Tom was breathing way too fast, he knew that.
Jesus H. Christ! What was happening?! His mom was a 7'4 cow woman?!
He stopped for a moment. Quietly retracing his steps, he looked back into his mom's bedroom.
Olivia Marie Baker (that was her full name) was looking over herself incredulously. She stood there for almost a minute, her head almost touching the ceiling. Her white fur was beautiful, Tom had to admit, and the way she gently touched her new horns would have been cute if this wasn't his mother. She eventually turned around, cringing slightly as the floor creaked with her new weight. Mrs. Baker gave a shrug (which was now huge given her size), and reached into her closet, trying to find some extra large clothes.
Tom looked away, embarrassed. So she was still his mother, practical to the very end.
I suppose I got that from her, he thought.
How was I so calm when she...grew two feet and sprouted horns!?
Tom put a hand on his racing heart, stopping himself from panicking.
Think, Think, Think, how do I react to this, what do you do when your mom...
The Milk.
Tom raced out of the hallway, dashing into his room and picking up his phone. He pounded the numbers in, missing a few digits and frustratingly starting over once or twice. Finally, he got it.
"Ring...Ring...Hey there my boy! Calling me back so soon? What's the matter! Is it spoiled already?!"
William "Bill" Darcy gave a booming laugh as he rounded the corner on 32nd street. The sun is so bright today, he thought.
"William! Uh, Mr. Darcy!" came a familiar nervous voice.
"Tom, what's going on." Bill asked casually.
"Uhh...." Tom didn't really know what to say. What, my mom looks like the logo for those ice cream bars? Then he thought of something.
"Ok, Mr. Darcy...Have you seen those adds that have been going around? The ones with the animal people?" He said.
"Hmm. Oh sure! You mean like the ones over on the Dairy Farm! Anim-ualia right? I can hardly believe it myself, science is really someth-" Bill was cut off.
"Exactly!" Tom Exclaimed. "Sorry, by the way. How many houses have you delivered to this morning sir?"
"Well, let's see." Bill stopped at a corner, pulling out his address book. "Looks like...about 15 or 16. Why do you ask?" He was curious now.
"So you know how they put that message; "Be uplifted Today!" on all of their commercials."
"Uh uh." Bill said, shutting off the engine.
"Well...that milk your carrying must have that stuff in it." He finally got it out.
"Wait, how do you know?" Bill Darcy looked up. "Did you drink it?"
"No sir. I took some to my mother this morning and she...well..." Tom was lost again.
"Your Mom? Wait! Oh my god...How is she?!" Darcy suddenly sounded shocked.
"She's...I mean she's fine..." Tom stuttered, trying to finish.
"But is she, you know..." Bill inquired.
"Yeah..." Tom finished, finally calming down
"Dear Lord." It was Bill's turn to take it all in now. He breathed a deep breath. "You mean to say that I gave tainted milk to 30 or 40 people?" There was an edge of fear in his voice.
"No sir!" Tom exclaimed, "This wasn't your fault! I can be a witness if the authority's ever blame you!"
Bill gave a nervous grin. "Your a good man Tom. Don't worry about me...I'm more worried about explaining things to my wife than the police." He tried to sound cheerful.
Tom blushed at the compliment. "Alright sir."
"You take care of your mom, I'll get over to the office and start sending out PR to calm everyone down. What a day..." Bill hung up.
Tom stood for a bit. He looked down and realized his hands were shaking. He took a few deep breaths before closing his cell phone.
"Thomas! Thomas!" A familiar voice called from the other room. Tom quickly dropped his cell and ran over to it.
Olivia had found one of her more elastic shirts, and that light blue shirt hung over her chest and shoulders like a glove. She was also wearing what was once a long skirt, which looked incredibly short on her broad hips and thighs. Mrs. Baker gave a relieved smile as she met her son's glance.
"There you are!" Her voice sounded louder than usual, and it had a fullness that wasn't present before. She sounded very authoritative.
"Hey mom." Tom said, quietly staring up at her. "Are you...feeling ok?"
"Well, everything looks smaller, and keep hitting my head on the doorways, but I feel like I could run a marathon with all this energy!" His mother shifted her weight from one hoof to the other.
"Mom." He took a few seconds. "I'm so sorry." His voice was almost inaudible.
"If I had known what that milk had it in it, I-" Tom suddenly felt two incredibly soft arms wrap around him, and he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Her looked into his mother's eyes, and she was smiling sincerely.
"Thomas, how could you have known what was in there? Besides, that fever had me scared for awhile...I wasn't sure if I could have made it for much longer." Olivia's voice was soft, and Tom almost let out a gasp. "Mom..."
"I didn't want to scare you, but the doctors gave me some advice about my condition, and they mentioned that their was a chance of...well it doesn't matter now."
She knew all this time and she kept it to herself? Tom felt tears come to his eyes.
Olivia continued. "It doesn't matter anymore because now I feel like I just swallowed a lightning bolt! Do you know what you did Tom? You saved my life!" Her voice was genuine, and Tom instantly hugged her back as best he could.
"I love you mom." He whispered.
"I love you too my son." She kissed him on the forehead and gently lowered him down. She was so strong now!
Mrs. Baker smiled again. "Did I hear you talking with Mr. Darcy just now?" Her casual tone returned.
"Yeah! Apparently our whole block got the milk that had some of that Animalia conversion stuff in it." Tom felt a deep sense of relief.
"Our whole block...Oh dear. Anne must have gotten some next door!" She walked over to the patio door, stepping into her flip flops out of instinct.
"Uh mom? The door-" Tom didn't finish as Mrs. Baker hit her head on the door.
"Ow!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to check on our neighbors, I won't be long!" She closed the door behind her.
Tom took a minute, and then laughed. This was a really weird day, but he couldn't complain.