Oliver cried in the corner, his little butt smarting, but feeling beyond humiliated by the punishment inflicted by his own boyfriend. He was naked and small, bawling like a baby from the ego-disruptive process of being treated like one.
He could solve one thing. Oliver scanned the floor, found his Sesame Street underpants, and pulled the tight briefs back onto his boyish body, sniffling as he did so.
He listened to the sound of David moving through the house, calling his name, still trying to get to the bottom of the situation. Desperate, Oliver whirled and faced his front door. He bolted across the room, only for the height of the door knob to stymie him for an instant. He had to grasp the knob with both hands and turn it with all his might before the door swung open. He dashed out of his house, but froze on the porch.
Now what? His bedlam of emotions kept him paralyzed. He needed to use the ring to get back to normal, but he required an article of his clothing for that. He heard David's voice upstairs, which offered him perhaps a few extra seconds. "Think!" Oliver chirped.
He had two options: run around the house to the gardening work shed or make a dash to the garage.
With the front door still open behind him, he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. David was returning!
He made his decision and took off as fast as his much shorter four-year-old's legs could carry him.
He reached the shed, a clutter of gardening utensils and supplies. His eyes darted beneath a work bench overwhelmed with cobwebs. He saw a pair of green rubber work boots that he used whenever he puttered around the garden. He had taken up gardening as a hobby with much enthusiasm, but like with most of his projects, his interest had faltered.
His mind balked... what if a spider had hidden itself in the boots?
Then he heard David's angry voice. "Kid? Where did you go?"
He pulled the big, floppy boots onto his feet. He groaned as he felt his body suddenly expand as the boots tightened around his feet. At the same time, his sudden return to adult Oliver resulted in the destruction of the nostalgic Sesame Street briefs. He disposed of the colorful scraps of material by burying them under a half-empty bag of mulch. That's how David found him — in a crouch, wearing only the green rubber boots.
"Oliver?" David sounded shocked as his boyfriend stood up and lowered his hands in front of his crotch. "What the hell's going on here?"