Seasons of Change - Summertime of Fun 1b

    Just when he turned to leave the kitchen, he heard the distinct sound of the doorbell ringing. Margaret had already headed back to the bedrooms so Jeremy was the closest one to the door. At first he considered perhaps waiting to let Margaret answer it, but quickly dismissed the idea. He could hardly show his face to anyone if he was afraid to answer the door. Still steeling himself, he headed toward the door.

    Whoever was on the other side was quite impatient. They continue to ring the doorbell with barely a couple seconds between each one. By the time he reached the door the sound was already getting unbearable to him. This surprised Jeremy that Margaret had not vocalized any complaints about it either.

    Opening the door, Jeremy snapped, “Enough already, we heard you the first time.”

    That was not how he originally planned to answer the door. But the constant ringing of the doorbell had worn away his patience. When he finally opened the door, the first thing out of his mouth was that. Talk about completely blowing the first impression. At least he thought that except looking outside he initially did not see anyone out there. That was until he turned his head down to see the individual standing there on the porch with one finger hovering over the doorbell.

    She was a small girl who top of the head barely reached his shoulder. Her brown hair was in a bobcut was partially concealed by the hoodie. She had a rather lithe figure though the face look fairly round.   For all appearances this would make her rather adorable except for the glowering look on her face.  The brown eyes glaring from beneath the hood were quite intimidating despite coming from such a diminutive figure.

    “Sorry,” Jeremy stammered breaking out into a cold sweat, “Just that all the ringing is really annoying. I take it that you are Katie Weaver?”

    The girl just glared at him. When he said her name, he could feel the atmosphere literally get colder around them. Eyes carefully studying him before they widened momentarily after studying his face briefly. This whole thing made Jeremy feel rather self conscious not understanding what she was doing exactly.

    “You,” she pointed an accusing finger at him, “What are you doing here?”

    “I’m staying here?” Jeremy replied back.

    Scratching his head, he did not know how else to explain it. Maybe she was just a bit confused at meeting someone unexpected at this place. It is not like they’ve met before so suddenly coming upon a stranger like this would put anyone on edge.

    His answer did not sit well with her and she stomped down hard on his left foot. This illicit a cry of pain from Jeremy and he stumbled back at the sudden rash of violence. This was a lot more trouble than Margaret made it out. She did say Katie might be trouble, but this was beyond his expectation.

    But before he could protest any more, she bolted past him inside the house. She obviously was searching for someone with her quickly scouting through the rooms. Jeremy was turn about giving chase when he heard a sounds and footsteps coming from the driveway. Glancing over he spotted a car parked there and a lady struggling to pull a rather large duffel bag from the trunk.

    “Katie, you can at least bring your own stuff in!” She hollered before noticing Jeremy.

    The two of them stared at one another before Janine gave up on the bad and immediately walked over to where Jeremy was standing. She had a rather curious look on her face with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Up close though she was obviously younger than Margaret, the family resemblance was obvious. Giving him a complete look up and down a huge grin spread across her face.

    It made Jeremy a bit scared at what thoughts were crossing her mind.

    “Hello there,” Janine said switching her tone to something more mirthful, “My sister did not mention she was having guest over. Are you perhaps here for an extended stay?”

    “Yeah, I am in her care for the summer at least.” Jeremy admitted though he did not like the tone that being insinuated by Janine.

    Chuckling at the answer, Janine grinned, “Very nice, well since you are here. Can you be a dear and bring in my little Katie’s belonging. Frankly I don’t know how she managed to make her luggage weigh so much.”

    “Sure I can do that,” Jeremy agreed as he headed over to the rear of the car.

    Lifting up the duffel bag, Jeremy huffed a bit at the weight. She was not kidding that this bag was heavy. Remembering how small Katie was this bag probably weighs more than her. He seriously wondered what in the world did she pack in here. It took a bit of effort to lug the bag into the house. Behind him Janine was happily praising his strength the entire way.

    “My sister really picked a nice one this time. Sure you have treated her nicely?” Janine teased behind him playfully.

    Jeremy merely grunted while he brought the bag inside. He did not even know how to reply back to her and desperately hoped Margaret could save him from this situation. Fortunately it seemed Katie had found Margaret inside as the two greeted them. Putting the bag down with a sigh of relief he tried to move over to Margaret but was intercepted by Katie who stood in his way.

    “Stay away from her,” Katie declared loudly.

    Looking at her, Jeremy turned to Margaret desperately for support. But it was Janine who spoke up first.

    “Now Katie, it is not good being rude. He is a guest here like you and he was so courteous to bring the luggage you left behind now.” Janine told her daughter.

    “That cannot be true, is it?” Katie turned around and demanded of Margaret.

    “It is true. Jeremy here is staying here over the summer. So please do try to get along with him.” Margaret explained the situation.

    The color drained from Katie’s face at the news. She turned back to look at Jeremy then to Margaret and finally to Janine. Seeing the look on all their faces, Katie growled in frustration and ran back to the bedrooms.

    “I do apologize for her rudeness.” Margaret said to Jeremy.

    “She doesn’t make good first impressions. Bit more on edge than usual actually.” Janine noted.

    “It is alright,” Jeremy assured them both, before Katie’s scream interrupted everything.

    “What is all this stuff doing in my room?” Katie hollered from down the hall.

    “Jeremy is using that room now. Your room is on the opposite side.” Margaret called back.

    The sounds of Katie’s frustrated screams could be heard along with stomping till a door loudly closed hut.

    Not missing a beat, Janine smiled, “Going to wish you both the best with her. As for me, I’ll be enjoying a month-long cruise with my hubby.”

    “Well, I hope you two have a lovely time. Don’t worry about Katie. I am sure she will come around.” Margaret said.

    “Have nice a trip too.” Jeremy added with a nod.

    Smiling at the two, Janine gave them a wink, “You two both have good times too. Don’t let Katie get in your way.”

    Before either of them could protest, Janine gave them a wave before departing. The sound of her car driving off could be heard while the two of them stood there dumbfounded. Margaret was already turning a bit red at the remark. Jeremy was trying not to show any reaction either. The two of them were bit uncertain about how to handle it.

    Meanwhile, Katie finally came out of the room to grab her luggage. She shot a glare at the two of them who were too transfixed on the issue to notice her. Dragging her bag back to the room, she closed the door again with a slam finally snapping them out of their trance.

    “Please don’t mind Janine’s teasing. She likes to run off on her own imagination a lot.” Margaret cleared her throat.

     “I got that impression,” Jeremy agreed before glancing back down the hallway to Katie’s room, “Are we going to have a problem here?”

    “She just needs time to get to know you. Then I’m sure she’ll calm down.” Margaret assured him with a smile.

    “Hope so,” Jeremy sighed unsure how the next encounter with Katie would turn out.

    As it turned out that next encounter might be further off than Jeremy and Margaret could expect. Having hid herself away in the room again with the luggage she did not seem interested in coming out. Though both paid her visits neither received much more than angry rebukes from across the door. She did not even bother coming out for either lunch or dinner. This disappointed Jeremy seeing as he tried to make something nice to entice her out.

    It seems meals left outside the door would quickly vanish once nobody was watching. But beyond that no other activities could be spotted. Margaret did not seem too perplexed about the matter. Jeremy initially feared this reaction was specifically related to him. 

    “She is just being stubborn,” Margaret assured him when he asked her about it later.

    The girl when frustrated with Margaret or anything last year was also prone to doing it. Seemed she needed some time alone to cool her head off. So Margaret was confident that Katie would come out tomorrow eventually. Since she was not too concern about it, Jeremy guess there was little reason for him to dwell too much further on it. At the least he had time to consider how to handle her tomorrow.

    Despite the earlier turmoil with Katie’s abrupt arrival and outburst the rest of the day went along pretty smoothly for the pair. If it was not the ever-present acknowledgement of Katie’s presence in the house even if unseen, this could be another typical day for them. Still come nightfall and Jeremy found himself lying restless on his bed. He wished that Katie was not here. Not that he particularly dislike her, despite the rude first impression Jeremy did not hold any ill will.

    He looked from the bed to the open door of his room at the door to Katie’s room across the hallway. It was a mystery what she was doing behind closed door. Given this late hour she probably was asleep like Jeremy was trying to do at the moment. But his mind was too restless to allow him to fall asleep. Thoughts still wondered at how Katie’s presence would effect this now in the household.

    It was her presence that made things a slight inconvenience for Melissa. If she had perhaps showed up a day later, perhaps Jeremy and Melissa could have shared a bit more time together. But now he did not know how long it would be before they meet again. Just thinking about the dream from last night made he felt bothered about needing to wait even longer.

    This surprised Jeremy a little. He did not realize how much longing there was in his heart to spend time with Melissa again. Shaking his head while staring up the ceiling Jeremy wondered if Margaret felt anything similar like this. Not that he thought she saw him in the same romantic light like Melissa. Frankly trying to decipher how either of them felt gave him a bit of a headache. The line between them was both blurry and distinct in portions that made it hard to get a solid feel on them. Just as he was pondering this, the sounds of footsteps caught his attention and he turned to look to the doorway surprised at who was standing there.

               She took a step inside the room closing the door behind her. Then she turned on the room light causing Jeremy to momentarily be dazzled by the abrupt brightness. But after it passed he could see that she wore a simple robe with her hair down and glasses missing. Blinking a bit both to let his eyes adjust better and taking in the sight Jeremy was not sure how to respond.

                “Sorry about the light,” Margaret expressed regrets before moving over to the side of the bed, “but walking in the dark is a bit hard for me to see especially without my glasses.”

                “That’s fine, but what are you doing here this late at night?” Jeremy confirmed with the strain from the lighting shift finally fading.

                “There are several reasons in truth. I’m not sure which one to bring up first.” Margaret sighed looking at the side of his bed.

                Noticing her gaze, Jeremy shuffled a bit to give her some room to sit. Much to his surprise Margaret did more than sit on the side of the bed. Instead she got on top of the mattress entirely causing Jeremy to sit up on it too. The two of them were now both sitting on the bed facing one another.

                “I want you to know again that the matter with Katie’s today is not your fault. The girl just needs to vent some frustration.” Margaret started with a glance in the direction toward Katie’s room.

                “Thanks, she makes a very strong impression.” Jeremy admitted before noticing the gap between them was getting smaller. “But is that really what you came here to talk to me about tonight?”

                “No,” Margaret shook her head, “The reason I came here is to do more than just talk.”   

                “What do you mean?” Jeremy gulped with the two of them getting barely inches apart.

                “I know what I said to you earlier about Melissa. But the truth is that you aren’t the only one missing time spent together. Or just being Melissa either.” Margaret admitted with her head bowed down.

                Realizing what she was implying, Jeremy asked, “But what about Katie? Didn’t you say we should be careful about her finding out?”

                “I did,” Margaret agreed before looking Jeremy straight in the eyes revealing the once brown eyes have shifted violet with a distinct glow, “We just got to try and be a bit discreet about it.”

                Before Jeremy could even utter a protest, Margaret put a finger on his lip to silence him. Just her touch alone silenced any protesting thoughts in his head. Though he was feeling nervous at the situation there was no denying he felt excited by this turn of events. He was eager to see Melissa again and this bold approach was a bit unexpected but not unwelcome.

                Margaret was starting to breathe heavily sitting there in front of Jeremy on the bed. Hands trembling held bunch of the sheet tightly. The tension that was holding her back for so long had finally been unleashed and she shudder at the sensation of the change unfolding once again. It was like the flood gate had been open up and she felt the rush of energy and vitality coursing through her.  The fact she was doing this in front of Jeremy only heightened the excitement for both.

    This approach was bold, but something urged on from picking up the sympathetic vibrations from Jeremy in his dreams. That aching longing for Melissa had been affecting Margaret too, but she tried to keep it a lid on it. But now she finally let it out, the reason was not entirely clear. Maybe it was all the pent up emotions finally reaching a boiling point. Or did the prospect of Katie made Margaret all the more aware of how much harder it will be for Melissa to spend time with Jeremy. Regardless Melissa was coming out and nothing could stop the change any more.

    Shifting a bit on the bed, Margaret reared back at the sensation centered on the chest. It was always the first part of the physical change to occur and she was well used to it now. Her once sagging bosoms started to firm and lift up nicely. It was a noticeable effect of the breasts rising up and pressing out. The front section of the robe pushed forward much to the astonishment of Jeremy watching. This movement also made the robe start to open slightly revealing tantalizing hint of what Margaret was wearing underneath. At the least it exposed more of her pale skin.

    Shivering with excitement the weariness lifted from the body. Margaret stood up straighter revealing she was already at the same eye level to Jeremy, but both knew that she was only going to get taller. At this point he could see the once modest and worn hair coming to life. The hair was shifting, rustling as if by some invisible wind, with the colors starting to return again. Reddish gold strands appeared nestle among the gray locks with the rest of the hair spreading down past the shoulders. It was an amazing sight to behold.

    Even more watching Margaret steadily continue to grow taller, it was obvious the signs of aging quickly faded from her. The visible skin was taking on a more flushed appearance and the lines vanished too. She certainly was taking on a more youthful countenance with the shape of the face shifting too. This echoed in the rest of the body that was starting to fill out nicely too. Already the robe was looking small for her, but before it got any tighter Margaret’s shoulders buckled and let the robe slide off.

    This caused Jeremy’s eyes to go wide at what she was wearing underneath.

    It was a babydoll, a short nightgown that gave an ample view of her cleavage with the bottom barely going pass her thigh. Just seeing at the rate of her growth and expansion, it was unlikely to cover the belly bottom by the time the change was over. Though it still kept her modestly covered, the attire allowed Jeremy to take in the full shape of the changing figure. He could see the supple curves emerging from the once thin frames along with first definitions of muscles that were appearing too.

    “She really wanted to show this off to you. Hope you are enjoying it.” Margaret managed to stammer the voice shifting slightly because of the change.

    “You’re beautiful,” Jeremy managed to breathe in appreciation.

    Margaret only smiled in response to the compliment. Any trace of embarrassment at this change and exposure had vanished. Instead the heady confidence of Melissa was starting to come forward. Heart beat faster at the thought of being together with Jeremy again. Her feelings were shifting once again. The thought of embracing and kissing him now was growing stronger. No longer concern about restraining herself, she reached over him and pulled them together.

    The sensation of her growing body expanding against Jeremy was riveting to them both. He could feel the bosoms swelling while pressing against his chest. Her lips were coming closer to his and Jeremy felt himself completely enthralled by her. The two of them inched ever closer as they became completely oblivious to what was happening around them.

    “What is going on here? What are you two doing?” Katie demanded angrily.

    Her sudden interruption immediately broke the fascination and the two turned toward Katie in shock. She was standing in the open door to Jeremy’s room. Her eyes wide with shock and fury at what was unfolding right before her. It took them only a few moments to realize the situation they were in and Margaret immediately ducked underneath the sheets to cover her. This did little to hide the growing size underneath the sheets.

    Jeremy immediately went into damage control hopping off the bed and placing him between the bed and Katie. His actions only seem to draw irritation from Katie who was glowering at him angrily. Cursing internally that his personal desires had put Margaret in such a situation, he desperately tried to find a way to salvage the situation.

    “Listen you need to leave,” Jeremy suggested moving forward to get Katie out of the room.

    Resisting his attempts, Katie countered, “There is something strange going on here. What were you doing with Margaret?”

    “This is not something for kids. She’ll explain it to you later.” Jeremy insisted trying to block her from getting into the room.

    He wasn’t sure what Margaret would explain. But he knew that it was only a matter of time before the change completed itself. At the least despite the initial change, it was not entirely obvious to Katie that Margaret was different from before. But if Katie saw Melissa the secret would be out. So he had to get Katie out here before that happened.

    Beneath the lump in the sheet, the figure of Margaret was growing larger. Despite any wishes at the moment the change continue unabated. All traces of gray were gone from the hair leaving it a brilliant radiant mane. Muscles only thickened and swelled larger giving her sense of power. Yet it did little to contrast the powerless felt in the situation at exposing this to Katie. Still despite any struggle, Margaret could feel herself inching ever closer to Melissa. Her only hope is for Jeremy to get Katie to leave somehow. But that hope was quickly dashed at what she heard next.

    “Don’t treat me like a kid!” Katie hollered and delivered a swift kick right into Jeremy’s shin.

    The blow hurt a lot harder than Jeremy could have anticipated. He immediately collapsed to the floor in pain clutching the area. A brief gasp of pain escaped the lips while his expressions grimaced in agony.

    As for Katie, she had a proud look on her face at what she wrought but the other reaction that occurred from this was wholly unexpected.

    “Jeremy!” Melissa voiced called out sensing his pain.

    Immediately she stood up causing the entire bed frame to groan under her weight, but also causing the sheets to fall off completely. She ended up accidently revealing her entire changed appearance to all. The once strain graying hair now replaced with a massive reddish gold mane that reached down to the bottoms. Thin figure now sported a muscular and curved physique like out of a dream. The babydoll stretched tightly against the torso emphasis the generous chest and chiseled abs. Violet eyes looked with concerns toward Jeremy before the massive amazon leapt from the bed next to Jeremy. Carefully she placed her hands upon his shoulder with looks of concern flashing in the eyes.

    Though this did little to comfort Jeremy who realized the secret was officially out. Not even daring to look at the concern Melissa, but instead at Katie.

    The girl had eyes completely wide with lips trembling at the sight of Melissa. A trembling hand came up pointing an accusing finger directly at Melissa.

    “What are you doing here?” Katie exclaimed loudly.

    Just a glance at Melissa could show that she felt torn about the situation. On one hand the reaction from Katie was distressing. But Melissa was also concern about Jeremy’s wellbeing too. At the moment she remained conflicted on what to do now.

    “Katie, please calm down” Melissa asked.

    Sighing, Jeremy groaned, “It is best we go clean with her. We should have known better that keeping secrets like this is never healthy.”

    “Perhaps this is for the best,” Melissa nodded before standing up to her full height completely dwarfing Katie, “Let us go to the kitchen. We can explain everything better there.”

    Katie just quietly nodded for once and slowly backed away toward the kitchen. Melissa glanced back to Jeremy who winced a bit while standing up. She offered to help him, but he held out his hand. He blamed himself enough for letting this situation unfold. There was no need for him to burden her any further with trouble while hobbling a bit toward the kitchen. Watching him go, Melissa looked a bit sad before quietly following him.

    At the kitchen the three of them sat down around the dining table. Jeremy looked the most relieved still feeling the soreness in his leg. Melissa could not help shoot concerned glances at Jeremy the entire time. Katie was drumming a hand on the table visibly annoyed at everything.

    “Are you sure you don’t need an ice pack for it?” Melissa offered still looking concern at him.

    “It is okay, the pain is already lessening.” Jeremy assured to avoid being a burden.

    “Enough,” Katie demanded with a slam on the table, “If he is a man, that pain is nothing. Must you always make such a pitiful display?”

    “Listen he is like that because of what you did.” Melissa raised her voiced back.

    Surprisingly this actually made Katie back off a bit at the sudden aggression. Sitting back in her seat, Katie glanced away with visible sulking look on the face. Noticing the reaction, Melissa immediately calmed down and let out a sigh. She was not intending to intimidate her niece like that but seeing Jeremy treated like that just provoked her ire.

    Clearing his throat, Jeremy suggested, “Perhaps you should explain things Melissa?”

    An eyebrow rose up on Katie’s face at that name. She glanced at Jeremy for a moment before turning to look at Melissa. Crossing her arms, she sat there waiting for an explanation to be given.

    “Firstly I am sorry that you had to see that Katie. Also I am sorry to have been harsh to you earlier, but your actions to Jeremy are simply unfounded. He is not someone who deserves your scorn or violence.” Melissa stated even while Katie simply rolled her eyes.

    “I am not hearing any explanation.” Katie complained.

    “Okay,” Melissa sigh feeling rather exasperated by the situation, “You can call me Melissa Winston. I am a sort of alter ego for Margaret Winston. Despite appearances, I am still Margaret deep inside.”

    Katie just gave a rather skeptical look, but did not say anything more leaving Melissa to continue.

    “You are familiar with the curse that Margaret, we share. The one that drives us to help other that we can help.” Melissa asked to which Katie nodded. “I was brought forth when Margaret alone was not able to help someone. The need was beyond what Margaret could do as herself. So the curse provided a mean for Margaret to help and that was how I, Melissa, came to existence.”

    “But before the curse was never so overt with Margaret,” Katie countered rather suspiciously.

    “True, but as I said this case was nothing encountered before. It need more, it needed me.” Melissa insisted back earnestly.

    “Even so the changes were always temporary to fix the problem. If you can still exist that means the problem is still ongoing. What kind of issue demands that of her?” Katie demanded angrily once again slamming down on the table.

    Melissa seemed hesitant on continuing, but Jeremy interjected, “This is my fault, I am sorry.”

    “Jeremy, you don’t need to say anything.” Melissa protested.

    “You,” Katie turned an accusing gaze at him. 

    “That is enough, listen Katie as hard as it might be to understand. Margaret and I care for Jeremy. We want to do what we can to help him and it just happens this is the way for us to do it.” Melissa insisted trying to defuse the situation.

    Sitting back in her seat, Katie questioned, “Is this cause what you want or the curse makes you want?”

    A cold silence filled the room afterwards.

    Melissa looked like she wanted to say something more to protest, but the question seemed to have her hesitant in retorting. Meanwhile Jeremy was looking upset at how the situation had become. A heavy air hanged around the group for the moment.

    Finally Katie threw her hands up in the air and declared, “I heard enough. I’m going to sleep.”

    Hopping off the chair, she started to walk off back to her room. Both Melissa and Jeremy blinked in surprise at her reaction before glancing at one another. It was only be the time that Katie was already down the hallway that Melissa tried to stop Katie.

    “Katie!” Melissa called out.

    Waving her hand, Katie replied, “I don’t want to talk anymore. You two lovebirds can have your fun in silence, kids are trying to sleep.”

    Melissa and Jeremy both blushed at the remark, but had little else to say. Katie simply entered the room and closed the door behind her. Jumping on the bed, she hugged the pillow tightly while thinking about everything she just experienced and heard. The abrupt appearance of this Melissa was shocking, but the fact this all ties to Jeremy deeply concerned Katie. It seemed this summer definitely was going to require some thorough investigating on her part. Certainly her aunt was being taken advantage of now.

    “Just you wait Jeremy, I’ll pry all the answers out of you soon enough.” Katie whispered before smothering her face in the pillow.