"Night, kiddo." You flip the lights off and close the door before softly leaning against the wall for a few moments. Bailey had been in a bad mood after a girl picked on her in school, but you'd talked to her like a dad...no, as her dad, helping her feel better and telling her how to handle the girl. It was incredibly gratifying. You peak into Lindsay's room beside and see she's fast asleep where you left her a while ago.
Across the hall, Karin's laying on their bed with a glass of wine and cheeses in sweatpants, an old hoodie and a face mask. You can hear some inane reality show on the TV as she turns to you. It was amusing to see that glamourous woman from earlier without her "armour" of makeup and clothes. "Yeah?" she asks irritated. "The girls are down for the night. Can I get you anything, honey?" She lifts her glass, "I got wine and I got snacks. Will you go and relax, Thomas Allen? Jeez, it's Friday night!"
Heading downstairs, you appreciate the house you had worked so hard for. In the kitchen, you pour a whiskey soda before retiring to your usual chair in the lounge, appreciating the irony of mixing $200 whiskey with cheap $3 soda water as you sip. "Well Mark, this is pretty crazy, huh?" and consider the day you just experienced.
~
Jillian had stormed off that afternoon after you snatched the SX-3 sample and locked it in a safe under Thom's desk. Her brandishing it so dangerously made you realise the most important thing was to protect her from all of this, even if it meant Protean may watch her. "I know you're scared, but I think we should just see what happens. Maybe you're right, I'll stay here as Thom and..." She cuts you off with a hard slap to the face. "After all that, after I tell you just how terrified I am? What, now you're OK with playing happy families with...with this stranger's life?"
"Jill, I..." but you see the hand primed again, intercepting the second slap and catching her mid-flight, your hand splitting as you grip her arm, blue and soft like the SX-3 itself spilling over and around, an odd tingling sensation. "Get your gooey hand off of me," she says, voice trembling and cold. You pull away, your hand quickly reshaping. "I'm sorry, Jillian. It's just for now, until I figure out a better plan. You have to understand..." but she's already at the door, "You're a coward. Enjoy married life, Mr Allen," and yanks the door open as she marches off.
A confused Stacey appears at the doorway, "Everything OK? Your face...did that woman slap you?" You shuffle to the desk, slumping into the chair. "Yeah, but I'm fine. It's a long story." She holds expectantly, presumably waiting for you to tell her, but when you remain silent she continues. "Ok...well, you've a meeting at 2.30PM, Warren from Facilities. I'll let you know when he's here." She turns, before glancing back. "You sure you don't need anything, Thom?" You look at her, thinking on what Jillian had said and the hindsight of your mind combing through Thom's memories left you agreeing with her; there was something there. "Your smile is enough, Stacey." She blushes, in turn causing you to blush before she exits with a grin.
You spent the rest of the day integrating into Thom's life; replying to his emails, helping his staff, taking his afternoon meeting, apologizing to his wife (with no reply), updating his fantasy football game. It was crazy to have the ability to look at numbers how Thom did, automatically doing math in your head how you never could. You also never realised just how much money was being spent here, millions specifically going through research paid by the US government. Sadly, neither you nor Thom knew what the project names meant. You can't even find a reference to "SX" of any kind in any of the financing.
You're exhausted when Stacey enters the office with her overcoat on telling you to go home at 6PM. "Yeah, you're right." you chuckle. "Hey...sorry about earlier. That was awkward. Can we just...forget it ever happened?" She smiles, "Don't worry, Thom. Already forgotten." Nodding, you tell her to have a great weekend. She pauses for a moment, like she's going to tell you something, but when you meet her gaze, she simply gives you a smile before leaving. You can't help but watch her walk away. "Hey now, Mark. You're playing a married man right now," you remind yourself, eyeing the band on your finger with amusement. "Let's not immediately have Thom cheat on his wife. Now let's go play that family man."
Your heart raced as you enter the beautiful suburban house, and you see the unamused face of the stranger who was now your wife. Your eyes flicker with the intense memories that swell of this woman. Of Thom's wife, Karin; now your wife. Your own mind was admittedly attracted to this petite blonde eyeing you angrily; her dress sense harkening to a time she'd long since aged beyond, yet clung to. But you also had these borrowed feelings, tired of this woman you loved but wished would mature, recognising Thom's feelings went deeper than simply her dress sense.
Your dissonant feelings are interrupted when she opens her mouth, her voice piercing and nasal. "Well look who decided to show up." You weakly apologise, "Sorry, honey. Work was real busy..." but she ignores you, talking to someone out of sight in the kitchen. "I looked like a fool when he didn't show up. Sittin' there with a Grande Latte for an hour by myself. I looked like an iPad kid!" You throw your suit jacket onto a lounge chair, pulling at your tie as you step into the kitchen. The unknown is an attractive but stern brunette now giving you a judging look. "Ah, Vicky. How are you?" you greet her instinctively. She was Vicky North, Karin's best friend, and the leader of their little girls clique as Thom viewed it. He also hated her, thinking she was a terrible influence on his wife. They'd met at a company mixer after they had relocated for the job, and not long after Karin had given up her ambitions to return to teaching. She was also married to someone you knew; Dr Eric North, a fellow Protean researcher. You thought he was up his own ass; a self-identified bohemian and now you realised his wife was much the same.
Karin continues to complain as you search out the kids, finding them playing upstairs. Thom's kids were his world, and you enjoy spending time with them, as you help Lindsay build a Lego set and Bailey with her homework. You can sense Bailey is upset, but don't get the time to pry before Karin's claiming starvation, stomping up the stairs after Vicky leaves. "Shall I order food in, honey?" And not long after, you're all sitting at the dinner table grabbing slices of pizza, Karin now less hostile; either food satiating her anger or no longer having Vicky around. And you give her a quick kiss as she cuddles in beside you while watching a Disney movie with the girls, as your mind races with just how crazy it is to be holding another man's wife, sitting in his house with his family. You think of Jillian with some guilt... "playing happy families with a stranger's life"...
After the movie, you carry Lindsay to bed, tucking her in before showering, trying to evade the odd thoughts of seeing another man naked, using Thom's mind to look at his visage as truly your own. Despite that, part of you was still bristling as you wash your privates, as you brush your teeth with his toothbrush, and as you dab Rogaine onto your balding scalp. You are Thom Allen, and this is your body and your life. And this is your wife, as you step out to Karin struggling out of the shapewear she had been hiding under her outfit. "Here, let me help..." as you deftly unhook the clasps at her back, and she breathes a sigh of relief. Wanting to act the part, you continue "And hey, sorry about earlier. Work just..." She turns, looking up at you with blue eyes as clear and crisp as the first time you'd talked to her in high school. "You better be. You gonna make it up to me?" For a moment, you think she means sex, keeping your gaze at her eyes instead of her now naked breasts, but she instead asks if she can go shopping tomorrow. "I need a new outfit for our trip next week! I've had to tag along while Vicky and Claire shop for..." But you can't help but zone out, as you recall the "clique" are going to an overnight stay at a spa in a few days as you fish in Thom's drawers for some clothes to relax in. "Of course, Karin. You still have my credit card?" She grins, "Of course. Thanks Tommy. Where you going?" and you tell her Bailey seemed upset.
~
You turn on the projector of Thom's theatre system, nursing the empty glass as a few things stuck out in the day. When you caught Jillian's arm, that tingle...did your body take a copy like when you held Darcy? Could you "shift" to look like her, like you could Darcy? It could be worth trying.
You climb out of the chair as a re-run of The Office plays, pouring yourself another whiskey but leaving the soda, bringing the bottle back with you. Seeing Pam on the screens make you wonder about Stacey, flicking Thom's phone open and opening her Facebook profile, flicking through a few photos and feeling your private’s shift. There was definitely something there between them...
But he was married, and Karin was still attractive despite being overbearing. Not that her being attractive was the point, she was still your wife right now, Mark. A part of you considers switching places with her instead; it could be you chilling with some wine up there, no need to work, shopping tomorrow for a girl’s trip in a few days. And that could even put you in a position to become Vicky North. The idea of getting a first hand look at their lives was equal parts fascinating as it was aggravating. And maybe her husband might know more about the workings of the labs.
Or you could just get drunk on Thom's dime with his fine whiskey, and behave yourself in his life. You couldn't help feeling like you were already losing sight of what was important.
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