“Me?” Mark said.  “I’m a page editor and headline writer, not Harry Potter.  What makes you think I can find a way to break the spell on your girls?”

“First off, no one is trying to break any spells,” Lisa said.  “The girls’ existence is the result of the spell that left them this way.  If the spell were broken, they might die, or just cease to exist.  What we need is to rework the spell’s effects so it works more favorably for the girls.”

“And I’m supposed to be able to do that just because I’m good with clever word play to make people more likely to look at a story?” Mark said.

“That’s exactly right,” Lisa said.  “I’ve been researching this, and I think the girl’s names can be reworked, somehow, or used in new ways to help them.  But I can’t think of how.  We tried calling them by formal versions of their names -- Dolores for Dolly, Barbara for Barbi, Penelope for Penny -- but it didn’t have any effect.  Barbi went through a  stint where she wanted to be called Barb, but that ended quickly when she started shrinking.  We think the magic was going to make her the size of a thorn, which would actually be smaller than Penny.  She went back to being called Barbi right away, and reverted to this size.”

Barbi, still on Mark’s shoulder shuddered.  “I don’t like to think about that,” she said.

“But I don’t see how someone who wins awards for quick rhymes, alliteration and puns can help you with your problem,” Mark said.

“From the research I’ve done, there are several kinds of magic,” Lisa said.  “It can be based on a place, an object, or -- among other things -- words.  Words, and especially names, have power.  That power was invoked with the spell that gave me my daughters.  I believe, based on the ‘Barb’ experience, we can find some ways to tweak the girls’ situation using those kinds of words -- the subtleties of word play.”

Mark put his right hand behind his neck and rubbed it, being careful to avoid his passenger.  “That’s a huge responsibility,” he said.

From the speaker on the table he heard Penny.  “Please, Mr. Hames, help me.”

Barbi leaned into his ear.  “I’m not so worried about me,” she said, so quietly no one but Mark could hear, “But Penny can’t have much of a life like this.  I’d appreciate you helping her -- with all 11 and a half inches of me, if you’d like.”

Mark blushed again.  “Um … I’ll do what I can,” he said.  “And, actually, I already have an idea that may help Dolly.  I know Penny’s need is most urgent, but I’m stuck for her, at least for now.”

“Do it,” Lisa said.  “Help any of my girls you can, please.”

Mark nodded.  “I’ll need about an hour, and I’ll have some expense here -- not huge, but significant on a newspaperman’s pay.”

“I’ll cover anything I can,” Lisa said.

Mark nodded. He gingerly lifted  Barbi from his shoulder and handed her to Lisa.  “I’ll be back in about an hour,” he said.

Sixty-two minutes later, Mark returned.  When Lisa saw what he was wheeling up, she hit her head with the palm of her hand.  “Why didn’t I think of that?” she asked.

“That’s why you wanted me, with my skills,” Mark said.

Lisa helped him get the item in the door.  When Dolly saw it, she burst out laughing.  Barbi, the only other girl in the living room, was confused.  She’d never seen anything like this wheeled … thing before.  “What IS that?” she asked.

Dolly turned to her shorter sibling, gesturing with her arm toward what Mark had wheeled in.  “It’s a dolly!” she said.  “It’s used to carry things like furniture, or appliances, or stacks of heavy boxes.”

“It’s a …” Barbi said, still looking confused.  Then  the light dawned.  “Oh!,” she said.  “That’s brilliant!”

“Dolly, we need to get your namesake into your room,”  Mark said.  “If this works, you’ll want to keep one of these dollies wherever you live.  I think it may help reinforce the magic.”

“It can’t hurt,” said Dolly.  “Do you need my help?”

“I think your mom and I can get it, and I can probably do it myself,” Mark said.  “You can help when you’re bigger.”

Dolly clapped her hands and giggled.  Barbi smiled.  Mark was not only good-looking; he also was wicked smart and might really be able to help.

The next morning, Mark was awakened by a phone call.  “Mark, it’s Dolly.”

Mark blinked the sleep from his eyes.  “You sound different,” he said groggily.

“And, thanks to you, I need to buy new clothes!” Dolly said.  “Your idea worked!”

Mark sat up, now fully awake.  “So fast?” he said.

“Literally overnight,” Dolly said.

“That’s fantastic!” Mark said.

“And the best thing is, my body grew proportionally,” Dolly said.  “I’m just under five feet tall -- the same height as the ‘namesake’ in my room -- and I’m still really stacked and curvy!”

Mark was glad Dolly couldn’t see his cheeks and ears right now.  Then he heard another voice on the phone.  “Mark, it’s Lisa,” the new voice said.  “You’ve done really well.  One down, two to go.”

“Yeah, well, this was the easy one,” Mark said.  “It may take some time to figure out how to help Barbi and Penny.”

Mark heard a faint voice in the background.  “Barbi wants me to ask if it would help you to come over here and spend some time.”

“It might,” Mark said.  “If I immerse myself in your situation, I may get some ideas.”

“Well, as far as I’m concerned, you’re always welcome here, Mark,” Lisa said.  “You come over whenever you want as long as you want.”

“Thanks,” Mark said.  “I’ll take you up on that.”

Mark began spending as much of his free time as he could at the Hoests’ home.  Officially, he was working to try to help Barbi and Penny, and he worked seriously on that effort.

But Mark also had to admit that he was flattered by the attention of all three gorgeous women.  Dolly was her usual flirtatious self, but began to be drawn by the attention of other guys outside as her life in the world beyond the house entered a more normal phase.  But there was a joy both Penny seemed to have in his presence, a caring man in a world where men had been denied her.

And then there was Barbi.  She was something special, Mark realized.  He was aware that she was attracted to him, as he was to her.  But she also was devoted to her sister, to helping Penny find her way to normalcy, or at least something closer to normalcy.

It had been six weeks since Mark brought Dolly the dolly.  In that time, he’d spent a lot of time at the Hoests, but had come up with no more ideas.

Lisa was away on a two-week business trip.  Before Dolly’s growth, that would have been difficult, if not impossible.  Now she was able to make sure the household stayed running while her mom was away.

The morning after Lisa left, Mark arrived at the Hoests.  He would work the night shift, as usual, that night.  As he entered, Dolly was putting on a jacket.

“I’m heading out to have coffee with my new boyfriend, Jay,” Dolly said.  “And the oher two girls are waiting for you upstairs.  They have a kind of … special request for you.”  As Dolly slipped through the door, she said, “And, don’t worry.  I won’t be home until at least lunchtime.”  She smiled knowingly as she closed the door behind her.

Mark shook his head, confused.  He walked up the stairs and found Barbi, laying on her side in a seductive pose.  His ears turned beet red.  Barbi was stark naked, and the body that looked so good in the doll clothes was just as amazing out of them.

Then he blinked twice.  Mark realized that Barbi had someone on her shoulder.  It was Penny, who was herself lying on her side, also looking sexy.

“I don’t understand,” Mark said.

“Oh, yes, you do,” Barbi said.  “We can both hear how well you understand what we’re about.”

“Um, Barbi --”

“Mark, you’re the only man in our lives, and we’re both healthy young women.  And at least one of us is in love with you.”

Mark started to say something, but Barbi put her index finger to her lips.

“Look, we know you may not be able to help either of us, but we’re glad you’re in our lives,” Barbi said.  “And, let’s face it, we aren’t going to get a lot of opportunities to make love to a man in whatever ways we can.  It’s not just normalcy you can give us.  Penny wants to make love to you, and she’ll need my help to do it.”

Mark looked at Barbi, raising an eyebrow.  “And how do you feel?” he asked.

For the first time since Mark met her, Barbi blushed.  She looked incredibly cute, he thought.  “I … have the things I’d like to do, too,” she said.

Mark smiled.  “I think you can hear what I’m feeling,” he said.

Barbi looked at Penny, then up at Mark, a grin on the taller girl’s face.  “She says you are wearing entirely too many clothes,” Barbi said.

“I can fix that,” Mark said.

“Pick us up,” Barbi said.  “We’re going to Dolly’s room.  You’ll want a bed, and she said we could use hers.  Ours would be too small for you.”

So Dolly was in on this, Mark thought.  He picked up Barbi, who still had Penny on her shoulder.  He carried them into Dolly’s room.  The sheets were already turned down.  He placed the women on the bed, then started removing his pants.  The women watched, fascinated.  Mark remembered they had never seen a naked man before, and on top of that, he was as big as a tall tree to Barbi and a skyscraper to Penny.

Looking at both women, Mark knew his member already was standing at attention when he turned toward them,  Both women put their hands over their mouths at the same moment; he could hear Barbi’s accompanying gasp.  Penny’s was too faint for his ears.

“Is everything all right?” Mark asked.

Then  he realized the sisters were wide-eyed and grinning.  “Neither of us knew it would be so … big,” Barbi said.  “I mean, we knew intellectually, but that’s … that’s … Wow!”

“You like it?” he said.  “’Cause I like what I see.”

Barbi put a hand on her hip.  “I need to do more than see,” she said.  “I’m more of a hands-on girl, and so’s my sister.”

“So what you’re saying is --” Mark said.

“Bring it, Mister,” Barbi said.

Mark walked around the bed so as not to endanger his would-be lovers.  He got in, feeling his penis erecting even more.

Barbi walked over to Mark’s thigh and climbed up,  She poked the penis, which drifted lazily in the air; if anything, the action made Mark even harder.  Barbi laughed, walked over and placed her sister atop the tip of the dick.  Then she pressed herself against it.

“My gawd, it’s up to my tits!  And I think it’s still growing!” Barbi said.

“Just a little,” Mark said.

“Barbi looked up at him.  “It’s not just our inexperience!  You really are huge!” she said.

Mark moaned.

Barbi looked concerned.  “Are you all right?” she asked.

“That’s … pleasure,” Mark said.  “This is … amazing!  I can feel your breasts against me, and Penny … I don’t know what she’s doing, but it’s wonderful!”

Barbi looked at her little sister.  Penny was rubbing the opening at the tip of Mark’s penis, along the edge and from just inside.  “Great work, Sis,” Barbi said.

“You, too,” Penny said.

Barbi wrapped her arms around the cock, then bent down and kissed around the top, being careful to avoid her sister.  Mark moaned again.

Then Barbi heard a new sound at the base of the cock, coming from the balls -- and she realized that “coming” was a very appropriate word.  She used her feet to find the sweet spot she’d read about, and began to bounce there.

Mark moaned more loudly.  The semen roared through the cock.  Penny had enough warning to run to the high side of the tip before the deluge could wash her away.  She watched in astonishment as a geyser of cum shot out.  She glanced back at Barbi, whose jaw was hanging open.

Penny fell to her knees.  “Oh, I feel it inside,” she said.  “That was amazing for me, too.”

Barbi grinned.  “That made three of us,” she said.

Penny looked up at her sister.  “Thanks, Sis,” she said.  “I know how you feel about him, and I appreciate you sharing him.”

“No problem,” Barbi said.  “I’m still hoping to have him to myself down the line, but this was special, too, in a really weird kind of way.”

“Go talk to him,” Penny said.  “I’ll wait here.  This thing is alive, and riding it is fun, even on its way down.”

Barbi nodded and climbed up her man.  She stopped, sitting on his left pec, where she could hear and feel his heartbeat.  “Hey, handsome,” she said.

“Hi, gorgeous,” Mark said.  “You were fantastic.”

Barbi closed her eyes.  “You weren’t so bad youself,” she said.  “I’m … having an orgasm right now … and you weren’t even in me.  I think Penny is, too.”

“Glad to be of service,” Mark said.  He took a deep breath.  “So, where does this leave things with the three of us now?”

“I’m not sure,” Barbi said.  “It sure was a game-changer.  But I’m glad we did it.”

“Me, too,” Mark said.  He caressed Barbi’s cheek with his index finger.  “And you sure love your sister.”

“I’d do anything for her,” Barbi said.  “Even share … well, you know.”

“Yeah,” Mark said distantly.  “I do.”

Barbi’s brow furrowed.  “You OK?” she asked.  “You seem distracted.”

Mark smiled.  “It’s just something you said.  I think it may be the seed of any idea.  It just may need a little while to take root.”