Fred & Mary

by Kipjo Ewers

  We both swore we’d take the incident to our graves.”

  She finished the story with a laughing emoji, which caused him to burst out into a chuckle. It quickly switched to sobs which he muffled with his mouth as his tears fell.”

  “I’m so sorry,” buzzed a message on his phone, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s okay,” Fred answered while he pulled himself together. “It’s not your fault that is something no one else would know.”

  “So, question,” she texted her inquiry. “Which Anime slut whore was you thinking of when you oversaw the design of this body?”

  “Say what?” He nervously jumped.

  “The doll,” Another message instantly flashed on the phone, “Seriously? I drop dead, and you decide to live out one of your sick fantasies to screw a cartoon?”

  Fred’s mouth was on stuck for half a second realizing how easily he walked into her verbal attack. The dispute on whether his Mary was sitting before him was becoming less and less.

  “No! No!” he stuttered. “That’s not what happened!”

  “I mean Jesus, I knew you were a ‘tits and ass’ man, but this is ridiculous. You know how long it took me to find a way to fit into this dress?” Another message popped up, “Thank you for at least giving it my hairstyle and color.”

  “That’s not it,” he stammered. “I just picked what was standard with that type of doll. I also didn’t remember … I didn’t know …”

  “What I looked like?” Popped another message on his phone, “Wow, all these years, my little figure left so small of an impression on you, even with all of the pictures we took together.”

  “That’s not funny.” He gripped the table. “You know I couldn’t get enough of you.”

  “I’m just saying,” his phone lit up. “If I were a grieving wife, and decided to purchase a life size doll for some ‘comfort,' I’d want it to look as close as possible to my deceased husband. Not something out of the “Legend of the Overfiend.” How would you like it if I got a replica of Idris Elba with a rod as big and as thick as a baby’s arm?”

  “I’m didn’t want something that looked like you!” He blurted out in frustration.

  His body shook when he said it.

  “I brought the pictures,” he swallowed as he stared at his plate. “Plenty of pictures, I pulled them out, they could have made an exact copy of you. At the last second, I didn’t do it. I couldn’t do it. It would have been too much, I just didn’t want to sleep alone anymore … I just needed …”

  “I was there. I saw everything.” A message popped up stopping him. “I understand. I was just ribbing you like old times.”

  The visage on his face revealed he was not in the joking mood. It was down the middle between heartbreak and the belief that he was on the brink of insanity.

  “I prefer this too,” she continued. “I don’t think I could take looking in a mirror and seeing a doll version of me. And think of all the cool role-playing we can do.”

  He glanced up a bit to see her hands cupping her breasts and pressing them together in the cliché manner done in dozens of ecchi anime shows. She stopped realizing it was not making him feel any better.

  “I’m sorry,” another message popped up.

  “It’s okay,” he sighed.

  Awkwardness returned to the room, as the two now sat there unsure what to say to one another. Fred began to realize that this was uncharted territory for the both of them. From what he saw without making eye contact with her, she was just as distressed as him as he watched both her head and shoulders hunch over a bit.

  The air in the room also changed becoming a bit chilly.

  He thought of another question to ask. He wasn’t sure if it would alter the mood within the dining room, but it was something that had been sitting on his chest for quite a long time that he needed to know.

  “Um, the day you died,” he fumbled. “Did you … feel any pain?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “But only for a little while.”

  “What happened after that?” He nervously asked.

  “I was there and not there. I saw me under the car.” she texted. “I then felt and saw this warm white light and voices coming from it.”

  “Did you walk toward it?”

  “I did,” she replied. “But then I stopped.”

  “Why?” He raised his head.

  “I heard you screaming.”

  Fred glanced away for a minute, as sadness crept into his mind taking him back to that day. He remembered everything else except the part when people claimed he was screaming.

  ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

  It was a Saturday in November, almost four months since they got back from their honeymoon in Hawaii. Mary had received a significant advance on her second novel, and wanted to celebrate by getting some things for the house, and upgrade Fred’s wardrobe which she always complained was a bit outdated. They made a day out of it getting up at 9 a.m. They had breakfast at Peet’s and then went to a couple of furniture and appliance stores. By 11:45 a.m. she had bought him an Xbox and took him to the Gap to buy a couple pairs of jeans and shirts, they then stopped at a Starbucks to get some iced coffee.

  The light was red. Both of Fred and Mary’s hands were full as they carried their bags and drinks heading back to the car. Mary stepped off first trotting in front of him. She then turned to tell him to hurry up when it happened.

  He could still feel the force of the vehicle as it whipped past him. The sound of the blow and crunching bones was violently carved forever into his eardrums.

  Two of the bags she had been carrying was up the street. Fred could not see her from where he stood. So, he walked over to the driver side, where the driver sat frozen in her seat still clutching her Smartphone in her hand.

  He looked down to see her face down underneath the vehicle. The life was already gone from her eyes, while blood poured from her cracked skull.

  At that moment people said Fred began to scream. Those that witnessed the incident said it would haunt them till their end days. It was so disturbing that all forms of social media engines took down any and all video posts of the incident.

  Fred’s next memory was waking up in a hospital after being heavily sedated, with his sister and Barney sleeping in chairs next to his bed.

  He remembered still asking as he woke up.

  “Where’s Mary?”

  “Fred …there was an accident,” a choked-up Veronica attempted to ease him into the painful truth.

  It was all Fred needed to hear as his memory returned. His wail made a sobbing Barney rush to his side holding his hand. His weeping sister gently rubbed his back and neck attempting to soothe away a pain branded into him for eternity.

  ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

  Fred cleared his throat as he used his hand to wipe away the mist from his eyes, and seal away that horrid memory again. He thought of another question to ask, to change the uncomfortable ambiance in the room.

  “So …what do we do now?” He asked while clearing his throat.

  The silence made the air thick within the room once again. Fred found breathing a bit uncomfortable until a text finally popped up on his phone.

  “Right now, I want to sleep with my husband.”

  Fred’s body began to go through violent spasms again as his eyes widened hoping he read the message correctly.

  “When you mean … sleep with,” he slowly raised a trembling hand. “Are you saying …?”

  His phone buzzed again.

  “Get intimate. Have sex. Fuck.”

  “Can …you …do that?” He swallowed as new sweat washed down his back.

  “Don’t know,” popped up a new text. “But I want to find out.”

  Fred gripped the table. It felt like a full blown seizure was about to overcome him as he glanced her way. Although the dolls were created for
intercourse, the primary and only purpose for the purchase was for a home sleep aide. Now the entity proclaiming to be his wife was requesting for them to get it on.

  What was more petrifying was he was becoming aroused by the proposal.

  “So …how do you want to do this?” He whispered.

  “I cooked, so you’re on clean up,” his phone lit up. “I’ll go into the bedroom, and get freshened up, and when I’m ready, I will buzz you. Head down please.”

  Fred slowly lowered his head again. The hairs on the back of his neck shot to attention once more as the chair on the opposite side screeched backward. The quickening of his heart significantly increased as he felt and heard her getting up. He glanced up a bit to see her slide her chair back into place, and then slowly walk in his direction. A well of emotions drowned him as he realized how both disturbingly calm and eager he was about his current predicament.

  Her silicone bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor screamed at him that this was not a dream. An inanimate object, proclaiming to be his long dead wife, was heading to his bedroom to prepare to have sex with him, and he did not find it unsettling at all. He finally chalked it up to two possibilities. One, he had officially lost his mind and all reason. Two, he was too prison inmate backed up for her to care.

  The second she walked passed him; he slowly raised his head to look at her.

  He got up from his seat and followed at a safe distance to watch her walk down the hallway to their bedroom. Her movements were not stiff, but they were not graceful either. He could see that she was concentrating on trying not to trip and fall. A smile slowly crept onto his face as he realized the unsubtle swish in her hips.

  She purposely stopped at the doorway to the bedroom slowly turning her head so that he could see the side profile of her face. Similar to the walk, she was etching into his mind the realization that what was happening was not a figment of his imagination. It was not a dream, nor was he going crazy. The right leg twitch snuck up on Fred again as the possessed doll somehow managed to perform a simple smile before walking into the bedroom, and then closing it behind her.

  “This is crazy …this is fucking crazy …” he muttered to himself while pacing.

  His ears popped up to the sound of shuffling within the bedroom.

  “Fuck it. Let’s go crazy.”

  Returning to the table, he slid back his chair, grabbed his plate, and all of the utensils on the table, he planned just to dump them in the sink and take care of them later when his phone violently buzzed.

  “Wash the fucking dishes, put away the rest of the food, and clean up the damn kitchen as I asked you. Don’t be lazy; I’m not going anywhere.”

  Fred emitted a nervous chuckle upon seeing the message; his eyes became blinded with tears as he looked in the direction of the bedroom. If this was crazy and all in his head he didn’t care. He had a right to be crazy, to lose it; he was now diving off a cliff with no fear.

  He did what he was told, putting the food in Tupperware, and storing it properly in the refrigerator. He took his time to wash everything in the sink and soak the pots. He gave the counters and stove a spit shine wipe down, before straightening out the kitchen table and chairs. As he finished properly tidying up, his phone went off again.

  “Good job …I’m ready …you can come in now.”

  A cold chill washed over his body as he turned to their bedroom. He would be lying to himself if there wasn’t an ounce of fear within him. If he wasn’t crazy, and this was happening, he was not a hundred percent sure that was his Mary waiting for him. He had seen enough horror and ghost movies to instill that kind of fear within him. There was still time to run and find a priest.

  “Well Fred …look at it this way,” he swallowed. “How many people can say they got to be Raymond Stantz.”

  He inhaled some courage and held it in slowly letting it out as he forced himself to move. It got him down the long hallway to the bedroom door. His hand was clammy and shook as if he had a condition, it was so sweaty it barely turned the knob he gripped.

  What little rationale he had screamed into his ear to stop, that this made no sense, that he needed help. His heart told rationale to fuck off. He tried to get help. He dumped money into psychiatrists and medication to fill the hole in his heart. Standing at that door, ready to enter the unknown, he no longer felt the emptiness that was slowly killing him. He would rather overdose on insanity not to feel that pain ever again.

  Slowly, he pushed the door open and walked into the void. Fred fell back against the door slamming it shut with the weight of his body. He was barely able to stand as his frame violently quaked attempting to absorb the sight before him.

  There in the room just lit up by faint moon and street light; she sat at the foot of the bed waiting for him as soft love making music played from her iPod connected to a mini speaker in the background on her nightstand.

  She had changed into the white lace off shoulder sheer baby doll from the first night of their honeymoon. She had to make some adjustments for an outfit meant for someone with a slightly smaller top. It came complete with matching thigh high stockings and bow tie g-string that could be removed just by pulling the bows at the hips. Sitting cross legged revealing a right amount of leg and thigh transported him back to that night when she nervously came out of the bathroom of their suite wearing it. At that moment, any thought of how completely unnatural this situation was had been exorcised from his mind.

  His phone buzzed with a command.

  “Take your clothes off …slowly.”

  Gingerly he obeyed beginning with his shirt followed by his pants. His phone buzzed again.

  “Leave the boxers on.”

  He nodded while using his feet to pull off his socks.

  “Come closer, and close your eyes.”

  Fred inconspicuously inhaled some more courage as he willed his legs to move again. His body started to spasm once more as he stood in front of her and hesitantly closed his eyes.

  His body would not stop convulsing as he felt her uncross her legs and lean into him. He let out a squeak as he shook like a leaf sensing her hands inches from his abdomen. Fred let out a terrified groan scurrying away as her hand touched his skin for a split second.

  “Hold on … hold on,” he held out a hand. “Just give me a minute.”

  His phone that he almost dropped buzzed.

  “Okay.”

  Fred getting angry with himself forced his body to straighten up. He sucked in all the air in the room and turned it into confidence as he marched back over to her. Rooting his feet back into the Oakwood floor, he closed his eyes for round two.

  It didn’t stop his body from trembling, but he stood his ground as he felt her hands on his stomach once again. It was her second favorite part of his body.

  He was still amazed at the warmth of her hands as she awkwardly moved them up to her third favorite place.

  His chest.

  Tears seeped from his closed eyes as he knew what came next.

  Soft kisses peppering his belly.

  There was no awkwardness as her hands went from cupping his chest to tracing down his back with the tips of her fingers as they made their way to the back of his boxers fondling her first favorite place on his body. The act stood him up on his toes as she continued to pelt his skin with kisses that descended lower and lower to his nether region as she pulled down his boxers dropping them to the floor.

  The act and the cold air sent all the blood in his body to his second head engorging it. He braced himself to feel lips and tongue that would make him pre-ejaculate when his phone buzzed again.

  Remembering the rules, he opened one eye to see what she wanted him to do next.

  “Now, take the blindfold on your nightstand. Cover your eyes and lay down.”

  She kept her head down as she released him.

  He had wavered for a split second before he trotted over to his side of the bed picking up the sleep aid blindfold. Setting his phone down on the night
stand he did as commanded turning his world to darkness.

  Using his hands as guides, he laid down and waited.

  It didn’t take long as he felt the front of the bed shift and raise. All of his muscles became tightened spring coils as he could hear slow foot movement and feel a presence coming close to him. His muscles constricted to the point of cramping as he felt the presence’s weight as they sat down on the bed.

  The spasms his body went through became painful as he felt a hand hovering inches from his chest. His mind could not comprehend how he was both terrified and aroused at the same time.

  The first touch was a light finger in the center of his chest.