Mark entered the familiar house at 333 Primrose Lane without knocking. He had been treated as family ever since he had found the cure for Dolly’s initial problem, and now officially was family by marriage.

On going inside, Mark looked off to his right, where the living room area was located. There he saw Lisa and Summer, each standing over Beef, who was sitting on a wingback chair. On his lap sat Dolly, much smaller now than she had been the last time Mark saw her, at his wedding. Then, she had been short, but a human of normal height; now she was, in metric terms, a few centimeters under a meter tall, he estimated.

“Hey, Dolly,” Mark said.

“Mark!” Dolly said, looking at him expectantly. But she didn’t see what she was looking for, apparently, as she started looking around in under three seconds. “Where’s Barbi?”

“She’s in the car,” Mark said.

Dolly bolted off Beef’s lap. “I need to see her!” she said, starting to run out the door.

“No!” Mark shouted. “She can’t go to Barbi!”

Beef looked confused, but Lisa and Summer, who Mark knew each trusted him implicitly, both immediately moved to stop Dolly. Lisa blocked her oldest daughter’s path, while Summer reached down and grabbed her smaller sibling.

“What are you doing?” Dolly shouted.

“Mark said you can’t go out,” Summer said, picking Dolly up. “You’re staying here.”

Dolly glared up at Summer. “At times like this, I wish you were still three-quarters of an inch tall,” she said.

A cell phone rang. Dolly looked back at Beef. “That’s mine,” she said. “That’s Barbi’s ring tone.”

“I set up her phone by her in the car,” Mark said. “It’s safe for her to talk to you by phone, just not in person.”

Beef got Dolly’s cell phone out of his pants pocket and handed it to her.

Dolly answered. “Hey, Sis.,” she said. After a moment, she said, “OK, I’ll put it on speaker.”

“Mark, have you had a chance to explain things yet?” Barbi asked.

“Nope,” Mark said. “Dolly tried to dash out to you right before you called.”

Dolly was crying.  “I want to hug you, and talk to you, Barbi.”

Mark noticed Summer looking awkwardly around. That made sense to him. As Penny, Summer had been so tiny that she could only directly communicate with Barbi without help. She had been so tiny that she wasn’t able to take part in some of the sisterly things that Dolly had shared only with Barbi. Mark’s wife was the one to whom both other sisters felt closest. That meant that, in this situation, Summer was the odd sister out in Dolly’s time of need.

“Talking we can do; hugging is out,” Barbi said. “That is, unless you want to get smaller than me in a hurry.”

Dolly looked as though she was about to cry. Beef immediately got up, picked her up and held her close, her feet dangling in the air.

“I’m sorry,” Dolly said, still sounding on the verge of tears.  “I’m sorry.”

“Not for marrying me, I hope,” Beef said.

Dolly half-laughed, half-sobbed. “Not for that, no,” she said. “But I should have seen this coming and just kept my maiden name. I mean, I took the name ‘Shorter’ with the name-likeness spell on me. What was I thinking?”

“Thinking?” said Barbi. “Since when do you think before you act?”

“You were thinking of Beef,” Summer said quietly.

Dolly, who was beginning to recompose herself, nodded. “You’re both right,” she said.

“Look, the thing is that the spell’s creating two effects,” Mark said. “It’s making you get shorter every day than you were the day before, and it’s making you shorter than the smallest person around you.”

“So, if I hugged Barbi, she’d be bigger than me right away, and then I’d still get smaller than that every day?” Dolly said.

Mark nodded. “Exactly,” he said.

“So, what do we do to fix this?” Dolly asked.

“Unfortunately, we have to get your name legally changed,” Mark said. “But we can’t get a judge here other than Judge Shaw, and taking you out in public isn’t a good choice right now. Besides, it will take more than a month to get the change made using traditional court methods -- and that’s if they move fast for the court system. This isn’t something that can be done by phone, either. All we can do is wait this out.”

“How little will I get?” Dolly asked.

“It’s hard to say,” Mark said. “But you need to stay in as much as possible. Don’t let any kind of toy doll near you, especially overnight.”

Dolly nodded. “I’m sorry, everybody.”

Murmurs of, “It’s OK,” and, “It’s all right,” went around the room. Beef hugged her tightly.

Mark looked up at the strapping young man.  “Beef, can I have a word with you in private?”

Beef nodded. He let Dolly slide down his frame to gently reach the ground. The two men stepped outside onto the front stoop.

Mark’s brow furrowed. “Beef, how much do you love Dolly?”

Beef shrugged. “She’s my wife,” he said. “I love her a lot.”

“Beef, you’ve seen Barbi,” Mark said. “There are certain … challenges about being married to a tiny woman. And, as small as Dolly already is, she’s going to get smaller every day until we can get the judge here. I know you’re newlyweds, but sex is going to present some … unique challenges.”

After a moment of apparent thought, Beef said, “I guess I can see that.”

“And Dolly’s going to have needs right now, too,” Mark said. “Try to watch out for her, and keep an eye out so she doesn’t just go off and do something.  Dolly can be …”

Beef grinned. “Headstrong,” he said, “and stubborn as a mule when she’s got an idea.”

Mark chuckled and nodded. “She’s bound to be insecure,” he said. “She’s new to this situation, and it’s scary. Let her know you love her, and make sure she knows it. It’ll be good for both of you.”

Beef stared at the ground for a moment. “Mark, how do you handle … sex?  I mean, Barbi’s so small.  How does it … work?”

“Mostly, we just experiment, and try to have some fun with it,” Mark said, blushing. “She focuses on my cock, which is fine with me, and I’m able to get her high with just the use of my fingers and tongue, along with my penis. Manhood that feels gigantic to a woman can be quite sexy, even without a traditional sex act.”

“But you can’t … fit in her,” Beef said.

Mark chuckled again. “Not even close,” he said. “But she finds ways to squeeze me, and she’s been known to line up her private parts with where the, ah, stream will come out of mine. We find ways to satisfy each other. Just keep it light and fun, and make sure she knows you love her as a husband loves his wife.”

Beef nodded. “That part’ll be easy,” he said. He put an arm behind his head. “Ah … Dolly said you and her sisters did some … threesomes?”

Mark nodded, surprised at Dolly’s candor.  “Yeah,” he said, blushing harder.

“How did that work? I mean, Summer was so tiny then, under an inch tall.”

“Again, we experimented,” Mark said. “Penny, as she was called then, played with the slit in my penis tip a lot. Why are you asking?”

“Curiosity,” Beef said. “That, and I want to know what to do if Dolly gets that small.”

Mark put a hand on Beef’s massive shoulder. “Love her; don’t just make love to her. Make sure it’s an expression of your real feelings. If you do that, you’ll both be fine.”

Beef nodded. “Thanks, man,” he said. “Can we go in? I wanna see how Dolly’s doing.”

Mark smiled. “Let’s go,” he said. He turned toward the car and gave Barbi a thumbs up sign. Then he realized she wasn’t looking; she was probably still on the phone with Dolly.

The men re-entered the house. Mark heard Barbi say, “Well, since I can’t hug you right now, have Summer do it. She’s really good at that, y’know, and she probably wants to hug you, too.”

Dolly looked up at Summer, who was smiling down at her. The tallest of the women opened her arms to Dolly, who walked over and was scooped up into a bear hug.

After a short time, Mark excused himself. “I can’t leave Barbi out in the car all day. We’re gonna head to our apartment. I’ll see the rest of you tomorrow.”

As he was leaving, Lisa took Mark aside. “Are you sure Dolly will be all right?” she asked.

Mark smiled. “As sure as I can be,” he said. “From the look on Beef’s face and the questions he asked me, I think he really cares about Dolly and wants to look out for her. I think they’ll get through the crisis OK, and it may help them get closer. I just hope the judge gets back soon. I’ve texted him, but he hasn’t replied.”

“Thanks, Mark,” Lisa said, kissing his cheek. “I’m glad you’re in the family.”

Mark hugged her. “So am I, Mom,” he said.

Later, Beef took Dolly back to his apartment, with a stop at a lingerie store on the way. He had Dolly come in with him to help pick out something to wear that would work. She was shrinking proportionately, not just getting shorter.

“How tall are you?” the clerk in the stgore asked.

“Three-foot-one today,” Dolly said.

The clerk chuckled. “Well, we have a few things that might work, although you may be wearing only one part of a two-piece set. Those breasts of yours will help a bit; you’re stacked for your height.”

“Yeah,” said Beef, leering.

Dolly grinned over her shoulder at Beef, then went to try some things on.

After they had picked out a pink negligee, they set out for the apartment.

Dolly put her hand on Beef’s knee. “Does this mean what I hope it means?” she asked.

“I know what I hope it means,” Beef said.

Dolly smiled and raised her eyebrows. “Well, it’s just that, after last night, I wasn’t sure … if you still wanted me.”

Beef pulled the car to the side of the road. He looked Dolly in the eye. “Last night I was afraid that you had shrunk so much I’d hurt you if I tried to make love to you,” he said. “Now I’m not so afraid.”

Dolly took a quick breath. “Why not?”

Beef shrugged. “I asked Mark how it is for him, and he told me. Now I know it may not be … traditional sex, but we can still use it to make love to each other.”

Dolly stared at the glove compartment for a moment. “That can’t have been easy for Mark,” she said. “It’s not exactly the kind of thing guys talk about.”

“Except when they’re bragging about something,” Beef said.

Dolly laughed.

“Dad taught me to always ask what I needed to from someone who knows, and to always trust family with any problem,” Beef said. “Mark and I are family now, and he treated me like I am.” He put the car back in gear and headed back for the apartment.

Dolly looked out the car window, smiling, thinking of how lucky both she and her sister had been in their choices of men.

Soon they arrived at the apartment. Beef opened the door and scooped Dolly up with one arm to carry her over the threshold. Soon they were in the bedroom.

Beef lay on the bed as Dolly came out in her new negligee. His eyes widened as he saw her. “Wow,” he said.

Dolly raised a shoulder flirtatiously. “You like?”

Beef nodded. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Dolly slinked over to the bed. She hesitated as she realized she would have to climb in.

Seeing her dilemma, Beef lowered his arm and lifted her up.

Dolly snuggled in to Beef’s chest. She began to rub it, then started working her way down, kissing as she moved. Beef’s member was already starting to swell when she got there.

“How do you think we should do this?” Beef asked.

Dolly smiled. “I think I’m still big enough to do this the old-fashioned way.”

“Let’s find out,” Beef said.

Dolly pressed her hand against Beef’s penis.

The cock already was wider than her hand, and started growing further.

“Woof!” said Dolly, her eyes widening. “I hope I’m still big enough.”

“Just find a way to love me, and I’ll find a way to love you,” Beef said. “You’ll always be big enough for that.”

Dolly climbed up, straddling Beef’s penis.  “We’ll see if this works,” she said, slightly afraid.

Beef leered. “Open wide.”

The joke helped lighten Dolly’s mood. “OK, big boy,” she said.

After, Dolly was snuggled up to Beef’s chest again. He stroked her hair. “You OK?” he asked.

Dolly giggled. “I’m great,” she said.

“Yes, you are,” Beef said.

“That was a really snug fit,” she said.

“I could tell,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow morning, after a night’s rest.”

Placing her chin on his chest, Dolly looked up at her husband. “Beef, you know I’ll be smaller in the morning.”

“I know,” he said. “Whatever happens, it’ll be fun.”

Dolly shut her eyes tightly and smiled a wide smile. “Yes, it will,” she said happily.