“Do you have any more last-minute surprises for me before I leave?” Julie inquired, her sarcastic streak on full display given the prolonged visit she was subjected to. Her personality was the epitome to what people call an 'acquired taste' but the people familiar with her work knew of her dedication and looked beyond her gruff exterior.

Upon initial thought Tanner considered the evening to be a mixed bag. He bore his heart and confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that Ingrid did not reciprocate his feelings. He loosely speaking managed to stand his ground to Marcelle and determined she’s likely to be an unpleasant bitch for the remainder of her life. On the flip side Ingrid and himself worked through the remaining tension and if all goes well with Marcelle, he won’t have to see her again for the rest of his life… Okay, he won’t have to see her again until the Holidays; all things considered things could’ve gone worse. “I'm good.”

“In that case you know the drill. I’ll come by in the foreseeable future, check in, the works.” Julie gave an expedited version of her typical dialogue as she collected her belongings.

“Hey Julie?”

“Yes?” Contrary to her usual sardonicism all traces of sarcasm left when responding to a serious inquiry.

“Thanks for everything.” Tanner graciously said.

“Don’t tell me we’re going to have an emotional spiel too.” Julie groaned.

“Seriously, my life has been... hectic to say the least and you’ve been around longer than anyone. You’re one of the few constants in my life and I’m glad you’ve been there for me this long.”

Besides the occasional grin or flippant smirk, Tanner was bereft of memory when he thought of times he’s seen a full-fledged smile on her face. Maybe his mind was tricking him or he was reading too far into it, but as he focused on her face he swore he noticed the slimmest arc of curvature on her lips.

“You did well today Tanner. Have a good night.” She concluded before making her exit.

On cue with the sound of the door closing and reaching her ear drums, Ivory made her way downstairs to reunite with her stepson resuming right where she left off, cupping him into her awaiting hands and nuzzling him near her chest. It threw Tanner for a loop to be standing upright one second and in the next being coddled into the soft flesh at her sternum. It was borderline smothering, but after enduring Marcelle’s death grip he wasn’t going to complain.

“Finally, we're alone.” She exhaled in relief and held her son outward to view.

“Yeah, I didn't expect to be thrown into all that so suddenly.” Tanner admitted.

“I want to hear all about how your last two days were, but I'm sure you're exhausted.”

“Yeah sleep was in short supply while hanging out with Blake and company.” Tanner chuckled at his understatement.

“Let's get you cleaned up, so you can get ready for bed.”

“That sounds great.”

After carrying him to the bathroom Ivory sat Tanner down on the sink top and inserted the stopper before running some warm water. While she waited for it fill up the earnest matriarch stepped away to bring two washcloths one of which for the obvious cleaning purpose and the other to dry himself since he’d easily be lost within a regular sized towel. Once the sink was up to half height in water, she pressed down on the handle to stop the downpour. Tanner kicked off his socks, tossed his shirt aside, and was halfway into pulling his pants down until he looked up at his gigantic guardian looming quietly above him. He blinked a few times hoping she'd read the atmosphere and leave without him having to say anything but judging by her static body posture and light drumming of her fingers on the granite sink top it seemed to be the furthest thing on her agenda.

“Is something the matter Ivory?” He inquired.

The mother shook her head at the silly child and smiled at his question “I'm waiting for you to take your clothes off you goof.”

“Huh?” Befuddled, Tanner did not see where she was going with this.

“How else am I supposed to wash you?” Ivory smirked as if they were both supposed to be on the same page.

“You haven't done that…in ages.” It was a fact Tanner was reluctant to admit. Over time the shower like most things became too large to operate and he required someone to turn it on or adjust the shower-head to accommodate his diminished size. With further time the shower went from being too large to operate to being too dangerous. During his final excursions in the shower Ivory insisted on being present to monitor him and even took it upon herself to wash him. Unfortunately for Tanner her habit didn't end when he transitioned to bathing in the much safer sink. Tanner was positive that Ivory thought he was one freak accident away from somehow swirling down the drain and it took several weeks of persuasion to convince her he’d be okay. He had every reason to ask why she was hung up about it again, but his return was already marred with enough heavy and emotional discussions. Since he’s been a part of the family, his time over with Blake’s family was the longest he was ever away. If her reaction to his return was any indication, she must be ecstatic to have him back, there wasn’t any harm in letting her have this.

That said it was still no easy task for him to strip bare in front of her. Tanner stared up at her a last time hoping she’d at least grant him a few seconds of privacy while he finished disrobing and was met with the same expectant smile from a mother who knew their child was about to do something cute. Accepting that discretion was not in the cards Tanner looked down so he could at least give himself the semblance that he was alone and not being leered at.

“Okay... Ready.” He said, failing miserably at masking his embarrassment as he covered his privates with his hands. His meek modesty was met with a short giggle from Ivory who found his shyness to be amusing.

 “You're so adorable, it's not like this is anything new to us.”

“Heh heh…I guess so.” Tanner tried to match her enthusiasm with a hollow laugh. Her statement wasn’t wrong, but somehow this all felt… degrading.  He was sure most teens would not be thrilled at the idea of being naked in front of their Mom but being so exponentially dwarfed by his own maternal guardian made him feel particularly small. Not in a sense of just physical size, but in his standing in life where he felt like a powerless child rather than a young adult.

Taking initiative Ivory cupped her son into her hands and deposited him into the sink and from there he was little more than a passenger along for the ride as she went to work rubbing the soap lathered wash cloth over his body. She didn’t give any instructions or warnings whenever she needed access to clean part of his body and simply used her nail tips to move him as she saw necessary.

The meticulous manner that she could manipulate his body never ceased evoking wonder in Tanner, her handle over him was unparalleled. Ingrid was a distant second and while he felt safe with her, in the back of his mind he knew he could make her life difficult if he struggled. In Ivory's handling, resistance didn't even seem like an option and there was no other choice but to move his body to her will as if he were a puppet on strings.

Tanner kept his eyes shut for most of the bathing process, feeling the motions every time Ivory shifted or turned his body around. Once the initial cleansing was completed, Ivory scooped him back up and laid him flat on her palm. Reaching with her unoccupied hand she grabbed a bottle of body wash and gave it careful squeeze to squirt a tiny increment onto his stomach. The touch of the cold gel on his skin prompted a slight yelp from Tanner and he opened his eyes opened for an instant. It was in that brief instance where he was able to see a smile on the face of his gargantuan caretaker. He had no reason to be surprised by that simple observation, after all he needed assistance for nearly everything in his day to day living and Ivory has always been happy to oblige, no matter how trivial the matter.

Setting the wash cloth aside Ivory used her bare digits to spread gel throughout his body. She was cognizant of the exact level of exertion needed to be productive while leaving him unharmed. Tanner felt like he should have nothing to complain about, but the unease plaguing him wouldn’t leave and the sensation went beyond simple embarrassment. Ivory’s gentle hum filled Tanner’s ears as she guided her digits around his frame. That unease increased tenfold when her digits reached his nether regions.

The unease didn’t come solely from her fingers lingering around his genitals because as reluctant as he was to admit it, this was not out of the ordinary back when she took it upon herself to bathe him. While it wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, he could usually focus in on something else to refrain from being too conscientious about it.  This was not one of those times and there was a resounding déjà vu from the fiasco at the pool that he couldn’t disregard. Knowing how that situation played out he tried to think about anything else, but like metal to a magnet the thoughts of those girls prodding his body and eventually his genitals infiltrated his mind. The chain reaction went into full effect as he remembered himself desperately trying to refrain from becoming erect and by extension he hoped the same wouldn’t happen at this very moment by his stepmother’s hand. In what had to have been a self-fulfilling prophecy, him entertaining the thought and trying to tell himself to stay calm was inducing the opposite effect.

At most Ivory spent 10 to 15 seconds in the area, but in an anxious state he perceived those seconds as several minutes. He attempted to block it out, imagining he was being held by the ugliest ogre of a woman that ever existed, but that illusion kept giving way to Ivory. The very person who her daughter took after so much in appearance and possessed the same beauty refined in a more elegant and mature package. It was a lost cause, with the only minor consolation being that there were some remnants of soap covering his reddened face.

To his surprise Ivory was undeterred and continued about her business, humming along as she turned on the water again to rinse him off, it did make him a little happy that she wouldn’t make a scene of his involuntary reaction. Ivory ran him under the light downpour of water for only a few seconds at a time and using the wash cloth again to clear his body of any remainders of body wash or soap. After all traces were clear from his body, she sat him back on the sink top and handed him the second cloth to dry himself. He didn’t want to try his luck and ask if she was really going to let him do it himself, figuring she’d take that liberty too if he questioned it.

“My little boy is all nice and clean.” Ivory smiled at her handy work. “Now let’s get you to the bedroom.”

Finally, a suggestion he could get behind. Tanner eagerly stepped into her palm, after a chaotic few days he was more than ready to return to his mundane life. Step after step, Ivory drew closer to her vanity that perched his house and as it seemed she was going to stop to place him down she instead kept moving towards her bed and sat down, propping herself upright against the headrest.

Tanner could’ve sworn they had a mutual understanding that he wanted to go to bed, again the unnerving tension returned in his gut and he wasn’t content to ignore it any longer.

“Are you okay Ivory?” He watched as her face scrunched in a faint disgust.

“Ivory.” She repeated with a hinge of venom. “I’ve taken care of you for years, haven’t I?”

“Yeah.” Though he was disappointed that she responded to his question with a question he answered anyway.

Maneuvering one of her palms above Tanner’s head she began gently caressing his head. “I've done much more for you than your real mo-... than that woman who birthed you,”

Tanner was almost certain she was about to refer to ‘that woman’ as his ‘real mother’, before deciding against it. Regardless of how left field the comment was, it wasn’t incorrect. “Of course.”

“Mom.”

“Huh?”

“I want you to call me Mom.” She clarified.

“Oh! Okay…” It wasn’t something Tanner gave much credence to. Naturally, it was hard for him to call her Mom when he was first adopted and relationships were still being established so he always referred to her as Mam, Miss Ivory, and once he was more comfortable just Ivory. She never made any fuss about it before, so he assumed all was well.

“Why do you sound surprised, aren’t I much more of a mother than her?” At that question Ivory stopped caressing and waited. It came off as a rhetorical question to Tanner, but the silence that followed gave him the impression that she wanted him to respond... or more specifically wanted him to agree.

Objectively speaking there wasn’t any denying that his biological mother was just that, a relationship only by blood with a total absence of personal and emotional connection.

“You are.” Tanner offered his most authentic albeit forced smile. “I'm pretty beat, can you drop me off in my house please?” He requested, making sure to add in a fake yawn for good measure. Where ever this conversation was going, passed point of making him uncomfortable and he wanted to hit the abort button. Evidenced by the formation of Ivory’s frown Tanner realized he must’ve hit the wrong note with his request.

 “You’d rather be in your stuffy house than sleep by me?”

“O-Oh, it's not that. I just thought, y-y'know... it'd be pretty dangerous if you fell asleep and rolled over.”  He stammered. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to respond naturally when her behavior this evening has been abnormal in every regard.

“Would I ever hurt you Tanner?”

“No...” Tanner hoped she didn't detect that his response sounded more unsure than he would’ve liked.

“Exactly, I’ll never hurt my precious little son. Now give your Mom a goodnight kiss.”

After bringing her hand near him Tanner stepped onto the platform and waited as he was brought to his mother’s face. The dozens of questions that stormed in his mind were rendered mute when he stared into Ivory's anticipant eyes, even though he needed to manage a few paces to reach her face each step dragged as if he had weighted shackles attached to his limbs. Gentle, soothing, maternal, those were some of the first words that he immediately associated with Ivory and was how she always treated him. Tonight, he noticed there was something else in her demeanor and wondered if it was a new development… or something that was always there.  It was only a small peck he gave her on the cheek but luckily it was enough to placate her, and she lowered him back onto the bed.

“Goodnight son.”

“Goodnight Mom.” He forced himself to say with any degree of normalcy. Closing his eyes, Tanner hoped sweet unconsciousness would greet him soon to relieve him of his lurking anxiety that told him that Ivory still had her gaze locked onto his sleeping form.

Ivory’s Reminiscence I: My Incredible Shrinking Son

The memory of the day Tanner and I met at the group home was ingrained into my memory as I came face to face with the then ten-year-old Tanner; a ten-year-old that was only as tall as my waist. My reaction was one I’m sure he received dozens of times and by sheer happenstance did I manage to keep myself from saying “Wow… he’s short.” Though I’m sure it was written all over my face what I was thinking.

The length at Julie went in detailing his medical records to brace me with the grand reveal that Tanner wasn’t just short but was getting smaller would be enough to make anyone’s mind spin. In hindsight, I do wonder how most people would respond to being told that a loved one was shrinking. Perhaps a mixture of shock and denial at the possibility of such a phenomenon being real? Then it’d give way to an impending fear as they’d have to confront the possibility that said loved one may end up shrinking and they weren’t certain when it’d stop? Is it wrong when the bombshell of Tanner’s shrinking was revealed to me my reaction was none of the aforementioned? Instead I was curious… fascinated even.

When the time came to bring Tanner, home did I make the true connection of what his condition meant. As he opened the back door to the car his apprehension was obvious when he spotted the booster seat for him to sit in when most children his age should have been beyond the point of needing one. “I’m sorry dear, it’s just to ensure you’re safe.”

Understanding, Tanner swallowed his reluctance and sat down in the booster seat for me to buckle him in. The lasting image of him sitting docile in a seat meant for kids younger than him and his feet not even touching the floor left me in a complete mental disconnect. What I should be seeing was a young boy about to enter his pubescent years, yet I almost entirely disassociated him from his adolescence, however that was only scratching the surface. By the time he’s a preteen, teenager, and even a young adult it was guaranteed he’d be even smaller. This wasn’t just some safety precaution, it was a precursor.

For the remainder of the day I was plagued with a barrage of what if scenarios. What if Tanner was too small to reach the dinner table, would he have to use a high chair? I couldn’t believe I almost squealed girlishly at entertaining the thought of him sitting on my lap. There were occasions while I showed him around the house where I had to make a conscious effort to slow down my pace when he started to trail too far behind me, what if he became too small to get from place to place on his own? My heart fluttered at the idea of carrying him everywhere he needed to be… What? I’m just considering inevitable realities. That was nothing compared to the roller coaster my mind went on during his first night.

Around midnight after Tanner already went to sleep, I decided to check on him one last time before heading to bed myself. I peeked through the door and was greeted by the sight of him thrashing in his bed sheets.

“Tanner… Tanner… Tanner!” I called out his name several times as I nudged at him until he finally came to in a cold sweat. It took him several seconds to register his surroundings and realize where he was before responding.

“Oh, sorry Miss Ivory… I guess I was just having a bad dream.” Despite his deep exhales Tanner tried to put up a calm façade.

“Sweetie, it’s alright to talk to me. What did you dream about?” I asked, sitting down next to him.

“I…” Tanner audibly gulped, steeling his nerves before explaining.

“I… had a dream that I was shrinking… I was shrinking, and it wouldn’t stop.” He uttered.

It was obviously difficult for him to explain and at that point I should’ve interjected with something to the effect of ‘everything will be okay and that wouldn’t happen’. But, I didn’t. Why? Because I was hooked on his every word and my imagination went wild envisioning him dwindling before my very eyes as he went into depth explaining what happened in his dream.

“Everyone started staring at me, I got so scared and didn’t know what to do.”

 At this point he was roughly a ¼ of my size and still shrinking, the circumference of my thigh alone was probably thicker than his whole body. Mesmerized I scooted in closer to my still shrinking son. “What happened then?”

Tanner clenched the sheets tightly before continuing. “I just ran…ran as far as I could, but I was still getting smaller.”

“Mhm?” I urged him to continue, scooting closer yet again. The distance between us now was non-existent as I watched him sink further into the bed, now small enough for me to easily cradle like a newborn and showed no signs of stopping yet.

“By the time I stopped shrinking and running everyone was giant...  I was too small to get anyone’s attention. They just stepped over me and-”

I was tuned out of anything being said at that point and was transfixed at the sight of Tanner who finally stopped shrinking leaving him no larger than my little pinky. I couldn’t have even begun to imagine if this was what lied in the future. How would it even be possible for him to live normally? What a redundant question, he simply wouldn’t. The world would simply be too big for him. What would he be able to do on his own? Another redundant question. Nothing, he’d be too small. Eating, moving, drinking, anything, he’d need someone… he’d need me to do everything.

“I just… don’t know what’s going to happen to me.” Was the next thing I remember Tanner saying, on the verge of tears. I would’ve loved nothing more than to scoop his tiny form into my hands and smother him with hugs and kisses until my heart’s content, but my mind already checked back into reality and Tanner was back to his normal size.

 “Oh sweetie, just let it all out.” I cooed, pulling him into an embrace as he sobbed into my chest. I lost track of how long I kept gently swaying him back and forth until he settled down. Eventually his sobs gave way to silence and light snoring.  Smiling, I gently rubbed his head and whispered. “Ssh, I’ll be here for you and protect you no matter how small you get.” What? It’s not like I was hoping he’d get smaller, I’ll always be there for him… and he’ll always need me.