The first conclusion Henry came to as he looked through his list was that there were only 13 sachets. The woman had clearly said 14. He figured the ears must be two separate sachets after all.
The second conclusion was that there were a few potential swaps there that he was not looking forward to. Some you could hide, for example the ears but others could not be hidden. It was hard to imagine (if Henry’s assumptions were correct) having Alicia’s face for a day. That would have to be a day that they stayed in their room.
Alicia was still out on the veranda doing her nails. Henry put the doll back in the safe, took his list and went and joined her. He showed what he had done. Explaining what he suspected were the swaps they would have to endure before the process was completed.
Alicia zoomed in on the potential genital swap “Are you saying I might have Mister Marvellous for a day?”
“It’s just a guess”
“That would be quite an experience”
“I’m sure it would be”
“And you would have my lady-bits on the same day?”
“If my guess is correct”
“So, would you be up for a bit of experimentation?”
“Um I’m not sure…”
“Oh go on! I can highly recommend it. You’ll love it” she seemed excited by the prospect.
“Some of the swaps we can pretty easily hide. But if we did swap our faces it would need to be on a day we stayed in our room all day”
“And my breasts. If I was flat I’d probably want to hide as well”
“I was thinking the hair as well”
“No that shouldn’t be a big problem. We just wear hats. And when we swap arms or legs we just wear long trousers or sleeves. I could buy you a pair of gloves to wear today and we could still go out”
“Nobody wears gloves in Hawaii”
“Well we did just the other day when we played golf, so people do”
“I only wore a glove on one hand”
“Is there a rule against wearing two gloves? How about we have a rematch?”
“When?”
“As soon as we have had breakfast”
“I’m not sure I want to”
“Why? Are you scared to be beaten by a woman?”
“No..”
“Your just jealous of Alex. Don’t worry I won’t give him any more hugs. Come-on! You love golf. I want to see if I can improve my putts”
“Alright we can play 9 holes. But while we are doing that we need to think about what swap we do on each day. Remember tomorrow we are booked on a snorkelling cruise. We need to think of what would be the best swap to do tonight?”
“You promised we could have a day shopping in Honolulu as well”
“Under the circumstances maybe that wouldn’t be so wise”
“No. You promised I’m holding you to that”
“Only if you can think of a swap that no one will notice”
“Deal”
Henry was aware he had just trapped himself. “Can I borrow you nail polish remover and some nail scissors and please take your engagement ring off and put it somewhere safe”
“I’ll take the ring. I wouldn’t trust you not to lose it , but I don’t want you cutting my nails. They take so long to grow. I’ll get you the golf gloves”
….
If anyone thought it strange that Henry wore golfing gloves while he ate breakfast no one said anything. Alicia didn’t seem phased that she had oversized hands and didn’t wear the gloves Henry had given her. He did notice that the hands she had no longer looked like his own, she had done a remarkable job with the nails. “How did you give me long fingernails?” He asked.
“They are fakes of course. Luckily I had bought a kit just in case I broke a nail. I’ll be able to take them off tomorrow morning and you will have your hands back”
“Minus my hairs”
“They were disgusting. You have to admit they look nicer now”
“For a woman”
“Don’t be sexist. You are forgetting that you will be a woman soon”
“Shh. People will hear you” Henry felt himself blushing.