12. The Gun #2
“My girl, Darla, broke up with me too when I told her I was leaving. I just can’t catch a break. There just isn’t any pleasing everyone, I guess.” Doug continued his monologue. Richard listened quietly, pondering whether he would be a good candidate for his next switch.
“I am looking forward to traveling the world though with the Army. I suspect I will be sent out to the war if needed. ‘Course, I hit a bird one time accidentally with my car and felt so much guilt that I was up all night, sick to my stomach. Didn’t sleep a wink. S’pose I won’t sleep much in the Army either. ”
Richard couldn’t take much more of listening to this sad excuse of a man. He had been born as a woman but felt that taking over a man’s life was much easier than if a man had been forced to assume a woman’s body.
The live music carried on. There was a makeshift dance floor that hosted various couples trying out the latest dance moves, all moving along perfectly in beat with the music. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He knew he needed a plan soon; his physical body didn’t have much time, and he had already set in motion the way in which he would gain access to the fortune he’d gained over the years.
“Darla?” Doug stood up from the bench as a beautiful blonde woman, who was in her early twenties, walked towards them. She wore a simple yellow polka-dot dress and had her hair neatly pulled back into a chignon bun.
She carried a large wicker basket that seemed comically big against her small frame. Her expression was a mixture of surprise and sadness. Richard watched as they tenderly greeted each other.
“Hello, Doug. Are you well?” Darla turned politely to Richard. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Richard. We just met today. Don’t know much about him.”
Richard huffed. “I have learned a lot about Doug, though.”
Darla smiled at him in a way that made him melt. He had long forgotten the kind of power women could hold over men with their pretty faces and their mere presence.
“Yes, I am very fond of how well Doug can communicate and tell stories. It is something that I will miss greatly when he leaves.” Darla placed her gloved hand on Doug’s arm and quickly removed it. Society looked down on women who showed affection to unattached men.
“I actually packed a picnic to enjoy while listening to the music. I may have packed too much. Would you gentlemen like to join me?” Doug looked at Richard, pleading on his face, as though he desperately needed his approval to join Darla.
“Fine.” Richard agreed. A plan was formulating, though, one that would allow him to take Darla’s place. He just needed a little more time to finalize the seamless transition.
“Doug, can you please go let my driver know that I need my own blanket for this picnic?” He carefully wheeled near where Darla had set up the picnic.
“Yes, sir,” Doug responded.
Darla watched for a few seconds as Doug retreated toward Richard’s waiting car.
“I would really like to hear more about you. I think I know enough about Doug, but I’m curious to get to know you a little more.” Richard smiled as genuinely as he could.
His first step was to determine if she would be a good fit for him to take over her life.
The idea of returning into a woman’s body ignited an excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He could visualize the familiar tether, the hazy hand shape reaching out to her, ready and eager to claim her life as his own.
“How kind of you! I hope after I talk your ear off you’ll tell me about you as well. I can tell we are going to be fast friends!” Darla clasped her cupped hands to her chest.
Not likely, Richard immediately thought, but he nodded in agreement.
“Well, my name is Darla Samson, and I am twenty years old. Doug was my childhood sweetheart, and we had plans to get married and settle down.” She continued to pull items out of the picnic basket.
“But sadly, his parents finally wore him down, and he joined the Army at their request. I just don’t have it in me to love someone capable of such violence.” She had packed more than enough food, and Richard suspected she was hoping to meet people here to share this meal with.
Doug returned to them with his driver in tow, who carried the blanket. The man opened the blanket into the wind and laid it carefully next to the small blanket Darla had brought. He came near to the wheelchair.
“Shall I help you move to the blanket, sir?” his driver asked.
“Yes, and this is Doug and Darla, my new friends.” He hesitated at friends, but managed to speak the words. To take on Darla and access his fortune, he would need to get her name and face out among his staff quickly. “Very good, sir.”
After a few minutes, Richard was situated on his blanket, and soon after that, Darla was making him a plate. He watched as she piled his plate generously with each item she packed: crisp fried chicken with a cornmeal crust, a side of beans, and fresh biscuits with homemade jam.
A thermos of black coffee was poured into a steel cup and offered to him. She had also somehow managed to pack an entire apple pie. The smell from the food caused his mouth to water desperately.
He made a mental note that he would need to fire his current chef and get a new one to freshen up the menu at home.
Richard took a bite just as Darla finished plating Doug’s and she immediately bowed her head to pray. Richard rolled his eyes and bowed as well to not appear rude.
If I switch with Darla, being religious is just another act I have to pull off. I could move away and start fresh in a new town and then I could drop all previous mannerisms and act how I want.
“Amen.” Darla concluded the short prayer thanking God for the food.
“Amen.” Doug loudly agreed and took his first bite.
“Amen.” Richard whispered, still trying to be polite but not buying into the faith movement.
Richard took a bite and was amazed at how delicious everything was and the three ate in silence for a few minutes.
“So, tell me about your parents,” Richard asked pointedly to Darla, right before he scooped a bite of beans.
“Oh yes, well, they’re no longer alive.” Darla looked from Richard to Doug, her expression was a mixture of sadness and confusion.
“Sorry to hear that,” Richard said, taking another awkward bite. “We don’t have to talk about them. What do you do for a living?” He offered the question, and it did the trick of diverting her attention away from her parents, allowing an avenue of conversation she was comfortable with.
“I’m currently a librarian on Main Street, though I’m also in school to become a kindergarten teacher.”
“Well, that is quite the quaint life you must live,” Richard offered. “Do you have any siblings?”
“None. I was an only child. My hopes are to marry and have lots of children so that I can be surrounded by lots of family for the rest of my life.” Richard shook his head at Darla’s declaration.
“Kids are great as long as you don’t want to accomplish anything important in life.” Richard felt a lump form in his throat as he thought of Lizzie again.
The truth is, being tied to someone you love is hard to leave behind.
A heavy silence settled as Richard wondered how he might complete the switch. He considered inviting her to his house for dinner, but that could be frowned upon. His staff would have too many witnesses, and he would need a place less visible.
After a few minutes, the silence continued on, and just before it could become awkward between them, a commotion in the large crowd drew their attention.
From what Richard could see, there was a man holding something up in the air, and the people closest to him were cowering to the ground.
“That man has a gun!” Darla whispered in a panic. A man in a long brown trench coat, and military-style black boots, crossed the lawn in the shade of the trees. His dark hair was long and so greasy that large clumps hung together.
Darla looked toward Richard’s town car, hoping to get his attention to assist with their rescue. Richard had a different plan. He closed his eyes and pushed the tether out towards the man. He knew that Doug and Darla were packing up to make an escape.
I need to act fast.
In a moment, he was standing in the crowd, a black gun in his hand. He peered down at the faces all flushed with fear and tears streaming down their faces.
He glanced over where he was just sitting and could see his former old body in a full panic as he made eye contact with him. He walked in their direction.
A movement to his left pulled his focus; his driver was now out of the car and running towards the group.
He sprinted, made it in time to raise the gun at the old man, and pulled the trigger. Richard’s body slumped forward, his eyes wide and mouth open, forever immortalized in a panic state, a final punishment.
Darla screamed, and Doug threw up as blood splattered across his face. Police sirens blasted through the air as tires screeched around the corner, coming toward the park. The driver dropped down to hold the old man’s body. It touched him that, even in death, his staff cared for him.
He turned his gun to Doug. Maybe putting him out of his misery now would be a kindness. Police officers poured out of their vehicles, their weapons pointing at him, while he still held the gun. He kept the gun held towards Doug but looked down at Darla.
“I am sorry about this.” He prepared the tether, readied himself to switch, and then pulled the trigger.
Immediately he was Darla. She looked down at her own body; Doug’s blood splattered across her dress. His lifeless body lay crumpled next to her.
Her vision was impeccable. It had been many years since she could see individual blades of grass or leaves on the trees. She looked up, face tilted into the sunlight. She felt no pain in her back, no pain in her legs.
The gunman dropped the gun and began screaming. He lunged at her and grabbed her by the arms.
“What have you done?” he yelled in her face, and she smiled at him just as the police officers arrived at the scene to subdue him. As the officers closed in, Darla dropped the smile and screamed, thrashing her body.
“Help me! Please help, someone!” Darla cried and continued bucking against his grip. “You’re hurting me!” The officers finally grabbed the gunman. Darla wrapped her arms around herself and curled up away from the commotion.
“He took my body!” the gunman screamed out as he was handcuffed and dragged away. “No, you don’t understand. I didn’t do this! Please listen to me!”
Darla’s perfect hearing could still hear the man’s rants after he was shoved into the back of a police car. The remaining officers assisted her to her feet, and she wiped the fresh tears from her face.
Darla shuffled to the side and stood, shocked that she was now here, in a new body, with no plan. She had limited information, and panic coursed through her as she now had to navigate a crime scene and learn everything she could about who she suddenly was.
What have I done?
It was the first time she felt truly out of control and the last thing she needed was to lose control of her life.