Tanner, dressed only in a pair of Mickey Mouse pull-ups, tried not to dwell on how ridiculous he must look as a toddler giving orders to his now hulking older brother.
"Sure, we can take another look at the Chronivac," he said, but adding, "after breakfast."
"No! Now!" Tanner insisted.
Before Derrick could argue or attempt to reason with him, they were interrupted by a ringing phone. In no time, Derrick had his brother's phone in his hands, but he stared at the screen with undisguised dismay. "It's mom and dad," he hissed.
"Give it to me," Tanner said, reaching with stubby arms.
"You can't talk to them," Derrick said, staring at the phone as it continued to ring. Finally, he answered with a gruff "hello" meant to imitate his older brother.
It must not have worked, because he had to think of an excuse. "I'm a friend of Tanner's."
Tanner balled a hand into a little fist and slammed it against Derrick's right leg.
"Oww. Stop it."
"Give me the phone!"
Whether from confusion or sudden timidity, Derrick handed the phone to the toddler.
"Mom? Dad? This is Tanner," the former teenager said.
Derrick slipped out of the room as Tanner tried to explain himself.
"Who is this?" Tanner heard his father's voice ask.
"Dad, it's me!" Tanner said. "Can you come home soon? There was this machine... it's called a Cwonivac...." Tanner cursed silently at the emergence of the irritating lisp. "I'm two years old, and Derrick won't help me change back, and he's changed himself into a grown-up."
"Tanner, you put your big brother on the phone right now," his father said sternly.
Tanner felt shocked at his dad's words. "Dad, aren't you listening? I'm the big bwother."
That's when he happened to look askance at Derrick, who was standing in the doorway of the bedroom with the machine in question in his hands.
Tanner suddenly felt very fearful.
"Tanner, did you hear me?" A voice asked from the phone.
Tanner, still in shock, didn't resist as Derrick took back the phone.
"Hey, dad. It's me!" Derrick said, and listened for a long moment.
"He's got such an imagination, dad. You know that."
Derrick listened again. "Don't worry about him. I'll take good care of Tanner."
When Derrick ended the call, Tanner yelled at him. "What did you do?"
"I just made some adjustments," Derrick said. "Now everyone will think you have always been two years old and I have always been your big brother."
Tanner remembered that the device could warp reality.
"Change me back," Tanner begged. "I don't want to be wittle any more!"
"You liked it earlier," Derrick reasoned.
"Nuh-uh."
"Yes, you did. You got to play at the McDonald's play area," Derrick said. "Maybe I should just make it so that you think you're really a little two-year-old boy."
"No!" Tanner recoiled at the very thought of happily accepting the wearing of pull-ups and eating of Happy Meals.