Poolside

Chapter 2
Chapter 2

Bobby and Gretchen walked together hand in hand into the kitchen. Bobby headed for the freezer and grabbed the ice cream. Gretchen took a seat and retied her now loose leather ankle bracelet a little tighter. ’Why was it so loose?’ she wondered. Bobby quickly plopped a scoop into a cone and handed it to her. He then fixed one for himself. Bobby took her hand and they headed toward the Den. Gretchen felt confused. Something didn’t feel right. She kept having strange flashbacks back to when all her friends appeared older. Very confusing she thought. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. She really did like this boy, though. He had been so nice to her all day and really was a cutie.

As they walked down the hall they met Bobby’s mother who had gotten in her swimsuit and was heading out to join the others at the pool. She saw Bobby with the cute young girl and was thrilled that he had found someone.

"Hello, Mrs. Scott" Gretchen said politely.

"Well, hello.... I’m so used to hearing ’Mom’ or ’Jennifer’- no one ever calls me ’Mrs. Scott’ around here!" She smiled and then said "Listen Bobby, I’m going out to the pool. I’ll lock the sliding doors so you two can have some privacy. Just BEHAVE! OK?"

His mother smiled and continued on outside, locking the sliding door behind her. She wondered how that girl knew her name. She decided she must’ve just guessed she was Bobby’s mom....using a little common sense! Gretchen, on the other hand, was thinking how Sally’s mother was looking old.... maybe it was the light?

Once outside, Mrs. Scott walked over to where her daughter Sally was applying the tanning oil.

"Hi, hon. Care if I join you?"

"Sure, go ahead. Take Gretchen’s lounge chair. I don’t know where she went. I fell asleep and when I woke up she was gone." Sally continued rubbing the oil on her skin and told her mother "’THIS’ is what Bobby was making last night. He got the recipe from the internet or something. It really does smell nice! And it feels great. He said it’s supposed to be better for your skin than that stuff they sell on TV. I guess it helped him find a ’girlfriend’ ’cause when I woke up he was taking some little sweetie into the house!"

Mrs. Scott told her daughter that she had saw the two in the house and "what a polite little thing she is!" After oiling herself with Bobby’s oil Sally handed it to her mother and told her she should try it.

"Go ahead. I don’t know what’s in this stuff, but it sure feels great.... sorta tingly..... Plus Mother, you don’t want any premature wrinkles from over-exposure to the sun do you?". Her mom took the bottle and began rubbing the oil into her skin. "Isn’t it great!?" Sally asked "No wonder Gretchen liked it so much!".

Mrs. Scott started noticing the tingling that her daughter had mentioned.

"Mmmmmm....it feels like a massage from a thousand fingers doesn’t it mother?".

Her mother didn’t hear her because she had walked over to the edge of the pool. Sally was lost in the feeling and didn’t even notice her mother not answering her.

Mrs. Scott hopped in the relaxing blue waters of the pool. As she swam in the pool, she felt the early tingles of Bobby’s tanning oil begin to intensify. Meanwhile, Sally was now going through the same metamorphosis as Gretchen had earlier. The massaging feeling intensified. Just like Gretchen, Sally slowly became younger. First only slight changes. Then, gradually, the changes became more dramatic. 21-20-19....Her face changed from that of a College senior to be, into that of a High School senior to be. 17-16....Her figure slowly lost definition. Soon she looked like the picture on her first driver’s license. Her body shrank, losing a bit more of her muscle and definition with each retreating year. 15-14.... Years washed away until she was now no longer a woman at all, but had turned into a young girl just like Gretchen. She looked to be about 12 or 13. Possibly even younger than Gretchen. Her figure was nearly flat. She came to her senses slowly but couldn’t quite figure out what was different. Something didn’t feel right. Unlike when Bobby was with Gretchen to smooth over the confusing aspects of the transformation, Sally was by herself. Her top was too loose....her bottom was too loose also...’Why?’ She slipped her sandals on but they were way too big. ’What’s wrong with me?’ No one was looking so she kicked off her oversized shoes and wrapped herself in her towel and then headed towards the patio door. ’Darn! Locked!’ She then went around to the garage and entered the house from there.

Meanwhile, in the pool, Mrs. Scott was also experiencing the same feelings that both Gretchen and then Sally had felt. The oil quickly was absorbed into her skin. She managed to maintain her composure even as the feelings of pleasure began to overwhelm her. Being 40 no one really noticed the changes that were occurring as she stayed in the water. 38-37-36.... Her face lost a few of the ’age lines’ that had marked it. 34-33-32.... Her skin got a little tighter and softer. She was already in fairly good shape and so her weight stayed about the same even though her body did tone up a bit... Her stomach was now a little flatter... 31-30.... As the feelings slowly subsided she appeared only slightly younger. The magic oil had taken off about 10 years, but she was still an adult. The girls at the party didn’t even really notice the change. Especially with her being dripping wet and their being occupied with other things.

In the house, Sally went to her room to get some clothes that she hoped would fit. She started to turn the corner to get into her room when she heard a sound from Bobby’s room. She opened the door to see Bobby and Gretchen lying on his bed. They were kissing and Gretchen was only barely covered by a towel. Bobby had his hand on the inside of Gretchen’s thigh and she clearly seemed to enjoy it. This time she recognized the young blonde girl.

"GRETCHEN! What are you doing?".

"Oh uhhh ummm Sally....gee this is kinda a bad time...."

Gretchen reached for an old T-shirt of Bobby’s. As nervous as Gretchen was, Bobby was even worse!

"Sally?" he asked hoping the girl wasn’t really his sister Sally.

"What?" she answered with a touch of anger in her young voice.

"Did you use my tanning oil?" he asked knowing full well the answer.

"Ummmm....that stuff in the jar? Yeah I used it".

"Tell me no one else did!" Bobby asked, his voice full of panic!

"I don’t remember.... What’s it matter anyway?.... Let’s see- Hmmmm uuuuuhhhh yeah Mom used it too."

"Oh no!, wrong answer!" Bobby yelled and ran for the pool. Maybe he would get to his mother before his mixture would take effect and he could stop it...somehow! The two girls ran after him totally baffled by his actions! Although he believed he could reverse the changes with time, how was he ever going to explain it to her....or his dad!?

Their mother, now out of the pool and back in the lounge chair, decided that the water had washed off too much of the tanning oil. Worried about the all the warnings concerning how the sun could cause your skin to prematurely age, she decided she should apply some more of the oil. She hadn’t really noticed the change in her appearance. She did feel a little more energetic. She grabbed the jar and happily spread the oil on her body. Once again she noted how great that it smelled and felt to her. Soon the ’massaging feeling’ would start. She thought how this stuff maybe should be called a ’Love’ oil rather than a ’tanning’ oil! Lying in the chair she quickly succumbed to the pleasurable feelings. Once again the changes started taking place. 29-28.... years slowly floating away. Just as before, the oil begins to remove the ravages of time. 27-26-25-24.... Much more pronounced changes occurring this time!

Bobby gets to the sliding door but it won’t open! "DAMN IT!" He remembers his mother locking it earlier. He unhooks the fastener at the bottom of the door and hastily slides the door open. He scans the pool area for his mother but doesn’t see her! Damn, where is she?

The two girls run up behind him and ask what it is he is doing.

"Listen, there’s no time to explain. I messed up! OK? Just find mom!" He continues looking but only sees the girls that are left from the party. "How could she just disappear?"

All of a sudden it dawns on him- each application of the potion takes off around 10 or so years- what if his mother used it twice?...or more?!!! He sees the jar over by his sister’s chair and runs to grab it before it causes any more trouble. Then he notices the girl lying in Gretchen’s chair. She’s smiling but doesn’t seem to be aware of any of the activity around her. She looks to be the age of one of Sally’s friends, but she seems so distant....almost like she’s in a trance! He looks closer. The hair is longer and lighter, the face much smoother, the body is more tanned, trim and fit....

"It can’t be...." he mumbles under his breath.

He continues watching in disbelief. As he watches he sees her body become even more trim and youthful. 23-22-21.... The ’girl’.... the ’girl’ who looks like she should be in college, is his mother! Gretchen and Sally, who were once as old as the girl they are looking at, can’t believe what they are seeing. As they watch, they see yet another year wash away. Now 20 and slowly still getting younger. Finally, they see the transformation begin to slow and then cease. They now see a fresh-faced young lady of about 19! Very cute and hardly looking much older than someone who had just graduated from high school. Bobby was stunned and speechless. The girls began to realize that whatever had just happened to that girl had happened to them! That would explain the strange sensations and flashbacks. The ’too large’ clothing!. The changing had left them confused with their reality twisted, but now it was all rushing back! It must’ve been the oil they realized! The ’girl’ slowly opened her eyes, herself looking confused. All of a sudden Sally realizes that the ’teenager’ she is looking at is her MOTHER!

Sally pleaded "Damn You, Bobby Scott! What have you done to us?! Mom? Mom? do you recognize us? Try to remember? C’mon! Mom?" .

Bobby apologized to his sister and his mother. His mother was trying to remember....it all sounded so strange.... yet nothing else was making sense! She could vaguely remember being married and having kids, but yet these kids were too big to be hers. And two kids? It didn’t seem right! She had the same flashbacks as the others, remembering her friends as older adults. Then the kids. She couldn’t believe it, but it was true! She didn’t feel like a mother of 2. More like a teenager! Bobby nervously explained to them what he had done, and Sally, now a 12 year old, began remembering her mature 22 year old body. The more memories that came back to her, the more embarrassed of her 12 year old self she became. Bobby told them he could ’fix’ things but they’d "have to wait".

It was getting late in the afternoon and a few of the girls began leaving. None had noticed the transformations and none recognized Sally or Gretchen now that they were just young girls. Soon, Bobby’s father would be home. Bobby would have to tell him what had happened! When Bobby’s father arrived home, Bobby met him at the door. He tried to explain to him what had happened, but of course he thought Bobby was crazy. Bobby told him he thought he had a way to reverse it, but his dad thought Bobby was losing it!

"What’s wrong with you boy?!" His dad finally tired of what he thought was a game and walked on inside. Then he saw his daughter! Actually, he saw his daughter of 10 years ago with her friend from down the street. Totally shocked he turned to his son and asked "How? It’s just not possible...."

Bobby explained "It was an elixir that I learned about through some old books and then found out the rest from the internet....".

"So does your mother know about this?" his dad interrupted, still reeling from the news.

"Kinda. Ummmm Dad.... ummmm follow us.....". They walked toward the sliding door. His dad curiously looked outside and saw a couple of Sally’s college friends still at the pool.

"So....?".

"Look closer dad" Bobby implored.

He looked at the girls more closely, and then seemed to squint as he focused on one girl in particular finally speaking "Is that... It can’t be.....".

Bobby replied "It was an accident....I swear! She wasn’t supposed to use it...I just didn’t think....! None of Sally’s friends knows about any of this. We thought it was better for her to stay out there and pretend to be a cousin rather try to explain it or hide her. It’s hard enough with these two!"

His dad continued staring out the door before speaking "My God! Look at her! I can’t hardly believe this! .....Will she stay that way?".

"Not if we use the ’restoration’ instructions to ’fix’ things!" Bobby answers.

"OK, son, tell me....how do we ’fix’ this".

"Well, basically, they just need to use the mixture during a full moon. The only thing is it has to be from the same mixture....you can’t mix up a new batch because it won’t work.... it has to be from the same batch. We’ll have to keep it safe until then!"

The next full moon wouldn’t be for another week. Bobby’s handed his dad the remainder of the oil and his dad put it in the safe in the den.

"We’ve gotta figure out what to do until then!" Bobby’s dad explained.

Gretchen had a plan for herself. She lived alone in her own apartment and so she only needed to stall off her family for a few days. She had Mr. Scott call her mother to ’relay’ a message that she had gotten a chance to go along on a trip with Sally and she would be gone a few days. Mr. Scott made the call and the plan came together. All they had to do was wait on the moon.

During the week Sally continued on as usual planning for her move back to college. She ordered the supplies she needed and arranged for her housing. She preferred to stay home rather than let anyone else see her like she was. She was embarrassed to find herself a young girl again and felt as awkward as she had the first time she was really 12. Maybe more so. She didn’t like the clothes. She didn’t like her body. ....And she didn’t like the way people treated her. One day she had opened the door to sign for a package and the mailman had patted her head saying "there you go kiddo!" as he handed her the package. ’How demeaning!’ she thought.

Gretchen slowly got over her initial anger. She finally began to talk to Bobby and told him she thought she understood what he must’ve felt. She told him how much she regretted not having a boyfriend like him when she was younger, and that she thought she had spent too much time with her books. He listened as she told of her disappointment in never attending cheerleader tryouts or going for a part in a school play. She told him how sure she was he would meet someone special. They ended up spending the week as very good friends, spending more time talking and being together than Gretchen did with Sally. Bobby was really glad that she had helped him overcome his nervousness in talking with girls his own age. Gretchen could also tell that Bobby had matured from all of their experiences.

Mrs. Scott, now preferring to be called Jenny, spent most of the weekdays at the pool. Jenny began working out and even bought some clothes that showed off her rejuvenated figure. She was very proud of her firm ’abs’ and was glad to show them off. Shorts and crop tops, along with her bathing suit were about all she wore during the week leading up to the full moon. She no longer wore her hair up but let her long hair flow free. She thought how much better she looked with her long hair even it was ’more trouble to take care of’. She had her nails colored with bright nail colors just like what she had saw other young girls using even though, when she was older, she had thought the bright colors were ’tacky’. When she had her nails done at a local Salon she even caught herself mentioning to the ’lady’ how much she ’LIKED’ the brighter colors!

Her husband was very pleased to have his 19 year old ’centerfold of a wife’ and made sure that when they were out everyone could see HER with him. He even took a couple of days off from work and they spent a couple of nights at an area Resort hotel. He bought her a couple of short mini-dresses to wear at the Resort that really showed off her lovely tanned legs. She was a bit angered, feeling he was making her out to be some kind of a ’trophy wife’ but she also couldn’t help but be a bit vain about her appearance. Her legs were now the center of attention wherever she want! She had forgotten how much fun flirting could be!

She promised him that she would take better care of herself once her age was restored. Aging had been so gradual and this rejuvenation had allowed her to see how run down she had become as she had gotten older. Jenny confessed to her husband that "even though it was really fun being young again for a week" that she "couldn’t wait to get her ’real’ life back!".

Even though she still had her adult memories, she would find herself thinking more like a teenager than a mature woman. Her nail colors. Music. Especially her sudden preoccupation with her looks.... They were all things that she knew her older self would think ’crazy’. And she couldn’t count the times that she had found herself giggling like a school-girl over something silly. Still she couldn’t keep herself from thinking that way!

The Full Moon

The moon was large and full. The time was nearing exactly what Bobby said would be ’THE time’. They all walked outside and gathered around the pool. The girls were wearing their bathing suits. Jenny had on a very skimpy bikini that her husband had gotten her saying he wanted to get a picture of her wearing it for ’old time’s sake!’. She happily obliged him, proud to show off her young body one last time.

"....Although you better take that picture BEFORE I use the oil!" she giggled.

Bobby grabbed the oil and asked "Who’s going first?"

Sally didn’t hesitate, taking the oil and quickly working it into her skin. As Sally used the oil, Bobby took Gretchen’s hand and quietly told her he had ’a confession’ "I love you.... I’ll always love you....I just had to tell you that it was no accident that I chose you to use the oil on".

Gretchen was a little surprised because she hadn’t known that he had thought her ’special’ until just then. She teared up, being overcome with emotion. While she and Bobby hugged, Sally began to age. There was no pleasure this time. Just a feeling of ’changing’. Her body seemed to stretch, her hair looked to have a life of its own as it grew a bit and the texture changed slightly. 14-15-16....Soon her bathing suit, which had been loose, was now getting tighter....17-18-19 very tight!-20-21.... The changes slowly stopped leaving her restored back to her proper age of 22.

"I’m back! Thank God!" she exclaimed handing the jar of oil back to her father..

Mr. Scott looked at Gretchen and said "You’re next!".

She was still talking with Bobby and their eyes were locked in that ’we’re just about to kiss’ look.

Jenny spoke up "I’ll go next. Let them have their moment".

Mr. Scott looked at her and said "Nope, I haven’t gotten that picture yet! Gretchen you better go now....it’s now or never....the train is leaving!"

Gretchen couldn’t stand it any longer, this time SHE kissed Bobby with a long passionate kiss and then said "I’m not going back! This is what I want. I realize it now. Jenny...ummmm Mrs. Scott go ahead and use the oil!"

Jenny smiled and reached out for the jar but her husband said "Not until I get that picture! Now you stand over there by the light and I’ll walk right over here to get just the right ang..."

with that Mr. Scott ’tripped’ dropping the jar of tanning oil that had brought on this whole situation. The jar landed directly on the storm drain and easily broke with its contents flowing into the sewer. Jenny ran to the drain to try and catch the oil but had no chance as it quickly dripped away. She tried rubbing the little bit that was slowly dripping from the drain cover on herself, but it was way too small of an amount to make any difference.

"You asshole! You did that on purpose! What were you thinking?!!!! Bastard! I want my life back! This was fun to pretend for a week, but I can’t even buy a drink in a bar! My DAUGHTER is older than ME! I can’t believe you.... Why???? I want my friends back! I want my life back ! Please, No!" she cried.

Mr. Scott calmly held out his hand and helped his 19 year old wife to her feet. He put his arm around her small waist and softly said "Look at you! What are you crying about? I should be the one crying.... having to fend off my ’kid of a wife’ from all those horny young guys in this world! I would never have done this to you on purpose. I know you didn’t want to be some 19 year old kid again....making new friends.....Starting all over........ "

And with that statement Mr. Scott smiled a sly grin and thought to himself ’I’ll get that picture tomorrow!’

 

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