[©2011 BY CLINTON09; ALL CHARACTERS ARE OVER THE AGE OF 18 WITH IDENTITIES DISGUISED; FOR AGES 21 OR ABOVE]
[The little big man of the family is forced to replace both father and brother with the manly duties of TWO families; is he 'up' to it?]
*
Poor little David. He was always treated as the cute boy, the runt of the litter as it were. Everyone would muss his hair as if he were just a child; he felt no pride ever.
It was dismaying to him to see, years later, that science confirmed what he and millions of others already knew: that birth order mattered.
Upsetting but true, the first son would always be 'better' than his subsequent sibling brothers, as the mother's body would learn how to deal with the 'infection' of pregnancy with a male.
Well, you didn't have to refer to Nature or Scientific American to see the results. David was the third child and second son in the family and smaller by far than his studly brother or nubile sister.
His brother Carl was six foot two, his sister Carla five foot eight while he barely reached five foot five. He was about the same size as Tom Cruise or Michael J. Fox, and about as 'cute'. During family holiday get-togethers, he was always consigned to the 'kids' table' while Carl and Carla could rub elbows with the grown-ups.
There were two saving graces for David. One was that he was ashamed of his position in the pecking order and worked out fanatically to compensate for his height deficit.
The other was that nature DID bestow one blessing upon him. He may have been short of stature, but he was hung like a horse. His nine inch 'thing' far surpassed the other men of the family and, in relation to his size, was outrageously large. After a shower during the summer at the lake, his brother noted that and called him 'little big man'. For once, David embraced something said about him.
Once again, everyone was gathered at the lake home that was a summer escape from the Manhattan heat. Besides Carl (older brother), Carla (older sister), there was Constance (Connie, David's mom), Heather (Carl's wife), and David, Sr. (David's dad.) Carefree days were spent swimming, fishing, and just relaxing around the cold waters of the upstate New York lake.
It was nothing, really, just a run to the liquor store for a couple of six packs and some cognac. Carl and Dave, Sr. would only be gone for an hour. It was so cute; they had one of those mini-cars, a two-seater (yes, that one). It was so small that they could easily tow it behind the travel home for their local driving.
How could they know that that poor little car would have to deal with a runaway ten wheeler, the driver strung out on 'uppers' to keep on schedule. That poor little car did its best, but the impact literally propelled it fifty yards down the highway.
It was all over for them instantly. As for the arrangements thereafter, it was almost as fast. Back in the penthouse apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan, the remaining family was ashen silent after the dual ceremony at the family plot on Long Island.
Carla took a gamble, a big gamble, trying to shake the lethargy.
Carla: "Heather, you're twenty-two, like Carl was? I know that this seems like the end of the world, but tomorrow a new day will dawn and it will be good again."
That met with stony silence. Heather glared at her; Connie also gave a scolding glance. Carla gave up on trying to bring some sunshine into the darkened room.
Understandably, David did not relish his unusual status or position. As the lone surviving male, he was for the moment surrounded by three incredible females, albeit ones in mourning, inconsolable.
Carla was his twenty year old sister. She was only single because she wanted to go far in the business world before finding a man 'on her terms, on her schedule.' At 5'8", she was a very well paid executive secretary.
In her conservative, but short, wool dresses, she was basically a fantastic pair of legs that was climbing the corporate ladder at lightning speed. She tried to copy those leggy Fox news babes, and she had legs as shapely and thighs as creamy smooth as any news reader on TV, cable or broadcast.
Heather was the widowed wife of David's brother Carl. A real blonde, she was petite with a small frame like a gymnast. She had a fantastic figure which did not go unnoticed by men.
Connie was David's mom. At 45, she might have been too old to recover from her loss. Nonetheless, she was unbelievably 'well-preserved' at 45, with a figure identical down to the inch measurement-wise on her wedding 25 years before (36-25-37.) Unlike the other young women, Connie was busty; her blouses were always about to burst and it was 'all her' in there, all real.
The night of their return, everyone had an aperitif in steely silence before bed. Then everyone went to their respective bedrooms. The difference this night, of course, was that Heather and Connie would be sleeping alone. There were three bedrooms in a row, with Carla in the middle. David's much smaller bedroom was set off by the kitchen.
Carla tried to sleep but could hear first Connie and then Heather sobbing in turn. It started to really bother her. Finally, throwing on a robe, she padded on her beautiful demure bare feet to David's room. She knocked on his door, not thinking that he might be asleep.
Separated from the women in mourning, David had actually gotten to sleep. Now he was rudely awakened. Rubbing his eyes, he told his sister to come in.
Wearing a short 'teddy', Carla looked exactly like Mary Tyler Moore (another tall secretary) in her famous episode in a nightie. If this wasn't his big sister, and it wasn't the middle of the night, David might've been excited. Instead, he muttered:
David: "What the hell, sis, it's the middle of the night...are you going to tell me the latest perk you received from your boss because his wife is out of town?"
Carla: "No, smartass. I've come here for a favor. This is almost like a war scene, and we are fresh out of men." [David sat bolt upright, infuriated that his sister would continue treating him like the family baby. That was precisely what Carla was seeking...]
