The Assistants

#12: Who's In Charge Here

by JMD

"You sure you won't join us for drinks?"

Kristina smiled at the tall brunette as they walked down the steps of the dance studio.  "Thanks, Kathy.  But we've been rehearsing all day, and I've got an apartment in desperate need of cleaning.  Another time.  Okay?"

The other woman looked doubtful but nodded.  "Sure."  She leaned in and gave Kristi a quick peck on the cheek.  "Well, have fun with the cleaning."  She turned and headed up the sidewalk.

Kristina watched her go for a few moments before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.  "Yeah," she said under her breath.  "Fun."

Unseen, Corrie stepped out of the alley next to the studio.  She watched Kristina's back until the girl turned the corner two blocks later.  Turning in the other direction, she looked up the street, where the woman that had been talking to Kristina was waiting with several other dancers for the bus.  

Fighting the urge to turn the woman into a fire hydrant, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed.  "It's me," she said when it connected.  "I need you to do something for me."

~~~~~    ~~~~~     ~~~~~

As the elevator doors opened, Kristina didn’t move.  She just stood alone in the cab and stared indecisively down the familiar hallway.  It wasn’t until the doors reversed course that she made up her mind to exit, slipping through before they closed completely.  Still, it took her almost a minute before she headed for the door to Corrie’s apartment.

Walking down the hall, she fought the urge to turn and run back to the elevator.  She knew she was being a little childish.  After all, Paul had guaranteed her safety and she trusted him.  Mostly, anyway.  And it wasn’t like she didn’t know that she was going to have to face this at some point.  Might as well get it over with.  So, taking a deep breath, she rang the bell.

The door swung open immediately, almost as if Corrie could sense she was out there.  Hell, she realized, she probably could.  At the sight of her former lover in the doorway, Kristina stiffened defensively.  It was the first time she had seen her in months.  Since the night of Paul and Hollie’s reception.  The night it had all gone to shit.  And though some part of her was happy to see her, she couldn’t let herself give in to it.  Not yet.  So, she just looked her in the eye and said, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Corrie said back.

After that, they just stood and looked at each other until Kristina couldn’t take it anymore.  “Well…?”

“Well what?” Corrie asked with a confused expression.

Kristina dropped her head and sighed.  “Corrie,” she said, trying to hold on to her patience, “you’re the one that told Paul that you wanted to see me.  Well, here I am.  Not that here is where I wanted to do this.”

Corrie’s confusion seemed to increase.  “Why not?” 

“I don’t know.  You tell me.  Why wouldn’t I want to have this particular conversation in the one place where you can completely control the situation?  And when I say control, I mean just that.  Control.  In every way possible.”

This time it was Corrie’s head that dropped.  “I see your point.  So, why did you come?”

“Because I know you.  Without that control, you wouldn’t do this.  And, like it or not, it needs to be done.”  Kristina crossed her arms.  “So, are you going to invite me in, or what?”

Corrie turned and walked back into the apartment, leaving the door open.  “Come on in.”

With Corrie’s back to her, Kristina was able to let out the breath she’d been holding.  She could admit to herself that she was scared of what Corrie might do, but she’d be damned if she’d let her see it.  So, she crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her.

The apartment looked pretty much as she remembered it, which wasn’t really surprising.  It had only been a few months since she’d moved out, after all.  Still, being back brought on a feeling of loss that she’d been telling herself she’d moved past.  Apparently, that was one more lie she told herself.  Why did she agree to do this here?

Corrie had moved to the center of the room and turned back to face her.  “Can I get you something?” she asked.  “A drink, maybe?”

To be honest, Kristina would have killed for a diet soda.  Her throat felt so dry she was sure she could have spit sand.  But she really wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, so she shook her head.  “No, thank you.”

“Well, then, shall we sit down?”  Corrie indicated the couch, as she took the chair opposite it.

Slowly, Kristina moved over and sat, though she didn’t settle against the back.  Instead, she perched on the edge, keeping her purse in her lap, holding it almost like a shield in front of her.  Yeah.  That would protect her.  She looked across at her hostess and could tell that Corrie had noted her position.  To prevent another awkward silence from starting, she spoke up.  “Paul said you wanted to talk.”

“I do.”

“So, talk.”

Corrie took another moment before starting.  “Okay, first and foremost, I want to say I’m sorry for what happened.  You have to know that I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“Why would I know that?”

Corrie looked honestly taken aback.  “Because…”

“Because you did exactly that.  Didn’t you?”

Unable to look her in the eye, Corrie turned away.  “Yeah,” she said quietly.  “I did.  And I’ve regretted it ever since.  Because it’s fucked up my entire life.”  She turned back to her.  “You said it yourself.  I have to be in control.  And believe me, I’ve tried.  I really have.  But for the last few months, I’ve been anything but.”

“Corrie…”  A raised hand stopped her.

“Hear me out.”  She waited for Kristina to nod before going on.  “After Paul changed me back, he told me about you ending our contract.  And you know me.  I tried to be my usual cool above-it-all self.”  She gave a weak version of her usual dismissive wave.  “No skin off my nose.  There are other assistants out there.”  She took a deep breath.  “But then, I got back here.  And all your stuff was gone. That’s when it really hit me.  You weren’t just not part of my act anymore.  You were completely out of my life.”  Another deep breath.  “And I lost it.”  She looked around the room.  “It took me two weeks to get everything back together.”

“Back together?”

“Yeah,” she nodded with a crooked smile.  She raised her fists up and gritted her teeth.  “Corrie Smash!!!”  

Kristina swallowed, but remained silent.

Corrie settled back down into her chair with a sigh.  “It’s a good thing that us magicians have gotten really good at hiding our tantrums from the neighbors, huh?”

“I guess,” was all Kristina could think to say.

“Anyway,” she added, looking around the apartment again, “everything’s back the way it was before.  Everything.”  She turned back to look Kristina in the eye.  “And none of it means a fucking thing, because none of it is what I want… what I need in my life.”

Kristina licked her lips.  “Corrie…”

“Please.”  She slipped out of the chair and knelt on the floor in front of the coffee table.  “Kristi, I love you.  I love you more than I ever believed possible.  Please.  Please!  Give me another chance.”

Kristina felt herself slip further back into the couch.   She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry.  “Corrie, look…”

“I know I screwed up,” Corrie talked over her.  “But I promise that I won’t do anything like that again.  You…”

“Corrie!” Kristina shouted to get her attention.  Once she had it, she tried to get herself under control before going on.  When she realized she wasn’t going to, she went on.  “I don’t think…  I mean, I can’t…”  She took another moment.  “ I just can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m afraid of you,” she answered bluntly.

Corrie fell back onto her folded legs and just stared back in shock.  “But, I…”  She stopped and her face fell.  With a sigh, she nodded.  “Of course you are.”

Kristina really wished she’d taken that drink now.  She had to clear her throat twice before she could say anything.  “Try to understand.  I really care for you, too.  I do.  And I believe you when you say you regret what you did to me.  But I can’t pretend that you didn’t do it.”  She moved back forward.  “You attacked me in anger.  This time, you turned me into a thong.  What next time?  You wipe me out of existence?”  

“I’d never…”

“...hurt me?” Kristina cut her off.  “I know.  You can stop saying that.  Because it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It doesn’t?”

“Not really,” she nodded.  “Because, while you may never do anything like that to me ever again, the fact remains that you could.  I know that now.  And because I know it, I could never truly be comfortable around you again.  I’d always be afraid that some little thing would set you off, and…”  She left that part up to Corrie’s imagination.  “I can’t live that way.  Don’t you see that?”

Corrie sighed.  “I do.”  She got up and sat back in the chair.

Kristina watched her for a second.  “Well, I guess we’re done here.”  She started to stand.  “I’d best…”

“What if you could?”

She settled back down.  “Could what?”

“Be comfortable.”

“With what?”

“With me,” Corrie answered.  “What if you could know… absolutely know… that I couldn’t do anything to you.  In anger or any other way. Would that make a difference?”

Kristina considered it.  “Maybe,” she admitted.  “But that’s not really possible now, is it?”

Encouraged, she leaned forward.  “More so than you think.  Hell, we’re more than halfway there already.”

“We are?”

“Sure,” Corrie answered.  “I mean, think about it.  You’re not my assistant anymore.  That means you’re off limits.  If I did anything to you in public, the Head Office would have my pretty little ass in a box faster than I could wiggle it.”

“In a box?”

“Not important right now,” she said with her usual dismissive hand wave.  “What matters is that you know that you’re completely safe from me…”  She nodded toward the door.  “...out there.”

Kristina’s eyes widened as she realized what Corrie was implying.  “But not in here?”

Corrie shrugged.  “You accepted an open invitation with full knowledge of what I am,” she explained.  “The Head Office is a lot more lenient about that.”

Kristina fought the urge to spring for the door.  “So…?”

“So,” Corrie repeated, “what if I could promise you that I won’t… no… I can’t do anything to you here?”

“How?”

“By making it so that I can’t do any magic while you’re here.”

Kristina eyed her skeptically.  “You can do that?  Just turn your magic off?”

“No.”

“Yeah,” Kristina nodded.  “Didn’t think so.”

“But I can give it away.”

She had to admit that had her curious.  “And how would that work exactly?”

Seeing her interest, Corrie warmed to her subject.  “Let’s find out,” she said, sitting forward in her seat.  “If you could do anything to me right now, what would it be?  She held up a hand before Kristina could respond.  “Don’t tell me.  Just do it.”

Kristina shook her head to clear it.  “Do what now?”

“Whatever you want.  To me.  Do it.”

“What are you talking about?  I can’t do anything like that.”

“Just humor me,” the other woman insisted.  “Just think about doing something to me.”

Kristina tried to swallow, but found it impossible.  “Like what?”

“Whatever,” Corrie told her.  “Come on.  There must be something you really want right now.  Am I right?”

“Maybe,” she admitted with another dry swallow.

“Good,” Corrie said, encouraged.  “Now, picture it in your mind.  Got it?”

“I guess.”

“Perfect.  Now picture me becoming whatever it is.”

Kristina stood up, shaking her head.  “I think I should…”  She turned toward the door.

“Please!” Corrie called out.  She reached for Kristina’s arm, but quickly pulled back at the look of panic it caused.  “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, dropping her hand.  “I just need you to do this.  If you would, you’d see…”

“See what?  That you’re nuts?  I think I’ve seen enough…”

Suddenly, Corrie leapt up from the chair.  “Would you just…”  And with a blip, she vanished.  At the same instant, with a blip of its own, a can of diet soda appeared on the coffee table.  It rocked around a few times before settling down on the corner next to the chair.

For several seconds, Kristina stared down at the soda before looking up at the empty chair.  “What the flying…?”  She stopped as everything Corrie had been saying came back to her.  Her eyes moved back to the silent can on the table.  “No fucking way.”

But it was hard to ignore the evidence in front of her.  Corrie was gone and the diet soda she was so desperate for had taken her place.  But surely it couldn’t have been her that caused it to happen.  That was just too wild to accept.  Slowly, she sank down into the chair Corrie had vacated, never taking her eyes off the can, as if it might suddenly attack her. Or worse.

“Okay,” she said to herself, “let’s think this through.”  According to Corrie, she could give her magic away to someone else.  And based on her insistent prodding, it was pretty clear which someone she’d intended.  But that didn’t make sense.  She had just wanted a soda, not to turn someone into one.  Why would…?  

Slowly, she played the entire scene over again in her mind – from the time Corrie started badgering her to do something to her to the moment that she had apparently done just that  – looking for some clue to what she’d done.  And then, she found it.  Corrie’s sudden leap up from the chair had scared the crap out of her.  Her first thought had been to protect herself while, at the same time, desperately wanting something to drink.

“Could it be that easy?” she wondered.  She thought about it some more before setting her purse down in the chair beside her.  “Well,” she said, “let’s find out.“  She concentrated on the can and let a series of random things play through her mind, while willing the can to become them.  And just like that, they did.

~Blip!~

The can was replaced by a small bowl of petunias.

~Blip!~

A plush doll of Corrie fell face down onto the table.

~Blip!~

A cucumber rolled over where the doll had been.

~Blip!~

A magazine lay open to the center page showing a naked Corrie posed sexily on a bed of bright red velvet.

~Blip!~

The can was back in its original place on the table.

Kristina leapt up from the chair, covering her mouth to keep from screaming in excitement.  She had done it!  She had just pictured what she wanted and gotten it.  This was too much to think about.  And, dammit, her throat was killing her.  Without thinking, she grabbed up the can, barely stopping before she had popped the tab.  “Uh, no,” she said, setting it back down.  “Not quite ready for that one yet.”

Going to the kitchen, she got a glass from the cabinet and filled it from the tap.  Draining it in a single gulp, she followed that with a second full glass.  Placing the glass in the sink, she turned back to the main room.  Taking a deep breath, she headed back.  “Okay, time for some answers.”

Erring on the side of caution, she decided to stand behind the chair for protection.  She concentrated on the can and willed it to return to its natural form.  A quick blip and Corrie was sitting on the corner of the table.  She looked around for a moment before she spotted Kristina behind the chair.  “Okay, that was different.  What was that first one anyway?”

“Diet soda.”

“Diet?” Corrie grimaced.  “Blah!  That explains the aftertaste.”  She turned back to the woman.  “Satisfied?”

“Almost,” Kristina answered.  “One more test.”

“Wh…”  Before she could finish, she was gone again.  After the blip, a pink earthworm wiggled uncomfortably on the table.  Kristina watched curiously, counting out loud.  At one hundred, she nodded.  And with another blip, Corrie was back, this time visibly bothered.  “Yuck.  What was that all about?  You know I can’t stand worms.  That was just mean.”

“No,” Kristina corrected.  “That was to see if you were playing fair.”  She smiled.  “And, okay, maybe it was a little mean.  But now I know that you have truly given up your magic to me.”  She indicated that Corrie should move over to the couch.  After the other woman had complied, she moved around and took the chair.  “Okay, explain.”

“Where would you like me to start?”

“How about why?”

Corrie’s expression was somewhere between frustration and disappointment.  “You know why.”

Kristina accepted that with a nod.  “Okay.  Let’s move on to how.”

She settled back before starting.  “You know about environmental magic?”

“Like what you did at our girls’ night at Hollie’s apartment?”

“Exactly like that, yes.”  She raised her hands to indicate the room around her.  “That’s what’s been done here.”

“The whole apartment?”

Corrie nodded.  “Everywhere but the balcony.  That’s too exposed for the Head Office to allow.”

“So what?  I have control of your magic here?”

“Not quite.”  She locked eyes with her.  “You have control… complete control… of me.  Whatever you want me to be, I am.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Kristina looked doubtful.  “And you can’t do anything about it?”  Before Corrie could answer, she went on.  “I mean, if you get tired of being my plaything, what’s to stop you from putting things back the way they were?”

“Because she didn’t set it up.”

Kristina was out of the chair in an instant. “HOLY FUCK!”   Holding her chest to keep her heart safely inside, she spun to see Paul standing at the entrance to the hallway.  “Where did…?  What are…?”  She took a moment to get her breathing under control.  “Have you been here the whole time?”

Before he could answer, Corrie spoke up from behind her.  “I told you I had this.”

“And, like I told you, she’s already having doubts.”

“Guys…”

“And I would have eased those doubts if you had just given me a chance.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’re damned right I’m…”  With a blip, she stopped moving, her skin taking on a hard plastic sheen.

Paul turned to Kristina, who was looking back at him with her arms crossed over her chest.  “Why did you do that?”

“Because I’ve seen how you two can get,” she told him.  “And, right now, I don’t have time for this sibling shit.  Just be glad I only have control over her.”

He couldn’t help but smile.  “Fair enough.”  He turned to the mannequin on the couch.  “Truce?”  He turned back to the other woman.  “She says she’ll behave.”

“Yeah,” Kristina said with a dismissive wave of her own.  “She’ll keep.  Go on.  You set this up?”

“Yes, I did.”  Paul looked at his plastic sister adding, “At her request”

“And she can’t do anything to change it?”

“No, she can’t.  Not without my permission anyway.  And I won’t give it to her.”  He paused for effect.  “Not without your say-so.”

Kristina nodded.  “So, as long as I’m here, I can do anything I want with her.  What happens if I leave?  She turns back to normal as soon as I’m out the door?”

“Well, that was my plan, yeah.”  He pointed to the mannequin.  “But she vetoed it.”

That brought her up short.  “She…?  How long will it last now?”

Paul crossed his arms.  “Why don’t you ask her?”

She turned to the couch.  “Okay,” she said.  With a blip, Corrie was human again.  “How long will it last?”

Corrie took a moment to adjust her position.  “Forever,” she answered, not quite meeting her eyes.

Kristina stared back at her.  “So, you’d be okay with me turning you into a lava lamp, then walking out of here and leaving you that way?”

Corrie grimaced.  “Of course not.”  Before Kristina could reply, she went on.  “God, I’d hope you could come up with something much more imaginative than that.”

“Besides,” Paul cut in, “it wouldn’t be forever.”

Both women turned to him.  “It wouldn’t?” Kristina asked.

“No.”

“I told you…” Corrie started.

“I know what you told me,” he cut her off.  “But you’re still my sister, and I’m not going to have any part of you getting stuck as a lava lamp or anything else for that matter.”  He turned to Kristina.  “If you leave her here transformed, she’ll be stuck.  But only for twenty-four hours.  After that, she’ll regain control.”

“Just twenty-four hours?” Corrie fired back.  “That’s not enough…”

“Well, too bad.  Because…”

“Hold up!” Kristina cut them off.  When they both turned to her, she focused on Corrie.  “Why?”

The other woman tried to meet her eyes again, but again turned away.  “Because I’d deserve it.”

Kristina didn’t know how to respond to that.  Luckily, Paul rescued her.

“Tell her the rest.”

“Paul!”

“The rest of what?” Kristina asked.  She looked back and forth between the siblings, but they just continued to stare each other down.  “Somebody better speak up, or I’m out of here and I won’t be back.”

Paul was the one that turned to her.  “She told me that without you, she didn’t want to be her anymore.”

“That was supposed to be between us.”

“Well, like always, I’m the one that has to…”

“Would you two just stop?!” Kristina shouted.  When she again had their attention, she held up a hand.  “Just give me a minute to think, okay?”  

Unable to face them, she turned around.  Corrie took the time to stare daggers at her brother, who just shrugged at her.

“Okay,” Kristina said, turning back to them.  “Let’s get one thing straight, Corrie.  Yes, you hurt me.  You hurt me more than anyone ever did before.”  She paused when Corrie’s head dropped.  “But even with that, there’s absolutely no way… NO WAY… that I’d want you stuck as anything.  Especially not forever.”

“Told ya,” Paul cut in.

“That being said, I could probably live with a week.”

“What?!” Paul said with a shake of his head.

“Really?!” Corrie asked, her expression brightening for the first time.

Ignoring her, Kristina focused on Paul.  “You can do that, right?”

“Yes, he can.”

“Shush.  I’m talking to Paul.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Paul just looked back and forth between them.  From Corrie’s hopeful expression to Kristina’s cocked eyebrow.  Throwing his hands up in surrender, he nodded.  “Yeah.  I can do it.  But it’ll take a little bit of time.  At least a couple of days.”

“Then I guess you should get started.”

Paul looked back at the two of them and nodded.  He knew when he was being dismissed.  “You two will be okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” Corrie told him.

He turned to Kristina, cocking his eye in an unasked question.  

“There are a couple more things we need to discuss,” she answered with a nod, “but we’ll be okay.  Thanks, Paul.”

“You’re… um… welcome…  I guess.”  He went to the door.  He turned back and gave one last nod to his sister, who returned it.  He started to say something, but seemed to decide against it.  Shaking his head, he left.

As the door closed, Corrie started to get up from the couch.  But a raised finger from Kristina stopped her dead.  Lowering herself back down, she nodded.  “You said a couple of things?”

“I did.”  She took the chair, moving her purse back into her lap.

“So…”

“I know you’ve been following me.  I’ve seen you.”

“But, I…”  Corrie took a breath.  “Guess I’m not as sneaky as I thought I was.”  She took in Kristina’s slow smile.  “You didn’t really see me, did you?”  Kristina shook her head.  “Nicely played.”  She took a breath.  “Yeah, I’ve been watching you.  And it’s been killing me.  I came very close to risking the Head Office’s wrath when I saw that dark-haired bimbo kissing you the other day.”

“What?  Who?”  Kristina thought about it.  “You mean Kathy?”

“Is that her name?”

“Corrie, it was on the cheek.  Kathy kisses everybody on the cheek.  It’s her thing.”  Corrie blew out her lips to show her doubt.  “I’m pretty sure she saves her mouth kisses for her husband.”

“Husband?”

“Yeah, husband.  They’ve been married almost ten years now.  Got a couple of precious little girls.”

“Two?”

“Yeah, two.”

“She looks good for someone with two kids.”

Kristina sighed.  “Well, she dances for a living.  It keeps you in shape.”  She cut off Corrie’s reply.  “Okay, no matter what happens going forward, that has to stop.  No more following.”

“Are we?”

“Excuse me?”

“Going forward?”

“That depends on you.  Will you accept the answer, whatever it is?”

Corrie sat back before answering.  “This…”  She used her hand to indicate the apartment.  “What I had Paul do here.  Giving up control to you.  That’s my last…” She struggled for the right word.  “I don’t know what to call it.  Gesture?  Move?  That doesn’t matter anyway.  What matters is that, if it doesn’t convince you that I would do anything to get you back, then I’ll just have to accept that you…”  She took another deep breath.  “Yes, I’ll accept your answer, whatever it is.”

Kristina considered her carefully, smiling despite herself when Corrie made the “cross-my-heart” gesture.  “Okay,” she said simply.

Corrie’s growing smile vanished when, with a blip, she did.

Slowly, Kristina got up from the chair.  “Alright,” she said, straightening her skirt, “here’s what you’re going to do.”  As she talked, she walked over to the door.  “Tomorrow… when you’re able… you are going to make reservations at a nice restaurant.  I’m not ready to give you my new phone number yet.  So, give the information to Paul and have him call me.”  She stopped at the door.  “Understand, I’m making no promises here.  We’ll take things slow.  See how they go. Sound good to you?”

She turned to look at the wall opposite the door.  Where it had been empty before, it now sported a new piece of artwork.  In polished white marble, a female backside, bent ninety degrees at the waist, was depicted.  The upper body disappeared into the flat stone backing, while the legs were cut off about mid-thigh by the round water-filled basin they stood in.  The sound of trickling water could be heard as it fell slowly from the exposed womanhood and down each leg.

Kristina smiled as she took in her handiwork.  With a final nod, she opened the door.  “Until tomorrow evening, then.”  

As the door closed behind her, Corrie smiled to herself, though she didn’t currently have lips to do it.  Now, that’s what I’m talking about.  Lava lamp, my ass.