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The Wisdom of Age

The balance of the weekend seemed a blur to Tom. He did get a chance to sit with his grandfather for a spell on Sunday evening early in the night.

The old man, still using a cane to get around, let himself into the room. Shambling over to the chair next to the bed, he sat down. “You got the shakes?” he asked, pointing at Tom’s trembling hands on top of the blanket.

Tom looked at his hands and frowned.

“Don’t worry, I’m not your mother’s snitch,” he assured.

“Yeah, I still feel a little shaky, and cold, I feel cold,” Tom shared.

“That’ll pass. I’ve only been myself again these last few days,” he shared.

“Wait a minute, what do you mean? You were small too?” he asked, big green eyes growing wide.

The old man smirked and nodded, “Shrunk in the basement like you, except your aunt found me, took me home,” he replied.

“Took you home? What? Like for how long?”

“Couple of years. The things we shared, god that girl is amazing,” he sniggered in knowing way under his breath.

“Gross, but, I mean good for you, but she’s my aunt,” Tom replied, smiling weakly.

“You and I share a common bond son, the things we’ve had the privilege of seeing, doing,” he said reverently.

Tom grinned, mind swimming with a collage of images of things he had done while small.

The old man reached out and clapped a hand on Tom’s shoulder, “Cherish those boy, it’s highly unlikely anyone anytime soon will get another shot at it,” he offered.

Tom frowned, “I don’t understand,” he said.

“The machine, it’s done. It took every ounce of knowledge, skill, and luck I have to get the device to work for me let alone bring you back. Even if the thing hadn’t outright melted down, we used up the last of the Berkelium just to get it to work one last time. I didn’t tell your mother it was a 50/50 proposition,” he explained.

“50/50? Holy crap,” Tom exclaimed.

“Theoretically. If the Berkelium held out long enough, the science was pretty sound,” Tom Sr. assured, nodding.

“That’s a mighty big if,” Tom groused, scowling at his grandsire.

Tom’s grandfather chuckled, “Fortune favors the bold son,” he said.

Tom let out a sigh, “I guess what’s done is done and I’m glad to be back, but I am going to miss a couple of things about being tiny,” he snickered.

Tom Sr. laughed as well, voice gravelly, “Indeed, your aunt, boy, when she comes,” he started reminiscing.

“Jesus grandfather, no, I don’t need to know this, eww, come on,” Tom chastised.

“Juices like wine,” Tom Sr. added, eyes closed as if the taste were lingering on his lips.

“Please?” Tom pleaded.

“Now you sound like your candy ass father. Cool skips a generation so if you’re getting all bound up I’m guessing Tessie has got it all and you missed out,” he offered.

“No,” Tom protested indignantly.

Tom Sr. grinned, that grin. “Good. Now if you want to get from under your mother, there are a few things you need to watch for that I’ve experienced in the days since my restoration. First, monitor your pulse, mine has been fairly erratic but that could be because I’m a hell of a lot older than you. Second, vertigo, like getting up too fast and catching a head spin. Three, avoid excessive physical activity, so you’re going to have to stay off that gorgeous blond goddess that’s been hovering around your room,” he instructed.

Tom grinned, “Janine.” She had been a frequent visitor, doting on him.

“Right, Janine. You’ve been exposed to radioactive isotopes and there is no telling what the long term effects might be so you need to give yourself time to convalesce,” he added.

“Yep, got it,” Tom assured.

“What else? Oh yeah, your metabolism is going to be screwy for a few days and it might affect your plumbing,” Tom Sr. stated.

Tom nodded, with so little in his system he had yet to make a formed stool. “Yeah, that one I know,” he mentioned.

“You owe your sister a ton of gratitude you know?” the old man queried.

Tom nodded. He did know. Without Tess he would most certainly still be small, if alive at all. “I owe her my life,” he said.

The old man nodded and smiled, “Good. Don’t ever forget that,” he urged, reaching back out and patting Tom on the shoulder.

“What are you going to do now that you’re not shrunk?” Tom asked.

“Thank god for Viagra, I am going to take a handful of those and spend a week in bed with Dona,” he asserted.

Tom wanted to say it would probably kill the old man, but held his tongue and gave him a thumbs up.

No sooner had Tom Sr. finished than Tom’s aunt walked into the bedroom, “There you are,” she said to Tom Sr. before smiling at the boy in the bed.

“Aunt Dona,” Tom said, smiling back.

“How are holding up?” she asked, sitting near the foot of the bed.

“Pretty good,” he replied, nodding.

She smiled, “Excellent,” she replied, giving his foot a gentle squeeze through the blanket.

“I told him,” Tom Sr. announced.

Dona rolled her eyes, “Why am I not surprised,” she chastised, fixing her bright verdant eyes on the aged man.

Tom Sr. chuckled, “It’s okay, the boy takes after his grandfather, not a wet blanket like his father,” he informed.

“What am I going to do with you?” she asked, shaking her dark maned head.

Pushing himself to standing, Tom Sr. steadied himself with the cane, “Why don’t we give the boy some time to rest and you and go find out what you can do?” he suggested.

Getting up from the bed, she moved forward, kissing Tom on the forehead before assisting the old man to the door. “I think maybe you could use a nap too,” she suggested.

Tom Sr. nodded. Pausing at the look door, he looked back at Tom and winked before slipping out into the hall.

“Goodnight Tom,” Dona said, following the old man.

Tom chuckled.

 

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