Mixed-up Reservation

"Hi, we're here to check in? Should be under Arden."

The woman at the guest check-in tapped the name into her system, and asked "Aha, Jack Arden?"

"Huh? No, it should be Michael... Jacky's my son," Michael said, pointing to the bright-eyed boy next to him, who gave a little wave. 

"Really? That's peculiar..." She tapped a few more times. "We do have a Michael Arden signed up to our kid's activity club."

"It looks like your computer's made a mistake," Michael said with a huff. "It must've got confused when I pre-booked the kid's stuff for my son. Isn't there a way to fix it?"

"Of course, sir. Let me just get your room sorted, and we'll get things switched around for you, post-haste."

After getting their room number and door keys, the two dumped their suitcases on their respective beds, and, while Michael started to put his clothes away, Jack jumped into the bathroom to put on his swimsuit. Moments later, Michael heard his son yell out, "Dad, my trunks are too small!"

"What?" He turned to see Jack wearing a bright red pair of trunks, which looked significantly outsized for him. Michael gaped and exclaimed, "we only bought them last week! They were baggy as anything."

"Yeah, but now they're really tight! I don't wanna go swimming in my underwear!"

"You won't have to, bud." Michael frowned as he dug into his suitcase. His son did look larger than usual, as if he'd had a growth spurt in the past fifteen minutes. But that wasn't possible He tossed him a pair of his own. "These'll be real big on you, so tie them up super tight!"

"Okay, thanks!" Jack ran back to the bathroom to get ready. Michael chuckled to himself, if only he had that type of energy. All he planned on doing this vacation was relaxing. As he himself got ready to leave, he gazed at himself in the mirror. He couldn't place it, but he was looking refreshed as ever. His skin looked radiant, he even looked slimmer, his perpetual love handles almost missing. The first day of vacation, and he already looked well rested. That must be a new record!

As they made the short walk to the beach, Michael couldn't help but notice how big his son had gotten. Those trunks looked more suited to him by the minute. And his t-shirt looked almost painted on, given how tight it was. He felt concerned, surely Jack wasn't already going through puberty, he wasn't even a tween yet. However, his sudden growth spurt, cracking voice, and emerging body hair fit all the signs. He was already dreading The Talk. Maybe they could wait until after vacation...

They stopped in front of a row of sun beds, most of them covered by other people's belongings. Yet one had a little placard that said "Reserved for Jack Arden" on it, along with a few beach towels. Michael frowned, it was a nice perk, but they had the names wrong again. Jack threw off his shirt and sandals, and immediately ran towards the hotel's ocean-based splash park without even saying goodbye. But it was none of his concern. Now, it was time to top up his tan.

Michael laid back on his sunbed, and relaxed. He deserved this, he'd had such a rough time at work recently. The stress and long hours had left him tightly wound. The warm beams of sunlight, and the soft canvas of the sunbed did their duty in soothing him. The longer he rested, the more rejuvenated he felt. He hadn't felt this energetic in years! In fact, he was beginning to feel restless. He bounced his legs on the sunbed. The need to sunbathe was vanishing, replaced by a desire to run around the beach and into the ocean. He almost abandoned his sunbed altogether until a sudden, husky voice made him jump.

"Dad, they won't let me stay in the splash park anymore, they said I'm too big, but I'm not!"

The voice had the same whine as his son's, but the timbre was different. Almost like he was trying to mimic Michael's own voice. He sighed and said, "they could be right, bud. You're a growing lad. It just means you can ride the big boy slides now."

"I suppose," Jack sighed. "But I don't wanna. The water's made me all hairy..."

"Don't be scared, bud. I'm sure it's all safe out there. In fact, I'll even join you. I'm itching for a swim."

"Not scary, hairy!" Michael jolted as his son gave him a little shove. He sighed and sat up, taking off his sunglasses and glancing upwards.

"What the-"

Instead of the young boy he was expecting, Michael was staring up at a brawny, hirsute, man. A dense beard covered his round cheeks, dark hairs covered his large chest, and dripped across the rounded belly that hung over his shorts. Yet despite the obvious differences, Michael still recognized him as his son, not least due to the patterned trunks he wore.

"Woah, woah, Jack!" He cried, his voice jumping up an octave in shock. He cleared his throat, then asked in a similarly squeaky tone, "Buddy, what happened to you!?"

"I dunno!" He flopped down on the edge of the sunbed, his oversized body almost tipping it over, and crossed his arms atop his gut. "I went to the splash park, and tried to do the zip line, but the man said it was only for little kids. So I tried jumping on the floaty rocks, and I was so heavy, they sank in the water. Then I sat in a ring floatie, but my butt got stuck, and the lifeguard had to take it off, and all the kids laughed at me when he said I was too big, but it's not funny!"

"Aha..." Michael muttered as he stroked his chin, following along. It felt oddly smooth, but he was too distracted by Jack's story to notice. "And you didn't notice the chest hair or the muffin top?"

"Not at first, no," Jack mumbled as he rubbed a hand through his chest rug. "I guess I noticed I was getting taller and chubbier, but I've always been big for my age, so I ignored it. Then I went swimming in the ocean 'cause they wouldn't let me stay in the splash park. And some guy came over to say he liked my beard, and I thought I didn't have a beard, 'cept I actually did! So I got out of the water, and I had hairs everywhere, like you!" Jack gestured to his own body, then rubbed his beard. "Well, almost like you. You don't have any now."

"What do you-" Michael glanced down, and emitted a piercing scream. "I'm a baby!" All of his body hair had vanished, while his entire body had shrunk until his feet didn't even reach the middle of the sunbed. He reached up and felt his face, now rounded with baby fat, and missing his signature beard.

"You're not a baby," Jack chuckled as Michael continued to freak out over his prepubescent form. "You're a boy about my age... My old age... The age I was before I got old?" He sighed and scratched his head. "This is confusing..."

 "Damn right, it's confusing!" Michael groaned. He couldn't stop touching his body. He was so hairless, so frail! He looked nothing like the man he once was. "How did you even recognize me? I'm a friggin' child!"

"I'u'no," he mumbled with a shrug. "You're sitting where I left you, and you have the same trunks on, which I thought was weird 'cause you're little now. I just knew it was you, like I'd seen you before."

Michael sniffed. He could feel tears welling up, blinking them away as fast as he could. He didn't cry, he was a big boy! Man, he was a man, dammit! He pulled his legs up to his chest, and bowed his head onto his knees. "Oh Jacky boy, how did we end up in this mess?"

"I dunno, bud..." Jack cooed, softly stroking Michael's back in effort to soothe him.

"Don't call me that," Michael whined, his voice cracking from the pressure. "That's my term of endearment for you!"

Jack snorted, emitting a sharp laugh, then said, "Okay. How about champ?" He pulled Michael closer to him, letting his head rest on his soft chest. "You feeling better, champ?"

"I guess..." Michael pouted. He didn't want Jack calling him any nickname a dad would bestow their son. But it did make him feel better, and hearing the man's heartbeat made him feel calmer, even if he had a face full of damp chest hair. He pushed his head away from Jack's comforting body, and sighed. "It's a good thing I packed a pair of your trunks in case our luggage went missing..."

Michael reached into his bag for the emergency trunks, only to notice his phone was blinking. It was a voice message. He turned the phone on loudspeaker as he prepared to switch his swimming costume underneath a privacy towel, a familiar, chirpy voice spoke up. "Good afternoon, this is Cheryl from the front desk. I suppose you've already noticed, but we've successfully fixed your little problem from earlier. Please do come back if there are any other issues. Enjoy the rest of your stay!"

The duo stared at the phone in shock. "The hotel's the reason we're different..." Michael uttered under his breath. "I don't know how, but they did it!" He gathered his stuff from underneath the sunbed, and gestured towards the hotel. "If we head back now, we could be back to normal by dinner." 

"Do we have to go this minute?" Jack groaned as he reached for his sandals, only to find his hairier feet now doubly outsized them. He sighed. "Can't we rest for a little while, champ? All that swimming and playing was exhausting. Not to mention the journey to get here, and the whole growing into a massive, hairy man business. I could really do with a nap!"

"You? A nap? You never take naps!" Michael grabbed Jack's discarded sandals, and slipped them onto his own daintier feet. Much like his new trunks, they fit him perfectly. He tugged on Jack's arm in an attempt to get him to stand up, only to vastly underestimate just how heavy he was now. The beefy man didn't even budge. Michael wiped his brow, and said, "C'mooon, we have to make them turn us back! It's not fair to make us wait! We're only here for a week, don't you want to make the most of the splash park?

Jack shook his head. "There's no rush. As you said, we have a week here. A couple hours won't change much. The splash park isn't going anywhere. It's only water, you know?"

"Just water? It was all you could talk about this month! The slides, the zip-line, the water shooters..." Michael looked over, seeing the inflatable obstacle course that sat in the ocean, with several waterslides in the middle. Not to mention the massive bucket that was filling up with water, just getting ready to tip and spill gallons over everyone underneath... A big smile crossed his cheeks. "Aw man, it looks so fun! I just gotta have a go! Can I go? Please!?"

"You want to? What happened to..." Jack raised an eyebrow at Michael. His dad was never this expressive with his interests. But looking into those puppy-dog eyes, he couldn't help but smile. "Well, if you really want to. You'd better take this, champ." He dug into his trunk pockets, and pulled out a blue wristband. "So they know you're part of the kid's club. It kinda got too small for my wrist..."

"Wow, thanks!" Michael took it with awe, slipping it over his right hand, adjusting the strap tighter until it fit snugly around his slender wrist

Jack ruffled his little dad's hair, and grinned. "No worries." As Michael prepared to head to the ocean, Jack suddenly jolted up, his belly shaking from the motion. "Wait! You'd better put on more sunblock before you head out." Michael whined, but waited anxiously as Jack grabbed a blue bottle, and sprayed the contents across his body, his thick mitts rubbing the protection across his tiny frame. Finally, Michael was let free. He began to run towards the park until he heard Jack's deep voice rumble, "Mikey!" He stopped, rolled his eyes, and turned back. The bearded man gave him a thumbs up and shouted, "Stay safe, champ!"

"Okaythanksdadbye!"

Jack pulled a face. Did he just call him... He chuckled to himself, Michael obviously couldn't wait to get in the water. It was nice to see him actually excited about something for once, instead of complaining about work. As for himself, Jack squirted a little sunblock onto his own body, grinning as he rubbed it into his skin, getting a good feel of his burlier, hairier self. Finally, he slipped on some sunglasses, shimmied up the abandoned sunbed, and laid back. He'd never had the patience for sunbathing before. He didn't understand how adults could spend hours laying outside doing nothing, when they could be doing literally anything else. Although after the day he'd had, a little rest in the sun felt more than well rewarded.