“I’ll make you some,” I say over my shoulder, the feeling of being able to take care of someone comforting me slightly.
Casey hops up on the counter and I think I see her flinch a bit, probably not used to the extra weight she’s carrying.
“Did you scream when you saw yourself??”
“Bloody murder! I’m surprised someone didn’t call the cops.” I pour the coffee into the filter.
“A scream? It would take a lot more than that to get a reaction out of my neighbors. Nick Nolte, Wee-Man, and Dennis Rodman all have apartments in this building.”
“I ran over to your full-length mirror and freaked out. My muffin top was gone!”
I watch as Casey puts her hand on my belly, feeling surreal as I stare at myself. So this is what they mean by an out-of-body experience.
“This?” Casey says, pinching at my stomach. “There’s nothing here?”
There’s a lot more there than should be. I was never petite, but before I had Charlotte I was in good shape and two sizes smaller. I should be exercising in those running shoes and workout pants every morning. If John can make the time to do it, why can’t I? “You’re sweet to say that, Casey, but I’m out of shape. You’ll see. When you haul the baby up and down the stairs enough times at my house, you’ll feel it.” I look away, tears burning in my throat as I think of Charlotte.
Casey puts her hand over mine. “Well, hopefully I won’t have to feel it. Hopefully we’ll figure out how to get out of this mess and you’ll be hauling your own baby in no time.”
“What did we do to deserve this?” I hand Casey a cup of coffee.
Casey thinks for a moment. “I’ve slept with a lot of young guys.”
“I’m sorry, and how is that bad again?” I smile, our banter temporarily pulling me out of the panic brewing just beneath the surface as I think about my family.
“We’re two smart women. We can figure this out. Like I always say, when all else fails, turn to the movies for the answers. What happened in that body-switching flick with Matthew Perry and that kid from High School Musical? You should know this one; you watch crap like that with your kids all the time, right?”
Ironically it was that movie 17 Again that Sophie and I had argued about just a few weeks ago. She was supposed to be doing her homework, but I caught her watching it. After she’d sassed me about how I shouldn’t be barging into her room unannounced, I’d grabbed the laptop, slammed it shut, and then also slammed her bedroom door behind me.
“They don’t switch bodies. Matthew Perry just becomes younger,” I say quietly, remembering a cell phone conversation I’d overheard between Sophie and one of her friends later that night. She’d called me a bitch. I’d been so upset I couldn’t even tell John—things had been so rocky between us that I was afraid he’d agree with her. Maybe I had overreacted.
Am I being punished for how I treat my family?
“I guess we’re on our own.” Casey attempts another smile but a look of fear crosses her face, the reality now sinking in for her too, and I wonder if she’s thinking what I’m thinking: what if we can’t switch back?
Casey looks at me expectantly, a look I’ve seen before. From Audrey when she has a problem with one of her friends, from John when he’s stressed about not making enough money, from myself when I worry about my marriage falling apart. She needs me to tell her it’s going to be okay. “Don’t worry. Like you said, we’re two smart women. We’ve got this. Let’s go over what happened last night. What’s the last thing you remember?”
“The shots.” Casey’s eyes grow wide. “Did John spike our drinks?”
“John? Suddenly my husband has magical powers? And why would he want us to switch bodies?”
We both consider what that would mean.
“Gross,” I say.
“Yeah, gross.”
“The bartender!” we say in unison.
“Jinx.” Casey laughs and pinches me, reminding me of her fifteen-year-old self.
“This has to have something to do with that bartender. I caught him giving me funny looks a few times last night,” I say, remembering how good it felt to have a young, hot guy watching me, even if he did seem a bit off. I really need to get out more.
“He was also acting weird earlier in the night with me too. I thought he was just flirting at first. He was pretty hot.”
“Smokin’,” I say a little too quickly.
“But then he knew all these things about Patrick Sanders and was very intense when he talked about how high school reunions bring out the best and worst in people. There was this look he got on his face when he said ‘the worst’ like he got off on that part. On seeing people’s insecurities, their failures, their longing for their lost glory days.”
“And remember he was the one who brought us the shots. And what did he say?”
“That the shots would make us realize how silly we were being!” Casey says.