When Doug got home from the Quik-Mart, she was waiting for him, her exquisite young body draped in a lawn chair, a vision framed within his open garage door like a well-composed picture. Doug switched off the ignition but remained rooted to the seat of his pick-up truck, staring transfixed through the wisp of smoke rising from his cigarette.
She wore her trademark shorty cut-off jeans and red halter top. Leather sandals graced her feet. Her face and body were tanned, sun warmed and glowing and Doug was sure there were no tan lines beneath the skimpy outfit just as he knew the naturally full breasts, the sweeping curve of her hips, the perky flesh of her buttocks. Her shag hairdo was out of date, as was the thick, dark bush he pictured between her legs. She looked exactly as she had in 1988 when she was Miss April in GIRL NEXT DOOR magazine. Doug Jenkins had fantasized about this girl for nearly thirty years, and now here she was, smiling and beckoning to him from the doorway of his own garage.
Shit...this is impossible! Doug clenched his eyes and leaned forward until his brow rested against the steering wheel. I've lost my fucking mind! he screamed silently. What the hell's wrong with me? But when he opened his eyes she was still there flashing her million dollar smile and waggling her fingers in a little girl wave.
Doug clamped his eyelids together again and tried to think. Was it possible for fantasies to come true? No...Hell no! Had he been a imagining a scene like this for so long that it had become an hallucination? Doug opened one eye, just a crack before squinching it shut again. She was still there, standing now with her arms crossed below her breasts, a pout forming on her luscious lips. Doug's mouth fell open and his Marlboro dropped to the floor of his truck.
It was just as he'd imagined. On a day when he had the place to himself, Doug would arrive home to find his dream girl waiting for him. It was a scenario his mind had conjured up years ago and finding it a pleasant diversion from the mundane reality of his life, Doug often retreated into this chimera. It was a sexual fantasy of course, and over the years Doug had added or deleted innumerable details, but the girl was always the same. Always Miss April. He often chided himself for his thoughts but lately his fantasy girl flitted through his mind more than ever, even invading his normally dreamless sleep.
I'll just sit here, Doug decided. I'll just relax...maybe take a little nap in the truck. And when I wake up...
"Hey!"
Doug's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. She was standing beside the driver's side door. Hands on her shapely hips, her brow was furrowed, her blue eyes questioning. Doug rolled down his window.
"Douglas Jenkins you come out of there right now," she said in a husky voice. "I've been dying to meet you. Don't you want to meet me?"
"Huh? Oh, yes...Sure! I mean..."
"I'm going inside," she said, "Before one of your neighbors drives by and sees me. Bring the beer."
She's real! Doug shouted in silent exultation. She walks, she talks...I can smell her perfume! His left hand scrabbled for the door handle while his right grasped the twelve-pack. How the hell did she know I bought beer?
Doug leapt from his truck and hurried into the garage. He lowered the overhead door and peered furtively through the small window. The quiet country road was empty and his nearest neighbor was a quarter mile away. Nobody's seen her but me!
He stopped before the door that led into the kitchen and tried to slow his breathing and quell the pounding of his heart. Calm down, Dougie boy. Don't blow it. Sucking in his paunch, Doug entered his home.
The kitchen was empty and silent. Goddamned fool! It was all a mirage! "Terri?" he whispered.
"Oh, must you call me that?"
Her voice came from the living room and Doug scurried after it. He found her on the couch paging through a photo album.
"You have a lovely family, Doug." She beamed a warm smile. "Tina and Tanya are just beautiful. They must drive the frat boys wild. And you and Lucy have an anniversary coming up. Let's see...twenty-four years now. Am I right?"
"Er...yes. How did you know that?"
"Oh, I know everything, hon. Aren't you going to offer me a beer?"
"Oh! Sure...I'm sorry." Doug set the beer on the coffee table and ripped the side out of the cardboard package, then opened two cans and handed one to her. He drained his own quickly and lit another cigarette as she continued her inspection of his family photos. "Oh, you people!" she said, as though delighted with what she saw.
"Terri...er, I'm sorry. You don't want me to call you that?"
"Well, I'm not really her, am I?" She set the picture book aside and stood. "I mean...She wouldn't look like this anymore, would she?" The girl winked and struck a seductive pose.
"No, I suppose not," Doug admitted. "What should I...Do you have a name?"
"Call me Jule." She pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow as though considering the name. "Yes. I like that. Does it work for you, Doug?"
"Sure." Doug stared hungrily at her while his mind raced in circles searching for words. Say something, stupid! Finally he blurted, "Jesus Christ, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"
"Aw, you're so sweet." Jule reached out and stroked his cheek. A tingle of charged emotion ignited at her touch and coursed through Doug Jenkins' body in a warm, delicious flood. His knees grew weak and the crotch of his jeans tightened. His eyes raked her perfect young body before settling on the zipper of her cutoffs. He wanted to see, to touch, to taste...
"Oh, that's coming, Doug. I promise." Jule's cheery voice broke his reverie. "But we should talk first, don't you think? You must have a million questions." She opened two more beers and led him to the couch.
Doug adjusted his swollen package before sitting. Jule giggled at his discomfort and exclaimed again, "Oh, you people!"
Doug wondered just what she meant by that but had more pressing questions to ask. "You told me you know everything, Jule. And it seems you can read my thoughts."
"Oh, I do. I can."
"How is that possible?"
She leaned close and murmured in his ear. "It's your fantasy, Doug. How did you answer that question when you imagined all of this?"
"Well..."
Before he could formulate a reply, Jule answered for him. "You created some sort of alien race...you never were very specific on that, Doug...who would visit you and fulfill your fondest wishes. Right?"
"Well, yes...that's about it. Are you an alien?"
She shrugged. "I'm whatever you want me to be. It's your..."
"Yes, but how is it done? How is it possible?" Doug reached for her hand. "Please tell me."