Brenda and Eddie Martino were, by all accounts, a happily married couple. It was freshman year at Staten High when they met, and were instantly inseparable. Their chemistry was electric. 

Eddie grew up in a traditional Italian family. His father, Joe, was a gregarious man who stood around 6ft and weighed around 250lbs. He was the owner of a garage, and customers loved him for his honesty and personality.

Eddie’s mother, Elaine, was a stay at home parent. She only stood 5’ and weighed no more than 100lbs, but she ran a tight ship. Eddie and his sister Jennifer, who was 7 years younger and built like her mom, knew that mom was the final word. Occasionally, Joe would make a decision and it ended in a loud discussion between parents, but Elaine ultimately trusted her husband’s judgement, and things would go back to normal.

And when he met Brenda Vacarri freshman year, he thought he was in heaven. Brenda was a slight 5’1” and 105 lbs. She had black hair and green eyes and a smile that could melt an iceberg. She was as also the spitting image of her mother, Diane, who stood as tall as her, and weighed the same, with the same black hair and green eyes. 

Brenda’s father was a man named Anthony. Anthony was a very large man, standing 6’6” and weighing close to 300lbs. Brenda’s parents had come of age during the hippie era. Free love and trust of everyone. 

Brenda’s parents owned a catering company which was perpetually about to close its doors due to mismanagement. Anthony and Diane had no hesitations about going to some festival or peace gathering instead of accepting catering jobs. It was this attitude that almost doomed their business, until Brenda’s grandfather died and left enough money to pay the company’s bills for the next 10 years.

Brenda also had a brother, Robert, 4 years her senior. Robert played baseball for Staten High, but wasn’t drafted, and played some college ball before playing semi-pro baseball. 

Eddie grew to a height of 6’4” and weighed 200lbs. He was a star wide receiver in high school, but a knee injury his senior year put an end to any hopes of college football and the pros. So after high school, he set his mind to earning a degree in finance.

Meanwhile, Brenda had convinced herself that she wanted to be a teacher, but her heart was never sold. One day during senior year she and mom talked. Diane told her daughter to follow her heart. So Brenda majored in Humanities while in college.

After their freshman year in college, Brenda and Eddie decided to marry. They had spent many a night together while in high school discussing how many kids they wanted, where they wanted to live, etc. Eddie’s parents tried to talk him out of the wedding, but his mind was made up.

It was soon after graduation that cracks appeared in their relationship. Eddie got his degree and worked for an investment firm making good money. Brenda had her Humanities degree and set her sights on a great paying job. Unfortunately, her degree was worthless.

One day Eddie and Brenda were talking, and Eddie brought up the idea of children. Brenda was lukewarm to the idea, which hurt Eddie. Brenda told him that she wanted to concentrate on getting a job, and it wasn’t the right time for a family. It was at that moment that chemistry fizzled. Eddie spent more and more time at the office. Brenda would apply for jobs, but would be unsuccessful in her attempts at employment.

One night Eddie and his coworkers went to a bar, where he got drunk and hooked up with a barfly named Stacey. Eddie couldn’t remember exactly what happened, but he stumbled into the house around dawn. Brenda didn’t have to ask what happened. She instinctively knew. She looked at Eddie coldly and went to the bedroom, packed up a few things, and left. 

Eddie was upset. At 24 years of age and after five years of marriage, he was alone. Brenda had gone to her parents’ house, and told her mom what happened. Brenda cried and cried for hours. Eddie had broken her heart. 

Eddie called out of work, and proceeded to pour himself drink after drink. After what seemed like an eternity, he made his way to the bedroom and passed out. Dream after dream involved Brenda. He woke up and stumbled into the bathroom. Once back in bed, he immediately fell asleep and had a dream in which he was making his way through a carnival funhouse. 

As he made his way, he noticed that everyone was laughing at him. The more he traveled, the more they laughed. He made his way to the moving cylinder with kaleidoscopic lights. He felt dizzy. He felt like he was spinning out of control. Even though asleep, he felt every spin. He thought he was going to throw up.

Finally Eddie woke up. He was hung over. His eyes had trouble focusing. He couldn’t see straight. To him, the room looked totally different than he remembered. He subconsciously reached around the bed, and it seemed different also. He wasn’t sure if it was the hangover or blurry vision. But something was definitely different.

It wasn’t until he got out of bed did he know something was wrong. He had to hop down off the bed. And when he turned around and looked, the top of the mattress was just above his midsection, instead of below his knees. He wondered what was going on.

As he walked towards the door, he also noticed that the dressers were taller than they should be. Brenda’s vanity mirror was also taller than he remembered. Even the door was larger and the handle higher. He shook his head trying to clear both his vision and mind. 

He heard voices coming from the living room. He made his way there and stopped dead. Sitting on an extra large sofa was Brenda, her mom Diane, his mom Elaine, and his sister Jennifer. And there was something very wrong. They were sitting, and he was standing, and he was looking up at them. His head started hurting and he almost lost his balance. 

Brenda smiled and said to him that he should have known better than to have more than one sip of wine. Men couldn’t handle any more than that. Eddie stared blankly at her. Then he noticed his outfit. It was a powder blue sleeper. Eddie was now utterly confused, and speechless. 

Brenda reached out her hand for Eddie to take. He noticed how much larger her hand was compared to his. He couldn’t understand it. She brought him onto her lap. He noticed that the top of his head was level with her lips. 

Brenda continued her conversation with Diane, Elaine, and Jennifer like he wasn’t even there. Then he heard the other three women call out to Joe, Anthony, and Robert. The three men came, appearing very docile-like and respectful. They too were standing, yet looking up to the women. 

The women told them what they wanted. The three all replied yes ma’am, turned, and left. Eddie couldn’t understand anything that was going on. He tried to ask Brenda, but his mom told him that the women were talking, and that they weren’t to be interrupted. Eddie looked up at Brenda and she told him the same thing. 

Eddie noticed a large envelope on the table. He also noticed the name. It was addressed to Eddie Salvatore. Eddie Salvatore? He couldn’t recognize the name, until he remembered that it was Brenda’s mom’s maiden name. What the hell was going on? He tried to get down off of Brenda’s lap, but her hold was too strong for him. He started to feel the room spinning again.

Eddie woke up in a sweat. His heart was beating a mile a minute. He calmed himself down. He realized that he was having a bad dream. Once he sat up, he moved towards the edge of the bed. It was a longer than he remembered. He hopped down to the floor, noticed his powder blue sleeper, and started to scream. To be continued……????