Justin grinned broadly. By becoming Ollie's dad he was now automatically seen as an adult. All of the kids were too busy playing arcade games to notice their dads at all, hanging out in their booth.
"Here man, you look like you're really in the mood."
Justin looked eagerly at the amber liquid Mr. Peters poured from the pitcher.
"Thanks! Wow!" Justin tried the beer and did a double take. If only Ollie could see him now! Beer tasted amazing. Sort of frothy and a little sour but the taste was unlike anything he'd ever had before. It was better than candy, he thought. Better than soda, thick and beautiful.
****
Back with Ollie and Nevin, Ollie had convinced his former guardian to play the one whack-a-mole game the arcade had in lieu of the video games. They had a lot of fun.
"I almost got it!" Nevin shrieked with delight.
"Hey kid, lemme see that." an older kid said, and shoved Nevin on the ground. Ollie immediately went to his side. The older kids had taken the plastic bat and started to joust with his friends, who looked like they were in junior high. They wore their caps backwards and Ollie didn't want to antagonize them at all, they looked mean.
Nevin started to cry. He didn't want to but he was so embarrassed. He didn't feel like himself anymore. He wanted to go home and get tucked in and maybe have some cocoa with marshmallows.
Ollie hugged him. "It's okay. You'll be fine. You're gonna turn back into a grown up later so just try to enjoy it for now."
Nevin sniffed. "What? I'm not a grown up, I'm only 9."
"Oh yeah," Ollie said. He often forgot about his former life and when he reverted to being a kid he forgot how to act like an adult. "I think you are just like a kid now, cuz you can't remember how to be tough like you used to be."
"I am tough! Stop saying that, Ollie!"
"Okay, okay. You're a big tough guy. Show me your muscles!"
Nevin stopped sniffing and offered his pipe cleaner arm and they both laughed as Nevin imitated the Hulk.
****
"So then my wife all telling me to fix the roof again and i as like sweetheart, I don't work all day so i can work when I get home. How bout you, Nevin? How's your old woman?"
"My what?" Justin posing as Nevin sipped his beer. He was really liking hearing all these guys talk. It seemed like they weren't intimidating at all anymore. He used to look way up at them and be scared because he was so much shorter and younger. They had been these giant men who he would have been so afraid to approach before and now they were his sized, so it didn't seem like that at all!
"Your what? Haha! Right, man, who needs a wife, huh? I bet she thinks you owe it to fix everything in your entire house even though you spend all day installing floors."
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, she uh...Melissa can be a real handful." Justin sipped his beer. Melissa? He never called her by her first name before, she was Jackson and Connor's mom. He scratched at his stubble. He needed a shave, he thought.
"Hey man, I got some Rocky Patels. What's say we smoke em and talk about a project, I know a guy who is gonna need a floor put in because he's flipping a house."
Justin smiled as Mr. Peters brought a few cigars out of his jacket pocket and handed one to Justin. Justin was still reeling from his first beer and how good it was.
"Just tell your kids we're right here if you need us." Mr. Evans said. He and Mr. Reynolds were talking about something called fiberglass.
"You're not gonna smoke out with us, man?" Mr. Peters asked.
"Nah, maybe next time."
"More for me and Nevin, am I right?"
Justin didn't know what was coming over him, but whatever it was, it felt good and right. He scratched at his stubble. So weird to have hair all over my face, he thought. Weird, but really cool.
He found Ollie and Nevin playing something with spaceships. They looked so little and frail, he thought.
"I'm gonna be outside with Ed for a little while. You kids be good, if you need anything just go hang out with Mr. Evans, alright sweetie?" He said, and felt very different all of a sudden. He swaggered away.
"Something feels wrong," Nevin said. "I don't like it, I wanna go hooooooome," he whined.
"Nevin, come on. We're having fun!" Ollie said, trying to cheer him up, but hiding his secret concern that something was actually wrong.
Justin just followed whatever Mr. Evans did. First he took the cigar out of the plastic wrapper. Then he nipped off the tip with a cutter, using Ed's.
"Thanks, Ed," he told him, realizing he was using a grown man's first name. He smiled at the thought of not having to treat all adults like a little kid would. He was friends with a grown up man now because he was one! He then tasted the cigar and felt the immediate tingle on his lips of fine tobacco. His penis got hard all of a sudden, like he had to pee. He watched Ed Evans flip open his lighter and suck hard, drawing smoke and releasing it in bulging clouds...
****
"Ollie I wanna go home and do more sleepover stuff. Let's just go watch TV."
"We can't leave without daddy."
"Oh yeah. When do you think he'll be back?"
"I dunno, he's talking with his friend. Hey wait I thought you were daddy."
"Huh? Oh yeah, I am your dad. I...adopted you cuz you got little and I have two other sons. Wait, I'm only 9. Do you wanna play pretend, Ollie?"
Ollie got confused suddenly. He walked back to the table with Mr. Evans so he and Nevin could sit down. What was taking Justin so long?
Justin came in looking like he'd just won the lottery. He reeked of a familiar smell that Ollie recognized as cigars.
"It was great seein' ya, Nevin."
"Great seein' ya too, pal. Tell your friend I'll call him for an appointment so I can give him an estimate, but it's probably going to be 5 grand."
Ollie turned his nose up at how Justin utterly reeked of cigars now. The real Nevin just looked jealous.
Justin called them a cab on his new phone and he knew the address without having to ask. Ollie and Nevin were sure tuckered out and it was time for bed soon. Justin had bought the kids a slice of pizza each before they left. It was so cool to have money and he could decide where it went!
Ollie and Nevin went to sleep in their sleeping bags in the living room, propped up by couch cushions. Justin checked himself out in the mirror for a few more minutes before wandering to check out all the stuff in Nevin's room.
Nevin woke up and wanted a glass of water. He felt so small in this house now. Why did everything feel so big? Why did he have to be a kid? He walked into Justin rolling a cigar in his mouth and fondling his new package in only his underwear.
"Well well, look what we have here. I have the big body now! And you were dumb enough to turn yourself into me! Now I guess you're gonna have to face facts, young man."