“Hi, hon,” I answered, grabbing the open beer bottle from midair and taking a swig. “How was your day?”

“You know, same ol’ same ol’,” she answered as I plopped down on the couch. The TV remote floated to my hand and an unseen weight settled into my lap. I put my arms around her as she continued, “Hard to get any writing done when telemarketers are calling every fifteen minutes. I got tired of ignoring the phone so I went out and picked up some things we needed from the store. Oh, and the Con Ed guy came by to read the meter.”

“No problems?” I asked, visualizing the door swinging open by itself while Marla’s disembodied voice directed him to the meter. I knew it wouldn’t have happened that way, but I can dream…

“Why would there be?” she answered. But before she could say anything further, the doorbell rang.

“They couldn’t *wait* for me to get home, could they?” I groaned, putting the beer down on the coffee table. But before I could get up, she said, “No, you stay put. I’ll take care of it.” The closet door swung open by itself and a strikingly attractive brown-haired woman stepped out, dressed in a orange sleeveless top and tight jeans. The closet door closed behind her as she made her way to answer the front door.

*It’s good to have a sweetheart with connections,* I thought, looking at the shapely figure of the fembot rounding the corner on her way to the front door as I nuzzled Marla’s invisible neck. I heard the front door open, then my sweetheart whispered, “It’s Fred from across the street. He wants to know if he can borrow one of the garden hoses. His sprung a leak, he says.”

“Sure,” I said. “I told him he should have bought more than one.” As I saw the bot and Fred pass the side windows on their way to the garage, I couldn’t help but wonder how my neighbors would react if they knew that the “woman” they knew as my wife was actually a fembot being manipulated from outside by an invisible and usually intangible creature known as Marla. I couldn’t help but marvel at how she was able to manipulate the bot in totally natural-looking ways from afar, like she was doing right at that moment while she herself was temporarily solidified and occupying my lap.

“So, what do you wanna do tonight?” I whispered, assuming I was somewhere near her ear.

“Let’s go out tonight,” she said, sounding hopeful. “We haven’t really put the fembot to use since I, um, I mean, since *we* got it.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said. I would really have preferred to stay home, but she was right. We hadn’t really done much with the fembot except make a show for the neighbors that I had a visible, solid human wife. No dinners out or nights on the town, though I knew that Marla had wanted to go out and be seen, so to speak, ever since she had the fembot created and shipped to us.

As soon as I began shifting my weight to get up, Marla simply vacated my lap, not needing to physically get up. Her particular constitution didn’t require it. She just simply wasn’t in my lap anymore. So, I got up and made my way to the bathroom to shower and get myself ready. As I passed the bedroom, I saw the closet door open, and clothing moving around inside; Marla must have been getting clothes to dress the fembot in for our night out.

HOME

The new vehicle takes me to a huge secluded compound way out in the middle of nowhere, where I am well taken care of, with my captors secure in the knowledge that if I try to escape, I might be nabbed for “stealing” that SUV. During my “stay” I’m played with by objects come to life, invisible hands (and other parts), et cetera…

HOME

“What?”

Paulette2 replied, “When you found Bryan here, in the restaurant, and all he did was look up and smile… that bothered you, didn’t it?”

“Well… yeah,” Paulette admitted. “I was hoping for a lot more than a smile.”

“And you kind of got it… well, OK, I got a lot more, but I think I understand your perspective. I might even be able to let you share the feeling.”

“Huh? How?!”

Paulette2 said, “Well, think about it. You’re me if I had gone back, or I’m you if you had stayed in Subreality. You came to a fork in the road and Subreality made it so you didn’t have to decide which way to go.”

With a chuckle, Paulette2 interjected, “I came to a fork in the road and took it, you mean.”

“Exactly,” Paulette 2 said with a laugh. “But I can fill you in. The question is, do you trust me? Do you really believe that we are basically the same person?”

“Well, I want to, because your explanation makes sense, but…”

“If I really was someone else, would I be offering to fill you in, or would I be bragging about getting what should have gone to you? Or even trying to steal Bryan from you outright?”

Paulette sighed. “OK, I guess you’re right?” Then, more confidently, “All right, what’s the plan?”

“Well, in a place like Subreality there’s probably lots of ways to make it happen, but the only one that comes to my mind is… this.” And with that, Paulette2 draped her arms around Paulette and gently kissed her. Their tongues danced around each other briefly and then Paulette was overwhelmed with sensation. She opened her eyes and for a moment, thought she saw Bryan there, rather than Paulette2…

* * *

Fog. Vague awareness that something is supposed to happen somewhere soon…

“Earth to Paulette,” a familiar voice intoned. “Come in Paulette.” The fog slowly began to clear, leaving Paulette looking up into her own smiling face.

“Hey,” Paulette2 said. “If I hadn’t gone through the exact same thing I’d be kinda worried.”

“Wooow,” Paulette said with a giggle. “How long was I out?”

“Remember where you are,” Paulette2 gently reminded her. “Time is very elastic here, at least compared with Out There.”

“Well, however long you’ve been here, you’ve been busy.” Paulette stood up, taking in her surroundings and reorienting herself. “Getting familiar with this place first of all, then setting up a restaurant…”

“Well, I’ve done a lot of exploring,” Paulette2 started, “but I’m not as familiar with this place as you might think. Remember, even without Writers being as active as they used to, there’s plenty there that changes every day. All of Subreality outside this restaurant could have completely changed just since you came in. Plus–”

Paulette cut her off. “Why don’t you just say ‘Thank you’ and accept the credit?” she asked, with a smile.

With a sigh, Paulette2 replied, “Yeah, you’re right, I have done a lot in a short time. Now, let’s you and me get back to the others before they think we forgot about them.”

HOME