The empty top drawer of the desk in my bedroom was the only place I could think of where he’d be safe. I didn’t want to leave Evan on top of something he could fall from – accidentally or deliberately – and I didn’t want to put him in something small and belittling, like a matchbox, either. He was still scared out of his mind. He lay trembling in the palm of my hand, not saying a word, and I swear I could see tears in his diminutive eyes – in fact, he couldn’t be further removed from the tall, confident, slightly full-of-himself guy he was an hour ago.

There was no chance of going out for the evening now. Sarah was a complete wreck – I could hear her crying in her room, as if she would never run out of tears – and Evan was completely petrified by the unfamiliar, gigantic world he was now trapped in. I told him to relax and to call if he needed anything, then dropped him carefully in the drawer and shut it, leaving it open about an inch. I had put some of Alex’s spare clothes next to him for him to wear. I told him I would check up on him every thirty minutes, but apart from that there was little I could do for him. I still had no idea myself what had happened, but I knew one thing – Alex had a lot of explaining to do.

My own miniature boyfriend was still sitting where I’d left him, on top of the little dining table. I must have looked pretty frightening as I strode towards him – I was more than a bit mad at him – and he jumped up and backed away from me. I grabbed a chair and sat down next to the table.

“Now,” I said, making myself perfectly clear, “you’re going to tell me everything that happened, from beginning to end, every single thing – and then you and I are going to figure out how to fix all of this. And you’re going to apologize to Sarah, and to Evan, for ruining their evening – our evening – and promise them that you’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to them, and to make things right again.”

He had no choice but to agree with me. I loved Alex a lot, but sometimes I had no choice but to take charge. There were rare occasions when someone needed to be the stronger partner in our relationship, to make the right decisions, and usually that person was me. This didn’t mean that I didn’t respect Alex a lot or listened to what he had to say – I always did both those things – but sometimes I just wasn’t in the mood for an argument, and I made it clear that he’d better listen to me if he knew what was good for him.

He told me everything that had happened, but nothing he said helped in any way to remedy the situation. It was obvious that picking Alex up was what had caused Evan to shrink – but why?

“Did you, maybe, wish for him to become little like you?” I asked. “Maybe whatever it was that had shrunk you in the first place – magic, some supernatural event, whatever – maybe it’s…contagious?”

“That…doesn’t make any sense,” Alex said. “Why would it only work on Evan, then? And I didn’t wish for him to become small, I just wanted him to let me go! He just grabbed me, just like that, without even asking me first!”

“So this isn’t some previously unknown…shit, I don’t know…some kind of superpower that you have?”

“If it was, don’t you think I’d have used it before? I could’ve just made myself grow back to normal if I had that kind of power. And what about Diane? Why couldn’t I shrink her? What she did to me was a lot worse than anything Evan did – I mean, he just picked me up, for Christ’s sake! Sure, he was being a bit of a jerk, but that’s pretty much how I expected him to be before I met him.”

“Okay, I believe you! I’m not blaming you for anything – I just have no idea what to do next. We have to find some way to return Evan to his normal size. Between you and me, I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do for him – doctors or medical experts, I mean – but if he wants to go to a doctor, or if Sarah wants him to see someone, then we’ll have to support their decision.”

“Even…even if it means that I’ll be…no longer a secret?”

“I’m afraid so, my little angel. If there’s some way you can help return him to normal, then you’ll have to do so, even if it means revealing yourself to the world. I don’t want it to happen any more than you do, but we can’t let Evan be stuck like this, not for the rest of his life.”

“I don’t know…I kinda enjoy being less than two inches tall – maybe he will too, in time.”

I shook my head.

“I doubt he’ll enjoy being completely helpless and in need of others just for survival. He seems like a pretty independent, outgoing type of guy, and I don’t think he’d enjoy being his girlfriend’s little pet, like you do. And what about his plans for the future, all the things he wants to do in his life, that he won’t be able to now? Besides, this isn’t just about him. Sarah looks pretty devastated as well. I know she’s only known Evan for a month or so, but it sure seems like she likes him a lot. And now…”

“Okay, okay, you’ve made your point!” Alex said. “I’ll do whatever I can to help, I promise! Just tell me what you think we should do, and I’ll do it.”

“Well, we’re not going out, that much is clear. I could make some supper for everyone later on, but something tells me Sarah won’t be in a mood to eat, and Evan – I really have no idea. I think the best thing we can do is plan what we’ll be doing tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will feel a lot calmer and more relaxed then.”

I lay down my hand on top of the table and watched as my little guy climbed into it. I was always amazed at how small and light he was, smaller than the smallest doll, and how much I loved him despite our huge difference in size. I could see why Alex would think that it wasn’t such a big deal if Evan remained stuck at tiny size. He had told me many times how much he loved having a girlfriend who could lift him in her hand without effort, and whose vast body was his to explore. I, on the other hand, enjoyed having a boyfriend I could take anywhere with me, who ate almost nothing, whom I could keep wherever I wanted to keep him. I really did feel like a goddess sometimes, seeing how vulnerable and dependent he was on me, and how much delight he gave me whenever I let him play around on the most intimate parts of my body, knowing that he could never hurt me. Our relationship was bizarre, I know, but it worked for us – and it could work for others. But I didn’t want anyone else to be forced to live like we do, or to have the type of relationship that we have.

Alex lay down in my palm, flat on his back, and looked up at me in awe as he always did. He once again told me he was sorry for what had happened, and that he wished he could go back in time and stop it from happening. I forgave him, of course, and brought him up to my mouth for a kiss. His tiny body felt so delicate beneath my lips, which were bigger than he was. It really was a miracle that we were still together, I thought, after everything we had been through. I hoped we would stay together for a long time to come – by now, I couldn’t imagine what life without my precious little guy would be like for me.