Dee casually shook her hand and offered, “Nice to meet you, too.” He watched her curiously.

She stretched her arms over her head and asked, “So, have you two had an interesting evening?”

Dee looked over at Korri, who slumped in her chair. Korri shrugged. Her mom looked at her and asked, “So, being turned into a girl isn’t very interesting anymore, huh?”

Korri slouched. “Not particularly. I mean…it’s not like I suddenly became someone else.”

Regina held her hands. “I wonder some days...”

Korri rotated her shoulders and muttered, “Likewise, mom.”

She gave Korri a lingering look and asked, “So, mind if I sit a while?”

“What for, mom?”

Regina held her hands out innocently. “I’m just here to visit my child.”

“I’m working right now. Didn’t you say you had a class?”

Regina tugged one of the customer chairs over to the side of the counter and planted it so that she wasn’t behind the counter or blocking the way around it. She softly clapped her hands and noted, “Doesn’t look too busy at the moment. And I have enough time to chat.”

Korri gave the appearance of a smile and uttered, “Super…”

Regina caught the nuance and shook her head. “Don’t be like that. I’m just here because I love you. How was your day?”

Korri stretched her arms in a pose like she was a background presenter on a show, only she moved to gesture to herself. Regina waved her hands. “Okay. How did it happen this time?”

Dee leaned over a cluster of papers but listened.

Korri coughed and asked, “Why don’t I ask my partner to join our discussion?” Regina raised an eyebrow as she said ‘partner’.

Dee waved his hand like a casual mind trick. “That’s not necessary and I have some paperwork to do. Carry on.”

With a sigh, Korri noted, “My colleague has his particular quirks.”

Regina regarded them both and offered, “Ah…I see? Except for what this has to do with what I asked…”

Korri folded her arms just under her chest then moved them a little lower when Regina watched that too. Korri glanced at the hallway opening and began, “I tried to trick Dee into getting turned into a girl. As a consequence of my actions, I have to wear a uniform that keeps me in this form.”

Regina frowned. “Did they dock your pay?”

Korri sighed and shook her head. “No…well, at least the boss said she wouldn’t.” 

Regina leaned against the counter. “Well, make sure they don’t dock you, if you can help it. Why would you do a dumb thing like that anyway?”

Korri leaned away in her chair. “Mom, it’s my life. I’m dealing with it. Work is almost over and then this is done.” She gestured over the scope of her body.

Dee kept to his papers while Regina leaned closer. “I am your mother. Your life matters to me.”

With her hand up, Korri responded, “Little note then. Asking why I did a ‘dumb thing’ is not helpful. And really…this is going nowhere.”

Regina bowed her head. “Fine. Why should I expect my youngest child to care about his mother?”

Korri pressed a hand to her forehead. “You’re not gonna guilt me. And, please, no more talk of stuff we've moved on from or how my brothers were this and that. I’m not them, mom.”

Regina swallowed and clutched her hands. “I know. And you know I love you. I know you’re different. I know I’m a terrible mother. But I know I want to be better.”

Korry curled her lips. “Mom…you’re not terrible. That’s just more guilt. But I don’t want you to come around like a pal and then have you judging me the next moment like a mother. You're not my pal. You’re my mother.”

As she turned away, Regina brushed quickly at her eyes and said, “I try…”

Korri relaxed her shoulders. “Please don’t cry, mom. I know you try. It’s just..arg…it feels like you want to be my buddy. You ask me such weird things. It’s that more than anything. And it's not even all that video game and anime stuff really bothers me. That’s your thing. But I need my mom.”

Regina kept her gaze on the wall with her hands under her eyes. “I am your mom. I’m just so lonely some days.”

Korri reached over for her mom’s shoulder. “I know. Treating me like a girlfriend on days I get turned into a girl doesn’t help…but…some of the stuff you said was helpful. Like the life stuff.”

Korri’s mother dropped her hands away from her eyes and slowly turned back. “You mean…” She gestured quickly between Korri and Dee. Korri’s back quickly straightened as she denounced, “Ack! Not that! And not…that. We’re professional co-workers.”

Korri’s last phrase was enough to attract Dee’s full attention. Regina folded her arms and noted, “Well…I’m glad I was able to help with that information.” Her voice, always small, seemed to shrink even more. 

Korri touched her mother’s shoulder. “Ma…I just don’t want to think about…some of that stuff. Would anyone? But…I appreciate it.”

Regina nodded and leaned towards Korri. “Okay. Can we just talk a little then?”

Korri’s hand remained steady where it was. “About what, mom?”

“Just about our days.”

Korri shrugged. “You can talk about your day. Mine was just…life. We worked through customer complaints. And there was someone with a plunger stuck to them and…someone else trapped by a vacuum.”

Regina softly smiled and said, “That’s what I’d like to talk about…”

“Okay…there’s my day. And what about yours?” Korri’s hand carefully slipped away from her mother’s shoulder.

Adjusting her shirt a little, Regina relayed the sum of her day. She spoke about her filing work and the pregnancy of a co-worker. She mentioned a new game she installed on her laptop. Korri restrained her eyes from glossing over. She just felt so tired.

She could hear the words coming out of her mother’s mouth and she heard the enthusiasm but couldn't relate. She didn’t feel tired in a way that sleep would help, she felt worn out.

Culminating her statement by connecting it to her arrival at Newid's, Regina smiled and gave Korri a glance. She added, “You okay?”

With a sigh, Korri pressed a finger into her forehead. “No…err…yeah. It’s fine. I’m…listening.”

Regina leaned closer. “Can you clock out early? You sound beat. I could drive you home.”

Korri half-heartedly waved her hand. “It’ll just be a pain to leave my car here and then have no means of driving until I’m back the day after tomorrow.”

Propping her head up with her hands, Regina asked, “I’d like to do something…”

Korri cupped her mouth and slid her hands down. Dee made a noisy pen sound. With a sigh, Korri shook her head. “That’s just it, mom. You don’t need to do anything for me. I’m happy as I am.”

Regina’s gaze kept on Korri. She returned Korri’s words slowly, “You’re happy…as you are?”

A grimace worked its way onto Korri’s face when she realized the implication. “Well…not in every single way. But I’m managing.”

Regina leaned closer. “Do you have to manage alone?”

The words hung in the air. Korri kept herself from looking over at Dee or her mother. She didn’t know if Dee was looking and she didn’t want to know. Looking ahead, she said, “I’m not managing alone, mom. I just don’t want to depend on everyone else for things. I’m not like that.”  

Brushing back a lock of her hair, Regina said, “But you work together here. You act as part of a play at school. You’ve always loved teams, since you were little.”

Korri set her hands on the counter. “That’s different, mom. That’s different.”

“How?”

Korri firmed up her mouth. “It just is.”

Regina pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. “You didn’t always use to be like this. I’d figure becoming a girl every so often would make you more open.”

Korri straightened herself. “I just am who I am. Just because my gender gets changed doesn’t mean it turns me into the daughter you want to chat up and do mother-daughter junk with. My name is Jeffrey Adam Morrey. I am your son.” Korri mentally fought the fact that her words felt deflated by her girlish tone of voice. 

Regina said softly, “Of course you are. But you’re also Korri right now. You were Jessica last week. You used Cindi a couple of times with shifting, alliterative last names. Personally, I liked when you used Minerva. It’s a pretty name.”

Korri closed her hands at first but she soon relaxed them. She thought about what Bruce had said as well. She felt hesitant to agree with her mother but her mouth twisted between a contrary word and quiet acceptance. Eventually, both negated the other and out slipped, “I don’t know. I just don’t.”

She thought about how much she fought every notion since her mother arrived. Why was she fighting? A quick memory of her dream fed into her thoughts. She couldn’t hold back a shiver. Regina’s hand moved closer.

Korri clutched her hands in front of her. “I just know that I don’t want to lose myself in all this girl stuff. I have an order to things. Stuff happens but I can manage it because I’m still me.”

Dee’s gaze turned full-force on Korri. She edged away. Regina almost shook her head as she said, “I’m not sure what you mean, sweetie.”

“I mean…I don’t want to act like how a girl is supposed to act and all that. I feel bothered by some of the stuff that happened today with this….and I don’t want to talk about it further. It happened but it’s just pretend…acting. Or my imagination.”

Regina’s mouth and eyes widened. “Did…do you feel…something about…someone?”

Korri reiterated that she didn’t want to talk about it further but Regina could read she was right all over Korri’s expression. She glanced at Dee. Korri waved her hand in front of her and resolved, “It doesn’t matter!”

Regina bowed her head. “Okay, sweetie. But I hope everything works out.”

Korri gave a non-committal nod and said, “It’s okay, mom.”

After a quiet moment, Regina stood up from her chair and said, “I should head off…to leave you to what you need to deal with. See ya soon.”

Carefully, Korri stood too. Before Korri could react, Regina gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and a gentle hug. The closeness reminded her how much she shared her mother’s smell, despite the dry sweat. 

Korri responded only, “May the Triforce be with ya, ma.” Regina smirked.

Dee gave a bigger wave than Korri as Regina left. Only once she was past the bend in the hallway and the sound of her footsteps could no longer be heard did Korri relax.

Dee looked after her and remarked, “I liked her.”

Korri sighed and noted, “You don’t have her for a mom.”

Dee shrugged. “I don’t really have a mom anymore.”

Korri winced at her own words and muttered, “I’m…sorry.”

Dee shrugged again. “Been a long time. I lived with my aunt for a good while until I moved out. She’s the one responsible for the person I am.”

Korri nudged the chair vacated by Regina back in its place. “New Age candy bar lady?”

“Yeah. That aunt.”

She mulled this tidbit of information about Dee’s life as she adjusted her top around her shoulders. Then, Korri asked, “Do you think I’m wrong?”

Dee gave her a long, calm look before posing, “About…?”

Korri flipped her hand in the air. “I know you were listening to all that with my mom.”

Dee held his arms behind his head. “Somewhat. So what’s there to be wrong about?”

Korri pondered her words, looked downward, and sighed. “Everything…”

Dee relaxed his arms and bent his head. “I don’t think so.”

Korri hunched over her desk area. “I’m not really a ‘girl’…” Her voice carried the air-quotes. 

Dee smiled. “I know. Neither am I.”

That earned a look from Korri. Despite his slightly-effeminate nature, Korri knew she wouldn’t really mistake Dee for a girl anyway. 

A beat later, Dee added, “But…suppose…just theoretically for a moment, you were a girl. Suppose you chanced upon a set of permanent nanites. No mental mess. Just a permanent change.”

Korri looked down at herself. She gazed down at the curve of her chest and hips. She took in the sensations of her clothes. She took in that particular smell of herself. She thought about the tone of her voice. She tasted her lips curled in as she sat there pondering.

Korri shifted her mouth around. “Does it have to be the girl me from right now?”

Dee wobbled his hand. “Thereabouts, I guess.”

She took a quiet moment to ponder that. She imagined that every day after she would be just like this. For the rest of her life. Her first thoughts considered how mundane it would feel after a while. Even wearing a dress like this...

Some hypotheticals made her grimace but the whole, mental experiment prompted fewer shudders than she expected. She blinked and looked to Dee as she asked, “Uh…was there a question too?”

Dee shook his head. “Nope.”

“Okay then…” She coughed lightly.

Dee looked amused at Korri as he remarked, “You do realize that every girl has a choice about how they act, right?”

Korri nodded. “Well, yeah….but there’s social stuff.”

Dee waved his hand. “There’s social stuff everywhere and with everyone.”

Korri put her hands on her knees. “There is…”

Dee rotated his hand and posed, “Therefore…?”

Korri tried, “There’s not as much difference between guys and girls?”

Dee rested his head. “Depends on who you’re asking but that’s a thought worth pondering.”

“What do you think?”

A faint trace of a smile crossed Dee’s lips as he remarked, “Depends on when you ask me.” Korri found that answer strange but she gave a little nod by way of recognition. She didn’t try a response to that but she chewed on the words for a while as Dee fiddled with his cap and poked at his papers. The fan provided the only sound.

Korri started work on her own closing papers. After some good progress, she cracked her knuckles and leaned back. Dee did similarly and remarked, “You mind if I tell a little story?”

Korri turned her head and blinked. “If you like. What kind of story?”

Dee composed his hair with a brush of his hand. “Nothing huge. Just something from the months before you were an employee.”

She nodded and said, “Cool.”

Dee focused his shoulders into an orderly shape, breathed precisely, and began, “I’m sure you’ve heard the tale of the customer with the sword. It’s probably the most popular story among employees.”

Korri stretched her feet in her shoes. Both ankles gave a satisfying pop. She nodded. That story had drifted around for all the time she’d been here. She’d heard about three versions. What she found most amusing was how each contradicted the other. But they were good stories. 

Dee added, “…Don’t expect anything like that. This is just a boring story I remembered.”

Korri narrowed her eyes at Dee and gave him an incredulous look. Dee ignored it, laid out his hands, and remarked, “This department used to get a lot more returns because most people were…and still are…unfamiliar with the kind of products we sell. It used to be quite busy all day long. This was…before Christmas.”

He pointed to the entrance. “Through that door walked a girl, about your height right now. Girlish face. The rest was ambiguous. She was dressed in a head-to-toe woolen bodysuit. Mistletoe green.”

Korri tried to visualize it and rested her chin on her hand as she listened to Dee. Her mind was still tired but she listened.

He continued, “She’d been given the outfit as a pre-Christmas gift to help her keep her figure through the holidays. It was meant to be used by a man to change his shape. But she was using it as a regular, old body-shaper.”

Korri gave a nod. “Oh yeah, because most of those things don’t take original gender into account. A lot of customers do that.”

Dee nodded back. “Exactly. I just figured it was a defect of the body-shaper. But…there was the same effect with every fix I pitched. It took a little while but I got the true story out of her. This wasn’t her first time buying a product from us. It turns out she accidentally bought something from the store towards when it first opened. It turned her into a boy. She messed around with it then tossed it out and she thought that was the end of it.”

Dee held up a pinkie and continued, “One time. For curiosity’s sake. But curiosity is persistent. A couple weeks later, she buys something else which turns her into a boy. But she said it started to make her feel nervous that family or friends might see her as a guy. What will they think of it? So, she chucks that too. Can you guess where I’m going with this?”

Korri leaned her head back and remarked, “Binge and purge?”

Dee fanned his fingers out. “So many times. She even tried to plan one of them as an “accident” around family to turn herself into a boy. But she always dropped it and tried to tell herself it was stupid. She returned it or tossed it out. But, as you know, some nanite products leave usually-insignificant traces. Management for abuse. And the body-shaper didn’t agree with those traces.”

Korri watched Dee’s outstretched fingers. She slowly lowered her head and asked, “So, what happened then?”

Dee smiled. “Fortunately, clearing traces is easy but she decided against the shaper…and went for her regular brand of product. I have no idea what happened to her after that.”

After a moment of quiet reflection by Korri, Dee noted, “Told ya it was boring.”

Korri shook her head. “It’s…okay. I guess I’ve kinda heard stuff like that.”

Dee shuffled his papers. “I don’t think this store sifts for or against people who don’t want to be changed.”

“Hmm?”

Dee rotated a finger. “You mentioned something earlier about believing this store sorts those who least want to be changed.”

Korri remembered. She leaned towards Dee. “So, what do you believe?”

Dee rotated his finger the other way and glanced at the wall. Then, he glanced down at his watch. “I believe…I believe we should get ready for closing soon…and the myriad of last-minute arrivals.”

Korri shot a look. “Oh, come on…I know what you don’t believe. Can’t you at least give me a hint?”

Dee dropped his finger and brushed a couple papers on his desk. “I thought my story was rather self-evident. You get what you really want around here. One way or another.”

Looking ahead, Korri set her palms flat on her papers. “So, you’re saying I really want to be a girl? But almost all the times were accidents.”

Dee bowed his head. “Of course they were…”

Korri’s hands fidgeted. “I don’t like doing any sort of typical, girly stuff.”

“Does that matter? Plenty of girls aren’t typical.”

Her fingers rose. “I especially don't want to be a girl all the time.”

“Not everyone does. We have plenty of female customers.”

She curled her fingers under her palm. “I’m not a girl…” It was not a proclamation, like she’d made to her mother. It almost sounded like she’d buried a question mark at the end of her words.

Dee turned his chair to face her. “I believe you are a girl. Just…you don’t want to be one all the time…” This time, Dee left words unsaid. Korri didn’t notice because the words he did say surrounded her thoughts.

She swallowed and let out, “…Maybe. I dunno. I mean I know I’m still me as a girl. But…that ‘I’ am a girl? What does that even mean?”

Dee held two fingers up. “Well…a certain surfer offered some words about that. He’d probably cite yin and yang.”

Korri wrung her fingers into an uneven ball and said, “I…do like…um…some girl stuff. I like things…I like you. And….I like being around you. Even when I’m a guy. I feel…I feel for you.” Her words quivered, mashed, and shook with each sound. Words released like air never to be sucked back in. She gasped and fought back from an edge of tears. She felt afraid but, somewhere inside, she also felt instantly stronger. 

She couldn’t imagine what came next.

Calmly, Dee answered, “Yeah...me too”

Korri’s eyes widened. “You…too to?”

His voice remained calm and even. “To it all. To being around. To…not wanting to be a girl all the time…because I was born one.”