*TRIGGER WARNING*
Chapter includes mentions of abuse, unhappy marriages, 1950's American sexism.
*Read at your own risk*
Laura Tomlinson is a pretty, young, woman in her early twenties who is married to a man named Stanley. Though she would never admit it, she didn't really love Stanley. She barely even liked him. Laura doesn't know why she decided to say yes, the day Stanley proposed. They had been together for almost eight years and Laura had a dirty secret. Laura's secret had been weighing on her for far longer than she had even known Stanley. She tries not to think about it because it stresses her out. Best not to talk about it.
*.*.*.*.*.
Laura's POV
"Good morning, Stanley." I tell my fiancé as he walks downstairs in his robe and slippers.
"Good morning, Laura. How did you sleep last night?" He smiled. Secretly, I despised his smile. It was just extremely... traumatizing.
"I slept well, and yourself?" I lied. I barely got any sleep around him anymore. Although, it's been getting better lately.
"I'll tell you what, I slept marvelous. I had the most wonderful dream that you cooked my favorite meal for dinner, and then we had a little fun time." He wiggled his eyebrows insinuating something dirty. He always wanted sex. Even when I didn't. Especially when I didn't.
"Well, that does sound like a marvelous dream!" I hid my sarcasm.
"Heh, maybe my dream can become a reality? I'll lend you the money so you can go to the store, later. I'll even give you some extra to buy yourself a pretty new dress. Or maybe even something a bit sexy?" He flashed another smile; it made me sick. I put on the same smile I had forced for all these years.
"Maybe that could be arranged. Here, I made omelets, hashbrowns, and coffee for breakfast. Eat quick so it doesn't get cold." I handed him his plate, then his coffee just the way he liked it. I may or may not have thought about spitting in his drink, but I'm classier than that. I grabbed my own plate and tried to eat in silence, but Stanley's awful open mouth chewing made me want to sock him in this mouth.
*.*.*.*.*.
A little later, Stanley went to work, leaving me on my own to do whatever chores needed to be done. I washed the dishes, swept and mopped the floor, and even did the laundry all before noon. As I hung up the laundry, I decided that I could go shopping now that I had finished my chores for now.
I grabbed my purse and the money that Stanley left for me and got into my automobile to head to the grocery story. I didn't feel like getting a new dress let alone anything "sexy". Instead, I would save the leftover money. When I arrived, I went to the produce isle. As I reached for a head broccoli, another hand reached out as well; the hand with bright pink nails stopped just short of the broccoli and jerked back.
"Oh- I'm so sorry!" The person said. I whipped my head around and saw a gorgeous woman. She had bright green eyes, long curly brown hair, and was wearing a light blue dress.
"No, you're fine. I love your nail polish by the way." I commented with a smile as I picked up the head of broccoli to give to the pretty woman.
"Why thank you! I love the dress you're wearing." She smiled back and gently took the vegetable from my hand.
"Thank you! You know, I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new to the town?" I ask her. I examined another head of broccoli as I spoke.
"Yeah! My husband and I have only been in town for about two weeks." She sounded a bit awkward about it, but I couldn't really blame her. I was the one asking a stranger about their personal life. Maybe I should have stopped.
"Oh, wow! Welcome to the town! I'm Laura, I live on Bleach Street. You're always welcome to stop by for coffee or if you just need a friend or something."
"Well, isn't that so sweet! I'm Harriet and I live on Bleach Street too! It's the blue house at the end of the street!" She smiled at me and looked so very gorgeous. I held out my hand and she shook it and I smiled. Her hands were so soft and just touching them made me feel like electricity shot through my veins.
"W-wow, I didn't know anyone moved into the Johnson's old house. Well, like I said, you're always welcome to stop by if you ever need anything. I'd love to keep chatting, but I have to head home and start dinner before my husband... gets home from work." I smiled the entire time I spoke until I had to speak of my husband. I couldn't look her in the eye when I spoke of that man.
"Alright then, maybe I'll see you around town? How about we set up a coffee date?" Harriet smiled. My heart skipped a beat when she said date. It shouldn't have thought. I'm married and were both women. It's wrong for women to feel anything but platonic friendship for one another.
"Of course! Just stop by whenever. Maybe you'll even meet my husband." I stretched my smile wide and hoped my red lipstick wouldn't smudge on my teeth. We exchanged telephone numbers, and I finished my grocery shopping without seeing her again. Something about the encounter just left me with an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt like I finally could breathe again after leaving. That was interesting.
*.*.*.*.*.
Harriet's POV
When I got home from the store, Nicholas was nowhere to be seen despite his car being in the driveway. I wondered where he could have been. I placed the groceries in the kitchen noticing that the back door was open. I peeked through the glass and saw Nicholas in the backyard playing with our dog Moxie. I wanted to smile at the scene, but I couldn't. I don't know why.
I felt something brush up against my leg and looked down. Cuddling against my ankle, was our cat Stella. She was the only one in the house I could actually tell all my secrets to. She won't tell them to anyone. Only because she's a cat though. Nicholas stopped running around when he noticed me in the door and smiled. I smiled back at the man, and he jogged toward the house to come inside. Nicholas is a great husband and an amazing man, but there was something off about him. I could never tell what it was.
"Hi, honey! How are you?" He asked and walked into the house as I held the door open for him and our black Rottweiler puppy.
"I'm fine. Looks like you and Moxie were having fun out there." I said and picked up our fluffy little kitten and pet her head. Nicholas caressed the fluffy kitty as well and smiled.
"Yeah, Moxie looked like he wanted to go out and kept bringing me his ball. I thought 'why not' since I haven't run around like that in so long."
I smiled at the man before me and placed Stella back on the floor. I washed my hands and started to put the groceries away as Nicholas told me about his day. As he spoke, he washed his hands and made us each a cup of hot lemon ginger tea.
"Enough about my day, Harriet. How was the supermarket? Is it a nice store?" He asked and placed his head in his hands with his fingers curled up in a rather... cute way. It reminded me of a little girl.
"Oh, it was fine. It's a little small, but they have a very good selection. I also met one of the neighbors. Her name is Laura. She lives a few houses down." I didn't know why, but I started to blush slightly remembering the beautiful woman.
"What does she look like? Maybe I've seen her around with her husband." He asked. I looked at him and could have sworn I saw a tiny smirk be quickly wiped off of his face. I decided not to say anything about it, though.
"Okay, uhm, she's a bit short, she has sandy brown hair, really... really blue eyes," I started to blush and get slightly winded. I didn't know why I started to feel this way, but I liked it. "Erm, she had these bright red nails that matched her lipstick, and a button nose." I couldn't stop blushing and I definitely couldn't face Nicholas yet.
"Hmm, I don't think I've seen her around yet. Maybe we should go over and invite this Laura and her husband to a barbecue this weekend. She does have a husband, doesn't she?" My husband asked. He seemed oddly interested.
"Yes, she does. Maybe we can go over tomorrow. It's getting a bit late." I spoke but I still couldn't face the man. That night, I made dinner for us and went to bed. I tossed and turned that night, but the blue-eyed woman plagued my thoughts making it impossible for me to sleep.
*.*.*.*.*.
The next day after lunch, I baked a batch of cookies and Nicholas, and I got ready to go visit Laura and her husband a few houses down. While I was waiting for Nick, I decided to call Laura's house. I dialed the number hastily written on the small piece of paper and listened as the line rang.
"Hello? Tomlinson house, this is Stanley speaking." A man spoke into the phone. He sounded a bit irritated.
"Hello, my name is Harriet Styles. My husband and I just moved into the blue house at the end of Bleach Street." I stopped to allow Stanley to speak.
"Alright, Harriet Styles. How did you get this number?" He asked.
"I met Laura Tomlinson in the supermarket a few days ago. Is she home? May I speak to her?" The man seems to move the phone away from his mouth and sighed deeply. I heard him call for Laura and mumble something incoherent.
"Hello, this is Laura Tomlinson speaking." The sweet, familiar, high-pitched voice of the pretty woman I had met before.
"Hi Laura, It's Harriet." I spoke. The smile in my voice was very apparent.
"Hi Harriet! How are you doing?"
"I'm doing well! And yourself?" I asked politely.
"Uhm, I'm doing fine as well." She said back. She didn't seem too sure and I'm almost sure she hesitated a bit, but it's fine.
"That's fantastic! I was calling to ask if now would be a good time to visit for that coffee date? I've made sugar cookies to go with it." I spoke hopefully.
"Oh, uhm, I'll have to talk it over with my husband first, but I'm sure it's fine. Could you give me one moment, please?" She said politely. Her tone shift after asking confused me a bit, but whatever is going on in their household, is not my business.
"Oh, of course. Would you like me to call back in a few minutes so you can have so priv-" I was cut off.
"N-no! You don't have time do that. I promise it'll be quick." Laura said frantically.
"Alright." I hesitated for a moment before speaking but ultimately agreed.
I assumed Laura covered the receiver of her telephone as the words now coming through were muffled so I couldn't understand what she was talking to her husband about. The two sounded like they were arguing, and I thought I heard glass shatter. The yelling soon stopped, and Laura presumably placed the telephone back to her ear.
"Harriet? Are you still there?" She spoke. Her voice sounded weak and strained.
"Yes, I'm still here. I can come over another day if it's a bad day." I offered.
"No! I mean, no. Today is a good day." Laura said in a weak voice. She told me which house it was, then told me to wait about fifteen minutes before leaving. I did what she said and waited the fifteen minutes before gathering the cookies, and my husband, then we started to walk to 20 Bleach Street.
*.*.*.*.*.
Laura's pov (10 minutes earlier)
"What the fuck do you mean you want a job?! Do you not already have enough to do around the house?!" Stanley yelled at me.
"Stanley, I just want to make my own money. I don't think it would be a bad idea if-" My husband cut me off.
"Think?! You're a woman for Christ's sake! You're not supposed to think! You're supposed to be quiet, submissive, and content doing housework!"
"I know all of this, Stanley. I know what I'm supposed to do. But it's not about needing more work to do; I don't want to depend on you." The entire time I spoke, it was with a clam level voice despite the anger and rage bubbling inside of my very core.
"That's what marriage is! Why are you so fucking stupid? Do I need to remind you of your place?!" He yelled loudly and lifted his hand to strike me, but before he could, the phone rang. Thank God. He groaned in anger and annoyance then picked up the phone. "Hello? Tomlinson house, this is Stanley speaking." I hated it here.
I didn't know who was on the phone, but I felt bad for them.
"Alright, Harriet Styles. How did you get this number?" As soon as he said the name Harriet, my heart sank. I knew that I only met her once but there was something about her that I wanted to keep around me. He sighed deeply and turned to look at me; he put the phone against his chest before speaking again. "So now you're giving our phone number out to strangers?" He asked in an angry tone.
"She's not a stranger, she's our neighbor."
"Well, our neighbor wants to speak with you." His tone was condescending as I walked over to take the phone and talk to Harriet.
"Hello, this is Laura Tomlinson speaking." I tried my best to keep my tone neutral yet friendly.
"Hi Laura, It's Harriet." Her sweet voice brought me a bit of comfort.
"Hi Harriet! How are you doing?" I peeked at Stanley who was watching me like a hawk. Why is he like this?
"I'm doing well! And yourself?" She asked. I briefly panicked because obviously I was not okay.
"Uhm, I'm doing fine as well." I lied. I think she could tell I wasn't being a hundred percent honest. Either way, she didn't say anything about it.
"That's fantastic! I was calling to ask if now would be a good time to visit for that coffee date? I've made sugar cookies to go with it." My heart dropped. This was the worst time, but it could also help my situation.
"Oh, uhm, I'll have to talk it over with my husband first, but I'm sure it's fine. Could you give me one moment, please?" I knew asking him is going to cause issues.
"Oh, of course. Would you like me to call back in a few minutes so you can have so priv-" I had to cut her off.
"N-no! You don't have time do that. I promise it'll be quick." If she hung up, I knew Stanley would pick right back up where he started.
"Alright." she replied after hesitating for a moment. I covered the receiver and took a deep breath.
"Stanley, Harriet and her husband are coming over in a little bit. Harriet made cookies and I'm going to make coffee." I spoke calmly.
"I'm sorry, are you telling me or are you asking me?" He spoke. The words dripped off of his tongue like venom.
"Stanley, I'm an adult as well and I would think I had some say in my company." I said back. The anger and irritation seeping out in my words.
"Well obviously, Laura. I know you're an adult but you're also my wife. You listen to what I say, when I say it, God damnit!" He started yelling. I couldn't take it anymore.
"Stanley! I'm so tired of you treating me like I'm a piece of garbage! I'm a human being that demands respect before I'm anybody's anything!"
"Who the FUCK do you think you're talking to?!" He threw down a nearby glass when he screamed fuck. I'm so tired of this man. I want to divorce him, but I know he would never sign the papers.
"I'm talking to you Stanley! I need respect and you're not giving it to me. I'm tired of it! I'm telling Harriet and her husband they can come over, and if you don't like it, you can go out or go in another room!" After I finished, phone receiver still in my palm, I let out a few deep breaths and looked Stanley in his eye.
"It's about damn time you stood up for yourself, Bitch. Clean up this mess before they get here." He spoke, clearly satisfied with what he did. I really, really, hated that man. I hated being that angry; I felt like I was going to cry. I took a deep breath before placing the telephone back on my ear.
"Harriet? Are you still there?" I asked. I forced myself to not cry just yet. I'm sure it strained my voice.
"Yes, I'm still here. I can come over another day if it's a bad day." She spoke cautiously. I needed to see her as soon as possible. I also didn't know how much of our argument she heard. I hoped it wasn't a lot.
"No! I mean, no. Today is a good day." I told her. I asked her to wait about fifteen minutes before coming over. I didn't say why, but I needed to clean up Stanley's broken glass and clean myself up.
*.*.*.*.*.
It was about twenty minutes later when I heard a knock on the door. I took a deep breath and put a smile on my face. I opened the door and saw a man with brown hair standing next to the beautiful Harriet.
"Hi, welcome!" I said excitedly.
"Hello! I'm Nicholas Styles; Harriet's husband. You must be Laura." The man said. He was about Harriet's height and his eyes were bright. I can see why Harriet married him; he seemed nice and sweet.
"Yes, I am! It's so good to meet you! Please come in!" I ushered the couple in.
"It's so good to see you again, Laura!" Harriet said sweetly. Her bright green eyes contrasted starkly against her curly, dark brown hair. She was gorgeous.
"It's so good to see you too!" I smile. I motion for the two of them to join me in the kitchen. As we entered, Stanley was standing against the counter with a glass of water.
"Hello." My husband said to our guests; his tone was cold and defensive.
"Hello, sir. I'm Nicholas." Harriet's husband smiled at mine. I could have sworn that he looked Stanley up and down with a weird look in his eye.
"Nice to meet you, Nicholas. I'm Stanley." Stanley shook the man's hand. "You must be umm, Hazel?" He asked to be polite. This man was so stupid.
"It's actually Harriet, very nice to meet you." She smiled at him, but he couldn't see. My husband was busy looking over Mr. Styles and vice versa.
"Right, sorry. Hey, Nicholas. Let's leave the women to their coffee and go get a couple of beers? My treat." Stanley suggested.
"Well, only if that's okay with," he started with a gulp. "Mrs. Styles-" Nicholas trailed off.
"Oh, don't let us stop you. We'll save you some treats!" Harriet smiled once more and looked at me. Her green eyes pulling me in as if they had their own gravity; I was lost in them.
"Alright." Stanley said. "We'll be at the bar on fourth Street. Let's go, Nicholas." He walked past Nicholas without looking my way or even giving me a second thought. Nicholas quickly kissed Harriet's cheek then rushed to follow my husband. Before anything, I heard two car doors open and close, then a car engine start. Are they-?
"I suppose we can have coffee now." I suggested. I didn't want to have coffee and cookies though. I wanted to have her.
"Maybe, let's hold off on the coffee." Harriet said back. Her tone was different, and her movements were smooth, sleek, and precise. She placed the platter of cookies on the counter and faced me. "Laura, excuse me if I'm out of line here, but you're so beautiful. Extremely gorgeous." She complemented. Slowly, she walked toward me while she spoke.
"As are you, Harriet. You are truly enchanting." I moved toward her as well. The two of us stood incredibly close together with myself against the empty dinner table.
"You've been on my mind ever since I met you. You're bright, blue eyes, your pink, plump lips, your sandy brown hair, your hourglass figure, all of you. In my mind when I eat, when I sleep, when I clean, just always. You enchant me with your presence Laura." Harriet rambled. She gingerly held my chin, so I was looking her in the eye. My cheeks were red, and I was biting my lip, but I wasn't one to back down from a challenge.
"Is that so? You've also been plaguing my every waking thought. I'd love to... Quench my curiosity, so to speak. Wouldn't you?" I say invitingly.
"God yes," Harriet's lips were on mine. The taste of her strawberry lipstick mixed with my cherry created a fruity bliss. I found myself with one hair in Harriet's hair, the other on Harriet's hip, and pinned against the table with my right leg between both of Harriet's.
That day was a day to remember. The day my marriage wasn't so bad. The day I became a lot closer to Harriet. The day it wasn't so bad to be a housewife. The day, I gave into my big secret.
*.*.*.*.*.
Hello kids, I just have a few questions for you but feel free to skip them!!
1. Do you like the long chapters?
2. Should I do more gender bend chapters?
3. Do you have any fic ideas you would like to see written as a one shot?
-your dad, Satan