Art the Story

Author's Note: An accident shrinks a thirty five year old man to just over three feet tall.

***

In the next hour or so the uniformed police left in their squads and then they were followed out of the building by a half dozen people, including Ms. Joyce. I would recognize her from almost any distance by her height and the way she stands. Her father, Paul Joyce, was standing beside her. He's at least a head taller so it's hard to mistake the two of them. Eventually there was only Ms. Joyce and her father standing there. I wondered what she was telling him. He took her in his arms and held her for a long time and then the two of them headed for their cars.

I left the building and went to the spot I'd pointed out to her. She waited until her father had gone through the main gate before she started up and made a wide swing across the parking lot. Her car slowed to a stop and when the passenger door popped open, I jumped in on the floor and she immediately started forward swinging the door shut. I stayed huddled down on the floor as she approached the main gate. She slowed and waved to the guard, but she didn't stop.

We were a short distance away when she let her window down and said, "What the hell did you get into? You stink to high heaven."

"You'd stink too if you were hiding between bags of fertilizer. I was almost trapped in the lawn equipment building. I saw you talking to your father. Did you tell him what happened?"

"No, I was going to, but he was so broken up with the death of Uncle Ben I just couldn't add to his burden. I'll have to talk to him sooner or later. In the meantime, I'll have to take responsibility for my decisions." "What happened with the police?" "Arty, I really don't want to go over that again. It seems like I've been talking to them for hours on end. Trust me, I don't think there is anything we have to do about the police for now. My problem is what will I do with you."

"Funny you should say that, I've been thinking the same thing."

"Just be quiet for now, I'm going to my thinking place." She drove on for about twenty minutes and I sensed that we were going up a steep hill. I was trying to think what was nearby when she stopped. I stood up and looked around. It was dark in back of us, but out the front window was a wide panorama of city lights below us. She said, "This land belongs to a friend of father's and I come here whenever I have to think through a serious problem."

"It's a well hidden spot. You could bump me off and hide my body and shazam, problem solved."

"Jones, another wisecrack like that one and I'll be tempted."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Joyce. It's an old habit of mine to make wisecracks when I'm frightened and I admit, I'm scared my size is permanent."

"Apology accepted and since you've already mooned me with your bare butt, you probably can call me Sue, like my friends."

"I'd rather call you Suzanne, like the Professor did."

She was quiet for awhile and then she said, "Suzanne's a little girl's name. The only men I've ever allowed to call me that are my father and Uncle Ben."

"Then we'd be even, because you and the Professor are the only two people in the world who have called me Arty."

"Alright, Suzanne it is, Arty. Now, I do know that you'll have to remain out of sight for the foreseeable future. I really don't think the police will be a problem, but if anyone recognizes you, we've gone through all this trouble for nothing. My only thought is to take you to my home and before I do that there are a couple of people in my home you should know about, Maria and Arilla."

"My mother died when I was born and father hired Maria's mother to be my wet nurse and care for me. She was a widow with a teenage daughter, Maria, and an infant son. They all came to live with us. Maria's mother took care of the house and her infant son and Maria took charge of me. Father was busy starting his research company so Maria was my constant companion. She got me up in the morning and put me to bed at night. She's been my friend and confidant ever since. She runs my home so there is no way I can bring you there without her knowing what's going on."

"Maria has a thirty year old married daughter, Arilla, who lives nearby and she's at our house almost every day, so I'll have to talk to her as well. She'll listen to Maria, but she also can be a flake. She married a man who hates steady work. They were really struggling when Arilla got pregnant and Maria begged father to find him a job. Father hired him as his personal driver and he also works in the Research Center's garage. The two of them live in an apartment above father's garage, which is only a couple of blocks away from my house. Maria's happy with her daughter and new grandson living nearby. She had a son that died when he was about three or four and maybe this grandson's filling that void."

"I've come up with a story that I think will keep both of them from asking too many questions. I'll tell them that Uncle Ben was running an experiment when he had a heart attack so we don't know all the details. We don't know what happened and you've been unable to tell us. I think it's best if you don't try to talk and explain anything because we'd never keep our stories straight. If I tell Maria and Arilla that father and I would be prosecuted if someone finds you, I know they'll never tell anyone. Arilla may be a flake, but she'd never go against her mother."

"Somehow we have to find a way to hide you if someone stops in unexpectedly. Anyone who knew Art Jones would recognize you immediately. The more I look at you, it's hard to picture you as a small man; you look more like a young boy. It's your eyes that give you away. Anyone who looks at them closely won't see an innocent young boy looking back at them. Maybe you should act shy and keep your eyes looking downward. And for God's sake, don't keep undressing every woman you see with your eyes. There's not a woman at the Research Center that wouldn't recognize those eyes."

"Well at least I'm known for something. All these years I figured you and most women at the Research Center didn't know I was alive".

"Arty, most of the women who know you think you're a nice guy, but you're so intense you scare them away. Uncle Ben said that you were the most intense young man he's ever known. He admired that because you focused on what he was working on, but most people don't take things that seriously."

"This is coming from a woman who acts like she eats, sleeps and drinks nothing but being the Research Company's Administrator".

"OK, we'll compare personalities later. Right now, do you have any problem with what I'm suggesting?"

"Nope, you've stuck you neck out for me so I'll play this anyway you want me to."

"Let's go home then."

"Wait, there's something I almost forgot. When the Professor was doing his preliminary work he expanded a pair of field mice to the size of lab rats and shrunk a pair of lab rats to the size of field mice. They need to be rescued from the lab. The problem is anyone who knows lab animals will find they're not the right size. It could bring some unwanted publicity."

"OK, I'll take care of getting them to my house, but I don't like rodents. You're responsible for them."

"No problem ....... I was just thinking, I can really relate to Fred now. He used to be a rat and now he's a mouse."

Suzanne's home is really a pretty large estate. There's an attached multi-stall garage and she opened one of the doors and closed it behind us. She said, "Wait in the car, Arty. I'll go talk to Maria".

Suzanne went in and came out with a woman who looked like the perfect picture of a motherly woman. She only came up to Suzanne's shoulder and she was no lightweight with her ample bosom and wide hips. She had a broad pleasant face that right now showed concern as Suzanne talked to her and occasionally pointed to the car. Based on what I knew, Maria has to be in her sixties, but when she moved it was with the energy of a much younger person. She looked like a take charge lady. When the car door opened I was standing up. Maria never hesitated and reached into the car and gathered me in her arms. She kept saying something in Spanish I couldn't make out, but I clearly heard, "He stinks".

"Little one, what they do to you? Don you worry none, Maria take good care of you so you tell me where you hurt? Oh, that's right, Suzanne say you can't speak. Maria will check you over good when we get inside. What you wearing, child? You have no underpants and I smell poop."

I could feel her hand under my shirt, checking everywhere. I thought, "You'd stink too if you'd been where I was. Hey lady, that's my privates you're pawing underneath the shirt. I didn't crap my pants, it's that damn fertilizer."

"Suzanne, I wash him up first before I feed him. Maybe I find old diaper of yours for him." I stared hard at Suzanne trying to make her hear my thoughts, "What that about a diaper. Suzanne, can't you save me from this; look at my face, it has to be beet red. This is embarrassing, help me out here."

All of a sudden I had a terrible thought. "Maria thinks I'm a small child and she's going to treat me like one. I'm a grown man and this is going to get worse. I looked at Suzanne and she had a small grin on her face. She knows what I'm thinking and she's not going to do anything because I agreed to go along. Oh lady, after all the nice thoughts I sent your way over the years. I take them all back."

"Here, Maria, I'll take him".

"No, no, I have him now. He stinks so bad he'll smell up your clothes. I give him bath before I feed him. You go take a long soak now, you look tired. I hear about your Uncle Ben, child. You need to get some rest, I'll take care of this little fellow. Give me a minute to check on dinner and I'll be right back." After Maria left I said, "Why didn't you straighten her out?"

"Arty, you agreed to go along. I actually tried to explain that we don't know what happened to you. For some reason after she met you, she told me in Spanish that she believes you are a young boy who has been cruelly aged. I'll have to leave it there for now. I know Maria, if I keep explaining more she'll think I'm keeping something from her and it will even be worse. She's a good kind hearted soul and she'd never do anything to harm you. I have to warn you though; she's very quick to slap your backside if you don't listen." Suzanne grinned and added, "You might want to keep that in mind when she wants you to do something."

When Maria came bustling back into the room, she took my hand and led me to what must be a back staircase leading upstairs. The first thing I did was trip and fall on my face because I misjudged how high I had to raise my foot to reach the first step. I picked myself up and then tripped over my shirt tail. Maria picked me up and carried me upstairs to what must be a guest bedroom with its own bath. The bathroom seemed huge, at least to me, with both a shower stall and a large bath tub big enough for a number of adult to soak in. Maria started to fill the tub and began taking my shirt off.

I put up a hand as if to say, "I can undress myself." I motioned for her to turn around and she did so, but she had a big grin on her face. I took my shirt off and climbed into the tub. The water was knee deep so when I sat down I had some cover. Maria started to put soap on a wet washcloth. I motioned to her that I could do it myself and reached for the soap. I still hadn't mastered the two small hand grip and the bar kept slipping out of my hands. After a couple of tries, Maria took over and gave me a thorough scrubbing all over including my hair. When she was washing my crotch, I promptly got an erection. Maria started to laugh. If she could only see my thoughts, "Go ahead and laugh. I'm already at a point where my whole life is hilarious. Imagine what I have to look forward to when every female that sees my tiny erect penis doubles over with laughter."

Thoroughly rinsed off, taken out of the tub and wrapped in a towel, Maria left to get something. By now I had a terrible urge to pee. Either I had to urinate or my penis was just trying to relieve the pressure that had built up being washed by Maria. The toilet bowl was attached to the wall and just high enough to present a problem. I was standing on my tip toes trying to pee into the bowl when Maria came back into the bathroom.

She quickly said, "Here, little one, let me help." She grabbed me around the waist with one arm and lifted me up. She put the seat down and let me stand on the edges while she still held me. She reached with her other hand to grab my penis and direct the stream. I slapped her hand away and took hold of it myself only to receive a hard slap on my backside. "No, no, I hold it, you pee on floor and Maria have to clean up." The second time I slapped her hand away cost me two hard slaps. "Maria told you don do that!" If I was ever going to pee, Maria was going to handle my aim. Whatever I thought really didn't matter anymore.

That done and with and all hands thoroughly washed, Maria held up some clothes that she must have gotten while I was soaking. She held out a pair of feminine looking underpants for me to step into. When I pushed them away I was treated to another slap on the backside. I decided going against Maria to keep whatever dignity I had left was going to be painful. The nightgown she put that on over my head was not a bad fit size wise, but it was definitely feminine. She added slippers and a robe before picking me up and heading downstairs. In the kitchen she sat me in a chair while she dished out food that she already had on the stove.

Sitting on the chair, I was too low to eat off the table. She sat down, put me on her lap and proceeded to feed me. I was going to protest again and then thought, "What the hell, let's just get it over with". It was obvious Maria's motherly instincts had kicked in and I was going to be mothered whether I wanted to or not. That wasn't the end of it either. I hadn't seen it, but Maria had brought a bottle with a nipple to the table and now she stuck it in my mouth. There was no more fight in me, I drank the milk.

Before she finished feeding me, I began to zonk out. It had been a day to end all days and I was tired. I was half asleep when Maria carried me upstairs. She didn't take me into the guest bedroom, but instead took me into the first room at the head of the stairs. There was a large canopied bed and I realized this must be Suzanne's bedroom. Maria took off my robe and slippers and laid me carefully in the bed. Suzanne appeared to be asleep and Maria signaled me to be quiet and not wake her.

As tired as I was, I couldn't sleep. It hit me all of a sudden. Here I was in bed with the woman who had been my fantasy for years. The euphoria faded quickly when I also realized that at my size there was no way I was going to be able to make love to this beautiful woman, nor would she ever see me as a lover. I began to think, "It would have been better if the Professor's machine had actually killed me." I could feel my eyes begin to water when I thought about what the rest of my life will be like. Then I heard a small sob coming from Suzanne and I realized she was lying there awake and crying. I thought to myself, "So do something. You can't make it any worse." I moved over and put my face against hers. When I kissed her cheek, I could taste her tears. I took my small hand and wiped her tears away and put both my arms around her neck. She responded by putting both arms around me and drawing me close.

We stayed like that and gradually I could feel her breathing slow and realized she was asleep. I woke up several times during the night and I had slipped down and my head was between those lovely firm breasts. She was still holding me close with one arm around me and the other hand cupping my butt. With one of those glorious nipples almost in my face I was tempted to start stroking it, and my penis was sure encouraging the move, but it didn't seem to be the time.

When I finally woke up it was getting light in the room and Suzanne was just coming out of her bathroom. With my eyes only partially open I watched her dress. She stood facing me with her body in what light was coming through the window. I moved my gaze from her face to her toes, stopping to admire the flared hips, the dark inviting shadow at the top of those long graceful legs, the narrow waist, those magnificent firm breasts with luscious areolas encircling nipples that were so close last night; those broad shoulders and graceful arms, topped by a face with strong striking features. I made that trip up and down several times, hardly able to breathe all the while. I had the feeling she knew I was watching. She almost confirmed that when she sat on the bed after she was dressed.

"Arty, you touched me deeply last night. No, don't say anything. Let me finish. I know they call me a "cold bitch" at the research lab. It isn't that I don't care, I just never had to take care of anyone and really don't know how. Father taught me from very young to be aggressive; and after college, he brought me into his company. I've worked hard to prove to everyone I deserved to be there by being tough and businesslike. Uncle Ben was really the only person I ever tried to watch over and now it looks like I failed to be there when a man I loved needed me."

"Maria can take care of a dozen people at the same time and she has always been there for me. I asked her to put you in my bed last night because I wanted to console you. I know the accident at the research center is what caused Uncle Ben's heart attack, but it also changed your life in a way that may not be reversible. It was my responsibility to oversee what Uncle Ben was working on and I failed miserably. When I tried to make up my failure by jumping in and doing everything possible to fix your situation, you were the one that said wait and think what it would do Uncle Ben's reputation."

"Your reaction made me realize there's something special about you. Last night I wanted so bad to comfort you, but I didn't know how. When we got home, I felt guilty about just turning you over to Maria instead of taking care of you myself. I used the excuse that she could do it so much better. When we were in bed, I was thinking of Uncle Ben's death, but I was also crying for you and all of a sudden you were comforting me. I meant what I said about you and me getting through this together. Today will be a big day at the lab, but tonight you and I will start making plans for the future." With that she kissed me tenderly on the lips.

She started away with a wave and I threw back the covers revealing my nightgown and said, "Hey Suzanne". When she turned around I said, "You didn't notice my fancy nightgown. Does it do anything for me?"

She laughed, "Oh, I recognized it as one of mine when I was your size. Maria must have saved all my old stuff, but I have to tell you, that outfit is so you, Arty."

Suzanne had really boosted my spirits. Somehow my uncertain future seemed better knowing she would be there. All of a sudden I had to piss in the worst way and jumped out of bed. Unfortunately, Suzanne had closed the bathroom door and try as I might, I couldn't get the door opened. It must be locked or jammed or something. I headed for the guest bedroom. I was sure the bathroom door there was open when we left last night. It was, but as I ran toward the bathroom door I could feel the first drops of urine leak out. The underpants were wet before I could get them off and I still had to crawl up on the damn toilet seat. By the time I got positioned the nightgown was wet as well.

I was still standing on the seat when Maria walked in. "What are you doing? Why you no call Maria? Now look at mess you've made. Maria will have to wash clothes again. Why you not use bathroom in Suzanne's room?"