Carol was a single mother with one son, Eric. Carol went into the doctor's office one day for a routine checkup. It ended with a blood test. The doctor took Carol's blood sample and sent it to his specimen-examining lab. Two days later, she got a phone call from the doctor's office.
"Mrs. Robinson?" The doctor asked.
"This is she," Carol replied gently as she pored over a Reader's Digest.
"Yes, I have your blood test back... It tested negative for about a dozen illnesses on this list... But there is one area of concern."
Carol snapped to, closing the book."Yes? What would that be?" She said with concern.
"You've tested positive for AR Virus." He said plainly.
Carol mulled this over for a moment or two."Oh no..."
Carol would worriedly contemplate that subject for the following days, until she eventually diecided Eric needed to know. She walked to his room and knocked on the door.
"Eric? Are you in there, honey? Can I come in?"
Eric put down the book he was reading and opened the door, then sat back down on his bed.
"What is it, mom?"
Carol walked over and sat down on Eric's bed as well.
"I got a call from the doctor yesterday, dear..."
"Yeah, I know...Is something wrong?"
"Well, the doctor said I have AR Virus."
"Oh...Oh man...How does that work again?"
Carol sighed and looked to the floor.She flattened out some wrinkles on her shirt, carefully selecting her words.
"Well, it means I'm going to start getting younger, a little bit each day, for a long time...then I'm going to stop."
Eric gasped a bit, and looked to the floor nervously.
"Like, how young are you going to get? Do they know?"
Carol wanted to give him an answer, but simply shook her head slowly.
"I read that everyone stops at a different time...that there's no real way to know."
Eric looked away from Carol, and was silent for a long time. Tears began to well up in Carol's eyes, and she clutched Eric's hand in hers.
"I'm so sorry about this, honey..."
Eric looked up at her and smiled.
"Don't feel bad for me, mom...It's gonna be hard to adjust to, but I'll get used to it, I guess."
In the weeks and months that would follow, the AR Virus didn't seem such a bad thing for Carol and Eric. Carol developed quite a lot of youthful energy, and began joining Eric in doing things she used to be wary of. They went jogging together several times a week, and neighbors were always quick to compliment her looks. However, things soon turned sour for Carol. Things started out innocently enough. Maybe it was just losing afew inches in height, or finding that a bra was a bit more loose than it was the day before. In due time, however, the changes were becoming more obvious and more drastic. At one point, Carol called the doctor's office with tears in her eyes.
"This is Dr.Nichols."
"Yes, this is Carol Robinson...Things are getting really bad...My son's almost as tall as I am...Barely anything in my closet fits me anymore..."
"Hmm...Yes, I get complaints like these very often...There's a company that makes clothing for ARV patients. I can't quite remember the name...I believe it was R.S.Thompson. Yes, that's it. I'll send you a catalogue from them as soon as I can."
"Oh...Okay. That would be fine. Thank you, doctor."
It was afew days later that the catalogue came. Carol was quick to sell most of her large clothing, using the money to order new clothes from the catalogue. Carol also bought several pairs of tall platform shoes. However, Carol's body was just under 8 years old. The clothes did little to convince people around her that she was older than eight, in spite of what she forced herself to believe to better ease her mind. Regardless, the R.S.Thompson catalogue was a far better alternative to wearing children's clothing.
When Carol's body reached five years, she stopped driving. Too many highway patrolmen had pulled her over, and not enough of them would let her go after showing them the special liscense that identified her as an ARV carrier. Eric had recently received his Learner's Permit. Though she wasn't physically able to drive, she qualified as a liscenced adult, and Eric soon achieved 200 hours of assisted driving by ferrying Carol to and from her work. With his full-fledged liscence granted to him, Carol stopped worrying about driving altogether.
Soon enough, however, Carol was told by her manager that she was a "Distraction" and a "Hinderance" to the office, and was coerced to begin working from home. Since she needed the work, she swallowed her pride and agreed.
"Could I call my son so that he could drive me home?"
"Of course, Mrs.Robinson," The manager replied.
"Yes, I need Eric Robinson pulled from class. This is his mother, I need him to drive me home. Yes...okay.Goodbye."
Carol walked out of the manager's office and made her way to the parking lot, where Eric's car was waiting outside with the front passenger's door open. Carol began climbing into the car, and sat down in the child car seat. After a moment or two of struggling with the belts, she managed to strap herself into it.
"So what happened?" Eric asked impatiently.
"I had to agree that I was a freak so they would let me work from home," She said angrily.
"Some people can be so narrow-minded..." Eric said quietly.
"No, they're right..." Carol said, her voice cracking.
"I am a freak..."
Before she could get another word out, she began to sob. Eric did not lay a finger on her. He knew in trying to console her, he would only intensify her feelings. However, Carol would find working from home to be a blessing in disguise. She no longer had the problem of feeling like a burden for her natural needs. It was a relief to no longer worry of interrupting board meetings by going to the bathroom, or constantly needing to adjust chairs so that she could see from a seated position.
She had began cooking breakfast for herself and Eric every morning. At this point her body was just under three years old. Eric sat down at the kitchen table while Carol was at the counter preparing waffles while standing on a stool. She put a plate of them before Eric, another at her place, and sat down in the chair with a booster seat in it.
"So, do we need to go to the grocery store today?" Eric asked while cutting his waffles.
"Yes, yes we do..." Carol said as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.
At the store, Eric pushed their shopping cart, Carol following beside him. She was dressed in a blue floral-print shirt with a brown skirt and red velcro sneakers, carrying a purse to match her skirt. After a little while, she tugged at Eric's shirt to get his attention.
"I'm gonna head to the bathroom, dear... You can meet me there in a little bit."
Eric nodded as she walked toward the bathrooms. Unfortunately, though Carol ran as fast as she could, she had already wet herself by the time her hand was at a stall door.
"Oh no..." She said under her breath.
Blushing, she stood outside the bathrooms waiting for Eric to get there. When he spied his mother, Eric frowned.
"Did you make it?" he asked quietly.
Carol shook her head some.
"Do you think... ?"
By the time Eric got out that much, Carol was already in deliberation. She knew what he was asking. After a short period of thorough contemplation, she said, "I guess now's as good a time as any."
Eric nodded, and pushed the cart into the infant supplies aisle. Carol looked around for a moment, finally pointing to a package of Pampers. Eric put it into the cart.
"Okay... Well, let's go."
At home, after packing away the groceries, Eric put the Pampers on the foot of her bed.
A few days later, Carol started her day as she often did then by making waffles. She was wearing a purple t-shirt and a blue pair of shorts. After setting a plate in front of Eric, she sat down in the chair with a booster seat in it. A fairly quiet breakfast was interupted by an odd piddling sound. Carol left the table and waddled in the direction of her bathroom. Eric followed after her and opened the door. Carol's shorts were bunched around her ankles. An open cabinet showed a package of Pampers. A wet diaper lay discarded on the floor, and Carol was struggling with the tapes of a fresh diaper.
"Do you need any help... ?" Eric asked.
Carol looked up at Eric. Her expression was laced with anger.
"No. I don't need any help." She said sternly.
Eric shut the door, and slight crinkling sounds informed Eric she had gone back to struggling with the diaper.