After Megan got dressed, she got her camera and snapped some photos of little Will. He looked adorable in his PJs, but on his face he wore an expression of embarrassment and resentment.
"Come on and smile just once," she said. "Be a good boy."
"I am NOT a boy," said Will, sternly. He balled his fists at his sides in barely controlled rage. He could not stand her talking down to him like that.
"You could have fooled me," Megan replied. "Anyway, let's just try to enjoy this if we can. Okay? There's no point in getting angry."
Will sighed, "Fine." He composed himself and gave her a gap-toothed smile. She snapped a final picture.
"Nice. That one's a keeper," said Megan as she put the camera away.
"What now?" asked Will.
"I don't know," she said. "How about some TV?"
"I guess it's as good as anything else right now... but no kids shows!"
"Alright, if you say so, big guy."
They piled on the love seat together in front of the TV. Will noted how strange it was that he had to hop up to sit down on the now enormous couch. Although Will was normally the one to use the remote at their place, it was Megan who picked it up and started surfing channels. Will almost spoke up in response to this perceived slight, but he let it drop. He didn't feel like fighting anymore, and anyway, although he hated to admit it, he felt intimidated by how large she was now in comparison to him.
Eventually, she settled on a romantic comedy. Will knew that they would never have watched a film like this if he had been the one in control. Again, he felt frustrated. He would rather just watch something funny or something with action that could help him get his mind off of his situation for a little while. Watching the couple in the movie only made him feel more acutely what he was missing with Megan right now. Sensing Will's uneasiness, Megan wrapped an arm around his little shoulders and pulled him in close to her.
"You know I still love you deeply," she said.
Will smiled and nuzzled up close to her, his round face resting on her breast.
"I love you too," he said. "I just wish I could be normal again."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure things will work out."
Just then, a commercial came on. Calliope music blared as images of trapeze walkers and elephants flashed across the screen.
"This weekend only, the greatest show on earth is coming to town..." said an announcer.
"Oh," said Megan. "It's the circus! Will, we have to go. It's perfect!"
"B-but, wait," stammered Will. "Why would I want to go to the circus?"
"Come on," said Megan. "You're just the right age for it now."
She jumped up off of the couch and said, "I'm going to go find you some clothes."
Will just groaned. It seemed like he no longer had any say in what they did now that he was a 5 year old.
Megan returned with a pair of old sneakers, some shorts and a little T-shirt. In no time, she had Will dressed and out the door. Will rode in the back seat of their car.
"I'm bored back here," said Will. "I'm too short to even see out of the windows."
"Just sit tight," Megan said. "We'll be there in a minute."
Will heard the music of the circus grow louder and louder as the car approached the fair grounds. After Megan parked, they walked hand in hand to the tent. All around them were families with children of a variety of ages. It was unnerving for Will to have to look up at older children. He felt so small as he realized that there were first graders there that were taller than him.
"Megan..." he said fearfully.
"It's alright, Will," she said and held his little hand a bit tighter. "I'm here. You're safe with me."
Will walked a little closer to her. He did feel safer when she was near. He knew she would protect him as if she were actually his mother.
They took their seats and settled in to watch the show. Will's fear soon faded as he became engrossed in the spectacle of it all. He found himself totally enthralled by the trapeze acrobats. He noted with awe that the elephants and tigers seemed gigantic to him now. He even laughed at a clown that folded him a balloon hat.
For food, they munched on popcorn and ate a pair of hot dogs, although Will only finished half of his.
When they left the circus that afternoon, Will was grinning and skipping by Megan's side. All pretenses of adulthood had disappeared from his behavior.
"That was sooooo much fun!" he declared as they got in their car. "Can we come back tomorrow?"
"We'll see," said Megan. She smiled deeply as he grinned back at her. He was such an adorable little boy. She wondered if she would ever make him older again.
They drove home. Hyper little Will kept talking and talking about everything they had seen that day, but when they walked up to the front door he stopped.
Someone had kicked open the door. They had been robbed.
Forgetting all caution, Megan ran into the house and headed straight for her computer, hoping that by some fluke the burglars had missed the Chronivac. But, no, it was gone along with her computer and all the other expensive electronic appliances in the house.
Megan sat down on the bed as her mind tried to process the implications of what had happened. The Chronivac was gone. There was no way to turn Will back to normal.
Hearing his little feet running down the hallway, Megan looked over at the door as Will appeared.
"Megan!" he shouted. "What were you thinking? Someone could've still been in here."
She looked at the 5-year-old boy that had once been her adult husband. The boy still wore that cute balloon hat that the clown had given him. She felt butterflies in her stomach. It was all her fault. It was all her fault that he was stuck like that. It was only supposed to be a joke. What was she going to do? What would she tell him?
She started to cry.
Seeing her falling apart, Will walked over and gave her a big hug.
"It's Okay, honey," he said trying to console her. "I'm here. We're going to be fine. Nobody got hurt. The house is still in one piece. All that we lost was some useless junk."
"Useless?" she asked through her sobs.
Useless? If he only knew...