For this chapter I want to give some credit to Sayankotor. I had the story pretty much established in my head and I knew how it ended. A small suggestion Sayan made to a previous chapter made me think a bit and I realized I had it wrong and had to make some amendments. This is believe is more in line with how Chinese magic would really work than my previous thought.
*****
After the long drive, and even the ice cream, I was still more than a bit conflicted when I got home. Thinking about what had just transpired at my interview, I felt more than a little taken advantage of, even though it was my own doing. Worst of all though, I still couldn't shake the excitement I felt from the encounter. Putting a smile on my face I strode through the door like nothing was bothering me.
"So how did it go?" Jennifer asked when I walked in the door.
"I got it!" I answered matter of factly, like there was never any doubt.
"Seriously!" she said excitedly, clapping her hands. "AWESOME!"
"BUT ... My new boss didn't expect to find someone so soon." I continued. "and is going on vacation now for the next two weeks."
"That's kind of odd!" Jennifer commented.
"That's what I thought" I said. "but I'm not used to the 'ways' of upper management or salesmen."
"Yeah, they are an odd bunch" she quipped. "but that's odd, even for them."
I just shrugged my shoulders in response as I sat down at the breakfast bar .
"So what are you going to do for the next two weeks?" Jennifer inquired, pouring me a glass of wine.
I smiled a big toothy grin without saying a word.
"What are you thinking?" she asked suspiciously, while she poured one for herself
"Well." I said, drawing it out. "I saw something on the calender that piqued my interest."
Jennifer just looked at me with a quizzical look on her face .
"I know this sounds crazy but, how would you feel about celebrating Chinese New Year with me?" I asked her.
"Is this because of the corset?" Jennifer asked with a suspicious tone.
"Maybe." I answered sheepishly, swiveling my bar stool back and forth.
"What's involved?"
"Good food, great friends, family, a bit of cleaning, you know, to brush out the bad luck of the previous year and get ready for new luck." I said, mentioning the few things I remembered from reading Wikipedia. "Basically it's a time of reflection, contemplation, and thankfulness. After what you and I have gone through the past few months, I think it would be good for us." I said.
"When does it start?" she asked
"Tomorrow is the first day."
"FIRST day?" she asked. "How many days are there?"
"Well, that depends." I answered. "The older, more traditional celebration is 15 days."
"FIFTEEN DAYS!" she exclaimed then sighed. "
What
am I getting myself into?" she muttered.
Smiling I got on the computer and opened up the web page and summarized the first day "Tomorrow is the day to celebrate ones ancestors by visiting the oldest family members. We also need to make noise and light candles. You know, to chase away evil spirits and stuff. Technically it starts tonight at midnight tonight but I figure we'll start when you get home from work. I don't know about the visiting part but I'm thinking music, dancing in our underwear, wine ..."
Jennifer, who was reading over my shoulder suddenly starting snickering.
"What?" I asked.
"You can't use a broom tomorrow." she chuckled. "It'll be bad luck!"
"What!?" I said skimming through the text until I found it. "Well ... one day won't be
that
bad ..." I tried to convince myself while ignoring how much dirt can accumulate in one day.
The rest of the night til bedtime we spent at the computer reading up on my new favorite holiday before going to bed. Still exhausted from the interview, it was one of the few times we went to sleep without making love first. We just slowly stripped each others clothes off before climbing in and cuddling up together while sleep took us.
"Daniel?" I heard a confused, sleepy voice in the distance, drawing me from my slumber. "DANIEL!" It said again, louder, confusion and sleepiness gone. I felt my body being shaken "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!! Oh my GOD!! Daniel." the voice, Jennifer's voice, said over and over as I was being kissed all over my face. Reluctantly waking I realized my face was wet everywhere she had kissed me.
"Jennifer! What the ..." I trailed off as I heard my voice. A MAN'S voice, MY VOICE!! My eyes shot open and I sat up quickly, throwing off the covers. Gone were Danielle's soft curves and her large breasts. Replacing it was a highly toned and muscular, from all the yoga and running I imagine, male physique. My eyes scanned over my whole body in disbelief before looking up to catch Jennifer's eyes. The look on her face seemed to be the perfect mirror image for the look on my own. She was sitting there on her knees with her hands covering her mouth in complete shock and disbelief before extending her arms toward me. Smiling and laughing she pounced, playfully attacking me with more kisses.