Show And Tell (4 of 5)

Ashley stood at the window. She had finally stopped being annoyed at Britney for moving her over to the window and pointing her head toward the driveway outside.

Britney had given her a little wave as she walked out to the sidewalk and down the street to Darla’s house. When Daniel left, he didn’t seem to notice her watching him go out to the car and drive away. On his date. With another woman.

The calm serenity of being still took hold in her mind and the evening passed. Dawn light lit her face. She loved the feeling of warmth on her hard plastic body. It slowly crept down her face as the sun climbed over the horizon.

The car pulled into the driveway. Daniel stepped out with a spring in his step. He moved out of her range of vision without looking up at his daughter’s bedroom window. She heard the front door open and close. Footsteps in the upstairs hallway approached the bedroom.

“Good morning, My Love,” Daniel said as he crossed the room to her side. He planted a lingering kiss on her frozen lips. “Looks like you have another hour and a half. I’ll let you be.”

Though she heard him walk away, she remained focused on the kiss. She and Daniel had kissed an uncountable number of times since her restoration. She loved his kissed. But, he hadn’t kissed her mannequin lips since a few days before Britney had taken her apart nearly ten years ago.

Feeling his warm lips on her cold ones sent chills up the spine she didn’t possess. She was so wrapped up in the memory, she was surprised when the Disk restored her. She took a small step to the side to stop herself from swaying.

She found Daniel in their bedroom. He had fallen asleep reading on his phone. He lay on the bed wrapped in a towel from a recent shower. She crawled into bed behind him and kissed his cheek. She inhaled his fresh manly scent. She kissed his neck and his broad shoulders.

“I forgot how you feel after an overnight on the Disk.”

“And you revved me up even more with a plastic kiss.”

“A kiss does this?”

“You haven’t kiss mannequin me in so long.”

He turned to face her. “Oh, I’d forgotten. I’ve unwittingly unleashed a tiger. Someone save me!”

She pulled her top up over her head and tossed it away.

“Mm-Hmm. Tame this kitty, if you can.”

*****

From the edge of the property, she watched the window. The mannequin was looking toward the driveway. The teen was standing on the other side of the property checking her socials and looking up at the window frequently.

A light flashed and she watched the mannequin turn into a woman. The woman inhaled deeply and stood still for a moment. A grin slowly spread on her face and she rushed out of the view of the window.

“Go, Mom.” Reluctantly, she got closer to the side of the house where the master bedroom was located. She waited under the second story window. As soon as she heard the first confirmation noise she shoved her in-ear headphones into her ears, her phone was already playing music loudly. She rushed back to the side walk.

A car pulled up where she was standing several minutes later. “What are you up to?”

“Right on time,” Britney said. She leaned again the door with the open window so she could see the driver better.

“You said to meet you here now. I thought you meant in the house.”

“No, no. Neither of us want to be in the house right now. How about you buy me breakfast?”

Selena glanced at the car in the driveway and laughed. “Sure, Brit. Hop in.” When Britney had buckled up, Selena drove away. “I take it there’s one less mannequin in the world.”

“Sadly yes. Happily yes, too. And right about now she’s probably very happy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve done overnight sessions as a mannequin. When they end, there’s a burst of certain hormones.”

“Oh.” She looked over at her passenger who was grinning from ear to ear. “OH! That lucky dog.”

“Dog?”

“Your father.”

“Whu… Oh.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Selena said.

“No, no. I get it. My Dad is a playa. I don’t know if I should be proud or reviled.”

“Just be glad for him. Or don’t think about it at all.”

“I think that ship has sailed. So? Up until the parts I really don’t want to know about, how was your date?”

“Amusing. He was so nervous.”

“And you weren’t?”

“If you asked him, I was cool as a cucumber. But, yeah. I was as nervous as him. I’m glad you think things went well this morning.”

“Don’t ask how I know.”

She made a ‘lips are locked and key is lost’ motion. “Dinner was delicious. He reserved the same table at the same restaurant where we went on our first date. We ended up reminiscing about our first date. It was very nostalgic and romantic.”

“Damn, he does have game. When they dropped me off at school the morning after her reawakening, he took Mom to the diner where they had their first date in high school.”

“Hmm, does he have game? Or just a well-worn playbook?”

“I hope I never find out,” Britney said.

They laughed.

She continued, “If he manages to get Mom and you to accept him seeing a second girlfriend, then we’ll know he has game.”

“I would bet money against that happening,” the ‘first’ girlfriend said.

“Me, too,” his daughter said. She sighed. “Too bad your date went well. The three of you have to figure out what to do next.”

“That isn’t your problem.”

“I know. But, I would miss you. And before you say we could stay in touch, you know that probably wouldn’t last. I wouldn’t want you to miss my graduation from high school. Or college. Getting married. Embarrassing you by naming our first born after you.”

“You wouldn’t?”

“I feel sorry for poor Selena if he’s a boy.”

“Britney!”

They laughed.

“You want children?”

“Probably. I understand being responsible for a life.”

“Oh, Britney.”

“But, I can still fantasize like a teenage girl.”

“You are a teenage girl. Hold on to that.”

“I guess.”

*****

Her fingers tussled the small hairs on his chest. He lay with his eyes closed, enjoying her expression of love. “You’re problem is you’re doing this all wrong.”

“Doing what wrong?” he asked.

“Usually the mistress is younger than the wife.”

“Usually the mistress only exists because the wife isn’t interested in sex.”

“Perish the thought.”

“But, if you insist, maybe I can find a woman younger than you both and keep her in storage once you and Selena lose interest in sex.”

A crestfallen glance played on her face and he sat up instantly. He took her cheeks in his hands preventing her from looking away. “I was joking.” He kissed his wife on the tip of the nose.

She laughed weakly. “It’s not the idea you’ll find another woman, stud.”

“Noted.”

“Beast.” She batted his arm playfully. “It’s just the idea of being in storage, only human to satisfy a lover’s sexual hunger and then returning to storage, was once a fantasy of mine.”

“The reality is too cold?”

“I can’t imagine being a mannequin for a week any time soon.”

“I was surprised you did it overnight, last night.”

“That was your daughter’s doing. She must have known how I’d feel after an overnight.”

“TMI.”

“Yes. But, you should thank her. I’m sure you haven’t had two woman in less than a day before.”

“Not that I recall.”

“Beast!” She playfully batted her hands at his chest until he grabbed her by the wrists, as she’d hoped. He pulled her helplessly, by design, into a passionate kiss.

They lay in the embrace for a while in silence.

“Unfortunately, nature calls,” he said, letting her go.

She sighed ruefully. “I need to shower before Britney returns.”

He was headed to the bathroom. “Selena said Brit asked her to pick her up this morning.”

“To go where?” She got up and followed him.

“Probably anywhere but here so she wouldn’t hear us.”

“You think?”

“She’s not a little girl, Ash.”

“Is it weird that she asked your girlfriend, who you just spent the night with, to distract herself from us being together?”

“When you say it like that it is.”

*****

When they returned from breakfast, Selena parked the car and got out along with Britney.

“This’ll be fun,” Britney said.

“You convinced me at breakfast that we need to normalize whatever this is,” Selena said.

“Calling it ‘whatever this is’ doesn’t seem like the ideal way to normalize anything.”

“You aren’t funny.”

They entered the kitchen as Daniel was setting two plates of pancakes down on the table. Selena gave him a kiss as Britney said, “Where’s Mom?”

“Oh, good morning to you, too,” he said to Selena. “Mom is in the shower. She should be down shortly. Did you two to go to breakfast?”

“Yes, I’ll just make some coffee,” Selena said. “How’s Darla?”

“You spent over an hour with Brit and didn’t ask her that already?” He said.

“There were other more pressing topics.”

“Darla mostly wanted to talk about our more pressing topic.”

Selena laughed.

Ashley entered the kitchen in a bathrobe. Her hair was still wet and wrapped in a towel. “What did I miss?” She kissed Daniel before sitting down.

“Good morning. All of us are talking around how we go forward? It seems.” Daniel said.

“I have a question for Mom,” Britney said. “The night we restored you, Dad found out I was using the Mannequin Disk and to my surprise he wasn’t angry or upset.”

“You weren’t?” Selena said.

“No.”

“I can see where this is going,” Ashley said, eating some of the pancakes Daniel had ready for her.

“I’m sure you do,” Britney said. “Dad told me I was about the same age as Mom was when she started using her first Disk. How did you find out about Mom’s time spent as a mannequin?”

“You tell her,” Mom said awkwardly with her mouth full.

He pushed the half-finished plate in front of him away. “I was fifteen. Ashley was sixteen already. She’s four months older than me according to birth records, not so sure now. In any case, we had been exchanging puppy dog looks with one another. But, she hung out with the popular girls in school. While I wasn’t at the bottom of the high school totem pole, I wasn’t at the top either…”

*****

I never could get the nerve to talk to her. She would look at me looking at her and blush but said nothing. I worked in the mall after school and I would see her there, too, with her friends. From where I worked, I’d see them pass by and every time they did, she would linger in front this one store where the most human looking mannequin stood in the window.

I started noticing that the mannequin would change poses almost daily and take on poses that were unusual for a mannequin. Curious, I visited the store.

“Are you lost?” A woman behind the register said.

I was staring at the mannequin from within the store. “What? Oh, no. Can I ask you something?”

“She’s a living person. Yes. That cover it?”

“How?”

“Magic.”

“Seriously?”

“No. Alien technology.”

“That feels even more far-fetched.”

“It is. But, technology is the answer. We have a machine that can turn folks into plastic dummies and back to flesh.”

“Does she get paid?”

“Not as much as I do, and I don’t make much. But, yeah, she is technically an employee.”

I came up with an idea and discussed it with the woman. She thought it wouldn’t get her in trouble so she agreed.

A week passed and Ashley was in the mall without her friends. This time when she passed the store she lingered in front of the mannequin for a while. I rushed out to where she stood and said, “I know a secret about the mannequin.”

“What secret?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“That’s rude. Dangling a secret in front of me like that and then snatching it back.”

“I suppose it was. She is alive.”

“I knew it.”

“And you can take her place for an hour if you’re game.”

“Wh-why would I w-want to be a…?”

I held my hand out and she took it. I brought her into the store. I introduced her to the sales clerk, Monica, if I remember correctly. We went into the back and Ashley saw a Mannequin Disk for the first time.

After that first hour, she started working part time at the store. And she rewarded me by dating me. And the rest can wait for another time.

*****

Friday night dates turned into a regular thing, the fourth Friday Britney was sleeping at Beth’s house. Beth’s mother interrupted the girls before they could disappear into Beth’s bedroom.

“Britney, it’s good to see you again. Would you mind if I asked you a couple questions?”

“No problem, Mrs. Gerand.”

“I understand from Beth that your mother is back in your life.”

“You can call her if you like. She has her old phone number back.”

“I don’t know if I have her number. I only met her a few times before the incident.” She paused before adding. “Can I ask you about Selena?”

“They’re still working that out.”

“I’m surprised.”

“This really isn’t any of your business. But I understand your curiosity,” Britney said. “Dad and I stopped visiting Mom after a while. It was too painful. She was right there. And yet she wasn’t.”

“Sounds like what happened to me when my father’s Alzheimer’s became advanced.”

“Then you might understand. We had Selena. Selena would go to the attic. She would tell Mom everything that I was up to: how I did on tests, who my friends were, what happened when we would go to fun places, and more I’ll probably never know about. Mom adores Selena. I love Selena as a second mother. Dad, of course, loves her. She’s part of our family and we are better because of it.”

“You said they were still working on that.”

“Well, I think she’s family. They just haven’t caught up to me,” she gave Mrs. Gerand a smug smile. “I know I’m oversimplifying it. But they’ll get where I am eventually. They have to.”

*****

“It’ll be fine,” Selena said. She and Ashley were sipping coffee on a Friday afternoon. Selena sometimes stopped by after school, beating Britney home sometimes.

“It would be an intrusion.”

“No, it would be a relief for me. I feel like we’re doing something clandestine when Daniel and I sneak out to date on Fridays,” Selena said. “I spend so much time here. I always feel weird having Daniel in my apartment.”

“But, wouldn’t it be awkward?”

“Everything about our love triangle is awkward. Maybe this will help.”

“Well, I’m game if you are.”

“That’s all I ask.”

When Daniel got home, he was surprised to find Selena there.

“We aren’t going out tonight?”

“Would that be so bad?”

“No, of course not. Does Ashley or Britney have plans I’ve forgotten?”

“No. Britney is already at Beth’s house. The only difference is we’re here.”

“That feels like a big difference.”

Ashley walked out of the kitchen. “Well, it shouldn’t. I made dinner. It should be ready in a few minutes. Go get changed and we’ll eat.”

The three of them ate dinner. Small talk was free and easy. This was the first time only the three of them were eating dinner together. When dinner ended, Daniel got up to clear the table.

“I’m going to retire for the evening,” Ashley said. “This is still your date night. Enjoy your evening.” She gave Selena a hug and kissed Daniel good night.

“Sure, nothing weird at all,” Daniel said.

They curled up on the sofa.

“I have to say. I missed this,” he said.

“So did I.”

“Assuming she’s a mannequin now, the only difference between now and a year ago is she’s probably not in the attic.”

“Well, let’s not worry about that. We have some shows to catch up on.”

A few hours later, they were making out. Selena got up and walked toward the stairs, giving Daniel a come hither look.

He was going to protest but she left him alone in the living room. He followed her to his bedroom.

She was waiting for him on the bed. The lights were out. He removed his pajama top and joined her in bed.

As the throes of passion subsided, she whispered in his ear, “Can you go again?”

“Probably. Give me a... What are you looking at?” She pointed and he saw a figure standing in the darkest corner of the room. “Is that Ashley? Did she watch?”

“Yes, this was my idea.”

“Why?” he moved to cover them up with the sheets.

Selena pushed them aside. “We all know what is happening. We should embrace our love for each other. Celebrate it.” She got out of bed. “And what better way than to make love in front of one another.”

She stepped over to the mannequin disk and stepped on the release button. The Disk cycled.

Selena hugged Ashley.

“What are you doing?” Ashley said. She was confused as to why Selena had released her.

“My turn.” Selena said. She led Ashley off the Disk, stood in her place, and touched the cycle button again. “And also your turn.”

The Disk cycled. Selena was a mannequin now.

“What just happened?” Daniel said.

Ashley shrugged. “Enjoy the show, Selena,” she said. She slinked over to the bed and gave Daniel a wet kiss. “You did tell her you could go again.”

“I… Why am I considering fighting this?” He pulled his wife onto the bed and ran his hands across her body.

She laughed. “I have no clue.”