When The Shoe Is On The Other Foot(Chapter 10)

 CHAPTER TEN

Scott leaned on the mop, took a deep breath, and rested for a while. His arms and feet were tired and sore from all the housework he had done, and it only 2 o’clock. So far, he had put away all their clothes, scrubbed the windows, washed the breakfast and lunch dishes, and mopped the kitchen and entrance hall. He still had to sweep the great room and their bedroom, and then there was the little "project" of washing every piece of cookware and every dish and utensil. In his "spare time" Elizabeth expected Scott to practice or acquaint himself with a long list of tasks. From the moment they moved into the cabin Elizabeth put him to work. Elizabeth told Scott the moment she closed the cabin door,

 

“Ok Babe, now that you aren’t working you can pull your weight by taking care of the cabin. We don’t know how far your changes will go but you NEED to spend this time getting acquainted with femineity – “

 

Scott began cursing to himself when he heard that.

 

Elizabeth continued,

 

“I expect you to wear a skirt or a dress every day for the next week or so, not only to get used to seeing yourself like that but also, so you’ll learn how to move, sit, walk, bend over, stoop, and carry yourself. You need the practice, it needs to become natural to you if you are to be out in public without garnering lots of attention, especially since these days, the world is a different place for women. Furthermore, I don’t see any harm in you wearing heels around the cabin. I understand that this is new for you so I’ll start you off in a 1-inch heel, and if I don’t act like an ASSHOLE or shall I say, BITCH. Then I’ll allow you to wear flats around the house when I get home. I really had to put in a lot of work and pull lots of strings to get you a new identity, so you better not make this more difficult for me!”

 

Before Scott was even able to open his mouth and protest, Elizabeth raised her hand to give him a slap. Scott immediately flinched and raised his arms to protect himself. He got the message.

 

Though Scott was now officially unemployed he had never worked harder in his life. Since moving into the cottage the past weekend he had scrubbed, cleaned, polished, dusted, swept, and washed everything that didn’t move, and he was thoroughly glad he was almost done with it.

 

The hardest part of all of this was that Scott felt a draft from outside and since he was no longer wearing pants, the draft was noticeable all the way up his legs, particularly when he was on his hands and knees, the hem of the dress would rise slightly. But this slight adjustment was so foreign to Scott that it felt like a huge difference and really underlined his transition. On top of that, the constant tapping from his heels was giving him a migraine and making him slowly go insane.

 

After this last “project”, he would only have the usual housework to contend with. Not that he was happy about that—He wasn’t—But Elizabeth was putting in a lot of time at work, trying to set up some new systems and implement several new ideas, and that left him with the bulk of the housework. About the only silver lining was that he didn’t need to spend an hour putting on his disguise every morning. 

 

As Scott looked out the window, he took note of what he was wearing. He was wearing a pleated light blue and white plaid button down dress. It was snug around his waist and flared out by his hips. It had a large white rounded notch collar with short sleeves with white cuffs.

In fact, everything Scott was wearing was Elizabeth’s at one point, but the outfit was comfortable, and it fit him perfectly, although Scott would have preferred if it was slightly longer, since Elizabeth wasn’t as tall back then. Happened to be, the dress was from when Elizabeth was in high school, she used to be chubbier back then, but she used to wear it when her parents would drag her to Sunday service. Scott tried not to think about that as he pulled the mop out of the bucket and resumed his work.

 

With plenty of time to “spare” Scott managed to start working on another item on Elizabeth’s list. Since he was now unemployed, it would now become his responsibility to prepare a full balanced meal for the two of them every day. Elizabeth had shown Scott a whole bookshelf of cookbooks the other day and encouraged him to gain some experience. Before Elizabeth left to work that, she mentioned to Scott that she was in the mood for fish for dinner but also warned him not to burn it otherwise there would be consequences. Thinking back to it, Scott wasn’t even sure if she was serious about it or was it just a cruel call-back to how he used to treat her. This reminded Scott of all those times he would berate Elizabeth for burning or overcooking their dinner and there were times he smashed plates and a handful of times he got physical. In a weird way, Scott reminisced, he used to enjoy when that happened, it made him feel powerful and strong, almost like a god. He was able establish is control and dominance over Elizabeth and get her to do his biddings.”

 

So, Scott began working on a seared seabass recipe with a demi-glace, mashed potatoes, and roasted vegetables. As he began, he couldn’t understand why women would make such a big deal over the difficulty and responsibility making dinner was, as cooking wasn’t the most complicated task. That was until he finished cooking and noticed that between his multiple burnt demi-glace and the other pots and utensils, he had accumulated a pile of dishes and managed to get every part of the countertop dirty. He sulked over to the sink and began his second round of dishwashing of the day. By the time he straightened the kitchen up again and finished heating up the food, Scott noticed that there was a small window if time that would allow him some time to himself and get a breath of fresh air. 

 

Scott began looking for his coat but couldn’t seem to find his old clothes anywhere, it was almost as if all his clothes disappeared. He was left with no other choice than to put on Elizabeth’s heavy knitted hooded cardigan and a baseball cap. He made his way to the sliding door off the kitchen and opened it up. He felt a string breeze against his now sensitive nipples which then got stiff and pointy. He also felt whatever hair he still had on his body get goosebumps. So, he grabbed both lapels and wrapped himself up tightly and made his way towards the lake.

 

The lake was completely calm, and its surface was like a mirror, reflecting the forested hills that surrounded it. There was a wonderful scent of pine in the air and Scott stood at the edge of the deck for a few minutes and took in the scene. The sun was occasionally blocked by fleecy white clouds that marched across the sky in ranks, and the shadows reflected off the lake almost without distortion. Scott could hear birds calling and noticed an occasional squirrel or other small animal, but there were no signs of humans aside from the cottage across the lake, which was vacant. Though the air was chilly it felt good to Scott, and he decided to take a short walk.

 

He started down towards the lake and enjoyed his excursion along the narrow, winding stone path that led to the boathouse. The thick vegetation that bordered the path was nearly high enough to obscure his vision to either side, and the twists and turns of the stone trail limited his view to a few feet before and behind him. Around halfway through, the stones started to become more spread out, and before long it turned into a dirt path. As Scott got on to the beaten path, he began to struggle walking. Although the dirt path was hard and firm from the cold, the unleveled surface made walking on heels a nightmare for a beginner like him. After a few graceful tumbles, Scott made it down to the waterfront.

 

When he reached the shore Scott walked out on the short, yet expansive dock next to the boathouse and stood at the end, looking out over the lake. From this perspective the lake looked larger and the surrounding hills taller and more imposing. They seemed to form an impenetrable barrier around the lake, blocking it off from the rest of the world almost like some sort of lost kingdom. Even the air seemed still at the shore, and a sudden feeling of loneliness came over him. He felt so isolated, so cut off, without anyone to talk to besides Elizabeth—when she was around or handing him tasks. It was an eerie feeling, and Scott jumped and let out a scream when he heard a rustling sound behind him. He relaxed when he realized that it was only a small rabbit moving about in the thick underbrush along the trail, but his heart was pounding, and it took a minute before his breathing returned to normal. 

 

Scott chuckled to himself, but he decided to get back to the cottage. He took a final look around and began the much more difficult, uphill trek back to the house. While he walked, he wondered if he could take the isolation for three or four months without going crazy. He needed to work on a plan to get control back in his marriage if for the time being he can’t fix his physical nature he’ll be damned if he will allow his mental state to change. He was used to seeing lots of people every day, and while he enjoyed the beauty of nature, he was fairly convinced that the loneliness would drive him nuts after a few weeks. All he needed was a few supplies from town, and then he can put Elizabeth in her place. Perhaps he could go into town with Elizabeth one day and get what he needed while running. He decided to approach his wife about it when she got home.

 

Elizabeth was just leaving work as Scott climbed the path back to the cottage. She was tired from a full day of meetings, but she felt very satisfied with the outcome. Since the change she had discovered she possessed a real talent for management, and she felt a real kick when she was able to come up with an innovative idea or a solution to a problem that no one else saw. Her mind seemed just a bit sharper than before, and she felt that she can now see things from multiple perspectives and get to the most precise and efficient conclusion. It made Elizabeth wonder whether this was something that all men were able to do.

 

As she began her commute back to the cottage, she made a mental note to tell her husband that she had contacted a real estate agent about their home, and that the agent had promised to go through the house tonight. Elizabeth had also delivered the pictures of her and Scott to "Joe," who had already begun working on their identity change. He told her he’d need a few more days to substitute the new photos, and their new documents would be ready by the end of the week.

 

When Elizabeth walked in the front door of the cottage, she noticed that everything was spotless, and a delicious aroma filled the house. Scott heard the door open and came to meet his wife, wiping his hands on his apron.

 

"Hey, how was your day?" He asked in his higher, softer voice.

 

"Pretty well," she replied, wrapping her arms around her mate, and giving him a kiss. Her arms seemed to encircle Scott more fully than before, and Elizabeth realized that his waist was even thinner than a few days before. He also looked a little shorter, and Elizabeth decided it was time to see how her husband when he picked out his own clothes. But that could wait until after dinner.

 

"This is really delicious," Elizabeth remarked as she helped herself to more of Scott’s seabass.

 

Scott smiled shyly and looked away, and Elizabeth could have sworn he had blushed slightly at her compliment. "I got the recipe from one of those cookbooks," he explained as he rose and began clearing away the dishes. 

 

"Well, it’s darn good. Save this one," Elizabeth told him as she attacked her second helping.

 

"How did work go today?" Scott asked.

 

"Good. I spent most of the day in meetings, but my new marketing ideas were accepted, and I think there will be a nice bonus for me, and maybe another promotion if they work out as well as I think they will," she replied.

 

"Could you take me into town with you tomorrow?" Scott asked, adding: "I’m gonna go nuts if I don’t get out and do something once in a while."

 

Elizabeth put her fork down and looked over at her husband. "I don’t know if that’s such a good idea honey, at least for a while," she replied.

 

"I’ll be careful!" Scott practically pleaded, but Elizabeth shook her head vehemently.

 

"No, Scott, and that’s final, I have a busy schedule since I am trying to move forward professionally. I can’t give you a day when we would even be able to go and with your sporadic changes you could be too far gone by the end of the week " she decreed with an air of authority as she calmly slammed her fist on the table. 

 

Scott stared at his wife angrily. He resented the fact that she had simply vetoed his request out of hand, as if he had no rights at all. After all, he had done everything she had asked of him—the cooking, cleaning, washing. He even ironed her skirts and blouses so she would look the part of a young executive when she went to work. He’d become nothing more than her full-time housewife, something he had never demanded of her, yet she was treating him like a pawn. He was tempted to ask Elizabeth what gave her the right to control his life, to tell him when he could come and go, but he bit his tongue and remained silent. As much as he wanted to, needed the element of surprise when he launched his mutiny. 

 

In his anger and frustration Scott took a deep breath and turned on his heel to carry the dished into the kitchen, but as he did a now-familiar wave of dizziness swept over him and Scott nearly dropped the dishes. He managed to maintain his balance, but a cloudy, misty sensation permeated his mind, along with a feeling of fluctuation. He felt bewildered and confused, and failed to notice that Elizabeth’s clothes were suddenly a drop looser on him, apart from his chest and bottom which seemed to have gotten slightly larger. He didn’t notice that his budding breasts had just blossomed a little more, or that his appearance was a touch more feminine than a moment before. He could not see that his bottom was slightly more rounded or that his hips flared just a touch more than a minute ago. He did pause when he was forced to stand on tiptoes to reach the dishwashing liquid on the windowsill behind the sink. He didn’t remember it being that difficult to reach in the past.