Ross sat at his kitchen table, tapping his foot impatiently. He had been waiting for this moment for four long months, and it was finally here: Janessa was coming home.

Janessa had been away at an unknown remote site for her job as a Microbiology Engineer. It was all pretty secretive: no social media, no casual texting, and only one phone call every two weeks (which was heavily monitored by the staff of the company Janessa worked for). During their last call, Janessa had announced that the project was coming to a close, and there was a set date when she would be returning home.

“You have no idea how excited I am to see you! It’s been nearly two years since you’ve been away!” Ross exclaimed to Janessa. “Me too, babe. I know it’s been a sacrifice for you these last 22 months, but I’ll have some big surprises for you when I return.”

Ross had missed her terribly. He had spent his days counting down the hours until she returned, and now that the day was finally here, he was so excited that he could barely contain himself.

He had bought her a bouquet of her favorite flowers, and he had even baked her a cake. He couldn't wait to see her face light up when she saw all that he had done for her.

As the clock ticked closer to the time that Janessa was supposed to call to announce that she was home, Ross's excitement grew. He paced around the kitchen, rehearsing what he was going to say to her when he saw her.

The moment finally arrived when Ross’s phone came to life, singing a melody of Janessa’s call.

“Hello?” Ross said meekly.

“Hey babe! I’m back!” Ross smiled at the lovely woman's voice on the other end of the line.

“They just dropped me off at my place, and they’re unloading my things now. Do you come over now?”

“I’m already ready, I’m jumping in the car now!” exclaimed Ross. He was ready. He had his backpack already packed in preparation to spend the next few days at Janessa’s home. Since Ross lived in a small apartment in the city, the main place to facilitate Ross and Janessa’s meetings was her spacious home 20 minutes outside of the city, almost in the country.

Ross was 28, and lived alone in his small apartment. He had met Janessa 6 years prior near the end of his college days. While he majored in Computer Science and worked as a System’s Administrator for a company, Janessa had majored in Microbiology and worked for this company that basically kidnapped her (from Ross’s point of view). She was an expert in her field, and had finished up her final dissertation for her Doctorate just three years prior. Not two months after receiving her diploma, BioNexus had called her up, offering her her dream job. The catch: she would have to move to an undisclosed location for a lengthy period of time.

“I know, it’s going to be tough. But just think, you’re going to cherish that phone call every two weeks!” Janessa had told Ross while she was packing almost 2 years prior. Ross did cherish those calls, all 47 of them. He would jot down the conversations they had in a notebook, looking through it often to be reminded of his girlfriend.

Ross was about two miles away from Janessa's home. The winding roads greeted him as he got closer to her home in the country. The tall trees and fresh air were welcoming to his senses.

Janessa was relieved to be at her own home again. 22 months had felt like such a long time to be away. But the house was exactly how she left it, in better condition actually. She had hired some students from the local college to check up on the house regularly, and make sure everything was in good order. The students did well at that job. She did expect that there would be some parties thrown every once in a while while she was away, but the clean up crew made it spotless, even better than when she had left.

Ross's heart pounded as he pulled up to the familiar driveway of Janessa's house. It had been 22 long months since he had last seen her, and he was filled with a mix of excitement and nervousness. He couldn't wait to see her again, but he also worried that she might have changed.

As he got out of his car, he noticed that Janessa's house looked different. The paint was fresh, and there were new flowers in the garden. He wondered if the students she hired had been doing renovations while she was away.

He walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. He could hear Janessa moving around inside, and he felt a surge of anticipation. The door opened, and Janessa was standing there. Ross saw how amazing she looked. Her dark brown hair was longer, and she had a new glow about her. Her royal blue painted toenails displayed themselves proudly through her toeless sandals, her shorts presenting her nicely toned legs, and her tight black t shirt showed just enough of her fairly large breasts to get Ross very excited.

"Janessa!" Ross exclaimed. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"I can't believe you're finally here," Janessa said, her voice full of emotion.

After a long embrace they stepped inside, and Ross immediately noticed the cleanliness of the house, taking note at how thorough those students had been.

“I still have a bit of unpacking to do, but I have a big surprise I want to show you.” Janessa said with a smile on her face, taking Ross’s hand and leading him down the hall. Towards her bedroom.

Ross knew what this meant.

At least, he thought he knew what this meant. He did get confused when they passed the master bedroom, but Janessa kept leading the way, eventually going through a door Ross thought was just a linen closet. Turns out, it was Janessa’s laboratory. He never realized that this was in her house.

“How long has this room been here?!”

“I had it built when I moved in, but I kept it a secret because this is my sanctuary. I couldn’t have your pretty little face distracting me while I worked.” Janessa said with a grin.

Ross walked around seeing many devices and chemicals he had never seen or heard of before. He knew Janessa was smart, but here, she seemed like a god, being able to do whatever she pleases.

“This is the big surprise I wanted to show you.” Janessa said, pulling Ross in close to her so she could show off her craftsmanship. The shiny silver device was about 6 feet in height, with a long cylindrical end with a laser at the end. “This is it, this is what I was working on all this time!”

“Well, what is it? And please explain it to me so my simple little brain can understand”

“Well… This is an organic matter compressor.”

Ross stood there with a confused look on his face.

“It’s a shrink ray! I can make any organic matter shrink or grow!

Ross still stood there, but now the expression of confusion left, and awe and amazement replaced it. Janessa got close to Ross, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on the tips of her toes. “I wanted to try it on you, to see if we could have a little fun!”

Ross was filled with excitement at the thought of this. “Really?! How small would you make me?” Thoughts and ideas rushing through his head at light speed.

“How small do you want to be?”

“How about two inches?” Ross was already picturing this in his mind.

“You got it, big guy!” Janessa chuckled at the irony. “I’ll program everything here, I just need you to strip down, and stand in that taped off square over there.” pointing towards the ground.

Before Janessa could even finish the calibrations, Ross stood there, fully nude, right where she had told him to stand.

As the final calibration was entered, the machine came to life. The hum gradually grew louder. The cylindrical end lit up with a blue laser, pointing right at Ross.

“Now babe, don’t move from that square, even after the process finishes. I don't want to accidentally step on you!” Janessa’s excitement was still building. “It’s going to feel like you’re falling, but don’t panic, you won’t ever hit the ground.”

Ross stood there, and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, letting Janessa know he was ready for his adventure.

Janessa smiled, and hit the big red activation switch. The small blue laser beam grew brighter, blinding Ross, causing him to close his eyes. The hum of the machine grew louder. As the sound hit the threshold of loudness, Ross felt a near indescribable feeling, like falling, but different.

And as quickly as everything began, it had stopped. The laser wasn’t on anymore, the humming whirl of the machine had stopped. And Ross stood there, naked, now in his diminutive stature of 2 inches. He was so excited with what was heading his way.