“Okay… let’s-“ Emily began, before hearing the eerie sound of a car parking in the larger driveway outside.
“Oh no…” Olivia murmured, realizing exactly what it meant. He groaned, his powerful hands clapped against his forehead as he realized just who had arrived.
“Oi, who could that be this time!?” Rick beckoned, hearing the clacking of well fashioned heels and an irritating voice chatting on the cell phone.
“…My wife.” Olivia groaned, sighing as he began to shift his posture upright and focused on himself to adapt to the reality that was laying waste to their chances at fixing their situation.
“A real piece of work, she is,” He continued, Paul looked at her former spouse concerningly and then towards Emily. “Hired your boyfriend because she was sure he wouldn’t find work elsewhere in the world.”
Rick sharply inhaled, for what few memories were beginning to form in all of their heads, she out of all of them could feel the fear and anxiety well up in her mind as she could recall this mystery matriarch snapping at her work and cleaning before haphazardly asking her to take care of the children when they were younger. They braced themselves as the sounds grew louder and came face to face with Olivia’s new spouse, her confidant gait accentuating her wealthy, flourished appearance as she continued speaking into the cell phone with gusto.
“I know Sandy, and can you believe the hors d’oeuvres? Simply preposterous, I could not even stand it!”
The woman in front of them was tall, her blonde strands flowed outwards in a lengthy style with a pair of dark shades crowning her head, with dark hazel eyes that could easily pierce one’s soul. While she wore a cardigan and black business pants, it was unmistakable to notice this woman was a go-getter who knew what she wanted, and got what she wanted in that order. She glanced over, a small smile written on her face, before looking at Rick and immediately changing tune, setting shopping bags down and hanging up on the phone with a brief “I’ll call you back, Sandy.”
“And what are you doing here, Rickelle? We have guests coming over soon for our lovely dinner party! I hired you to help our happy home look our absolute best, and I find you lounging about?! What do I pay you for?!” She spoke, clearly irritated.
“Yes, Ms. Helen, I was just…” Rick responded, instinctively, before noticing the situation and bouncing back.
“Checking on the children and Mr. Oliver to see if they were ready.”
Helen scoffed, taking items out of the bags as she exited the room and placing them presumably in the much more larger kitchen that the family could afford. “Checking on the children and my husband, as if I cannot do that? The help these days…” She sneered, moving about as though every last person not related to her were mere pawns for her to move and command.
Paul glanced back at Oliver’s second sigh and motioned for Emily to hurry up with the camera, before Helen appeared as quickly as she left and shooed Rick to help her unload the food she had bought for their apparent dinner party. Breathing in, Helen forced a smile on her face as she opened her arms wide to embrace the two “siblings” warmly.
“And how are my two favorite, precious, adorable, wonderful children today?”
Despite being near crushed by the extravagantly iron grip of their new mother, Emily smiled, an idea ready to play out as she opened her lips to speak-
“That’s wonderful dears, why don’t you play with your sister while me and your father… Speak to each other?” Helen continued, completely ignoring Emily and Paul despite Emily’s would be attempt to distract her.
“Oh, uh, mom-“ Paul piped up, trying to move along the ploy.
“Not now,Paula, your father and I have something very important to discuss.” Helen hadn’t even turned to face Paul, merely holding up a hand as she stared down Oliver, who, was still looking in the mirror and adjusting his bowtie to ignore her in turn.
“But..!” Emily attempted, “I said not NOW Paula.” Helen raised her voice, not realizing she was addressing the wrong sibling. The sheer volume had only gently raised Olivia’s eyebrows as Paul and Emily flinched. Olivia shook her head, memories were already swirling in his head, about how vile the woman he had married was, how he wanted to flee this pageantry lifestyle and be on his own, but she had already had Emily, and Paul was on the way… She had him wrapped around her little fingers, and she wanted everyone to know it: The way she treated the maids or furnished the house left no implications when they were basic facts. He hated it, and she knew it too.
“It’s okay, kids,” Olivia spoke, her deep timbre reassuring the children as Helen refused to look at them. Rick peered back from the kitchen, still attempting to eschew from drawing the boss’ ire once again. “You go on ahead, me and your… Mother, have some things to discuss.” Emily nodded, clutching the camera in her shaking hands as she left to think of a new plan. Paul remained, words couldn’t be found in her throat despite wanting to be there for her former spouse. She still loved him, despite being in the body of this… older girl, Paul wanted to stay, to fight and change this reality, but as Olivia’s now more tired eyes looked back into his, he slowly backed up and followed Emily quickly.
—
Oliver watched as his children left the room, quietly hoping that this reality could be fixed as he felt his back shiver from being in the same room as Helen.
She remained silent for a few moments, before immediately jumping at the point of their isolation.
“So, I know.”
Oliver scoffed.
“That you forced me to stay in this house, this relationship with you?”
It was Helen’s turn to chuckle, walking into the kitchen and fetching herself a glass of wine. Olivia could taste venom in his throat, but this woman, this bitch more like, he was quickly having enough of it.
“I know you’re not who you say you are.” She pressed, walking around him as he continued to look into the mirror.
“I know you had that off and on affair…” Olivia refused to speak.
“I know the bodybuilding was just a ruse to get me not to know…” She huskily breathed, Olivia looked away in disgust as Helen traced his strong chest and bulky arms before sipping another long portion of wine from her glass. “So strong, and powerful… Those bulky, masculine muscles all over this handsome, virile man…”
Olivia crossed his arms and huffed. “Get on with it, what is it?”
“Oh, Oliver, Oliver, Oliver… You already know who you are…” She paused, swirling the glass in her palms.
“It’s just the rest of the world that doesn’t, right?”
—
Paul frantically ran for Emily as he began to consider what his life was quickly becoming. First his wife was a man, then she was having sex with Emily’s boyfriend who turned into a woman, and now his wife was now a man who was in a relationship with another woman who apparently birthed him and Emily. He found her, sitting on a bed inside a spacious young man’s room that seemingly had been hers now that she had become the only son of the new family.
“Emily, thank god, I- I need to change, I don’t want this anymore.” He clamored, pulling at the elegant dress he was wearing that was for the dinner party his parents were going to be throwing tonight.
“I know, dad, I just-“ Emily started.
“No, no, I don’t like that woman, I don’t like what she’s doing to your mother-“
“Father, dad, remember? She’s Oliver now? We have to play it safe or else something else might happen.”
“I don’t care anymore! He’s my wife! I mean- I… She…” Paul stumbled breathlessly, the emotions of having everything happen in such a short span with his awareness mingling in was becoming to be too much for him to bear alone. He could feel tears streaking down his face as he looked into his hands, so petite and tiny compared to how larger they had once been before. He felt as though he was missing the larger pieces of himself, parts he needed so desperately now that this woman was behaving this way to his… his partner and his daughter’s boyfriend now maid (though, he did admit Rick had it coming).
“Hey, dad, it’s okay… He can handle it, we know him it’s just… I don’t want to mess anything up more, after all.”
Paul sighed, taking a seat near her and covered his eyes.
“I just want to hold him again, and be… me again. Or, at least, a guy. I hate the way I am right now… So… Powerless…”
Emily nodded, gawking at the camera laid perfectly on the bed temptingly.
Paul continued to clear his eyes and breathed deeply to combat his sobs, only worried about fixing this mess and hopefully righting the camera’s wrongs… only to hear Emily’s determined words as he looked up.
“Hey, Dad, smile.”