She stooped down and picked him up and carried him away.

There was a stern look of conquest in her eyes, although they were not looking down at him, until she eventually turned her hand around and said, “Have a look.”

He looked in surprise.

“You’ve had a gigantic replica of your house made!”

“Not a replica,” she said, “And I didn’t demolish the old one. You found a vacant lot, on my old property, because I shrank the entire house to the size I’d once shrunken you, contents and all, and then carried it through the portal here with Frances Woodfield. Then I used the reverse setting and kept it on long enough to enlarge the house not just to its full size, but this giant size. Moving house was never simpler.”

“It’s an original approach,” said Stanley.

“My manuscript was still in the house when it was enlarged too. I think that tonight would be a good time to enact some final chapters,” she said.

“Could we enact some kissing scenes in the afternoon then?” he asked.

“I think that could be arranged,” said Colleen, “Have you had lunch yet?”

“No.”

“Neither have I, but don’t worry. You can’t be my lunch, if you’re going to be my dinner.”

She fed them both more than adequately and then took him into her bedroom and sat up in bed and kissed him several times.

“Oh I’ve missed you,” he said, “It feels so good to see you again, even…”

“I know,” said Colleen gently, and lay down and snuggled him to her cheek, “What have you been up to, since you got your size back?”

He told her about his use of her machine to enlarge a tiny piece of gold he’d acquired, about his world trip and the emptiness that it all seemed to amount to without her in his life.

“How about you?” he asked.

She told him about Edith’s discovery of the other portal, and the arrangements that Edith had made with Moynie, Denny, Eddie and Colleen herself.

“I still don’t understand how you got off my table,” she said, “I’m guessing that you must have hidden in the house until you had a chance to get at my machine unsupervised, and then restored your size and took the machine.”

He didn’t want her to know that the leprechauns had been involved both times and that he’d spent most of the time away from the house in their underground kingdom. He didn’t know if Colleen’s friend Miss Woodfield might then go after the leprechauns, or what else might happen. They had done so much for him, and he owed them the favour of keeping their existence and location a secret.

“I’ll have to keep you guessing on that one,” he said.

“It won’t matter after tonight anyway. I’m touched that you kept me in your thoughts and tried so hard to find me.”

“I didn’t know if you’d want to see me after I took your machine.”

“I would have, and I do. I’m every bit as in love with you as you’ve been in love with me. It’s just that I love you in more ways than you’d like me to.”

“There’s something about this afternoon that’s still so much better than the emptiness of all those months alone.”

“Well despite all the abundance of giant food in this land, my stomach has felt an emptiness without you too. It’ll soon be time to do something about it.”