"They said Mikey is adorable and they can't wait to see him for Christmas," Stacey said, seeming perplexed. Jim frowned.
"So, they don't think anything about us suddenly having a toddler son?" he asked. Stacey shook her head. "That's...weird."
"Maybe text your parents, too," Stacey suggested. Jim nodded. He pulled out his phone and sent one of the "family photos" to his parents without any context or explanation. While they waited for the response, they left the store to continue getting supplies for Mikey.
They were looking at baby monitors when Jim's parents got back to him. He opened the text.
"Well?" Stacey asked.
"They said he's going to be super tall when he grows up. They remember how big he was when he was born and he just gets bigger every day," Jim replied. He put away his phone.
"I set a record for biggest baby at the hospital I was born in," Mikey chimed in from his stroller. Stacey and Jim hadn't realized he could hear them.
"What does this mean, then?" Stacey asked Jim.
"I think...I think it means we're becoming a real family," Jim said slowly. "It's almost like the world is changing to fit what's happened to Mikey."
"That makes it easier for me if we can't fix this," Mikey said. He began to shift impatiently in the stroller. "Can we do something? I'm going crazy stuck in here!"
"There's an indoor playground area by the Target," Stacey said. "Let's take him there." They began to push the stroller towards the playground. When they got there, they let Mikey loose. As they watched him play around, looking like any other toddler, they noticed another change.