After a dinner where the peas had spent being used as targeted missiles more than sustenance, Jeff put on a movie for Tommy and his friends to watch off of a blu-ray his parents had bought of an older movie from the 1960s called "The Great Race". Jeff recalled it being a film that was a send up of old early 20th Century films and culture, and in general was like a live action version of a cartoon. A kind of blend between Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. That would keep them entertained for a while, well and the fact that it was nearly three hours long would help a lot as well as he went to fix Cris' situation.
He came outside to find Alicia filling up the kiddy pool while Cris ran around excitedly, bouncing an oversized beach ball against the grass. It was clear from the way Alicia put all her focus on filling the pool that she didn't want to be doing this, and was trying not to say something to Cris.
Maybe it was just how old Cris was that was contributing to the situation... perhaps if he was younger Alicia might not view him so negatively? Jeff pulled out his phone and opened the app, targeting Cris alone he subtracted three years from the hyperactive Kindergartner. Cris shrank and his clothes along with him, back into the prime of toddlerhood at age 2. His hair thinned a bit, and his slim child frame regained even more baby fat, especially about his belly. Cris still was dressed in swim trunks and a swim shirt, but he decidedly didn't have on swim shoes anymore, Jeff noted. Instead he toddled around the edge of the pool, occasionally sticking his hands into the water and splashing it, causing him to giggle and laugh uncontrollably. Alicia's attitude towards Cris however remained unchanged, judging by her grimace.
Jeff figured him being newborn might do the trick--everyone loved babies after all, or so he thought. So Jeff subtracted the two remaining years only he forgot to change the 3 to a 2, so not only did he watch as Cris grow younger into babyhood and infancy, but he grew as small as a newborn and than Alicia appeared quite different--the most noticeable feature being the pregnant with a belly. Alicia's clothes were replaced with a maternity swimsuit, but as she kept filling the swimming pool--now for herself it seemed, the belly shrank until she barely looked pregnant at all. It was then that Jeff was hit with a wave of memories--about two months ago Jeff had asked Alicia to the Valentine's Day school dance, after which they had partied and drank at someone's house... one thing had led to another and in the morning they'd discovered themselves cuddled up and naked in their friend's sofa bed. Apparently a bet had been placed by their friends to see how many drinks it'd take to make the two "responsible sticks in the mud" that Jeff and Alicia were known as, lose all inhibitions and just have some fun. Ironically when kissing had started to turn into a heavy makeout session on their parts, no one else had been sober enough to remind the "responsible" ones to perhaps use a condom. As they had put together what had happened the following morning, Jeff had apologized profusely as he realized that the condom in his wallet hadn't been used. In this reality, Alicia had just told Jeff that she'd found out she was pregnant... and in this reality Cris wasn't her little half brother, he was her son... her son with Jeff.
"Alicia, how'd your talk with your Mom go?" asked Jeff
Alicia stopped filling the kiddy pool and came over to the fence, so that they wouldn't have to yell so the entire neighborhood would hear them.
"Oh, about as well as you'd imagine. Hi Mom, so... I've missed my period after I lost my virginity while drunk... you know, that old charmer," said Alicia sardonically.
"What'd she say?"
Alicia didn't answer, instead avoiding Jeff's eyes as she fiddled with the water hose in her hand.
"She had to have said something."
"She offered to drive me to the next state... to go camping," said Alicia pointedly, looking at Jeff in the eyes only at the end.
It took Jeff less than a moment to remember what that social media euphemism was for.
"What do you want?" he asked.
Alicia sighed, "I dunno. I don't want to be called the preggers girl for the rest of High School... I don't want to have to wear a maternity dress to my Junior Fall Ball either..."
"Sounds like you've made up your mind," said Jeff, taken aback, feeling rather hurt for some strange reason.
"Unless there's something else that can change it," said Alicia, again looking at Jeff.
Jeff didn't know what to say to Alicia in that moment... he was still shocked that she would consider it in the first place, and suddenly he was starting to feel guilty that instead of giving Cristobal a better second chance, he might have just doomed him to not exist in the first place, and while the elderly Cristobal had been a bit of a dick--the younger Cris seemed to haven't yet become so jaded and suspicious with life, the little he'd seen of him.
"I'm going to take a soak in the pool... let me know if you want to talk or anything," said Alicia before walking away and lowering herself into the kiddy pool.
Not knowing what else to do, Jeff returned inside. A tempest of emotions plagued him: guilt over potentially dooming someone to not exist, guilt over what he'd done to Alicia both while drunk in this reality and unintentionally with the app, frustration over the fact he felt responsible to do something, confusion over what exactly he should do, and a flurry of other fleeting emotions that he couldn't quite catch and process as they flittered through him like hummingbirds from flower to flower. Trying to center himself, Jeff banged the kitchen table he sat at, but beyond a hurt hand felt little comfort the action.
"What's wrong Jeff?" asked a voice, and Jeff turned to see Tommy standing in the archway leading to the living room.
"Nothing's wrong," lied Jeff, his voice sounding a little froggy in response to Tommy's question.
"You're crying," said Tommy, and Jeff blinked his eyes a few times only to realize his eyes were in fact a little wet.
"Okay... something's wrong, but it's nothing you can help me with, little bro. I need..." and Jeff paused as he thought of exactly what he needed for the first moment before admitting, "I need to talk to someone who can give me some advice."
"I could try," insisted Tommy.
"You're a bit... young for the kind of advice I need..." answered Jeff politely.
"Then make me the big brother with the app," suggested Tommy obviously.
"Tommy, I know you want to help, but I'm not sure--"
"Are you gonna ask Mom and Dad when they get home then?" asked Tommy crossing his arms.
Jeff knew in that moment that he wouldn't know how to even start the conversation with their parents. Hi Mom and Dad... so, you remember when I didn't come home from the Valentine's Day Dance? Well that's because I got the girl next door pregnant, not because I'd stayed over with some friends at their place--well we did, but they got us drunk and then one thing led to another... and now you're going to be grandparents... surprise! Yeah, that'd go over as well as a bunch of lead bricks.
"Make me your big brother, then I can be old enough give you the advice you need." The solution was simple to Tommy's mind.
"And what about all your friends in there?"
"I don't have to stay the big brother... just be one for a little bit. Then I can go back, you'll feel better, and I helped you."
The offer was rather... sweet of Tommy, and it only made Jeff appreciate his little brother even more. Appreciatively, Jeff hugged his little brother before having him back up a bit and pulling out his phone and scanning Tommy.
Name: Tommy Davis
Age: 7
Mental Age: 7
Height: 4'1"
Weight: 48 lbs
Build: Skinny
Gender: Male
Simply changing the age parameter alone, Jeff figured that making Tommy four years older than him ought to give his new big brother enough life experience to help, but still be young enough to not make things awkward between them.
Name: Tom Davis
Age: 20
Mental Age: 20
Height: Auto
Weight: Auto
Build: Auto
Gender: Male
Alter reality to fit? Yes
Alter clothes to fit? Yes
Jeff noticed that as soon as he'd changed 7 to 20 that Tommy's name changed to Tom, likely denoting that his soon to be big brother likely associated that nick name with being a child. Unable to wait much longer, Jeff took one look at his sweet and caring little brother before hitting enter. Jeff had decided to make Tommy unaware during this transformation, and his green eyes glazed over once again.
Like watching one of those time progression animations, Jeff watched as Tommy began to grow as he raced through elementary school, growing a bit taller, filling out, then growing a bit taller still. Somewhere around age 9 the light up sneakers were replaced with regular sneakers and Jeff noticed his long sleeve t-shirt change into a Flag Football team's shirt, and suddenly from the back of his mind somewhere, Jeff was reminded of something that old Coach Smith had said:
"You're likely going to have to make me really young to counteract all my biases I had growing up. My old man popped me into midget football clubs almost as soon as I was old enough, and had me playing flag football as soon as I could keep a hold of the ball."
As Tommy re-entered his preteen adolescence, he really began to fill out and looked more athletic for a kid his age, clearly flag football hadn't been a once and done fluke, especially as the shirt now altered to say "Midget Football League". It was about here that thinking of his pubescent brother as "Tom" started popping into Jeff's head. Apparently all the banter about the locker room had caused Tom to re-evaluate his childhood nickname... it'd also caused him to begin acting all cool and distant, hiding the sweet and affectionate side of his personality as that only got him benched and called a sissy. At this point beyond the change in shirt, all that had happened was Tom's clothes had adjusted for size.
Tom continued on to High School where his height shot up and then surpassed Jeff a little bit, muscles starting small and then ballooning to that of a very healthy and athletic gym rat who when he wasn't on the field practicing, was in the gym lifting. Soon Tom was definitely older than Jeff, looking as though he were a senior or a college freshman. A bit of stubble appeared on his face as the transformation slowed down, a bit more muscle and a bit more girth--likely from drinking a little too much in college--settled on Tom's frame, which now was being shown off by his decidedly dressed down wardrobe which was shifting to be a sleeveless shirt with the local state university football team on it to show off his biceps, gym shorts, and a pair of Nike flip flops, before suddenly a look of pain overtook Tom's face and his left leg suddenly seized up and a red cast appeared around it, along with a pair of crutches to go along with it to keep Tom standing upright in the kitchen. It was then that Jeff noticed the transformation stop, and Tom's green eyes blinked a few times before they cleared up. A familiar look of confusion was noticeable in them before clarity seemed to click behind them.
"Sup, little bro... tired of the kiddos so soon?" asked Tom as he positioned himself over to the fridge to open it and pull out a carton of milk, likely for his daily protein shake. Tom wasn't supposed to be up and doing things by himself, not since his accident when he'd practically torn his ligaments in his ankle when someone had tackled him in the wrong position, but Jeff knew better than to tell his big brother no when he was stubborn about something--which he was rather acutely stubborn about proving he was still capable of doing some things for himself.
"No," said Jeff, his voice still sounding somewhat froggy.
"Really, then what's got you in here instead of in there with them watching the movie? You're gonna miss the big pie fight if you stay out here." said Tom as he moved himself and the milk carton over to the blender where a tub of protein powder stood.
"Remember when I didn't come home from the Valentine's Day dance?" asked Jeff. Knowing that even though Tom was in college, he was still living at home to save on the cost of college.
Tom laughed as he scooped a few spoonfuls of the protein into the blender and then poured the milk in, eyeballing the level he wanted, "Yeah, you'd have thought by the way Mom yelled at you that it'd been me sneaking back the next morning. Not the boy scout."
Jeff laughed, "Well... something happened that night."
"I'd hope so, little bro, or I'd be severely disappointed in you," said Tom before starting the blender. Jeff waited until Tom was done blending to continue.
"You see, Eric thought it'd be funny if he got me drunk... like black out drunk..."
"Quit beating around the bush, who'd you sleep with?" asked Tom before he sniffed the protein shake and took it all in one swig.
"Alicia, my date."
At that Tom coughed a little, as though the shake had started to go down the wrong pipe, a bit of shake splatter coming out when he did.
"Y--you slept with little Alicia, our next door neighbor? Damn, Jeff, didn't I ever teach you to not eat where you sleep?"
"She's not so little anymore--and she's only a year younger than I am."
"Still, it's hard for me to picture her in that way... give me a moment... hmm... okay, I'm good now," said Tom with a smirk.
Jeff rolled his eyes. Tom hobbled over and plopped himself into the chair opposite from Jeff, keeping his leg in the cast stretched out from the table, while he stowed his crutches on the back of his chair, a somewhat serious look penetrating through the joking attitude.
"So what's got you all worked up about that? That was about two months ago and--shit... she peed on a stick didn't she?" asked Tom, a complete change in his demeanor occurring the moment he put two and two together.
"She did, and she's pregnant."
"Damn... and here I thought I'd be the one likely to end up with a kid I didn't want."
"I didn't say that!"
"So you want the kid then? Does she?"
Jeff was taken aback by the first question, before realizing that yeah, Tom was right, part of him wanted to have the baby--not just because he felt responsible for what had happened to old man Cristobal, but in this reality part of him really wanted to be a father.
"She doesn't want to go through school pregnant, and her mom said she'd take her... camping."
"Oh... and she just told you?"
Jeff nodded his head.
"Well, don't worry Jeff, your reputation as the good little den chief and boy scout is safe with me, give it a few days and soon it'll be like it never happened. Trust me."
"And what if I want my kid? What if I want to be a dad?"
"You want to be a Dad at sixteen? Well, seventeen by the time it gets here. Jeff, look, there's no one else I know more fit to be a father than you... but do you really want to shackle yourself down with a kid right now?"
"You think I'd be a good father?"
Tom gave him a look, "Of course you idiot. With the way you're always looking after those kiddos in there? You'd be father of the year... hell, father of the century, I'd put money on it. Between the two of us, you know Mom was looking to you to give her grandkids, right? I just don't think she expect you to do it so, soon. You've got the patience with the little ones I never had. I'm more of the fun uncle who takes the kids out on an adventure, gets them all sugared up, and leaves you to deal with them bouncing off the walls when I leave... But do you really want all of that now, before you've had a chance to really live?"
"I can't just walk away from--"
"Screw being responsible for a minute like you did when you got into this mess. Think about what you want, and about what she wants. Those two things are all that matters right now, right here."
Jeff cleared away his thoughts about old Mr. Fuentes--that reality didn't exist at the moment... and just focused on this one, living in this reality and the decision he was faced with in this moment. And he knew the answer.
"I'd want my kid. No matter what."
"All right, and knowing you, I know I don't have to ask if you're prepared to accept all the consequences of that choice. And what about her? Think you ought to talk it over with her a bit, and figure out what she wants?"
Jeff nodded and then stood up and surprised Tom with a hug similar to the ones that Tommy had given him, but now with Jeff in the position of appreciative little brother. Tom mockingly gave protest, "Watch my leg you klutz, how am I supposed to heal well enough to get back on the field if you're gonna trip over it?"
And it was then Jeff remembered that this wasn't the first time he'd seen Tom with a cast on his leg. When he'd regressed Coach Smith into his little brother the first time he'd seen one on him at about this age... and it was suddenly he remembered once again:
"Make me younger. I used to have a great life--but that... that all changed a while ago. I want a second chance to do it all over again--try something different, not end up as a washed up football coach just because I fell into it because I liked playing ball more than really doing something with my life."
"Thank you Tom," said Jeff as he recognized that despite making Tom his brother, he hadn't done enough to change the future that had awaited Coach Smith--now Coach Davis.
"Just don't go mushy on me. And you're welcome... it's what I'm here for, give a little brotherly advice and heal up my ankle... hopefully in time for the draft."
But that wouldn't happen... just like it didn't the first time, and that would only leave Tom healed but unable to "go pro", capable enough to coach, land a job as one at a school, and then spend the rest of his life having to be patient with little kids to teenagers. Something he wasn't cut out for. Sure he had a bit more self-knowledge this time around, and was good with giving advice, but that wasn't enough to change the rest of his life that much. Suddenly so much of Coach Smith's former life and personality made so much sense. It was then that Jeff really accepted that Tom would have to become Tommy again, and he'd really have to do his job as big brother to fulfill the former coach's wishes about having a second chance at life to do something different.
And so Jeff pulled out his phone and opened the App, scanning Tom once again, and preparing to revert the changes so Tom would become Tommy once again.
Name: Tom Davis
Age: 20
Mental Age: 20
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 199 lbs
Build: Highly athletic
Gender: Male
Name: Tommy Davis
Age: 7
Mental Age: 7
Height: 4'1"
Weight: 48 lbs
Build: Skinny
Gender: Male
Alter reality to fit? Yes
Alter clothes to fit? Yes
Jeff took one last appreciative look at Tom.
"What, did I get something on my shirt?" asked Tom
"No, you're good..." said Jeff as he pressed enter, and Tom's green eyes glazed over once again, and the changes began. His cast and crutches disappearing as muscles started to deflate. His gym shorts lengthening into jeans once again. His flip flops turning into sneakers once more, and his sleeveless shirt regaining its long sleeves. His height and weight and shrinking as he left college and re-entered high school. Puberty quickly melting away as the stubble he'd had in college retreated, along with any noticeable hair elsewhere. Soon a skinny thirteen year old sat where Tom had a moment earlier, and as the last vestiges of puberty disappeared with slendering shoulders and a round face pulled him onto the preteen side of puberty, Jeff could recognize his little brother Tommy re-emerging as he continuously shrank until he was just barely seven years old and once again a first grader--his long sleeved t-shirt returning to having a superhero on it, and not any football club he was part of. With the transformation complete, Tommy blinked, confusion once again pervading until things seemed to click for his younger brother a moment later.
"Are you okay, Jeff?" asked Tommy.
Jeff nodded and tussled his little brother's hair affectionately.
"I am now."
"Did it work?" asked Tommy, having no memory of being the big brother once again.
"No... but I appreciate your wanting to help me, and that's all that matters," said Jeff.
Tommy hugged Jeff and said, "Sorry I couldn't give you advice."
"You did... in other ways, little bro," said Jeff as he returned the hug and then Tommy returned to continue watching the movie. Jeff sighed and walked back outside. He walked around the fence dividing their yards and along the path leading to the backyard where Alicia was still soaking in the kiddy pool.
"Alicia, what do you really want?" asked Jeff.
"I told you--"
"You told me what you didn't want, not what you wanted. Do you want our kid?"
Alicia immediately looked up at Jeff, and it took him a second to realize that she was surprised he had called it "their kid". She then looked away and thought for a moment before returning her gaze to Jeff and saying honestly, "I do... but I'm scared that I'm not ready to be a Mom right now. I'm scared that I'll mess it all up by being too young."
"Well, I want our kid too, and I'm... I'm also scared by what that means, but that doesn't mean I'm scared enough to not try and figure it all out."
Alicia nodded and reached her hand out for his. He knelt by the pool and took it.
"Then I guess we're having a baby... if it's a boy can I name him after my grandfather?"
Jeff played dumb, "What was his name?"
"Cristobal... we could call him Cris for short, but it'd be a nice gesture for my Mom... she was pretty beat up when grandpa died a few months ago..."
Jeff smiled and said, "Sure, Cris Davis... that has a nice ring to it, you think?"
He was met with a playful splash of water to the face.
"And you can name it if it's a girl," proffered Alicia.
Jeff smiled, "Don't ask me how, but I think you're right on the money about it being a boy."