By the next working day, Corey noticed that Karen was wearing different clothing than usual.  She smiled at him and his heart fluttered a bit.

It was when they passed each other in the hallway that Corey realized what he’d noticed at the end of their date seemed to be true.  Karen was a few inches taller as she walked beside him.  He glanced at her feet and saw she wasn’t wearing high heels, so that wasn’t the cause of the change.

Still, Corey decided not to say anything, at least yet.  He stayed mum until their next date.

While they were driving to the restaurant, Corey said, “Karen, did you hit a growth spurt recently?  You seem taller.”

“Taller?” said Karen, sounding vaguely disconcerted.

“Yeah,” Corey said.  “I mean, I read up on it, and I know that sometimes Little People experience growth spurts, even in adulthood.  Is that what’s happening with you?”

Karen smiled, looking relieved.  “Yeah, that’s it,” she said.  “I’m actually up to 3 feet tall, just barely.”

“Cool!” Corey said.

Karen quickly changed the subject, and the topic didn’t come up for the rest of the night.

Corey and Karen began dating more seriously soon after.  Soon they were spending almost all of their time away from work together.  During that time, Karen caught another growth spurt, reaching 3-foot-2,

On the night of Karen’s birthday, Corey had something special planned.  He picked her up for their date and took her to a really nice French restaurant on an inlet of the lake, but she was surprised when the usher took them to the restaurant’s outdoor balcony.

“We have it all to ourselves,” Corey said.  “I wanted some time with just the two of us tonight.”

Karen beamed up at him and pressed his hand to her face.  “Thank you,” she said.

The two of them sat together on a beautiful moonlit night under starry skies, the sounds of the water lapping against the shore.  Corey pulled out a necklace case containing Karen’s physical gift, a gold necklace with an opal pendant.  She put it on immediately, her eyes glistening with tears.  “It’s lovely,” she said.  “But this had to be so expensive!  You shouldn’t have.”

Corey took her hand and looked her intently in the eyes.  “It’s nothing for the woman I love,” he said.

Suddenly, Corey felt Karen’s hand enlarge in his.  He realized she had definitely grown, and instantly, and right then.

Karen bit her lip, looking like her emotions were tangled inside her.  “Oh, Corey, I love you, too,” she said.  “I wish it was that simple.”

Corey felt Karen’s hand get even larger.  She had grown again.

Karen was watching Corey’s face intently.  She looked sad beyond words as she said, “I think you’d better take me home now.”

By the time they got to the car, Corey could see that Karen was at least three and a half feet tall.  He wanted to ask what was going on and what was wrong, but held off.  Karen was obviously upset about something.  Finally he asked, “Is everything all right?”

Karen emitted a sound that could have been a laugh or a cry.  “It’s as all right as it can be,” she said.

“Did I do something wrong?” Corey asked.

“No!  Oh, God, no!” Karen said.  “No, it’s just … I can’t explain it.  I can’t.”

“How can I help?” Corey asked.

Karen began to sob.  “You can’t, but thank you for trying.”

As she said it, Corey heard a ripping sound.  He realized it was Karen’s clothes.  A seam was giving out as her body expanded again.

They got to Karen’s house.  She needed no help getting out of the car.  At the door, she said, “I really do love you, Corey.  Good-bye.”  She closed the door behind her.

Corey stood there, stunned.  It was mostly because of the dizzying series of events, which were the last thing he had expected after the romantic dinner.  But there was something else.

It looked to Corey like, just as she had shut the door, Karen had shrunk. A lot, like six inches.  What was going on?

Unable to wrap his head around it, Corey sat on the front stoop of Karen’s home, trying to comprehend what was going on.

Suddenly the door swung open.  It was Karen’s mom.  “Oh, thank God, Corey, you’re still here,” Rosa said.  “I saw your car still out there.  What went on tonight?”

“I don’t know,” Corey said.  “I told Karen I love her, and she said she loved me too, and then she told me to bring her home and told me good-bye, and sounded like she meant it for keeps.”

Rosa nodded.  “Anything else?”

“It’s gonna sound weird,” Corey said.

“You’d be surprised how un-weird it may sound,” Rosa said.  “Try me, but quickly.”

“It seemed like Karen grew when I told her I loved her,” Corey said.  “And she kept growing, but, when she told me good-bye, I’d swear she got smaller.”

“That explains why she said it was a pre-emptive strike,” Rosa said to herself.  She grabbed Corey’s hand.  “Get in here,” she said.  “There’s no time to explain now, but Karen’s life may depend on it.”

Confused, Corey followed Rosa’s lead into the house.

As they walked through the hallway, Corey passed some pictures of Rosa.  One was her graduation picture.  He paused for a moment as he saw it, surprised.  “She’s so big there,” he said.

Rosa nodded.  “And with her first love she was a few inches taller, and after more than a foot shorter.  You met her two loves later.  But now she’s put herself in danger to try to head off a situation, and you may be the only one who can save her.”

Corey was processing the pattern Rosa had described.  As understanding hit, he asked, “How small is she?”

“She was 2-foot-2 when I left her, but she was still shrinking,” Rosa said.  “I’m afraid of what you’re going to find.  If the family legend is true --”

Rosa stopped Corey in front of the door to what was apparently Karen’s room.  The mother looked the beau in the eye.  “Do you love her?” Rosa asked.  “Really love her?”

“Absolutely,” Corey said, “no matter what size she is.”

Her jaw in tense smile, Rosa patted Corey’s shoulder.  She turned and knocked on Karen’s door.

“It’s unlocked,” came a tiny voice Corey barely recognized as Karen’s.

Rosa swung the door open.  “Corey’s here,” she said.  “You two really need to talk.”

Corey had to work to suppress a gasp.  Karen was now only 2 feet tall, trying desperately to gather some sort of outfit to cover herself.

Karen looked appalled and immediately dropped another 4 inches in height.  “Mom, no!” she said.

Rosa looked at Corey.  “Good luck,” she said, exiting and shutting the door behind her.

Karen began to sob, her height plummeting to only four inches tall.  She gave up on the clothes.  “Please go,” she squeaked.

“No,” Corey said.

Karen looked up, confused.

“You’re too little now to make me leave,” Corey said.  “Besides, you said you love me, and I told you I love you, and then all this weirdness goes down.  You owe me an explanation if you really love me, and I’m not leaving until I get one.”

Karen looked at herself.  “I think I’ve stopped shrinking, at least for now,” she said.  She looked up at Corey, who now seemed as big as a skyscraper to her.  “Can you get me a handkerchief from my top dresser drawer so I have something to wrap up in?”

“Well, OK,” Corey said.  “I mean, I like seeing you naked, but this wasn’t the way I expected in any sense of the term.”

Karen chuckled, her laugh sounding like tiny bells to Corey.

Once she was wrapped, Karen said, “All right, Corey.  Pick me up, and we can set on the bed together and I’ll explain.”