Back at the beach house, Jake was sitting on the couch with his laptop, meticulously firing off emails to various university professors.
While consulting Argus, he had long realized he could easily pull fully completed, Nobel-winning research.
However, dumping that kind of world-shattering data into the public domain would undoubtedly earn him a very unfriendly, permanent visit from Uncle Sam.
He constantly had to walk a tightrope, deciding what to reveal and what to keep hidden.
The most elegant solution he could devise was "breadcrumbing." He emailed professors of applied mathematics and physics, providing them with fragments of completed research or posing highly specific, guiding questions that led them directly to the correct answers.
All he asked for in return was to be listed as a co-author on their published papers. If Caltech didn't accept an eleven-year-old with those kinds of academic accomplishments, then no one was getting accepted.
Right in the middle of drafting a complex theorem for an MIT professor, a sharp knock echoed from the front door.
Getting up from the couch and pulling the door open, Jake was met by the sight of Evelyn in a sharp, impeccably tailored pink pantsuit.
"Oh, there is my favorite grandson!" Evelyn said with a beaming smile, pulling him into a tight hug.
Jake just stood there and took it. In the original timeline, she wasn't nearly this warm to him. He safely assumed this newfound affection had everything to do with his ambition and achievements in this life. Whether she actually cared for him or just loved how his success reflected on her, Jake wasn't complaining. A useful ally was a useful ally, after all.
"Hi, Grandma," he answered politely.
"Now, can you call your father and uncle for me?" Evelyn asked.
Jake didn't say a word; he just pointed through the glass doors to the deck, where Charlie was scribbling on a notepad and enjoying the sun.
Evelyn slid the glass door open and stepped out. "Well, hello there," she announced, taking Charlie completely by surprise.
Charlie jumped. "Mom! What are you doing here?"
"'What am I doing here?'" Evelyn repeated, her tone instantly dropping into a dangerous register.
"Mom, you just surprised me. You should have called first," Charlie defended himself, recovering his composure.
"Charlie, I call constantly. You screen me like an Olympic drug tester," Evelyn complained, glaring at her eldest son.
Alan suddenly stepped out onto the deck, trying to force a bright smile. "I'm happy to see you, Mom!"
"I don't believe you, sweetheart, but at least you care enough to lie," Evelyn said, seeing right through the pathetic display.
"Hey, I care enough to lie!" Charlie protested. "You just caught me off guard. So, what are you doing here?"
"Well, I was showing a house further up the beach, and I thought while I was in the neighborhood, I would drop off a gift for my grandson," Evelyn said, turning back and giving Jake a warm smile.
Jake knew immediately that she was lying through her teeth, but he kept his face perfectly neutral.
Evelyn reached into her designer purse and handed Jake a piece of paper.
"You're giving him a check?" Alan asked, looking appalled at his mother's impersonal gift. "What kind of gift is that?"
"With this, he can buy anything he wants," Evelyn stated matter-of-factly.
Jake looked down at the paper. It was a check for $10,000.
"Thanks, Grandma," Jake said, giving her a more genuine hug this time.
"Oh, your grandmother loves you so, so much," Evelyn cooed, patting his back. Then, her tone shifted back to business. "Oh! Grandma's got to go to work. Nobody just gives her checks."
She stood up straight and snapped her fingers at her two sons. "Walk me out."
Seeing them leave the deck, Jake just smiled and went back to his laptop to secure his Caltech future.
A moment later, after the front door clicked shut, Jake heard Charlie and Alan immediately start to bicker in the living room.
"Why do you care?" Alan asked.
"I don't care," Charlie shot back.
"Then don't go."
"I'm not going!"
"I'm not going either!" Alan agreed.
"We are not children anymore. She can't just force us to do whatever she wants!" Charlie declared proudly.
"Exactly!" Alan echoed.
The Next Night, Outside Evelyn's House
"I'm not staying," Charlie grumbled as they walked up the steps to Evelyn's massive front door.
"We'll eat, and we'll go," Alan agreed nervously.
"No coffee. No dessert," Charlie added, drawing a hard line.
Alan started to crack under the pressure of the porch light. "We can't be rude..."
Jake just rolled his eyes and rang the doorbell.
"Watch me," Charlie said defiantly, puffing out his chest. "I refuse to let that woman— Hi, Mom!"
The door had swung open, revealing Evelyn. Charlie's defiance instantly evaporated.
"Better late than never," Evelyn said with a tight, expectant smile.
Alan tapped the face of the Rolex he had recently bought back from the pawnshop. "We are right on time."
"I was referring to the big picture, dear," Evelyn replied dryly.
Jake stepped forward, holding a beautifully wrapped box. "Hi, Grandma! I bought you a gift."
"Oh, sweetheart, thank you so much for coming," Evelyn said, though Jake immediately noticed the strain behind her smile.
She clearly hadn't actually wanted to invite him tonight. Evelyn had a new "beau" over for dinner, and having a ten-year-old loudly calling her "Grandma" all evening, absolutely shattered her illusion of youth.
Of course, Jake knew exactly what he was doing. He had even used a fraction of his $10,000 check to buy her a custom-engraved Tiffany & Co. silver picture frame that read: To The World's Wisest Grandmother.
He didn't have to be here since he could have stayed home. But he simply refused to miss watching an episode of this beautiful disaster play out in live-action.
Evelyn gave Jake a serious look. "Jake, when you're here, make me the favor of calling me Evelyn, will you?"
"Right on, Miss Evelyn, " said Jake, playing along.