Dylan Dickie woke to the horrible news of his parents' death in a plane crash. Their private jet had gone down somewhere in the mountains while on route to a genetics conference. Dylan had been at college, finishing his second year when he received the news. After the funeral he remained in his parents' house unsure what to do with his life. He could barely look at any of his relatives or friends of family during the service, overwhelmed with shock and grief of losing his father and step-mother. He could barely even say anything to his step-sister Samantha. Samantha barely said anything to him, too, and she retreated to the isolation of her room and bed after the services.
His mother's younger sister, his Aunt Alexis, a peculiar, shy, and lonely woman of almost 40 years of age, had offered to stay with Dylan, and she came knocking on his door the following day after the funeral and service. He knew her from his youth, but he had not seen her in nearly eight years.
"Dylan?" Alexis said as he opened the door. "I barely recognize you! You certainly have grown into a young man from the pudgy-faced boy I knew. Your sister asked me to come stay for a spell, but I do not want to crowd you after all..."
She had worn her typical dress that covered her from chin to wrists and down to her ankles. Her long brown hair she had in a tight, tall bun on her head. Her tortoise-shell glasses sat on her little nose on her mousy face. She had brought a valise with clothing and several bags of groceries and food.
"Of course, Aunt Alexis. Please enter. Thank you," Dylan said but spoke awkwardly. He did not know how to proceed or how to remain composed.
As Dylan let her in the house, her perfume surrounded him with her warm hug, and he felt a wave of memories wash over him. He cried and felt the loss of his parents. Alexis put her arms around his neck and shoulders, patting the back of his head while he rested against her shoulder.
Alexis held him in her arms for several minutes, and Dylan realized he had never really hugged her before that moment. He felt her surprisingly slender waist. He always had assumed she was grossly fat as her dress looked so frumpy and big, and he suddenly realized he did not know what she really looked like under her dress.
They sat and ate a meal prepared by her in the kitchen, but Samantha refused to join them. After the meal, Dylan and Alexis made their way through the house to look at what remained. Dylan's father's library still had all his scattered stacks of notes and papers. A chalk board had scribbled scrawlings covering it, detailing some kind of pheromone therapy his father had researched before his death. As Alexis tried to order everything without reading or investigating, Dylan tried to read and organize based on the content. He came across several papers that showed something similar to what was on the board. The paper showed a formula for some kind of medicine or drug. The back of the paper showed an easy method of extraction of an enzyme through lab process, and it also showed how to deliver it. It looked like a small candy.
Dylan looked at the diagram how to make some kind of candy, and he saw a bowl of candies that looked exactly like those in the diagram. He also noticed his aunt had taken one and eaten it then another as she stacked papers.
"Starting to look less crazy and chaotic, hmm?" Alexis said. "See, Dylan. We can work together to help each other. In a day or two this room could be your room!"
Alexis smiled and giggled at him, and Dylan saw a faint blush in her cheeks. Dylan looked at the next paper in the stack to find out what the candy was. All he found was a series of equations and symbols until he saw the words: "Success. Human trials all successful thus far."
Dylan looked up but said nothing to his aunt. They continued to clean the library, putting books on the shelves, collecting loose papers into boxes and folders. They collected laundry from around the house, and Dylan felt slightly embarrassed having his aunt collect his underwear and clothing to wash. Alexis never seemed to mind. She wanted to use this loss to get closer with what little family she had remaining.
After cleaning the library with Dylan, Alexis wanted something cold to drink. She saw Dylan still reading in the corner.
"What are you reading?" Alexis asked as she grabbed a handful of candies from the bowl.
"Nothing. Just notes written by my father. Always wanted to hear him talk about what he did, and here I have his words," Dylan said. Alexis sighed and petted her nephew's head before leaning close to kiss his cheek. Dylan found the sensation as well as her perfume suddenly arousing, and she giggled slightly and kissed his cheek again as her hand ran through his hair.
He turned to her, and her lips pecked his once before she pulled back with a blushing grin.
"Oops, sorry, Dylan. I just... I love you. You are my only family, and I do not want to lose you," she said, and Dylan stood to face her and give her long, loving hug.
Alexis felt hot in his hands, and he thought he felt sweat on the back of her neck.
"Aren't you hot, Aunt Alexis. I mean, it is July, and you are wearing this dress. You can wear something that lets you cool down if you want, but I will not tell you what to do. I just worried that you worried about what I might think if you wore something else..." Dylan started to stumble in his words, and he wanted to kick himself for even speaking. He tried to keep his eyes on hers, but he kept having to catch himself while his eyes searched over her whole body, finding it strangely attractive. He could almost see a hint of an hourglass shaped figure somewhere under her thick, frumpy dress.
"Hm," Alexis said. "I need something cold to drink."
Alexis exited the room, and Dylan cleared his throat and looked at another note he had found.
"Subjects exhibit near immediate reaction. Human subject requires higher dosage/ more time to exhibit symptoms of reaction."
The next note read:
"Symptoms permanent. Effects permanent!"
He found a list of symptoms:
"Restored youthfulness, increased libido, relaxation of inhibitions, wildly increased fertility and physical appearance of fertility..."
________
Alexis poured several scoops of ice into the blender, followed by raspberries and strawberries. She saw a bottle of vodka in the freezer and suddenly desired a drink after nearly twenty-two years of abstaining. She remembered the last time she had a drink at the age of eighteen. Alexis laughed at herself and shed a tear as she thought of that dumb boy putting her hands on her thighs that night so many years ago. She wondered why she had said no when she really wanted to say yes.
Alexis pushed her thoughts aside as she switched on the blender, and the high-pitched, loud whir of the blender shattered the quiet.
_______
Dylan slowly walked through his room collecting laundry to take to the washing machine. As he loaded the machine, his aunt Alexis came into the room with her drink.
"Doing laundry? Could you wash this also? I got rather sweaty earlier," Alexis said.
"Sure," Dylan said without even looking at her as he continued to load the machine.
Alexis unzipped her dress and pulled it slowly over her head, sliding her arms and hands from the long sleeves, and when Dylan turned his head, his mouth fell open at the sight of his aunt in her underwear, stockings and garter belt with her dress stuck as she pulled it over her shoulders. He stood and helped her yank the frumpy, cumbersome garment over her head.
