"I've never liked how 'John' is such a common name. I've always wished I had a name that wasn't so common, but never picked one...so I've definitely never wondered what name I'd have if I was a woman." He took another moment to think.
Katie tried to help. "Did your parents ever mention what you might have been named if you were a girl?"
"Yeah," John confirmed. "They told me it was 'Rachel'."
"Oh, well you don't really seem like a 'Rachel'." Katie shook her head in disapproval. "What about something that sounds like 'John'? Then you don't have to get used to a completely different name and if I accidentally call you 'John' in public, nobody would bat an eye."
"Wait, hold up," John interrupted. "'In public'? What do you mean 'in public'? I'm not going out like this!"
"I got the dress for the jazz ball next week. I guess I just assumed we'd be going like this," Katie confessed.
"No. I'm still going there wearing a suit." John seemed adamant. "I plan to dance with you and don't want some gross guy asking me to do 'The Charleston' with him."
"Okay, that's fine. Sorry to assume we'd both be flappers. However, shouldn't we go out and let you experience the world as a woman? What are you afraid of? It's not like anyone would ever recognize you. I can just tell people you're a friend from college or something. You've got nothing to lose except if you stay home, you'll miss the opportunity! It'll be fun, I promise!"
"Yeah, but we're dressed like 1920's flappers," John argued, pointing out the obvious. "Unless there's some other jazz ball event, costume party, or time traveller's ball, we're going to look oddly out of place."
"The instructions said that after you take off the clothing, the effect will last for as long as you've worn the clothing. So if we have dinner and watch something on TV, that would give us at least two hours. That's enough time for us to change into normal modern clothes and go out for some drinks. We could be back here before the changes start." Katie felt she made a good argument and watched to see John's reaction.
John sighed. "Okay, but you need to make me a couple promises."
Katie nodded excitedly knowing that she'd agree to anything to take her boyfriend out on a girls' night. "Yes, you name it."
"One: Don't even think about trying to hook me up with some guy. If some dude comes up to me, you need to help me get rid of him."
"Deal," agreed Katie. "...but you'll have to help me fend off any guys too."
"Oh, absolutely! Nobody's hitting on my girlfriend!" John smiled. "Two: When we get back here, we are going to have some amazing sex!"
Katie chuckled. "Oh, try and stop me!" She stepped closer to John and kissed him full on the lips. When she pulled away, she smirked. "Feels different kissing you as a girl. Different lips. No stubble."
John shrugged. "Feels pretty much the same to me, but that makes sense because you haven't changed much."
"Okay, so..." Katie tried to bring the conversation back on topic. "Names. Something that's similar to 'John'."
"Not something dumb like 'John-ina' or 'John-sephine'. A real name," John insisted.
"Jo-Ann? Jen? No, that's my roommate and it would get confusing. I've got a cousin Joanna," suggested Katie. "Maybe Juanita?"
"I'm a white guy... Uh...girl. I don't think a hispanic name would work. Jeanne?"
Katie held up a finger as an idea hit her. "Oh! How about 'Joan'? Sounds like 'John'. It's a normal name..."
"Joan? Joan. Joan." John thought for a moment. "Okay, sure. I can live with that for a few hours."
"Hmm..." Katie walked over to John's clothes and pulled his wallet out of his pants. "I want to check something."
Joan walked over to see what Katie was doing. "What is it? I should have enough money to cover drinks tonight if that's your concern."
"No, I wanted to see your ID," replied Katie as she pulled out his driver's license. "John McNamara, 143 Rogers Rd."
"Yeah," Joan confirmed. "What about it?"
"The clothes were magic. I was wondering if reality might have shifted. Maybe it would show a new photo, an alternate name, or even a different address." Katie handed the wallet to Joan.
"I put on clothes and they changed my body. Why would anything else change?" asked Joan. He continued to look through his wallet to confirm everything was the same.
Katie shrugged. "I don't know. I've read some fiction stories on the Internet with magic changing people also changing their realities. The magic would make the world change as if they've always been that person. Your license would have a new photo, all your clothes change as if they belonged to the new identity, and maybe even the person lives somewhere else. I wondered if that might be the case here. You could have already had a name and maybe your address changed to be my roommate."
Joan laughed. "Pinch yourself, Katie, because this is our reality. Our weird, magical reality."
Katie grinned and put her arm around Joan. "Okay, sexy lady! My reality is that I'm getting hungry. Do you feel up for helping me make dinner?"
"I'd love to!" Joan took Katie's gloved hand and lead her out of the bedroom.