Just Like Dad

 Originally posted on Tumblr

 

Honestly, I don’t even remember what I said exactly. I took my son out on a day trip that ended with us getting Ice cream. Typically, I was always working so my wife had a monopoly on bonding trips but today was all me. I planned, scheduled, and organized the trip. Then I think when he asked to get the same flavor I got, I smiled and spoke. When we came home, I laid out my office clothes for the following week. I went downstairs and by the time I came back up my son had put on my clothes. I stifled a laugh as my shirt sleeves hung over his hands. “Wow son, you remind me more of myself every day, “ I said. But come on, that’s a thing parents say to their kids all the time. I guess sometime the universe decides to take people at their word on random days.

As I stated before, my work life isn’t exactly accommodating so I don’t always get to be with my wife or son at optimal times. Normally I get in late at night, kiss my wife hello, then go to my son’s room to either kiss his forehead good night, or read him a bedtime story. Tonight, I heard the TV on and just considered myself lucky. “Hey junior time to turn the TV off,” I knocked.

“Mom said I could stay up later tonight.” I smiled at him. It was a Friday after all. I ended up reading him a story that night before going to see my wife.

“Did he put up a fight going to bed?”

“No, I think he was too tired because you let him stay up later.”

“Well, he is a growing boy, we need to start treating him as such.”

“Of course,” I leaned on the bed and kissed her before going to take my evening shower. Our weekend was peaceful, just us as a family sitting outside, having a picnic. When our son went off to play, I leaned over to her. “I think it’s time we start getting him some new clothes.”

“I know it’s like that hoodie is strangling him.” she added.

After that I didn’t catch up with my son for a while. I was coming home late and just fucking collapsing. In the morning I’d be too exhausted to say goodbye before my wife and him left. Things finally settled down at work, and I got in around 10:00 pm. Later than my usual time, but better than the 12:00 arrivals I had been doing. I did my usual routine with my wife and this time appreciated getting to check on my son.

When I opened his door, things just felt off. An unsettling feeling. Imagine walking into your house and knowing small things had been switched around but not which things. That kind of unsettling. I kissed my son on his forehead goodnight as I turned to leave. I noticed his feet hanging off the end of his bed. Automatic mental note to get a bigger bed.

Next time I saw my son. He looked bigger as if he’d hit a growth spurt. I mentioned it to my wife, and she dismissed me, so I let it go. What I couldn’t let go of was he was up at 10:00pm on a school night. I put him to bed and read him a story. He quickly drifted off after that.

“I just don’t know what he was doing up so late.” I pulled back the comforter on the bed climbing in.

“You need to lighten up.” My wife read her book while, “Junior’s a teenager, he’s going to start wanting more independence and things like longer curfews.”

“You’re right I suppose.” Then I caught myself. It was as if those words left my mouth on autopilot. “Wait, who’s a teenager? Junior? No, he’s not.”

My wife huffed,” It was a long day for me and I’m really not in the mood for this joke.” She turned the lights off in our room and went to bed. I chalked it up to a slip of the tongue, or the fact she might be messing with me. A few days later Junior’s new bed came and at a good time too. He was getting bigger and bigger every time I saw him. His bed was massive, almost the size of the one in our master bedroom. My wife would also say he packed away pounds of food. He was an eating machine. Yes, I noticed how weird everything was, but it was almost like I couldn’t call attention to it. My mouth would just say something else. My son kept growing and maturing and I couldn’t do anything about it. I realized soon though they honestly didn’t believe anything was wrong.

Junior started going out, coming home late. Staying up playing video games well beyond his bedtime. One day I got up early to see my son and wife off. Imagine my surprise when my son pulled off in the car and drove himself to school. I couldn’t handle it. The height, the voice. it was all too different… and yet, kind of familiar.

One Saturday I called Junior out to our balcony to talk. He tried to say he made plans with friends, but I told him to sit on my leg. He made a face like he shouldn’t but ended up doing it anyway. Even he seemed surprised by that. Must have been automatic for him since he did it so often when he was a kid, which I must reiterate had been mere weeks ago. The feeling an 18-year-old sitting on my leg was insane. Then his body started to get heavier. His muscles were growing right on top of me. People often talk about how it is to see someone transform but can I be truthful? It’s scary like Eldritch body horror. There are way human muscles should and shouldn’t move. I even saw his abs come into existence when I lifted his shirt. Made me nauseous.

There was so much for my mind to process I left my son alone for a while. His growth had halted or maybe even completely stopped. Wednesday that week was a late night. I didn’t get home till around 1:00 am. I was quiet, coming into the house and didn’t want to wake anyone up. As I made my way upstairs and snuck past my son’s room, I heard creaking. I paused and planted my ear on the door and listened. There was no way. He wouldn’t.

He would.

I opened the door and found my son on top of some girl. “Oh, shit dad!” He quickly grabbed a pillow covering his junk while the girl used the covers. “Junior, we need to talk, Be downstairs in 10 minutes. Miss, I think you should leave.” I closed the door. The girl left and a few minutes later my son trotted downstairs. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to yell at him but the moment he stepped in the kitchen that changed.

“Junior, you can’t be doing that while your mom and I are here.” Once again, a word that I hadn’t approved of left my mouth. “I know you’re growing but you have to be thoughtful of others.” I wrapped a hand around the back of his head and brought him in for a hug, Junior huggedme back.

“Thanks dad, you’re awesome.”

The words I said weren’t awful or unbelievable. I could see myself saying my son was actually a teenager having sex, that was the problem though. He shouldn’t have been. Why couldn’t I bring it up? My son went to bed while I crawled in bed with my wife letting out a long sigh. Holding in what you truly wanted to say was exhausting.

“Long day.” His wife mummed not even opening her eyes.

“You have no idea.” He sighed, going to sleep.

I slugged through the next morning and around the afternoon I started to go through my clothes and get them together for the next week. I had to stop. My mind was muddled. I went downstairs and had breakfast outside. I was enjoying the morning when the back door slid open. There, wearing everything, but my shirt was Junior. He strolled outside in my clothes and couldn’t take my eyes off him. The past few weeks I had been dealing with his rapid growth, but I hadn’t processed it. Junior truly was looking like a young version of well…me.

And one last time before I even meant to speak my mouth said

, “Wow son, you remind me more of myself every day.”