Carol opened the door and embraced Audrey, inviting her in.
“Carol, darling, could you excuse Jen and me for a moment, we need to talk.”
The two walked together under the maples, now a lush red with the approach of Thanksgiving.
“Jen, I’m sure what I told Mrs. Papadakis must have been quite a shock to you.” She gave her daughter’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’m not rejecting you dearest; it’s just that this new promotion will have me traveling, traveling internationally, for most of the time now. You’d always said that you and Lisa are like sisters, so I think this arrangement would be best for all.”
“Mother…you never even asked me!”
“You were asleep at the time, and I’m sure you would have said yes.”
Jennifer sighed. Her mother had a point. “You’ll stay in touch, of course, right Mom?”
“Certainly, darling…though I expect I shall be able to see you only once or twice every two or three months. I already have obligations in Asia that will require me to leave first thing tomorrow morning for two months at least.”
“Mother…you understand what is happening to me, don’t you? I’m not going to look like myself anymore.”
Audrey sighed. “Yes, that’s terrible, isn’t it? That’s why the first thing we do in town is to get some pictures taken so Carol and I can see and remember how beautiful our daughters are.” Again she squeezed Jennifer’s shoulder. “Of course, you’ll always be beautiful to me, yes.”
Nice. Real sincere there, Mommie Dearest, thought Jen with some bitterness.
“Thank you, Mother. What else do we have planned?”
“Ah yes, well that’s a surprise. We must go back; we wouldn’t want to keep our hosts waiting.”
“Yes, Dr. Perkins is available…I’ll put you right through, Dr. Morton…”
“John!! Good morning. How are we doing today?”
“Hey, Colin, we got the analysis done on the bloodwork and hormone samples. Unfortunately it’s what we feared. All five of the girls you examined are positive for BHGHC-12, and they are producing it naturally now.”
“Damn,” swore Dr. Perkins to himself.
“Yeah, for what it’s worth, a friend of mine in the DA’s office says that this will amount to aggravated battery. And since these were imported, the Department of Justice is also looking at joining the fun.”
“That’s fine, though any sentence they give her won’t help the girls she poisoned with this shit. Hey, John, thanks for calling. You’ll fax me the relevant documents, right?”
“Sure thing, buddy, I’ll talk to you later.”
Audrey, Jennifer, and Lisa drove to Brooklyn, and took the taxi into Manhattan.
“I thought we’d all get glamour pictures taken first,” said Audrey. “Then we’ll grab a bite to eat, do some serious shopping, and we’ll be having dinner with my new boss.”
They spent two hours getting the pictures shot. Both girls found it a little unsettling, knowing that Audrey was doing this primarily to remember what they looked liked before the hormones had kicked in.
Other than that, however, it was a marvelous day for American Express and Visa. Both girls would get the equivalent of a new wardrobe delivered to the Papadakis house in a day or two.
It happened to Jennifer as they were looking at handbags at Louis Vuitton, and to Lisa a couple of hours later as the three were heading to the restaurant to meet Audrey's new boss.
Sebaceous glands and papilla began forming around the vellus hairs that had come in over the past few days. With the normal limits of hair growth destroyed because of the hormonal imbalance, five million hair follicles on each girl were progressively being activated.
The pubic area, armpits, and lower legs would be the first to be affected, followed by the thighs, lower, then upper arms. The face and chest would be next, and then the rest of the body.
All the girls noticed was a mild tingling sensation that vanished after a minute or two.
New fuzz would appear over the rest of their bodies in a day or two.
It would soon would no longer be fuzz.
Her mother was always very good at keeping secrets, but both Lisa and Jennifer were shocked when they heard the distinctive voice of Donald Trump.
“Audrey, glad you were able to make it with the traffic. Are these two lovely girls yours?”
“Just this one, Mr. Trump, my daughter Jennifer Smith.” She then introduced Lisa.
As it turned out, Audrey would be managing Trump World in Seoul. They discussed the details over filleted sturgeon and caviar.
“Jennifer, your mother tells me you’re a cheerleader. Have you given any thought to where you’re going after graduation?”
“We’re both cheerleaders, Mr. Trump. I think we both want to go to Brown…but Lisa’s the sharp one”
It was just after midnight when Audrey dropped off the girls at Lisa’s house. Carol was at the door to greet them with a sad smile on her face.