Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
"That's what I'm telling you, Nossy. I don't care if you're a thousand years old, you're making mistakes." George was having a hard time keeping his voice down.
"I'm older than a thousand years. I've been in this solar system for about that long." Kapnos, in Gwendolyn's body again, stood with her arms folded. Her hair was neatly pinned without a hat. Her bodice and skirts were new, with a swirling blue pattern. She frowned at her boyfriend.
"Regardless." George adjusted his tie in exasperation. He pulled it loose and reknotted it while thinking. "Look ... my mom thinks I'm the devil right now. Océane has agreed to play her a message that should get her to open the door. But I have to explain what's happening. I have to explain
you!"
"I grant you, this situation isn't ideal. I'm sorry about the mistake. I didn't think you would be in the lagoon." Kapnos pressed her lips into a tight line. She reached out with gloved hands and tightened his tie, adjusting it just so. "Your mom will get over her fright. She'll think she must have seen me wrong. You're tired. It's late. Go get some sleep."
"What will happen when my mom asks Delores who left her room?" He pushed her hands away and adjusted his tie again.
"You can't tell your mother about me. She won't understand." Kapnos shook her head with authority.
"Enough of this." George reached out and lifted the small woman into the air. He threw her over his shoulder. "I think my mom will surprise you." He carried her out of the room, grabbing her ass tightly as she meekly struggled. He was glad she wasn't putting up a real fight. He didn't know what he would do then. "Océane, send Mom the message."
"Yes, Mr. Zaal," Océane said.
~~
An insistent chime woke Anna from her nightmares. She sat up with a start and clutched her chest. "What is that sound?" There was a moment of disorientation. She thought she was home on Earth. But she would never be sleeping in her clothes at home. They were damp with sweat. When she blinked her eyes and saw the message screen floating over her bed, all the horrific recollections hit her.
The message was from George. But he wasn't her George. Things were so wrong. "Dismiss message."
"Playing message," Océane said.
George's face appeared above her. He had a deep furrow on his forehead, and his eyes were ringed with red. The message played.
"Remember when I crashed my bike? I was maybe ten." George rubbed the back of his neck. "I was a couple blocks away, but you came running and carried me to the neighborhood autodoc. I wasn't small, so I'm still not sure how you got me there. Anyway, I was in so much pain that I don't remember anything until the autodoc started working. I got some focus then. Do you remember what I said when I looked up at you?"
"'Are you an angel ... or Mom?'" Anna said. This was a story she often retold for laughs. But now, it wrenched her heart.
"'Are you an angel ... or Mom'," George said in his message. "Then I said, 'Never mind ... you can be both.' It's me, Mom. And you
are
my angel. You always have been. Open the door, and I'll explain what you saw last night." The message ended.
Anna's heart swelled. It was him. Of course it was. She'd been so stupid to think that something could fake the bond she had with her son. She got out of bed, threw back the deadbolt, and opened the door. He was standing right there. "It's really you, sunshine?"
"Yea, it's me, Mom." There was obvious relief on George's face.
"Um ... what's going on?" Anna looked at the weakly kicking woman draped over his shoulder.
"Mrs. Valentine is the person you saw." George looked around the empty lagoon. "May I come in?"
"You can't tell her ... George." Kapnos kept her voice down. She didn't want to attract any more attention. The last thing she wanted was to have to tell Delores and Constance, too.
"Um ..." Anna looked into his eyes. She stepped closer to him, careful to avoid Gwendolyn's kicking feet. She stroked his cheek with gloved fingers. "It is you." She nodded and stepped to the side. "Come in. I'm sure this will make for an interesting explanation."
"Yeah, it's interesting." George stepped into the room and put Kapnos down on a chair. To his satisfaction, she didn't try to flee. The changeling looked back and forth between mother and son, her eyes wide and her nostrils flaring. His mother looked terrible. Her clothes were stained, her skin was pallid, and her hair was falling out of its pin. "Sit down, Mom." When she was seated on the edge of the bed, he continued. "I wanted to tell you about this a while ago, but Nossy made me swear to secrecy." He took a deep breath and told his mother all about sleeping with Nossy when she copied Edith and Delores. About the real Gwendolyn's eyeball. About Kapnos's history. He shared everything with her. When he finished talking, there was silence. His mother held her gloved hand to her mouth, staring at Kapnos. Kapnos herself had curled up in the armchair, hugging her knees to her chest. She wasn't looking at either Zaal. "Well?" George said.
"I
knew
something was going on. I heard you say Nossy several times. And certain things didn't add up. For instance, Delores has always said she didn't accompany us up the tower. And yesterday, she told your sister and I that she didn't sleep with Mr. Haversham. I thought she was just telling brazen lies because of ..." She waved her hands at the hotel around them. "... everything. But she was so insistent. Now, I see it was because she was telling the truth!"
"Yeah, she was." George sighed with relief. His mother was taking it well.
