The company had been good enough to arrange a place for us to stay, since our home had been destroyed along with the rest of Station 12. The doctors thought it would be too traumatic for her if she had to go live in another space condo, so they found us a place on Earth where we could take Lorraine. Of course, Earth real estate is very expensive, and the entire planet now is basically one large tourist attraction. So it was only fitting that they gave us both an unlimited leave of absence and put us up in a nice Caribbean resort.
At the hospital, it took some explaining to help my wife, unfamiliar with her new body, to even begin to come to terms with the transformation she had made. But in only a few days she was responsive and cheerful, though she kept noting aloud how "surreal" everything seemed. For my part, it was almost a full day before I even noticed that she was shorter than she had been, and how that must make the world seem slightly oversized to her. There were some adjustments to be made but, finally, after determining that there was no longer anything medically wrong with her our daughter Lissette and I took Lorraine to our new home.
The company was clearly trying to avoid a lawsuit, that much was obvious. Everything was taken care of, and the place was really first class. I was surprised to discover that we were living amongst the vacationing rich and famous. For a guy who was used to pulling overtime, all the sun, service, and sightings, when added to the fact that I felt constantly nervous now around Lorraine, made the experience surreal for me as well. Imagine how it must have been for my wife.
By the second day there, things started to get a little better. I really have Lissette to thank for that. She broke the tension by noting that she and Lorraine were now the same size, and could share clothes. They spent the rest of the morning laughing and trying them on. For me, it was amazing hearing my wife laughing like a young girl again, so much like I remembered, but now infused with a more knowing, worldly quality. I was amazed by the sound. We had a nice lunch, and that afternoon I went to meet with our lawyer… because nice hotel or not, the company was going to get it's ass sued off.
I came back from the meeting tense and on edge. While the company execs had been busy making a show of kissing our asses, the company lawyers were already quietly taking steps to cut their losses. As the sole "survivor", if you could even call her that, of the Station 12 disaster my wife had their lawyer's full attention. My lawyers were sharp though, and smelling money I am sure, had already gotten themselves a private detective. The detective had found what they were up to, and it wasn't good. They were going to try to stick us with the medical bills, everything.
I guess I wasn't prepared for the fact that, body of a young girl or not, Lorraine knew me well, and she instantly picked up on my mood. The night was difficult as a result. Plus, I had felt odd, like some kind of pervert sleeping beside her the night before. Not knowing what to do, I let myself fall asleep on the couch in front of the TV.
The next day it was like someone dropped a bomb on poor Lorraine, and unfortunately I knew it was me. She was a mess, crying, and wouldn't speak to me. Once again, it was Lissette to the rescue.
"We in Jamaica, Mom," Lissette said, pronouncing mom more like "maam". "We should go to the beach!"
My wife complained she didn't have a suit but Lissette said it was OK, they could go shopping. Lorraine seemed to like that idea, and off the two of them went, giving me the chance to relax.
The stress, or the bamboo couch, must've gotten to me, I'm not sure which, but when I laid down for a quick second on the bed I fell immediately asleep. The morning slipped away, and next thing I knew my watch was buzzing my arm.
"Yes," I said groggily, tapping the audio answer only button since I was sure I looked like hell, "what?"
