Ch. 4: Act Your Age

"'Break this heavy chain,
That does freeze my bones around
Selfish! vain!
Eternal bane!
That free Love with bondage bound.'"

-William Blake: "Earth's Answer" from Songs for Experience

"Um, Jennifer . . . dear . . . I have an important question for you," Audrey said, once Jennifer released her. She then kneed down to face her directly. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Yes! You and Uncle Nathan are watching over Duke and me," Jennifer said and laughed. "Why are you asking me these silly questions?"

"Because she and Nathan are cops and cops ask silly questions," Duke said, lounging on the sofa.

"Hey, guys, did you hear—" Dwight started to say, as he entered the room, but he was interrupted when Jennifer saw him and screamed, shocking Audrey back to her feet.

Jennifer then ran under Audrey's desk to hide. Before any adult could react, Duke ran over to the desk.

"Jennifer, you can come out; it's safe," Duke coaxed.

"No!"

"It's Dwight! You know Dwight! Remember I told you about Sasquatch?"

Jennifer slowly got out as she looked over Dwight.

"I thought he'll be furrier," Jennifer attempted to whisper to Duke, but everyone heard her.

"Sorry," Duke said, shrugging.

"No; they . . . they. . . " Dwight began.

"Yes, they believe they're really children," Nathan said. "How could this have happened?"

Dwight felt someone tugging on his vest to see Jennifer looking up at him.

"Yes?" Dwight asked, bending down to talk to her.

"Mr. Dwight, I'm sorry I screamed," Jennifer apologized. "I was scared."

"It's fine; I wish more criminals got scared and screamed. It would make my job easier," Dwight said and Jennifer laughed.

"Are you coming to my birthday party?" Jennifer asked.

"What?"

"My birthday's next week! I'm going to be six! We're going to have my birthday party at the park! There will be flowers and we're going to visit the zoo! Auntie Audrey, Uncle Nathan, you can come too!" Jennifer explained with a big smile. She then turned to look at Duke. "Did you get my birthday invitation, Duke?"

"No," Duke said, sounding glum and went over to sit on the sofa.

"Why not?"

"My Dad must have thrown it out."

Hearing this actually shocked Nathan. He knew Simon was cruel, but . . . this . . . this was a new low. No wonder Duke didn't attend his 9th birthday party, and was too ashamed to admit what his father did.

"Why?" Jennifer asked.

"Because he's a jerk."

"Well, I'll make sure you'll be there, Duke," Jennifer said and sat next to him. "You're my very best friend."

"Really?" Even Duke looked surprised. Jennifer nodded.

"Uh-huh. You're way better than my imaginary friends, who only I can hear, because you're real and we have lots fun together!" Jennifer said and hugged him. Duke hugged her back.

"Aww! Would you look at that?" Vince said when he and Dave saw the two hugging as they entered the room.

"Makes me wish I brought my camera," Dave said, adjusting the files he held.

Dwight spoke up.

"We caught the two people trying to break in and I have to go interrogate them," he said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Vince nodded, and Dave sat down behind Nathan's desk, and opened the file folder he'd brought in with him.

Audrey and Nathan moved over to the desk. Audrey decided to bring out the cupcakes from her stash from Rosemary's for Duke and Jennifer to enjoy.

Dwight watched the two former grownups a moment longer, and then he headed down the hallway to Interrogation Room Three, where a young woman and a man were waiting for him.

The woman was crying as he came in, and the man looked angry, but Dwight could see the confusion in his face. He recognized the skirt the woman was wearing was Jennifer's, but the top she was wearing looked too big on her. The man was wearing a pair of pants that were too long for him, and the shirt on him looked tight on him, like he picked the wrong size.

"All right-let's take it from the top," he began, sitting down. "What are your names?"

"My name's Sally Whiteshaw," the woman sniffled. "I wasn't breaking in-I live there with my mommy and daddy!"

"It's true, we really do," the man, whose name was Billy Whiteshaw said. "We-" he broke off. "You won't believe us. Nobody believes us."

"Well, why don't you let me be the judge of what I will and won't believe, okay?" Dwight answered. "Now what were you going to say?"

"We-we were kids this morning," Billy said. "And then, we grew up!"

"And Duke and Jennifer were adults this morning," Dwight thought to himself. Bill looked to be in his mid-thirties, the same age Duke had been until a few hours ago.

"How old are you, Billy? When-when you're a kid, how old are you?"

"I'm ten," Billy replied. "Sally's five."

"When did you stop being kids?" Dwight questioned Billy.

"We were playing in the park. We were climbing the big oak tree, and Sally lost-" he stopped, biting his lip.

"Was it a locket?" Dwight said gently. If Vince's and Dave's hunch was right, the only thing keeping Billy and Sally from morphing completely into adults was to treat them like children. He just hoped it wasn't too late to restore Duke and Jennifer.

"It was Grammy's," Sally spoke, wiping her eyes. "It's gonna be mine someday, Mommy says. I-I just wanted to wear it, just for a little while. And I lost it. We were looking all over the park for it, and then all of a sudden, we were grownups! Our clothes got ripped! I ruined the blouse Mommy brought for me yesterday! I did find this pretty skirt and shoes for Billy and me! Billy had to steal clothes hanging on a clothesline for us. "

"I am going to get in trouble for that?" Billy asked. Dwight shook his head.

"That's right around the time when Jennifer and Duke must have found it," Dwight remarked, more to himself than the pair in front of him.

"Did the locket have writing inside it?" he asked Sally.

Sally nodded. "Uh-huh. Mommy said she wouldn't tell me the words, 'cause she didn't want anything to happen to me."

Dwight leaned forward, and pressed a button on the intercom.

"Laverne, would you please ask the Whiteshaws to meet me outside in the back?" he said.

Nathan was curious why Dwight asked them to all meet in the back field. He and Vince were discussing why Jennifer's and Duke's minds regressed quicker that they thought, while Dave was entertaining Jennifer with stories. Duke wanted to go to the field nearby, but they didn't allow it, especially since he refused to explain why he wanted to go there. Finally he agreed that Audrey could watch over him.

As Vince was explaining his theory about being separated from the locket may be a factor in their regression, Audrey and Duke came back. Nathan actually felt a pang in his heart when he saw them; it reminded him of the photograph of Lucy and Duke from the Haven Herald. The big difference was that Duke held a bouquet of wildflowers of various colors, sizes, and shapes, in his hands.

Audrey joined Nathan as Duke walked over to Jennifer and presented her with the flowers; she was delighted.

"For me?" she asked, as Duke handed her the flowers, and he nodded, slightly blushing. She smelled the flowers. "So sweet!"

"I'm glad you like them," Duke said with a tiny smile. "You're sweet as well."

"Thank you, Duke!" Jennifer said and gave him a kiss on his cheek, causing Duke to blush more.

"That sure is a nice bouquet," Dave commented, looking over the flowers as Vince joined them. "How about you tie your ribbon around the flowers so you won't lose them?"

"But Duke put it in for me," Jennifer said.

"Oh, that's right," Dave said, playing along.

"Hold on, I think I have a rubber band here somewhere," Vince said, checking his pockets.

"Why do you carry a rubber band?" Dave asked.

"Because in this town you never know when you're going to need one," Vince answered, as he gave Jennifer the rubber band.

Duke and Jennifer laughed, and he helped her hold the flowers together with the rubber band.

Everyone then heard people arguing, and soon saw a couple walking up to them, comprise of a man with blonde hair and grey eyes and a woman with auburn hair and blue eyes.

"May I help you?" Nathan asked when they stopped in front of him.

"You may," the woman said, frustrated. "I'm Jane Whiteshaw, and this is my husband, Ernest. Our children are missing and your Chief tells us to wait here instead of arresting those lunatics trying to break into our house!"

Dwight then appeared with Sally and Billy behind him. Sally smiled when she saw her parents.

"Mommy!" she cried out, running towards Jane, but her mother got behind Ernest.

"Arrest that maniac! She's nuts!" Jane exclaimed. Sally paused and sniffled.

"But . . . mommy, it's me, Sally," Sally said and wept.

"It's true, Mrs. Whiteshaw. They are your children," Dwight said as Billy comfort Sally.

"Has everyone gone insane? They are not my children! They're adults! I want—" Jane paused and looked at her husband. "What do you know?"

"Nothing," Ernest said, looking away.

"I am in no mood for games, Ernest! I know when you feel guilty! You twitch your nose! So tell me!"

"Well . . ." Ernest began. "You remembered that story my friends share about how I got a stripper's underwear when I was 14?"

"Yeah . . ."

"And how the nursing home called us when my Mom was alive and she and Dad disappeared for hours?"

"But what—" Jane began, but stopped when she saw the pattern.

"We believe it has something to do with this locket," Audrey said, presenting it after Vince gave it to her.

Jane paled a little.

"So-this-this really IS Sally and Billy?" she gasped, looking at the two sad-faced grownups.

"Yes, they are really your children," Audrey told her.

Jane reached up with a trembling hand and touched their faces gently.

"Mommy," Sally whimpered, tears streaking her face. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, baby," Jane answered, and embraced her now grown children. "We should have listened to you."

Ernest let out a heavy sigh.

"Tell us about the locket," Nathan said.

"It was my great-grandmother's," Ernest began. "I'd always heard there was some type of curse on it, and I saw my Mom use it to trick a scam artist. I took it to win a bet with my friends to get into a strip club when I was 14. I switched ages with a drunk who was kicked out; who would believe him? When my Mom found out, she took back the locket and grounded me for two weeks. My parents used the locket at the nursing home to switch ages and escape to have fun," he went on. "One of the nurses had her daughter and her fiance up there with her that day, and they traded ages."

He looked at the two adults, their arms around Jane. "So my children-"

Audrey nodded. "They switched ages with our friends, Duke and Jennifer," she said, bringing them closer.

Duke looked up at the two former children. Something about the woman's outfit seemed familiar to him somehow.

"Is that-" he struggled to remember, and then it dawned on him. "That's Jennifer's skirt!"

Nathan silently exhaled a sigh of relief. Duke wasn't completely gone yet-he just hoped Jennifer wasn't beyond hope.

"How can we fix this?" Audrey asked Jane and Ernest.

"Usually the person who read the inscription first says it again to reverse this," Ernest said and looked at Duke and Jennifer. "But . . . no one remained for this long before. I heard of people in the past forgetting they're adults, but their situation wasn't reversed."

"Would it be useful if we try to help them remember they're adults?" Audrey asked.

Ernest shrugged. "I don't know; but you can try."

"Okay, Jennifer," Audrey said, looking at the little girl. "Auntie Audrey is going to teach you a poem, and then you're going to recite the poem to everyone here."

"You're going to teach a 5-year-old Latin?" Nathan asked incredulously, wondering where he picked up Duke's personality.

"What choice do we have?" Audrey shot back.

"I don't want to," Jennifer shyly said. "I don't like people staring at me."

"Then . . ." Audrey thought quickly. "Would you recite the poem for only Duke and those two?" Audrey indicated Billy and Sally. "We'll go somewhere else so you can recite it in private . . . and we'll get ice cream afterwards if you do a good job."

"Okay!" Jennifer happily agreed.

"Nathan, make sure Duke remembers," Audrey said, and took Jennifer aside to practice. Nathan led Duke away from the crowd.

"Duke . . . the Duke who's my height . . . if you're still in there, listen to me," Nathan said. "Hold on; don't let your 10-year-old self be in control. If you want to be an adult again, stay focus, and help Jennifer to remember as well."

Duke gave him a confused expression, but saw a determined look in his eyes he has as an adult.

Audrey then signaled that Jennifer was ready. Duke and Nathan followed them along with the Whiteshaw children.

"Nathan," Dwight said, stopping him, as Duke continued walking. "If this doesn't work . . . I'll take in Jennifer . . . I know it's selfish to see her as my second chance."

"No, it isn't," Nathan said. "You're the probably the only other person besides Duke right now who can protect Jennifer." He then looked at Duke. "I suppose Audrey and I could look after Duke; we're the only ones who can handle him."

Dwight let out a brief laugh and wished them good luck.

They stopped in the field where Duke got the wildflowers. Sally and Billy stood in front of Duke and Jennifer. Audrey gave Jennifer the locket, and Duke held the bouquet for her. Jennifer looked nervous. Audrey and Nathan took a few steps back and turned around, so Jennifer won't feel like she was being watched.

"Jennifer," Duke said, holding her hand so she felt safe. "Do you remember what we're doing on your birthday?"

"We're going to the park—" Jennifer began, smiling, but paused as the smile faded, thinking over what she said. "No . . . we're going out to sea . . . imported wine . . . great music . . . just . . . you and me . . ."

Duke smiled and Jennifer looked at the inscription in the locket.

"'Mundo per oculos pueri videre.'"

For a moment, there was silence, and Nathan and Audrey believed that it didn't work; until they heard screaming. Nathan and Audrey turned around . . . and then instantly wish they didn't.

"Oh, jeez . . ." Nathan groaned, shielding his eyes, as he and Audrey looked away.

"This is not worth ice cream!" Jennifer exclaimed, pulling down her dress, which now looked like a frilly t-shirt, to cover herself; only the ribbon and the bandage on her elbow remained intact.

"Why didn't you think about this, Nathan?" Duke complained. His shirt was stretched tightly over his frame, and his jeans looked more like capris pants on his long legs. He winced, unbuttoning the jeans, finding little relief, and used the bouquet to cover himself, while brushing his now unbound hair out of his face with his other hand. "What is this? 'Have a laugh at Duke' Day?"

"I was focus returning you to your right age," Nathan said, not making eye contact and holding back his laughter. Audrey had a quick chuckle, before she glanced at the two children wearing over-sized clothes, laughing.

Audrey walked over to Sally and Billy, and gathered Jennifer's skirt, the pants Billy was wearing, and Duke and Jennifer's shoes.

"Here," Audrey said, giving the clothes to Jennifer and Duke. "Hopefully this will be enough, until we get the rest of your clothes."

After they put their shoes on, Jennifer and Duke took the clothes and walked behind a tree to get dress. Nathan couldn't hold in his laughter seeing Duke walking with difficultly because of the small pants.

"Would you like me to cut you out?" Nathan asked through his laughter.

"I'm going to get you back for this, Nathan," Duke said, attempting to get the child-sized pants off of him. "When you least expect it, I'll strike, and take you down."

"You said Haven doesn't have magical objects!" Jennifer yelled as she got dressed. She adjusted her skirt, and then zipped up her borrowed jacket from Nathan.

"It doesn't," Nathan answered, as she and Nathan picked up Sally and Billy and walked back to their parents.

"Well, there was the incident with the puzzle board," Audrey noted, while Duke sighed, as the shirt ripped off of him.

"Yes, but that was made by a Troubled person," Nathan said.

"Well, maybe the locket was made by a Troubled person too," Audrey said. "You take that and that the girl used a piece of her brother's bones to have the portrait done, and if they were Troubled too-"

"What are they talking about?" Jennifer asked Duke. "What puzzle board?"

"I'll tell you later," he answered.

"You'll have an awful lot to tell me later," Jennifer remarked.

They finally succeeded in wrestling the too-tight pants from Duke's legs, and he got the trousers situated before putting his shoes back on, then they followed Audrey and Nathan back. He knew he and Jennifer must be a strange sight, a shirtless man and a woman with a jacket three sizes too large.

The Whiteshaws, Dwight, and the Teague brothers were relieved when they saw the four adults and the two children.

Jane uttered a happy cry and flung her arms around her children, as she and Ernest took them, kissing their faces repeatedly.

"Thank you," Jane said, looking at Audrey. "Thank you for restoring our children."

"Just put it away somewhere safe," Audrey told her, as Jennifer handed her the locket back.

"And let us know if the locket causes anymore 'trouble,'" Vince told Ernest and Dave winked at Jane. "We're experts dealing with those situations."

Jane and Ernest nodded. Dwight told the Whiteshaws about the extra clothes in Audrey's office, and they followed him. The others walked back, except Duke and Jennifer.

Duke put his arms around Jennifer, and kissed her, not caring who saw them.

"I've wanted to do that all day," he smiled tenderly when it finally ended. "At least we're adults again," he thought to himself.

"Let's go home . . . after you know . . . we retrieve the rest of our clothes, and return the clothes Billy had to take," Jennifer told him. "And then you can tell me about the time you became an old man and then a teenager."

"Kind of hoped you'd forgotten about that," Duke said ruefully.

"Some childhood memories linger forever," Jennifer winked, and Duke couldn't help but laugh.