Four

 

Dot was more stunned than anything else. Brian’s wild story of being a Captain in the Earth Protection League, of fighting alien pirates in deep space as a young man, was outrageous to say the least. But yet she had seen him be carried in and out of the room by a man who had called him Captain. More than likely it was all just some wild fantasy Brian had paid a kid to help him carry out as a Christmas present to himself. After all, he’d only been gone from the room for twenty minutes, not three days like he said.

Yet a part of her had wanted to believe his wild dream.

Especially the part about growing young again because of how time and space and matter worked. His explanation had almost been funny enough to laugh at. Yet when he had tried to explain it to her, she hadn’t laughed. Just listened, hoping to not break the fantasy world he lived in. She liked him enough to do that for him. Especially on Christmas Eve.

It wasn’t until the end of his wild story that he asked her something that bothered her on a deep level. He asked if she was interested in joining up, being a soldier in the Earth Protection League, of bring young again to help Earth fight whatever threatened its borders.

The question bothered her a great deal, but instead of saying so, she laughed and said, “Who wouldn’t like to be young again?”

“Great,” he said. “I can’t promise anything, but it never hurts to ask.”

At that moment the nurse poked her head in and smiled at them. She asked if Brian needed anything, then winked at Dot and left.

Dot laughed and suddenly realized she hadn’t yet made it to the bathroom. “I’ll see you at breakfast,” she told Brian, heading for the door as fast as she could move her chair.

“Can’t say anything about this to anyone,” Brian said.

Again she laughed as she went into the hall. “Who would believe me?”