Just as they arrived at Oliver's house, his sister, Olivia, rolled up.
"Luckily they finished their ice cream before we got here," thought Big Oliver. No sooner than he said that, one of the boys squealed upon seeing their momma, ran to her, threw himself into her, and said:
"Guess what! Uncle Ollie gave us ice cream!"
"Oh, God dammit!" thought Big Oliver. "Kids can never keep their trap shut!"
"Oh, did he REALLY!?" asked Olivia, shooting a glare at her brother.
Oliver sighed. "You know I like to treat the boys," he said. Upon which a short argument ensued. But Olivia couldn't really be too mad at her brother. For one thing, he does take the rambunctious little twins off her hands. For another, he doesn't at all expect to be paid. And finally, the boys ARE irresistable sometimes and Oliver loves having them around. Like two little puppies.
Meanwhile, Little Oliver was frantically trying to think of a way to switch back to his proper place and body. Connor really didn't seem to be in there at all. He really WAS Oliver. The way he talks. His mannerisms and so on.
"Alright, boys, let's go! Hop in! You know the drill!" said Olivia as she opened the door to her big black Wagoneer SUV.
"Come on, Jackson!" squealed Jackson, taking the lead over his slightly smaller brother as he usually did.
Little Oliver was beginning to understand the different little personalities and power dynamics between the twins. Before, he could barely tell them apart. He knew one had two little moles on his face, the other was clear skinned. He never could remember which was which. Now he couldn't believe he didn't know before. How could he not know!? It was so obvious who was who! Connor's different personality from Jackson was coming into focus. Perhaps it was the effect of becoming one of the twins..... But regardless, Jackson didn't seem to exist within Connor's body. It was all Connor!
So....where's JACKSON'S personality then, if he were Oliver inside of Jackson's little five year old frame? Does this mean.....does this mean....that....Jackson is.....is.....DEAD!?
Little Ollie felt his new face flush with guilt. Did he unintentionally kill Jackson when he refused to become him in mind like the other two did with their new bodies!?
But. No! He couldn't believe it! He knew this could still be fixed. Jackson lives somewhere either inside of him, or inside of Connor!
"Come on! Let's GO, I said!" said Olivia, as Little Ollie suddenly felt himself being lifted swiftly into the air and carried towards the rear driver's side door that his newly-minted twin brother had already disappeared into.
With trepidation, he saw his sister easily maneuver his 40 lb frame towards the car seat! Little Ollie began wiggling around with this latest episode of humiliation. Not only was he easily and swiftly lifted completely off the ground by his own little sister, but the SUV was also really high as he watched Connor struggling to climb into while he was deep in thought, and finally he had to sit in the back. In a CAR SEAT!
"Jackson, stop it! We have to get home so I can start making supper! See," she directed some of her irritation towards Big Oliver, "this is why I don't like to feed these guys sweets! They wiggle around too much!"
Big Oliver stood back smirking and laughing. "You help with that little sack of potatoes?" he asked.
"What!? Sack of potatoes!?" he heard Jackson shout so adorably from inside the SUV while struggling in his high-pitched grunting with his mom.
"Come on, KID! Listen to your mother," Big Oliver responded.
"Ol...Oliver...?" It was weird to say his own name while addressing himself as his own nephew. Little Ollie was about to sadly ask his former self if he remembered being Jackson, after his sister had successfully gotten him into his sporty-looking car seat designed for the 40 lb five year old that he was stuck as. She buckled him in with the three-point harness system then closed the door shut while he was in mid-sentence.
The inside of the SUV was silent for a moment as little Ollie looked down at his situation and began to really evaluate it. Here he was. Strapped to a car seat that was several years away from being graduated to a booster seat. In the back of a car. Wearing Jackson's small boy's clothes. His feet dangling far above the floor. With skinny little fingers attached to impossibly smooth skinny arms as he rolled his sleeves up a bit.
"Oliver," he heard the high-pitched voice squeak out beside him to his right from his own matching car seat.
Little Oliver's heart skipped a beat as he looked swifty over at Jackson's brother. That perpetual grin of mischievousness only little boys are capable of expressing, with his cute half-moon-shaped brown eyes and perfectly straight row of pearly white sharklike baby teach sparkling at him.
"Don't worry. I can still be you," he said.
"Huh?" Asked Little Ollie. What was that supposed to mean?
"It's funny tricking Uncle Ollie that we are eachother like we did all day today, isn't?"
Oh. That. Is that was "Jackson" thinks happened today? That we pretended to be eachother? A typical game that young identical twins like to play with adults. Yet another reminder of his downgraded position. He now looked souch exactly like the little guy to his right, that he could trick unwary adults into thinking he was Connor instead of being stuck as Jackson.
"There wasn't anything," --Llittle Ollie was about to ask his "brother" is there was anything else he remembered, when suddenly "Connor's" car door opened on the other side of the SUV as his mom poked her head in to strap her other little boy into his car seat. Without a word, she closed the door, walked around to the driver's door and hopped in.
"So, how was your visit boys?" asked Olivia.
Conner, neč Jackson, excitedly began to describe their day. About their day playing with a ring that could swap people, about their Uncle who thinks that him and Jackson were eachother, then going for a walk to a mysterious shop, then ice cream!
Meanwhile, Little Ollie kept looking up towards the rear view mirror at part of his sister's face. He remained silent while his "brother" was excitedly going on about the day. No indication that they had ever swapped, except his mentioning a ring that could swap people. But Olivia just smiled and nodded at the little kid's big imagination as she started the vehicle and pulled back out of the driveway and towards her house.
With each tree, with each housetop quickly passing by that Little Ollie could barely see out of the windows from his small little boy statute secured in his car seat, the dread continued building and building as he got closer and closer to "home." Not *HIS* home. But to Olivia, Connor, and Jackson's home. And to....to....Connor and Jackson's little shared bedroom....
"Ah, shit!" he said under his breath. How was he supposed to get to that store stuck as his own little five year old nephew!? How was supposed to get the real Jackson's consciousness back/personality back!? It seemed like a hopeless situation. To become even more hopeless when they got "home." And even more so yet when he had to join their kindergarten class as a kindergartner on Monday!
The more he thought about his future, the more hopeless he became.