After they left the clinic, Steve pulled into a parking lot and turned off the car.
“Where are we?” asked Matt.
“Your brother needs clothes,” said Steve. “He can’t wear those same things every day.” They walked into the store.
“Uh… Jacob… where you going?”
Jake looked up.
“You’re not big enough for the men’s section yet, bud. Come on,” said Steve, leading Jake away toward the middle of the store.
Jake came to a halt as they reached the escalator. It seemed enormous to him.
“Let’s go, bro,” said Matt, tugging Jake’s arm. “You are way too old to be scared of this.”
“I’m NOT scared,” said Jake. “It’s just a bit bigger than it was twenty inches ago.”
At the top, they headed for the boys’ section. Jake stayed in the changing room, as all three members of his family started bringing clothes to try on. There were fights about appropriate clothing, with Jake having to be reminded that middle school students didn’t wear suits and ties. Finally Matt stepped in to help, and the discard pile grew and grew, but eventually Jake was outfitted with enough clothes to be able to go a few days between loads of laundry.
“I’ve heard of being being a ‘smedium’,” snickered Matt, “but never in kids’ sizes.”
The twelve-year-old flipped the bird at Matt. Alice reached over and smacked the back of his head. “None of that.” They wandered over to the shoe section.
Jake put his tiny feet in the Brannock device. “Two,” said the saleswoman. “I’m sorry, hon, the shoes in this section start at 3 1/2. You need to head over to that section over there.”
“Little kids’ shoes? I’m TWELVE!” Jake yelled, stomping over to the other display. “Look at this shit! Velcro straps and fucking dinosaurs!”
“Settle down,” said Steve, “and let’s minimize how many shoes we buy.”
“But I need…”
“You’re a kid. Kids wear tennis shoes. By the time you need anything else you’ll be bigger.” He pulled out a box of Converse high tops, size 1, and a box of Vans Old Skools, size 2 and held them out to Jake.
“Hello… earth to Jacob…” said Matt. Then he followed Jake’s gaze over to a girl about Matt’s age with a crop top and short shorts. His eyes wandered down to Jake’s shorts, which were rented out a little bit. “Ohhhh… I know what’s happening! Widdle Jakey Wakey is starting to wike girls!”
Jake threw the beat up old sneaker at his brother. “Shut up, shit-ass, she’ll hear you!”
“Hey!” snarled Alice. “Watch your mouth!”
Matt smiled. “You have good taste, bro, that’s Ashley, but she was the captain of the freshman cheerleading squad and is dating some junior who’s built like a gorilla and twice as hairy.”
Jake just stared, then broke his gaze. “Oh, man,” he said quietly. “I forgot how intense these feelings are at this age. Like, all I can think about is those legs. And imagining what I could do with her. But these shorts are not doing me any favors right now. Can we just pay and go home now?”
Steve laughed. “You and I are gonna have to have some serious talks,” he said. “But let’s go get some dinner.”