A RELUCTANT SPIRIT: Vengeful Spirit
By Ingrid Halb

My fifth story, in which we meet Larry, a small-minded cubicle dweller bent on payback for every imagined wrong with a particular grudge against his supervisor. Not an unusual character, and one that can be found in many office buildings across the land. But Larry has a certain vessel that can conjure a three-foot tall enabler of wishes. Now what was it that they call payback again?

“Okay, I believe you,” Larry said plopping down across from the little man sitting at his kitchen table calmly sipping tea.

“Finally!” the little man said with relief. “You’re a difficult man to convince.”

“Yeah well, it’s not every day you get a three-foot tall genie pop up in your kitchen and tell you he’s going to grant all your wishes,” Larry pointed out.

“Enable. Enable your wishes,” the little man said with exasperation. “Look, I’ve told you several times. You must understand by now!”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it,” Larry said dismissively. “All I got to do is wish for something to happen to something and say when it happens and I get my wish, right?”

“At risk of making an incredible oversimplification, yes,” the little man agreed. “But I must repeat my warning that you refrain from making wishes. They invariably do the unexpected and usually backfire.”

“Like those four guys you told me about,” Larry smiled. “They all wound up getting turned into women.”

“Girls really,” the little man corrected. “Three teenagers and a small child. And none of them were all that happy about it either.”

“Does it always do that?” Larry asked. “Change guys into girls, I mean.”

“No,” the little man admitted. “But it does seem to be in a bit of a rut. What can I say, magic likes patterns. Last time it got stuck in a rut was over two hundred years ago. Everyone was getting turned into animals which meant they got stuck because they couldn’t vocalize any more wishes.”

“That’s funny,” Larry said.

“What is? People turning into animals?” the little man asked.

“No, guys turning into girls,” Larry answered. “I’d like to see that.”

“You want to be turned into a girl?” the little man looked sideways at Larry.

“What? No!” he quickly denied. “I want to see some other guy get turned into a girl. This one guy in particular, Ronald Whitaker. He’s the office manager where I work and a real boss’ pet. I wouldn’t mind seeing him taken down a peg or two. Guy’s younger than me and thinks he can boss me around all day. I wonder how bossy he’d feel in a skirt!”

“It’s not a good idea to use magic in the first place” the little man outlined, “but it’s especially not good to use it to be mean to people.”

“Why?” Larry asked. “Would that make it not work or something?”

“Oh, it will work,” asserted the little man. “Magic doesn’t care about intent. It’s just not a good idea to do bad things to people. Haven’t you ever heard that old saying that what goes around comes around?”

Larry let out a loud raspberry at the little man’s comment.

“That’s a total crock!” he added. “I’m just dishing out a little payback is all. I’m going to take you to the office tomorrow and we’re going to have a little fun with Mister Perfect, Ron Whitaker.”

“I sincerely hope you feel differently in the morning,” the little man said, genuinely relieved that no wishes were being made today but leery about the morning.

“Yeah well, don’t count on it,” Larry said.

The little man sighed but bid Larry a good night before disappearing. Larry barely noticed his leaving, being obsessed with the idea of getting even with Ronald Whitaker.

_____ o _____

“Hello Larry,” the little man said trying to sound cheerful. They were obviously inside an office cubicle, apparently Larry’s. “I see you’re still intent upon making that imagined payback wish.”

“You’re damn straight!” Larry said firmly. “And I ain’t imagining nothing. He’s been pushing me around since he got here. I’m tired of him telling me what to do.”

“He is your boss, Larry,” the little man tried on last time to dissuade him. “Magic is dangerous. Bad things can happen to those that use it.”

“That’s him!” Larry said pointing out the cubicle entrance and down the hall. “Bastard’s even got a real office with a door and everything.”

“You’re not listening, are you?” the little man sighed.

“Is he going to remember changing?” Larry asked turning to face the little man. “I want him to remember me changing him.”

“Only the true owner of my vessel remembers by default,” the little man lectured, happy to delay Larry a little. “The object of a wish only remembers the action and a wisher only forgets if specifically made to do so by a qualifier.”

“So is he going to remember or what?” Larry asked.

“Only if you wish him to,” the little man simplified.

“Cool,” said Larry. “I want my wish now.”

“Say it then,” the little man sighed with resignation.

“I wish Ronald Whitaker would turn into a woman right now,” wished Larry. “And that only me and him will remember he used to be a man!”

“As you wish,” the little man intoned solemnly.

Larry eagerly stared at the closed office door, waiting.

“Is it happening?” he asked.

“It’s happening,” the little man confirmed.

“I don’t see anything happening,” pressed Larry. “How do I know it’s really happening?”

“If you wanted to see it happen, you shouldn’t have waited till he closed the door!” the little man said sharply. “Trust me, it’s happening.”

“You didn’t have to snap at me,” complained Larry. “I just thought I’d see something happening that’s all.

Larry sulked quietly, staring at the office door. Eventually the door opened slowly and a very confused and frightened woman stuck her head out the door and looked around nervously. She had auburn shoulder-length hair. She wore a modest amount of makeup and had small silver hoops in each ear.

“Is that him?” asked Larry.

“Yes, that’s him,” the little man confirmed. “Or her, rather. Her name is now Rita Wanamaker. Otherwise she’s exactly the same person.”

Larry could see Rita nearly jump out of her skin when one of the office clerks walked up and started talking to her.

“Ms. Wanamaker,” the clerk said. “I need your signature on these reports before I can send them out.”

Rita let the door swing wider and Larry could see that she now wore a conservative blue knee-length dress with white collar. She took the reports from the clerk as if they were toxic, before bending over a nearby desk to sign the papers. Larry saw that she had long nails painted copper-red. While she signed, Larry admired her ass and shapely nylon-clad legs. He noted she had matching shoes with a low heel.

“Are you all right, Ma’am?” the clerk asked.

“Uh, yes. Yes I’m fine, David,” she answered. “Thanks for asking.”

“There you are, Rita.” Larry recognized the voice of Mr. Richards, the district manager and rapidly pretended to be busily working.

“I need you to talk to a client, right now,” Larry heard Mr. Richards say to Rita. “He has some questions on last quarter’s numbers and I need you to explain them.”

“Yes Mr. Richards, right away sir,” she answered.

Larry saw her fidget self-consciously with her dress as she walked by his cubicle. He could hear the rapid click-click-click of her heels fade off in the distance as she rushed to keep up with the district manager. Larry had a big idiotic grin on his face when he turned to face the little man.

“That was hilarious!” he said. “Did you see how freaked out she was?”

“You know, it’s not nice to pick on people,” the little man reminded him.

“I bet she has a nervous breakdown by noon!” Larry crowed.

“You’re not hearing a word I say, are you?” the little man asked, not expecting a response.

“This is going to be the best day ever!” Larry went on. “I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Finally, Larry did pay attention to the little man in his office cubicle. He looked thoughtfully at the little man for a moment, and then spoke.

“Listen, you better disappear for now before anyone sees you,” he said. “I’ll call you when I need to make another wish.”

“Very well,” the little man sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward before disappearing from sight without saying goodbye.

_____ o _____

“Hello Larry,” the little man said with a note of irritation in his voice. Even without magic, he could tell he was still in Larry’s office cubicle.

“Hey,” said Larry in an obviously distracted manner. His brow was furrowed and his lips twisted in a scowl as he kept glancing down the hall toward Ms. Wanamaker’s office door.

“What’s the matter Larry?” the little man asked, beginning to take a pleasant interest in whatever was annoying Larry. “Was yesterday not the greatest day ever?”

“No!” said Larry. “It wasn’t.”

“Whatever is the mater?” he asked feigning sympathy.

“Wanamaker. She’s just like she was before,” Larry complained.

“You mean she’s a man again?” the little man asked in a very surprised tone of voice. He tried to think of a way that that could happen without it registering in the magical energy of the area.

“No, she’s still a she,” Larry said. “But she’s still pushing me around, telling me what to do, correcting me in front of people and stuff. She hasn’t missed a beat. It’s like Ron never changed.”

The little man was visibly impressed.

“Evidently, this Ms. Wanamaker is one resilient person,” he noted. “Most people wouldn’t have adapted this quickly.”

“Yeah well, I’m going to bring her down a notch or two,” Larry threatened.

“I wouldn’t underestimate her if I were you,” the little man warned. “She may be more formidable than you think.”

“Let’s just see how ‘formidable’ she is when I wish her into being some of the hired help instead of management,” Larry said, smiling wickedly at the thought.

“What are you going to do?” asked the little man.

“This,” Larry said. “I wish Rita Wanamaker was a secretary. And that everything she knows about running an office is all secretarial and I want her to still remember who she used to be. And I want it now!”

“As you wish,” the little man intoned solemnly.

It took almost no time at all before Larry felt a small shudder pass through the room.

“Was that it?” he asked. “Has it happened already? That seemed fast.”

“Yes, it’s happened. And of course it was quick,” the little man lectured. “There were no physical changes involved, just a slight alteration in the social status of one person. That doesn’t take any time at all.”

Just then, the door to Ms. Wanamaker’s office opened and Rita stepped out with a confused look on her face. She stopped just outside the door and looked back inside as if she had forgotten something or was trying to decide between two different things to do. She looked down the hallway for a moment then seemed to make up her mind. She headed purposefully down the hall towards the suite of executive offices. Larry noted that she had her purse and jacket with her and certainly looked as if she was not coming back any time soon.

“You stay here,” Larry directed the little man. “I just got to see this!”

Larry grabbed a clipboard and some loose papers and followed a short distance behind Rita. He watched as she walked up to the empty receptionist’s desk outside the main offices. She seemed confused for a moment, and then hung her jacket across the back of the chair before sitting down. She put her purse in the lower right hand drawer without thinking, and then began rearranging the top of the desk to better suit her needs. When the phone rang, she reached for it automatically. Larry pretended to photocopy some papers so he could listen in.

“Good morning, Southern District. This is Ms. Wanamaker. How may I direct your call?” she said in a crisp professional tone. “One moment please. Mr. Crandall, Mr. Jeffers is on line one for you.”

“Thank you, Rita,” was the answer over the speakerphone.

“He’ll be with you in a moment, Mr. Jeffers,” she said then put the call on hold.

The intercom buzzed once.

“Yes, Mr. Richards?” she asked after pressing down the button on the speaker.

“Rita, bring me the international file and could you get me another cup of coffee, please,” said the voice on the intercom.

“Certainly, sir,” she said then got up to get the file and coffee.

Larry had seen enough and was chuckling the whole way back to his cubicle.

“Hah!” he said when he rejoined the little man. “That ought to bring her down a notch! Thinks she can boss me around, does she. Well let’s just see how she likes being just a secretary instead of the boss for awhile.”

“You’re enjoying this too much,” the little man said sadly shaking his head.

“Little man, this is just the start,” Larry said, his eyes bright with imagined plans. “Once I finally put Rita in her place, there will be a few changes made around here, there will.”

The little man was concluding that he did not really like Larry very much. Therefore he did not bother saying goodbye. Instead, he just raised his palms up in surrender then disappeared. Larry was too preoccupied with his inner machinations to notice.

_____ o _____

“Hello Larry,” the little man said coldly, disappointed that Larry was still the one calling him. “What’s the matter now; you need me to torture someone today?”

“Yeah, Rita,” Larry said glowering back down the hallway.

The little man was a little surprised at this.

“I thought you finally put her in her place,” he said sarcastically.

“That ball-breaking bitch doesn’t know her place!” Larry fumed. “She’s still bossing me around. She won’t let me near management without an appointment and she sent back three of my memos because they weren’t in the proper format!”

The little man smiled in spite of himself. His opinion of Rita Wanamaker was growing. This was one resilient individual.

“What a shame,” feigned the little man still smiling.

“I got to do something that will freak her out so bad, that she won’t ever order me around again!” Larry said gnashing his teeth.

“What did you have in mind?” the little man asked cautiously. There did not seem to be many ethical limits on what Larry was capable of wishing.

“I’m going to turn our former ‘him’ into a hot young little honey,” Larry smiled evilly. “She’ll be so freaked out at being turned into a little sexpot and having guys hit on her all the time, that she’ll be easy to push around.”

“I think you may be underestimating her,” the little man warned.

He was not sure exactly why he was warning Larry, other than he did want to avoid letting more magic loose. Besides, it was a mean trick to play on Rita. Still quite clearly remembering that she used to be a man, she was likely to be traumatized winding up looking like what Larry thought was a hot young little honey.

“Nah, this will work,” Larry said confidently. “But I want to see it happen. Not like that first time.”

“Very well then,” the little man sighed. “Make your wish.”

“I wish that the next time I see Rita Wanamaker, she turns into an eighteen-year old” Larry wished, “except with blonde hair and bigger tits. And I still want her to remember she used to be a guy!”

“As you wish,” the little man said solemnly. “You know, you can be a real bastard sometimes.”

“Yeah like I care what you think,” Larry dismissed. “It’ll happen, right? She’ll change as soon as I see her?”

“She’ll change,” the little man assured him. “The magical energy is building up and just waiting for you to trigger it.”

“Sweet!” Larry said. “Wait here, I got to check this out.”

Once again, he grabbed a clipboard and some loose papers for the copier and went down the hall to check on what the magic was going to do to Rita Wanamaker. When he rounded the corner, he saw her standing at the filing cabinets reorganizing files. He had to smile when he saw her because as soon as he laid eyes on her, he could see a ripple pass over her body causing her to shudder. She already looked considerably younger and her clothes were starting to change by the time Larry got to the copier.

“Hi Rita, how’s tricks?” Larry asked nonchalantly.

“Oh, hi Larry,” she answered. “More copies? You are using your own account, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he said gritting his teeth.

It particularly miffed him that she always called him by his first name like some lowly clerk. But he had to smile when he heard her gasp. She had started to notice some of the changes in her clothes and body. Where Rita had been wearing a rather conservative dress with a knee-length hem, she now had on a brightly colored miniskirt and blouse combination. Instead of the plain pumps with a one-inch heel, she now had on a pair of ankle strap mules with a three-inch heel.

“What’s the matter Rita? You all right?” he smiled while he asked.

“I’m… I’m fine,” she answered.

She was definitely starting to look like a kid, a kid with large breasts. It looked like someone had stuck two grapefruits down the front of her blouse. Her shoulder length auburn hair was now a rich honey blonde that hung halfway down her back and was still growing.

“I just need to sit down for moment,” she said walking back to her desk.

Larry admired the view of her long legs walking away. Her hair seemed to have stopped growing at roughly the top of her pert young ass. The thought crossed his mind that she looked as good coming or going, as she sat down and put her tits in Larry’s field of view again.

“All right then. Take care,” he said grinning as he walked back down the hallway. Just before rounding the corner, he looked back to see that the UPS guy was already hitting on the buxom blonde receptionist that was Rita.

“Gotcha!” he whispered and whistled a happy tune all the way back to his cubicle.

“I think I got her this time,” he said to the little man waiting back at his desk.

“You do, do you?” the little man said skeptically.

“She doesn’t know what hit her!” he bragged. “I bet I have her in tears by noon. She won’t be bossing me around any more.”

The little man had decided that his feelings for Larry were more of an active dislike bordering on open hatred. Still, Larry had possession of his vessel and he was therefore obligated to act on his wishes.

“Are you sure now?” the little man asked dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh yeah I’m sure,” Larry said chuckling. “Listen, you better cut out of here before someone sees you. I’ll call you when I need you.”

The little man gritted his teeth at Larry’s dismissive attitude and disappeared without saying another word. Larry sat back in his chest, still chuckling to himself.

_____ o _____

“What do you want?” was how the little man greeted Larry on their next meeting. He was not even trying to be friendly anymore. Frankly, at this point he almost hoped Larry would make another wish. Maybe he would be careless and caught by his own words.

“I need to make another wish,” Larry demanded.

“Who do you want to pick on now?” the little man asked, rolling his eyes.

“Rita,” Larry answered.

“Again?” the little man said with surprise. “Didn’t you do enough to that poor girl yesterday? I thought you finally got her good.”

“She’s still ordering me around” Larry complained, “but now she’s got half the guys in the building doing her dirty work. I tried picking on her and some delivery guy threatened to beat me up. Mr. Richards just about ripped me a new one in front of the whole office. He said I wasn’t being a team player. He accused me of having a vendetta. She’s got him totally brainwashed. She’s sneaky, I’ll give her that.”

“Did it ever occur to you that she’s just a nice person who works hard at her job?” the little man asked.

“I’ve got to get her good,” Larry said, clearly not listening to the little man. “I know how I screwed up. Making her young and good-looking just gave her weapons to use against me. I have to hit her with a real handicap. Something that will slow her down just enough without making people feel sorry for her.”

“What sick little twist did you have in mind?” the little man said frowning.

Larry smiled broadly before answering.

“I’m going to wish she was a single mother,” he said smugly.

The little man could not believe Larry’s gall and lack of empathy.

“Have you absolutely no human decency what so ever?” he asked.

“No, it’s perfect,” Larry said. “A little social stigma, a little financial hardship, and a whole lot more stress. A few months of taking care of some squalling brat and she’ll be just another stressed-out secretary. Let her try to boss me around then!”

“I’m appalled,” the little man said. “Not only are you trying to ruin this poor girl’s life for petty vengeance over imagined slights, but think of the child! What kind of psychological damage do you think it will cause to a child to have a mother with no emotional attachment for it? You’ll be ruining two lives!”

“You’re right,” Larry said thoughtfully. “She might dump the kid off in some orphanage or something. I better wish for her to be emotionally attached to the kid so she stays stuck with him.”

The little man was speechless. Larry did not give a damn about the child’s welfare. He just wanted to make sure he got his vengeance in.

“I wish” Larry started, “that when Rita Wanamaker gets off from work, she finds out that she has a kid but there’s no changes to her memory and that she has enough emotional connection with the kid to not give it up. And I want to be there to see her face when she first realizes she’s a mother!”

“As you wish,” the little man said solemnly.

“This time I got her good!” Larry cackled rubbing his hands with glee. “There’s no way this isn’t going to slow her down!”

The little man decided that loathing was not a too strong a term to describe his feelings towards Larry right now. He was so involved with thinking of things that he would like to see happen to Larry that he was as surprised as Larry was when a ripple passed through the fabric of the office cubicle.

“What was that?” Larry asked, recovering from the shudder that had followed the ripple.

“That was… that was the magic setting the stage to grant you wish,” said the flustered little man.

He rapidly began to scan the flow of magical energy around the room. The little man had allowed it to get ahead of him and he was racing to catch up.

“What do you mean?” asked Larry nervously.

The little man just shushed him. Larry could be put off only so long, though. When the wall and furnishings started around him began to shimmer and vanish, he could not control his anxiety any more.

“What the hell is happening here? Where are you taking me?” he asked.

The little man sighed before explaining it slowly to Larry.

“I’m not taking you anywhere,” he said. “The magic is finding the locale where Rita will realize she’s a mother.”

“Oh,” Larry said. “What kind of place is that going to be?”

“A little patience and we’ll both find out!” the little man said sternly.

“You don’t have to yell,” Larry sulked and continued to sulk while the surrounding room began to form up.

“It kind of looks like a school,” Larry finally said, noting the colorful numbers and letters on the wall alongside children’s art projects.

“It’s a daycare,” corrected the little man. “You didn’t think an eighteen year old would have a child old enough for school did you?”

“I don’t know,” Larry shrugged, idly examining his surroundings.

The room they were in was medium sized with a low gated divider separating their side of the room from the outward leading doors. One end of the enclosure they were in had a small low table with little chairs around it. The other end had a little playhouse with large openings for windows and rounded corners. Large safe-looking toys with bright colors were strewn about.

“So where are the kids?” Larry asked, kicking at a red plastic ball.

“I would imagine that this is them now,” the little man gestured at several shadowy shapes materializing around the room.

Sure enough, eight of the forms were solidifying into the recognizable shapes of young children. Two large shapes were taking the form of young women.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Larry complained. “Neither of those two is Rita!”

“Don’t be so thick,” the little man chided. “Those are the daycare workers. Rita hasn’t arrived yet.”

“So she will come here to pick up her kid then?” Larry asked.

“Yes already,” the little man impatiently answered. “That’s clearly defined in the energy lines.”

“That’s good,” Larry nodded. “I don’t want to miss it.”

“You can’t miss it you idiot!” the little man snapped. “You specifically wished to be there when it happens.”

“Your attitude is beginning to bug me…” Larry started to say before a ripple and resulting shudder passing through his body interrupted him.

“What the heck was that?” he asked.

“That” the little man said, “is the magic acting to fit you into this reality. I hadn’t thought that you would be so strongly affected.”

“What’s it doing?” Larry asked nervously.

The little man din not answer right away but continued to study the lines of magical energy surrounding Larry. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows in surprise at something, then slowly a big grin crossed his face and he started to chuckle.

“What?” Larry repeated. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

“Oh, nothing,” the little man laughed. “Let’s just say that you will definitely see the look in Rita’s eyes when she realizes she’s a mother.”

“What do you mean by th… Ouch!” Larry yelped as his bare foot came down on a little toy dump truck. “Hey! What happened to my shoes?”

“Don’t worry Larry, I’m sure someone will help you find them,” the little man continued to chuckle.

Larry had been sitting on the floor rubbing his injured foot. He climbed unsteadily to his feet. For some reason standing seemed awkward. His shirt and pants felt funny, too. Looking at the little man, he was shocked to see that he was only a head taller than the little man.

“When did you get so tall?” he asked.

“Larry, Larry, Larry,” the little man said shaking his head but still chuckling. “I know you’re slow on the uptake, but can’t you put it together? Look around you. Does the room seem bigger to you? I’m not any taller, you’re getting smaller.”

“Smaller! Why am I getting smaller?” he said looking around the room in a panic.

“Because you’re becoming a child again, Larry,” the little man spoke in a teasing lilting voice. “A very young one, too. Maybe 14 months old if I read this right.”

“I’m becoming a baby?!” he said in shock, noting that he was now shorter than the little man.

“Toddler, technically,” the little man corrected.

“But why a baby?” he said pulling at his shirt which was now a sleeveless undershirt with grape juice stains down the front. His pant legs had disappeared and the seat seemed baggy.

“How old a child did you think Rita could have, after you made her eighteen years old?” the little man asked, smiling down at Larry.

“You mean Rita is my… my…” he could not finish the sentence.

“Your mother, yes,” the little man finished for him. “Kind of ironic don’t you think? Here you were trying to get her to stop bossing you around at work, and she winds up being the boss of your whole life. That’s funny!”

“Nooo…” whined Larry just before a particularly gut-wrenching shudder knocked him onto his butt. ‘Larry’ could feel changes slowly peter out and finally stop.

“I can wish myself out of this. You have to help me,” Larry demanded of the little man.

“Ooh, sorry. All the magical energy in this room is gone. Used up! Finished!!” the little man replied, clearly enjoying this. “You’ll have to wait till tomorrow to make another wish.”

“Tomorrow?” ‘Larry’s’ pudgy little face had a shocked expression on it. “I’m stuck like this until tomorrow?”

“I’m happy to say you’ll be stuck like this for considerably longer period of time than that!” the little man almost gloated. “You see, you left my vessel back in the office. You’d have to go back there to call me and they don’t let one-year olds out to go visit an office building. Face it, you’ve lost possession. You are stuck for good!”

“No!!” ‘Larry’ yelped. “I still remember who I am!”

“That’s part of the beauty of all this,” the little man smiled. “You’ll still remember who you were but developmentally you will roll back to being fourteen months old. That includes vocabulary and potty-training I’m afraid.”

“I have to grow up again?” ‘Larry’ asked starting to realize the predicament. “With Rita as my mother?!”

“Yes, and I might add that you could use it,” the little man answered. “As ‘Larry’ you were one vindictive immature lazy failure of a human being. Maybe this time you’ll get it right!”

‘Larry’ gave up trying to stand and plopped onto the floor in stunned silence.

“What goes around comes around,” the little man chuckled. “Oh, and one last thing. I think there’s going to be a real strong family resemblance!”

With that, the little man disappeared, but his laugh still rang through the daycare for a few moments. ‘Larry’ looked at the other children playing in the room. None of them seemed to notice anything unusual. One of the daycare workers came up and smiled at ‘Larry’. She seemed enormous.

“Oh dear,” she laughed. “We better get you cleaned up and dressed. Your Mommy will be here any minute.”

‘Larry’ could not quite understand what she was saying, but she seemed nice. She took the grape-stained shirt off and used a baby wipe to clean ‘Larry’s’ face before checking the diaper. Evidently, the diaper was still acceptable, because she did not change it. She slipped a fresh undershirt over ‘Larry’s’ head and then a clean white shirt with buttons on the back. Then some sort of baby-blue outfit was slipped over ‘Larry’s’ head. It had shoulder straps and hung to his knees. The nice lady hummed while she put lacy socks and shiny black shoes on ‘Larry’s’ feet.

“There you go, all done!” she said picking ‘Larry’ up and walking to the mirror. “Do you want to see how pretty you look?”

Looking in the mirror, ‘Larry’ saw the daycare worker holding a pretty little blonde girl in a baby blue dress. It took ‘Larry’ a couple of moments to realize whose image that was.

‘I’m a girl?’ she thought. ‘I’m going to grow up a girl? So when that little guy said there was going to be a strong family resemblance, he meant there would be a STRONG family resemblance.’

Just then, a young blonde woman with large breasts came in through the front door.

“Hi Rita! Lucy’s ready to go. Let me just get her stuff together,” the daycare worker said then handed Lucy/Larry over to Rita.

“Well this is some week I’ve been having,” Rita said looking into Lucy’s eyes. “I guess you’re just one more surprise I am going to have to deal with. But you sure are the most precious little surprise, aren’t you? Yes you are! Can you say Momma?”

Lucy knew this woman but could not remember her name.

“Momma?” Lucy finally managed to say.

Rita’s heart melted at the sound and she gave Lucy a hug just as the daycare worker came back in.

“Here are her things,” the daycare worker said, handing Rita a diaper bag and a few other things. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Sure,” said Rita bouncing Lucy in her arms.

“Honestly, Rita,” the daycare worker said. “I don’t know how you do it, a single mother at your age.”

“You just got to work through the obstacles,” Rita said. “That’s one thing I’m definitely going to teach my little girl here. Be nice to people and work hard at your job and you’ll be surprised where it gets you.”

Lucy realized that she had wet herself and started to cry.

THE END