15
Barton was the seediest
district in town. It was full of drug addicts, unemployed losers and council
houses. We made it a rule to stay away from there normally.
Now though, we fitted right in.
I drove round until I found the
end of the road I was looking for.
Their house was number seventy
eight. I tried to get Tina to help me spot it while I drove but she kept asking
me to remind her of the number so I got pissed off and just slowed down to look
myself.
She had been highly academic
before this started. Now though, it was like she was a bimbo. No brain at all.
She was finding it hard to remember things and hard to think clearly enough to
make any kind of decent suggestions.
“Oh my God!” she screeched
suddenly, “Look!” She held out her left hand, palm down, in front of me.
“I’m trying to drive,” I
snarled. “Pipe down.”
“My wedding ring! Look at it!
It’s changed!”
I slowed the car down and
glanced across. It was true. It wasn’t even a diamond anymore. It was a dull
green stone with what looked like a sliver band.
“Tony baby,” she said, “We have
to change us back real soon or it’s gonna be too late.”
I pulled in to the side of the
road. “Shut up,” I said, “We’re here.”
We got out. The van’s engine
carried on rattling for a few moments then shuddered to a stop. The buildings
were narrow terraced council houses. The tiny gardens were littered with
rubbish, half bald grass and mud. There was an engine block on the path to
seventy eight and an old car with no wheels that had totally gone to seed on
what was left of the lawn.
A fat woman was sitting on the
step to the house next door smoking a cigarette, a baby in nappies balanced on
her knee. “Mornin’ Tony,” she said, “Hiya Teen.”
I stared at her for a moment,
then said, “Hi.”
Tina said “Hiya” behind me.
It was profoundly disturbing
somehow being recognise looking like this. It made it clearer than ever that
unless we did something to change, we were going to stay like this and no one
would ever see us as our old selves again. To everyone else in the world – even
to each other – we would be Tony and Tina Miller.
I got the keys out of my
overall pocket and worked my way round the ring to the one I had tried in the
door to our apartment.
It fit in the slot. And it
turned.
Again I got a sick feeling in
my stomach that magic was at work here that was distorting every aspect of our
lives. We were assimilating every habit and belonging of those vulgar people as
though they were our own.
The door opened. Tina and I
walked fearfully inside. The hall was dingy and bare. Damp-stains climbed the
walls on both sides. The carpet was threadbare. A section of it was folded up
carelessly to reveal damp boards underneath.
There was no sound coming from
anywhere.
“Is this their house?” asked
Tina.
I didn’t bother to even respond
to that.
“Hello!”
No answer.
We continued to walk through.
The lounge was the first door
on the right. There was an old TV with sellotape holding the on button in. It
was unplugged from the wall. A dead plant was on top of it. There were numerous
dirty pots on the wide coffee table on top of old copies of football magazines
and cheap women’s magazines. Cigarette butts spilled out of several ashtrays on
the table, on the arms of the sofa and on the floor. There was a half full pack
of fags.
The kitchen was empty too. More
full ashtrays. Sink full of dirty pots. No sign of anybody.
“What are we going to do now?”
said Tina.
I shrugged. “Fucked if I know.”
We wandered back through to the lounge and plonked ourselves down on the
scrappy sofa. “I guess we’ll have to wait for them.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant -
where the original couple had gone, or when they might return. It seemed
terrifying to be in that place by ourselves. It felt like a trap, poised, ready
to snap closed. To any outsider, we were Tony and Tina Miller, sitting in our
home, in our lounge, enjoying a relaxing morning. To an outsider, we were here
in our natural habitat.
The thought of remaining here
permanently made me shudder - of giving up all our wealth and dwelling amid
this squallor, not caring as the Miller’s obviously didn’t, to be surrounded by
such filth and clutter.
I had always hated soccer,
thinking from a very early age that it was a vulgar sport for working class
idiots but one of the magazines on the coffee table caught my eye. I picked it
up and started thumbing through it. Tina picked up a copy of Woman’s Own.
“Why don’t you go and see if they’ve got any
beers in the fridge,” I said, “I’m thirsty.”
“Awwww, do I have to?” whined
Tina.
“Unless you wanna feel the back
of my hand, yes,” I snapped.
I lit another cigarette from a
pack on the coffee table as she got up, then carried on reading my magazine. It
was really interesting and I started to wonder if there was a match on TV as
Tina came back in with my beer. “Stick the box on willya,” I said, “We might as
well watch something while we’re waiting.”
“Okay sweetie,” she said
brainlessly. I shook my head and smiled. Fuckin’ stupid cow. Then I had a good
look as she got down on her knees next to the plug socket. She had her bum in
the air and her sexy smooth legs looked gorgeous in those heels. I pictured her
on the bed back home, naked, as I took her from behind and the monster started
to stir again.
The TV came to life and my eyes
flicked back to it. Before the picture even faded into view I could hear the
soccer crowds roaring. “This is more like it,” I said, leaning back, cracking
open my beer and grinning. I took a long swig then had another puff of my
cigarette. This was the life.
Tina got back to her feet and
tottered round to my side of the set.
“Aw, football?” she whined
nasally, “I hate football. Do we have to watch this?”
“Sit down and shut up. Read
your magazine and leave me in peace.”
16
The game ended after an hour. I
really got into it, getting up and roaring when Man U scored the winning goal.
It was fucking great. I felt fantastic. I should have got into footie years
ago. Course instead I was wasting my time prancing around like some nancy-boy
watching plays and sipping wine. What a fucking twat.
“Honey?”
“Wot?”
Tina sat forward, exposing her
cleavage. “What if they never come back? What if they’re at our flat right now
living our lives?”
I fingered my moustache. That
was right. What if they were?
“How could we make them change
back?” she said, “We couldn’t. We wouldn’t even be able to get back into the
building without security calling the police. Look at me. I look just like her
now. I talk like her. I’m even getting stoopid, you know, like her.”
I folded my arms then unfolded
them.
“But James?”
“Wot?”
“Can I tell you something?”
“Yeah. Wot?”
She cringed. “I feel bad even
thinkin’ it, let alone sayin’ it out loud.”
I tried to focus on what she
was saying rather than on her tits and her sexy knees.
“I think I… I think I like
this… being like this; more than…”
“Wot are you saying?” I asked,
stepping closer. No longer able to resist touching her legs, I kneeled down in
front of her and stroked her knees.
She looked down guiltily. “I
like my body better now,” she said, “I like having these big tits and seein’
the way you look at me all the time - like you wanna fuck me and not give a
damn who sees or where we are. And I like not giving a shit what people think
of me - if I talk bad or not. Just saying what I please.” She put her hand on
the top of my bald head. “And I think you’re a lot sexier like this. I even
like it when you’re nasty to me. It makes me feel all feminine and looked after
in a weird kind of way, like you’re really a man now, not a wuss like you were
before. After seeing you like this - feeling like this - how could I ever find
you sexy lookin’ like you used to? Bein’ so stuck-up and airy fairy like you
used to? ”
My cock was bursting to get
free. I tried hard to resist not burying my head in her tits.
“You must hate me for saying
that,” she said.
I shook my head. I couldn’t
hate her for voicing exactly what I was thinking too.
“I’m not sayin’ it has to be
totally permanent. I’m not sayin’ we should give up all our money and stuff.
But… What if we stayed here… just for a bit,” she said, “and lived these lives.
Not forever. Just for a bit.”
I nodded, whispering, “Just for
a day or two. Yeah. We might never get another chance like this. Just stay here
and pretend we really are Tony and Tina. Yeah.”
Tina nodded, hopeful.
I stared at her then I looked
round the room at the state of the place, the smoke-stained paintwork, the
mottled net curtains.
I knew it was wrong. I knew it
was a terrible mistake to think these things, to want to live like this - I
knew our minds were being affected by the magic or whatever it was - but I knew
that I didn’t give a fuck neither.
I wanted to be Tony Miller and
I sure as fuck wanted to be married to this little chubby slut Tina. Why the
hell would I want a jumped up little skinny thing when I could have this big
woman in front of me. And why the fuck would I want to be a fucking little stuck-up runt when I could be a real
man?
Just stay here.
Just live this life.
That’s all we had to do.
Go to work as a car mechanic at
Tony’s job in the morning.
Go out drinking every night in
the local at the end of the road.
Be Tony and Tina Miller… for
the rest of our lives.
I knew I wasn’t thinking
straight. I knew it was a mistake. At some deep, psychic level, it felt like if
I said yes now then the exchange would somehow become permanent, that we would
be trapped in these lives forever.
But I didn’t care.
I did want to be Tony Miller.
I was Tony Miller.
Bald. Fat. Hairy.
A car mechanic rather than an
investment banker.
A forty a day smoker, into
football and sex and beer.
And my wife was Tina Miller.
A chubby tart who threw her
sexuality out at the world in every direction.
A stupid dozy cow who had
dropped out of school with no qualifications and no nothing.
I didn’t care.
I didn’t care about nothing.
Not about losing everything I
had before or gaining the things that I had now.
I didn’t care.
All I cared about was shoving
my cock between those massive tits and cumming all over my wife’s face.
All I wanted was a tit fuck
with my chubby slapper of a wife, some more beers and maybe another shag later
after we’d watched TV for a bit.
I leant closer to do it.
Tina’s eyes quivered with
delight and expectation.
I slipped the straps of her
dress off her creamy shoulders.
I lowered my lips until they
hung less than an inch above her tender boobs, my moustache tickling the skin.
This is me now, I thought, this
is who I am.
Then I threw my head back and
pushed away from her. “No!”
Tina cried out.
I got up and charged across the
room, turning away from her, my hands up on my face. “No!”
“What is it Tony? What’s wrong?”
I glared back at her. “What’s
wrong? What’s wrong!?”
She stared back at me,
uncomprehending.
“Look at us,” I said, gesturing
down at my massive stocky body and oily overalls. “Look at who we’ve become!
This ain’t right! We don’t belong ‘ere! Whatever did this to us… It’s poisonin’
our minds - making us feel like we really are these people - making us wanna
be! We have to stop! Just fuckin’ stop!”
“But Tony,” she whined, “I do
wanna be me like this. I wanna be sexy and loose. I don’t wanna be stuck-up and
frigid.”
“No!” I bellowed, “No! That
ain’t you talkin’! Just think for a minute. We ‘ad perfect lives before.
Fuckin’ perfect! We was rich and good lookin’. We had a fuckin’ bootiful
apartment. Amazin’ jobs…” I gestured round the room. “We don’t want this - this
squalor. We don’t want to be these fat fuckin’ losers!”
“But Tony!” Tina started
sobbing. “I’ve been fantasisin’ about bein’ with a bloke like you are now for
ages. An’ I’ve wanted to put on weight and risk bein’ fat to be more voluptuous
an’ sexy. I just didn’t ‘ave the balls before.” Her tears intensified. “I just
want you to fuck me so bad right now Tony. And I know you want me just like I
want you. I saw you havin’ a wank in the car last night when I came outta the
shop. You was thinkin’ about her from the cliff top, weren’t you?”
I didn’t want to answer but I
mumbled, “Yes.”
“Weren’t you?”
“Yes!”
“Do you still love me?”
I lowered my head.
“Tony? Do you?”
I looked back up at her. She
looked more gorgeous than any woman I’d ever laid eyes on. From her creamy
shoulders and vamp face, down past her huge knockers, to her beautiful smooth
shapely legs. “Christ,” I whispered, “Course I do. But that’s the fuckin’
problem Tina. The way you look now - the way you talk even. That’s what’s scarin’
me. I love you more than I ever fuckin’ have. I wanna shag you all the time.
That’s fuckin’ obvious. But more’n that: I’ve got all these new feelin’s in my
‘ead about ya. Like I wanna protect you and like I wanna go out to work so you
don’t haveta. An’ I feel these urges when I think of stuff - like these jets of
rage. Like I think of some bastard lookin’ at ya when we’re out together - some
wanker slidin’ his eyes up an’ down your body and it makes me want to… Shit
Tina, it makes me want to fuckin’ smash that cunt’s face in. Just thinkin’
about it gets all my blood goin’; get’s my muscles pumpin’. I’d wanna get that
fucker and kick ‘im in the balls.”
I looked at her with tears in
my eyes. “An’ I’ve never felt like that about anyone, not never before.”
Tina hugged her arms across her
chest.
“Let’s stay like this Tony,”
she said, “Let’s just stay here and be Tina. Be Tony.”
I shook my head. “I can’t just
walk away from—“
“Then call!” she snapped, “Call
our apartment! See if they’re there! They must be! But do it without my
blessin’.”
I sighed. “Don’t you see I have
to?”
“I don’t see nothin’.”
“The longer we stay here in
this scummy little house, the more we’re gonna lose ourselves in these lives.
What if we forget who we’re supposed to be? What then?”
“Then we’ll be happy fuckin’
each other’s brains out for the rest of our lives!”
“I don’t want to be a car
mechanic!”
“Well look in the fuckin’
mirror you fat bastard!” she screeched, “Cause you are one!”
17
I turned my back on her and
found the phone.
I dialled our number angrily,
misdialling once and having to cancel.
It started to ring at the other
end and in the phased out limbo of waiting my mind immediately wandered back to
the harsh words to my wife and I felt a shuddering wave of guilt.
I was angry with her because I
was angry with myself. I knew that but I was too big a cunt to tell her that. I
was angry with myself because I wanted exactly what she did. If anything I
wanted it more if that was possible. There was a battle going on inside of me
because I wanted this so bad but I was terrified that if I gave in to my urges
I might regret it for the rest of my sordid tawdry days.
But it was getting harder to
visualise exactly what I would be losing, to remember what was so great about
it. All I remembered was being some jumped up little wimp barely out of
puberty, thinking I was better than everyone else. I was a man now. A real man.
I felt so strong and masculine. I felt like it was me looking after my wife,
not my money. And I felt like I didn’t really need the money as long as I had
her.
The phone was still ringing. No
one picked up.
I dumped it back down into its
cradle and sighed.
What the fuck was I going to
do?
We didn’t know the first thing
about how this had happened. We didn’t even know where our counterparts were.
How could we ever change back?
18
I paused in the lounge doorway.
Tina was leaning back on the
sofa, thumbing through a copy of a celebrity gossip magazine, her legs crossed.
“They aren’t there,” I said.
She looked up at me, worried.
I scratched the top of my bald
head then smoothed my moustache thoughtfully. “We can’t go back there. We might
end up gettin’ arrested by the pigs. And we don’t ‘ave the money to stay at a
hotel that’s any better than this place. Until we get through to them or find
them… we’re going to have to stay here.”
Tina’s eyes lit up but she
restrained herself from speaking.
“We’re gonna have to just
wait,” I said. “And it could be hours. Could be even days. If ever. I don’t
know what even fuckin’ made this ‘appen.”
Tina pulled the strap off one
of her shoulders. “Then let’s just pretend this is really our house… Tony. Just
for a while. Let’s pretend we really are these people. Please.”
My eyes went down to her
gorgeous legs. I was tired of this. I was tired of fighting something that my
whole being wanted more than anything.
So I let myself grin and popped
open the press studs at the front of my overalls. Then I started walking toward
my sexy wife.
19
The water in the shower was so
hard it stung my shoulders, but it felt good all the same.
I poured some shampoo into my
palm and spread it over my head, only second thinking that I was bald now. It
felt odd to be running the lather over bare skin but good as well. It was hard
to vocalise but so much about our present situation seemed right. I smoothed it
into what little hair I had, then rinsed it out and cut the stream of water.
There was a heated towel rail
next to the shower cubicle. I pulled the large one off and wrapped it round my
waist. The other towel on the rail dropped off onto the wet floor. I went to
pick it up like I would normally have done but stopped mid-motion. I didn’t see
why I should be doing fucking women’s work when Tina wasn’t even fucking
working. That was her job. I brought the money in. She was the slave. I left it
where it was and walked over to the sink.
Long-dripping taps had left
brown stains on the porcelain. The mirror was steamed up. I reached over with
my fist to wipe it clear and paused. There was a tattoo of a dragon on my hairy
forearm that hadn’t been there before. It was an old one, the ink long-since
faded to green. I turned my outstretched arm, flexing my tendons so I could see
it clearly.
I liked it.
I remembered the night when I
was eighteen me and the lads went and got it done after work. It was a right
laugh watching that pansy twat Keith getting woosy when he saw all the blood. I
remembered me mam balling me out when I got home after cause of it and the wink
me dad gave me. As if to say, “That’s right son. You’re a man now.”
I wiped my eye then continued
to clear the mirror. Then I thought to myself: Wait a minute. That never happened. I never got a tattoo. And my father
would never have approved in a million years.
But I remembered it. I
remembered it clearly. I remembered the names of every kid I was with that
night. I remembered when I got my other tattoo done six months later, the girl
in the bikini on my other forearm. I remembered the bird I was with at the
time. It didn’t look like her but it was close enough to buy me a shag. She
thought it was romantic. I just wanted a picture of a sexy bint on my arm. I
never even seen her again after that night.
I remembered what I was
wearing, where I was working at the time. Where I was working now - the garage
at the end of the road. I remembered my boss, my co-workers Tommy and Geoff, Sally, the
receptionist who was a sexy little tramp, just like her daughter Loraine. I remembered—
Fuck.
I remembered everything.
The mirror started to clear of
steam by itself. My naked upper body came into view. Huge sagging belly. Stocky
but muscular arms. Thick covering of curly black hair across my chest, down my stomach, on my arms
and across my shoulders. Bristly double chin. Bald head. Thick moustache. I tapped
a fag out of the pack I’d brought up with me, stuck it in the side of my mouth
then lit it, cupping my hand round the flame from habit as much as anything.
Then I blew out toward the glass, the smoke hitting the mirror and spreading
out in an inverted fan.
I shouldn’t be able to remember
anything from my—from Tony Miller’s past. I weren’t there. I sure as shit
shouldn’t be cupping my hands round a lighter flame out of habit. I’d not
smoked a fag even once before this started.
I stared into this stranger’s
eyes that looked back at me from the mirror beneath his bushy eyebrows.
Where was the fear? Where was
the panic that this was happening? Why did it all seem so natural to slip into
this man’s life as though it had always been mine?
Why wasn’t I scared
shitless?
But I wasn’t. There were
several beers in me. I felt dozy. Drunk. As though this were all happening to
some other person. But it wasn’t. It was happening to me.
And it struck me suddenly, as I
stared into that unfamiliar face, as these memories of another life seeped into
my mind, that maybe my own memories might be affected.
I pictured my mother, the image
I had of her as a child and immediately felt relieved that I still could. I
shuddered to imagine what it could have meant if my own memories were being
overwritten by these crass ones. But they weren’t. There she was in my memory
image, lounging on the sofa in my childhood home, a cardigan over her nightie,
a fag in one hand, a half empty bottle of bourbon in the other, smiling her
crooked smile at me that was beautiful despite the blackened tooth at the front
of her mouth.
Then another memory came,
linked to this one, to Christmas day that year; my father’s voice shouting at
my mother, saying he knew about the men she’d been with, calling her a slag and
a whore. I remembered crying and running to my room, thinking then what I’d do
if my wife ever had an affair. What I’d do to her and to the fucker who—
No.
I shook my head.
This wasn’t right. None of it
was. I put my hand to my temple, pressing hard enough to drive stars into my
field of vision.
What was happening to me? When
was it going to end?
I shook my head, trying to
clear my mind, but I was starting to realise that there was no clearing it.
I’d thought the change was
complete when my face and voice changed, when the overalls became oily; but I
was starting to realise that the changes were still happening - still going on
right now. And I didn’t know where they were going to stop. If I’d even know
myself when they did…
20
Tina had the TV on when I
entered the lounge. A soap opera was on by the looks of it.
She glanced up and shushed me
then did a double take. “You’ve shaved.”
I nodded. “The bristles were
pissing me off,” I said.
“But you didn’t shave off the
moustache.”
My fingers went up to it. “No,”
I said, “I…”
I didn’t know why I hadn’t.
Hadn’t I always hated the things, always associated them with classless thugs
who watched football and drank beer till they were sick?
I ran my hand down the smooth
side of my fat face to where the bulge of fat hung under my chin. “I kinda like
it,” I said.
Fuck me, what was happening to
us?
21
We watched TV for a couple of
hours. It started to get dark. I kept meaning to call the number of our
apartment, see if our doubles had taken our places there by the same magic that
had transformed us, but I couldn’t work up the enthusiasm. There were a couple
of sitcoms that were pissing funny and I got carried away with a gameshow.
Gameshows had never appealed to me before but the more I thought about it, the
more I realised that I talked a lot of shit before. I didn’t know what life was
all about. What could be a better way to spend an evening than a few beers in
front of a gameshow or two; maybe an episode of Eastenders?
But then again, what was I
thinking? I’d always loved gameshows. Most nights if I wasn’t out on the piss
it was possible to watch a string of sitcoms and gameshows right through until
the news. Then I’d turn off and shag Tina before going to sleep.
That was what I did most
nights.
After my bath I hadn’t wanted
to get dressed in my overalls again. I stuck on a pair of old jeans from my
wardrobe and my favourite football shirt. I’d owned it for years and it always
felt good to pull the old thing on.
Tina went upstairs for the time
it took me to smoke four fags.
When she came down she was
wearing black heels, a black leather mini-skirt and a top with thin straps made
of reflective plastic. She posed in the doorway, a fag hanging from her lip, a
bottle in her hand, her face made up a bit over the top but how I liked it. She
raised one eyebrow, blew me a kiss and winked. “How do I look?”
“You remind me of my
mother.”
She grinned. “Well would you
take your mother out for a drink dressed like this?”
I got to my feet. “She always
dressed like that.”
“Kiss me Tony,” she said.
I took her in my arms and
pressed my chest up against her tits. Then I shoved my tongue between her lips
and closed my eyes, shoving my right hand up her skirt and grabbing her inner
thigh.
Then the phone started to ring.
“Jesus Christ. Who could be
fucking calling now?”
I shrugged and went to pick it
up. “H’lo?”
The voice on the other end of
the line said, “Tony Miller?” It sounded like some posh bastard or other.
“Yeah.”
“Is that Tony Miller?”
“Yeah, this is Tony Miller.
What do ya want?”
“My name’s James,” said the
voice, “James Fountain.”
My mind blanked. I’d heard that
name somewhere but I was fucked if I could remember where. “Never heard of
you.”
The man on the phone paused.
“You’ve never heard of James Fountain?” He sounded like a right stuck-up twat.
“No I fuckin’ haven’t,” I
snapped, “Why the fuck would I have?”
“Who is it?” asked Tina.
I covered the mouthpiece with
my hand. “Some fucker thinks he knows me. Never heard of the bastard.”
“Well let’s go then,” said Tina,
pulling her skirt up to show more of her leg. “I want you to get me drunk then
fuck me in the loos at the pub like you did last week.”
I took my hand away from the
mouthpiece. I didn’t need no more
encouragement than that. “Look mister,” I said, “I ain’t never heard of James
whatisname and I’m busy, all right?”
“Is that Tina Miller I hear in
the background,” said the voice.
“Yes it is,” I said, “You got a
problem with that. She’s my wife. If you know what’s good for you you’ll
fuckin’ stay away!”
“What do you do for a living
Tony?” asked the voice.
“I work in the garage at the
end of Duggin Street. I’m a mechanic. What the fuck are you?”
The voice said, “I’m an
investment banker.”
Sounded more like an investment
wanker to me.
“Look, piss off willya,” I
said. “I’m on me way out and the last person I wanna be talkin’ to is some
toffee-nosed cunt from the posh end of town allright?”
“Fine,” said the man, “Be my
guest. I hope you have a good evening.”
I looked at Tina’s bountiful
cleavage. “I fuckin’ plan to.”
I jammed the phone back down
into place, cutting the signal.
“Come ‘ere ya tart,” I said, grabbing her bare
arm and pulling her close. I knew she was a pricktease and a flirt. I knew she
probably gave it away when I was out. But I wasn’t perfect meself. I’d had me
own share of sowing me oats with Sally the receptionist at work and a bunch of
others. But Tina always came back to me and she knew I’d kick the balls in of
any fucker I found her with.
But she was fucking gorgeous. A
real slag in bed and I liked that. She didn’t have no education or nothing and
she was about as thick as three short planks, but I wasn’t exactly blessed in
the brain department meself.
It didn’t matter none. We was
well suited and I’d never seen another woman could look so fucking sexy as she
could.
I took her in my arms and
started leading her out the door. We paused in the hallway and kissed again,
tongues interlinked, my hand squeezing her tit, her hand groping my cock.
“I love you Tina,” I said.
“I love you too Tony,” she
replied.
THE END
(and they all lived happily
ever fucking after)