“Stop pouting.”

“I’m not pouting. I shouldn’t have said yes to this stupid spell, you took advantage of me because I was drunk.”

Kaylee rolled her eyes, then giggled. “It’s not that bad.”

“What do you mean, not that bad? I dated Henry Samson in High School for heaven’s sake. He even took me to the Junior Prom.”

Henry and I used to hang out together. Nice guy and all but to actually date him, yikes.

“He didn’t kiss you or anything, did he?” Kaylee made a face as if trying to remember.

“Yes, Yuk he did, really, couldn’t you guys have thought of someone else for me to date?”

After complaining about my impromptu gynecological exam once more, we had spent most of lunch comparing each other’s memories. The whole duality thing seemed to replace my male self with my female self for the most part. Surprisingly enough a lot of memories didn’t appear all that different however; other times like dating Henry were totally new memories.

Miranda and Kaylee explained to me, beyond the gender switch, the enchantment would not make huge changes, as it would affect too many people. So it made little ones, although dating Henry Samson seemed pretty damn big to me.

“Don’t blame us Erin, it’s the spell. Anyway, trust me, you’re not the first to play straight girl throughout High School. So, when did you first realize that you only liked girls?”

“I’ve always only liked girls.”

“Me too.” Kaylee ginned, reaching over and grabbing a crouton off my plate.

And another thing, for lunch we ended up at my favorite restaurant in the mall. Normally, I would be eating a double bacon cheeseburger and beer battered onion rings but no, a Greek salad with roasted chicken for me. Now don’t get me wrong, the salad was pretty good, it’s just the principle of the thing.

“So who else did you date?”

“Nicole.”

I wanted to ask Kaylee why we didn’t date but decided not to. The memories were a bit blurred, shifting, as if not quite set in stone.

She looked at me, surprised. “Really, you dated your ex-wife? I didn’t know she swung that way.”

I could see that she too seemed to have trouble remembering. “I didn’t either until now. Didn’t last that long…not that my marriage to her did either.”

Kaylee gave my hand a squeeze, before changing subjects. “So, now tell me, girlfriend. What do you think of shopping?”

Sitting back, I looked at the bags sitting next to me on the booth. Perhaps I got carried away. We had only been shopping a couple of hours and already I picked out several new blouses, a skirt and a pair of shoes for this weekend. The shoes surprised me, high heels of course. I expected to fall flat on my face; however my body knew how to walk in them.

“It’s been fun, surprisingly enough. Question though, what happens next week?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean after I turn back into Eric, these clothes and shoes. Should I keep the receipts?”

Looking at Kaylee, I could see something in her eyes but it went away, returning with a smile. “Not sure…really. I imagine that since Eric didn’t buy them then the items will just appear back on the shelves. If not, you will have to return them.”

Nodding to myself, I looked over at the bags. I still couldn’t see me getting this interested in clothing but I did have a few ideas on how to liven up Eric’s wardrobe. Most likely, I’ll just give these clothes, if they remain, to Kaylee.

For the rest of the day she didn’t leave my side, which was nice. We hadn’t spent a day like this in years, not before we both started to get serious with other people. I could tell though, that Kaylee wanted to keep an eye on me. I’m sure she kept expecting me to freak out.

After my senior year in High School, Nichole and I backpacked throughout Europe. I even proposed to her while on top of Germany’s tallest mountain, the Zugspitze, right in front of the Summit Cross.

Turning into a girl seemed like another new adventure, like a vacation from my old self. I’ll enjoy the week, my time with Kaylee and then after Sunday, I’ll try my best to put my life back together.

Now there were several changes I really did like. First of all, coming out of my house, I found, parked in the driveway, a powder blue BMW convertible. Cars to me have always just been a means to get me from point A to point B. Four wheels, reliable and has good gas mileage had always been good enough for me.

We all wondered why my car changed from my little compact to the Beemer until I remembered when I bought my last car. Walking down row after row of used cars, I came across the same powder blue BMW. As I passed it, I thought it would be a really nice car if one happened to be a girl, after that I forgot about it, until this morning.

Later that evening, Kaylee having already left, I took the full tour of my changed home. It definitely had a more feminine feel to it but nothing over the top. Happily, my grandmother’s furniture sat in its proper place in my semi-formal dining room, also in a lot better condition.

In the living room, I found my two gaming consoles still hooked up to the same flat screen television. Same number of games, although there were a few differences. My movie collection too, looked about the same, although like my games there were a few additions I wouldn't have picked up normally.

Afterwards while straightening up the kitchen; I realized the house itself was immaculate. Not that I’m a super clean person although I used to pick up after Lori. What kept the house clean, since we both worked long hours, was having a cleaning service come over a couple times a month. I planned on extending that contract next week.

What I really liked about my home were the new furnishings. Lori had picked out most of what I lived with now, not even bothering to ask my opinion. I decided home, like my life, needed some changes.

Too bad I couldn't take a picture or two. Most likely, like my divorce papers, they would disappear when I switched back on Sunday. Over all, definitely a new perspective on things, perhaps turning into a girl for a week wasn't a bad idea after all.

The next morning I found Kaylee once again sitting at my kitchen table drinking coffee. Not that I minded, waking up to my best friend and a fresh cup of coffee was a nice way to start the day.

“So we are off to Miranda’s?”

“You have never been to her house, have you?”

Picking up our purses and coats, we headed out the door.

“No, her husband Tom came over to our house once but usually we met at the office. Even then, I didn’t spend a lot of time with him. He and Walter, my in-house IT guy, bonded immediately while getting our servers up and running. I tried to stay out of the way.”

Grinning, I found Kaylee standing in front of my new car. It seemed while my little blue car remained in my driveway, I would be driving.

Kaylee Aunt's home actually happened to not too far, in a section with the larger houses. Miranda and her husband owned a cute, five bedroom house with a substantial but well-kept yard. Not that I needed anything that large, I only lived by myself now.

Greeting us with hugs as soon as we entered the house, Miranda introduced me to three little girls, what I have been told are Kaylee's favorite cousins. Already having a five-year-old son, Miranda and her husband wanted to have a daughter, a matched pair. As with most things in life, it worked out only too well, instead of having one girl, she had triplets.

Tom greeted us too, coming in from the backyard, smelling like smoke. I could see in his eyes that he had no clue that last week I was Eric. We talked about business for a little while, maybe an upgrade to my systems, before the triplets dragged me into their playroom. As the new girl in the house, I would want to see all of their toys, right.

While Tom wandered off, with an amused smile on face, to cook on the grill, and Miranda and Kaylee preparing the rest of the meal, I had my very first Barbie adventure. Impressing me at first with the wardrobe and shoe collection for their dolls, the girls had a very serious conversation on what Barbie I should use.

What I actually ended up with instead was one of the new Gothic monster look alike Barbie’s. The triplets had acquired almost the entire collection over Christmas, and they didn’t mind that I wanted to play with Franzilla instead of Kipper.

I might have to pick up the set myself. I mean guys, even older guys collect action figures right? I thought the whole High School horror thing seemed pretty cool.

Lunch consisted of hot-dogs and hamburgers, along with grilled chicken and grilled vegetables. The triplets insisted that I sit next to them. Not that I never helped with a meal before, but the perspective was entirely different. Especially, while cutting up the girls hot-dogs, I tried not to spit out my diet Cola when Tom mentioned I would make a great mother.

Sometime during the end of the meal, their son Kirk started to talk smack about how lame his sisters and all girls were at gaming. He even complained that his mom only played these stupid dance games, working out in the afternoons. When I tried to explained my substantial collection of console games, he insisted that they must be my brother’s or boyfriends.

Kaylee couldn't help from grinning and neither could his mother when I challenged him to one of his favorite first person shooters. Did I feel bad when I wiped the floor with him? Absolutely not, I gleefully kicked his rear end. I even had my own cheerleading section, who would clap their hands and jump up and down every time I sent their brother back to his spawning zone.

Burdened with leftovers, Kaylee and I prepared to leave after spending most of the day at her Aunt’s house. The triplets gave us both hugs and kisses while Kirk on the other hand, stood behind his father blushing.

“I think he likes you.”

“Great, just what I needed an eleven year old boyfriend; much less any boyfriend.”

Miranda stopped me as we started to walk out the door. “Erin, the girls wanted to know if you will come back and play with them again.”

I looked at her, then Kaylee. “I hate breaking my promises.”

“It’s OK, Erin; they just had a fun time with you.”

The ride home was quite, turning to her as we drove up, I asked if she wanted to come in.

“I’d love to.”

After setting the leftovers in the fridge, we looked through my movie collection for something different. I surprised her when picking out a movie with the two love interests only interacting through email. I hadn't seen it, and at least now it looked interesting.

Snuggling together, the two of us only got up to make some popcorn. With our arms intertwined, it felt really nice. I felt at peace, the first in a long time. Being so close together however with an obvious attraction to one another, my body started to react in a way quite different from Eric’s.

“I have to go.” Kaylee suddenly stood up, her face flushed.

“Why, the movie isn't over yet.” Reaching over, I turned off the DVD while she grabbed her coat.

“Because if I do, I’ll be tempted to jump your bones in the middle of the living room, I can’t do that.”

I smiled. “The bedroom would be more comfortable but I understand.”

She didn’t want to mess with our relationship; sex would have definitely complicated things. As much as I wanted to try out a few things with this new body, she was right. It wouldn't be fair when I turned back into Eric on Sunday.

“No you don’t.” She looked upset. “I should have told you this sooner. Remember when I told you that the enchantment would only last until the sunrise after Valentine’s Day.”

“Yes.”

I started to feel sick to my stomach. Had she been lying to me the whole time? Did Miranda also know, asking me if I wanted to play with the girls again? I couldn’t believe that the enchantment was permanent; she wouldn’t do that to me. Would she?

Seeing my face, she almost rushed into my arms but I stepped back. “Tell me, Kaylee.”

“OK, if you have sex with the person you love, male or female you will remain a woman.” She said in a rush, then more slowly. “Or if you happen to get pregnant, the magic will not end a life.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, if it wasn’t with a person you loved. “You mean like rape?”

“Yes.”

“Crap.” I collapsed on the couch. I don’t want to become a woman full time. Sure, this was an adventure, a vacation from myself but I sure as hell didn’t want to make it permanent.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I mean, I should have.”

I looked up; I could see tears in her eyes. “Thank you for telling me, Kaylee.”

“I’m...I’m going to go.” Rushing forward, she kissed me on the cheek and headed out the door. “I love you, Erin.”

I only half heard the door close, did she just tell me she loved me? Sitting back I looked about the room, no longer seeming as safe as if was only a few minutes before.

Running to the front door, I made sure all of the doors were locked before heading into my bedroom. Here I was, a small woman in a home all alone. For the first time since I was a child, I felt vulnerable.