The Dressmaker

Chapter 7
Chapter 6 (One Year Earlier)

When the summer ended, Mrs. Schneider told him he had to start sixth grade. The idea seemed more than a bit silly, not to mention not very fun, but she insisted. When Dan objected that he was much too big to go to school, she simply told him he was being silly. Not knowing how he could keep the rest of his pleasant lifestyle without going along, he decided to trust her.

So Dan found himself being driven to school on the first day. She escorted him to his classroom, where he met his teacher and classmates. Even though he towered over the rest of them---the student sitting behind him, surely, had difficulty seeing the blackboard---no one seemed to think it was the least bit strange.

Indeed the other students were eager to make friends with him, and he was immediately invited to have lunch with a group of boys, who included him as if he’d been their friend for years. The classwork was easy; even though he hadn’t been in school for years, this was simple enough that he barely had to learn it. As a result, he was the star pupil, and his teacher showered him with attention and praise. Recess was even better: given his size, he easily dominated every game, and no one seemed to mind, they just respected him for it.

When his new friends started talking about the coming little league season, he brought it up to Mrs. Schneider, who thought it was an excellent idea to join the team. There, too, his size was a huge advantage, and he easily became both the star hitter and fielder. With his help, his team got a solid start on a perfect record, and his teammates loved him for it.

One evening, after a particularly stellar game, Mrs. Schneider came in as Dan was playing video games before bed. "Dan, I have an important question for you."

"Yes, Mrs. Schneider?"

"Are you enjoying yourself, staying with me?"

"Oh, yes, a lot. Lots and lots and lots."

She smiled. "Oh, that’s wonderful. Would you..." she suddenly looked almost shy, "would you like to keep living like this, as my son?"

Dan smiled. "Yeah! That would be so awesome!"

"Oh, that’s wonderful. I was hoping you would say that."

She gave him a hug, and Dan hugged her back. "I made you special birthday pajamas."

"Birthday pajamas? It’s not my birthday..."

Dan winced at the look of disappointment in her eyes. "I thought that since today was the day you decided to be my son, that made it like your birthday."

"Oh! That makes sense! I just didn’t know what you meant."

She handed him the box, and he tore it open excitedly. They were a matching shirt and pant set, covered in baseballs. He stripped on the spot and pulled them on.

"Now, there’s just one more thing I’d like to do. I want to put your name on them, so everyone will know they’re yours."

"Oh, okay." Dan moved to take them back off, but she gestured for him to stop.

"No no, the only way to do it is while you’re wearing them."

So Dan sat for several minutes while she worked. She worked deftly and quickly, as if it was no obstacle that his body was on one side of the clothing. The process made his body tingle slightly, like it was he, instead of the clothes, who was being sewn into shape. When she was finished, he could look down and see "DAN" embroidered carefully across the center of the shirt.

She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, then shooed him to bed. It wasn’t until after she’d tucked him in and turned out that the light that it occurred to him that she had been tall enough to need to lean down. But he was too tired to think about it, and soon drifted to sleep.

It was the next day, getting ready for school, that he looked in the mirror and saw a twelve year old boy looking back at him. It looked right, though, especially when he noticed how perfectly his new pajamas---his birthday pajamas---fit.