Old Top Hat
mc; Mb; oral; inc
One crisp autumn morning we find Ryan Wayland, perusing the aisles of a small thrift shop. The 33-year-old-man enjoyed these lazy weekdays; his son Cooper was at school, his wife Janet was at work, and Ryan was free to do whatever he wanted until the late evening. Ryan was what is known as a stay-at-home dad, although in truth, he took every opportunity he could to get of the house. Today, he was browsing secondhand shops and thrift stores ostensibly in search of Halloween costume ideas, either for himself or his son. Janet didn’t really celebrate Halloween; in fact, she didn’t really celebrate any holiday if it meant missing work. So Ryan would usually go all out to celebrate with his son, and this year was no different.
Walking down the aisles of musty old clothes, Ryan came across something that seemed out of place. Perched above the racks of worn jackets and vintage shirts was a black top hat. Unlike the other clothing in this store, this hat looked new, pristine even. As Ryan picked the hat off the shelf, he felt a sudden jolt of energy. Thoughts and ideas rushed into his head: a long black coat with tails and red lining, white gloves and shining leather shoes, a red tie and a gold watch, and the crown of the ensemble: this hat, a pristine stovetop of midnight velvet.
The image burned in his mind so vividly he could almost see it in front of him. This is it, he thought to himself; this is what I’ll dress up as for Halloween. He clutched the hat in his hands as he hurried through the rest of the store, searching for anything else that matched his vision of the perfect costume. But nothing in this second-hand shop could do his dream justice; these old and faded clothes seemed unworthy of such a grand outfit. Except for the hat, of course. Ryan couldn’t imagine the costume without the hat.
He walked up to the cashier, anxious to buy his hat and find another store for the rest of his costume. “How much is this?” he asked.
“Let me see,” The cashier said, reaching for the hat. Ryan reluctantly handed it over; for some reason, he didn’t like the idea of anyone else touching it. “Where did you find this?” She asked, turning the hat over in her hands, “I don’t think-” she abruptly fell silent, staring into the black hat. “No charge,” she finally said, sounding slightly dazed, “you can have it for free.”
“What?” Ryan asked. Why would anyone want to give away such a flawless hat? “Seriously, how much is it?” He asked again.
“No charge. You can have it for free.” The woman repeated, stiffly thrusting the hat back into his hands.
“Well… thanks.” Ryan said, taking the hat and walking out the door. “Have a happy Halloween.” He added.
He spent the rest of the day shopping: he had shoes, pants, a collared shirt, and good silk tie that could all work for the costume, but he needed the gloves, the coat, and the watch. After visiting almost a dozen stores he finally found the missing pieces to his costume. Ryan would have loved to go straight home and try it on, but his free time was ending: he had to go pick his son up from school.
Ryan arrived a few minutes early, as he usually did. He sat in the parking lot, still thinking about his costume. His train of thought was interrupted when he spotted his Cooper walking to the car. As he watched his son approach, Ryan became acutely aware of how handsome his boy was becoming. The eleven-year-old had inherited Ryan’s friendly smile and shaggy brown hair, but he had his mother’s bright blue eyes and cute button nose. He’s going to be beating off the girls with a stick in a few years, chuckled Ryan to himself, remembering his own days as a high school heartthrob. He made a mental note to sit Cooper down and give him some advice about dating one of these days.
“Hey Dad,” said Cooper, as he slipped into the car.
“Hey,” Ryan said, “how are you doing, sport?”
Ryan and his son chatted about homework, grades, and all the other pedantic topics of fifth grade.
“What have you been up to?” Cooper asked as they were pulling into the driveway of their suburban home.
“I’ve been Halloween shopping.” His dad responded.
“Oh cool! Did you find any costume ideas yet?”
“Boy did I ever.” Ryan enthused. “Come on inside, and I’ll show you.”
While Cooper dropped off his backpack, Ryan hurried to change into his costume. He checked himself in the mirror and loved what he saw. The red and black suit radiated mystery, the gloves and silk tie added a level of sophistication, and of course, the hat tied the whole costume together. Ryan felt dashing, elegant, and powerful.
“Well, what do you think?” he asked his son.
“Cool,” Cooper said, “You’re a magician?”
“Yeah, I-” Ryan stopped suddenly as a new thought entered into his head. “No,” he said, “no, I’m a stage hypnotist.”
“Huh,” Cooper said, giving his father a quizzical look, “Well you look like a magician to me.”
“I suppose I can see where you would think that.” Ryan said, as more ideas poured into his brain, “But it’s a hypnotist costume, and I can prove it.”
“Sit back and prepare to be amazed, my boy, as I dazzle you with my incredible mesmeric abilities!” Ryan said, pulling the gold watch out of his pocket with an overdramatic flourish. Ryan didn’t actually know anything about hypnosis, but he was sure that if he put on a good show Cooper would play along. His son laughed and plopped down on the couch.
“Now, keep your eyes on the watch,” Ryan began, “keep your eyes on the watch as it swings back and forth, back and forth,” Cooper chuckled, but kept watching.
“Just keep watching it swing back and forth, and if you look closely, it will appear to grow larger with each swing.” Ryan was surprised by his last comment. He had no idea where that had come from. Cooper was still focusing on the watch, tracing the contours of the swing with his big blue eyes.
“Back and forth, back and forth. And with every swing it grows larger and larger, and with every swing you grow more and more relaxed.” Cooper shifted to a more comfortable spot in his seat.
“That’s good, you’re feeling very relaxed now. You can feel all the worries and draining out of you as you become more and more relaxed with every swing.” Cooper’s eyes began to flutter as he shifted even further back in his seat. Part of Ryan hesitated for a moment: he was having second thoughts now that it actually seemed to be working. But another part of him kept the watch steady, and continued to softly speak to the young boy.
“As you grow more and more relaxed, you feel your mind sinking into a trace. Every swing send you deeper under my hypnotic control.” Ok, this has gone on long enough Ryan thought. But his body didn’t stop; he continued to swing the watch in slow arcs. Cooper sagged on the couch, his eyes only half open but still following the gold watch.
“Deeper and deeper you go, deeper and deeper under my control.” Ryan’s voice said, despite the protests from his mind. Ryan felt like a prisoner in his own body, watching helplessly as an outside force used him to enslave his son.
“Your mind is sinking deeper and deeper under my control, deeper and deeper. You feel so relaxed, so calm. All your worries and all your thoughts are fading away, leaving nothing but bliss. Fading away as you go deeper into your trance. Your mind is empty, your only thoughts are of obedience and pleasure.” Inside his head, Ryan was screaming, but his treacherous body showed no sign of his struggles. “You feel so blissful, and so content as you fall further under my control. The further you fall under my spell, the more content you become. I’m going to count down from five, and with every count you will become more sleepy and more relaxed, when I reach zero, you will fall into a deep, deep slumber, and you will surrender your mind to me.”
“Five…” Ryan felt his thoughts growing weaker as his mind began to dim.
“Four…” His will grew dimmer as the darkness enveloped his brain.
“Three…” The silken shadows sunk even deeper into the man’s soul.
“Two…” Ryan felt himself surrendering to the velvety midnight that was intruding on his mind.
“One…” Ryan took one last look at his poor, innocent son, sitting so helpless on the couch. Cooper, I’m so sorry.
“Zero.” Ryan Wayland ceased to exist. Something else had taken his place.
“Of course, dear. Of course. No, I understand. Don’t worry, it’s fine. Of course, I’ll tell him. Yes, dear. I love you too. Bye.” Ryan hung up the phone. “That was your mother; it seems she has to work late again. I guess it’s just you and me for the evening, eh boy?”
Cooper was on his knees, worshipfully sucking his father’s thick member. He stared straight ahead, his big blue eyes dull and empty, his entire mind focused on the cock in front of him. He had never given a blowjob before; in fact, before today he had never even seen an erect penis, but what he lacked in skill he made up for in devotion.
“A whole evening to ourselves…” Ryan repeated, absently running his fingers through his son’s brown hair, “We’re going to have so much fun together, my boy. So much fun.” Ryan laughed heartily, as his mind turned to even darker thoughts.