"This is not a good way to greet your family, Mr. McIntosh. Not at all."
"What the hell is going on here??" Wayne shouted. "Did you do all this? Did you give him all this shit? We don't need your charity, Miss..."
"I am Madame Illusia."
"Yeah, uh huh, of course you are. Scott, you have five seconds to tell me who gave you all that stuff in there, or I'm going to beat your ASS!"
"Not at all a very Christmas thing to say! Christmas is a special time of love and forgiveness," Madame Illusia admonished.
"I...I don't know." Scott was petrified.
"My ass, you don't know! Hey! Why can't I move? I'm stuck to the ground!"
"Just for a time," the Madame said, digging her hands into her oversized parka. "There is one present left inside. Scott, be a dear and run inside and get it so your father may open it!"
Bewildered, Scott went inside and retrieved a small box, which he handed to Wayne.
"I don't want anything from some strange woman I just met. My boys are fine. They don't need handouts!" The man was prideful, belligerent, abusive...the Madame smiled coyly.
"Open it and understanding will come."
Wayne, still infuriated, opened the gift out of frustration. "Pogs? Really?"
"You liked them when you were a boy. Now, enjoy the show!" The Madame raised her hands, and turned to Matty. "Matty! You must know something. Santa is quite real...and he granted all your wishes!" She waved her hands a few times and the wind and snow suddenly rose up, swallowing her as she disappeared. Matty's jaw dropped.
"What just happened?" Scott asked, and realized something was happening. He was seeing his legs moving...they were different. His pants, too. Both his pants and legs were longer than they had been. He was growing taller than Matty, more than before.
"You're getting tall, Scott!" Matty looked up at him. The tie sparkled and a ripple went over Scott, changing his normal drab secondhand store clothes to dress clothing. He was still wearing thermal underwear but now he looked like he was going to Church or something.
"WHY CAN'T I MOVE? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!!" Wayne screamed. He looked at his pogs. They were just like the kind he had as a kid and he stuffed them in his pants pocket so he wouldn't have to look at them. "None of this makes sense...where'd you find that woman?" He blinked. "Is that my voice?"
"You sound...like..."
"I sound like...like a kid! I sound like a kid! Why did my voice change?? This doesn't happen! I must still be wasted. Maybe someone slipped me some kind of mushrooms."
"You sound jUSt ahem...just like a kid and I sOUND LIKE...ahem." Scott cleared his throat. Why was his voice cracking? "I think something is happening to my voice, too. Hey. I sound like...I sound like an ADult!" His voice crackd once more before dropping even lower. "Excuse me. An adult." He looked up and then it was like being on a rollercoaster. He shot up over his father's head until he couldn't even see his father anymore. His body reconfigured, expanding and becoming decades older in a few mere ten seconds. He blinked. Looked down. He was dressed in a suit and tie, with a scarf.
"You're turning into a grownup, Scott! And Daddy is shrinking!"
"Help me!" his father said, losing his facial hair. It was erased, as if someone had hit rewind on his body. His face just sucked it up until it was all gone and Wayne's face smoothed over, becoming totally smooth. He looked to be 13 again...then 12...11...10...9...and finally stopped at 8.
Scott felt good. Real good. He remembered the cufflinks. He brought them out. He now had a dress shirt for them. He snapped them on and then...
The world suddenly changed. His face changed. He had a short beard now. He was incredibly handsome, much more so than his father. He grew wrinkles that lined his masculine face, and the brown bronze hair of his beard glinted in the cold morning winter light. Suddenly, everyone could move again.
"I...I'm big." Scott blinked. He had such a sexy voice now. Deep, beautiful blue eyes stared out at the world in a mature, 37 year old face. He was so tall now! Matty only came up to about his knees! I'm 6'2" he thought.
"Someone tell me this is a dream!" the 8 year old boy that was now Wayne shouted into the wind. Scott smiled. It all felt like it was going to be alright.
"I'm an adult and you're a kid. It makes sense now." He smiled, and looked at his new big gloved hands to take it all in. He walked around on his new legs gingerly, and tested out his long arms.
"Is that you, Scott? You switched places!"
"Sort of. I don't look like dad but I look like me...I think." Scott went back inside the trailer to stare at his reflection. "That's ME???" He was ebullient. "MAN, THIS IS AWESOME!"
"Switch back with me right now! I demand you swap ages with me!" 8 year old Wayne demanded.
"Why don't you ask me NICELY? Not that I have the slightest clue how to get us back or anything. Jess. Look at me! I have a beard!"
"Santa gave me my wish!" Matty exclaimed to them. "I wished...I wished that Scott could be my Daddy and you could be a little kid so he could take care of us."
"Why'd you wish for something stupid like that!" Wayne screamed at him.
Matty began to cry again but this time Scott interrupted.
"HEY! Do not snap at him like that! He's just a little kid! Matty, it's okay. I'm here." Scott was there to wrap his big arms around him. "It's okay, little guy. He doesn't mean it. I think it was an awesome wish. See? I can pick you up in my arms now."
Matty sniffed. Scott glared down at miniature Wayne. "You apologize to him! I'm sick of you hurting him! Tell him you're sorry."
Wayne felt unusually scared and respectful of this much bigger man.
"I'm sorry," he muttered.
"Do better. Come over here and apologize."
"I'm very sorry, Matty."
"Things have got to change around here and I have a feeling they are. I feel different. Like...I've always been the dad because it feels right somehow. It's too cold out here. Everyone get inside. Come on."
The trailer had become a house. They were no longer in a trailer park but rather a very nice residential neighborhood. There was a larger Christmas tree inside and all their opened presents were there. Scott made breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, bacon. A special breakfast for special little boys. No McDonalds takeout. No alcohol in the house. Everyone seemed to forget that two of them had swapped ages that morning.
"You boys get ready for Church. Get into your Sunday best." Scott wiped his hands on a napkin.
"Yes, Sir," the boys chorused.
":Well, it looks like I know how to drive now." Scott said out loud when they came downstairs. They each had their own spacious room. The house was large and warm and beautifully decorated.
Scott drove in a large SUV that had materialized out of nowhere, though he had memories of buying it now.
Wayne was largely silent through the service and Scott talked with several adults who he now recognized as if they were old friends. It felt like a dream but it was somehow another reality. One where his wife had died in a tragic accident and several sympathetic churchgoers were telling Scott about women who they wanted to set him up with....nice girls who liked to keep their noses clean just like him.
They were a family now, he thought.
When they got home, Scott talked to his new sons.
"I think Santa really delivered today, didn't he? Well?"
"Yes," the boys said, and Matty jumped up and down. "Daddy, this was the best Christmas ever!"
"Daddy?" Scott smiled. "I guess I am Daddy now, sweetheart." He picked up his new son, whose memories were now gone of that other life. Now he had his daddy and his brother Wayne. Matty would never have to worry about traumatic childhood memories apart from losing his mother at an early age. But he was now surrounded by a good home, a good neighborhood and lots of loving grownups who would never hurt him.
"Can I talk to you alone, son?" Scott asked Wayne. "Sweetheart, would you like to play with your Christmas presents for a while? I need to talk to Wayne."
"Okay, Daddy!"
"Have a seat, sport." He invited Wayne down for a discussion. Scott felt very mature, bending over with folded hands. "So? What do you think of our new lives? This is a lot better, don't you think?"
"I guess so."
"You know what I think? I think it's going to be a lot better. You know what my job is? I'm on the city council. I help other men and women find jobs and I get help to elderly people, and I help with zoning laws and all sorts of important things. I know lots of people in this town and I care about all of them, but especially you. You didn't have a father growing up. Maybe that's why you were so bad at being a father. But you can't be dad anymore."
Wayne started to cry. "I was so bad to you. I'm sorry,"
"It's okay, buddy. I forgive you. You couldn't handle being a grownup. I'll be the grownup instead and you can worry about looking out for your brother when I'm not around. I'll also have babysitters from church come and spend time with you when I can't. You need that. You have a lot of growing up to do. You're only a little boy again. 8 years old. You're in third grade. Not that much older than Matty but still, you're going to be the older brother and you're going to be real nice to him. You're going to be the best friend you can to him. Understand me?"
"It feels like everything before was just a nightmare, Dad."
"Don't worry about it. You have plenty of time to make up for it. Just be a loving brother and son, okay?"
Wayne cried and wept in his father's arms. He reached out for Scott and his new father held him tight. "It's all going to be okay, bud. But I'm telling you one thing. This time around, you're going to grow up with values, okay? You're going to do chores and you'll always do your homework and you'll be a good example for your brother."
"I...I want to be good. I'm sorry I wasn't good before. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I just hurt you so much."
"You were weak and I was strong. But Santa changed all that. We can be a happy family now if you just do as I say and respect me as your father. I will be the best dad to you both, I promise. Now. How about you and Matty and me all make some popcorn and play some board games...spend some quality time together. How does that sound?"
"Good."
"Okay, sport. Let's make some memories."
The rest of the evening was happy and filled with delight as the bachelor and his two sons played Candy Land, Monopoly and Life.
They finished off the night by watching a funny family movie after Scott made dinner. A big roasted chicken with potatoes and a nice leafy salad, followed up with a slice of Christmas cake!
The next morning, and every morning after became easier for them to adjust to their new ages. By the time it was time for winter break to end, Wayne was ready to return to third grade. Reality had changed and he had a lot of friends now. Something told him this time he might actually have a good childhood, thanks to Scott being his dad.
Scott was filled with love and affection for his boys and he visited the Madame Illusia at the winter carnival before it left. He was quite a good driver now and had no problems getting out there.
He stood in the tent watching her change unsuspecting boys into men and men into boys, and women into men and swapped men's heights and muscle around. Scott smiled. He brought home a few vouchers that the Madame had gifted him. She had told him a lot of things.
Now that he was a grown man, there were certain things he wanted to enjoy....and he was going to start with...