"Um... Mrs. Paulson?" Ty suddenly spoke up, getting the busty mom's attention from the doorway.
"Yes, Ty?" Mrs. Paulson turned and stopped suddenly, surprised, but smiling warmly.
"C-Can I come in and talk to you for a while?" Ty gulped.
"Ohhh, honey!" She began to approach Ty with a huge grin and outstretched arms. "Of course you can!" On reaching Ty, she bent down and planted a kiss on his forehead, making him blush, and took his hand excitedly. "Of course, Ty! Come on in!"
* * *
Ty sat awkwardly in somebody's else house. An all together strange experience since he never really got to go anywhere new.
It was clear from the way he was sitting on the living room couch, hands folded, trying to make himself as small as he could, that he felt absolutely out of place. He kept eyeing Mrs. Paulson, who was setting down glasses and a pitcher on the table, and gulped.
She turned and saw his red blush and obvious discomfort and smiled warmly, slowly approaching him. "It's okay, honey. I know you don't get out much. It's safe here, I promise."
"Thank you, ma'am." Ty said, his blush lessening somewhat.
She shook her head and laughed gently. "No more of this ma'am business. I'm Eileen. Okay?"
"All right... Eileen." Ty said with genuine relaxation.
"Now come have some lemonade." She motioned towards the table, and Ty seated himself across from her and let her pour him some cool lemonade, complete with jingling ice cubes.
"So." Eileen said, sipping her lemonade and setting it down patiently. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I don't know how to say this." Ty began, taking a huge nervous gulp. "But... today I woke up, it's my birthday..."
"Happy birthday, darling." Eileen interrupted with a smile.
"And... well... c-can I show you? It's easier if I showed you."
"All right..." Eileen said, shifting in her chair and taking on the look of a concerned parent. "That's fine, Ty."
"Um... I can change things. Like... anything." Ty gulped, seeing Eileen's clear confusion, and proceeded to concentrate on her table cloth, turning it from flowery blue to a flat pristine white in a blink.
"Whoa!" Eileen suddenly pushed her chair back, eyes wide, and raised her hands off the table. She looked at the table cloth, looked at Ty in shock, and then comprehending astonishment. "H-How did you...?"
"Like I said. I can change things now." He gulped, growing just a little more confident. He motioned to Eileen and took a deep breath. "Things. People. Anything."
"Ty... that's..." She looked down at her table in curiosity and fingered the table cloth, rolling it between her fingers. It had gone from dollar store vinyl to soft fabric. "People?!" She realized, suddenly intrigued. "Did you say people?"
"Um. Yes." Ty blushed. "I accidentally shrank Dustin."
"W-What?!" Eileen's eyes went wide. "What do you mean? "Shrank" him?"
"It's okay!" Ty said suddenly, defensively, as if about to get in trouble. "I changed him back and he has no idea!"
"Can... can I see?" She blinked, her reaction totally unexpected, maybe even a little playful. "Can I see you change somebody?" She suddenly grinned and enthusiastically pointed to herself. "Change me!"
Ty just about died from embarrassment. Or passed out from hearing exactly what he wanted. "A-Are you sure?!"
"Oh, please?" Eileen stared, eyes twinkling, excitedly leaning over the table and just about knocking over her lemonade.
"Uh... what do you want me to do?" Ty gulped, his cheeks rosy red.
"Oh, I don't know! Gosh..." She put a finger on her lips, thinking, and then suddenly pointed into the air. "Ah! I know!" She began...