The Halefield Family Adventure: Chapter 1

by Shadow Puppet Theater

mc; Mdom; nosex

Michelle Halefield hummed tunelessly to herself as she browsed through the shelves of backpacks in the painstakingly trendy youth store at the local mall. It was because of this old habit her late husband would impishly call her his 'little hummingbird'. Max had been a mild and conforming man with all the attitude of Ward Cleaver; but his steady dependability had actually been exactly what Michelle had needed: when you’re adrift in a sea of vice, you need a reliable beacon to reach the shores of prudence. The only thing that kept him from fully transforming into a Norman Rockwell portrait was his habit of finding the most minor quirks in his wife and bringing them to light with childish nicknames that he thought were funny. Hummingbird, Cupcake, Mickey; she had always felt the pet names were more condescending then cute, but six years after his untimely death she found herself missing his creative monikers.

Of course there were a few nicknames he had given her that weren’t cute at all: the dirty ones he would call her when they had sex. She missed the sex much more then the nicknames. But Michelle made no attempt to reawaken her sex life, she considered her current sexless situation to be a karmic balance to her younger years of indulgence. Although in truth, she rarely thought about it at all: she didn’t like to dwell on the past if she could avoid it, she preferred to focus on the present; and presently she was examining a sunny green backpack that she thought would be perfect for her son.

“How about this one?” Michelle asked, holding up the chirpy school bag.

“Sure, if I want to look stupid.” Said her son Cody. He had just turned sixteen and was entering that phase that all kids go through when they rebel against the accepted norms of society by causing as much annoyance to their parents as they can. Cody was going goth, or maybe emo; Michelle had heard both terms and couldn’t tell the difference. Either way, he had dyed his lovely brown hair jet black and dressed in fishnet gloves, gloomy tee shirts with morbid images, tight black jeans, and more makeup and jewelry then Michelle felt any boy should wear. His mother gave perfunctory objections to his new persona, but truthfully she was pleased his obligatory teenage defiance was so mild. Her own rebellious phase had ended with her giving birth to her oldest son when she was sixteen, so she knew how much pain and grief an angsty kid could cause their parents. As long as Cody remained too squeamish to consider tattoos and piercings, Michelle was confident that he would grow out of his willful waywardness with no permanent damage.

“You already look stupid.” Countered Kelly, Cody’s seventeen-year-old sister. She giggled at his angry stare, causing her large breasts to wobble beneath her modest hoodie. People always said that Kelly looked like a younger version of Michelle, and Michelle supposed they were right: Kelly looked like Michelle would have looked if she hadn’t made so many bad decisions as a young girl. But while Michelle had flaunted her body as a teen, Kelly was modest to the point of celibacy. Although she was usually quiet and introverted, she had a playfully mean side that only came out when she was with her family.

“No fighting you two.” Said Paul. “Cody, either you pick a backpack or you’ll have to use Alison’s old pink one.”

Michelle once again silently thanked any higher power that was listening that Paul was around. He was her oldest son: the result of a wild night of sin with a man just short of twice her age. Michelle had allowed Paul’s father to take the boy away, at the time she had just been happy she wouldn’t have to take care of him herself. She never really met Paul until he was twenty; it was only after his father had passed away that she felt willing to come back into his life. He never blamed her for abandoning him, not once. Michelle would have fallen to pieces after her husband’s death if Paul hadn’t been there to help. He had moved in with her to help her take care of his stepsiblings. Michelle always felt that Paul was kinder to her then she ever deserved.

The threat of going to school with a pink backpack got Cody to find one he tolerated in record time. They were out of the store ten minutes earlier then Michelle had thought they would be; at this rate she thought she could get the shopping done in time to do some yoga. She had tried to stay in shape even after Max’s death; more to keep healthy then to stay attractive. Even so, she knew she looked pretty good for forty-four. She didn’t have anything close to a traditional hourglass figure: her hips flared out wide beneath her massive breasts, but she had kept her body in fit enough shape to look decent in a zaftig sort of way.

She headed to the food court to pick up her remaining two kids. Alison, her eldest daughter, was chatting up some young man, as usual. Michelle recognized the look on the young man's face all to well, it was the lustful look most males wore when talking to Alison. At nineteen years of age, Alison was a real stunner: her toned voluptuous body graced with a perfect heart-shaped behind and large perky breasts, crowned by a gorgeous hazel-eyed face beneath a cascade of dirty blonde curls. It wasn’t hard to imagine Alison on the front cover of a fashion magazine, or sashaying across a stage as a pop sensation. The poor boy she was flirting with probably felt like he was the luckiest guy alive. If only he knew how many young men Alison had strung along in the exact same way, leading them on for weeks before abruptly dumping them without a thought. Michelle didn’t like the way Alison toyed with men so casually; although she supposed it was better then if the girl actually fell for one and ran away from home with him, as Michelle herself had.

“Hey sis, where’s Ethan?” Asked Paul, expertly stepping between her and the young man, but not before shooting him the warning look of an older brother who thinks you’re showing far too much interest in his little sister. Michelle smiled as the boy nervously walked away; he would probably never know how much heartache Paul had just saved him by playing the part of overprotective sibling.

“Don’t call me sis.” Alison icily, giving Paul her coldest look. The other kids had all come to accept Paul in their lives, but Alison refused to stop hating him. Paul endured her resentment with silent patience that only infuriated her even more. She hated him partially because she thought he was trying to replace her dad but mostly because he was the only straight male that wasn’t head-over-heals for her. Even Cody would occasionally stare at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, but Paul barely spared her a second glance.

“You were supposed to be keeping an eye on Ethan.” Said Michelle, anxious as always to keep Alison and Paul from fighting. She had always hoped that Alison would accept Paul given enough time, but Alison had kept up the grudge for five years now and showed no sign of letting it go.

“He’s probably gawking at something in the toy store.” Said Cody dismissively. Michelle knew she should have scolded him for being so uncaring about his brother, but she had to admit he was probably right. Technically he was nine years old, but in terms of maturity Ethan had stop growing when he turned five. He still played with the same plastic castle he had gotten on his sixth birthday, although he seemed more interested in the little princesses and damsels then in the knights or dragons. Michelle hoped he wasn’t looking at the girl’s toys; he had been caught playing with one of Kelly’s old dolls at school once, and by the end of the day everyone was calling him Barbie. The poor boy had cried all the way home.

Michelle felt a curious mixture of relief and worry when she didn’t find him among the shockingly pink dresses and dolls that made up the “Just for Girls!” section of the toy store. She eventually spotted him in the back of the store, innocently looking at the bicycles and seemingly ignoring the tall dirty man with his hand resting on the boy’s shoulder.

Michelle ran to her son and pulled him away from the man so hard that Ethan tripped over his own feet and fell hard on his backside. “Ethan! What have I told you about following strangers?!” Michelle snapped at him while helping him to his feet. She shouldn’t have been so short with him, especially when he was already shocked and hurt from falling, but she worried about him. Ethan was naïve, trusting, and more then a bit simpleminded if Michelle was being completely honest with herself, which made him the sort of kid that wouldn’t think twice about getting into an unmarked van for a piece of candy.

“I’m sorry ma’am, are you this boy’s mother?” Asked the tall man innocently, his refined countertenor voice at odds with his slovenly appearance, “I found him wandering alone just a moment ago.”

Michelle looked up at the man’s face for the first time. “Yeah right.” She said, standing up and looking him right in the eye while hoping her anger could conceal her fear. “And I’m betting you’re just wearing that mask because it’s so close to Halloween, huh?”

The man gave her a steady, unblinking stare. His entire face was concealed behind an unpleasant rubbery mask. It didn’t actually look like anything, just a thick sheet of lumpy fibrous material, blank save for two crude eyeholes and a ragged slit for a mouth. She could scarcely imagine why Ethan had been following a man with such an unsettling disguise, not to mention his odor.

“I need the mask.” He said eventually, “it’s a lovely mask, and I’m no better without it, trust me. Trust me completely, in fact. Your child is perfectly safe. I would never try to hurt him. I’m not a bad person. I just wanted to find the boy’s family.”

“Well, that’s all right I guess.” Said Michelle. She noticed that the mask had no straps; it looked like it had been fastened directly into his head with nails. But it was a lovely mask, and he needed it. Besides, he was no better without it, so she supposed it was okay. And he didn’t even look all that scary, she realized. She actually felt she could trust him completely, in fact. Ethan was perfectly safe; the tall man wasn’t the sort of person who would ever try to hurt her child. He wasn’t a bad man; he just wanted to find Ethan’s family.

“Is this boy your only child?” Asked the kind man, absently running a hand through Ethan’s brown hair.

“No, he’s the youngest, though. The others are waiting at the food court.” She probably shouldn’t have been so open to a stranger, but she knew she could trust him. She trusted him completely, in fact. He wasn’t a bad man.

“And your husband?” The tall man inquired.

“No, he… passed away a while ago.” She mumbled. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Said the man somberly.

“I guess we’ll be going now.” Said Michelle, taking Ethan’s hand.

“Yes we should.” Said the gentleman cheerfully, taking Ethan’s other hand. “I bet you want to see your siblings again, right?” Michelle guessed he was smiling warmly under the mask. It was such a lovely mask.

“Yes,” Ethan said, “you’re right about everything. I should always agree with you.” Michelle would have found Ethan’s tone suspicious under other circumstances, but she knew her son was perfectly safe. Besides, what could happen to him while such a nice man was keeping an eye on him?

She led Ethan and the gentleman back to the table where the others were waiting. “What’s with the freak?” Asked Alison, eying the tall man suspiciously.

“Freak?” Asked Michelle, looking around. She couldn’t see anyone around that she would call a freak.

“I’m think she’s referring to me,” the stranger said. Michelle hoped he wasn’t offended by her daughter’s rude behavior. If he was, he didn’t show it. Or maybe he did and she just couldn’t see his expression behind his mask. It was such a lovely mask.

“I’m not actually a freak,” he said to her children, “in fact, you will find that I’m a nice man. A very nice man. And very trustworthy.”

“He found Ethan in the toy store.” Michelle explained. “He isn’t a bad man. He just wanted get Ethan back to his family. I trust him completely.”

“I can see why,” Paul said, “he seems extremely trustworthy, and very nice. I’m Paul, by the way,” he told the man, extending his hand, “you are?”

“I’m afraid that I don’t really have a name.” The tall man said, wrapping Paul’s hand in his long flexible fingers and shaking it slowly, “I’ve taken to calling myself Anthos, though.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Anthos.” Said Paul, “This is Cody, that’s Kelly, and that’s Alison. Thanks for finding Ethan.”

“It was no problem. Now let’s get this boy home.” Anthos said.

“Um, are you coming home with us?” asked Cody uncertainly.

“I’d like to.” Anthos admitted pleasantly, “If that’s alright with your mother.”

“Of course it is,” said Michelle. Why would she object to such a nice and trustworthy man going home with her family?

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