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Saturday, October 17
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It didn’t quite make sense to Marcus initially, but having Jessie home with him on Saturday put his mind at ease. Friday, the first full day after his layoff, had been an improvement over the day before, although he still retained a strong sense of hopelessness and depression as he went about his day. And while those feelings continued into his third day without a job, they were alleviated by the fact that his daughter was around to keep him company.
“I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate all that you’ve done for me,” he told her that morning, sitting across from her at the table while they ate breakfast.
She smiled down at him as she scooped some cereal into her mouth, “Well thanks, Daddy, but—” She cut herself off as milk spilled out of the corners of her mouth, and she giggled.
“But what?”
“But I haven’t really done that much for you,” she replied after swallowing. “Like you said like, ‘all that I’ve done for you,’ but you only got fired a couple days ago and I don’t really feel like I’ve done anything out of the ordinary.”
Marcus sighed as she mistook how he lost his job again, “I wasn’t fired, Jess, I was laid off.” It was important to him that she made the distinction. “And you haven’t really done anything out of the ordinary the last few days, that’s true. But ordinary over the last week means something totally different than what ordinary would’ve meant several months ago.” He smiled at her, “I wasn’t sure how my shrinking was going to affect you, but you’re just the same girl that you were from before.”
Jessie blushed and looked down at her cereal, trying to hide her smile as she spun her spoon around the bowl. Her dad’s size change wasn’t something she really thought about that much. In the days after first learning about him, her mind and imagination went wild. She wasn’t sure if he would shrink down to an inch tall, or if he’d have to live in some kind of medical facility and lose custody of her, or even if he could die somehow. But none of that happened. So far, nothing had really changed. And she was surprised by how quickly she forgot about his situation in the first place and had simply become accustomed to having him only be as tall as her waist. As if her dad had always been two and a half feet tall.
I probably should be looking for a job right now, Marcus thought as he climbed the stool to put his bowl in the sink. But I think I’d rather just relax for the day. I don’t need to rush into the job search immediately, I have enough in savings to last a few months. Spending the day with Jessie sounded like a fun idea, but he didn’t know what to do. He and his daughter spent time together fairly regularly, especially since they were the only family they each had (in their household anyways; obviously there was extended family, and Marcus’ mother was present enough in his life). But now that he had to deliberately think of something, he came up short. I used to love going to Disneyland with her, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to have fun there again. I’m not even tall enough for some of the kiddie rides. “How about we watch a movie again?” he thought out loud all of a sudden.
“Clueless!” she exclaimed, smile wide.
“What?”
“Maybe that’s not the right name.” Her smile faltered a bit, seeing that her dad didn’t understand. “Megan said it was a Netflix movie about a popular girl in high school during the 90s. She didn’t say who the girl was, but apparently Paul Rudd is her brother. She said it’s really good.”
Marcus laughed, knowing just what she was talking about after giving more detail than just a single word suddenly blurted out. “I think I know what movie you’re talking about, it came out when I was a freshman in high school. My first girlfriend took me to see it in theaters,” he said, fondly remembering his 14 year old self.
Jessie got excited, “Did you like it?”
“Well, I think it had been out for a few weeks when we went to see it, because the theater was totally empty. And I, uh…” he trailed off, unsure how to broach the subject with his daughter. “I don’t really remember much.” He scratched his neck and avoided her eyes, hoping she wouldn’t spot his lie.
“Ewwww!” Jessie twisted her face in a mixture of laughter and disgust. She knew exactly what he was trying to hide. “You lost your virginity in a movie theater?” She tried to stifle her laugh, but couldn’t help but giggle at the situation. A movie theater? It seemed kind of lame to her.
“Jessie!” he shouted, cheeks searing red at his daughter having asked such an intimate question. “Don’t… We didn’t… we just made out, it wasn’t anything like that!” Although Rebecca definitely kissed me in a few places that weren’t my mouth… “And don’t talk about stuff like that with me.”
Jessie rolled her eyes at her dad’s antiquated behavior. “Jeez, we already had ‘the talk’ a couple years ago, it’s not a big deal.”
“No, I…” he paused and sighed, trying to think of how to say what he wanted to say. It was times like these that he really wished he had a mother for Jessie to help ease the hurdles of parenthood. “What I mean is that I don’t want you asking about my sex life. Just like I’d imagine you wouldn’t want me prying you for yours, right?” Jessie looked away, her dad was right. “You can always ask me anything you want to, I’d rather you ask me than just assume something. But that’s different than openly talking about it for no reason. Do you see what I’m saying?”
Jessie bit her lip, “OK yeah, I guess, can we change the subject now?” She hated this feeling. It was like she was in trouble even though she hadn’t done anything wrong.
Marcus smiled softly, hopeful that she was being honest. And he really did hope she could trust him to come to him about anything. Hopefully this interaction won’t change that. But was I wrong? Was I being hypocritical, or is there a difference like I thought there was? Never mind, she wanted to move on. “Yes. Anyways, Clueless. Megan’s right, it’s a pretty good movie. I haven’t seen it since back then but I know it’s a bit of a cult classic.” He wasn’t thrilled about watching something that he deemed was just a chick flick, but if it made Jessie excited, then he’d do it for her.
Jessie perked up hearing her dad’s review of the film. “OK, well did you wanna watch the movie tonight then?”
“Who says we have to watch movies at night?”
Jessie paused for a moment. “But it’s like, 10am.”
“So?” Jessie didn’t know what to say again, then erupted into a fit of giggles; the idea seemed so absurd to her, and yet he was right. Her laughter was contagious and Marcus started chuckling too as he looked up at her, “What?”
“I guess we can have movie night in the morning then!” she replied, a few giggles bubbling up from her. She grabbed her dad’s hand, pulling him along into the living room. He had to jog lightly to match her pace, struggling to keep up with his daughter, before she pulled him onto the couch and grabbed the remote. He collapsed against her, embarrassed about having been so easily handled by someone more than twice his size. But as he rested his head against Jessie’s torso and reflected on his smaller stature and being so effortlessly jerked around, he at least felt better knowing it was his daughter doing all the jerking.
* * * * * *
The rest of the day went by mostly uneventfully for the two of them, with Jessie spending a lot of time in her room on her phone, and Marcus lounging around in the main area of the house. He got the idea to start reading books again, starting with The Woman in the Window. A couple of his old coworkers had recommended it back when the movie came out and said the book was a lot better, but he never got around to actually starting it. But with all his new free time, he figured a book might be a perfect way to fill in the gaps - and luckily, it was. The time practically flew by, and before he knew it, his daughter was shaking him on the shoulder and peering down at him from above his spot on the couch.
“Hey, what are we doing for dinner?” she asked. “It’s almost 6.”
Marcus glanced at his watch: 5:47. Shit, the time really does slip away when you’re reading. And he was more than halfway through the book; he’d have to find something new to read (or something new to do) in the coming days. He sighed and gazed out the window, thinking of what they should cook, and the darkening skyline gave him an idea. “You know, I’m not really in the mood to cook something tonight, and I’m sure you aren’t either.”
“I’m never in the mood to cook,” she smirked. Her eyes began to widen as she realized what her dad was suggesting.
“Let’s pick up some takeout,” he suggested, and Jessie’s eyes shrunk a little. She thought he was going to suggest they go out to eat, like a sit-down restaurant. Takeout wasn’t bad, it was easier than cooking, but she liked eating the food as soon as it was ready, not boxing it up and waiting to get back home to eat it.
“I thought you were gonna suggest we go eat somewhere,” she said. “Like sitting down and getting served.”
Marcus chuckled, “It’s the same food, Jessie, it’s just given to you differently.”
“Well I really wanted to go to Culver’s, and then we could eat outside,” she reasoned. “It’s really nice out tonight.” Jessie’s dad hesitated, not wanting to give in. He liked Culver’s too, but he didn’t like the idea of eating in public. He was still self conscious about his size, and going to a popular restaurant at dinnertime wouldn’t help. “Come on, Daddy.” She turned to the window he had been gazing out of, and perked up. “If we leave now, we can sit down in time to watch the sunset!” He still felt like holding out, but he couldn’t deny that an evening watching the sunset with his daughter sounded like a nice way to end the day. Besides, he still had years of life left, decades. Getting used to being out in public was just something he was going to have to get used to, it was just a way of life for him now.
He cracked a smile and looked back up at her, and she smiled as she could tell before he even said anything that she had won him over. “Alright, you convinced me. Culver’s it is.”
“Yes!” she shouted triumphantly, and ran to her room to get her purse while Marcus got his keys. Was it just a coincidence, or was convincing her dad a lot easier than it used to be?