Housewife - Part 1

 

The piercing noise subsided, and I felt a massive headache coming on. My vision slowly unblurred, just in time to see the man I had been talking to moments before closing the door to the apartment. The shadow of a person on the outside of the frosted glass walked away.

The man I had just shaken hands with shuffled past me into the living room of the new development, tending to the children who had been swarming around the young parents.

I was about to leave. I had just come here to pick up a used baby stroller. My wife and I were expecting a baby. She was waiting in the car for me.

Why did he just close the door on me? What was that noise?

Long strawberry blonde locks of hair fell into my peripheral. I spun towards them, but they were firmly attached to my head.

“What the…” I started, but my voice sounded strange.

My hands flew up to grasp at my throat, but it felt strange, too. Smooth, somehow.

I felt something else, a dull weight on my chest.

No. It couldn’t be.

…Breasts?

I glanced down, disbelief and shock colliding in my gut. My hands—my slender, unfamiliar hands—hovered above the curves of a body that clearly wasn’t mine. I stumbled backwards, bumping into the wall.

“Zoey,” the man said, confused and a bit exasperated, “What’s wrong?”

Zoey? My name was Nick.

“I—” I stammered. I tried to point to myself but managed only a shaky hand in front of my face, “I’m not—”

“Not what?” he said, his eyes wide with concern.

My head throbbed. I couldn’t think. The walls seemed to close in, the furniture tilting at odd angles. I needed to leave, to get out of there.

“I need some… air,” I blurted and reached for the door.

The man’s touch was gentle but firm on my shoulder,“Just take a deep breath, okay?”

I took a deep breath.

“Zoey?” he said again.

“I, uh, have a headache.”

“One of those migraines again, huh? Come, let’s get you to bed. I can watch the kids for a bit.”

A little girl, maybe five or six, jostled my arm.

“You okay, Mommy?” she said, her face pinched with concern.

Mommy? I stared at her, then at the man.

The man rubbed his chin and grimaced with sympathy, “You look really pale. Come on, honey.”

He took me by the hand, my fingers thin inside his grasp, and led me to a room down the hall. I moved awkwardly, like I didn’t know how to manage this body yet.