Erin had always worked extra hard to let people know how smart she was. In a way her appearance was as much a curse as it was an advantage. She was attractive. Uncomfortably so, with naturally blond hair, and a figure most women would have died to get, yet she always felt that at times, that was a hindrance working in a lab.
As such it had taken a lot of work and diligent application, to advance, and now, barely into her thirties she was assistant department head. So it was irksome that some of the less hands-on science duties sometimes had to wait in order to take care of department business. That was what today's lunch was about, just a run of the mill orientation lunch with a new hire. Fatima Sirim.
Erin was preoccupied when the knock came on her office door. She'd just gotten off the phone with her fiancé Brad, and was trying to catch up with some data analysis. She gazed up and gaged the young woman standing in her doorway. Two things struck Erin immediately. The first was that the petite dark skinned woman had an intensity about her that was just a little unsettling with piercing black eyes and a bearing that bespoke of personal pride as well as efficiency. The second thing was that she wore just a bit too much perfume.
Yes, it was patchouli, and it seemed to occupy the room in her general vicinity, or anyplace she'd recently been. Probably not unusual for one of Middle Eastern descent, and not a big deal, Erin thought. After all she was just a coworker, and it wasn't entirely unpleasant, just a little overdone.
There was a nice place a couple of blocks from the lab and since it was a sunny day, the two women walked there, engaging in small talk along the way. Fatima's family had come over from Southern Pakistan when she was a young girl. She had vivid memories of her birth country, but she also had ambitions to carve out a career here in the States. Her parents wanted this for her, and so did she. It meant a lot of hard work that didn't leave her much time for anything else, but she felt it would be worth it. Her family had been one of some regard back in her home country, and she felt it was reminder to herself and her heritage to do well.
Fatima was also curious about Erin. What it had been like for her growing up. How well she'd done in grad school. Whether she'd dated a lot. Meeting her fiancé and what he was like. Erin warmed to each of the subjects, particularly about Brad. They'd met through a mutual friend. Brad was a research engineer. He was funny, smart, and really amazing in bed. She wasn't really sure why she'd emphasized that last part, but there was something about Fatima that made it okay if things didn't make perfect sense.
Over the next few weeks the budding friendship begat a tight working relationship. Lab politics had some heads turning, but it wasn't unusual for a department head to take to a new hire, and Fatima had quickly established her position as Erin's right hand lab tech.
Erin thought the world of Fatima. Despite the initial trepidations, she now wondered how she'd gotten anything done without the girl. At times she found herself drawing a blank on one thing or another, and Fatima was usually the one who was there with the answer. In fact it became a fairly common occurrence for Fatima to tell Erin to "Close your eyes, take a deep breath and just think. You know I'm right." And usually she was.
Erin was usually sharp, but now and again little things would happen that she couldn't recall ever being a problem before. Things related to work that Fatima usually got sorted out, but also problems had started with Brad. She couldn't say why, but she'd be out after work with Fatima and her phone would ring and it would be Brad asking her why she'd blown him off. It was confusing because mostly she didn't remember making plans with him in the first place, but in the last month it had happened five separate times.
Brad was clearly getting tired of being put off and lied to, and Erin worried about how distant he was getting. When she confided in Fatima she just did her usual, "Oh don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll blow over. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath and think about it. You know I'm right." And that's exactly what Erin did. The familiar smell of patchouli oil and Fatima's particular odor, now like a bit of warm fuzzy blanket. Of course Fatima was right. She usually was.
Still, work was not going well, and when the deadline of a particularly important study was approaching, Fatima had suggested a working dinner for the two of them at her place. It made sense.
She arrived about ten minutes later than she'd intended. She'd punched the address into the GPS but somehow had gotten a bit muddled anyway. Fatima was very understanding as she ushered her into her apartment. Dinner was delicious and Erin found that rather than getting to work, they ended up on the couch talking.
Erin was spilling about the latest trouble with Brad. "You know men."
Fatima looked earnestly at Erin. "Of course I know men, I am one."
"You most certainly are not!" Erin replied in almost comical shock. "You're definitely a woman."
"Oh, Erin! Close your eyes, take a deep breath and just think about what you're saying. I'm a man. You've always known that, silly girl. You know I'm right." Fatima said.
