Reincarnation
Copyright© 2026 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 2
Wyatt woke up Saturday feeling better and did his therapy exercises. Then he went for a walk around the neighborhood, returned home, showered, tried to dress, but nothing fit. He put on sweats and went to the kitchen. Mom arrived, and while they ate, Wyatt told her nothing fits except socks and sweats. She told him to stand up and said Oh my god, we’re getting you a new wardrobe. Mom sent Wyatt upstairs to put on the scrubs he wore home.
They went to the mall, and he got six pairs of jeans, two pairs of slacks, dress shirts, casual shirts, underwear, socks, and shoes. Then they went to the sporting goods store, and Wyatt got new sweats, gym shorts, t-shirts, and compression shorts. On the way home, Mom said we’ll keep the receipts because you’re bound to gain weight and possibly have another growth spurt. We’ll wait to buy suits until it’s necessary, and Wyatt said he agreed that forgetting about the suits was a good idea. Mom laughed and said they aren’t avoidable.
Upon arriving home, Mom started washing his new clothes, then they ate lunch. Wyatt asked Mom how she met such a wonderful man like Dad, and she laughed hard. When she recovered, Mom said they met in college. His family was involved in state politics, and mine was in banking, real estate, and investments. So, our families socialized in the same circles and knew each other. After graduation, we married, and your Dad followed his father into state politics, first as a state representative, then a state senator, and finally a US senator.
Wyatt said, “Let me get this straight: Mommy has the family money, and Daddy begs donors for his, and Mom laughed.” She said I have a family trust, and your Dad makes good money as a U.S. senator. But you’re right, he depends on fundraising to stay in office. Now he’s putting feelers out to gauge the financial backing available for a White House run. Lance/Wyatt knew William Armstrong didn’t stand a chance against George Bush.
After lunch, Wyatt went to his room and checked out the stash in the closet. There had to be over 50k in cash, and he wondered where it came from. The file folders told some of the story as they were lobbying groups in Washington, DC. The USB and CDs were from Wyatt’s hacking and contained information (dirt) on Senators and House members. There was even a file on Dad, and it wasn’t good. Wyatt took out the laptop and hacked into it.
Lance/Wyatt viewed the files, and it was Wyatt’s hacking computer. He checked his worms, viruses, and programs. He knew far more advanced methods and would need to update everything. Then he checked his hacking list and was surprised to see how many sites and businesses were on it. Wyatt even had a stock-trading account under an alias with over $ 500k in it. He quickly checked the GPS; it was off, so he changed the login and powered down the laptop.
Wyatt returned everything to the stash and closed it. Then he gathered all the clothes that didn’t fit and put them on the bed. Mom entered with his new clothes and said Good, I see you’ve got everything ready for the goodwill. She asked him to get some trash bags from the kitchen, and we’ll drop them off at the collection bin. When they had the new clothes put away and the old ones in trash bags, Mom told him to change and bring the trash bags to the kitchen.
On the way to the goodwill, Wyatt asked Mom what their house in Colorado was like. Mom said it’s a ranch that I inherited from my parents. When we get your homeschooling set up, we’ll make a trip there and spend a week. Of course, your Dad will raise a stink or want to come too. Wyatt said Too bad we can’t go and see how many days it takes for him to miss us.
Mom said that was a wicked idea, but right on the money. He’s been staying in the DC apartment because of late donor meetings and networking to support his candidacy. They dropped off the clothes at Goodwill, then got Papa John’s pizza for dinner and returned home. They ate dinner watching TV, and when they finished, they said goodnight and went to bed.
Wyatt did his exercises early in the morning, then went for a walk around the neighborhood. The first lap was slow, then he picked up the pace on the second. Returning home, he showered, dressed, and checked out the house. There were two other bedrooms upstairs with his. The ground floor had a dining room, a kitchen, and a den.
Then he found the basement door and saw the gym. It hadn’t been used for a while, judging by the dust. But it had a heavy bag and a speed bag that would work for his martial arts workout. There was also a treadmill, an exercise bike, a weight machine, and free weights. He wondered whether Wyatt had used it before or practiced at a dojo in town or elsewhere.
Returning to the kitchen, Mom was cooking breakfast and said I see you found the gym. Wyatt said yes and asked whether he had used it before, since there’s dust on everything. Mom said yes, but no one else does, and you were in a coma for over two months, so that explains the dust. While they ate, Mom asked if Dad had visited him in the hospital. Wyatt said not after he stopped by while you were there. Mom said,” Let’s surprise Dad at the apartment, then drive around DC and see the sights.
On the way, Mom asked Wyatt if anything looked familiar, and he said no. Mom said she worked with Dad during his first term and brought you along to the office. When they arrived at the apartment, Mom used her key, and they entered. Right away, Wyatt knew it was a mistake because the kitchen table still had dinner plates on it for two. Mom went to the bedroom and told Dad not to bother coming home. Wyatt said, “Hi, Dad, who’s the woman next to you?”
Dad jumped out of bed in his boxers and told Mom it wasn’t what it looked like. She said it’s exactly what it looks like: you’re cheating on me again. Dad grabbed Mom to stop her from leaving, and Wyatt kicked him in the balls. Dad fell to his knees, screaming My balls and holding his crotch. They left laughing, and Mom said she wished she had done it. Mom said we’ll do the tour another time. Then she called a locksmith to rekey the house and said it was an emergency. They agreed to meet in an hour at the house.
Wyatt asked Mom if she was getting a divorce, and she said no. Mom said your Dad, as a US Senator, holds a lot of power and influence. A divorce would create a spectacle that she wants to avoid. But she will make him pay dearly in other ways. They met the locksmith at the house, and he rekeyed the locks and changed the garage door code. Then he talked mom into metal storm doors for extra protection, and they would be installed on Tuesday.
While they ate lunch, Dad called, and Mom answered. She asked him if his donor meeting was over, causing Mom and Wyatt to laugh. Dad wanted to meet to discuss the issue, and Mom told him there would be no meetings. You chose your path, so you’re on your own from now on. Dad said it was a drunken mistake, and Mom said that explained the dinner plates and overnight bag. Oh, and you can forget my support for your presidential run. I don’t support philanderers, and she hung up.
Wyatt asked if they could now go to Colorado without Daddy getting upset. Mom laughed and said yes, and we’ll go after the storm doors are installed. Wyatt asked if they were moving to Colorado, and Mom said not right away. This trip will be a visit, but we’ll discuss it when we get back. There are plenty of things to do before we can move, so don’t worry, it will be a planned move. There are also things to set up in Colorado if we move.
After lunch, Wyatt went to his room and got the hacking laptop out of the stash. He started by updating Wyatt’s worm, then he programmed a phone tag app for his phone. Cloud storage had just become available, and Amazon was offering it. It was expensive, but Wyatt signed up for 250mb and would have to transfer important information, then delete it. Then Wyatt looked at his stocks, and several had peaked and were dropping in price.
So, he sold those and bought Google/Alphabet, Salesforce, Baidu, and Domino’s. They all had their IPO’s this year, and he knew they would take off. Mom called him to dinner, so Wyatt returned the laptop to the stash and went to the kitchen. While they ate, Mom said we needed to leave for the University at 7 a.m. While you’re testing, I’ll run some errands and return in plenty of time to pick you up. After dinner, they said goodnight and went to bed.
Wyatt went to the basement gym early Monday morning and did a light martial arts workout on the heavy bag. Returning to his room, he showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen. Mom arrived, and they headed to the University of Maryland. They arrived 45 minutes early, so they ate breakfast at a campus café. When they finished, Mom and Wyatt went to the administration building and asked for Ms. Rebecca Brown. She arrived, and introductions were made.
On the way to the testing center, Ms. Brown said Wyatt should finish around 4 p.m. with breaks and lunch. Mom told Ms. Brown she would run some errands and return around 3 p.m. and left. Mr. Brown introduced Wyatt to Professor Sanda Cummins, his test administrator. Wyatt completed ten tests by 3:45 p.m., shocking Professor Cummins and Ms. Brown. They went to the conference room, and Mom joined them. Mom asked Wyatt how it went, and he said Mommy beat and abused me. Here, look at my ass, and he got up and began unbuckling his pants, and Mom yelled No, and everyone laughed.
Ms. Brown was still chuckling and said Wyatt did well on his tests. A few more are needed to give us a firm idea of where he should be placed. So, is it possible for him to return tomorrow morning for a few hours? Mom said a contractor is arriving tomorrow morning, and she has to be there. But Wyatt could come in if transportation can be arranged. Then I can pick him up when he’s finished. Ms. Brown got our address and said a car will pick Wyatt up at 7:30 a.m. She told Mom to plan to pick up Wyatt at noon, and we left.
On the way home, Mom stopped for Mexican takeout and asked how the testing went without all the theatrics. Wyatt laughed and said he’d taken 10 tests but hadn’t gotten any results. Upon arriving home, they ate dinner, and Mom said We’ll find out the results tomorrow when you finish testing. Mom told Wyatt he should know that my family trust owns this house, the house in Colorado, and the apartment in DC.
While you were testing, I went to my attorney’s office. I removed William from my will and had the trust file eviction papers against him at the apartment. He was also removed from the credit cards that the trust pays. When he finds out, William will be irate and possibly show up here. So, we have to be prepared if it does, and that’s why I’m having storm doors installed. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed.
Early the next morning, Wyatt went on a brisk walk and circled the neighborhood five times. He felt good and had regained his strength and stamina. Returning to his room, Wyatt showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen. Mom arrived, and they ate breakfast, and Wyatt read her mind. She was genuinely worried about what Dad would do. His ride arrived, and Wyatt said I hope they don’t use electrodes on me and left Mom laughing.
They arrived with time to spare, and Ms. Brown escorted Wyatt to the testing center. Professor Sanda Cummins was ready, and the fun began. Five tests later, they finished at 11:30 a.m. and went to the conference room. When Mom arrived, Ms. Brown started the meeting and said that Wyatt had exceeded our expectations. We thought we were evaluating him for placement in the high school curriculum. We were wrong, as Wyatt has graduated from high school.
Mom asked what that meant, and Ms. Brown said he passed all the high school tests. The tests today were to get an idea of where to place him at the university level. By our evaluation, Wyatt should be in his second year of college. Mom asked how we should proceed, and Ms. Brown said the University of Maryland would like to offer Wyatt a scholarship that includes a dorm room, a food allowance, and a bookstore credit card for study supplies. Wyatt read Ms. Brown’s mind, and she was almost drooling at the prospect of him attending the university.
Mom said she isn’t sending a twelve-year-old boy to a university to be harassed by older students. But she would consider online courses with a few on-campus classes that wouldn’t require an overnight stay. Ms. Brown said Great, here’s our offer and she passed a folder to Mom. She quickly viewed it and said she would have our attorney review it and call you back. That ended the meeting, and after shaking hands, we left. On the way home, Wyatt asked Mom if he got his intelligence from Dad’s side of the family.