Greg and Kim had been married a year. They didn't have a lot of money, but managed to save up enough to celebrate their first anniversary with a weekend getaway in Reno. After driving for a few hours, they arrived at the Mystic Hotel and Casino. They checked in and wheeled their luggage to their room on the 7th floor.
"Lucky number 7," said Greg with a chuckle as the elevator arrived on their floor. They walked down the hall and noticed the outdated wallpaper had started to peel in places. The carpet had a distinct smell as if there were decades of dirt and other unspeakable messes that had been spilled and then covered up by carpet cleaner and scented air freshener.
As they arrived at their room, Kim opened the door. They wheeled their bags in and stood in the entryway as the door automatically slammed shut behind them. The room seemed even more outdated than the hallway. Looking to her right, Kim noticed the edge of the bathroom counter looked worn, the faucets looked dull and old, and there was a rust stain on the porcelain around the drain.
Inside the room, Greg spotted a large CRT TV that was probably state-of-the-art in 1996. The carpet was a dark brown with paths worn into it from decades of foot traffic. He noticed the wallpaper was peeling in a few spots in here as well. Stepping in and putting his suitcase next to the table with the TV, he sat on the foot of the bed and laid back. "The bed's pretty comfortable," he said, desperate to point out any of the positive features of this discount hotel room. He felt the comforter over the bed and it seemed to feel clean even if it looked dated. The white sheets underneath seemed like they might actually be new or at least bleached cleaned. "It's a bit dated, but at least it's clean, right?"
Kim came in from the bathroom. "Yeah. Bathroom curtain looks new and the shower and toilet look spotless. I don't really care how old the stuff is as long as it's clean and it's not broken."
Greg nodded. "Yeah. This place has kind of an 'early grandma's house' look going for it. You wouldn't get something this cozy at some cold Marriott Marquis where everything looks sterile and cold." Truthfully, he wished they could have afforded something like the Marriott, Hyatt, or Hilton, but they'd make the best of what they had.
As they got settled in, they discussed their plans for the evening. "Did you have any dinner plans?" asked Kim.
"I figured we'd wing it...at least tonight," suggested Greg. "We can wander a bit and find someplace that looks good. The hotel casino has a buffet."
Kim raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that might be good. We could sample a little of everything."
"Yeah," Greg agreed. Being budget-conscious, they were always on the lookout for a deal. Having eaten fast food on the drive to Reno, he was a bit hungry and suspected Kim was as well. They'd likely get their money's worth from a buffet. "When we checked in, the lady told me that if we go to the buffet, we'd also get admitted to the magician's show for free."
Kim smiled. "Dinner and a show? Nice!" She looked around the room for a moment. "I think I'm actually ready to go eat if you are too."
Greg stood up. "Yeah, I'm famished! Those chicken nuggets from Wendy's did not fill me up." He grabbed a key card and headed to the door as Kim swung her purse over her shoulder and followed.
As they entered the hotel restaurant, they glanced around and noticed the buffet spread on the far side of the room. It was a modest selection, but the tantalizing aroma of freshly cooked dishes filled the air. The dining room was nearly empty, with only a few scattered guests occupying the tables. But this only added to the intimate atmosphere they were savoring. The soft music playing in the background created a soothing backdrop to their conversations.
The couple helped themselves to plates of steaming hot food, their conversation flowing effortlessly as they discussed plans for the weekend. Kim smiled warmly at Greg, her eyes filled with love and contentment. Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her soft blouse and skirt complimented her body. Greg, in his casual attire, couldn't help but admire her beauty, even after a year of being together.
They savored each bite, relishing the flavors that filled their taste buds. Despite the outdated look of the hotel, the food was surprisingly fresh and delicious. The couple laughed, reminiscing about their wedding day and the adventures they had experienced during their first year of marriage.
Excitement danced in their eyes as they got up from their table and made their way out of the dining room. Hand in hand, they walked through the corridors of the hotel, eager to experience the magic that awaited them.
Entering the theater, they found their seats among a small audience. The tiny stage was adorned with gold curtains and a sparkly backdrop, preparing them for a night filled with wonder. As the lights dimmed and the show began, an older man entered the stage.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! I am Marvin the Magnificent! Perhaps you've seen me on Johnny Carson?" Marvin squinted out to observe the audience. "...or maybe you're all too young to remember that." Marvin backed up and almost knocked over his table filled with props. This got a snicker from the audience.
Greg and Kim exchanged amused glances as the magician's tricks didn't quite go as planned. A rabbit failed to appear from a top hat, instead eliciting a small puff of smoke. The magician's card tricks were easily deciphered by the audience, and his disappearing act was more of a clumsy stumble off the stage than a grand illusion.
Whispering quietly, Greg leaned towards Kim. "I guess they didn't spend much on the magic show. The buffet was probably their main attraction!"
Kim stifled a giggle, trying not to disturb the performance. "Well, at least we got our money's worth, or rather, our buffet's worth!"
Their hushed quips continued throughout the show, sharing moments of lighthearted amusement and polite clapping as they watched the magician's desperate attempts to salvage his tricks. The crowd's laughter became contagious, and even the magician couldn't help but crack a smile at his own comedic misfortunes.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I've saved my best trick for last. For this, I'll need a couple volunteers." Marvin held up a hand to block the stage lights and peered into the audience.
Greg looked around and none of the other handful of tables in the audience made any indication that they would volunteer. He looked at Kim. She raised an eyebrow and smiled. They both felt bad for Marvin. Greg took Kim's hand and they stood up and started walking toward the stage.
Marvin noticed the couple making their way toward him. "Oh, wonderful! Let's hear it for this young couple!" The remaining audience members applauded politely as Marvin instructed Greg and Kim to stand on a certain spot on the stage. He dashed behind a gold curtain and awkwardly wheeled out two large cabinets that were reclined at a 45 degree angle. One of the cabinets was blue and the other was pink. He opened doors on the front of the cabinets and the doors folded back and clattered against the sides.
"Now, if you would each get into these magic cabinets..." He helped Kim get into the pink cabinet. Once she was leaning back inside the cabinet, he pushed her skirt inside and closed the door. With the door closed, only her head was visible through a hole in the top of the cabinet. Marvin then moved over to Greg who had already climbed into the blue cabinet. He closed the doors so only Greg's head was visible.
"Now, for this trick, uh..." He looked back at Kim. "I'm sorry, what is your name, dear?"
"Kim," she replied with a smile.
"Kim, of course." He looked over at Greg. "And you, good sir?"
"I'm Greg, Kim's husband," he replied.
Marvin faced back toward the audience. "Kim and Greg, Kim's husband, let's hear it for them!" The audience applauded politely again.
Greg, amused that Marvin apparently forgot he already had everyone applaud them, tried to look over at Kim with a smirk, but he could only see her out of the corner of his eye.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you've seen a magician saw his lovely assistant in half. It's been done a million times, right? Well, my trick is at least twice as good because I'm going to split two people in half!" There was a smattering of laughter from the audience. Marvin himself was amused at his own joke. He looked at Greg and Kim as he picked up a large blade from behind his prop table. "Now don't worry, you two. I've done this trick countless times and it's only gone wrong once. Coincidentally, that's why I don't have a lovely assistant anymore." Greg and Kim grinned nervously, but played it off with a chuckle.
Marvin shook his square blade so that it made a metallic wobbling noise and approached Kim. "Ladies first, I suppose." He proceeded to slide the blade into a slot in the center of the pink cabinet. He followed it up by sliding a second blade into the cabinet just below the first one. "And now, for Greg, Kim's husband..." Marvin produced two more square metal blades from behind his prop table and wiggled them to make the wobbling noise before sliding them each into the middle of Greg's blue cabinet. Once the blades were inserted, he stood up, faced the audience, and shouted "Abracadabra!" as he raised his arms with his eyes closed.
For a moment, there was silence in the room. Someone at one of the tables coughed. Marvin opened one eye to peek and then lowered his arms. There was some stifled laughter from the audience as he looked at the cabinets. Greg and Kim looked at Marvin with confusion, not sure what was supposed to happen. An awkward silence fell over the stage.
Marvin held up a finger. "Oh, here we go..." Reaching out, he placed his hands on the bottom of Kim's pink cabinet as he extended his right foot and placed it on the bottom of Greg's blue cabinet. With a flourish, he pushed the bottoms of each cabinet away and said, "Voila!" The bottom halves of the cabinets rolled in opposite directions until they reached the opposite edges of the tiny stage. The upper halves of the cabinet remained behind being held up by a metal stand which had been behind the full cabinets.
It took the audience a moment to realize what had happened before they unleashed a round of genuine applause. Marvin rushed over to the bottom of the pink cabinet and opened the front. The audience could see Kim's skirt with her legs extending out the bottom and a pair of low heeled sandals on her feet. Leaving the cabinet open, Marvin hurried across the stage and opened the front of the blue cabinet exposing Greg's legs in casual dress slacks. As the audience saw Kim and Greg's legs move, there was another round of applause.
Kim could see the back of the bottom of her cabinet, but couldn't see inside nor was she able to see Greg. She could still feel her legs, so they must have been attached, but she assumed that the audience was able to see something that looked like her legs in the separated box.
As the applause ended, he moved the pink box with Kim's beneath Greg's blue cabinet and closed the door. Returning to center stage, he faced the audience. "Now I will restore them."
Marvin retrieved the blue box with Greg's legs, rolled it under Kim, and closed the door. He stood between the two cabinets, reached to each side, unlatched the cabinet doors, and pulled them open at the same time. There was a quiet moment as the audience slowly realized what they had seen. Greg was now wearing Kim's skirt and heels. Kim was wearing Greg's slacks and loafers. The audience erupted in wild applause and rose to their feet.
Marvin stood in the center of the stage and bowed before the audience. He took Kim and Greg by the hand and helped them out of the cabinets. They stood on either side of him as he bowed once again. "Thank you. Thank you. You're too kind to an old magician. I hope you've enjoyed my show. Please, tip your wait staff and have a good weekend here at the lovely Mystic Hotel and Casino!"
Greg and Kim looked at each other and decided to join in the bow. As they stood up, Marvin turned to them and thanked them for their help. "Thank you both for your help tonight. You've been great sports and wonderful assistants."
"Oh, it was our pleasure," replied Kim. "We're just happy to help. It was a very nice show."
Greg reached out and shook Marvin's hand. "Yes, that was a lot of fun. We'll be talking about this for a while. Thanks!"
Marvin returned Greg's handshake. "No, thank you. Really." He leaned in to the couple. "I'll be backstage for a few minutes before I head out for the weekend, so just meet me back there and I can help you switch back."
Greg nodded. "Uh, no thanks. I think we'll manage." The invitation struck Greg as odd and a bit creepy. He wondered why the old man wanted them to change their clothes backstage. He thought it was probably best to get away from this weirdo. "Well, thanks... We've got to get going."
Kim waved as they started to briskly walk away. "Yes, thanks! Bye!"
Marvin stood on stage, puzzled by their reaction. He watched them return to their table where Kim collected her purse, Greg tossed a few dollars on the table as a tip for their drinks, and they walked off. Marvin shrugged and turned to push his cabinets off stage.
As Greg and Kim walked out of the theater, Greg looked down at his feet. "That's a pretty neat trick how he swapped our clothes like that. How do you even walk in these things?"
Kim looked at Greg's feet. "Those heels aren't even that tall and they have a wide heel. Be glad I wasn't wearing my high heels!"
"Huh," said Greg with a snort, "I didn't realize our feet were so close in size. I thought your feet were at least an inch shorter than mine."
Kim looked down at her own feet. "I suppose I've always had sort of large feet for a woman. I wonder how he managed to get our clothes off of us, out of one box, into the other box, and back on our legs."
Greg shook his head. "No idea. I guess he's one of those one-trick-pony magicians. He knows one really good trick and builds his act around that. A lot of his other stuff seemed pretty lame and I was feeling really bad for him at first."
"Yeah, he seemed like a nice old man that might have taken up magic after his retirement, but that last trick made him seem like a pro," commented Kim. "...at least for that last trick."
Greg looked around and noticed that although there weren't many people in the hotel, most of the people who were there were staring at him. At first it was just other people who had attended the show, but then he noticed people in the casino watching him. He looked at Kim. "I think I'm starting to get some stares for wearing this skirt. Let's go back up to our room and change."
"Okay, that sounds like a good idea," Kim agreed. I should probably use the bathroom while we're there."
After arriving back in their seventh floor room, Kim went into the bathroom and Greg sat on the bed and started to remove Kim's heels. He put his right leg up on top of his left knee and started to unbuckle the strap on the heel. He wondered how Marvin managed to get the heels on and fasten the strap. Then he noticed his shin and calf. Something was odd. His lower leg seemed to be bare of any hair. Just as he started to process this, he heard a scream from the bathroom.
Greg ran into the bathroom and saw Kim standing facing the mirror over the sink. "What is it?" he asked with his eyes wide open.
Kim looked toward him with her mouth hanging open and a worried look on her face. She looked down and Greg followed her gaze. The slacks were unbuttoned and unzipped and there was a penis hanging out over a pair of white briefs. "What the fuck is this?!" Kim motioned to her crotch with both hands.
Greg stared in disbelief. "You... You have a dick!"
"I know that!" Kim frustratingly replied. "How did I get this? Where did this come from?"
Greg was speechless and couldn't help but stare.
Kim looked up at Greg. "Wait. Pull down the skirt," she instructed.
Greg's face changed from confusion to worry as he tried to pull the skirt down. Unsuccessful, he looked around his waist for some sort of buttons or fastener.
Kim reached out around his back. "It unzips in the back." She held the waistband with her left hand and pulled the zipper down with he right. As she let go, the skirt fell to the floor and exposed Greg's lower half, but it didn't look like Greg's lower half. He stood there in a pair of white cotton panties with bare, shaved legs extending down to feet still in heels. The panties rested flat against his body. Both Kim and Greg stared for a moment.
Greg looked up with immense worry on his face. "I don't dare look."
"Look or not, it won't change what's there," Kim pointed out.
Greg pulled the front of the panties out and gasped. He looked up at Kim as he pulled the panties down. "It's gone!"
Kim's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god," she continued to stare for a moment. "That looks like me. Those are my legs! That's my... My crotch!"
Greg pointed to the penis extending from the pants Kim was wearing. "Take those pants off."
Kim hurried and pulled the pants down to her knees followed by the white briefs. She exposed a full penis and testicles above a pair of hairy legs.
Greg leaned in slightly. "Those are my legs! You even have that bug bite I got a few days ago. That must mean that that's my dick too!"
Kim shook her head in disbelief. "That crazy old man... He didn't just swap our clothes, he actually swapped the bottom halves of our bodies!"
"Oh my god," Greg exclaimed as he brought his left hand to his forehead and started rubbing it. "That's why he invited us backstage. He said he would switch us back, but I thought he wanted to watch us take off our clothes!"
"So did I! It sounded so creepy, but I didn't realize the extent of our swap!" Kim grabbed Greg's arm and looked at his watch. "Wait, didn't he say he'd be backstage for five minutes before he left?"
"Oh, shit!" Greg exclaimed. "We've gotta get back down there now! Put your pants back on!" Greg stepped out of the skirt, picked it up, and walked out of the bathroom.
Kim walked out of the bathroom while buttoning her pants. She saw Greg going through his suitcase. "What are you doing? We need to go back down there now!"
Greg didn't stop rummaging through his bag. "I'm getting some pants. I can't go back down there wearing this!"
Kim let out an exasperated sigh. "We don't have time for this. Just put anything on!"
Greg pulled out a pair of blue jeans and sat on the bed. "Shit, I've got to take these shoes off first."
Kim thrust the skirt at him. "Would you stop it? You're wasting time! Just put the damn skirt back on! We don't have time for you to change shoes!"
Greg groaned as his annoyance grew. "Fine, whatever." He re-fastened the buckle he finally managed to undo on one shoe and then stepped into the skirt again. After pulling it up, he reached around to the back and zipped it up. Once he was ready, Kim grabbed her purse, opened the door, and they walked quickly down the hall to the elevator.
Fortunately, they didn't need to wait long for the elevator, but the slow, silent ride down was torture. As the elevator settled on the lobby level, Greg willed the doors to open by saying, "C'mon, c'mon..." As soon as they started to open, they squeezed out and jogged over to the theater. The door was open and they rushed inside.
They entered to find the room still dimly lit. The stage lights were off and Marvin's props had been cleared from the stage. They walked up onto the stage and found their way through the curtain to the backstage area. There was a small area immediately behind the stage separated from the audience by a curtain. Marvin's props were stored here, but they didn't see him.
Kim looked at the cabinets which had been swapped back to all blue and all pink. "His stuff is still here, so maybe he's still here."
"At least he'll have to come back for it eventually," Greg added with a bit of pessimism. He continued to the side of the stage with Kim close behind. They found a small hallway with doors labelled "Storage", "Electrical", "Custodian", and a fourth door with a paper star taped to the door above a sign printed in Comic Sans on a standard sheet of plain paper which read "Marvin the Magnificent".
Greg knocked on the door. "Hello? Sir? Mister... Marvin?" He waited a moment and heard no response. He tried twisting the doorknob, but it was locked. He looked up at Kim, defeated.
"It's locked?" Kim exhaled in defeat. "Shit. So he's gone? I guess we're stuck like this until we can either find him or he comes back."
Greg was seething. "Dammit!" He slapped his hand against the door. "He said he was heading out for the weekend. That means he's not even going to be back here until Monday! I can't stay like this for three days! This is our anniversary weekend! It was supposed to be special." Greg was so disappointed that he seemed on the verge of tears.
Kim stepped closer and embraced him. "It still can be special if we let it. In fact, I suspect this might be the most memorable weekend of our lives!"