chest of hers that was being proposed as his backrest of the evening. He took note of the fact that if he leaned back against her like she was suggesting, his head would be nestled against her breasts. They weren’t that big, since she was just about a B-cup, but it made him pause nonetheless. She seemed to read his mind though, and brushed off the situation. “Come on, my boobs aren’t that big yet,” she giggled, “so it shouldn’t be that weird.” Marcus sighed, deciding she was mostly right and realizing that he’d eventually forget about them as soon as the movie started anyways. So he turned back around gingerly leaned back against his daughter’s chest. Because she had unzipped her hoodie, there was only her t-shirt behind him, meaning he could feel the warmth of her body a lot easier. And just like he had suspected, his head rested right between the small but noticeable mounds on her chest, a reminder of his daughter’s developing maturity. The final trailer ended, and the lights dimmed, signifying that the movie was finally about to begin. Having one last idea, Jessie grabbed the sides of her hoodie and brought them back up to her lap, hooking the bottom stop of the left zipper into the slider on the right, and slowly zipped the sweatshirt back up, covering her dad like a blanket with the soft material. She stopped it right along his chest, taking care to make sure he still had plenty of room to see of course, and patted him gently on the stomach with a smile. She thought he looked so cute there, sitting on her lap and tucked into her hoodie, making her feel like her dad’s protector and safekeeper. And while he didn’t tell her, he admitted to himself that the warm radiating off her body, along with the soft, blanket-like qualities of her hoodie, made him feel a bit cozy. I might even doze off, he thought with a pleasant smile, snuggling a little deeper into her spot as the Marvel logo appeared and they settled in to watch the film.
* * * * * *
Marcus was sleeping peacefully in his bed again that night when Jessie peeked through the door again and tiptoed towards his bed. She rustled him awake, and his eyes drifted open to see his daughter standing over him, just like a few nights ago. “I had a bad dream again and now I can’t go back to sleep,” she mumbled, a hint of sadness in her voice. And she had school tomorrow too, so her sleep was even more important than the last time she’d had a nightmare last week.
“Oh, Jess, I’m sorry,” he whispered, “did you want to sleep in my bed again?”
“Well, yeah but, I have to get up tomorrow for school,” she replied with a somber tone, “and I have that special alarm clock instead of my phone, so, could… can you come sleep in my room like you did when I was a kid?”
Oh, that requires me actually getting up. But if it helped Jessie get to sleep better, it was hardly even worth a second thought. “Sure, I guess I can do that,” he said, and climbed out of bed while she smiled softly.
“Thank you so much Daddy,” she said, and turned around to lead him back towards her room.
Jessie stopped in front of her bed and pulled back the covers, motioning for him to get in. “Oh, I thought you just wanted me to sleep on the floor nearby,” he said.
“Did you want to? I can get my sleeping bag,” she replied earnestly, but still notably tired. I’m always impressed with how generous she can be sometimes, he thought.
“No, it’s fine,” he told her, and climbed into her bed, already familiar with having slept in it from when Paris had slept over at their place before. “It’s no different than when you slept in mine, right?” His legs dipped below the covers, and he was grateful with how warm it already was.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured too,” she said, and joined him under the covers with a loving smile. “Thanks Daddy, goodnight.”
He turned on his side so his back was facing her, and already started to feel his body relax. “Goodnight.”