To Trust a Giant

Chapter 22

The familiar smell of garlic greeted Jason as he walked into Del Gatto.

“Jason, hi!” An older woman exclaimed when she saw him.

“Hey Margaret.” Jason smiled. “I'm picking up an order.”

“Oh yes! Here it is.” She handed him the container that contained chicken Parmesan in it.

“Thanks, by the way. Did you get a chance to do the special request?”
Margaret gave him a wink. “Of course. It's not hard to make to make a human sized meal when no one is looking.”

After Jason paid, he left the restaurant and into the cold night. He felt little movements rustle around in the chest pocket of his jacket.

“Is the coast clear?”

“Yeah, no one is around.”
Stella popped her little head out of the pocket and let out a sigh of relief.

“Good, cause it was getting stuffy in there.”

“I wish I could be in a pocket to hide from the cold.” He chuckled. “How did you even survive out here during the winter?”

Stella just shrugged. “It wasn't easy.”

“Where did you even go when it got cold?”

“You’d be surprised how many cracks and crevices there are in a building.” She explained. “My parents and I would often camp out in the walls of some place until it was warmer outside.”

“Doesn't sound like fun.” Jason muttered as he made his way to his apartment building. “Glad you won't have to do that now.” Jason stepped into the lobby but before he could even go down to the basement, Andrew scurried from out of nowhere.

“Jason! It's been so long, where have you been?” The landlord's eyes trailed down to Jason's pocket and glared at Stella.

The tiny woman gasped and ducked her head back into Jason's pocket.

“I've just been out with my girlfriend and her family.”

“Well, since you've been gone, there have been several maintenance issues that you weren't around to fix!”

Andrew wailed. “Now There's something blocking the heating vents. You need to fix it now!”

Jason sighed. He wanted to tell Andrew to fuck off and hire a real maintenance worker so he could eat dinner with Stella, but he couldn't.

“Fine.” Jason groaned. “Just give me a minute to put my food away.” He slipped down to the basement and into his cramped room. He plucked Stella from his pocket and set her on the counter.

“Sorry to leave you alone like this.”

“Why do you always do what he asks?” Stella scoffed.

“Helping him with maintenance makes my rent cheaper.”
Stella rolled her eyes and gestured to his unimpressive apartment. “Is it worth it?”

“Not really.” Jason replied

“I don’t see why you just move in with Clair and her family.”

“I would if I could.”

“What's stopping you?”

“Well, work is closer here.”
Stella crossed her arms and gave Jason a look. “Really? an extra five minutes keeps you from living with her?”

“Look, I really like Clair and her family, but I'm twenty-five years old. I haven't lived under the roof of parental guidance since I was eighteen, it’d be weird to go back to that.”

“So why not just get a real apartment with Clair?”

Jason sighed and slumped over the counter, unintentionally looming over the human. “I don't know, I guess I just want to be able to provide for Clair and her kids. I know she wants to move out but I can barely afford this crummy apartment, and I just don't want her to spend most of her money on rent.” He ran his hands through thick dark hair. Everything about this was so stressful. How could he give the woman he loves a good life when he's barely making ends meet?

“Well, that's sweet.” Stella Cooed. “But if you ask me, it’s kinda dumb.”

“Dumb?” Jason was taken back by Stella's boldness. “What do you mean?”

“I just think that if you really love her, you should just move in with her even if you don't have the money to support her.”

“But what kind of guy makes his girl pay all the rent?”

“I'm not saying you should go off and buy an apartment, I'm saying you should just suck it up and move in with her.”

“But her parents-”

“Look, if I can get used to being around giants, then I think you can deal with living with her parents as an adult.” Stella laughed. “It's not like they can ground you.”

Jason wasn't sure what to say, but seeing Stella confidently disagree with him shook him. To think she was once that frightened girl over a month ago. Maybe, moving in with Clair and her family would be good for Stella. Maybe she'll stay if she’s with a loving family.

“I better go help Andrew before he gets mad, but I'll think about.”
He made his way to the door and left the human to treat herself to dinner, all while thinking about what his next move should be.