HOME | DD

Description
He wouldn’t classify them as nightmares, but they were pretty close — feelings of dread, but exhilaration at the same time, as he remembered the twins suddenly becoming towering forces of nature, their footsteps shaking the earth, their hands enveloping his body.

And now only a simple white door separated him from their domain, and hours of being at their mercy.

She had appeared at his house only two days ago, almost two weeks after the giant boys had said goodbye. His mom was already at work and he had been eating breakfast when he heard her knock, and when he opened the door, his jaw dropped — this 6-foot-tall, tanned, voluptuous brunette in a red and black motorcycle outfit stood majestically before him, her helmet tucked under one arm, her expertly curled hair waving in the breeze.

“You are David, right?” she asked.

All he could do was nod as he looked her over, glancing briefly at the cherry red Kawasaki parked on the street behind her.

“Well, David,” she said, smiling, her voice like a strand of silk, “my boys have missed you.”

“Your … boys?” he croaked.

“Yes. I’m sure you remember them. They are identical twins, very cute and curious, and they stand at around 60 feet tall,” she said.

David could do nothing but stare. After several thumping beats of his heart, he finally invited the woman in.

“So, you’re their mother?” he asked, as she alighted on a stool by the kitchen’s breakfast bar and laid down her helmet. “I guess that means you’re a …”

“A giantess, yes,” she answered, disclosing her nature with nonchalance. “And I’m also a witch for the county’s medical guild. I’m used to shrinking down for work all the time.”

David chuckled, his nerves calming gradually as he made his guest a glass of lemonade. “You’re still pretty tall at human size. I think you’ve got a couple inches on me,” he said. “I’m sorry … what’s your name?”

“Vivian,” she purred, and took a sip from her drink. “I have to say, you’re just as nice and polite as Cade and Conor said you were. And, surprisingly, not as freaked out as I thought you would be having me here.”

“Oh, that’s OK … I think magic is pretty cool. I never learned any, but … um …” David said, fidgeting and feeling awkward, like he always did around attractive women. He was a prominent high school jock in image alone.

“I also want to thank you, David, for not telling anyone about my sons’ true size,” Vivian said, not explaining how she knew he hadn't said anything. “Or how close they came to human territory at full size, which could have been disastrous for them.”

“In fact, David, that is why I am here today — I feel that I can trust you, and I hope you understand that you can trust me.” She set down her drink, stood up from her stool, and locked her eyes with his. “David, I want you to come spend time with my sons again.”

His chest tightened. All his muscles became still, and he felt for a moment as though he’d been turned to stone. Vivian acknowledged his reticence and continued.

“I understand seeing them grow must have shocked you,” she said. “But Cade especially told me you treated them like they were your own family. And Conor said that even when he was breaking the rules and running off with you, you kept his best interests at heart.”

David took a sip from his own drink and merely nodded, his eyes darting around the bar’s surface as he remembered.

“My boys have said something about you every day, about the games you played, about the things you taught them, about how much fun you were,” she said. “Their father is rarely around to be with them, and you provided such a rare, strong role model. Your influence on them while they used their birthday presents meant so much.”

“But how can I see them again?” David asked, blushing a bit at the flattery. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

Vivian relaxed her elbows on the counter. “Well, it’s simple, really. I need … a babysitter,” she said.

Alarm bells went off in his head. He immediately knew what all this implied.

For one thing, it meant he would be visiting the giant territory — a place no humans dared to enter — staying in a giant house. For another thing, it meant he would be hanging out with two rambunctious 9-or-10-year-olds who were big enough to crush him without even thinking about it. In addition, not only would he be once again standing in the shadows of building-sized children, he would also be expected to watch out for them, to play with them, to put them to bed, to be an authority figure.

Noticing the spirals in the teen boy’s eyes, Vivian put her hands firmly on his shoulders.

“David, I know it sounds crazy, but it will work!” she said. “I have set up magic precautions to keep you safe, and to make you fully capable as their baby sitter. I’m a witch, remember?”

“Yeah. Yeah, but …” he muttered.

“David, I really need this,” she said, almost pleading with him now. “It’s only for one night, and I simply cannot be at home. I have to go to a short conference in the city for work. I would hire another giant, but Cade and Conor have been begging me to come get you. Please say yes!”

For a long moment, David stood there, looking blankly into Vivian’s eyes. In his heart, he knew that sitting for the twins would be fun, but his mind was awash with “What if?” questions. He wanted to say yes, but his mouth would not move.

“I’ll pay you $300,” Vivian said.

At that, the teenager became fully functional and alert.

And now, two days later, after an easy noon ride on the back of a motorcycle through mysterious, restricted, tree-lined roads, and an approach over a hill toward a brobdingnagian monument of a house, David found himself dropped off at Vivian’s “human garage,” a backpack full of supplies slung over one shoulder, a well-used longboard clutched in both hands, the inconspicuous, human-scaled white door to the main house in front of him.

Around his left wrist was a magical wire bracelet that, for the next 24 hours, would create a life-saving cushion of air for him, should he ever fall. Around the pinky on his right hand was a wooden Celtic knot ring, a powerful artifact that would make his body impervious to crushing — that is, until the next time it had to be recharged. Around his neck, hidden under his shirt, lay a chain holding a single, silver whistle.

“The boys know about the whistle,” Vivian had said. “They don’t know exactly what it does, but they know that it can alert the authorities as well as punish them if they’re up to no good. They don’t know about the other things, and I don’t think they should. I don’t want them testing how durable you are.”

She had instructed him on whistling up a note for emergencies and whistling down a note for whenever the boys might get too rowdy or dangerous — though it had to be a last resort in that case.

“They will most likely listen to you, David, because, quite frankly, they adore you,” she had said. “But I should warn you: They have been having a wilder day than usual. You’ll be fine! Good luck!” And after cheering him on, she had sped away.

“Moment of truth,” he thought, as he opened the door and entered the giant realm.

Through the portal, he now found himself in an impossibly large, cavernous room: the entry hall of the house. For the first instant of many more that day, he had to will his brain away from the compulsion to shut down at the sheer grandeur of it all. Before his feet stretched a tiled stone floor of several football fields’ length, abutted by pristine white walls that shone like limestone cliffs in the incandescent light given off by crystal lamps on the distant ceiling. He noticed that several yards ahead of him, the floor was adorned with a light green rug, its fibers sticking up like savannah grass to his point of view. The door shut behind him, and a soft bell rang in the air of the house.

Then, he could feel the floor rumble. He could hear the ground quake. Objects of immense size and strength rapidly impacted the earth and grew closer and closer.

Around the corner, with an incredible THOOM!, jumped one of the boys, his long, curly hair bouncing in front of his grinning face. He was wearing a white T-shirt, black swimming trunks, and socks on his feet, which caused him to slide a bit. He ran toward the human and landed with a grand THUMP into a kneeling position, looking down.

David could feel the blood draining from his face as he looked up and up and up at the titanic kid, trying to focus on the boy’s warm expression instead of on the knees that could crush a cement mixer. His own legs were really wanting to buckle under him, but he mentally forced them to stay strong.

“Hi, David!” the boy said gleefully, his hands twitching at his sides, wanting to scoop up the human right away but resisting the temptation. As he said this, another great THUMP! resounded from the corner area, and David was surprised to see the other giant twin carefully balancing himself on the rug, tiptoeing to its edge, and then standing there, frustrated.

“It isn’t fair! I can’t get over there without stepping off the rug!” he whined. This boy was wearing a red and white sleeveless jersey and blue soccer shorts, and his feet were bare, his toes curling around the carpet’s border.

The boy on his knees in front of David rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t like how the stone feels on his feet, but he won’t wear socks, either,” he explained in an exasperated whisper. David smiled.

“Hi, Cade,” he said, looking up at the kneeling boy, and then turned toward the other. “Hi, Conor.”

Both giant boys beamed at him and exclaimed almost in unison:

“How did you know I was Cade?”

“How did you know I was Conor?”

The human teen grinned and shook his head. He was happy, truly happy, to be back with his “little bros.”

And the happiness was beating back the fright.