Spider Bites

Chapter 3
Jiggity Jig

Chapter Description: Gavin is wrestling with his new situation as a small child while dealing with the indignities that come with it on the road.

As the woman dragged Gavin beside her, she did not notice that the weight under her hand had become less as Gavin tripped clumsily beside her. As Gavin’s other hand reached up to pry the woman’s finger from around his wrist, his pants and underwear easily slipped off his body and over his small feet and lay in piles on the ground behind them. Gavin was having a hard time keeping up with the woman’s pace as she marched back to her van, his shorter legs unable to match her stride. He would have fallen to the ground if it wasn’t for the steadfast strength of her hand keeping him vertical. Gavin was out of breath by the time they reached the van. The unpleasant teenager named Tony leaning against it, waiting for them.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Open the doors.” The woman said, sounding clearly irritated.

“They’re locked.” Tony responded with clear doubt about his parent’s intelligence apparent in his tone.

Grumbling, she let go of Gavin’s wrist as she reached into her purse to retrieve the keys. Gavin staggered at the sudden release by the woman, he reached over to the van to steady himself. Looking around, Gavin saw that the van seemed huge. The door handle was almost out of his reach. There would be no way he could operate it. Confused and frightened, Gavin began to panic.

“Dere’s been a midtake. I don think I should go wif you.” Gavin spoke as he looked up at the woman as he moved back.

Surprised to hear the state of his diction, his hand went up to his mouth where he was surprised to feel the smaller baby teeth instead. The last time he had a mouthful of baby teeth he must have been around four years old.

“Gavin, please be quiet. Tony, hold onto your brother.” The mother commanded the teenager as she searched the contents of her purse for her car keys.

“Hey, Squirt, stay put. No more running off.” Tony said in a light tone, but his eyes were threatening as his hand dug into the smaller boy’s shoulder

The mother finally located the keys and punched the button releasing the locks. The sliding door of the van opened and slid back automatically. There was a child’s booster seat sitting on one of the captain’s chairs in the back. Then what happened next occurred so quickly that Gavin did not even protest. The mother turned around and in one swift movement lifted Gavin and placed him in the booster. Gavin was unable to move as the mother quickly and smoothly fastened the buckles on the straps that held him in the seat.

Gavin looked down at his body as it sat in the booster seat, stunned. His ankles were lying on the bare edge of the seat in the van. His feet were not even hanging straight out, but were sticking out at an angle at the end of the seat. His legs were not even long enough to even bend toward the floor.

“Hey! Get me oudda dis ding. Ima not a widdle kid. Ima ada…adda.” Gavin paused for a moment in his rant; the word adult had seemed to dribble out of his mind. Unnoticing, he continued to yell. “Ima a gwon up! I gotta meeding!”

Gavin yelled and kicked as the mother calmly slid the door of the van shut and got in the driver’s seat. She made no response as she turned the key in the ignition.

“Ima Gabin Wouul! See my pikchur dere! See! See!” Gavin pointed out the window to a nearby bus bench to no one’s particular response.

Once the car had been started, a smirking Tony opened the door of the passenger side and got in the front passenger seat. Before he reached to pull his seat belt strapped across him, he turned toward the back of the van.

“Be quiet, Shrimp!” Tony called back to the back seat.

“NO!” Gavin strained at the straps holding him in as he vented. “You can’t tell me wat to do!”

“Yes, I can! You’re a baby!” Tony taunted as he slid the seat belt buckle in the latch with a small evil smile.

“No, Ima not! Ima gwon up!” Gavin blurted as his face grew red as anger mixed with frustration began to break the surface. His head began to bounce back against the headrest of the seat in response to his heightening emotions

“No. You’re a baby that has to sit in a booster seat. Aw! Look at the wittle baby!” Tony began to taunt. “Aren’t you a cute wittle baby?”

“NO! Ima not a baby!” Gavin asserted at the obnoxious teenager. He pointed a finger in his own small chest. “Ima in weal esdate!”

“Tony, stop teasing your brother. We all need to calm down. Tony, turn around and look out the window. Gavin, look out your window.” The woman announced with ominous intent. “I don’t want to hear another word out of either of you while I’m driving.”

Gavin closed his mouth, but his bottom lip stuck out as he glared at the back of Tony’s head. His face was like a thundercloud as he stared at his tormentor in the front of the van. He plopped his chin into his hand while his elbow was braced on the armrest of the chair. As he sat there for a few minutes, he began to calm down, not realizing that the thumb from his hand had crept into his mouth. Turning his head slightly, his eyes went to the window beside him.

As he sat there staring at the trees they were passing, his mind began to review what had just happened. What was happening? Why was he reacting so irrationally to the teenager’s taunts? He needed to tell this woman his exact situation logically and dispassionately. He knew he could convince her to take him to the hospital or better yet back to the office building so he could find that lady. He decided that now was the best time to bring it up. He sat up to speak to the woman. When he did, he discovered his thumb in his mouth. He pulled it out and stared at the wet digit, stunned. Something definitely had to be done. This was getting out of hand.

As the van turned out on to the highway, Gavin saw that Tony’s head was once again bent down over his phone again with his ear pods in his ears. Gavin decided that now might be the best time to speak to the woman driving. What was her name? He hadn’t heard it. Tony had only called her Mom.

“Mommy?” His voice squeaked from the back of the van. Hey, where did that come from? He had meant to say Mam, but the infantile version of mother just popped out of his mouth. He decided to try again and focus on saying Mam. “Mommy?”

“What is it, sweetheart?” The woman answered, her bad mood clearly forgotten.

Gavin grimaced at her calling him sweetheart. Well, she did respond. Maybe she would just over look the faux pas on the word Mother, Gavin mused. He decided to move forward with the explanation of his current predicament. He planned to explain to her that he was an adult real estate agent that had been cursed by that old lady in the elevator. It was imperative that he get back to the building and find her if she was going to reverse the curse on him.

“I gotta go.” Three little words came out of his mouth for all his planning of the persuasive speech he had in his mind. He slapped a hand to head as he realized what he had said sounded like. Better to try again, this time to plan out his argument. He opened his mouth. “I gotta go now.”

“Okay, there’s a gas station right here. Let me pull in.” Mommy said as she slowed down the van and pulled into the parking lot. Gavin was clearly surprised of the reaction to his statement. It was not his intent to go to the restroom, but upon reflection regarding his small body; it may not be a bad idea.

“What are we doing? Why are we pulling in here?” Tony tiredly asked as his mother pulled into one of the parking spaces on the side of the large modern gas station.

“Your brother has to go.” Mommy slammed the van into park, grabbed her keys and purse and was opening the van door. Gavin watched from his seat as the woman who was now considered Mommy in his mind quickly released and pulled him out of the booster seat. Mommy was holding his hand and walking so quickly, that he had to trot to keep up with her.

They entered through the sliding doors and walked back to the area labeled restrooms. Gavin pulled to go into the Men’s room but was stymied that Mommy was not letting go of his hand. She turned and pushed open the door of the women’s restroom pulling his hand ahead of her so he was trapped inside. He saw the line of stalls and the sinks across from them. He spun around and tried to go around Mommy.

“I go to da boyz woom.” Gavin announced.

“No, honey. Let’s use this one.” Mommy responded. “Mommy can’t be with you if you go in that one.”

“No, I don wanna.” Gavin pouted as he pointed at the door behind her.

“Come on, Sugar. We’ll go in the stall together.” Mommy said as she turned him and moved him in front of her as she patted his back.

She herded him into a nearby empty stall. Before he knew it, she placed toilet paper on the seat and spun him around. As she bent over and pulled off his suit jacket and hung it on the hook in the stall. She then reached down to pull up the adult shirt and tie he was wearing like a dress, she stopped. She looked puzzled as her hands went around his waist line and down to his bare butt.

“Where are your pants?” Mommy pulled back her head and looked at him puzzled.

“Dey fell off.” Gavin stated the fact. Was he the only one that noticed when that happened?

“I am surprised I didn’t notice this before.” Mommy sighed.

With a shrug of her head, she popped him up on seat, arranging him to make sure he would pee into the bowl. At first, he wasn’t sure he could do it with an audience, but soon the tinkling sound floated by them telling the endeavor was successful.

“Is that all? Do you need to make poopy too?” Gavin just shook his head as a little part inside him huddled in shame.

“Are you done?”

Gavin nodded.

Gavin knew he should be embarrassed. He had just urinated in front of this strange woman. He didn’t know what to say. He knew he should be mortified; but somehow there was an acceptance of this being a natural occurrence that quelled the unpleasant emotion. Suddenly, Mommy reached over and bunched a quantity of toilet paper and pulled him off the toilet. Before she let down his shirt, she patted his little penis dry and then for good measure, she spun him around to check out his bottom. With a sigh, she grabbed another quantity of toilet paper and wiped his bottom. She tossed the wads into the toilet and pulled his shirt down.

Gavin turned toward the door, waiting for her to open it; but nothing happened. He looked back over his shoulder. He was aghast to see the woman with her pants and panties pulled down her thighs and sitting on the toilet in the stall.

“Just a minute, Pumpkin. Mommy needs to go too.” The statement shocked Gavin.

Gavin turned around quickly and stared at the hinge on the door as Mommy finished up behind him. It was an excruciating long minute before he heard movement and the toilet flush behind him. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, so he ran toward the bathroom’s door when she opened the door to the stall. He forgot about his jacket hanging in the stall in his desire to flee from the bathroom as soon as possible.

“Come back here, Puddin. We need to wash our hands before we go!” Mommy called affectionately, waving him back to the sinks.

Gavin begrudgingly marched back to Mommy where she had rolled up his sleeves and had him braced over the sink while she washed his hands in-between her own. Mommy gave him a tickle as she reached over and dried his and her hands together. Although he did not intend it, a stream of giggles escaped him before he could stop them. He was still smiling broadly, when Mommy planted a big kiss on his cheek with an emphatic ‘Mmwa’ sound which seemed to entertain him even further.

Finally, the pair of them returned to the van, where Tony was still staring at the phone in between his hands. After securing Gavin back in his booster seat, Mommy started up the car and pulled out onto the highway to continue on their way home.

As the signs and telephone poles passed by the window, Gavin braced his head up against the blinder that stuck out from the side of the booster seat. He decided that once they got to the house, he would make a call to his office. They would surely come out and rescue him. His eyes glazed over as his resolution calmed the turmoil inside him as he was hypnotized by the steady rhythm of telephone poles going by. He felt a jabbing pain just under his armpit. Then suddenly, it was gone before he rouse himself enough so he could even reach over to rub it. He was just too relaxed to be bothered; before he knew it, he had gone to sleep.