As the day progressed, a noticeable tension built up between Mark and Jay. Mark was a firm believer in personal fitness and appearance. He took pride in his body and worked hard to keep it in shape. Jay was the opposite. He would prefer to lead a lax lifestyle, unconcerned with a few extra pounds. He was happy the way he was, just as his grandfather had been.
The two conflicting philosophies made itself evident in the ways the boys interacted. Mark and Jay talked to each other less and less as the day wore on. When they did speak to one another, it was often a jab about Jay's weight or how shiny Mark's shaven head looked in the sunlight.
Simon and Bryan also seemed divided on the subject of the twins. Simon, who also had a beard and shaved head, seemed to lean more toward Mark. In fact, the two looked fairly identical, save for the fact Simon was twenty years older and not nearly as fit. Bryan sided with Jay, and even seemed to congratulate him on his stomach, a terrible thing to encourage, Mark thought.
The hours progressed, as did the family's age. Mark was well aware of this, but Simon and Jay were only dimly so. Bryan didn't seem to notice at all, and went along merrily.
At around noontime Jay left and came back with lunch for all of them. He set the white paper sacks on the table and the family set down to eat.
"What did you bring us, son?" Bryan asked, hefting himself into a seat. Bryan was now 68 years old. His stomach's size seemed to have peaked in his mid-sixties. All of his hair was now white, and covered his body generously, though it was difficult to tell under his uniform.
Jay opened up his sack and pulled out a pair of double cheeseburgers. "That new burger place up the street," he said. "I figured we could try it out." Jay's stomach had been growing steadily since that morning. Now at 28 years old, Jay was bigger than his father, but hadn't quite reached his grandfather's obesity. Jay was completely bald on top, but kept his remaining hair cut to about and inch in length. He usually wore a backwards cap and kept his sleeves rolled up, revealing his hairy arms. On his face was a sculpted goatee and second chin. Underneath the soft fat, Jay was still quite muscular, a trait he'd inherited.
Simon frowned as he pulled a double cheeseburger from his own sack. "Jay," he said. "Did you get us ALL cheeseburgers?" Simon was now 48 years old. His head was shaven and much of his short-cropped beard was now grey. He had lines extending from the corners of his eyes and at the corners of his mouth. He hadn't gained much weight throughout the day. In fact, the longer he worked with Mark, the more Simon's girth diminished. Simon had memories of occasionally working out with Mark. Though, as he neared his fifties, there was only so much Simon could do.
Jay nodded. "Yeah. I figured Mark could use it. He's looking awfully thin." He smirked to himself, knowing he'd annoyed Mark.
Mark rolled his eyes. "No. I'm healthy. I don't know how you can sit down and eat this junk. Do you have any idea what kinds of artificial substances they put into these things?" Mark was Jay's twin brother, but you wouldn't know it by looking. Mark was as muscular as Jay was fat. He kept his head shaven, like his father's. He also let his beard grow out, until it was several inches in length. However, it did no look unkempt by any means. Mark wore his jumpsuit with the top part tied around his waist. He wore an undershirt, but you could see he was extremely hirsute, like all the men in his family. A few specks of grey shone in his beard, but you had to be looking to notice them.
Simon's stomach rumbled as he looked at the burger. He was hungry, but was concerned about his and his family's health.
Jay had already begun devouring his burgers, the accelerated time causing his stomach to subtly grow, little by little.
"Jay," said Simon, choosing his words carefully. "Perhaps you should think about your intake. Perhaps we all should. I know our family is predisposed to hanging on to a bit of extra weight, but your brother's shown that a little extra work could help lead a healthier lifestyle."
Bryan grumbled. "Oh, leave the boy alone, Simon. Let him eat what he wants. Nothing wrong with a little extra padding."
Mark was about to argue, but thought better of it. He resigned himself to the fact that his brother and grandfather were lost causes. But perhaps there was hope with his father.
"Hey, Dad," Mark said. "How would you like to go jogging with me, tomorrow? Up the regime?"
Simon shook but shook his head. "Thanks, Mark. But I don't think there's much more for me to do at this point. I'm almost fifty you know..." Simon trailed off, looking a little concerned. Then he nodded. "Yes, that's right. Almost fifty. My, where does the time go?"
Simon sighed as he shook his head. He took a bite of his burger and his stomach subtly bulged out some.
Mark sighed and looked down at the incredibly unhealthy cheeseburger. As he picked it up he could see the grease drip off of it onto the wrapper it had come in, which was lined with half-melted chunks of cheese. It was one of the most unappetizing pieces of food he had come across. But it was lunchtime and he was hungry. One little burger wasn't going to ruin his life. Besides, he could just run it off when the time came.
Mark winced and bit into the grease-laden burger. He felt his stomach rumble slightly. He looked down and saw his stomach bulge out slightly. He would have to find a way to pay his brother back at some point...
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The day wore on. The men fixed cares and replaced tires throughout the day. Mark found he enjoyed what he did. In fact, he got better at it the more he did it. The same went for his brother as well. Jay was noticeably Bryan's favorite, though Bryan had a special place in his heart for Mark. Mark was okay with this, though. His hard work would pay off in the end.
At around 2 o'clock, Mark and Jay hit 30, Simon his 50, and Bryan hit 70.
Mark and Jay were working on a particularly finicky tire change as Bryan entered the garage wearing casual clothes.
"Well, boys," said the old man. "I'm going to head back home. Just remember everything I've taught you and all should be fine. Oh, and I hope you like the new name."
Bryan chuckled to himself and left the garage.
Mark and Jay glanced at each other quizzically before heading outside to take a look at the sign above the shop's entrance.
Instead of its usual "Bry & Sy Autobody", the sign now read "Simon and Sons".
"What do you think?" Simon asked, exiting the main building. "Not too much, is it?"
For a brief moment, the tension between Mark and Jay melted away as the three shared a bear hug.
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8:00 pm
"Alright, boys!" Simon called. "Closing time!"
Simon was now in his mid-fifties. He had bags under his eyes and a fair amount of lines on his face. His beard was now transitioning into white, but he'd seemed to have lost a bit of weight since his forties.
Jay had gained quite a bit of poundage as he progressed into his mid-thirties. He was definitely nearing his grandfather's weight now. His goatee had spread out into a close-cropped beard which had gone completely grey in the chin area. His hair had greyed dramatically at the temples and specks of grey could be seen throughout the rest of his hair.
Mark had managed to keep in shape, working off the small amount of weight gained by working in the shop. In fact, his musculature seemed more defined now. His beard had grown to be about six inches in length. The hairs originating from his chin had gone completely grey, like his brother's. Also, specks of grey could be seen throughout.
Mark wave good-bye to his brother and father as they drove off in their cars. As usual, Mark ran the whole way home, feeling a bit more winded that usual. Well, he was approaching middle-age now. He made sure to make a mental note to himself to shut down the accelerated temporal flow at midnight. He didn't want to get too old.
As he ran, Mark also thought about his relationship with his new family. Yesterday it had been fun and exciting. Now, he seemed to be at odds with Jay, his new brother. Maybe the Chronivac could help with that. Though, things did lighten up near the end.
It wasn't long before Mark reached home. When he entered, he was surprised to see children's toys littered around the living room. He was even more surprised to see a slightly confused Jay sitting next to an excitable 8-year-old boy.
The boy had thick, dark hair atop his head, just like all the other men in Jay's family. He looked tall for his age and had an odd, tough look about him.
As soon as the boy saw Mark walk in his face lit up.
"Daddy! Uncle Mark's home!" he called out. The boy then shot up and ran to where Mark was standing, still confused. Had the boy just called him "Uncle" Mark? And did he just call Jay "Daddy"?
Mark ran a quick search through his memories. Ah! That would explain it. He found Jay had a son named... Daniel, or Danny as he was sometimes called. Mark tried to recall who the mother was and why she didn't live with them when a crudely-drawn crayon picture was thrust up at him form little Danny.
"I drew this," said the boy.
The picture depicted five figures, each representing a member of the family. Two of them were large and round and were labeled "Great Grandpa" and "Daddy". Another was also round, but not nearly as large as the other two. It was labeled "Grandpa". The fourth was actually roughly square shaped and labeled "Uncle Mark". The fifth figure was one Mark couldn't recognize. Either this eight-year-old's drawing abilities were especially crude or...
"Danny," said Mark, pointing at the final figure. "Who is this?"
"Oh," said Danny, smiling big. "That's me when I grow up!"
Mark nodded. "Ah. I see."
Simon walked in on the scene and chuckled. "Come on, kiddo," he said. "Let's go put that on the refrigerator."
The two left and room and Mark sat down next to Jay.
"Cute kid," Mark muttered, smirking.
Jay nodded slowly, still in a daze. "Yeah. Apparently I'm a father now."
Mark chuckled. "Too bad he draws like a five-year-old."
Jay merely glared at Mark.
"I'm kidding," said Mark. "None of us were really that artistic when we were that young, either."
"What did you change," Jay asked darkly.
Mark gave Jay a quizzical look. "I'm sorry?"
"I saw you this morning," said Jay. "You said you were going to brush your teeth, but I saw you through Dad's bedroom window. You messed with something. I don't know what it was, but I know you messed with something."
Mark raised his hands defensively. "It was nothing major, believe me."
"It was that muscle, wasn't it?" said Jay, glaring. "You didn't want to end up like the rest of us so your programmed the Chronivac to make you muscular."
"Uhhh," said Mark. Jay was completely wrong, but maybe he could turn that to his advantage. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. That's what I did. I definitely did that."
Jay eyed him for a moment before sighing to himself. "I thought you wanted to join our family, Mark," Jay said. "Instead your distancing yourself by changing yourself to be different than the rest of us!"
Mark glared at Jay. "Hey! There's nothing wrong with being healthy. Living life resigned to being overweight is just..." Mark wasn't sure how to finish the sentence without ticking his brother off even more, so he stopped there.
Jay shook his head sadly. "I know there's nothing wrong with being healthy. But when your obsession with health distances you from half your family... Just think about that. That's all I ask."
Mark nodded. "If it helps, I'm sorry for being kind of a jerk to you today."
Jay nodded. "Thanks. And, I suppose I sorry, too>"
The brothers smirked. It felt a weight had lifted in the room. After a second Danny came running back in followed by Simon.
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Midnight fell upon the household.
The brothers were now 40 years old. Jay had grown to be around Bryan's size. His beard was almost all grey, with his head hair about half so. The same could be said about Mark's hair. He did notice himself go a little soft, but he was still mostly muscle. Being 40 was hard on your body.
Simon was now sixty. His stomach was still a round gut, but had lessened to a more... healthy size. His beard was all grey and was now becoming white. His face was well weathered and he now wore a pair of glasses.
Bryan was eighty and looked it. His hair was all white and the horseshoe fringe on his head had begun rapidly thinning. He had also started rapidly losing weight, as his body took in less food. He required a cane to walk anywhere, wore a hearing aid, and required incredibly thick glasses, and even then could barely see.
Jay's son Danny had reached twelve years old. He had grown into an athletic, young pre-teen. His wiry body showed definite impending musculature. He was already quite tall for his age, and showed no signs of slowing down.
Danny, Jay, and Bryan were sleeping in their beds. Simon had fallen asleep in front of the television as he usually did. He would get up around two in the morning and go to bed.
Mark, however, had made his way to Simon's room and to the Chronivac. It was a simple matter to go into the World Settings and return the Temporal Flow to the Default 1 HOUR = 1 HOUR. Mark did so and the now familiar ripple effect pulsed outward from the machine. Mark could almost feel time slow to its regular flow, the days and months no longer aging his body at an incredibly rapid pace.
He was about to shut down the system and go to bed when a thought arose. He was here, at the Chronivac. He could make changes now, if he wanted to. Maybe something to make it up to Jay. Maybe he could do something about Bryan's advanced age. Heck, he could change himself, or maybe even Danny.
Or, he could just go to bed.
The light on the Chronivac bleeped, as it usually did when it was standing by, waiting to receive input from the computer. Almost beckoning to Mark, daring him to do something...