Meet My Ex (Part 1 of 2)

A two part story about a man who is happy to introduce his latest girlfriend to last more than a month to his ex-girlfriend.

“That’s the apartment. It’s functional. Oh, and that’s Janet, my old girlfriend,” Braedon said to Lia.

“What? The mannequin?”

Standing in a corner of the living room of Braedon’s apartment, facing the television, was a mannequin. It was wearing a slinky, strapless, little black dress, black heels, a wide, gold chain belt, a pair of thin, gold chain bracelets on its right wrist only, and a chrome choker, a solid ring a centimeter in diameter.

“Of course. Janet, this is Lia.”

“Your new girlfriend?” A tinny voice sounded from the mannequin. “Nice to meet you.”

“Where did that voice come from?”

“Janet,” Braedon said. “Well, the choker she’s wearing. But, she said it.”

“Is that some kind of AI or VR?”

“What?”

“No, I’m the mannequin,” the tinny voice said.

“Your girlfriend…” Lia began.

“Former girlfriend,” Janet interrupted. “We broke up amicably.”

“Your former girlfriend is a mannequin that can talk?”

“For the most part,” he said. “The mannequin itself cannot talk. Part of the magic allows Janet to verbalize her thoughts through the choker.”

“He left out that the choker is also how I’m currently made of plastic.”

“And you wanted to be a mannequin?”

“All my life,” Janet said. “Braedon helped me achieve it.”

“I’m so confused.”

“I should have scared her.”

“I’m glad you stopped doing that to people.”

“Scared me?”

“I once brought a woman home, our second date, I think,” Braedon sighed just thinking of the memory. “When she asked about the mannequin, Janet said...”

“Run for your life!” Janet shouted. “Before you end up trapped just like me-ee!!” She started laughing. “The look on your face, Braedon, still kills me.”

“I was stunned. And my date ran.”

“Ever see her again?” Janet said. “Melissa, I think.”

“No, I still owe her an apology and so do you.”

“I said I was sorry for cock blocking you many times since then.”

“That was funny. Unless I am in danger,” Lia said. “But, I’m still confused. Why did you want to be a mannequin? And why is she here?”

“I don’t know,” Janet said. “Ask him about the second question first.”

“She doesn’t take up a lot space,” he said. “We dated for nearly two years. We definitely clicked. And yet, there was always something missing. I would ask her and she would say…”

“You’d never understand,” Janet said. It was a sentence one could tell Janet had said many times, with melancholy and a fatalistic sorrow.

“I persisted and finally she says she’s always dreamed of being a mannequin. And I said…”

“He said, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Janet said. “To be honest, I thought he was humoring me. And then he says…”

“I know someone who turns living women into mannequins. Her face was inscrutable when I said it so I added that he turns them back to people, too.”

“Not that that was important to me,” Janet said. “Are you serious? I asked.”

“A few days later I took her to the clothing shop owned by my friend Michelle. All the mannequins in the shop are living women transformed by magic into merchandise display pieces.”

“Mannequins.”

“She introduced us to her husband Tyrel, who is a wizard. He agreed to turn her into one but she threw a wrench in the works.”

“I didn’t want to display clothes in their store,” Janet said. “And the magic he was going to use was part of the store.”

“You wanted to be a mannequin, but not display clothing?” Lia said.

“Oh, I love wearing cool clothing. This dress is one of my favs. I’m just shy about being seen.”

“Is that why we’ve been dating for two months and today is the first time you invited me here?” Lia said.

“Yes,” Braedon said. “I’ve shown her your picture and told her about our dates.”

“You two seem pretty good for one another,” the mannequin said.

“And what about you two?”

“Oh,” Braedon laughed.

“Oh,” Janet said at the same time. “We don’t have sex any more. We haven’t in several years, I think. We’re just friends. No benefits, well, except that I get to live – such as I am rarely alive – here rent free.”

“And you’re great to talk to.”

“Thanks,” Janet said. “At times like this, I wish I could move to thank him with a friendly hug.”

“You could,” he said.

“No, no. Finish the story you were telling.”

Lia laughed.

“What?” Janet said.

Braedon merely looked at her inquisitively.

“I only laughed because the two of you tell a story like an old married couple. One leads, one reminds them when they leave something out, you finish each other’s sentences, and other stuff like that.”

“We do do that, don’t we?” Braedon said.

“We do. Let’s continue telling my story like an old couple.”

“Okay,” Braedon continued with a raspy, old man voice, occasionally throwing in a hacking cough. “We were almost done. Michelle was disappointed since finding women who willingly spent days or weekends as a mannequin isn’t exactly the kind of thing you can put into the search bar of a job listing website.”

“Stop that with your voice. You’ll hurt your throat. You old coot!” Janet laughed.

He resumed in his normal voice. “I convinced Tyrel to see if he could make a portable mannequin transformation device.”

“And I told him and Michelle I would gladly pay for it. I figured if I’m a mannequin, I won’t really need money going forward.”

“He said no and insisted Janet be turned into a mannequin and be left in the back room for at least a month to make sure being a mannequin was what she wanted.”

“I said the back room was still too exposed and ended up spending three or four months in one of the changing rooms as part of the store’s mannequin inventory.”

“Without a break?”

“After the first month, he agreed to make the device and we negotiated a price. I then spent nearly three months as a mannequin waiting while he made it.”

“She was also unable to speak like she is now,” Braedon said. “The store doesn’t have speaking mannequins.”

“And you enjoyed it?” Lia said.

“It was all that I had wanted and even more,” Janet said.

“What did you do while your girlfriend was a mannequin?”

“She broke up with me,” Braedon said. “She said if everything worked out we wouldn’t be able to continue our relationship.”

“He wanted to see if we could make it work,” Janet said. “But, I’m infertile. I’ve been resigned to the fact that I’ll never have children since I was young. He wants to have a family, ten or twelve kids.”

“Two,” Braedon interjected. “Maybe three at the very most. Don’t scare the woman I’ve been dating for ten weeks and two days.”

Janet laughed, “And how many hours?”

“I can shut you up,” he said.

“Maybe I’m goading you so you don’t end up spending the whole evening talking about your ex.”

“Fine.” He reach for the collar and touched a small stud Lia hadn’t noticed until now. It depressed like a recessed button.

Silence.

“She can’t talk, now?” Lia asked. “She isn’t just not talking. She is incapable?”

He nodded. “Not until someone presses that little button again.”

“She wanted you to do that.”

“She is shy. She told you that.”

“She sounded so outgoing.”

“I’m sure she ran out of spoons three to five minutes ago. I could hear it in her voice.”

“You could?”

“I know her better than I know my brother Greg.”

“You two were serious.”

“We dated for over two years.”

“How many months?”

He laughed. “She really doesn’t want us to talk about her.”

“We could go in the bedroom.”

“Only if we aren’t going to talk about… well, much of anything.”

“We could do that.”

*****

The next morning, Lia closed the bedroom door behind her softly. She didn’t want to wake Braedon. She was headed to the kitchen when she saw the mannequin. It was right where it had been when she and Braedon had left. She wasn’t sure why she might have thought it wouldn’t be. Standing as it was, no one who wasn’t told or shown could possibly know the mannequin was also a woman named Janet.

She put a flavor cup in the coffee maker and walked over to his ex. She ran her finger along the chrome circlet until she found the recessed button. She pressed it.

“I hope you don’t mind me pushing your button.”

“Like I haven’t heard that one before. Good morning, Lia.”

“Good morning. I thought it was clever,” Lia said, pouting.

“I’m well aware that I’m something of a curiosity and you’re curious,” Janet said. “You weren’t very loud last night.”

Lia blushed. “I was a little self-conscious.”

“Don’t be,” Janet laughed. “Who am I going to tell with whom Braedon has sex? Or how loud they are?”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“The first two, maybe three times I felt a pang or two of jealousy – that isn’t the right word. But, neither is regret the right word. Whatever it was, I worked through it. I’m very happy that you and Braedon… enjoy each other’s companionship.”

“What were you about to say?”

“How do you feel about him?”

“He loves me. I can feel it. I’m not far behind him. I just need a little more time.”

“Pretend I’m nodding.”

“Does the collar come off?”

“Yes,” said Janet. She quickly added, “And I’m not going to tell you how. I’m fine as I am.”

“I didn’t mean I was going to do that to you. If I’m bothering you, I’ll turn you off.”

“Turn me off?” Janet said as if the words were foreign to her. “Braedon and I have never said it like that. I’ll have to use that phrase again later.”

“Glad I could help.”

“Thanks. I’m sure your coffee is getting cold. And I’m at my limit, I think. Could you…?”

Lia pressed the button before Janet could finish the request. She returned to the kitchen and sipped her still hot enough coffee. “I forgot to ask how much the collar had cost,” she said aloud.

Braedon joined Lia on the living room sofa an hour or so later. His cup of coffee brewing. “Did you talk to her? Get all you answers?”

“Yes and no. She wasn’t in the mood.”

“Yeah, last night wore her out.”

The coffee maker beeped.

“Why is she here?”

“One sec.” He got up and got his cup. He said, “Good morning, Janet,” as he passed by the mannequin. He sat down again. “She doesn’t really have anywhere to go. She’s an orphan. She was never in the system. Her parents died when she was nineteen. She actually had a small trust that matured a few years ago. Some of it paid for the collar. But, she’ll be mad if I go into any depth about that.”

“I don’t want to annoy her.”

“It’s okay, I think. We just get through today and then you won’t be curious and it’s over and done with. Why is she here? She has money. She could have rented a tiny apartment or even a storage locker, locked herself away, and never been seen again, right?”

“I guess.”

“Except, she isn’t anti-social. She isn’t even introverted as you’ve seen. She’s shy. She doesn’t want to hide from the world. She just wants to keep it at a safe distance.”

“I’ve never met someone that reclusive. Although, I suppose that’s what someone like that prefers,” Lia said.

“True. Reclusive is a better word. I say shy but that’s not precise. Have to remember to start saying reclusive. Where was I? Oh. She was surprised when I showed up at the store and pulled her out of the changing room. Michelle restored her to flesh and Tyrel presented her with the collar she’s wearing now. He showed her how it works – I know she doesn’t want me to explain it to you.”

“She said that when I asked.”

“It’s like asking someone what’s your favorite sex toy? You need to be pretty good friends to ask or receive an answer usually.”

“There are exceptions to that.”

“I’m sure,” he said. “She tried it out. I helped. When the demonstration was over, she paid him and then she had this look like she was a lost puppy. I said she could stay at my place till she figures something out. We had been living together before the break up. Her clothes are still in my spare room closet. And once she had been standing in the apartment for a couple months, I convinced her she was right where she belonged. Although, I think she was standing over there at the time. We’ve changed her permanent standing location a few times. She even spent a few months sitting in the stuffed chair over there.”

“Do you talk to her every day?”

“Yes and no. I’ve left her silent for weeks at a time occasionally. She really doesn’t mind. I don’t do it often. She is my friend. I like to talk to her. She wants to just blend into the background, unnoticed. I’m sure there’s more nuance to it. But that’s the simple explanation.”

“Did you tell her I was going to visit last night?”

“I did. But I didn’t press the button. She understands she can’t dictate how I spend my time. She prefers when I treat her as part of the décor.”

“An accessory or maybe a pet.”

“A pet. That’s funny. Did you hear that Janet? You’re my pet.”

“Do you just randomly say things to her often?”

“Too often she’d say. I only said I leave her silent for periods of time. I didn’t say I didn’t acknowledge her presence for similar lengths of time. Can’t recall the last time I didn’t say good morning or good evening to her.”

“And otherwise you don’t interact with her?”

He hesitated. “I do change her clothes sometimes.”

“She did mention that dress was one of her favorites.”

“Yes. Once a week – more often when I’m in the mood – I remove what she’s wearing and put it in the hamper in the spare room. I’ll go through her closet and dress her in something else. I even change her accessories, aside from the thick chrome circlet. Then I take a few pics and show them to her. Sometimes I ask her if she approves. Sometimes I don’t. And sometimes, I buy her something new to wear. She likes that the most.”

*****

Months passed, one day Lia was in the apartment while Braedon ran out to get a few groceries. She walked over to the mannequin and hesitated. “I hope you don’t mind. Braedon wants me to move in and he said he wasn’t going to ask you for permission. But, that still feels wrong so I’m going to ask. Do you mind if I move in with Braedon?”

She hadn’t turned Janet on since the day after they first met. She had spoken to her many times, or at her since Janet didn’t talk back. She just didn’t think it was her place to turn Janet on. She hadn’t even seen Braedon activate her or heard Janet speak since then. She pressed the button.

“Arf arf. Heh heh heh heh heh.” Janet said. “Woof!”

“What?”

“You said I’m a pet.”

“Oh, god. Are you mad about that?”

Janet laughed. “No, no. I’m sorry. Here. Let me answer your question without words. Put your middle finger on the button without pressing it. Now slide your ring finger around the back till you find another recessed spot.”

A look of concentration crossed Lia’s face until her eyes widened. “I think I’ve got it.”

“You do. Now say out loud, ‘Two hours’ and pull you hand away.”

“Two hours.”

The chrome circlet shimmered. The reflective metal seemed to flow over the mannequin’s body until a metal statue stood there. After a moment the chrome faded, leaving behind human flesh.

Janet hugged Lia. “I’d love for you to live here. I guess that means I’ll be your pet too.”

“I…”

“I’m joking. Relax.”

“Oh!” Lia said suddenly. “You just showed me how…”

Janet nodded. “I trust you. And I love you like a sister. You are so good for Braedon. And he adores you. I hope this is just the first of many steps in both your lives I’ll get to witness.”

“Thank you. I was so nervous.”

“It’s your own fault for not running when I warned you.”

“I suppose. Not that it’s important, but where’s the circlet?”

“I don’t really know. Tyrel explained it but neither Braedon nor I really understood the far too technical explanation. All I know is less that two hours from now, regardless of where I’m at, I’ll vanish and reappear as a mannequin over there, wearing the circlet.”

“He said it was a designated spot.”

“Yeah,” Janet said. “That can be changed, but only by me so you don’t need to know that. Come with me.” They went into the spare room. “I hate this dress. I want to change it. And I don’t get to do that often.”

“Mannequin problems. Who knew?” Lia said.

“Hey, I resemble that remark. And I know Braedon picked this dress on purpose. He probably knew you’d ask me.”

“He is usually a few steps ahead, isn’t he?”

“Should I throw that dress out?” Braedon said, appearing in the doorway.

The two women looked at each other they both had been about to jump up and rush him. “Go ahead,” Lia said. “I can hug him any time I want.”

Janet and Braedon shared a long hug. “I’ve missed this.”

“I know,” he said.

They sat on the sofa talking. Janet sat next to Lia hugging her sideways. Lia sat between the other two, her hand in Braedon’s hand.

At some point, Janet interrupted, “I’m about to…” She vanished.

Braedon turned to look at her spot.

Lia turned in time to see her mannequin body shimmer into existence where, in her experience, it had always been.

*****

After moving in, Lia felt comfortable inviting friends over. First was her old college roommate, Courtney. They passed through the living room as Lia gave her friend the ‘grand’ tour. When they returned, Courtney said, “That’s it?”

“It isn’t a big apartment but it’s good for Braedon and me.”

Courtney laughed. “You told me about the mannequin when you first started seeing Braedon seriously. You aren’t going to introduce me to her?”

“I actually forgot. Janet, this is Courtney. Courtney, Janet.”

“Hi,” Courtney said.

“Better?”

“I thought she spoke.”

“Oh, well, she can, if I let her. But, I haven’t really done that.”

“If you let her?”

“Braedon rarely turns on the voice part and I’ve followed his lead.”

“Sounds controlling. What if you were his mannequin?”

“Fine.” Lia touched the necklace.

“I did tell her to run, Courtney,” Janet said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Fabulous. Hi, again. You really like being stuck like that.”

“I do. I don’t mind when they completely ignore me. Sometimes I tell Braedon he turns the voice on too often when he does.”

“He never does,” Lia said.

“He’s done so a few times when you weren’t around.”

“Cheater,” Courtney said.

Janet laughed. “Braedon is a perfect gentleman.”

“Let’s not keep her too long,” Courtney said. “Being a fly on the wall is dangerous once you get noticed.”

“No swatting,” Janet said. “But you get it. A fly on the wall. Great analogy.”

“And as a mannequin, no bug parts.”

“Good day, Janet,” Lia said as she turned her off.

“Wish I could go through life like that. No cares or worries,” Courtney said.

*****

Lia had been living there for over a year and wedding preparations were well underway. On a rare day when she had cleared her schedule from distractions, she was alone in the apartment. Almost alone.

“I hope you don’t mind but I got you a birthday gift,” Lia said. “Braedon was reluctant to even tell me when your birthday was. I don’t think you’re that private a person. I wish I didn’t feel anxious when I wanted to talk to you and get your opinion. I visited Michelle’s shop and in addition to getting you a new dress – Michelle said you would love it – I got you something I asked Tyrel to make.”

She held up a chrome ring that looked very similar to the one around the mannequin’s neck. “Happy Birthday.” She pressed the button.

“You didn’t have to.”

“I did. And you will be happy about the upgrade.”

“What does it do?”

“You don’t want to be surprised?”

“Okay. How do you replace the one I’m wearing with that one? Or do they stack?”

“No, they don’t stack.” Lia turned Janet’s voice off. “It won’t work if speech is active. When you hear the two metal bands clink together, think the word upgrade.”

She touched the circlet in her hand to the circlet around Janet’s neck. They both vanished for a split second and reappeared having swapped positions. Lia put the one in her hand down and took out her phone. She activated the video camera and held the phone so Janet could see herself in the phone’s display. “When you are sure can see the collar in the phone, think the word, ‘Flash’.”

A few seconds later, a bright light flashed from a portion of the chrome collar. It flashed a few more times. Lia looked away. “Okay. Okay. Now. Flash it twice in a row and I’ll turn on your voice. Flash it five times in a row and I’ll restore you to…”

The circlet was already three flashes into a series of five. She touched the circlet and said, “One hour.”

Janet gave her the tightest squeeze. “I’ll be able to tell you when I want to talk. Or you can ask me before turning me on if I want to be turned on.”

“Exactly. Happy Birthday.”

“Ecstatic Birthday. This is so wonderful. I don’t know how many times I wanted to do either of those things.”

Lia explained all the ways she could modify the flash. Janet then started suggesting some signals she could use for various circumstances.

“What about the old collar?”

“Tyrel wants it back. He has a plan for it.”

“Okay. Oh!” Janet said. “I hope you didn’t spend too much on the new collar.”

“That isn’t your concern. I thought about having Tyrel make it so you could bring yourself to life on your own. But he said…”

“I wouldn’t want that. He asked me about that many times before he relented. There isn’t any way to do that in the new collar, right?”

“If there is, he didn’t tell me,” Lia said. “Now, let me get your opinion about a few things while I can show you the computer easily.”

When Braedon returned, Lia was in the home office using the computer, looking at bridal websites. He gave her a kiss and said he’d be watching the television.

He sat on the sofa and pulled up a show he was in the middle of watching. Shortly after it started, there was a flash of light behind him. He turned around but nothing looked out of place. This repeated several times over the course of the show.

When Lia walked in she saw the collar flash twice.

Braedon whipped his head around. “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

“Those flashes.”

“It was a bit muggy today. Lightning maybe?”

“Too bright without a clap of thunder.”

There was another flash.

He looked toward Janet. “That wasn’t anywhere near the window.” As he looked at her, her collar flashed. He resisted the urge to whip his head around.

Lia laughed.

“What are you two up to?”

“Ask her,” Lia said.

He turned on Janet’s voice. “Happy Birthday to me!” Her collar flashed with each word.

“How?”

Janet and Lia told the story of the new collar in tandem. In the middle, Braedon laughed. “When did you two learn to tell stories like Janet and I do?”

“We had a productive afternoon,” Janet said.

*****

A few weeks later, Braedon passed through the living room and Janet’s collar flashed the signal indicate she wanted to speak to him. He turned her voice on.

“Where’s Lia?” Janet asked.

“Business trip. Rather sudden, too. She won’t be back for a week.”

“Oh. She didn’t tell me.”

“I know she sent me a text to apologize. I forgot to tell you.”

“Like I believe that.”

He showed her the text from a day ago.

“Fine. Okay. I’m good.”

He turned her off.

Braedon got an unexpected text a few days later. Michelle wanted to know if he could meet for lunch before the end of the week. Their schedules lined up on Thursday.

Braedon arranged to take a long lunch and took public transit across town to the store. As he walked up the block he noticed something in the store window that was both familiar and something he’d never seen before. Lia was standing in the window as a mannequin. He took its picture.

He entered the store. Michelle called out, “Braedon, how are you?” She hugged him.

“Great. Where are we going for lunch?”

“I saw you notice her.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Sure, you have a mannequin in that window that looks like my finance who has never lied to me. I took its picture so I can text it to her at her conference she told me she was attending.”

“You’re so clever. Look at the sign over there.”

He looked where she pointed. A sign said, “Mannequin Conference.” It listed as start and end dates the days Lia said she would be gone. He laughed. “As I said, she’s never lied to me. Is that her friend Courtney next to her?”

“You didn’t know about her? She’s been there for like six months.”

“Six months? I guess I haven’t seen her in a while. She works here now?”

“Yeah, must have caught the bug from Janet. She showed up and out of the blue asked about being a mannequin.

Tyrel entered from the back room. “How are you Braedon?” They hugged and shook hands. “Talking about Lia or Courtney?”

“I’m good. Courtney at the moment.”

“I don’t know what Janet said to her. But she insisted on being one of our mannequins. She hasn’t left the window in months.”

“How come I never see Michelle in the window?”

“Because like someone else you know, she only does that at home.”

“I don’t see a necklace.”

“Mine is hinged and can be removed, among other differences,” Michelle said.

“Is that why you wanted Janet’s necklace back after the upgrade?”

“No, Michelle got her necklace a few months after Janet got hers. There’s a new mannequin-atic using the newly modified necklace that was once Janet’s.”

“I didn’t notice that. Lia’s wearing a necklace?”

“She is.”

A delivery person arrived with take-out Chinese food. Michelle said, “We figured we’d eat here so you could ask us both questions. Hopefully not just about mannequins.”

“Does Lia get a finder’s fee for Courtney?”

“She already collected on that. I didn’t want to give her a necklace.”

They caught up on each other’s lives. Tyrel told Braedon most of the new features of Lia’s necklace.

He had to leave to get back to work. He stepped up behind the mannequin. “You didn’t run this by Janet. I’m pretty sure she would have said something to me. I don’t think she’ll mind. I’ll find out before you get back from your… conference.”

That evening, Braedon stood next to Janet. “I have some information you probably want to know.” He held up his phone. There was an image on it of Lia, a mannequin, standing in Michelle’s dress shop. He swiped to the next image, a closeup of Lia’s neck wearing a familiar chrome colored circlet.

He waited. He expected Janet might say something but she didn’t flash to indicate she wanted to talk. “She’ll be home late on Sunday.” After standing there a moment, he left the room to shower and relax for the evening.