Most people don't like a person to change. They compliment someone for 'being himself.' But isn't that peculiar? When do you reach that 'self' stage? On turning ten? Twenty? Fifty-four? And why would it be a good thing to always stay unchanged?
Lying face down on the massage table, Juliana felt how liquid thoughts flew in and out of her head, in time with the hands that kneaded her shoulders. 'Life is good' was one nice thought rolling in. 'Can't go on like this' was quite another. 'Mmmmm, yesss...' was hardly a thought at all. But 'What after he wakes up?' was a question to skirt the worries of reality.
Juliana realized things were shifting. And as they shifted, a lot of important things became... less so? Well, no. They stayed important of course – of course they did. Things like loving your husband, having a house, friends, a job, being together, feeling healthy, being good. Oh yes, they were important still, but why did they feel... different?
The massaging hands dissolved another knot in her back, radiating warmth into her muscles. 'Life is good,' was a pleasant thought – 'I should never give this up' too. 'But Alec...'
Juliana must have drifted off on the table. She hardly noticed being turned over to have her front massaged. She even slept through a mild little string of orgasms when Mei rubbed and fondled her nipples and the lips of her vagina.
Juliana felt great when she got up from the table – rested and full of energy, her body gleaming with oil.
"Doctor want see you," Mei said. "He say you make self sexy beautiful."
Juliana was amazed to find on her bed the simple summer dress she'd worn when she first came to the villa. There also was a set of plain white cotton underwear and a pair of flat-heeled mary janes. Next to the clothes lay her old purse. Her heart raced when she put the clothes on. She walked over to her mirror and froze.
How to describe disappointment? Maybe the image of a balloon helps – not the ones that go with a bang, but the ones that deflate slowly, and with a fart.
Juliana looked at herself and saw a mouse. The flower-printed dress hung around her body. The skirt ended on her knees. And the shoes were almost too painful to even look at.
Embarrassed Juliana recalled how she'd chosen this very outfit to impress Dr. Charrier on the day she arrived. That had been only – had it really? – a fortnight ago. She sighed and opened four buttons of the dress. Watching how the crude white bra spoiled her cleavage, she took it off and let the dress's opening plunge to her navel. Then she lifted the hem of the skirt halfway up to her crotch, tightening it over her thighs. She slowly turned left and right. Maybe she didn't score points with her bust, but her legs were better than most she'd seen here – and so was her ass. Then she heard a soft giggle behind her.
Mei held up a narrow silver belt. From behind she girded Juliana's hips with it and pulled the dress up through it. The upper part billowed partly over the lower very short skirt. The cleavage gapped wide, showing off her gleaming chest. "Better," Mei said. She took Juliana by the elbow and walked her over to her vanity.
"You do face. I get heels," Mei said, leaving.
Juliana started making up her face, using all the tricks she'd learned. Winking with one smoky eye, she painted her lips as red as Sophia's, adding clever lines to make them look bigger. Then she did her fingernails in the same shade.
"Hi Juh-lee-ah-naaaah," she breathed at herself, fluttering her fat lashes. "Don't worry, baby; you'll blow them all away." And she giggled, breathless from her own courage.
Juliana never walked in higher heels than the ones Mei provided. She liked the sound they made on the stone floor as she followed the corridors to the lounge where she had her appointment with Charrier. She also liked the way the heels pushed up her calves and her ass with every step. Mei had done a trick on the skirt. It made the lower piece stretch tight around her upper legs, obliging her to take small steps. The platform pumps wouldn't have allowed bigger ones anyway.
Dr. Charrier waited for her by the empty fireplace, drinking coffee from an espresso cup that seemed tiny in his big hands. Seeing her, his eyes lit up. He put down the cup and rose to greet her. His gaze travelled up and down her body.
"You keep amazing me, Mrs. Austin," he said, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips. Then he led her to one of the overstuffed club chairs. She carefully sat down, keeping the skirt from creeping up even further. Mei had replaced the big granny panties with a tiny thong.
"Coffee?" the doctor asked. She declined. He smiled, sitting down in his chair.
"We woke up your husband," he said.
She felt shocked. She shouldn't, really – the news was expected, wasn't it? And yet there was shock. It was like having a child: nine months in the making and yet there is this shock when finally the waters break. Maybe it's the sudden confrontation with the absoluteness of reality. Juliana's heart raced.
"How... how is he?" she asked after clearing her throat.
"He is fine, considering," the doctor said. "He has been asking for you." He had been asking... had she even thought of him, lately?
Juliana sat straighter in her chair, sliding to the seat's edge. Her hands went to her chest, closing a button – and then another.
"Can I...," she said. "Can I see him?"
"Of course," Dr. Charrier said, smiling as he watched her fumbling fingers. "Let's go."
Turmoil raged in Juliana's head when they rose. She'd rehearsed for this moment, seen it in her dreams. But reality was quite different. Standing on her towering platforms she pulled at her skirt.
"Could I...?" she started. "Could I just run and change? I mean..."
"Come," the doctor said, urging her on. "No time for that. Besides, you look lovely; no need to let him wait any longer."
The clicking of her heels sounded blatant now, as they walked over to the clinic. The draught on her exposed skin made her close yet another button. In passing she checked her face in a mirror – the painted eyes, the full red lips, the bare legs. Alec had never seen her like this; what would he think? Why did she choose this look? And why did she now think she shouldn't look like that – not for him?
When they arrived at the entrance to the clinic, Juliana once more tucked at her skirt.
Alec was sitting up in bed. The tubes and the beep-machines were still there, but a smaller pad on the side of his head replaced the turban of bandages. He looked pale and bony. His head had been shaved, making him seem at once older and younger – a mature child. His soft brown eyes widened when she entered. A smile stretched his lips, but it danced and fluttered as if not knowing whether to stay of leave.
"Juliana," he said, almost adding a question mark.
"Alec!" she cried out, rushing towards him on shrieking heels. "You're awake!" And she reached out to embrace him.
Alec felt stiff in her embrace. She kissed him, but his lips kept closed. She let go, pulling back her head. Looking into his eyes, she heard her own agitated breathing.
"You look...," Alec began, his eyes shifting. "You look so..." A wave of self-consciousness hit Juliana. Standing straight she gathered the still open top of her dress, feeling a flush of heat.
"Sorry," she said. "You don't like..." He rubbed his face.
"It's all right, I suppose," he said, settling his smile more permanently. "As long as you're here." Juliana sat down in the chair next to the bed. Alec found her hands and held them in his.
"You
are
all right, aren't you?" he asked. Juliana swallowed, trying to calm her nerves.
"I am
fine
," she insisted, forcing her smile to be wider. "But this is about you. I'm amazed. You look so much better!"
Juliana knew she babbled. How could he
not
look better than before, when he was in a coma? Her hands felt moist as she fumbled inside his grip.
"Yes," he said. "I do feel... good. Doctors are very optimistic. I still feel confused, though – a bit dizzy too." He smiled. "But you... You look so different. The way you... Did you manage while I was... away?"
His voice hadn't changed, Juliana thought. There was sweetness in it, and real concern. She laughed, but it didn't sound right.
"Don't you worry about me," she said, patting his hand. "I'm a big girl, you know. I'll survive." She knew her words came too fast, but she could not stop or slow them down.
"You get better," she went on. "Never mind about me. I'm good. Get better soon and I'll take you home. Everything will be fine... fine." She giggled. Alec didn't let go of her eyes, and it bothered her.
His hand went to her hair and then to her face.
"Your eyes," he said. "Your lips."
Ever since they married, being together had been easy for them, although they were poor, hardly able to pay their rent. But they'd learned to enjoy small things whenever they could afford them, like movies, music, food – and little exotic things that were firsts for the both of them. They'd found an apartment and furnished it – often with old things, used things, but things they'd found together. They'd built a secure little life, and everything came naturally. Using half a word or hinting at a memory could make them laugh. Just holding each other while watching a movie had been enough.