They sat together in a corner booth of the most elegant hotel bar in town, just a few blocks from where he worked. He ran his index finger across the top of her hand and said, “I’m game for a nightcap in your room, but I can’t stay too late. I have a presentation tomorrow, and most of my paperwork is at home.”
“No problem,” she said. “We’ll make time. By the way, the room has everything. I plan carefully when I travel.”
“I believe you,” said Chuck.
A few hours later, as he adjusted his tie in front of the hotel room mirror, Chuck said, “You seem so familiar, Elaine. Like I’ve known you for years.”
“Really?” she said as she slid a Chesapeake Bay T-shirt over her slender shoulders. “I hope that’s a good thing. We certainly know each other better now, don’t we?”
Chuck laughed quietly and said, “No doubt.”
“Will I see you again? I’ll be back in town on business in another month.”
“Just text me. We’ll see. The situation’s complicated.”
“Do you want to see me again or not?”
“I do.”
“Good. Then I’ll text you in a few weeks.”
The next morning as Chuck sat at the breakfast table with his wife Beth, she said, “So, are you ready for a bombshell?”
“Fire away.”
“Remember your old friend Alan Bucknell telling you our marriage would never last?”
“I sure do. Brilliant operations manager, manipulative backstabber. And always riding me. Obsessed with everything I did. I’m glad he left the company. I wonder what happened to that prick.”
“Well, I’m glad you asked,” said Beth. “Jenny and I were catching up on old acquaintances yesterday, and are you ready for this? Believe it or not, she told me that your old colleague Alan had a sex change operation. He’s a woman now, or she’s a woman now, or whatever. Just wild!”
Chuck’s blood ran cold. “No way,” he said.
“Yes way,” said Beth. “Apparently, Alan is now Elaine, which makes sense, I guess. And from what Jenny says, Elaine is quite the Jezebel. When she takes business trips, she has a sailor in every port, so to speak. She took a job in Maryland for a change of scenery, but she still comes to town every so often. . . . Honey, are you OK? You look pale.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just nervous about the presentation. Gotta run.”
Chuck kissed Beth on the cheek, headed out the door, and stepped into the sunlight. He fumbled for his car keys and dropped them on the ground. Nothing would be the same. He would have to figure out how to cope with this strange new world.
