First Tests

First Tests

Ninny awoke first and pulled back the covers from her sleeping husband.
She looked at his horizontal bum. It was small and neat, as it was when
she had first glimpsed it during that fateful baseball game. She
wondered how they had managed to have such a tiny baby.

Petrach stirred and obviously sensing some kind of infraction he
covered up and went to his map-room. Ninny went to prepare
breakfast.

Breakfast eaten they took the 5th Avenue helitaxi, "a Westland I
worked on myself" Petrach told Ninny proudly, to Johnson and Johnson
where the postnatal hospital was located.

"Do you think everything will be ok?" said Ninny.

Petrach wasn't sure how to answer that. Everything was obviously not
ok.

"Do you?" said Ninny.

Petrach nodded and then they were called in.

Their nurse was Acanthi Pinkwhistle. She had seen many things in her
time and she didn't bat an eyelid at Psigor's diminutive size. She
offered Ninny and Petrach a tealeaf sandwich each and then set to
work.

Psigor passed the first tests with flying colours. Ten fingers, ten
toes, two eyes, one man-thing (in Acanthi's words). Then it came the
time for measurement.

"We usually measure babies while doing a handstand," said
Acanthi.

"You or the baby?" said Petrach without thinking.

Acanthi didn't answer but gripped Psigor around the ankles and took
out her tape.

"Well?" said Petrach.

"Well?" said Ninny.

"I don't quite understand this," said Acanthi, checking her notes,
"but he seems to have shrunk."