A week later, Andrew was happy to see that the acorn had grown into a small tree. Although now that he thought of it, it was surprising that an acorn from the tropics could grow here without much care. Did trees in the tropics even produce acorns? After thinking about this for a bit, Andrew just shrugged it off as him not knowing much about trees and California's climate being similar to that of the tropics.
Besides, he had some other things to think about, like what was happening to him over this week. Every time he woke up and looked at himself in the mirror, Andrew noticed something was changing about him. His skin was looking and feeling smoother and softer. The wrinkles that came naturally with age were smoothing out. Even his abs that he thought were gone for good were coming back. A solid 4-pack just appeared on him one morning.
It wasn't just him either. Around the office, he saw everyone having more of a spring to their step. Their faces look smooth and supple, their physique looking better than they did before. For example, one of his subordinates, Kyle, complained about gaining weight because of his busy work schedule. Now he looked like he was sliming down, or, well, perhaps it looked like Kyle was returning to the time where he had more time to exercise.
It would be one thing if these strange things were happening to just Andrew. He would have probably just shrugged it off as his diet and exercise plan working better than expected or something like that. However, the fact that it was happening to everyone in the company concerned him. The fact that all of this started happening after planting the acorn made Andrew think back to Pedro's letter. A tree that could give someone youth and vitality, huh? Surely, something like that couldn't really exist, right? But what if it did?
Immediately, Andrew thought about his father. At first, the son could understand why his father put himself in a retirement home rather than use his money for a private nurse to take care of him in the comfort of his own house. It wasn't until he visited him once when Andy realized that his father probably did it because he was lonely. Ever since Mom died suddenly in an accident, Andrew's father was never the same. He threw himself into his work to probably forget about the pain.
It was then the younger Parker knew what he was going to do. He was going to dig up the tree and move it to his father's retirement home. If there was anyone who deserved a second chance at life, it was his father. After all, it was the elder Parker who paved the path for the younger Parker's success. Sure this plan hinged on if this tree actually gave youth and vitality, but if it didn't, then the retirement home just gets a nice tree. One gardening lesson and car drive later, Andrew was at his father's retirement home with the tree in hand. Unsurprisingly, a nurse came to him and questioned why he was carrying a small tree around. That was Andrew's cue to turn on the charm.
"Well, you see, my Father, Jim Parker, lives here, and he was telling me how he really missed vacationing to Jamaica. So I decided to import a tree to remind him of going there, now that he really can't anymore. You'll help me make my father happy, won't you?" Andrew then gave the nurse a wink and his winning smile. Judging by her blush and giggle, it seemed that she was successfully charmed. The two of them then proceeded to go to the retirement home's garden and planted the tree.
Alright, now all he had to do was wait and see if people here start getting younger or not.