Henry was still short the next morning and Alicia was still tall. The difference in height was still 6 inches. Henry had not grown and Alicia had not shrunk. Things had not got better but they had also not got any worse.
They showered dressed and went to breakfast. After yesterday, being short around Alicia didn’t worry Henry too much. As was usual all male eyes turned to her whenever she entered a room. Those eyes would then glance at Henry with envy. He liked that. This morning Alicia was in a pink singlet top and a white skirt, it was a new ‘Golf’ outfit she had bought specifically for this pre-planned day of golf from the pro-shop at Henry’s club. Now with her extra long legs the skirt looked indecently short. Henry loved that.
What he did find intimidating though was standing behind a group of guyd while waiting for an omelette to be cooked. They were not that tall, probably only 6 foot but to Henry they now seemed like giants. He felt like a little kid.
After breakfast they headed straight down to the clubhouse. Where they fitted themselves out with hired clubs. Henry had to get standard sized clubs for himself while Alicia took the next size up. The pro who helped Alicia choose her clubs was openly flirting with her. He was a big guy, even taller than Alicia. Once he found out Alicia was a beginner he took one contemptuous glance at Henry and invited Alicia outside to the practice green, supposedly to “Show her the basics”. For his demonstration the fellow had the cheek to stand behind Alicia reach around either side of her to show her the correct grip and stance then demonstrate how far back she needed to swing and follow through. His body was pressed tightly against Alicia’s. They had to do this at least half a dozen times before he was satisfied Alicia was getting it right. He then invited her back for a free lesson should she so desire, totally ignoring Henry’s presence. Surely he had noticed the giant rock on Alicia’s finger?
Henry’s round of golf started badly and didn’t improve a lot. He found with his shorter reach he could hit the ball nowhere near as far as usual. At the first par 3 Henry couldn’t reach the 160 yard green. Alicia on the other hand drove 10 yards past the green. Henry put that swing down to beginner’s luck, but then that pattern kept repeating. Alicia who had told him she had only every played golf once before, out drove him on nearly every hole. She appeared to naturally have an almost perfect swing, emulating the swing the jerk had just shown her. At least Henry’s putts were working. He won the round but only because Alicia had no touch and kept overshooting the flag.
To top off Henry’s not very good morning the jerk was there at the last green and seeing Alicia’s first errant putt came over and gave her some more advice. Once more this consisted of lots of unnecessary body contact. The last straw was when she putted in from 5 yards and for the first time in the day beat Henry on a hole. She threw her arms in the air, whooped in delight then ran across to the jerk and gave him a celebratory hug.
Alicia dismissed Henry’s grumbling as they walked back to the room as him just being a sore loser. Saying she had only given Alex (seems that was the jerks name) a hug because he had been so helpful.
After a leisurely lunch of room service burgers, they prepared to visit the pool. Alicia found her one piece suit a bit tight, so had no choice but to wear her bikini. Henry’s mood lifted when she gave him the task of putting sun-cream all over her body. He had to use a lot of cream to cover her legs.
They stayed by the pool enjoying a couple of swims and more than a couple of cocktails. Alicia got a bit of sun on her but soon retreated to the shade not wanting to get burnt. Henry relaxed and tried to forget about how humiliated Alex had made him feel.
That evening they dressed up and headed out to dinner. Alicia kindly took up some of Henry’s trousers using a sowing kit found in the bathroom. Otherwise he only had shorts that fit him. Tonight Alicia despite Henry’s initial objection decided to wear a navy blue dress and the heels that went with it. They added 3 inches to her already considerable height. As she told her husband. “I bought this especially for this trip and I’m going to wear it whether you like it or not! Who knows how long we are going to be like this” Henry gave in.
The couple certainly raised a few murmurs as they walked into the restaurant. No one could help but notice Alicia, whilst Henry was just the little man beside her. At least the meal was nice and the staff were courteous.
Back in the room later Alicia raised the idea of sampling another bit of the doll. As she pointed out to Henry. “You thought we would have reverted last night. I think we should have followed the directions"
"Well I admit I was wrong. I'm still short and haven't yet detected any sign that I'm growing. But how do we know we won't just make things worse?"
"We don't. But the note says the effects last for 24 hours and wear off if you take another sachet. Maybe it has other effects or maybe it would just swap us back. But if we don't take another sachet then to me it says pretty clearly we will stay this way until the doll is consumed. And the doll won't be consumed until we start using the sachets"
Alicia's reasoning confused Henry a little. But he had already decided that maybe his strategy of disposing of the doll had been flawed. The note did say pretty clearly that the effects of the sachets would continue until all the doll was consumed. And like Alicia said, it would not be consumed if it remained in the safe. He certainly was tired of being so short. "Maybe" Henry conceded
"So we do?" Alicia sounded excited.
"I'm not sure. I'm not sure at all. If I was home I'd get the lab to tell us what is in those sachets. But we are not"
"It's meant to make us closer. Surely you want that?"
"Yes. I would like that"
"Good! I'll go and get the doll" Alicia skipped to the bedroom where the safe was. Henry had used her birth date as the combination. She bought the doll back to the Kitchen. "Okay which piece do we choose?"
"I don't know. How about one of the red sachets?"
"That's her feet"
"Unless you have a better suggestion"
"Nup. A foot will do" Alicia pulled off one of the dolls feet. Both came off together. "Look both feet are actually part of one sachet" She showed Henry. It was a single sachet shaped like the letter H.
"Dissolve it before I change my mind" suggested Henry. He was feeling very unsure.
Alicia did. She dropped the red sachet in a glass of water. Like the candy shaped sachet from last night it dissolved quickly with no sign of the red colouring. She drank half the glass before handing the remainder to Henry.
Henry hesitated. He had a really bad feeling.
"Henry! Drink up! We are doing this together!"
He swallowed the remaining liquid.