After planting the seed in the middle of Thneedville, Ted still often went to see the Once-ler, he had become like family to him. Ted told him all about town, the people that lived there, but most of all about Audrey, his mother and his grandmother. One day, the Once-ler's curiosity got the better of him. "You always speak so fondly of your family, and yet you never mention your father and your grandfather, why is that?" The Once-ler asked the boy who was sitting across from him.
Poor Ted didn't exactly know how to react at first, but after thinking for a minute, he finally spoke up. "Well, dad left my mom as soon as he found out she was pregnant of me... I don't even know his name. As for grammy, she never even mentioned grandpa." Once-ler thought for a bit. "What is your grandmother's name? If she were around back when Thneedville was still Greenville, there is a chance I know her." He said cheerfully, hoping help Ted finding out who his grandfather was. "Her name is Norma Wiggins. Wait, did you know those tomato throwers personally?" Ted added quickly, but he had lost the Once-ler when the name Norma Wiggins left his mouth.
"Mister Once-ler? are you alright?" Ted asked him after letting him stare off to nowhere in particular for a few minutes. This caused the Once-ler to snap out of his trance. "I know your grandmother, Ted. Better than you would expect." Ted shifted in his chair, causing him to sit on the edge, knowing a good story was on the way.
"It all started a long, LONG time ago, after I tried to sell my thneed for the first time. Norma was there, everyone in the audience was throwing tomatoes, but she didn't..."
"They really got you... You poor thing." She said as she walked up to him after he was done, wiping some bits and pieces of tomato off his face with her sleeve. "Usually those people are much more peaceful..." "Then I wonder what made them like this." She chuckled "Your thneed, it might be really useful, but people don't like to be surprised by new things here. We need to ease into things more, rather than have them thrown at our heads." He knew she talked about a lot more than just this, but he didn't pay much attention to her tour around town, he payed much more attention to the girl herself, at this point, he realized he was in love with her. At the end of the tour, before Once-ler would go home, he finally got himself the courage to introduce himself. "I-I'm Once-ler..." "What an odd name..." she remarked, but smiled right after. "My name is Norma Wiggins, it's a pleasure to meet you, Once-ler."
"So you were in love with grammy Norma?!" Once-ler nodded "Yes I was, head over heels." "What happened after that?" "Well, mostly the lovey-dovey dating stuff boys your age aren't interested in, but other than that..."
It was now five years later, the last tree had fallen, and the animals and the Lorax had left. Norma knocked on the door of what used to be his office, but he now used as his home. "Oncie?" Once-ler didn't even give her the time to come in, he flew right to her and hugged as if there would be no tomorrow. "Norma, I missed you!" "If you missed me so much, then why didn't you come home? You've been out here for days now..." She told him with a worried look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't... I've tried leaving this place, I swear, but whenever I set foot outside, something keeps biting me in the back of my head... I feel like I must stay here to pay for the damage I have done..." Norma looked down sadly. "So... How long until you WILL come home?" "As soon as I've made things right, I promise!" "Make things right?! Oncie, this place is a wasteland! You can't expect those trees will just pop up out of the ground! It could take years, even decades!" But Once-ler didn't respond, he just looked down with an even sadder look in his eyes than before. "I'm sorry, I really am, but if you can't come home... Then I'm afraid I can't marry you..." Norma sobbed, and Once-ler's tears fell to the ground as she took off her ring and gave it back to the Once-ler.
"That was the last time I saw her... But after that, I did hear from her, she sent me a letter about nine months after that day, telling me I had a daughter named Helen. So... A long story short, Ted... I am your grandfather." The Once-ler said with a sad smile and tears in his eyes. Ted didn't even hesitate to hug him and Once-ler was happy just peacefully sitting and patting his back until the boy pulled back. As soon as it hit the boy, he grimaced in what seemed to be disgust "Wait, wait, wait... You two had SEX?!"