Driftwood Daycare I - First Client

It's been a few days since Martin agreed to be Michelle's partner. He would have been a fool not to, their business idea was unique and had huge potential. But for Martin, that was only the official reason to team up. In secret, there was another allure he would never admit: the chance to spend his summer being near pregnant girls was something he couldn’t pass up on.

That fateful day he learned about the magical rings - two artifacts that were in the Stanton family’s possession for generations. Their special power would enable Michelle and Martin to run their business: First was the black ring, also called the sender. If a person wears it and touches an expectant woman, the unborn child is transferred from its mother's womb. This is when the white ring - the receiver - comes into play. The person wearing the white ring becomes the destination of every pregnancy transported by the black ring.
Martin learned there was also a way to reverse the effects: The black and white ring had special carvings at their fringes that fit together like two puzzle pieces. If they were joined together like that, all transferred children would return to their origins. A “reset switch” if you will.

Martin also learned more about the Stanton family themselves: Teresa, Michelle and Vicky’s parents died in a car crash about three years ago. They were able to get by on savings and the insurance money for a while. Now though funds were running low, and with Teresa at university and expecting, they had to come up with a way to generate income. The two older sisters tried to keep Vicky out of it as to not worry her, but they had some long and tiring nights discussing possibilities and steps that would ensure they could keep their house and secure a future. Just at this time Michelle rediscovered the rings. They were sealed away from them a long time ago after a particular incident neither Teresa nor Michelle wanted to talk about. Now rediscovered they gave Michelle hope to use them to turn their situation around.

“Driftwood Daycare” Michelle chose to name the business after the town. Though it was anything but a regular day care. Bluntly said their plan was to use the rings to rent out wombs so expectant mothers could spend a day off the strain that comes with pregnancy or just enjoy some time child free. Martin assumed that since this was only be made possible by magic and a completely new kind of business, they had to come up with a good strategy. “Start small, build trust and a good reputation, then expand the client base.” Was his creed. Michelle trusted his business instinct but since she would be the first “host” she also came up with some rules. They put together a form every potential customer had to fill out. Finally, they felt ready and they set out to start their business.


Martin came up with a small pitch and put up and soon they had an ad online. All that was left to do now was wait, and so they waited.
The time passed slowly. Teresa was gone away to university and Vicky hung out with her own friends. Michelle was able to keep her younger sister in the dark about the recent developments. Though she knew that would probably not last long. Finally, after two days they finally got an email that was not spam but an actual response to their ad:

“Dear Driftwood Daycare staff,
I’m going to be honest: I have no idea if you guys are legit or not, I mean what you are offering just sounds impossible. But I’m desperate situation, willing to try this. I’ll come straight to the point: I have a job interview and since I absolutely need to finally find work again, I need to make the best impression that I can. A big pregnant belly will definitely not work in my favor, so I ask if you could take it off my hands for a day?
Please let me know if you can help me.
Thanks in advance, Stacy Adams.”

Martin and Michelle looked at each other then grinned: They just found their first client.

Not even an hour later they welcomed Stacy through the door: She was about 30 years old, quite good looking and had long charcoal colored hair. Her body was already curvy but most notable was, of course, her quite pregnant belly. She wore a business shirt and blazer that would never be able to fit around her round middle. Martin’s mind started to wander for a moment as he was staring at her, but he managed to snap out of it. After greetings and introductions, they all sat down at the kitchen table and Martin explained to Stacy how the process works and asked her to fill out the application form.

Michelle just listened and watched. She tried hard to hide her excitement: After borrowing her older sisters pregnancy, something inside her had clicked. The feeling of being pregnant, feeling the life inside her - she loved it. But her sister wasn’t very far along and thinking about it, Michelle did feel good having her little niece or nephew inside of her, but it didn’t completely satisfy her. She couldn’t wait to try a pregnancy that was further along and was eager to borrow Stacy’s.

They learned that Stacy was having a boy and that she was about 8 months along. In the end, Martin summed up the rules: “Basically, Michelle here will carry your son for the agreed time. You can come to pick him up like discussed. If you want to prolong you can call us, and we tell you if it’s possible. But if not, you will have to take him back. The pregnancy itself is paused for the duration of the baby’s stay, so you or we don’t have to worry about giving birth. Oh, and don’t even think about ditching your son: We have a way to force the return.”

Stacy reacted with repulsion: “Oh my god, I’d never do that. That’s terrible for you to say!”

“I’m sorry, it was nothing personal. But we have to cover all possibilities. Someone might try to abuse our service.”

“Okay, I understand. Well, I mean, it sounds very unconventional, but like I said I need my interview later today to go really well. I’ve had so many interviews recently and this growing pumpkin here usually doesn’t help.” She looked down patting her stomach.
“I love my son, but in order to be able to care for him, I need to be making some money. And nobody is willing to hire a pregnant person. Of course, by now I cannot even hide that fact. In a way, you guys are my only hope.”

Michelle chipped in. “It’s okay Stacy. I know how it feels to be in a tight financial situation. I’ll tell you what: Since you are our first client, we will only charge you for one day. But there is one condition: If you like our service, then tell everyone you know who could use it about our business. Maybe you can even become a regular?”


“Haha, well, so far my pregnancy hasn’t been that bad. But when you are all big and swollen you daydream of a day off here and there. You know what? You got a deal.”

She eagerly signed at the bottom of the form. “So how do we do this?”

“Just turn over here a bit. It will only take a moment. “ Martin said and got up to step around the table and stand in front of Stacy.He was already wearing the black ring, as Michelle was already wearing the white one. She almost jumped up and lifted her plain pink t-shirt to reveal her slim middle, ready to receive.

“Do you need to touch the skin directly?”, Stacy asked,  but Martin declined. “No, it also works through thin fabrics. But I still have to put my hand on your belly. Ready?”

Stacy gulped: “Ready.”

It only took a moment - Stacy’s big round middle shrank down like letting air out of a balloon. She didn’t feel much, just becoming lighter and somehow… emptier.
Michelle, on the other hand, went through the opposite change: She had closed her eyes, focussing on feeling her skin stretch as her belly pushed out. She stifled a groan as she felt a warm mass within her grow, forcing her stomach to take on more and more room. Her middle curved out more, her swell becoming rounder and rounder. Now looking down to watch herself growing, Michelle tried to enjoy the wondrous feeling, but it subsided as the growth finally came to a halt.
Her belly was now an impressive round sphere, topped by her belly button that didn’t know if it wanted to be an innie or an outie.

She smiled and looked at Martin, then at Stacy. The woman had eyes as big as saucers: “Holy sh*t!” Was all she could muster. She got up and put her hands on Michelle's newly grown baby bump, feeling all over it in an attempt to make sure her boy was alright.
Martin resisted the urge to touch Michelle's belly as well, giving her and Stacy some room to acclimatize to the situation. Instead, he just tried to enjoy the view. The maternal bump seemed even bigger on Michelle’s body since she was younger and a slimmer body type. Her fair and pale skin was free of blemishes or spots and he figured thanks to the rings magic, there were also no stretch marks to be found.

Michelle was definitely enjoying herself: Even though she felt quite a bit heavier, her “itch” felt way more satisfied than when she borrowed Teresa’s pregnancy. The feeling also reminded her of an occurrence long time ago, a feeling she had almost forgotten. Plus getting her big belly rubbed by Stacy felt just wonderful.

Stacy put her hands off Michelle’s middle but continued to stare at it. Her mind told her that this wasn’t possible - but she saw it happening - heck, she felt it happening. Her baby boy now resided in another girl's womb. Martin coughed a bit, snapping Stacy out of her frozen state. “Wow. Okay. I don’t know what to say…”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Michelle smiled back at her. She pulled her pink shirt back down, actually managing to cover her maternal swell completely.
“Didn’t you say you had a job interview today?” Michelle continued.

“Oh dear, you are right!” Stacy looked at her wristwatch. “I have to get going! If I don’t make it, all of this was for nothing.” She hurried out the door, almost falling backward, not used to not hauling a heavy belly around.

“Good luck!”, Martin yelled after her.  “And enjoy your time  off of your pregnancy!”
Stacy was already in her car, leaving the driveway. Martin didn’t bother to go after her. He  just shook his head, turned around and looked back at Michelle. She was still standing in the middle of the kitchen rubbing her round middle. “That went well, I think!” He said to her, trying not to stare at her belly.

“Indeed, it did,” Michelle replied, still grinning like a maniac. “Say, do you want to feel?” She asked him sheepishly. Secretly she was hoping for more belly rubs.

Martin tried to stay composed, this was the moment he’s been hoping for. “I’d love to. But is it okay with the rings? I mean, we are both still wearing them.”
- “Yeah, it’s okay. The pregnancy only goes back, if the original mother wears the white ring, or if we put them together to reset. Now come over.”

Martin walked over to Michelle, grabbed one of the chairs and sat down in front of Michelle. He had a perfect front view of his business partner and… friend, he assumed. Michelle ran her hands down the sides of her stomach, grabbing the rim of her t-shirt and pulling it up. Martin stared in amazement as the sphere was freed in front of him. Up close it looked even bigger, Martin would have guessed around the nine-month mark.
He hesitated before finally placing his hand gently on Michelle’s skin, carefully probing he discovered that it was firm and taut. Michelle’s breathing let the pregnant curve gently rise and fall as Martin’s hand explored every inch of maternal flesh.

Both of them were completely fascinated by this wonder: Another woman’s baby that occupied Michelle’s womb for the time being. They were so lost in the moment that they didn’t notice someone entering the kitchen.

As they heard a loud thump, they looked up.
Victoria, Michelle’s 15-year-old sister, just came home from school - not expecting to find her bigger sister standing in the kitchen with her business partner rubbing Michelle’s pregnant middle - when she wasn’t even pregnant this morning! Everyone was frozen in the moment, Martin’s hand still on Michelle’s belly.

Vicky finally spoke: “What the hell is going on here?”