MA-19 (Patreon)

“Hi Darling!” Karyn met me at the door with a kiss and a hug. “Eww, you smell like hair salon.”

I sighed and kicked off my heels, dropping off my purse on the stand, and pulling off the clip-on earrings I’d worn for the day. I glanced into the hall mirror, and fluffed my hair a little.

“Yeah, I got a glob of lightener on my blouse.” I rubbed at my sleeve where I knew it would leave a mark.

“Ah, the travails of being a hairdresser,” Karyn said, giggling as she nudged me. “I have dinner ready.”

“Perfect, let me use the bathroom and I’ll be right out!”

She smiled and went into the well-equipped kitchen.

Everything about the apartment screamed ‘success’ and ‘money,’ from the mahogany furnishings to the towering windows that looked over the skyline of Manhattan. The place was richly furnished, well-equipped and sterile as hell. Not one photgraph of a family member, nothing out of place, no hobby side-projects, no bag of salt at the doorway for the stoop…it felt very remote and unreal.

I went into the bathroom and did my business, then washed my hands thoroughly in glass bowl his and hers sinks. Well, maybe hers and hers, given the situation.

I sighed. Seven more months? Would I still be ‘me’ at the end of that term?

Walking out into the dining area, Karyn had set a lovely candlelit dinner. Fresh scallops set off perfectly prepared salmon steaks with a salad and white wine.

“Wow, what’s the occasion?” I said.

She slid into my arms, handing me a wine glass. “Do I need an occasion to treat the love of my life?”

I felt tears brimming in my eyes a little. Could I have been as loving is she were in the old man’s body? “You are too good for me.”

She laughed. “I’m too good for you? Who basically gave up their entire gender, 30 years of their life, sold every asset--all to rescue me?”

I kissed her softly as I sipped a little wine. “I’d do it again.”

“I know you would.” She kissed me, her tongue darting into my mouth softly. “Which is why I made us a lovely meal.”

She escorted me to my seat, and pulled out my chair. “Hey, I’m supposed…”

“Shh…darling.” She pressed down on my shoulder and I sat down. She went to her chair and held up her wine glass.

“Bon-appetit, my darling.”

I clinked her glass with mine and we tucked in.

Later, as we snuggled on the couch watching a rom com, I nuzzled her neck. 

“Oh, by the way,” I said. “Sounds like the transmigration events are on hold until the new project is completed.”

She turned to me, alarm on her face. “What? How can they do that?”

I shrugged. “Apparently, it’s all hands on deck for the Abu Dhabi site. All events are canceled in the interim.”

“What about your body?”

I shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll be kept on ice, or something.”

“Seven months, Robbie! Whoever is in there could do anything to it!”

I nodded. “Stephen Fisher was going to tell me what the secret event is all about but…”

“But what?”

“He got a little sexual harrasmenty.”

“Oh, my god, Robbie! Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Nothing I can’t handle, but it was disturbing and not pleasant.”

“Did you tell somebody?”

I shook my head.

“Baby, if this had happened to me, what would you do?”

I nodded. “I get it.”

“You would tell me to call the police! Go to HR! And if I didn’t you would do it yourself!”

“Yeah, but…”

“Robbie, if you don’t tell someone he’ll keep doing it to others. You have to report it!”

“Look, I love you for wanting to take action on this, and use it as an object lesson regarding my new…situation, but I’ll handle it in my own time in my own way, okay?”

She sighed, the danger in her eye starting to fade. “Alright, but you have to promise me you’ll take some kind of action.”

“I promise.”

She nodded, then pulled my arm around her shoulders again. “Anyway, so another seven months. Does this mean your swap cycle is on hold too?”

“I believe so. Not sure on that.”

“Well, you better check. Otherwise in about ten days you’re going to be in a different body again.”

I nodded. All things considered that might not be a bad thing. I was finding it harder and harder to keep my mind on issues at Lord Mallory Inc, and easier to slip into the hairdresser from Queens.

“I have to find out what the secret project is.” I hugged Karyn to me tightly.

“Baby, if you’re not supposed to know…”

“I know, but what if they’re going to be stealing more bodies? Do we really want to be responsible for more people being in this situation?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “How can you find out?”

“Well, up until Stephen decided to paw me, he was going to tell me.”

“If Stephen knows, maybe the answer is in his office somewhere?”

I smiled. “True.”

“Perhaps you could put those old hacking skills to the test and see if you can get into his computer?”

“Everything has changed now…but…”

I had a certain program that allowed me to reset a user password to blank if I ran it at startup. I’d need access to his computer for a few minutes without being seen…

“Let’s go.” Karyn bounded up off the couch.

“Where?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “You’re dying to know, and you know where the information is located. We go into your office, and I’ll be lookout for you as you hack into Stephen’s computer.”

“I don’t know that we should…”

“I know you’re in an old woman’s body, Robbie, but that doesn’t mean you have her soul. Stop being chicken and let’s go find out!”

“Ya know, I kinda resent you using classist and elitist language like that.”

“Ooh, shush, lady.” She got up off the couch and held out her hand to me. “Are you coming?”

I sighed and allowed her to pull me up off the couch. “How does one dress when one performs B and E?” 

“Just put on that black pullover and leggings.”

“You’re serious!”

“Of course, I’m serious, Robbie. Come on now, get a move on!”

I sighed and followed her into the bedroom.

I had a very bad feeling about all of this.