Tommy the Pumpkin

“We’re going to Jake’s?”

“Yes!” Eric said. “Geez, don’t you ever listen?”

“Why do you have so much stuff?” Eric sighed.

“God, you’re so darn nosey. Haven’t you learned that that gets you into trouble?” He smirked. “‘speically since we’re going to Jake’s.” Tommy blushed. Ever since the tiger incident last Halloween, almost every time Eric and Jake got together, they seemed to trap Tommy in some sort of babyish predicament. He had gotten good at avoiding them, but now? Now he had no choice. “If you must know, Jake and I are gonna go do some pranks.”

“Yeah, right. I bet you’re gonna sneak out for trick or treating even though you said you’re too old. Bet your costume’s in there!” He got a peek at something orange before Eric jerked the bag away.

“Swear to god, we’re doing pranks.” He said.

“And what? I’ll just sit at his house?”

“You can come with us if you want.” Eric shrugged. “But we run faster than you.”

“That’s stupid.” Tommy groaned.

“Well, whatever. Watch scary movies or something while we’re doing it.” Tommy sighed.

“If I wanted to sit alone in an empty house, I would’ve stayed home.”

“Mom and dad said no.”

“I know!”

“They’re super worried you’ll burn down the house or something, right?” Tommy did not want to get into the reason why he was not allowed to stay home alone. All that mattered was he was going to be spending Halloween with his little brother and his little brother’s best friend.

“Hey, um… what about Jake’s sister? What was her name?”

“Janet? She’s in college.”

“Oh.” So he was going to be alone in Jake’s family’s house. Weird, but maybe he could make it fun. “I guess it’ll be okay.” Tommy mumbled to himself, almost coming around to the idea by the time they reached Jake’s house. After all, if Jake and Eric were gone, he wouldn’t have to worry about… no, there had to be some sort of catch.

The catch stood at the kitchen island as they walked in, wearing yoga pants and a purple tank top. Janet grinned as she saw them.

“Hey, Eric. Ohmygod, is that Tommy?” Before Tommy could even say hi, she had scooped him up and kissed both of his cheeks. She smelled so good that it took him a moment to even start squirming. “Alright, buddy, I’ll put you down.” She carried him over to the stairs and called up them. “Jake! Eric and Tommy are here!”

“Be right down.”

“I’m going to go change. I was so excited, I forgot I’m still sweaty from my jog. Sorry Tommy.” Tommy tried to explain it was no big deal, but Janet had already disappeared.

“What’s she doing here?”

“Sorry, bud.” Eric shrugged so genuinely, Tommy almost believed he really did not know she would be here. There was no way Janet would ever let him stay here alone! Then again, maybe that meant he would get to go to a party. No, Janet was convinced he was a baby and would never take him to that.

“What am I going to do? You saw how”

“She was all over you. And last year?”

“That doesn’t count! She dressed me up and you two dragged me to every fucking”

“Janet’s gonna wash your mouth out.” Jake said, walking in. “Plus it’s weird to hear little kids swear.” He gave Eric a hug, never taking his gaze off of the fuming Tommy. “Did you guys eat?”

“Yeah.”

“Janet’ll be disappointed. She was so worried about widdle Tommykins going hungry.” He roughly tousled Tommy’s hair. “Does he still need a sippy? Does he wear bibs?”

“What’d you tell her?”

“Pretty sure he’s on solid food now.” Jake’s grin did not make it clear if he had or had not actually said that. “Oh! Before we forget, I’ve got something to show you, Tommy.” It took Tommy a second to realize that Jake was talking to him.

“HUh?”

“Upstairs. In my room. C’mon.” Tommy looked puzzled. Alone? With Jake? At least he could call for Janet to help him. Or kick Jake.

“Uh, I’ll wait here?” Eric said with a shrug.

“Where are you two off to in such a hurry?” Janet asked. She had changed into jeans and a sweater. The jeans were a downgrade, but at least the sweater still hugged her, Tommy thought.

“Just need to show Tommy something up in my room.” Jake said.

“Careful on the stairs!” Janet said. “Maybe you should crawl, Tommy.”

“What? Why?”

“Ok, you want to be big.” She smiled. “Those stairs are pretty tricky.” How can stairs be tricky, Tommy wondered. “How about you go first and hold the railing? If you tumble, Jake will catch you.” Tommy rolled his eyes, but what if Janet watched to make sure he did?

Fighting the urge to look behind him, Tommy soon got upstairs and out of sight. Jake then took the lead, snickering about the situation.

“It’s not funny.”

“Sure it is.” He said with a grin. “I barely even have to do anything and my sister’s convinced you’re a baby.”

“She is not!”

“Well, I’ve been telling her stories about” he shook his head. “You’ll see.”

“What do you mean?”

“Obviously she’s babysitting you while me and Eric are out doing our pranks.”

“I’ll tell her that’s what you’re doing.”

“Tattle all you want. Won’t do anything to convince her you’re like four. I’ve told her a lot over the last year, not that I needed to. She dressed you up like a tiger without me even saying anything.” Tommy fumed, but he knew he shouldn’t. After all, Eric always brought up the tiger incident when they saw each other.

“What did you want?”

“Oh, yeah. Mom made me clean out the attic and I wondered if you wanted something.” Tommy felt justified in his apprehension. What would it be? A tricycle? Jake’s old crib? Both those thoughts seemed ridiculous until he remembered Jake gifting him his old toy car for his birthday. And made me take photos in it, he thought.

“What is it?”

“Ask me nicely to show you.”

“Fine. Please?”

“You can do better than that!”

“Jake.”

“Fine.” He grinned. “Ta da!” He revealed a set of pajamas. The shirt had a smiling cartoon tiger’s face on it while the pants had smiling elephants, monkeys, and zebras. It was brightly colored and babyish, but Tommy had expected something far worse, so he almost felt underwhelmed.

“Oh.”

“They’re jammies, you know, for when you’re sleeping.”

“No duh, Einstein.”

“Well, you got so upset when Eric and I found you sleeping in your undies.” The way Tommy remembered it, he had been more angry about them making him sing and dance before finally leaving him alone to get dressed. “What do you say, little baby tiger cub?”

Downstairs, Eric was talking to Janet. She was clearly thrilled by the prospect of having Tommy for the night and Eric was more than happy to affirm her belief that his brother was, at best, four or five years old. He was just so tiny, after all.

"Oh, almost forgot. My mom told me to bring this just in case you want to take Tommy trick or treating. No pressure. He got lots of candy at Trunk and Treat yesterday."

“Aw, we wouldn’t want the little guy to miss out!” She smiled slyly. “Where will you two be?”

“Some friends are having a party. We’ll be back by Jake’s curfew, but promise not to tell Tommy? I didn’t tell him that that’s what we’re doing because he might get upset. He wants to be big so bad.”

“Aw, poor little guy.” She smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll have lots of fun. What time’s his bedtime?” It was Eric’s turn to grin slyly. This was a perfect opportunity.

The seeds planted with Janet, Eric wandered upstairs, more than a little curious just what was taking Jake and Tommy so long. He walked in to see Tommy pouting as he mumbled a thank you.

“For my nice new jammies. Jungle jammies.”

“For my nice new jungle jammies.”

“Cute as whatever this is,” Eric said, announcing his presence. “We better get going to our party, Jake.”

"Wait? You're going to a party?"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't want to come. It's a middle school party and you're in high school!" Eric teased.

"Well, does Janet know?" This could be his chance to get some revenge and sabotage their plans.

"First of all, we'll be back by my curfew.'

"And yeah," Eric said. "I did tell her."

"Dude?"

"Sorry. I just thought you'd..."

"Whatever. Janet will be busy anyway." There it was. Firm confirmation -- not that he really needed it -- that he was going to be babysat by Janet.

"There's no way I'm"

"You don't have a choice, baby." Jake said with a big grin.

"I am not" Tommy restrained himself. He would not take the bait. Jake only kept grinning.

"We'd better get you downstairs, but remember how worried Janet was?" Tommy did not like the sound of that. "Crawl down the stairs or we'll make you do it naked!" He scoffed.

"Won't Janet wonder why I'm naked?"

"You're such an adorable little guy, she won't even question it."

"I'm not crawling." Tommy tried to keep his voice calm.

"Well, let's get you naked." Jake replied just as calmly. "Are you wearing cute undies at least or boxers like us?" He laughed, knowing all too well that he and Eric had purged the few pairs of boxers Tommy had had, leaving him nothing but cute little boy briefs in bright colors.

Knowing better than to let himself be cornered, Tommy hurried out of Jake's room and toward the stairs, taking care to slow down. The last thing he needed was to fall down the stairs.

"My goodness!" Janet said, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him to her the moment he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Where are you off to in such a hurry? That excited for trick or treating?"

"He sure is!" Eric said, following behind him.

"What? No. No!" Tommy realized the full breadth of their plan. Not again? The same dumb tiger costume? The way they were grinning, it had to be.

"We're gonna get going, but" he leaned over to Janet, almost rubbing in how he was almost her height. "Be sure to send me pics of our little trick or treater."

"I am not trick or treating!" Tommy protested, but as Jake and Eric got ready to leave, no one was listening to him. "I'm fourteen! Eric! Tell her I'm fourteen!" He knew it was a desperate plea, but he had to try it.

"Bye bye, little guy!" Eric picked Tommy up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You be good for Janet!" Squirm as Tommy might, rather than set him down, Eric passed him over to Janet. It wasn't fair! His little brother was leaving and he was stuck in the clutches of a girl who, while hot, thought he was a little kid.

"You sure you don't want to go trick or treat?" Janet asked, depositing Tommy on the couch. He nodded, searching his brain for something, anything that would get him out of an entire evening of little kid treatment. Trick or treating or not, he knew he would be stuck doing something painfully babyish.

Why was Janet even acting like he was a toddler? She had mistaken him for a little kid and dressed him up like a tiger a whole year ago! He was fourteen now. He had to find a way to tell her he was not a little kid!

“Hey, you do know I’m not” he searched for a way to bring up his age without making it sound like he was a little kid protesting his being seen as one. Inspiration struck. “The other day in”

“I see a little tumtum!” Janet cooed, interrupting him as she tugged up his hoodie and blew a raspberry right into his belly button. “Little Tommy’s tumtum!” Tommy did not stand a chance. He squealed in falsetto, squirming and kicking.

“Stop! I’m trying to… to… Eee!” He squealed as another raspberry landed on his stomach.

"Oh, we better hurry and get you into your costume, huh?"

"What costume?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, Eric brought your costume from Trunk or Treat over! Isn't that nice of him? You're gonna look so cute!" He almost said he did not want to look cute, but there was no way to say it without sounding like a whiny little kid.

"Can't we just stay home? Er, here?"

"It's Halloween! Don't you want candy?"

"I... not really?" Janet laughed.

"Well, you should at least wear your costume since Eric was nice enough to bring it." She smiled and pulled him off the couch. "Can you be a big boy and get undressed while I grab your costume from the kitchen?"

"Right here?"

"I know you needed help last year, but I bet you're big enough to get your pants and shirt off now all by yourself, hmm?" She walked over to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder "do you start kindergarten next year?"

"I'm in ninth grade!"

"Come on, slowpoke! Get undressed. I see Jake in his boxers all the time, I can handle my favorite little cutie Tommy in his undies!" She kneeled down and pulled his shirt up. "Oh, that's that tummy tum tum again!" She giggled as Tommy squirmed just from the mention.

Why am I fighting it? He thought as she pulled the shirt off him. This is a lot better than Eric and Jake teasing me. A hot girl is taking my shirt off! A hot girl who just asked when you start kindergarten, he reminded himself. Still, maybe he could at least get her to kiss him.

"Aw, monkeys on your undies!" Janet exclaimed as she undid his pants. Tommy realized with a chill that his underwear really did match the pajamas Jake had offered him. Good thing I ran before he could see, he thought. "And the green and orange matches your costume! How adorable! Your Mommy thinks of everything!"

"My mom?"

"Did Daddy dress you today?"

"I dress myself."

"Oh, that's right. You're a big boy four year old, right?"

"Teen." Tommy mumbled as Janet nodded to herself.

"Yep, Jake showed me that pic a few months ago of you in the Cozy Coupe he got you, holding up four fingers!" She held them up as if he did not know what four was.

“Well, I” he tried to think of some way to explain why he had done that when he was really fourteen.

“And here’s your costume!” She yanked an enormous orange something out of the bag. It was only when she had unfolded it that Tommy recognized it for what it was, a fuzzy Jack o Lantern with a smiling face. It had holes for his legs and velcro shoulder straps so the wearer could step into it and be encased in fuzzy orange material. “Oh, and a little hat with a stem!”

Could this get any worse, Tommy thought, managing to tear his gaze away from the fuzzy orange pumpkin and noticed Janet still digging in the bag.

"Hmm."

"What are you looking for?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Tell me the truth, buddy. You can do that, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Pinky swear?"

"Sure, pinky swear." What was she about to ask him?

"When you wore this for Trunk or Treat," another lie from Eric, he thought grumpily. "Did you have a Pull-up or diaper on underneath?" The speed with which he said no probably did not help his case.

"No." He said. "I wore" he tried to think of what he had actually worn on Saturday, even if he had not done Trunk or Treat. "I wore Bunnydale undies." Why had he said that? Because it was so embarrassing, there was no way he would make it up.

"Oh! Jake used to love Bunnydale and he told me it's your favorite, huh?"

"Uh"

"Can you show me the Bunny Hop?" Tommy hated that he could, thanks to Jake and Eric.

"I want to go trick or treat." Anything to get out of this situation. He had never even heard of Bunnydale until last summer when Jake and Eric had bought him a pack of Bunnydale underoos and forced him to watch a full two hours of the show with a pair of them – possibly even the very pair Janet saw him in now – on his head like a crown. They probably still had photos of it somewhere. The underwear itself was probably still in the back of his drawer. Where it’ll stay forever, he thought firmly.

"C'mon, I'll do it with you!"

"Fine." He brought his hands in front of his chest like bunny paws. "Hop, hop little bunny!" He and Janet bounced in unison. "Shake your cotton tail!" Of course Janet did not do that part, leaving him alone to wave his bottom to and fro. “Hop, hop, little bunny, shake your cotton tail. Wiggle your little nose and waggle your little toes. Hop, hop, little bunny, shake your cotton tail!”

“That was very good!” She said, clapping. “But you’re a pumpkin tonight, huh? Do you know any pumpkin songs?”

“No.”

“I’ll find you one, buddy. But first” he braced himself for her to say it was time for the costume. He had to find a way out of this! “Do you need to go potty?”

“No.”

“Well, you should try. That thing looks like it’ll be tough to get off in the event of emergencies.” She grabbed his hand. “Let’s go! Are you sure… never mind.”

They walked into the bathroom and Tommy was treated to a full body reflection of just how childish he looked.

“Let’s get you on the potty!” Janet said. He realized what was about to happen only a second too late to stop Janet from tugging down his briefs.

"I don't need help!" Tommy roared, trying to push Janet away and cover himself at the same time. "I'm fourteen, for... For..." Janet pulled her hands away and watched him, her face unreadable. "I don't know what Eric and Jake told you, but I'm fourteen. I don't need help in the bathroom, I don't want to go trick or treating, and I'm not a baby!"

"I know you're not a baby." Janet said. "How about you take a deep breath? You're frustrated, I know. Go on. Take a nice, deep breath." Tommy did, feeling at least a little calmer. Then he hiccuped. “Aw, see? You got so upset, you gave yourself the hiccups.” Tommy hiccuped again. “Do you know how to get rid of them?”

“Hic! How?”

“Hold your breath, touch your nose, and cross your legs.” He was so embarrassed by the situation that he did what she said before realizing he was naked except for the briefs around his ankles. “Now, are you ready to try to potty?” He tried to speak, but another hiccup escaped, so he resorted to a nod. “Good. Let’s get you up on the potty.”

At least I can tell Kurt a girl saw me naked, Tommy thought as Janet lifted him up and set him down on the toilet seat. He wondered if she was going to stay there, holding him and giving her a glimpse down her shirt, but she stepped back.

“Steady?” He hiccuped in response. Stupid things! “You stay right there. I’m gonna grab something. If you fall in, yell for help, okay?” Tommy muttered under his breath, but Janet was already gone.

“Am I really going to sit here?” He grumbled, eyeing his underwear a short distance away. Even if he got it, his clothes were in the other room and Janet would surely not let him put them on without some sort of catch. “Dude. What are you complaining about? You’ve got a college girl all to yourself. There’s gotta be some way to play this to your advantage.” How?

“Did you go peepee or poopoo?” Janet asked when she came back, not even hiding her surprise to see Tommy still sitting on the toilet.

“Neither.”

“Oh. Okay, well you can stay right there until you go.” She picked up the bag again. “Hmm,” Janet dug around inside again, pulling out a plastic orange pumpkin for Tommy’s candy. “There’s really no pull-up or anything?”

“What?” She smiled, seemingly startled he had heard her.

“Oh, I forgot! You’re four. Big boy four year olds don’t wear diapers, do they?” Tommy frowned.

“I don’t need diapers. I’m in ninth grade.”

“Oh! I almost forgot!” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “I found the perfect little pumpkin song. You know I’m a little teapot, right?” He stared at her, which she took as a yes. It was a standard at every preschool, after all. “Well, this is like that, but I think it’s more fun cuz you get to yell boo!” She hit play and an overly excited woman began to sing.

“I’m a little pumpkin, short and stout! Here are my eyes and here are my mouth.” Janet, every put as eager as the singer, pointed to her eyes and mouth. “When it’s Halloween and you are out, lift my head and hear me shout!”

“Boo!” A chorus of children exclaimed. Tommy rolled his eyes. There was no way. He groaned as it began again.

“Now, you sit right there and try really, really hard to peepee, we’ll listen to your pumpkin song, and I’ll paint your face, okay?”

“Face paint? Isn’t the costume enough?”

“It’ll be fun! You’ll look so adorable!” She smiled. “We’ll have to take photos for your mommy and daddy, won’t we?”

“I’m sure they’ll love it.” He shouted over the cheerful song. “I’m fourteen!”

“If you sit still,” Janet said, giving no clue she had heard him. “I’ll give you a kiss!” Tommy paused long enough to work out if she meant it or not and she laughed. “You’re probably too little to think girls have cooties, huh? That’ll come when you’re in big boy school.” She prepared her paintbrush. “Go potty, Tommy.”

By the time Janet had stepped away to admire her handiwork, Tommy felt like the pumpkin song would be stuck in his head for forever, which he supposed was the point.

"All done on the potty?" Even with her cutesy tone, Tommy felt like she was implying she had been waiting on him, not the other way around.

"Yeah." A girl saw me naked, Tommy thought. That's all you gotta say to K. Did it sound realistic? He felt like he had to come up with some other details, removed from his reality. Maybe he had gotten to…

"You're so serious and focused!" Janet cooed as she held out the costume for Tommy to step into, interrupting his thoughts. "Wanna try out your pumpkin song?" She fastened the shoulder straps over Tommy’s slender frame and he felt ridiculous. He could not even see his feet! The pumpkin ballooned out around him, giving him the appearance of a kid on his first Halloween, to say nothing of his fourteenth. “Go on, let’s give it a try.”

“No.” He said and then sighed. “Janet, can’t we just drop it? I know you know I’m not really four.”

“Sweetie.” She said, “look at yourself.” He did, only then seeing the pumpkin painted on his face. The orange went from his eyes to just above his mouth, his own eyes and mouth serving as the jack-o-lantern, a black triangle on his nose completing the look. At least with his glower, he kind of looked like a scary jack-o-lantern, at least until Janet plopped the stem hat on his head. “You’re an adorable little pumpkin who still needs help going potty, which is fine. But honestly, if you’re gonna fib about your age, fourteen’s a little silly, don’t you think?” She stood back up and mumbled to herself. “Even six would be pushing it, honestly.” She brightened. “Alright, let’s get going!” She scooped him up and carried him out of the bathroom.

“A pumpkin bubble is such a cute idea!” She said as she set him down on the couch to push his sneakers onto his feet. “It leaves your little thighs open for the nibbling!” She playfully ran her fingers along them and Tommy realized how right she was. If he had been wearing any sort of underwear with a leg, it would have surely poked out the bottom of the costume. At least then it would not have looked like he was wearing a diaper.

“Can we just stay here?”

“Let’s go to… five houses.” Janet said. “That’s one more house than your age.”

“Two houses.”

“Oh! You’re a little pumpkin negotiator! Three houses.”

“Fine.” He sighed, feeling defeated even though he had almost cut the number in half. Janet grinned and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It almost counted, he thought, even as he scolded himself for not turning his face and catching it on the lips.

“The number one rule is you need to hold my hand.”

“And if I don’t?” Tommy asked, trying his best to sound defiant in a fuzzy orange bubble. Janet smiled.

“Well, I think we still have Jakey’s old toddler leash around here.” It would never fit around his fuzzy pumpkin costume, but that did not occur to him and she could see that the threat worked. Tommy groaned. “Or I could always carry you.”

“I’ll walk.”

“Okie dokie! Let’s go, Mr. Pumpkin pants!” She laughed and took his hand, not even giving him the plastic pumpkin pail to hold. “Oh! What do we say when the door opens?”

“Trick or treat.”

“Yep. Gotta do it nice and loud because our first stop” she said as they emerged out into the evening, Tommy having to squint as he saw the sun still above the horizon. “Mr. Mintz is pretty hard of hearing.”

Sure enough, Tommy had to all but yell trick or treat for Mr. Mintz to hear him, earning a single fun size candy bar for his troubles. All the same, Janet made him thank him, which took twice as long as the actual trick or treat request!

“Next house!” Janet said with a smile. “Isn’t this fun?” Tommy felt the cool autumn breeze on his bare legs and wondered just what Janet’s definition of fun was.

“One more house.” Tommy said as they left house number two.

“Do you need to go potty?” Janet asked, concerned.

“No, but you said…”

“I did.” She giggled. “Just a little Halloween trick for the cutest little pumpkin in the whole pumpkin patch.”

“I’m really a Jack-o-lantern.” Tommy said as they ascended the stairs for house number three.

“Hello!” The woman at the door said. She was dressed like a witch, if witches wore exclusively pink. She grinned down at Tommy. “And who is this?”

“Tommy. He’s a little shy.” Janet said. She didn’t even give me a chance to answer, Tommy thought.

“And what are you supposed to be?” Isn’t it obvious?

“Oh! Tommy, sing her your song!”

“A song? Oh, that sounds lovely.” Tommy glared up at Janet, betrayed.

“I’m a little pumpkin” he began, determined to speed-sing his way through the whole song.

“Great, there’s some little kid in the way.” A boy of no more than seven said behind him.

“Jeffrey, let’s go to the next house. We’ll come back.”

“Start again, cutie.” Janet said. Tommy did, the woman getting completely into it and feigning fear when Tommy yelled boo!

“If it’s not too much trouble,” the woman said pensively. “No, I’m sure you two… oh, it’d only take a minute. Can he come in and sing his song for all my guests? We’re having a little shindig here!”

Tommy found himself whisked inside by Janet and stood up on a coffee table to sing his song again. He could have sworn he recognized a few of his teachers’ faces in the crowd, but it was hard to tell with everyone cooing and gushing over him.

“That was so special.” The woman said, escorting them both back out. “But I wouldn’t want to keep you from your next house.”

“Actually this was our last stop.” Darn right, it was. Tommy thought, convinced Janet had planned it somehow. “Tommy goes to bed with the sun.” The woman nodded.

“Oh, well, in that case, here.” She dumped nearly half the bowl into the pumpkin pail, filling it to the brim. “Better he eat it than me!” She laughed far too much. Tommy’s eyes widened at her generosity. Embarrassment or not, candy was candy!

“Thanks!”

“Don’t let him eat it all tonight. Sweet dreams, little Tommypoo!” She waved bye as they walked back the way they had come.

Tommy could not explain it, but he was fighting back yawns the whole half block back to Janet’s. By the time they reached the door, his eyes were starting to droop. Why was he so tired? Had someone drugged him? No, that was crazy.

He felt almost like a zombie as he endured a few photos before Janet released him from the costume and sat him on the potty. He did not even fight it as he peed any more than he fought her dressing him in the very same jungle pajamas Jake had shown him what? Two hours ago, if that?

As Janet tucked him into bed, Tommy felt energy return to him. Whose bed was this, he wondered, but the pillow felt so soft as she kissed his forehead and whispered good night. He tried to ask her to stay with him, to try and get something more out of the evening, but he blinked slowly and she vanished. The room was still lit by the setting sun, so he forced his eyes open. He would wait for Jake and Eric to… zzzz.

Jake and Eric had a fun night, but they made sure to come back with fifteen minutes to spare. They snickered as Janet sat on the couch and shushed them.

“Tommy’s been down for two hours.” That only made them laugh more and Janet almost wondered if… she shook her head. No, they were too young to be out drinking. More likely, they were on some sugar high. How did cute little boys like Tommy turn into dorky hooligans like her brother and his? She pocketed her phone and went to check on the sleeping little cherub. “Forgot to wash his face.” She said, smiling down at him. “Never grow up.” She whispered down. “If only you could stay little forever.”