Tommy the Reindeer

Tommy had woken up the morning after Halloween disoriented and only growing moreso as Janet had come and taken him downstairs. By the time Eric and Jake came out, Janet had him wearing a bib over his jungle jammies as she fed him waffles. He could only sit there as she told them everything, though the way they acted, he had a suspicion she'd already told them a lot of it the night before.

"The only thing I can't really remember," Janet said in a tone that made it clear she really did remember it. "Was your song!"

"You have to remember. I sang it like ten times."

"Hmm, nope. Don't you think Tommy should show us?" Of course, Eric and Jake agreed. Janet stood Tommy up on a chair and he sang in his jungle jammies and the bib, all three of them recording his performance.

"I'm a little pumpkin, short and stout! Here are my eyes, here's my mouth! When it's Halloween and you are out, lift my head and hear me shout! Boo!"

"Boo!" The trio said back, smiling and barely containing laughter.

After that, Tommy got his face wiped and Janet helped him get dressed. She called it helping at least. To him, it was more like standing there freezing in his briefs as Janet folded his pajamas to take home before finally dressing him in his jeans and hoodie from the night before. Finally, he was able to leave, but only after promising up and down to always hold Eric's hand. At last Halloween was over.

Thanksgiving had been another nightmare. Despite his begging Mom and Dad to let him finally move up to the adult table, he had spent the meal at the kids' table wedged between Eric and Jake with little cousin Alex giggling as they pushed bits of food into Tommy's mouth whenever the adults weren't paying attention. By holding hands behind his chair, they were able to keep him right where they wanted.

"It's a shame Janet couldn't make it." Jake said. "She'd probably feed you on her lap."

"Again." They both laughed and Tommy fumed.

"Is the reason you don't like pumpkin pie because it's cannibalism?" Eric asked as the adults chatted loudly enough to cover his murmurs. "Sing the song!"

"No."

"You will later." Eric announced, winking at Jake.

Sure enough, while Tommy managed to avoid them in the post-dinner milling, they managed to track him down again right when cousin Alex was told it was time for bed.

"You too, widdle Tommy." Jake cooed into his ear as they nonchalantly shepherded Tommy to Eric's room. Through a combination of tickling and trickery, they got him stripped down to his underwear and refused to give him anything to wear until he sang the pumpkin song once again. Perhaps by luck, they got him into his pajamas and back downstairs just as Alex was making the rounds, saying good night.

"See?" Eric murmured. "You got to stay up as late as Alex the big boy."

"You're going to bed too?" Alex's mom said in disbelief. Tommy felt Jake prod his back.

"All that turkey made me sleepy." He feigned a yawn and rubbed at his eyes.

After Thanksgiving, Tommy swore to redouble his efforts to avoid Eric and Jake, but as soon as snow started to fall, Mom and Dad both went into 'the holidays are for family' mode and that meant Tommy had to go with Eric – and Jake, of course – to the mall for Christmas shopping. Tommy did not dare tell Mom and Dad the depths of Jake and Eric's villany – how they had never heard about the last two Halloweens, he had no idea – and so, he was stuck plodding along between them, each of them holding one of his thickly mittened hands as he struggled to walk in a clunky old pair of Eric's snow boots.

"Cute little baby Tommy." Jake cooed.

"Look, let's just split up once we get there." He knew there was no chance of that even before Jake shook his head.

"Nope. Mall rules say babies under 5 must be accompanied by a grown-up."

"You guys aren't grown-ups."

"We went to a party on Halloween." Eric retorted. "What did you do?"

"Trick or treating and asleep by eight!" Jake crowed. Tommy knew all too well his best bet was to simply roll his eyes and stay silent as a cold wind blew through the leafless trees.

"We really should get Tommy a snowsuit." Eric remarked, giving his brother's hand a squeeze so firm, he could almost feel it through the mitten. "There's a lot of winter yet and we walk to school most days." Tommy reminded himself to stay silent, but what if they actually did make him wear a snowsuit to school?

"Look, Tommy! Santa!" Jake exclaimed as they stepped into the warm mall. It was, in fact, a sign for Santa's Village.

"Should we?" Eric grinned, pulling off his stocking cap and shoving it into the pocket of his coat. Tommy had a feeling his mittens would not be coming off.

"Eh. It's probably a super long line." Jake said. Tommy fought to keep a neutral expression on his face. "Tell you what, do you want to go see Santa?"

"No." Tommy said. Jake laughed.

"Fine," he stretched the word out. "We won't make you as long as you promise to be a good little boy for us."

"And hold our hands all day."

"And!" Jake fished into his pocket and, pulling something lime green out, shoved it right into Tommy's mouth. "Suck on your noo-noo all day long."

"Noo-noo?" Eric asked curiously.

"It's what I called mine." Jake shrugged. Tommy fumed as Jake attached the other end of the pacifier to his coat just as he spat it out, sending it swaying to and fro.

"Noo-noo goes in your mouth." Eric said, pushing it back between Tommy's pouting lips. "Now, promise." Tommy sighed, but did he really want to go see Santa?

"I promise to be a good little boy and hold your hands all day." He said as quickly as he could, knowing the pacifier did not make him easy to understand.

"It's loud, Tommy." Jake said. "Say it nice and loud. Use your biggest voice!" The teenager looked from Jake to Eric and back again. There was no way he would say it again. They had to be crazy!

"Unless you'd rather tell Santa." Eric said, seeing his brother's hesitation. Tommy glared at him.

"Promise." Jake said. "Feels like it's getting busier and busier in here the longer you wait. Just hurry up." Tommy took a breath, the pacifier tumbling from his mouth.

"I promise to be a good little boy, hold hands, and suck on my noo-noo." It seemed like there was a slight lull in every conversation in the mall at the moment he said it, his voice seeming to echo. Eric and Jake cackled.

"That was great." Jake said, pushing the pacifier back into Tommy's mouth. "But that better stay in your mouth until lunch now, got it?"

"And actually suck on it." Eric added. "It's supposed to calm little kids down, right?"

"And Tommy's our little pumpkin!" They grinned to each other as Tommy shyly complied enough that they were able to take his mittened hands again.

"You know," a passing woman carrying a toddler – an actual toddler – said. "There are strollers if you don't want to worry about holding his hand all day. Plus, the little guy's legs might get tired." He seemed a little big to be sucking on a pacifier, but she trusted that the boys knew what they were doing.

"Thanks!" Eric said. "But we won't be here long." He grinned as she walked on, feeling like her duty was done.

"Do you need to go potty, Tommy?" Jake asked. "Maybe we should go try." Tommy did not have to go, but he assumed either Jake or Eric might right up until he heard the door of the family bathroom lock with him alone with the pair.

"Let's get you undressed." Eric said, shrugging off his backpack before joining Jake in overpowering Tommy.

"Keep your noo-noo in." Jake said as he clipped the pacifier holder to the waistband of Tommy's underwear, pulling down his jeans and grinning. "Aww, look at little Tommy's bunny undies. Did big brother Eric pick those?"

"Nope. He dressed himself today." Eric said as he pulled Tommy's shirt over his head.

"Oh, do you like your bunny undies?"

"I don't have much choice. You guys got rid of everything good!" The pacifier went back into Tommy's mouth.

"Tell the truth. You must like 'em if you put them on." He grinned and poked Tommy's belly. "Should include Jake tickle the truth out of you?"

"God. I like them, ok?"

"Do you watch Bunnydale?"

"You know the name?" Eric asked incredulously.

"It was on when we were little like Tommy."

"I'm older than both of you!"

"Psh, are not. You got stuck at four. I mean, seriously, these are actual toddler underwear." Tommy knew that, but to hear Jake actually say it still stung.

"Do you actually wanna pee before we get you dressed, Tommy?" Eric asked, holding something brown in his arms, the backpack now stuffed with an assortment of the clothes they'd taken off of Tommy.

"Don't need to." Tommy mumbled into the pacifier.

"Ok." Eric shrugged. "Let's start with underwear."

"What?" Jake said in mock disbelief. "He's got underwear on."

"Yeah, but" Eric grinned. "He needs Pull-ups."

"What!? No!" Tommy's panic echoed in the bathroom, pacifier falling from his mouth and dangling just barely off of the tiled floor. "I'm not wearing Pull-ups."

"The way I see it," Eric said. "Is you either let us dress you up or we take your clothes and leave you here with nothing but your undies and your pacifier. Good luck explaining to anyone what happened."

"But" Tommy wanted to call Eric's bluff, but he knew it would not end well for him. "Fine."

"Can you put your Pull-ups on by yourself like a big boy?" Eric held it out to him so Tommy could see Mickey Mouse's smiling face.

"Fine." Tommy snatched it from Eric's hand, turning his back to the pair as he quickly swapped out his briefs for the Pull-ups, groaning at how they felt. Were they supposed to be comfortable? They felt stiff!

"I'm sure you're chilly." Jake said as he swooped in and grabbed the dangling clip of Tommy's pacifier holder, leading him over to Eric like a dog on a leash. "Good job keeping your noo-noo where it belongs. No, don't spit it out now that I reminded you it's there."

"Here, step in." Eric instructed, grinning at his brother in his Pull-ups.

"But"

"No fussing. We need to get you dressed."

"Why?"

"I'm hungry and the food court is like on the other side of the mall." Jake said. Tommy had meant a more general why, but he realized he was hungry as well.

Tommy slid his feet into the brown outfit Eric held out, unsure still what it was. The brown made him think of Chewbacca, but he had a feeling Eric and Jake wouldn't be so thrilled about dressing him like a Wookie. it was only when Eric pulled the hood over his wavy hair and he noticed the antlers that he realized he was dressed like a reindeer. A baby reindeer, he thought as Eric clipped the pacifier to his new outfit.

"What do you call a baby reindeer?" Jake wondered as if he had read Tommy's mind. "A foal? A fawn?"

"A Tommy." Eric said with a chuckle, giving Tommy's tummy a playful tickle as if he really was his big brother. When he's dressed like this, I am, Eric thought.

"It's a calf." Jake said, checking on his phone.

"Who cares?" Eric said. "Grab Tommy's hand. Let's go eat." Jake made a face at Eric, making a point to send a text before putting his phone away. "What are the rules, Tommy?"

"Be a good little boy, hold hands, and suck on my noo-noo." He muttered.

"And we're gonna add another one." Eric said. "Wear your Pull-ups until bedtime."

"What?"

"Oops." Jake pushed the pacifier back into Tommy's mouth. "Almost broke a rule there, buddy."

"Promise, Tommy."

"But that wasn't-"

"Well, we couldn't tell you before." Jake reasoned. "You would've thrown a toddler Tommy temper tantrum."

"Like you're doing now."

"No!" Tommy pulled his hands free and reached for the zipper, but it had sunken into the plush of his reindeer costume. Trying to grab it with the awkward mittens only pushed it deeper. "I"m not!"

"You're gonna promise, Tommy." Eric said calmly. He remembered Uncle Greg saying that you never match a toddler's tone when they were throwing a tantrum. Sure, he had been talking about little cousin Alex, but it was just as good of advice with a teenage toddler like Tommy.

"I'm starving, Tommy!" Jake said, trying a different tactic. "Please promise for us? Please?"

"Do all your promises like a good lil pumpkin should."

"He's a reindeer." Jake said with a smirk.

"Tommy's a lot of things." Eric said. "A tiger, a pumpkin, and a reindeer."

"Let's just go." Tommy muttered.

"Not until you promise." Eric gave Tommy a tickle. "Or do we gotta tickle it out of you?"

"Might not work with how thick that thing is." Jake observed. "Ooh, what if we hang his little boy panties on his antlers?"

"What? That's crazy." Eric laughed. "But I kinda-"

"I promise to..." Tommy had had enough. He tried to steel himself. "To wear Pull-ups until bedtime."

Satisfied, Eric and Jake took one of Tommy's hands each and led him out of the bathroom, chuckling at how adorable he looked sucking on his pacifier and running slightly to keep up with them, his boots thunk-clunking with every step. Anyone and everyone who saw him smiled at the little boy being led along by his responsible caretakers. Tommy just wanted it over with, figuring that the food court at least meant that he would be able to let go of their hands while they ate.

"Hey, isn't it a left?" Tommy asked, but between the pacifier in his lips and the general din of the busy holiday shoppers, neither Eric nor Jake responded and he realized they meant to take him on a full lap. He tried to tug his hands free, but it was no use. Somehow, even with the plush mittens, they held his hands firmly in their own.

He half expected them to once again 'miss' the turn, but the second time they reached the entrance to the food court, they headed straight for it. All the same, Tommy noticed more than one adult smiling sweetly at him as he passed by with the two boys holding his hands. At least at Halloween, there had been other costumed kids to distract from him. He stuck out like a sore thumb!

Arriving in the food court, Tommy expected to go to a booth. Chances are, he would get put on the inside where he had no choice but to submit to whatever torments they could come up with. He still shuddered at the time last summer Mom and Dad had taken him, Eric, and of course Jake out for ice cream, neither parent even noticing how Tommy somehow ended up between the pair with a plastic bib around his neck. He sucked nervously on the pacifier, though he stopped himself once he realized what he was doing, as they neared the highchairs against a wall.

"No!" He tried to sound authoritative around the pacifier, but the way it fell from his lips and dangled against his soft tummy, to say nothing of his unconscious habit to stick his bottom lip out, only made him look like a toddler.

"It's more like a booster seat than anything." Jake said.

"And cousin Alex used one when we visited him last summer, didn't he?"

"But not at Thanksgiving!" Tommy protested, fed-up with all the comparisons between him and a four year old who couldn't even wipe his own nose.

"True, but isn't he bigger than you?" Jake said. "He had those soccer pajamas and you were in your snuggly-soft jungle jammies."

"Good point," Eric said, pushing the pacifier back into Tommy's mouth. "Keep it." He said as if Tommy was a naughty puppy. "So, next Thanksgiving, you won't need a highchair, but" he tickled Tommy's belly once again, loving the soft fur every bit as much as he loved that his older brother was wearing it in public. "That's not for almost a whole 'nother year, is it?"

"So a highchair it is!" Jake all but crowed.

Tommy thought that it was a good idea to keep grabbing their hands – after all, that was the rule, wasn't it? His hands kept slipping, barely able to get a grip in the mittens, to the point where he merely looked like he was batting at their hands as they wrestled him into a wooden highchair.

"It's really more like a booster seat." Jake said.

"You're not the one in it." Tommy muttered as Eric adjusted his hood.

"And here's the best part." Eric declared, pulling the highchair away from the wall. "It's on wheels. He's kinda heavy though."

"I better not be stuck in this thing." Tommy muttered, wiggling around.

"We'll take your boots off when we eat." Jake said, leaving Tommy to wonder just why he had been told that.

Working together, they managed to wheel Tommy in his highchair over to a booth. Jake plopped down while Eric went to go get them food.

"Let me out of this thing."

"Oh, that's right." Jake said, looking up from his phone. "We were gonna take your boots off, right?"

"What? No, stop!" Tommy kicked, but Jake caught his boot and pulled it off.

"Little Tommy's stocking feet." Jake teased. His phone chirped and he responded.

"Is that Eric?"

"Naw, he's ordering over there." Jake said. "I have other friends, y'know. Remember? You met Cody last summer. He's the one who hit you with all those water balloons."

"Yeah" was all Tommy said. He looked over his shoulder as Eric came over with a tray of food. He did not see a kid's meal, a cup of applesauce, anything blatantly childish. Had they gotten him normal food? More likely they don't realize I'm hungry. Tommy thought.

"You didn't get Tommy ready?" Eric asked.

"What do you mean, ready?"

"Sorry, I... my phone." Jake slid out of the booth and grinned at Tommy. "I remember what a messy eater you are from Thanksgiving, so we don't want to ruin your nice reindeer outfit."

"What do you mean, ready?" Tommy repeated. Rather than tell him, Jake and Eric showed him, the food on the table forgotten for a moment as they pulled down Tommy's hood and, unzipping his reindeer outfit, stripped him down to the waist, the very top of his Pull-ups visible.

"Grab the bib." Eric said. Jake did not need to be told twice, grabbing a plastic bib similar to the one from the ice cream parlor and forcing it over Tommy's gentle curls.

"This is ridiculous!" Tommy exclaimed, feet kicking.

"Well, it's what you need if you want to eat. And I know you're hungry." Tommy glared at Eric.

"What did you even get me?"

"Chicken nuggies." Jake said. "The favorite food of all toddlers."

"Or are you too mature for them?"

"I guess those are ok." Tommy mumbled.

"Should we make him beg for 'em?" Jake asked.

"Naw." Eric shrugged. "I'm starving." Tommy almost felt relieved, but Eric was not done yet. He dug into the backpack, giving Tommy a glimpse of his underwear and other clothes before pulling out a blue and orange sippy cup. "Let's get Tommy some milkies!"

"Gross. Don't say milkies." Jake said.

"Why not?"

"Don't you remember CyborNinja's video?" They both laughed.

"Oh, right. Well, Tommy's too innocent to think about stuff like that." Eric opened up the cardboard box of chicken nuggets as Jake once again stared at his phone. "You're not pulling it up, are you?"

"No, just..." Jake's voice trailed off.

"Do you want barbeque sauce or ketchup?" Eric asked.

"Barbeque." Tommy said. Eric ripped open two packets and poured them all over the nuggets before placing it next to the sippy cup of milk in front of Tommy.

"Uh"

"Go on and eat."

"But they're covered in sauce!"

"So? It's a finger food, right?"

"Or you can wait for us to feed you." Jake teased, tearing into the burger Eric had gotten him.

Tommy sat there for a moment, but it did not look like there was any other option than to eat the sauce-covered nuggets with his hands. He sighed and dug in, trying his best to keep his fingers as clean as possible.

"Good?" Eric asked innocently. Tommy only grunted. He heard a camera sound as Jake took a photo.

"Who are you sending that to?"

"Inside voice." Eric scolded. "And focus on eating. We've been here for so long and we haven't even shopped yet." This left Tommy to wonder just what their plan was. Drag him around stores dressed as a reindeer? There had to be something more to their plan. Were they going to make him run around that playground on the other side of the mall? That had to be it.

"Hi, guys!" Tommy froze, chicken nugget on his lips, as he heard a familiar voice. Oh, no. No, no, no. Janet came into his line of sight, smiling in a sweater. She waved at Eric and gave her brother a quick squeeze as she forced him to slide down the booth bench so that she sat right next to Tommy. "And of course, Tommy!" She smiled at him. "Look how messy you are!" Tommy would normally have tried to deny it, but he could not have looked more like a toddler if he had tried, he thought, self-consciously trying to figure out something to do with his sticky hands. "You two know Tommy's too little to feed himself!"

"We tried to tell him, but he insisted."

"And what's he wearing?" Janet asked, grabbing some wet wipes from the tray and getting to work on Tommy's face and hands.

"Well, he's supposed to be a reindeer, but with him being such a messy eater."

"Ah." Janet nodded.

"They forced me." Tommy said, sputtering as the wipe almost went into his mouth.

"Well, it was nice of them to get you dressed so cute. I'll have to take a look once we got you all cleaned up." Her gaze fell on the forgotten sippy cup. She lifted it, frowning at how heavy it was still. "But first, you need to finish your lunch." Eric and Jake exchanged a satisfied look at how quickly Janet had taken charge. "Here." She handed the sippy cup to Tommy. "Both hands and I want you to drink every drop."

"But"

"No buts. The next words I want to hear from Tommy are 'all gone'!" He took the sippy cup, considering for the briefest of moments throwing it on the floor before putting it back on the table. "Come on, Tommy." Janet said gently. "Can you be a big boy and drink your milkies?" Jake and Eric both snorted. "Oh, grow up." She said before turning back to the teenager. "Please?" Tommy sighed and took the sippy cup. "So, what's the plan, boys?"

"I had Jake text you cuz" Eric looked over at Tommy and made a show of covering his ears. "Santa needs a little extra help, so Mom wanted us, well me, to go buy a few more things." Janet nodded as if she understood completely.

"I can keep an eye on Tommy and then give you three a ride home after. That's no problem at all." She beamed. "I even got Mom's car all set for our very special little passenger."

"You can't leave me with her." Tommy hissed to Eric, but Janet just guided the sippy cup back to his mouth even as she stood up to let Jake slide out again.

"I'm not so scary." Janet said with a laugh. "We'll have fun. We can walk around the mall, look at the neat decorations." She beamed once again and Tommy could not help but think she really did look pretty when she smiled, even if she always treated him like a baby. "You two behave and we'll meet at the west entrance in... an hour?" They nodded and dashed off with Janet watching until they were out of sight before turning her attention to Tommy. "All gone?"

"All gone." Tommy said morosely.

"We'd better get you dressed." Janet said. "Though your pudgy little Tommy tum is awfully cute." She gave it a poke before removing his bib. Why did she never seem to question any of these situations? Tommy wondered. "No shirt, no shoes, no service after all." She spied his boots on the floor, perfectly placed as if he had kicked them off. She smiled and put them back on his feet. "Velcro so you can tie them yourself like a big boy." She mused as she did the straps for him. "Alright, let's" her voice trailed off as she spied his sticky face. "Maybe we should get you cleaned up first." She lifted him out of the highchair, seeming to not even notice as he had to quickly pull up the reindeer outfit to prevent it from sliding down his legs and exposing his Pull-ups to everyone. Down on the floor he went and she took a hand, leaving him to have to try and keep it up around his waist with just one hand as they headed for the bathrooms.

"No, not in there." Tommy whined as Janet took him into the girls' bathroom.

"It's the only place I can go, silly." She said. "And no one will mind a little Tommy tyke in here." The bathroom was empty, which suited Tommy just fine, especially when Janet pulled down the changing table.

"What?" He did not like the look of this.

"It's just for a minute. I figure we should have you try to go peepee and I want to get that adorable outfit of yours off." She picked him up, smiling as Tommy desperately grabbed it to make sure it came up with him. She set him down on the plastic surface, pulled his outfit up enough to admire the scarf and hood before taking off his boots and stripping him. "Still dry." She said, touching the front of his Pull-ups as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Had Jake told her Tommy had been forced into Pull-ups or was she once again taking anything regarding Tommy in stride? She's the one who put me in that tiger costume that started all of this! Tommy thought. That had been a year ago, yet he knew that Tommy would never dream he would someday be sitting on a changing table at the mall in nothing but Mickey Mouse Pull-ups. "Alright, we'll get your boots back on." Janet said. "And then you can go peepee before we clean you up."

"Like this? What if someone comes in?" Janet smiled and, spotting the pacifier, pushed it into Tommy's mouth. Great, just great, he thought.

"We'll tell them you're my boyfriend." She teased. Does... does that mean she finally realized how old I am? She set him down on the floor and he thunk-clunked into a stall, feeling especially exposed in nothing but his Pull-ups and snow boots. "You don't need to go poo-poo, do you?" Janet asked, standing by the stall door as Tommy tugged down the front of his Pull-ups. They were still so stiff, it made it awkward.

"No." He mumbled.

"Good. Wiping you sounds no fun."

"I could do it myself!" Tommy's indignation echoed in the empty bathroom.

"Mmm" was all she said until he had finished. "Flush the potty, big boy Tommy!" Then he clomped his way over to the sink, Janet stepping up behind him to help him wash his hands. Thankfully, her presence mostly shielded him as a girl about Tommy's age came in. She spied the reindeer outfit and then saw Tommy standing between Janet and the sink. She smiled as if she had just solved a mystery and vanished into one of the stalls.

"Aren't we done?" Tommy asked quietly. With any luck, he would be dressed and maybe even out of here before that girl came out. She had looked vaguely familiar. Did they have a class together?

"Your hands are clean, but we still need to wash your face." She squatted down with a wet paper towel and went to work, Tommy's squirms and whimpers into the pacifier only prolonging the process. The stall door opened and the girl walked out to get a full view of Tommy in his Pull-ups getting his face wiped.

"Little brother?"

"Naw, I'm watching him. He's my little brother's friend's little brother." Tommy whimpered and Janet clucked reassuringly. "But you're still a big boy, Tommy." Tommy forced himself to glance at the girl and realized that he was wrong. She only looked like that girl from his algebra class, right? He doubted himself, but figured she did not seem to recognize him at all.

He allowed Janet to put him back up on the changing table and dress him again. He thought this was a lot better than being teased by Eric and Jake earlier, but then again, they knew his real age. As far as Janet was concerned, he was a toddler. The only spot of solace was that she had called him Eric's little brother instead of his baby brother.

"Alright, I think we'll all set!" Janet said. "Next stop... where are we going?" Tommy shrugged. "Well, if you don't have any plans, how about we go see a friend?"

"Who?" Janet smiled and set him down on the ground.

"Can you be big and hold my hand, even if you get super dooper excited?"

"Yes." Tommy knew enough to know this was not good.

"Can you show me how you act when you're super dooper excited?" We're in a bathroom, Tommy thought, but he waved his mittened hands. "No, I mean like really, really, super dooper excited! Like you got your favorite toy for Christmas excited!" Tommy jumped up and threw his arms out, eager to get whatever this was done as soon as possible. "Oh, that was super cute! Can you do it once more for me once I've got my phone out?" Tommy sighed.

"Aren't we gonna go meet your friend?"

"Well, he's your friend too." Janet said, fishing her phone out of her pocket. Tommy knew immediately what she had in mind. She's taking me to see Santa.

Tommy would have rather made a hundred videos of him acting like a toddler than stand in the slow-moving line to meet Santa. Sure, if he had actually been a toddler, he would have loved the way the line passed by candy cane forests and gingerbread houses. There was even a surprisingly sophisticated animatronic reindeer that Janet made him stand beside for a photo. He tried to make the most of it, doing a little pose with his arms out, but he spied Janet showing a mom next to them in line a photo of him staring up at the reindeer with an uncharacteristically awestruck expression showing around the pacifier, as if he really was a little kid who thought it was real. How had she even gotten that?

The wait for Santa seemed to take an hour, but also over in a second. Before Tommy knew it, Janet held his hand as he thumped his way up to the smiling bearded man in red and white.

"Hello there, Tommy!" Santa said, laughing and scooping Tommy up. "I almost thought we'd have to tell Mrs. Claus one of our reindeer wandered away." Tommy smiled in spite of himself. Then again, there really was no way to keep from smiling this close to Santa. "And who's your favorite reindeer?"

"Uh, Donner." Tommy said.

"Oh, you're a real expert, huh?" Santa laughed. "How about we take a picture?" Tommy turned and looked at the camera, only then realizing that there was now photographic proof of him sitting on Santa's lap in a reindeer costume and sucking on a lime green pacifier. Eric was going to have a field day!

"That was fun, huh?" Janet said, grabbing Tommy's mittened hand to wave goodbye to Santa one last time. "What did you ask Santa for?"

"Oh, uh, we just talked about reindeer."

"I guess that makes sense." Janet said with a smile. "We've got to meet the big boys soon, so let's start heading toward the car." As they walked, the crowds grew heavy enough that Jent picked Tommy up and carried him the rest of the way out to her car.

"Didn't we say we were gonna meet them inside?"

"I'll text Jake. It'll take a minute to get you all situated anyway." What did that mean? Tommy wondered. He only had to wonder until they reached Janet's car and he saw the unmistakable car seat.

"Oh, no." He moaned, but he knew there would be no convincing Janet to let him ride outside it.

For just a moment, Tommy thought he might actually be too big for the car seat, but Janet had him stand by the car as she made some adjustments. Could he make a run for it? They had walked here, after all, but he knew his snow boots were too bulky to let him have a chance of outrunning Janet. He should have demanded sneakers!

"There we go!" She said as Tommy slid into the car seat. It still felt snug, especially as she buckled him in, but the fact of the matter was, he was in the car seat. "I texted Jake and they said they'd be out in ten minutes, so let's listen to some songs!" She slid into the driver's seat and smiled back at Tommy. "Do you know Jingle Bells?"

"Yeah." Doesn't everyone?

"Sing it for me, cutie!" She pulled her phone out again. "It really bugs me that I don't have your pumpkin song on video." Tommy sighed. "Come on, sing!"

Tommy had to give an impromptu concert of Jingle Bells and then, of course, Rudolph before Janet turned on Christmas music. All the same, Tommy still had to sing along since it was nothing but the ones kids know, with Janet turning the music down randomly to hear him sing.

When Jake and Eric finally arrived, Tommy knew they saw him for what he was: a teenager dressed as a reindeer, pacifier in his mouth as he sat buckled in a car seat while singing along to Frosty the Snowman.

"We had quite an adventure today." Janet said, showing the boys the video from the bathroom and the photos from Santa. They especially seemed to like the reindeer photo.

"Wow, he really is adorable." Tommy felt his face burn, but what really worried him was how genuine Eric sounded. As they slowly left the mall parking lot, Tommy could not shake the feeling that he was more trapped than ever, even before Eric leaned over. "Remember. Pull-ups til bedtime."