One Size Fits All
Toby Blake sighed as his mother's voice drifted from downstairs. "Hurry up and get dressed, Toby! You know your grandparents will be upset if they get here and you're not ready."
The eighteen year-old high school senior remembered that his mother's family was coming for a holiday dinner. While Christmas was still several days away, his mom's family decided to get together early to exchange gifts. He was always happy to see them, but his family was not Toby's first choice for entertainment during the holidays. His buddies from the football team wanted to meet later that night for a movie, so Toby wanted the fun and festivities to end as soon as possible.
Grabbing a towel from the linen closet, he entered his bathroom and turned on the shower. While waiting for the water to warm he studied himself in the mirror. A chiseled profile and a slight shadow of blonde on his chin reflected the man that he was quickly becoming. Rubbing the last bit of sleep from his blue eyes, he dropped his plaid boxers and stepped into a shower that was already steaming up the bathroom mirror.
After showering, he dressed in the typical teen uniform: khaki cargo pants and a somewhat tight-fitting red sweater from Abercrombie and Fitch. His natural good looks made him popular with the girls at school, and Toby didn't mind the attention. He flexed his biceps and smiled, thinking that just two years ago he was more of a scrawny boy than anything else. He pulled on his size ten Timberland hiking boots and looked at the marks on the doorframe of his room that showed his height at each of his previous birthdays. Growing up just a little smaller than the other guys was hard, so he was thankful that the marks finally reached a respectable 5'8". His doctor promised that he had a little more room to grow, so maybe his dreams of playing football at a small college was not out of the question. Even though a little shorter than the others, he was still one of the best receivers on his high school team.
Hearing conversation from downstairs, he hurried down to the family room. His Aunt Carole and Uncle Bill were already here, along with his grandparents. His uncle grabbed him in a gentle bearhug. "We have got to come visit more often," said Bill. "You must have grown two feet since we were here last!"
His Aunt Carole hugged him and then went into the kitchen to help Toby's mom. "I hope that the clothes we bought Toby for his Christmas present fit him," remarked Carole. "I think that they might be too small for him."
"I'm sure they'll fit fine," said his Mom, placing the last of the ham that she was carving on a serving platter. "It's the thought of the gift that counts anyway," she said. "He's gone through so many new clothes these past few months, I almost wish that he could wear some of his old clothes a bit longer just to save us money!"
Meanwhile, Toby sat on the couch flanked by his grandparents. His grandmother still thought of him as her "Sweet Little Baby Toby," and her choice of gifts usually reflected it. Her selection of Garfield bedroom shoes last year was a typical example. Always the good sport, Toby had worn the fluffy slippers for the duration of his grandparents' visit.
After dinner, the family returned to the family room to open presents. His parents wanted to wait until Christmas morning to give Toby most of his presents, but the rest of the family planned to go ahead and exchange gifts from each other. The box from his grandparents was wrapped in Scooby-Doo Christmas paper. "Nice touch," Toby thought to himself as he pulled the paper from the box. Moving the tissue paper aside, he looked down in disbelief at what was in the box.
"Well, let us all see!" said his mother as his grandparents looked on with huge smiles of anticipation. Taking a deep breath, Toby pulled the clothing from the box and held up the red and blue Spiderman pajamas. The superhero's face blazed across the top, and spiderwebs snaked their way down the legs of the pajama bottoms. The sleeves and legs of the set ended in soft cuffs.
His grandparents continued to beam as he tried to smile. "I'm sure they'll fit just fine," said his grandmother. "The lady at the store assured me they were one-size-fits-all."
Taking another look at the pajamas did reveal a one-size-fits-all label, but Toby knew that he would have had a hard time fitting into the pajamas even when he was eight. The legs were about two and a half feet short for his current height, and there was no way that the top would ever fit over his chest. He thanked his grandparents and quickly returned the pj's to their package.
The rest of his family didn't seem too bothered by his grandparents' choice of gifts, but Toby felt that they were just trying to be nice. He picked up the gift from his aunt and uncle and ripped off the wrapping paper. Opening the box inside, Toby pulled out a new pair of cargo pants and a shirt, both of which looked hopelessly small. "How old do these people think I am?" wondered Toby. Looking at the pants, which were complete with zip-off legs to turn them into shorts, he was reminded of the elementary school kids that he passed everyday riding their bikes on the way to school. Again, it was like his family was shopping for a third-grader.
"I hope everything fits," said Aunt Carole. "I had no idea when I was shopping, so I just guessed at the sizes. You can exchange them if you need too." Toby thanked his aunt and uncle moved their present over next to the one from his grandparents.
Additional presents of a CD player and a game for his X-Box helped to soften the disappointment of his first two gifts, but Toby was still a little bothered that his family didn't know him any better than they did. After all, he was graduating in a few months, but they still thought of him as a little kid. Toby pushed the pangs of frustration out of his mind and tried to enjoy the rest of the evening.
It was too late to meet his friends for a movie by the time his aunt and uncle left, so he headed up to his room to get ready for bed. His grandparents were staying the night and he heard them in the guest room unpacking their clothes. He put in his new video game into the console and sat down to try it out.
In a few minutes, his mother stuck her head in the doorway of his room. "I hope you're not too disappointed in what you got tonight from my family," she said. "Being the only grandchild makes it easy for them to think of you as younger than you really are."
"It's alright, Mom," said Toby. "You taught me a long time ago that it's the thought that counts anyway."
"Unfortunately, your grandparents seem to think that you didn't like their gift," said his mom as she sat down on the bed beside him. "I think Mom's upset."
"Why is she upset?" asked Toby. "I thought I did a pretty good job of pretending to like those pajamas. If I were in third grade and weighed about a hundred pounds less I'd probably appreciate them more."
"I know, but could you do me a favor and just put them on for tonight?" said his Mom. "If she sees you wearing them then I'm sure she'll feel much better."
"Mom, did you see them? I don't think I could fit one leg into them. They're made for a little kid!"
"I thought they were one-size-fits all?" said his mom. "If they are, then I'm sure that they will stretch a little. Even if they are a little snug, couldn't you wear them for just one night?" She kissed him on the head and got up from the bed. "Do it for me, will you?"
Toby thought to himself that there was no way he could fit into those pajamas even if he'd wanted to, but the look on him mom's face forced him to say, "O.k., I'll try." She smiled and left the room as Toby picked up the pj's from their box.
The promise of one-size-fits-all was still there on the label, but as Toby unbuttoned his pants and slipped them down over his socks he knew that it was probably a lost cause. Suprisingly, the pajama bottoms seemed to give a little as he put his right foot into them. Stepping with his other leg, Toby stood up and slid the bottoms up to his waist. They were a little tight, but even as he stood there they seemed to loosen up a little in his seat and thighs. Most suprising to Toby was the fact that the cuffs of the bottoms reached right down to brush the tops of his sock-clad feet. "Huh, I don't guess these were as small as I thought they were," thought Toby.
He took of his sweater and pulled the red pajama top over his chest. The top was a little tight, but it showed off his abdominal muscles nicely. He was only slightly distracted by the face of Spiderman peering back at him as his stood in front of his full-lenght mirror. Despite his height and physique, both of which matched his eighteen-year-old birth certificate, Toby couldn't help but think of how young he looked. He wondered what his friends would think if they could see the senior football player standing there in pj's. He'd not seen himself in pajamas since making the switch to jogging pants several years before, but the image looking back at him reminded him of his childhood. He smiled as he thought about the pillow fights, backyard sleepouts, and bubble baths that he'd enjoyed as a child. He longingly remembered what it was like to be a kid again, and wished for a moment that he could go back to those days once again.
A door closing down the hall startled him back to the present. His mother just smiled at him from the doorway of her bedroom as he left his room padded down the hall. His grandparents were sitting up in bed reading.
"Well, look who is coming here," exclaimed his granddad. "Spiderman!"
"I just wanted to tell you goodnight and thank you again for my new pj's. I really like them."
Toby's grandmother beamed with pleasure. "I'm so glad you like them. I was afraid that you didn't."
"Oh, of course I like them," said Toby. "I just wasn't sure whether they would fit or not."
"They look fine to me," said his grandmother. "After all, they are one-size-fits-all!" She patted him on his backside as he hugged her goodnight. "You will always be my Sweet Toby," she said.
He returned to his room and stared at himself in the mirror. The six-pack of abs that he'd admired moments earlier seemed less pronounced, and the pajama top seemed a bit looser. Figuring that the material had just stretched, Toby climbed into bed and pulled the comforter up to his chin. The soft material of his new pajamas was warm and comfortable against his skin, and he was soon fast asleep.
A dream quickly transported Toby to a backyard campout with some fellow third-graders. Dressed in soft pajama sets, not unlike what he was sleeping in tonight, the kids settled into their sleeping bags. As Toby dreamed, he saw himself fall asleep as his friends remained quiet. Once his breathing gave away sleep, his friend pulled a thermos out of his sleeping bag. Carefully pouring warm water into the thermos cup, he held it while another friend placed Toby's fingers into the warm liquid. Barely stirring, Toby watched the eight-year-old version of himself continue sleeping as his friends laughed quietly. Gently pulling back the cover of the sleeping bag, his friends high-fived each other as the crotch of young Toby darkened and warmth spread into his underwear and pajama bottoms. Toby watched helplessly, and only vaguely felt the warmth in his own pajama bottoms as he drifted into deeper sleep.
The gold light of sunrise streaming into his bedroom caused Toby to squint as he woke up the next morning. As he shifted in his bed he realized that his pajamas felt strange. Reaching down to feel under the covers, Toby felt the cold wetness on his pajamas and sheets that could only mean one thing: "I've wet the bed!" thought Toby.
He'd had a bedwetting problem as a child, but his last series of nighttime accidents had been during his third-grade year when his mom had even talked him into wearing a diaper for protection at night. This was before the days of Goodnights, and his only option had been for his mother to help him secure a Pamper on each night before bedtime. He was quite embarassed about the entire ordeal, and he couldn't believe that he was living the nightmare over again. He had only a dim recollection of his dream from during the night, and its memory was quickly fading.
Throwing back the sheets, Toby stood up and felt a wave of dizziness. His pajama bottoms clung to him, and he didn't notice that the normal bulge of his teenage crotch was absent. He grimaced at the large wet spot on his sheets. As he passed the doorway into the bathroom, the mark from last year's birthday was several heads above him. Reaching the sink, he suddenly realized that the mirror was higher than it had been the night before.
Beginning to panic, he stood on the toilet to reach the mirror. Staring back at him was the face of a child. His hair was a shade lighter and his face was rounded, complete with a pug nose. He guessed that he looked like he did when he was about eight, but most people would have mistook him for a much younger child. Trying to get his thoughts together, he stripped off his wet pajama bottoms and underwear. They seemed to have shrunk to fit his new size. As he stared in disbelief at his body which showed no signs of the onset of puberty, Toby glanced at the one-size-fits-all label in his pajama bottoms.
He quickly washed off and returned to his room. He heard the sounds of his Mom preparing breakfast downstairs. Needing something to wear, he grabbed the box containing the outfit from his aunt and uncle. The pants, which last night seemed to be years too small for him, now looked like they might be a little big. He had not noticed the pair of boxers in the box the night before, but he grabbed them and put them on. As he dressed in the remainder of his new outfit, he felt his boxers grow tight against him. Unbottoning his pants and looking down, he saw that his flannel boxers had become a pair of terry-cloth training pants. The lack of a fly gave them away as the underwear of a small child yet to be completely potty trained.
As he began to realize that he was in big trouble, he looked over at the pair of pajamas lying on the floor where he'd thrown them as he left the bathroom. As he watched, the red color and Spiderman faded away as they shrank into a blue bundle. Even from across the room, he could tell that they were footed sleepers. He was also sure that if he looked inside, he would find the label: one-size-fits-all.
To be continued?