The Secret of the Old Clock (Patreon)

Amanda Lucido arrived at her lover's front door. She had never been there before. She knew he was married. Josh Dolgin had been saying that he would leave his wife Carrie but hadn't yet. Maybe it was time to tell Carrie that Josh was leaving her, and he was going to be with Amanda.

Amanda pressed the button and waited to be let in.

Carrie opened the door. Amanda had never met the woman, but she had seen pictures of her.

“I'm here to see Josh.”

“He just stepped out for a little while. He is on one of his health walks. He should be back soon. Come on in.”

Carrie didn't ask who Amanda was. She thought it was strange, but she entered anyway.

Amanda had permed hair and was wearing a simple linen dress and pumps with a small heel. Amanda expected that Carrie should look older. She was closer to forty, but she didn't look a day over thirty.

“You can wait in the living room. He won't be long. Would you care for something to drink?”  Carrie didn't wait for an answer.

*** BONG*** *** BONG***

Amanda looked toward the sound. It was an old clock. The time indicated was two o'clock. Amanda knew that was wrong. It was early evening when she arrived. Amanda wondered why they would let the clock chime and not make sure the time was correct.

A moment later, Carrie returned with a juice box.

Josh took his daily walk around the park. His doctor had suggested it. The doctor said it would help with his blood pressure and several other minor problems that Josh might develop in the near future. As long as the weather was nice, Josh enjoyed these walks. He didn't push himself to walk too fast. His pace is what could be called a stroll. He took the time to look at the trees, flowers, grass even the squirrels of the park. He thought the squirrels were 'pretty'.

As he passed the play area for the fourth time, (Josh always made four laps around the park, which encompassed a little over a mile in distance.) he took note that there wasn't anyone on the swings. The swings were in the shade of some trees and looked inviting. Josh decided to head over to the swings and sit on one. This was the first time he had done so since he was a kid. He wasn't a kid anymore; he was over forty.

Josh didn't swing vigorously on the apparatus. He simply swayed back and forth enjoying the little breeze it generated. It was a very pleasant experience.

The sun started to set; it was time to get home. Before leaving the play area, Josh climbed the slide. He launched himself down and continued to jog out of the park to his home. His longish hair bounced with each step. He was home in a few minutes.

Carrie, his wife, was waiting for him.

“I want to show you something,” Carrie told him.

“What?”

“You'll see.”

Josh followed Carrie towards the living room. He could hear music. It was a song obviously meant for a young child. It went “One, two, three, four, five...Once I caught a fish alive...”

Josh froze at the doorway. In his living room was the woman he had been having an affair with. There wasn't any doubt, it was Amanda. But she didn't look as he would have expected. Her hair was different. Her hair was in a juvenile ponytail with a blue and white checkered bow.

She was wearing a cotton romper. It had flutter sleeves and a bib-front with a cartoon bunny applique on the right breast. Her breasts hung loosely underneath. Clearly, she wasn't wearing a bra. The shorts of the romper had elastic leg holes and snaps at the crotch which would make diapering easy. She was obviously wearing a thick diaper underneath. She was dressed in every way like a toddler.

Amanda was apparently enjoying the song. Josh saw her dancing to the music while holding a teddy bear. But her steps weren't coordinated as they should be for a woman who was twenty-five years old. Her steps were more random than that. She moved to wherever the music took her.

Josh wanted to run to her, but Carrie held him back by putting a hand on his shoulder.

“What do you think of her now?” Carrie asked.

“Why is she dressed like that?”

“I think she looks adorable.”

“She looks like a baby.”

“Actually, a toddler, she has the personality of a two-and-a-half-year-old.”

“You did this to her?”

Carrie nodded her head. “I know what you have been doing with her. I put an end to that. She has no interests like that anymore.”

“You monster, turn her back. I promise I'll never see her again.”

“Why should I. As you can see, she is very happy now. Was she happy when you two used to sneak around?”

“It's not right. It's not fair.”

Josh thought for a second of saying, 'Do it to me, not to her.' But he wasn't going to say that.

“You think what you did to me was fair? She stays as is!”

“You can't do this.”

The old clock chimed the half-hour. But when Josh looked up the clock showed half-past ten. Josh knew it was much earlier than that. He thought it was closer to 7:30, than 10:30. It was still light outside.

“I can and I did. We can talk about it in the morning. It's getting late, time for you to get ready for bed.”

“But?”

“No, buts.”

Josh knew that arguing wouldn't do any good. He turned to leave. He went to the bedroom and got his pajamas. He selected the topmost pair from his dresser. These pajamas were light green in color. Before leaving his bedroom, he kicked off his flats.

With his pajamas in hand, he entered the bathroom. He was on autopilot as he got ready for bed. He had too much to think about. Carrie had made Amanda into a toddler. Maybe not physically, but she was a toddler, nonetheless.

Josh pulled off his multi-shaded pink one-shoulder tee. It had wavy lettuce trim highlights and capped sleeves. Written in script letters on the front of his top were the words: peace, love, and justice. Justice was the store where the top was purchased. Under his top, Josh wore a white training bra. He effortlessly opened the fasteners in the back as if he had been doing so for years and slipped the bra off. He pulled down his black leggings and the panties underneath in one motion. Then he sat on the toilet seat to get them off his legs. All of his used apparel went into the hamper.

Naked, Josh turned on the shower and got in. He used liquid soap and a loofah to clean himself. The shower relaxed him. He didn't like what happened to Amanda, but he would talk to Carrie about it in the morning; before going to school. Carrie was right, it was getting late, and he had to get to sleep. It was near his bedtime.

After the shower, he would put on his pajamas, get into bed and start to read his Nancy Drew book. He hoped he would finish “The Secret of the Old Clock” before nodding off. Nancy Drew mysteries were his favorite.

Returning to his room, Josh found that Amanda was already asleep in her bed. Her teddy bear was lying next to her, and her thumb was firmly planted in her mouth.

“Goodnight, I'll talk to mommy in the morning,” Josh assured her in a whisper. He softly kissed her forehead being careful not to wake her up.

He pulled the Dora the Explorer comforter aside and got into bed. Then he turned on the lamp on his nightstand. He was sure it wouldn't wake Amanda and started to read. He was curious about what secrets the old clock held for his favorite detective, Nancy Drew.

End.