Another Change

This sucked.

Sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to Stacy, feeling the intense emptiness that had appeared the moment they stopped touching, sucked.

Evan wanted to climb straight back under the blankets. He wanted to turn around, reach for her, and beg her to come back. More than that, he wanted her close. He wanted the strange sense of completeness that had filled him when they had been lying together.

But he wasn't going to do that. Not to her. Not to himself.

It wouldn't be fair. Stacy was probably feeling exactly what he was feeling, and she was fighting through it anyway. If she could force herself to get out of bed, then Evan could do the same. Besides, after everything he'd done, it was the least he could do. His choices had screwed up her life badly enough already.

With a long sigh, Evan stood. He didn't bother looking at himself as he crossed the room. There was something almost absurd about how little embarrassment remained between him and Stacy anymore. A week ago, being naked in the same room as his former stepmother would have been unthinkable. Now, compared with everything else the magic had put them through, it barely registered.

The washroom offered a few precious minutes of normality. Evan relieved himself, brushed his teeth, and splashed cold water over his face. He stared at his reflection while droplets ran down his cheeks.

Get your head together.

Yesterday had been insane. Finding out that Stacy was basically property in this new reality. Finding out that Debbie, Stacy's best friend, was somehow his girlfriend. Discovering that the world apparently considered all of this perfectly ordinary. Then falling asleep with both women in his bed after an evening that had become far more intense than he ever could have imagined.

Insane.

And the worst part was that Evan had no reason to believe today would be any different. Would Debbie be downstairs waiting for them? Would she expect a repeat of yesterday? Would there be another bizarre revelation waiting around the next corner?

He had no idea. The second potion had changed everything again. The first one had been terrifying, but at least Evan had eventually started to understand its direction. There had been a pattern. A trajectory.

This one was different. It was chaos.

And Evan had been the idiot who had drank it.

He dried his face and headed back into the bedroom. Stacy stood just inside the entrance to the closet. Something about the way she was staring into it made Evan stop.

"You okay?"

"It's changed again."

Her voice was quiet.

Evan crossed to the dresser and started looking for some underwear. "What do you mean?"

"The maid outfits are gone."

He paused.

"What?"

"I think the magic did something again."

Evan pulled on his boxer-briefs before joining her. Standing beside Stacy, he looked into the closet. She wasn't exaggerating. Every trace of the maid outfits had disappeared. For about half a second, Evan felt relieved. Then he looked around.

The relief vanished.

The entire closet had changed. Pink covered almost everything. Pink carpet stretched beneath their feet. The walls were pink. Even the ceiling had somehow joined in, turning the enormous space into something that looked less like a closet and more like an aggressively themed boutique.

Rows of clothing filled the racks. Leopard print. PVC. Leather. Lace. The outfits were nothing like the conservative clothes Evan remembered Stacy wearing. These weren't clothes for the Stacy who had married his father, gone to work, bought groceries, and complained about Evan leaving dishes in the sink.

They belonged to someone else. Someone much more adventurous. Someone who apparently had a completely different idea of what counted as appropriate clothing.

Then Evan noticed the shelves. He immediately wished he hadn't. An array of dildos were displayed alongside the clothing, arranged almost like accessories in a department store. His face went hot.

"Oh, God."

Stacy glanced at him. Evan looked away.

"I think..." He swallowed. "I think this is the third woman from the dream."

Stacy stared into the closet.

"The third woman?"

"The other version of you." Evan struggled to explain it. "I think the magic is doing another rewrite. Maybe this is who you're supposed to be now."

"Fuck."

The single word carried more exhaustion than anger. Evan looked back at the closet. The first version of Stacy had been turned into something he barely recognized. The second had been transformed into someone who belonged to him.

Now this.

A third version.

How many versions of Stacy were there? How many more times could reality reshape her before there was nothing left of the woman he'd actually known?

"At least you're not property anymore," Evan said, trying to find something positive.

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he'd chosen badly. Stacy turned towards him. The look in her eyes could have cut glass.

"You think I want this?"

"No. I didn't mean..."

"You think changing the closet makes everything better?"

"No."

"You think I should be grateful because the magic decided to turn me into somebody else instead?"

Evan opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Stacy looked ready to unload every ounce of anger she'd been carrying since the first potion, and honestly, Evan couldn't blame her. He'd been trying to find something positive because the alternative was admitting how horrifying this was.

But there was nothing positive about it. Not really.

Stacy closed her eyes. For several seconds, she stood perfectly still. When she opened them again, some of the fury had faded.

"Okay."

Evan waited.

"We're going to figure this out together."

She sounded tired rather than confident.

"We got through yesterday. We'll get through today."

"Together," Evan said.

The word felt much less reassuring coming from him. Stacy looked at him for a moment.

"Together," she repeated.

Then she stepped into the closet. Evan remained where he was, watching as Stacy began examining the strange new wardrobe that magic had apparently decided belonged to her. He had no idea what she was going to find. He had no idea what today's version of Stacy would be like. And, for the first time, Evan understood something that frightened him more than the changing clothes.

The magic wasn't finished figuring out who Stacy was supposed to be.

Neither was he.