Debtor

Chapter 1
Jack's final request

Chapter Description: Rachael is fed up with Jack who is always asking her for money. This visit will put an end to all of it.

It had been months since Jack had last come by. He only came by whenever he wanted more money, so when Rachael saw his car pull up to the gates she began to cry. She was prepared for this visit, but still she was angry every time she even thought of Jack’s name. Rachael and Jack had known each other since they were little kids and even though Rachael hated Jack’s guts right now, she still loved him as a friend.

"Hey Rachael, sorry for leaving so soon last time, but you kinda went crazy on me." Jack greeted her. "I keep telling you I’ll pay you back, I’m just on hard times right now."

She had not gone crazy. She had just given Jack a few thousand the previous visit. He came back two days later and wanted more money. After Jack had tried to reason that she couldn’t have kids and it was all going to waste anyway, she started crying and asked him to leave. That was how Jack’s last visit had actually turned out. Rachael, at age 27, had wanted very much to have her own kids, but she could not due to complications. The only other reason that she offered such attention and favor to Jack was that they had been childhood sweethearts, and she would cry her eyes out before asking him to leave like that again. Aside from that, these ’hard times’ to which he was referring happened to be a gambling problem coupled with an alcohol addiction. Regardless of this, she loved her friend to death and didn’t want to send him away like that ever again. So, concealing her anger, she kept her game face on and replied, "Yes, Jack, I did get a bit upset, but I’m alright now." Rachael led Jack from his car to her mansion.

Rachael led Jack into a huge parlor and offered him some very expensive tea, which she suspected he knew to be drugged. Rachael knew that Jack would not turn down such a simple request in exchange for the large allowance he was attempting to extort from her. "This tea is very expensive Jack, and I will be offended if you should refuse it." Jack complied, figuring his chances of getting more money would grow the longer he humored her.

They sat and drank tea for hours on end. Jack knew that in order to get the money he wanted, he would have to throw in a bunch of other topics, so he used this chance to catch up with his childhood friend. During the course of their discussion, Jack felt continually drained of energy. He had traveled a long way to get there, but he didn’t want Rachael to suspect that he still had a drinking problem. Even though he had not actually been drinking that morning, drinking was one of the past times on which he would sacrifice his living expenses. Finally Jack started to feel really weird. "Rachael, does it seem late to you?" he asked.

"Why, no Jack, it’s barely after noon. I thought I told you over the phone not to show up drunk. You’ll have to do me the favor of spending the night so I may know you haven’t wrecked your car on the way back home." Jack didn’t actually recall talking to Rachael over the phone about showing up; he just made his appearances whenever he ran out of cash, and he never discussed his drinking habits with Rachael. "Jack, I can get a room ready for you in a few minutes."

Jack was not going to stay the night. He figured that he’d gone as far out of his way to humor his rich friend as he could, so he was just going to go. He didn’t have the energy to stand up, so he just sat there, waiting for Rachael to return. Jack was falling asleep. His chair felt huge compared to when he had first sat down in it. In the end he figured that it was just something Rachael had put in the tea to make him drowsy so he would stay the night and she could finally lecture him about spending money properly.

"Jack, your room’s ready." Rachael announced as she reentered the room ten minutes later. Jack couldn’t feel any strength in his legs, so using his arms he thrust from the chair for a bit of momentum, but tumbled to the floor instead of rising to his feet. He tried to get up but felt trapped in his clothes. "Rachael, something’s wrong!" he panicked.

"Jack, I’ve told you time and time again to quit drinking so early on in the day," she said as she pulled him up by one arm, "let’s just get you settled into your room for the night." She put her hand on his upper back as she guided him out the room. Jack was really confused and panicked at this point. He had intended to leave, but instead he was allowing his friend to guide him out of her parlor, towards a room in her house. Rachael made small talk while they continued on, "Jack, I’ll be able to get your money for you tomorrow. You don’t even have to pretend to intend to repay me, I’m just giving it to you. Our friendship means a lot more to me than the thousands I’ve given to you."

Jack just grumbled and grunted in response to her words. Something wasn’t right about this situation. Rachael had to raise her arm in order to touch his upper back, but instead her arm was lowered. He felt engulfed by his clothes and thought they would fall off at any minute, he couldn’t even remember the last time he remembered wearing shoes in this house, and everything seemed so huge! Jack insisted one more time that something wasn’t right, only to be lectured about drinking again. In a few minutes they finally made it to Jack’s room.

By this time Rachael was bending a little at the waist in order to keep her hand on his back. "Ok, sweetie, we’re here!" Rachael announced. Jack thought her declaration was odd, she hadn’t given him such an endearing title since they were going out in high school. Everything seemed so huge to Jack, he couldn’t help but raise his head and stare at everything, as if trying to snap out of a hallucination.

Rachael straightened up and took her hand off Jack’s back in order to put one hand on the door and grab the knob. "Give me a countdown, honey," she teased. Jack was really annoyed at Rachael by now, she was really pushing his buttons.

"Pease jus’ open the dor." Jack grumbled, not even noticing his deviation from his usual speech. Rachael did as Jack demanded and revealed a nursery behind the door. "DIS WOOM IS FO’ BAYBEES!!!" Jack squealed. Rachael put her hand on the back of Jack’s head.

Looking down at Jack in a very loving way, Rachael insisted, "but Jack, you are a baby! You stink little mister! Let’s get you washed up." Jack immediately slapped her hand away. He had to escape somehow.

"I NOT WANN’ BAT!!!! I WANN’ GO ’OME!!!" the little boy cried. He tried to escape, but Rachael scooped him up, put a pacifier in his mouth and exclaimed, "Let’s get you washed up little man!" Jack tried to resist, but felt very sleepy again. After a minute of wiggling and writhing, Jack gave in to his friendly captor.

During his bath over the next half-hour, Jack hit the bottom of his regression at six months of age. Jack felt his identity slowly slipping away into nothing as he drowsily tried to remember his life experiences. He tried to remember the thrill of gambling away all he had, the tingling sensation of alcohol and how much money he was going to blow this weekend. Soon all these concepts melted away and he couldn’t even use words to give descriptions to the memories he was trying so desperately not to lose. Even though at this point he was healthier than he had been in years, it felt to Jack as if he were dying, rather than being given another chance at life.

Once Rachael was finished bathing Jack, she put him in a diaper and wrapped him in a baby blanket. "Little Jack cannot go to bed without a good-night story, no sir-rie!" Rachael insisted with glee as she touched noses with him.

Rachael had baby Jack seated on her lap in a rocking chair by the crib. She began to rock very slowly. "Once upon a time, there was a man named Jack," she started, looking down at the baby in her lap, "Jack was a very poor man, yet he had all the money at his disposal that he could ever want. In fact in terms of money, one might have even considered Jack very wealthy, what made Jack poor, though, was the fact that the only qualities he saw in his friend was how he could use her status to his benefit. His friend didn’t mind so much at first, since she had so much to give, but in time this man seemed more like a son to his friend, what with every time that she would have to come to his rescue whenever he wanted money. This woman also became greedy; she wanted a son. The woman made the both of them satisfied by literally making her friend young enough to be her son, and now he will live with her as her son!..." she paused to tickle baby Jack’s tummy, which made him respond with a giggle. "Baby Jack gambled it all away, but luckily for him, I am the consolation prize!" She cooed. Since there was barely any ’Jack’ left in there, with whom she had her quarrel, she couldn’t help but love and pamper this child. "Now mommy and baby Jack get to stay together for a very long time. Jack will have all his needs taken care of and mommy has her darling baby boy." Rachael leaned over to kiss baby Jack on his forehead.

Rachael cupped Jack’s head to her chest and rocked in silence for a few minutes. After checking Jack’s diaper only to find it clean, Rachael got up and placed Jack in his crib, tucked him in, and turned out the lights. Jack felt the last of his memories fade as he put his hand in his mouth while he giggled and his eyes twinkled. "I’ll hold the check I was going to give you until you are old enough to handle financial responsibility. In the meantime, consider every last dime that goes into raising you as a gift from me to you." Jack cooed. "I love you. Night-Night baby."