✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

146. Family

By the time Gabby came down to make lunch, Tess and Spike were already preparing something. They'd been out of the house briefly, and Tess had taken some photos in the park to see how much it had changed. The last time she'd seriously looked around the neighbourhood it had been winter; but now all the trees were green and there were flowers in different colours coming up around the trees.

"You don't need to do that," Gabby said, as she came downstairs. "I can take care of..."

"Something wrong?" Spike asked, and managed to find some humour in the situation. So far, Gabby had seen him regressed and dressed up as a baby girl, or perhaps a toddler. Then she'd treated him like a precious child to be protected. And she'd seen him in his regular everyday clothes, and dressed up in a sharp suit for the ball. And either way, she seemed to base her treatment of him on what he was wearing. But for a second, it was like she didn't know how to react.

Spike was in a party dress today. Not the incredibly formal one from last night, but one of the ones that had been in Tess's closet since she first moved here. And it looked surprisingly good on him. He had even shaved half an hour ago, and could possibly have passed for a girl if you didn't look too closely. But there was no way he was a baby girl in that outfit. It was too fancy, and obviously something that had seen the attention of a real designer. How would Gabby treat him, if he was in a dress but neither looking nor acting like a child.

"N... no..." Gabby said. "Is that your dress? I mean... is that one of Tess's ones?"

"It would have been my backup, if we couldn't find a nice one for the ball," Tess said with a shrug. "Or if you'd tried to buy me something childish when I didn't want to feel little."

"Oh, right. I didn't realise you had something so fancy. But I do think that you pulled off that one last night really well. So does this mean... Did Ffrances talk to you?"

"No," Tess said with a shrug. "I didn't want to spoil the surprise, if that's what you mean. All she knows is what you told her, I guess. And what she overheard last night."

"If you mean the dress," Spike said, "I thought it might help you to be more comfortable. I mean, Tess said you're not really comfortable around guys. And, well, all you've got to judge me on is how I look. So I thought maybe if I can be a girl, it might be easier for you. I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own house. You can think of me as a girl if you want. I mean..."

"Thank you," Gabby said. "I'm not sure how well that will work, but I really appreciate that you're trying that. But you can wear one of the toddler dresses if you want. They're less shaped, so it might be more comfortable."

"Yeah, but... I don't want to be falling into a headspace without meaning to. I'm excited about watching this thing, and I think I'll need all my wits about me to understand it."

"Of course. Now, can I talk to you for a second before we start the movie? I think Ffrances will be home soon, and it looks like you've already made plans for lunch."

Spike shrugged, and went with Gabby. They only talked for a couple of minutes. For one irrational moment, Tess thought that her cousin might be mad at her for telling Spike what they were going to be watching. But that couldn't be the case, because Spike had figured it out for himself. It must be about his new clothes, then. Gabby would probably be trying to persuade him to regress even after he'd decided not to; but Tess didn't think he would give in on that.

Lunch was ready quickly enough. Tess put together a selection of buffet type stuff, so she could put a couple of trays out on the coffee table, and they could eat while they watched the DVD. Everything would be ready when Ffrances got home, she hoped. And if they were lucky, they would all enjoy a unique experience. This was one real benefit of Gabby's job; one that Tess had never even thought of when she asked to move in here. If anyone had asked her this time last year what she thought she would be doing now, she would never have imagined watching the rough cut of a movie based on Millhouse Underground. If somebody last year had told her that she'd be one of the first people to see Kernigan's creation... well, she wouldn't have understood. A year before, she'd never even heard of Maurice Kernigan. And a year in the future, she would be preparing for her last few exams before leaving high school; or maybe even waiting impatiently for her results.