Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tales
A Childhood Fetish
What do little boys play with?
Cars, and balls--never dolls
That's what little boys play with.
But not Tommy.
~~~~~
Most boys Tommy's age loved playing with toy guns, cars and soldiers. They pretended to be Spiderman and fought each other in alleyways. During indoor recess when it rained, they traded cards or played dungeons and dragons.
Not Tommy, though. Tommy wasn't a normal boy in any way, and seldom left the safety of his bedroom. He had many legitimate reasons to stay in his 'safe' zone. Peers in his elementary school classes threw things at him because he was scrawny; he was always picked last in gym class. He had no father to turn to--did he even have a father ever? The word 'dad' was completely foreign to him. Tommy's mom was constantly out and about with a different man almost every night. She came home from 'work' talking in slurs, and only wearing a skimpy pair of shorts.
One day after she came home from 'work' he tried to show her a picture he drew at school that morning. She merely laughed at the aloof puppy he drew, threw up over it and went back to bed hiccuping. Tommy retreated to his bedroom.
No, Tommy was never really amused by cars, balls or Ninja Turtles. Instead, he played with dolls. Barbie dolls, baby dolls, stuffed dolls, American Girl Dolls, dolls based off of TV shows and the list could go on forever. It didn't matter who she was, just as long as she wanted to play.
What Tommy realized early on was that these dolls would never refuse to play with him, like many of his peers did. They never turned down his company. This fascinated him. The dolls would do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted; he had total control over them. For hours on end, he would twist and contort them in his room. He'd take their clothes off, and then put them back on repeatedly. He would make the baby doll cry, and then coo as he stroked its back to make it happy again. He lied to Barbie and told her Ken wouldn't mind if she slept next to him in bed that night.
Yes, although at school, Tommy was definitely not the best athlete, never the brainiac and not even the class clown, but he was the best when it came to playing with dolls. Toying with emotions. He carried Barbie in his backpack on Monday; Polly Pocket on Tuesday; Raggedy Ann on Wednesday; Baby Kelly on Thursday; Holly Hobbie on Friday; and Saturday was a giant tea party with all his dolls in his room.
Tommy made sure to give his dolls a rest on Sunday. He had to, or else they would drive him insane with all their whining, and also because everything he planned could fall apart. He needed that one day to escape his imaginary world.
Tommy never got bored of this lifestyle; he was like a God to his dolls. He made sure for each doll to change his name, so to each one he was special. Someone different. None of them would be jealous of the other. They were all happy.
Often times on Sunday's, the dolls would gather around while Tommy was gone to discuss their week. All spoke about some charming boy who played with them earlier that week.
"Do any of you know about George?" asked Polly Pocket. "He shared his lunch with me on Tuesday. PB&J for two outside Parkside Elementary School. It was SO romantic!"
Raggedy Ann smiled, "That's so wonderful, Pol!" she sighed. "Brian played a round of Candyland with me just this past Wednesday. He let me win, of course, but he's such a modest guy. Next week, he wants to play Chutes n' Ladders at 3 p.m. Hopefully Andy doesn't find out about him."
"Oh he won't, dear," Barbie rested her hand on Raggedy Ann's shoulders reassuringly. "Ken is totally oblivious to me and Luke on Monday's. Ah, guys can be quite blind, can't they girls?!"
All of the dolls in the room nodded and laughed together.
Tommy loved all of his dolls; they all loved the part of Tommy they saw. None of these poor dolls knew that they all shared the same boy.
Cars, and balls--never dolls
That's what little boys play with.
But not Tommy.
~~~~~
Most boys Tommy's age loved playing with toy guns, cars and soldiers. They pretended to be Spiderman and fought each other in alleyways. During indoor recess when it rained, they traded cards or played dungeons and dragons.
Not Tommy, though. Tommy wasn't a normal boy in any way, and seldom left the safety of his bedroom. He had many legitimate reasons to stay in his 'safe' zone. Peers in his elementary school classes threw things at him because he was scrawny; he was always picked last in gym class. He had no father to turn to--did he even have a father ever? The word 'dad' was completely foreign to him. Tommy's mom was constantly out and about with a different man almost every night. She came home from 'work' talking in slurs, and only wearing a skimpy pair of shorts.
One day after she came home from 'work' he tried to show her a picture he drew at school that morning. She merely laughed at the aloof puppy he drew, threw up over it and went back to bed hiccuping. Tommy retreated to his bedroom.
No, Tommy was never really amused by cars, balls or Ninja Turtles. Instead, he played with dolls. Barbie dolls, baby dolls, stuffed dolls, American Girl Dolls, dolls based off of TV shows and the list could go on forever. It didn't matter who she was, just as long as she wanted to play.
What Tommy realized early on was that these dolls would never refuse to play with him, like many of his peers did. They never turned down his company. This fascinated him. The dolls would do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted; he had total control over them. For hours on end, he would twist and contort them in his room. He'd take their clothes off, and then put them back on repeatedly. He would make the baby doll cry, and then coo as he stroked its back to make it happy again. He lied to Barbie and told her Ken wouldn't mind if she slept next to him in bed that night.
Yes, although at school, Tommy was definitely not the best athlete, never the brainiac and not even the class clown, but he was the best when it came to playing with dolls. Toying with emotions. He carried Barbie in his backpack on Monday; Polly Pocket on Tuesday; Raggedy Ann on Wednesday; Baby Kelly on Thursday; Holly Hobbie on Friday; and Saturday was a giant tea party with all his dolls in his room.
Tommy made sure to give his dolls a rest on Sunday. He had to, or else they would drive him insane with all their whining, and also because everything he planned could fall apart. He needed that one day to escape his imaginary world.
Tommy never got bored of this lifestyle; he was like a God to his dolls. He made sure for each doll to change his name, so to each one he was special. Someone different. None of them would be jealous of the other. They were all happy.
Often times on Sunday's, the dolls would gather around while Tommy was gone to discuss their week. All spoke about some charming boy who played with them earlier that week.
"Do any of you know about George?" asked Polly Pocket. "He shared his lunch with me on Tuesday. PB&J for two outside Parkside Elementary School. It was SO romantic!"
Raggedy Ann smiled, "That's so wonderful, Pol!" she sighed. "Brian played a round of Candyland with me just this past Wednesday. He let me win, of course, but he's such a modest guy. Next week, he wants to play Chutes n' Ladders at 3 p.m. Hopefully Andy doesn't find out about him."
"Oh he won't, dear," Barbie rested her hand on Raggedy Ann's shoulders reassuringly. "Ken is totally oblivious to me and Luke on Monday's. Ah, guys can be quite blind, can't they girls?!"
All of the dolls in the room nodded and laughed together.
Tommy loved all of his dolls; they all loved the part of Tommy they saw. None of these poor dolls knew that they all shared the same boy.
♠ ♠ ♠
Yeah, I know this first part is probably REALLY weird, and lame almost. The next chapter will make more sense and be much more relatable, and it does tie to this first chapter!!... not to mention I need to edit and tweak this first chapter a bit since some of the words need to be changed.