NOVEL NEXT 16. Stress & Plans (Amy)
"So I think that went pretty well, right?" Tess asked in an optimistic tone. "I know you were reluctant about the magic, but overall it seemed to work out. Your sister believes you, she knows it's you. And she's accepted you as trans, she's using your new name and pronouns."
I tried not to look too uncomfortable as I nodded, "Yeah. I guess you're right. I have no idea how it'll play out on Tuesday though. Going through all that with my parents is going to be even more stressful. And I really don't want to have to risk more magic stuff again, especially not around my folks."
Tess and I were back at her place, we were standing in her little kitchen heating up last night's left-overs. It was nearly seven o'clock, and we were both hungry again.
We spent a few hours at my sister's place before we were able to escape. After we got through the hardest stuff Hailey had endless questions for me, ranging from safe and simple to embarrassing and personal. She was also really supportive and enthusiastic, and I was grateful for that.
She kept offering for me and Tess to have some beers with her and turn it into a little party or something, but I really didn't want to spend the night on my sister's sofa. And we had to get Tess home since she needed to be at work in the morning.
By the time we got away the Sunday evening traffic was pretty bad, with people all coming back from their weekend get-aways, so we didn't get back to Tess's place till just a little while ago.
Now she had a glass of wine, while I opened a can of cola. I wasn't upset with how last night went, but I felt lucky I managed to avoid a hangover this morning and I didn't want to get carried away and over-indulge two nights in a row.
Once the food was warmed up me and Tess dished it up there in the kitchen, then we returned to her living-room to eat. Like last night we sat beside each other on the sofa.
"I thought the magic stuff was pretty exciting," she commented after a few minutes. "I mean, it's kind of interesting that we never saw anything happen? Instead we just sort of realized after the fact that things had changed."
I suppressed a sigh, "I guess. It still freaks me out, and I'm not happy about Hailey tricking me into getting the goddess to change her hair. I think that was a really risky and foolish thing for her to do. And she's supposed to be the smart one!"
Tess looked thoughtful as she sipped her wine. "It seems fairly safe to me though? I mean, it's hair right? We get it cut, we colour it, and it just grows back."
"But she didn't just get it magically dyed," I stated. "She had her body changed to be a natural blonde. Did that change her DNA? Did it change anything else about her? Even if it didn't, the fact that it happened at all freaks me out and makes me worried what else could happen."
She set her glass down and frowned, "Your entire body changed, but as far as we can tell it didn't do anything bad to you. Did it?"
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, "I don't know? It's only been two days. And that's my point, we don't know what sort of costs or problems could come up from all this."
Tess was quiet for a few moments then said "I'm sorry Amy. I know the magic stuff stresses you out, but it fascinates me. It's... I don't even know? It's just unbelievable, and it's exciting. I really want to learn more about it."
I sat back on the sofa, I'd only had about a third of my dinner but my appetite had already faded. I sighed again and asked, "Are you going to ask me to keep doing it? Is there something you want me to try and get the goddess to do for you?"
She blushed, "No... I mean, I can think of all sorts of things I'd want to try, to experiment with? But nothing I want to do that badly. Still, it might be helpful to know more about it? I mean, that was the number two thing on your list right? To understand this stuff?"
Tess reached over and picked up her notebook and read it back to me, "Point two, how and why are things changing around Amy, such as her clothes and ID. Two-A, what happened to Mike? Two-B, will that sort of thing keep happening?"
She set the notebook back down and asked, "I think we can say two-B is answered, right? It will keep happening, but you're learning how it works? And maybe that covers point two, how and why? You basically wished those things to happen, whether you did it aloud or in your head."
I knew she wasn't trying to upset me but I couldn't help it, I was stressed again. I leaned forward and moved my plate from my lap to the coffee table then picked up the can of soda. I had a couple gulps of it, the cool crispness of the carbonation helped me focus a little.
"We still don't know what happened with Mike exactly? I mean, I know in the morning I wished we could put off the conversation till later? But I don't remember doing anything else like that, to make him just accept everything and not freak out. And that worries me, because what if stuff happens when I don't specifically ask for it? That's not even touching on how messed up it is that the goddess magic might have done something to Mike's head."
After another sip of the cola I continued, "The other thing, the reason I really don't want to start experimenting or anything with this, is we have no idea when or if it'll stop. What if we change something for a demonstration, then it runs out and we can't change it back? What if Hailey called up and said she doesn't want to be a blonde anymore, but we discover everything's permanent and can never be undone? There's so much we don't know and it feels reckless to mess around with it."
Tess frowned, "That's like a catch-twenty-two though right? We shouldn't mess around with it because we don't know how it works, but we won't learn how it works if we don't experiment and study it."
I sighed once more and stared at my food on the coffee table for a few moments. "There's one thing I was thinking of. If this goddess is basically hanging around granting my wishes, then what if..."
My voice trailed off as I had to make sure I phrased it right. I didn't want to accidentally trigger something, just by talking about it in the abstract. "What if hypothetically, I said I wanted to talk to her? What if I said the W-I-S-H word and that I wanted her to appear here so we could meet her in person and deal with all this once and for all?"
To be honest I expected Tess to jump all over that. I thought she'd suggest I try it immediately. After all, she wanted to summon her goddess two nights ago. I figured she'd be eager for a second chance at it.
Instead she looked wary, and maybe even a little scared.
"I don't think that's a good idea," she said as she slowly shook her head. "And you're probably thinking I'm being hypocritical since I tried to summon her the other night? But I think there's a huge difference between doing something like that with a proper circle and the proper precautions and rites and respect, compared to basically demanding she just pop in for an after-dinner chat. We're talking about an actual Goddess, who's already demonstrated she has fantastic power and she's willing to use it."
Tess continued, "It's also crossed my mind you could just wish for answers, just wish to have all the knowledge you want regarding your questions? But I haven't suggested it, and I'll tell you right now I don't think you should try it. And the reason is, I believe there's things we're not meant to know. If you asked for all the answers, who knows what it could do to you or what might happen? That's exactly the sort of thing you've been worried about doing to other people, right? You'd be inviting the Goddess and her magic to directly mess with your head. So please don't do it. And please don't wish her to just show up in person."
I frowned and had another gulp of cola as I thought all that over. She made some good points I hadn't considered, but then she's the one with the experience and knowledge about magic and supernatural stuff.
"Ok Tess," I nodded after a few moments. "I won't try and get her here, and I won't ask her for all the direct answers."
She thanked me, then nodded towards my plate and asked in a concerned tone, "Have you had enough to eat?"
I blushed at all the food sitting there untouched. "Sorry. I'll put it back in the fridge, then warm it up for breakfast. Not much appetite tonight."
"I wasn't worried about you wasting food," she said with a sigh. "I'm worried about your health. You had two little pancakes and two and a half pieces of bacon for breakfast, now you've had about enough food to satisfy a toddler for dinner."
I didn't know what else to tell her, I just shrugged "I know, but I'm full. It's probably all the stress."
Tess didn't look happy but she didn't argue. After she finished her meal we both went back into the kitchen, where I put my plate in the fridge. I finished my cola then dropped the can in the recycling bin then I got myself a bottle of water and returned to the living-room. Tess meanwhile left her plate in the sink and topped up her wine, then sat next to me on the sofa again.
"What would you like to do tonight?" she asked.
It was only about eight o'clock, but I was a little weary already. I blamed that on the fresh air and the hike, combined with the stress of visiting my sister and coming out to her and the stress of doing the same with my folks in a couple days.
After a few moments I shrugged, "I think I could handle a quiet relaxing evening, then bed?"
"Sounds like a plan," Tess agreed.
We ended up watching something inane on the TV for a while, then we both got ready for bed. I changed in the bathroom and got my nightshirt back on, Tess got back into the old track pants she was wearing first thing this morning and another t-shirt.
There was a bit more conversation but we mostly left the difficult stuff alone again for now. We talked about whatever was on the TV, the weather, and she told me a little more about her work. It wasn't very exciting, but it helped towards her therapist program at college.
Finally we talked about plans for the next two days.
"So tomorrow morning, I can give you a lift to work if you like?" I offered. "Then I'll head home. If anything serious comes up I'll give you a call or text, but it'll probably be fine. I'll be back here in the afternoon on Tuesday, say between three and four? Then we'll head over to my folk's place."
I added, "I'll probably be talking or texting with Hailey, so if the plans change I'll let you know."
Tess nodded, "Sounds good. Should I be dressing fancy for Tuesday?"
"Nah," I shook my head. "It's a BBQ so casual's fine. I guess my folks can be a bit stuck-up so like, nothing too casual if you know what I mean? Like, jeans and t-shirts are ok, but not ripped jeans and no offensive logos on the shirts?"
"Got it," she grinned.
I smiled back, but in a more serious tone I said "Tess, thanks a lot for agreeing to come on Tuesday. I know it's not going to be much fun for you, but I'm really happy you'll be there."
"It's ok Amy," she replied, as her grin shifted to a compassionate smile. "I know all this has been a lot, but we're going to get it all sorted out."
Eventually the topic of sleeping arrangements came up, as we turned off the TV and thought about going to bed. There were a few awkward little moments, but in the end the two of us climbed into Tess's bed together. There wasn't any contact though, we were both just there to get some sleep. She kept to her side and I stayed on mine.
