Fran listened to Donna with tear-stained eyes. She explained how frustrated she had been over the last few months, with Dan having been withdrawn into this strange fantasy of his while she was forced to deal with most of their financial and marital problems herself.
Donna later explained Dan's size fetish to her mother, detail for detail. "So he gets some sort of strange sexual pleasure...from the idea of being tiny?" Fran spoke; confusion, denial mixed with perhaps amusement, and just a dash of condescension.
"Yea, I guess so?” Donna paused, pursing her lips in thought. She took a drink from her mug to quench parched lips. She was still only for a second before roaring to life once more, talking as much with her hands as her mouth... “I mean, it has mostly been harmless so far? But he has become obsessed with making it a reality. He started losing interest in home, work, and even our friends! He’s stopped playing video games, and just the other day I had to remind him to shower and eat something. Ma, I had to remind DAN to eat something! All he ever does now is write these strange stories and chat on these giantess chat rooms." Donna wiped a tear from her eye and grasped the clear tea mug between her hands. The warm feel and the fresh aroma were comforting.
Fran was silent for a moment, hands clasped together with her elbows resting on the table. She watched Donna, nodding at key intervals, but kept her expression for the most part tame and placid. "Donna hun, it’s clear he was not right in the head," Fran spoke at last, her voice warm, soft, and comforting.
"He’s always asking me to role play with him... pretend to... step on him or to tell him I would... eat him. And, I mean, I don’t mind a little fun in bed; I’ll even entertain these fantasies... but I don’t know... it’s just... I never thought he would... well..." Donna's voice cracked and she gently trembled. "Is there something wrong with me, momma? Was I not good enough? Should I have tried harder? Maybe I should have agreed to make those stupid videos he wanted to do. Why would he do something like this?" Donna began to sob once more, drawing concerned looks from across the cafe.
Fran leaned forward, robbing Donna’s shoulder, gently hushing and consoling her. There was nothing she could say to take the pain away, but she could be present, and that was more than enough for the moment.
Meanwhile, in the confines of Francine’s shoe, Dan fought in abject desperation for his life. The pressure had grown unbearable under the ball of Fran's foot, forcing his face into the murky sole of her acrid shoe. He wanted nothing more than to scream for Donna, but his words were squeezed from his lungs the more Fran’s foot began to settle. The enormous weight on his tiny body would soon shatter him if he didn’t find a way to alert Francine to his presence. Of course, to make matters worse, Dan could hear the conversation above through the stuffy confines of Francine’s shoe clearly enough, and every word out of Donna's mouth sent daggers through his heart.
“Donna…sweetheart no… it’s not like that!” He coughed, the smothering force all around him unyielding even in his sorrow.
He had never stopped to think about what effect a sudden change to their lives like this would have on the both of them. Donna had never been comfortable with his fetish, but she was never judgmental or rude about it. They always found a way to fit in with their sparse but intimate sex life, even if sometimes it did feel a little forced or one-sided. That she felt like this, trapped, cornered, and forgotten, broke his heart...
As thundering voices continued to clamor above, the thick fabric of Fran’s sock was pressing hard on Dan's skin, pressing into every micrometer of his tiny frame. That was hardly even the worst part, for he knew she could stand at any moment, ending his life without so much as a second thought. "F... Francine... Help!” Dan shouted, trying to wiggle, squirm, tickle her, anything. He put everything he had into just making enough of an impact to make this woman even mildly uncomfortable, but the thick, warm socks protecting her feet yielded his efforts fruitless. Soon tears had run their course, and his body held no more energy for struggling and screaming. Daniel has resigned to his fate. A deep feeling of regret for what he had done washed over him, filling the pit of his stomach with knots and churning sickness.
He was going to die here because of his own stupidity.
"Now you listen to me, Donna, there is nothing wrong with you!" Fran took her daughter by the chin and gently directed her face towards her own. "You’re beautiful, hardworking, smart, and sexy. This is Dan's loss." Fran waited for her words to sink in before letting go of her daughter's face.
Donna slowly nodded. "Y… yeah you're right." Donna half smiled through a tear-streaked face.
"Of course I am. To hell with Dan, he clearly did this to himself out of some perverse, sick sexual obsession!" Fran spoke with confidence. Absent-mindedly she adjusted her foot; something felt off, but it was not enough to merit her attention.
"But Ma, I can't just abandon him. He's my husband? I love him." Donna whimpered defiantly. “Maybe he’s somewhere I haven’t looked... he could be right under my nose, and how would I even know? Oh, it makes my stomach hurt, Ma.” Donna pulled her arms off the table into her lap, eyes downcast toward the same direction.
"I know, sweetie.” Francine emphasized, clearing her throat and adjusting her cutlery, “We will still look for him. But IF we can't find him, you can't blame yourself." Fran soothed Donna, her gentle tone warm and familiar, reaching out to rub her cheek gently with her thumb.
"Y… yeah momma you're right." Donna smiled faintly, taking a drink from her mug. "I'm gonna go freshen up… I… I'll be right back." Donna set her mug down and wiped her eyes with her arm.”
“I'll be here." Fran smiled and watched her daughter stand and walk away.
Donna’s signature confident long strides were reduced to a nervous shuffle, wearing every bit of uncertainty and panic over her shoulders like a yoke. “Thanks, Mama; you always know how to make me feel better.” Donna turned, offering up a thin, worn smile before shuffling away.
Dan had been sobbing since Donna’s confession of frustration. He no longer felt the desire to be found. In fact, if he was rescued, he was fairly sure that would bring Donna more heartache than closure. “This is all my fault; I made her feel this way. How could I have been so recklessly stupid?!” Dan felt lower than the dirt, though in reality, he was about on par with it at the moment, especially given his situation. As Fran ever so slightly adjusted her weight, Dan welcomed the quick death he so anxiously anticipated. "I'm sorry, baby! I didn't mean to do this to you! Oh God, I'm sorry, Donna..." Dan sobbed.
Fran's lips formed a tight scowl; without the distraction of conversation, she could not more easily notice the nagging aggravation under her heel. She adjusted and wiggled her foot for a few seconds, but the pebble-like lump would not yield. Quickly, she pushed her chair back and leaned down, slipping her foot out of her shoe. Her finger hooked under her soul and she hunted for the foreign object. Once she made contact with it, she fished it out with her forefinger, quickly set her foot back into her shoe, and tucked herself back under the table. Once settled, she turned her attention to the object in her hand.
“What’s this?” Dismissive at first, but as her eyes fixated on the tiny man between her thumb and forefinger, her dark grey eyes went wide, her jaw agape and slack as a shocked gasp escaped her mouth. "How in the… what in the..." She pulled the limp figure close to her face, taking a quick peek around to see if anyone was looking first.
Dan was pressed firm between the thick pads of Fran's fingers, dwarfed by her long painted nails. He blinked as the bright light assaulted his eyes, for which each had trouble focusing on Fran's enormous face. She was too much to take in all at once; all he could make out from such a close vantage was her leathery tan skin and her great big grey eye watching him closely. "Waaaaaa!" Dan screamed and began to flail madly, unprepared for the sight that welcomed him once he had regained his senses.
Even though she’d been made aware of what Dan had likely done to himself, Francine still found herself in doubt, staring at her son-in-law as if he were an alien or some sort of fantasy creature. "Dan… I can’t… I mean… you really..." Fran blinked, stupefied by the sight before her. She had known what to expect and was still taken off guard.
“Francine…help me… I need you to take me to Donna right now; I’ve made a terrible mistake and...” Dan began, crying out in pain at both the terror his eyes attempted to behold and the crushing pressure on his ribcage as Francine’s fingers smashed him together.
The look of confusion and wonder on Francine’s face widened into a very pleased and confident smile. "This is quite an unexpected discovery." Her deep voice purred as she rolled him around like a crust of bread between her fingers. She wasn’t exactly sure how much his small frame could withstand and had no intention of killing him, but neither was she aware of just how impactful even a small show of force could be to him now.
"Gahhhh!" Dan screamed such a scream loud enough to wake the dead. He had never seen another person up close from this vantage, nor had he ever felt this helpless, afraid, and vulnerable.
“Oh wow, I can’t hear a word you’re saying. I can see your little lips moving, but I can’t hear a thing.” Francine remarked, taking another quick look around the cafe before adjusting her posture to look nonchalant.
Dan’s screaming only intensified. He didn’t want to be with her, held so carelessly like refuse. He had to get back to Donna; he had to walk her through the process of reversing this nightmare he brought onto himself; he had to get away from this bitch and into the hands of somebody he loved and trusted.
"Now now, Danny…” Francine looked down over the bridge of her nose, eyeing the little speck in her hand with greedy delight. “ Is that any way to greet your mother-in-law?" Fran’s look descended into a sinister grin. "You don’t look very happy to see me, dear?” Fran tilted her head to the side, resting it in her free hand, elbow on the table. “Pitty, because I am -thrilled- to see you."
Dan gathered his bravado and calmed his nerves; if he wanted to get out of this alive, he would need a level head and a quick wit. "No, I am glad you found me; you've no idea how long I was..." Dan paused as his eyes fell ensnared by the gargantuan eye scrutinizing him.
Francine was in her late forties, with smooth, tan skin and striking, confident features. Her prominent nose and jawline framed piercing grey eyes that missed nothing. Her hair, mostly black with streaks of grey, was styled just enough to be polished without looking overdone. Normally, his mother-in-law reminded him of a more commanding, older version of his delicate, breathtaking Donna. But from his current vantage point, squeezed between her fingers, she was an awe-inspiring, towering presence—a goddess whose immense features loomed over him, both mesmerizing and terrifying. Long, red-painted nails shaded him from light, and the thick, tough skin on the pads of her fingers pinned him without question. Her voice was loud and commanding, like nothing he had ever heard.
"Oh, sweetheart, didn’t you listen the first time? I can’t understand a word you’re saying. I suppose your tiny little voice is just too faint to be heard," Fran boomed, her tone edged with impatience and dismissal.
Dan refused to believe this; there had to be a way he could get her to listen. "I said, I am glad you found me! You have no idea how long I have been trying to..." Dan began but was interrupted once more, Francine’s more commanding voice cutting through his like a hot knife through butter.
"I see your lips moving, but nothing’s coming out," Fran remarked, her tone laced with boredom and unsettling finality.
"I said, I. Am. Happy. You. Found. Me!" Dan shouted, straining his voice until he coughed from the effort. But Fran only looked down at him with that same bored, dismissive, and smug expression.
With her head resting in her hands, Fran glanced down at Dan only briefly, clearly trying to appear as though she wasn’t addressing anyone. "Well, it’s a good thing I found you before Donna," she began confidently. "The last thing she needs right now is to deal with this." Fran sighed, her gaze drifting away from Dan as she stared ahead, looking lost in thought.
"Huh, what do you mean, Fran? I need you to get me to Donna. We have to reverse this; it is reversible! Just give me to Donna, and she will take care of this." Dan shouted, but there was no response, no eye contact, nothing so much as a nod of acknowledgment. It was as if she wasn’t even listening. “Oh fuck, she really can’t hear me. Oh, this is bad, really bad.”
Fran continued to hold Dan between her thumb and forefinger, poised in such a way that she looked as natural as could be, just another customer waiting for somebody else. She held him away from herself as if he were a contagious pathogen or a putrid spoiled egg.
“Well…” Francine sat up, then took a drink of her tea and set the mug down, looking down through her nose at Dan as she set the hand that clenched him down to rest on the table, keeping him well pinned between her fingers. "You've chosen this for yourself, Dan. It was a selfish and bullheaded thing to do, and now I suppose you must live with the consequences.” Fran muttered, her voice slowly boiling over. “Donna has been devastated by your recklessness." Fran paused as she idly rolled him between her thumb and forefinger.
"Gahh!" Dan cried as flesh assaulted him on all sides, rolling his arms and legs into unnatural positions. “Fran, this is none of your business; just take me back to Donna!” Dan shouted, aware his words were being absorbed by the universe, never making it to Fran’s ears. This was raw; this was a son-in-law unleashing pent-up frustration. Fran was always sticking her nose in where it didn't belong, and he was tired of it.
"Do you know what I don’t get, Dan?” Fran sighed, the anger ebbing away, replaced once more by apathy. “Why? Why would you choose this? I mean, just look at you. You’re smaller than a bug now; how can you live like this?” Francine’s eyes glanced down at the man in between her fingers, difficult to make out even from this closeness. “Did you think of that? How can you support yourself? How can you support Donna?" Fran took Dan and raised him to eye level. She peered at him with conviction, her look angry and offended.
“F… Fran please..." Dan begged, but she continued on with her rant.
"Did you stop to think about how this would affect her?" Fran gave her head a shake. "A woman needs a man who can protect her, Dan, not an insect," Fran emphasized the last word as she squeezed Dan a few times.
"Yeah, I get it! I fucked up! But this is curable! It can be fixed, ok? Just give me to Donna, and she will take me to the..." Dan was interrupted; Fran had not even been looking at him as he talked, a subtle reminder that his voice was now lost to him.
"But Dan, that you actually want to live like this—I just don’t understand." Francine shook her head, her tone slipping into something almost regretful. "But so be it. If this is what you wanted, then this is what you will have." Her voice carried a commanding finality, leaving no room for objection.
"Well good. Just give me to..."
"But, Donna will have no part in this." Fran spat.
“Wait…what does she mean…” Dan had given up trying to communicate verbally and was now simply verbalizing his thoughts.
"She will move on… eventually. I will see to that." Fran lowered her hand to the table once more and began to sift through her purse with her free hand.
"No, she can’t mean that? Fran, you can’t do this! Think about what you’re saying—this is your daughter, my wife! You can’t keep us apart! This is kidnapping! Fran… Fran…don’t you do this, Francine Delmont!" Dan began to struggle once more, digging deep down to find the reserves of energy he needed; his life depended on it. But his mother-in-law was focused on rummaging through her purse, ignoring his words and frantic movements entirely.
"I should leave you here to fend for yourself; after all, it is all you deserve. But I have a little more compassion than that." Fran pulled from her purse a small red leather sac with a zipper at the top. "I liked you, Dan. You were always good to Donna; you took good care of her." Fran sat the sac down and swiftly unzipped it. “Sure, you were never perfect, but you were there, and that’s a lot more than I can say for some men.”
"Wait... what is she doing? Francine, wait..." Dan screamed in horror as Fran held him suspended above the cavernous opening of her coin purse. He looked down into its dark depths, recoiling in terror as the realization hit him—she was kidnapping him!
"But you have to face reality—you're worthless to her now." Fran released her grip on Dan, sending him plummeting, screaming, into the abyss below.
“Wait, no, help... somebody help!” Dan crashed onto a hard, silver surface, where the stern, confident effigy of Queen Elizabeth II greeted him. "No, Fran! Please!" Dan cried out, his desperate gaze lifting to meet the regretful expression of his mother-in-law. She almost looked... sad.
"I’ll have to figure out what to do with you later," Fran said coolly. "For now, I need to tend to my baby. She’s going to need me now more than ever, Dan."
"Don't you do it! Fran, don’t you—" The last thing Dan saw was the underside of Fran’s chin as she looked up, her fingers swiftly closing the coin purse, plunging him into total darkness.