I had to move fast. Mom was just about to come out of the car and here I was standing in front of an infant that used to be my mom's boss.
"I wish Ms. Barnes was back to her correct age and in her clothes." I said aloud and there was Ms. Barnes standing there, looking as she did a few seconds ago
and more than a bit dazed.
"What happened to me?" she asked. "For a second I thought I was a..."
She never finished her sentence because just then, my mom appeared at the front steps. She was in her suit and holding a leather briefcase that was bulging with
work. It looked like macaroni and cheese for me again tonight.
"Lucille, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. I don't remember much except that your boy might have..."
She paused for a second or two, wondering if she should say what happened to her. If she did, I would have made her speak Spanish or turn her into something,
but she did not say anything of the kind.
"Nothing," was what she said. "I do have some work for you to do for tomorrow."
My mother's jaw dropped open and she looked at the overstuffed briefcase in her hands. "I have too much to do tonight Lucille. I have the marketing budget to go
over."
"But, we need this for the meeting tomorrow morning," Ms. Barnes protested. "I'd give it to Rita but she has to fly to Reno."
I could see my mom getting ready for a fight. Her jaw muscles started to clench and her eyes got downright flinty.
"No Lucille. I can't. It's impossible for me to do tonight. You will have to do it yourself."
Ms. Barnes dug in her heels. "You will do this or you will be fired."
I suddenly felt uncomfortable. This was going to get ugly. I thought, "They're gonna fight like cats and dogs." Then automaticalty I thought "Uh oh." That was
probably a bad idea."
I was right. Both women stopped in their tracks. I could have easily reversed my thought/wish but somehow the words couldn't come out. Instead I just watched
as my mother and her boss start to grow fur on their hands and faces.
My mother's fur was a golden color that matched her hair. It grew up and over the collar of her blouse. She raised her hands to her face and watched as her hands
thickened and shrunk. Her palms turned black as thick pads grew over them.
She was about to say something, but a long, pink tongue rolled out of her mouth. I noticed that her teeth had been replaced by long row of sharp canine teeth.
Then her face started to enlongate. Her mouth and nose became the snout of a dog. Her eyes shifted to accomodate her growing snout.
Ms. Barnes was having problems of her own. Not only did she suffer the embarassment of geing naked, and becoming a baby; she was now becoming a cat. She
also had fur growing all around her. Her face had become smaller. Her nose and mouth reduced in size but it was disproportionate with the rest of her body. She
reached out to me, her eyes pleading even as they narrowed. Her hands also became padded but smaller. Her fingers reverted back into her fur covered hand until
it was the paw of a cat.
I watched as both women shrank into their clothes as their bodies changed and shifted. My mother was becoming a Golden Retriever and Ms. Barnes was
becoming some sort of Calico. They both fell to their new front and hind legs and shook their way out of their useless clothing. I could see no human knowledge in
their eyes but I could't say for sure if they didn't know what was happening to them. All I know that in front of me were two animals that used to be people.
What was I going to do?