I was a bit nervous knocking on Rachel's door this late in the evening. Not that it was for a bad reason. Rachel had called and asked me to come over, and said it was serious. How could I say no? Rachel and I had grown up living next door to each other our entire lives. We played together as babies. We became fast friends as children. Each of us had more than our share of teasing in elementary school. We even tried a brief romance in eight grade, but we both quickly realized that we were meant to be friends, not lovers. That only deepened out friendship though. Each of us knew the other so well that we usually knew what the other was thinking, and sometime even finished each other's sentences. When she started dating another friend of mine, Ed, I thought it was great. He is a nice guy and one of the few men I thought worthy of dating my best friend. So, even if Ed saw me here, I doubt he would have thought anything of it. Still, they were due to get married a week from now. I didn't like the idea of what people might think if they saw me.
At last the door opened and Rachel let me in, "Oh Ken! Than you for coming. I know you don't like this, but trust me, this was the best time!" I felt better when she closed the door though.
I looked at her. She was petite, long chestnut hair, and a slight build that was somewhere between athletic and hour-glass. In my opinion, her body was perfect. "No problem Rachel, but what is so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"
She looked up at me, and I could see she had been crying, "I can't do it Ken! I can't go through with the whole wedding thing! You know me! Ed's parents are supposed to fly in tomorrow. I will be meeting them for the first time. I know I will screw up! And his sister! I only met her once! And all that extended family, the rehearsal, the big wedding, the reception. I can't face all of those people!"
I took her hand, "Rachel. You can do it. You love Ed. Right?" She nodded. "You are going to be spending your life with him. In total, you just have to put up with a few hours compared to years of marriage. You can do that for Ed." I paused, "Or.... ask him to elope." I squeezed her hand, "He loves you. I am sure that he would do it if it meant a lot to you."
She shook her head, "I know, but it is more than that. He got off of the phone with his mom yesterday. It seems that he is giving in to pressure from her to have children right away. She wants grandchildren. I don't know if I am ready for that. I wanted to spend at least a couple of years before we took that step. Time to get to know Ed better, and he get to know me."
I chuckled, "Well, you have more say in that than his mother! Don't worry! Ed is cool. I am sure he will understand when you explain it to him."
She sighed, "I just can't do it Ken."
I shook my head, "Rachel. You know I will do anything to help you. You and Ed are perfect for each other."
She smiled, "Do you really mean that? Anything?"
I smiled, "You know that I am a man of my word more than anybody Squirt!" She didn't always like my nickname for her. She was sometimes self-conscious about how short she was, but she knew it came with love behind it from me.
She grinned, "Then how would you like to spend the next week being a 'woman of your word'?
Now she had me confused, "What do you mean by that?" I thought, "I am not going to dress up as a girl for you Rachel. That..." I saw her smirk, "That isn't what you mean. Okay. I am listening."
She showed me to rings, "These are magic rings. If one person is wearing one, and someone puts the other one on, they will swap bodies. More than that, they retain key knowledge, like how to apply makeup, or do hair."
I stared at her until it sank in, "You want me to..." I looked at her small body differently now, "You can't be serious. I mean. There is no such thing as magic anyhow." Her stare was constant, "Okay, how would that help? Even if it worked?"
She grinned, "You know me like a book Ken. You would have no trouble acting like me. There is nobody who knows me better, so you wouldn't get stumped by any questions. Unlike me, you are good around people. You could take my place for the next week. After the wedding, we will find a moment alone and swap back."
I stared at her a long time, "You really are serious! You want met to swap bodies with you?" I could see the look in her eyes and answered before she did, "Yes, you are. But what about Ed. Even if this is possible, does he know?"
She looked panicked! "No! No! He can't. He wouldn't understand. You do, but he wouldn't. He can never know!" She almost begged, "Please Ken! It would just be for a week!"
I sighed, "Well, I think whoever sold those rings to you stole your money, but I will make you this deal, if they actually work, I promise to be a 'woman of my word' and go through with everything for you." Poor Rachel. She was going to be so disappointed when it didn't work.
She laughed and hugged me! "Thanks Ken! You are the greatest friend on earth!" She took one ring and put it on her finger. Then handed the other to me, "Here. I want you to be the one to initiate the swap. If you changed you mind, just hand it back."
I chucked, "Sure." I slipped the ring on. Suddenly, my world exploded, and I felt like I was being sucked out of my body! It was like flying down a tunnel, and then running into a soft barrier, which gave way and let me through. Then things began to return to normal.
Well, almost normal. When my feeling started to return, things in my body were feeling very odd. I couldn't understand why. Then my vision cleared, and soon I could see normally, only what I saw my my face smiling down at me. MY face! From the outside! I looked down at myself, and I saw breasts, and long brown hair hanging over my shoulders! I was in Rachel's body!
My body, which now towered over me, smiled and clapped and then hugged me, "It worked! Oh thank you Ken! Or I guess I should call you Rachel now. We should get used to the names for our bodies!"
I couldn't believe it. It actually worked! I was a woman! A woman engaged to my other friend! I looked up at, well, 'him' and said, "...
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