Allison jerks upright, nearly cracking the back of her head. You shove the remote back into your pocket before she spins around, then watch as the color drains from her sharp face.
"What's wrong?" you ask. "Feeling alright?"
"I don't know. Got a little dizzy there all of a sudden."
"That's not good. Maybe you're just hungry."
"Yeah," the woman agrees softly, running a hand through her thick, chestnut brown hair. She pulls out the carton of eggs and closes the refrigerator door. "That could be it. It's weird, though, because I usually don't eat breakfast in the mornings and it's never bothered me before."
You shrug. "You have been pretty stressed lately."
"No kidding. I swear, between you kids and that job it's like a never ending marathon. I could use a vacation. One week all to myself, soaking up the sun on a quiet beach in the Caribbean."
"How about you go and sit down? I'll make your breakfast and bring it to you. How do you want your eggs?"
Allison throws you a funny look as she places the carton on the counter. "Over easy." Sensing an ulterior motive, she lifts her chin and asks, "What's the catch? What do you want?"
"No catch. You're stressed out, you need to relax, so why not let me do something nice for you?"
"Alright," your stepmother says, removing her blazer. She's showing a lot more cleavage than usual today. "I'm gonna jump in the shower, then. Would you put on some coffee while you're at it?"
It's impossible to tell for sure whether or not the remote actually did anything. Her clothes don't appear to be any tighter, anyway. You need some kind of distraction so you can zap her again. Thinking swiftly, you position yourself behind her and say, "Hey, close your eyes for a second. I've been reading up on this new form of massage. Have you ever heard of reiki?"
"What's that?" Alison stares at you over her shoulder, her pale blue eyes full of suspicion. You may be pushing your luck here. "Seriously, Robby, what's up with you today?"
Digging your fingers into her shoulders, you tell her, "Nothing's up with me. Just trust me, okay?" It takes a minute, but the woman's muscles begin to ease up as you massage her upper back. She really is carrying a lot of stress. "Now I'm going to pull my hands away, but I'll be channeling my energy into my fingertips. Here, can you feel this?"
Eyes shut, Allison hums, "Mhm. Feels nice. Kind of warm."
She's buying it. Now's your chance. You pull out the remote and aim it between her shoulder blades. It works. Your stepmother grows right before your eyes, her body slowly expanding in all directions. Unfortunately her clothes expand as well to accommodate the swelling flesh. When you finally pull your thumb off the button, Allison's relaxed shoulders are up to your bulging eyeballs. Damn. That's definitely too much. The heels normally bring her up to your height, five-ten, so she's bound to spot the difference. You place your finger on the shrink button, but the woman stretches out her arms suddenly, forcing you to hide the remote away yet again. So much for that. At least she won't know this was your doing.
"That was very nice," she groans, "but I really need to go shower so I can change out of these clothes. My feet are absolutely killing me."
Now it's your muscles that are tense as steel. Will your stepmother recognize the height boost you've given her?
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