The three girls giggled amongst themselves as they entered the living room. The others were currently sprawled on the couch and floor watching t.v., only Tricia, Claudia and Karen had so far changed into nightgowns. Katie looked up from her place on the floor and smiled. “Was wondering when you three would show up.” She smiled. “Any problems?”
Claudia now took Karen’s glasses and handed them to Katie. “Karen’s glasses are a little big on her anything you can do with it?” Katie smiled as she took the glasses in her hand. Claudia and Tricia watched as the glasses became smaller. The frames seemed to become a little sturdier as the color changed to a soft pink like Karen’s nightgown. “Here Karen try these on,” Katie said. Karen took her new glasses and tried them on. The glasses now fit perfectly and seemed to enhance Karen’s vision now. “Whoa this is incredible,” she gasped. “How come my vision is better now?”
“The old prescription for the lenses was stronger than what you needed when you were ten,” she stated. “When I changed them I made them appropriate for your age right now. Hope you like the color too. Thought you might want something a little more playful.”
Karen smiled as she examined her glasses. “There perfect,” she beamed. “Thank you.”
Samantha huffed as she gazed down from the couch. “Eh their okay Ms. Morgan,” she grumbled. Karen sighed as she looked up at where Samantha was sitting. “Ugh Sammy,” she groaned. “I’m just Karen right now. I wasn’t always a teacher. I didn’t start teaching until I was 24, right now that’s about 14 years away.” Samantha waved her hand dismissively as she focused on the t.v. again.
“Um mom,” Sophia chimed in. Claudia a sighed and smiled. “Sophia we’ve talked about this. When I get younger you don’t have to call me mom. Just call me Claudia.” Sophia now gave her ten year old guardian a befuddled look. “I, um,” she stuttered. “I was wondering. Can I be a big girl like you or do you want me to stay like this.” Claudia smiled. “Of course you can join us sweety,” she said kindly. “Katie can you make Sophia the same age as the rest of us?” Katie nodded as she looked at Sophia and concentrated.
Sophia felt a tingle envelope her body. The sensation felt as if she was being stretched ever so slightly. Gazing down at her hands Sophia could see they were becoming larger. Slowly she could see she was growing again. Her clothes began to shift on her body as they changed with her age. In only a matter of moments Sophia found herself a ten year old girl dressed in socks, a sparkly t shirt and fashionable jeans. “Oh wow look at me,” she exclaimed. “I’m a big girl just like you mom, I mean Claudia.”
Sophia turned to face her mom as was even more stunned by what she saw. Sophia was now currently around four and half feet tall, meaning she now had to look down to see her shorter mother. “Wow I’m even taller than you Claudia,” she sang. Claudia grunted as she begrudgingly looked up at Sophia. “Don’t get to used to this Sophia,” she said flatly. “Remember this is temporary, we’ll be back to our regular selves in a day or two.” Sophia giggled as she began to say Claudia over and over again in a sing song voice. Claudia could only sigh, thinking that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to make Sophia her age.
Karen and Samantha giggled at the situation. The two girls found Claudia’s predicament entertaining as Sophia continued to hammer on about Claudia’s current age. After a few moments though Karen turned to face Samantha once more. “You know you never really answered my question,” she said flatly. “Do you have a problem with me as a person?”
Samantha shrugged her shoulders as she dimly stared down at Karen. “No not really,” she shrugged. “I do wish you weren’t so strict or that you weren’t so hard on Jake.”
“I’m strict because I want the best for my students,” Karen exclaimed. “That’s not being mean that’s teaching. And what does Jacob Wheeler have to do with anything. I know you two are friends but seriously!?! Your upset because I’ve had to punish your friend for being rambunctious in class.”
Samantha glared at Karen with a look of contempt. “He’s my best friend,” she exclaimed. “I’ve know Jake for almost 50 years so yeah, I get upset when your hard on him.”
Karen shook her head, “But why,” she exclaimed. “What does Jacob Wheeler mean to you that you would be angry at me about how I treat him?” Samantha slid off the couch and now sat directly in front of Karen. If Karen had been an adult she would of thought Samantha was being a petulant child. Now that she was a child herself she found the way she moved intimidating. She could feel her body begin to tense as she thought Samantha might hit her. “For your information Karen Morgan,” Samantha hissed. “Before I decided to relive my childhood again my name was Samantha Wheeler.”
Karen gave Samantha a confused look as she looked the girl over. Slowly her face began to change as she now understood what Samantha was saying. “Wait,” she gasped. “Are you telling me that...”
Samantha nodded. “Yep, he used to be my husband.”
Karen gaped at the young girl now. “But how, why, how did you, huh!?!” Samantha sighed. “It’s a long story.” Karen waved her arms in the air. “Well we got time,” she exclaimed. “Come on tell me!”
Samantha sighed as she now relayed the story of how her and Jacob became children once again. She told Karen how she had originally planned to have a fun weekend with Mary Elise and Katie. After regressing back to seven, which Karen found shocking, the girls ended up at a McDonalds playland. While they were running around and enjoying themselves Samantha saw her husband eating. Naturally she was curious so she investigated. Her husband had decided to grab a bite to eat and leave but Samantha wanted to something that only Katie could give her. She asked Katie to make her and Jake both 14 so she could experience a first date and a first kiss with her husband.
“Wait,” Karen stated. “If you and Jacob were 14, how did you both end up ten year olds?”
“I’m getting to that be patient,” Samantha said quickly. “Like I said I became 14 and so did Jake. Even at that age he made my heart skip a beat, of course I went and made an ass out of myself.”
“How?” Karen asked as she leaned in. Samantha once again sighed. “The night before I had braided my hair into to long pigtails. Cute on a seven year old but goofy on a teenager.” Karen snorted with laughter as she attempted to picture what that must of looked like. “Sorry,” she snorted again. Samantha frowned before continueing. “Anyway,” she said sternly. “I was mortified fortunately for me Jake was always a gentleman no matter what his age was. He liked them, he thought they were cute. Needless to say we went on our first date and shared our first kiss.” Samantha sighed as she dreamily remembered how she felt.
“So what happened next,” Karen asked. The smile on Samantha’s face faded as she remembered what happened. “When Jake and me shared our kiss I saw our entire lives together. I don’t know what it was. Maybe the magic from the ring but I saw what was going to happen to Jake. He was dying. He didn’t want me to worry but he had maybe only a few months left to live. I couldn’t think of life without him.”
Karen nodded solemnly as she stared at Samantha. Samantha’s eyes looked damp with tears as she thought of how she almost lost her husband. “Knowing Jake was going to die I made a choice,” she said sadly. “I wished for Katie to make me and Jake 14 for real. If it meant we would no longer be married it was acceptable. We were soulmates, destined to be together no matter what. I could deal with only being his girlfriend for now if it meant he would live.”
Karen let out a breathless wow as she wiped her eyes. “That’s a beautiful story Sammy,” she breathed. “But it still doesn’t explain how you and him ended up 10.” Samantha grinned and shook her head. “Yeah about that,” she sighed. “It turns out that if we were both 14 we would be boyfriend and girlfriend before we were friends. That didn’t really appeal to me. Instead I made us younger so we could be best friends and later boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Karen nodded. She could understand Samantha’s thinking. After so many years of being together the marriage had changed from romantic to best friend. As adults they were inseparable and being as elderly as they were the romantic portions of their relationship had all about vanished, replaced instead by a deep connection where the other was the only person they wanted to see when they woke up and when they went to bed.
“So does Jake know about this?” Karen asked. Samantha laughed. “No,” she giggled. “He’s ten in mind and body I’m the only one that remembers our past but from what I’ve seen in this reality we’ve lived next door to each other all our lives. We grew up together and our rooms are right next door to each other. Each morning I oook out the window and see him and he’s the last person I see befor I fall asleep. It’s everything I ever wanted.”
“That is very sweet Sammy,” she said. “I understand now why you get so angry whenever I have to punish him for misbehaving in class.” Samantha nodded curtly. “You damn right I get angry,” she said tersely. “You keep punishing my husband only makes me dislike you more.” Samantha paused as she glanced around. Samantha leaned in as she whispered to Karen. “Not for nothing it’s hard to hate you,” she groaned. “You remind me a lot of me.”
“What!” Karen gaped. “That’s impossible were nothing alike. Your so confident and sure of yourself I was never that confident when I was your age. Even now I struggle to hold it together in social situations.”
Samantha grinned as she looked at Karen. “Well, Yeah now I am,” she said. “But Before I began dating Jake I was just like you. A smart, shy, wallflower unsure of her looks or herself. Jake brought me out of my shell when we began dating in college.” Karen rubbed her chin and thought this over. It would make sense that the love of her life would have that profound of an effect on her still she found it hard to believe that the sassy girl that sat in her class could ever have been shy.
“You know I don’t think you give yourself enough credit,” Samantha mused. “I see the way you carry yourself in class. You have a quiet confidence to yourself and believe me the students in your class definitely pay attention when you speak.”
Karen smiled as she thanked Samantha for her kind words. Karen looked over at Samantha and grinned. “Wow Tricia was right,” she said. “We really are pretty similar. Never would of seen that coming.” Samantha laughed as she placed her hand on Karen’s shoulder. “Well let’s keep that me to see ourselves,” she smirked. “I always hated admitting when someone was right.” The two girls laughed as they continued to talk. Amazingly the two girls thought that they were beginning to form an unlikely friendship.