Glasses

Chapter 3
A Trip to the Hospital

Chapter Description: Hospitals are so despressing to the sick and sick at heart.

Ryan ate his breakfast with much more enthusiasum then you’d think one would have after learning you switched places chronological, and was slowly switiching psychological places, with your eight year-old son. But nevertheless Rick ate. Rick had never eaten one of his own chocolate breakfasts before, and as a child with a craving for chocolate he was in heavan. He didn’t even hear Ryan call the hospital to see if they could visit Glenn.

“Alright, yes, alright, yes, great! The little guy will be so happy!” The phone rang slightly as Ryan hung up the reciever.

“Guess what, Rickaroo! We’re going to see mommy!”

“YAY!!” Rick squealed, “Wait, I mean, that’s wonderful new, Ryan, “

“Are you still trying to act like a big guy?” Ryan asked as he playfully messed up Rick’s hair like Rick used to do to Ryan, “It was fun this morning but you should cherish being little while you still are,”

“But I’m not little!” Rick said, stamping his foot.

“Oh, I know you’re not little,” Ryan said, bending over to half-hug, half-craddle Rick in his semi-muscular arms, “You’re a big-boy now, but I mean little as in going to school and not working. I remember when I was little like you,”

“You do?” Althoigh Rick said this with the child-tone of amazment, he thought to himself, Maybe he does remember his old life after all.

“Yup, I used to fight with your Uncle Jim and get in so much trouble with him. One time, he threw my glasses into the lake, and my Papa made him fish them out with a fishing rod attached to a bread bag!”

But MY brother is Jim, and thats MY memory! Rick pouted to himself, Why does HE have all MY memories? I mean what could have possibly given him those . . . . Rick stopped for a second, and then it hit him. The glasses! He had a queer feeling when he was first given them by the old lady and he had it again when Ryan put on his glasses. Now that he thought about it, he was wearing Ryan’s glasses since he woke up and vice versa! That must be it!

“Papa, can I try on YOUR glasses?” Rick said putting extra emphasis on the word ’your’ like a begging child would.

“Sure, Rickaroo! Here you go,” Ryan slide the glasses off Rick’s face and plopped on Rick’s adult glasses. He couldn’t see out of them at all, they were blurry and Rick didn’t feel anything at all. Just then, Ryan took off Rick’s adult glasses and put the kid ones on.

“You can’t wear them for too long, my glasses are different from yours and you’ll hurt your eyes if you keep them on for too long,” Ryan said sagaciously.

“OK Papa,” Rick said woefully. Maybe I’m not me. I thought I was ’cause I looked like Ryan when I was little, and I thought he might grow up to look like me. But maybe we accidently switched bodies! Maybe if I put my glasses on him we’ll switch back!

“Will you wear MY glasses Papa? Please!” Rick made sure to dragg out the word, ’please’.

“Alright,” Ryan bent down, took both his glasses off and Rick’s glasses off and swaped their wearers.

Yes! Goodby Saturday Morning cartoons, hello surgeonship! But nothing happened at all. Both of them were wearing the glasses like they did the first time, but nothing changed at all. Rick was awestruck. He really was stuck as his son forevermore.

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Rick didn’t talk at all during the car ride to the hospital (it made it worse when he realized his son could now drive, too). Ryan tried multiple times to get his ’son’ to talk to him, even promising ice cream, but Rick still (barely) remained in his sorrowful state.

“I know what will really cheer you up! Seeing mommy!” Ryan said as they pulled into hospital parking.

Glenn! Maybe Glenn will know something’s wrong! With that, Rick became considerably more cheerful. As they walked thorugh the hallways of the pregnacy wing, Rick was glad to not see any familiar faces among the doctors and interns.

That could be a catastrophy! Rick said, fairly certain that he pronounced the word wrong insdie his own brain.

“Mrs. Sergres, you have some visiters!” the nurse Ryan was following said. Rick rushed into the room, only to be greeted by his worst nightmare.

“Rickie, hi! I missed you so much!” Rick was awestruck. Glenn recongized him in this state AND was alright with it. Did Ryan explain this over the phone to her? Just then, Ryan walked into the room, and Glenn errupted into tears.

“Ryan, honey!”

“Oh, Glenn!” they embraced, and while the child mentality let lose an “Ew!”, Rick thought to himself in remorse.

No, no, no! She thinks Ryan’s her husband and I’m her kid! No, what’s going on?

Being careful not be be seen, Rick slipped out of the office. As he roamed the hallways of his former work, he looked down at his shoes. His dirty, ripping, size child eight shoes.

Rick walked, and walked and walked. It wasn’t long before he reached his wing and started to hear his fellow interns whispur to each other, “I just got the page! Sergres’ kid is wandering the hospital!”

Rick perked his ears up at this, listening from around the corner. But then he would hear another voice say, “Poor Rickie’s lost? We should start helping Ryan look after we finish with this patient!” Sad and confused, Rick decided to keep walking.

And only after wandering for what seemed to Rick like hours (but was probably closer to fifteen minutes) Rick reached the Nursing Wing. In Rick’s town, they didn’t have the room for a Nursing Home so they made the hospital double as one. It reeked of older people, and Rick was fighting a losing battle against the urge to pinch his nose shut and yell, “PU!”

And then, it happened as Ryan walked past one door, slightly ajar. He heard a familiar voice that felt like he heard it in a dream.

“Oh my! I guess you didn’t listen to little, old me, huh?”

It was the old lady from the night before.

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