A little story for the April Fools 2024 event. I hope you like it.
Thanks to @Bigtallman and @SirHugs and others who posted the concept on the story ideas forum. Keep chucking stuff at the wall, people!
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"Hi dear, how was your day?"
"Fine thanks. How was yours?"
"Good. Got an interesting project. Probably won't go anywhere, but you never know."
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"Hi dear, how was your day?"
"Fine thanks, although the neighbour's dog dug under the fence and did his business in the petunias. I talked to Ray about it. He's fixed the hole."
"Oh, good. What's for dinner?"
"Fish pie."
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"Hi dear, how was your day?"
Hattie sighed. The same question over and over. Nothing ever changed. The dog having a poop in her garden was the most exciting thing that had happened in months. Scratch that, years. Although she did get to chat to Ray. That was nice. He was good looking, in an average suburbia way, and was happy to spend a bit of time making small talk with her as she pottered in their back garden. She didn't really get to talk to anyone except for the store cashiers. "Fine thanks, how was yours?"
"Good, good. The project I'm working on is looking promising. Computer analysis is just about complete, so we'll be starting 2D cell culture modelling soon. It's very exciting."
"That sounds fascinating Harold, but I'm afraid that's more complicated than I can understand."
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"Good night, dear."
"Good night Harold. Sweet dreams." Hattie gave her husband a perfunctory kiss and rolled over.
Harold lay on his back and stared at the roof, quietly fondling his testicles. He'd lost count of the time since they had any sort of relations, but it was definitely years. Years of utter boredom, relieved only by the occasional self relief. He couldn't pin down what had happened, just that thirty years of marriage had slowly gone stale.
Hattie knew when, and why. Menopause insidiously crept in shortly after her 45th birthday, earlier than she had wanted, but undeniable in the effects. Erratic periods, obligatory heat flashes, mood swings, and odd pains everywhere. Being familiar with Harold was unfortunately out of the question at that time, but now that her body had settled down, he wasn't interested. She tried to give him hints things were almost back to the way they were, but he treated her advances with complete indifference.
She could hear the surreptitious rustling in his pyjamas and sighed gently. As long as he was happy, the dutiful wife couldn't say much.
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"Hi dear, how was your day?"
Harold gave his wife a happy peck on the cheek and smiled. "Wonderful. We've been given approval to move to human testing, and if the results are as predicted, we'll be receiving a very large bonus."
"Oh! That would be nice," Hattie replied, gently touching her cheek in wonder. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the project? It must be something amazing."
"It is, it is," said Harold, nodding enthusiastically. "It started as a new broad spectrum hormone balancing transdermal patch for menopausal women, but the computer modelling analysis showed some potentially interesting side effects. We believe it can help some women to deal with anorgasmia by relieving vaginismus and has the benefit of increasing their libido."
Hattie blinked as her husband rattled off the description of his work. The only words that made sense were 'hormone', 'menopausal' and 'increasing their libido', but the implications were clear. A new drug to help her, their, other women's sex life. "Umm, testing... Are you looking for volunteers?" she timidly asked.
"Well, yes dear, we are. Why?"
Hattie chewed her bottom lip and rapidly thought. "Well, it sounds important and you will help many women with their troubles. I'd like to do something, and after all, it is for science. Do you think I could umm, help?"
Harold scratched his head. "Well, I suppose. You do fit the test profile, but I'm not involved with that area. Call the office and ask for the Research Dynamics team, and they can assess your suitability. I have to tell you, if you are selected, you cannot discuss anything with me, That would be unethical."
"Certainly. I'll call them tomorrow."
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"So you're married to Harold? Well, well, well. Has he explained how this all works?"
Hattie shook her head. "No, he likes to keep his work and private life separate. This is the first thing in nearly thirty years of marriage I've sort of worked with him on." She shrugged. "I'm not as smart as him."
Andy, the research assistant, snorted. "Yeah, well. I'll leave that one alone. Ok, it's a six-month trial, and the initial data is assessed after three months, so mid-March or early April is when the decision to continue or not will be made. There's only twenty people in the initial trial, split into two groups. Each group will be given transdermal patches - like a nicotine patch, that needs to be placed on the lower abdomen daily for a six-month period. You need to wear this sensor band on your wrist, then log into the app on your phone and..."
"Sorry Andy, I don't have any apps on my phone." She pulled her phone out of her handbag and placed it on the table.
He stared, aghast, at the item. "Umm, ok..." He gingerly picked it up and pressed the buttons on its front. "How old is this?"
"Oh, only about six years old. I had to upgrade it because my old one wouldn't work on the phone system anymore. I like this one. It's simple to use."
"Hmm. Well, I guess I can print out some sheets you can write on, and bring them in to me. Do you have a computer at home you could sync the band to?"
"Only in Harold's den. I don't know how to use it. I've never needed to."
'Wow,' Andy thought, 'And I thought my mum was a technophobe.' Clearing his throat, he said, "Tell you what, Hattie. I think I can find an old computer tablet you can use, and I can help set it up for you. You really should use the app. It makes data collection so much easier, and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time. My mum's about your age and she has no trouble using one. In fact, she thinks it's one of the best things I've ever bought her. It took a while for her to get used to it, though."
"Thanks Andy, that sounds great. I'd love to try one."
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Hattie carefully cleaned her slight paunch with an alcohol wipe. She wanted to blame her weight gain on 'The Change', but in reality she knew that was only part of the issue. Too much food and not enough movement didn't help. She sighed and placed the patch. Andy had said one of the expected benefits was an increase in energy levels and a lowering of stress hormones. She hoped that was true.
The patch tingled her skin, which made her shiver. 'I hope that's a good sign,' she thought as she buttoned up her blouse.
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"Good night, dear."
"Good night Harold. Sweet dreams." Hattie gave her husband a long kiss and scratched the back of his head, before rolling over.
Harold propped himself up on his elbow and turned on the bedside lamp. "Hattie, have you started the trial?"
She rolled back and touched her husband's cheek. "Well, yes. About a week ago. Andy said I wasn't supposed to discuss it with anyone, as it was for science, but I thought you'd notice the patch eventually."
"Oh. Well, that's good to know." He leaned forward and let the back of his hand lightly skim her nightie covered breast, then kissed her. "I won't ask anything else about it. Do what you think you need to do. I wouldn't want to corrupt the data."
Hattie sighed at his touch and whispered, "You can do that again, please."
Harold smiled and gently cupped his wife's breast. "You have such lovely orbs, Hattie. They're still as captivating as the day I met you."
"Oh, come now Harold, don't exaggerate," Hattie said, "They're larger and droop more than when I was younger."
"I think they are wonderful. I think you're wonderful. You've aged so gracefully, certainly better than me." He slipped his hand under her nightie, and for the first time in years felt his wife's naked, soft, delightfully smooth breast. "I hope this is ok?"
"Oh, that's nice," she cooed. "Can we do it? It's been so long."
Harold licked his lips and nodded. He stood up and removed his pyjama pants, and Hattie shimmied out of her knickers, then spread her legs and waited for her husband to fulfil his role.