Jon joked around with Carl(y) a little bit more, even trying to flirt with her a little, but when Carl said in
no uncertain terms that he wasn't interested in that, Jon politely relented and showed himself to the door.
Once he was outside, Jon slicked his hair back with his hands.
"She's just playing hard to get", he said quietly to himself.
Inside, Carl sighed longingly. He was crestfallen at not being able to talk to Wendy tomorrow. Spending so
long away from his wife made him almost want to quit and go back home(he's thought about quitting every day
since he had gotten to the hotel), but he had to remind himself again that he was doing this for her. This was
her treat. Her vacation, no matter how weird or stupid it all seemed to him. He had to keep up a game face,
otherwise the people in charge might turn him and Wendy away at the last minute. No matter what Jon said, Carl
knew that other applicants and recruits were just waiting to take his and Wendy's place. Ordering one last
dinner from room service, which was lobster in Mornay sauce, he exercised a little bit more until it came. Ten
minutes later, he heard a voice in his head.
"Honey, we made it!"
Out of instinct, Carl jerked up from his Yoga pose and looked suddenly around the room, his hair fluttering
around his face. Then he realized that it was his wife again. She talked to him telepathically every now and
then, promising him that she would turn it "off" once they were actually in the house. Carl went back into his
Prasarita Padottanasana position and sent back messages to Wendy.
"I know. Jon just left. He started flirting with me."
"Me too. He's such a tease. Sorry honey, You might have to get used to it, though. You're a pretty young lady
now, and..."
"Don't remind me, Wendy. And no, I'll never get used to it. I thought I would get used to peeing sitting down
or waking up with breasts, but I'm not. It's unnatural. I'm supposed to be in a man's body."
Wendy suddenly made a sighing, sympathetic sound.
"Sorry, baby. It won't be too much longer, now. Tomorrow. We're doing this all tomorrow!"
"Yeah. It's going to be so humiliating. Everyone's going to be oogling me and you, and acting like Jon does.
It just makes me melancholy, alright?"
Wendy started giggling.
"Sounds like you're finally learning about women. That was the whole idea you know. To make you more
sympathetic towards all the crap I put up with everyday. If Janet weren't such a softie, she would have done
the same thing with Steve. Don't even think that, Carl Matson. I know what you're thinking. I'm in your head
right now."
"What am I thinking?!"
"You're thinking about how lucky Steve haves it. YOU and I have it lucky. Carl, you and me are going to be
famous after this is all over. Not only are we going to win, we're going to be able to hobnob with movie stars
and travel around the world!"
"I doubt that" said Carl. "How many people went on to do great things after being on Big Brother?"
"A few! Not a lot, but if you are entertaining enough, you get a lot of great offers. And besides, my wishing
powers can be very persuasive."
"And will I be stuck as 'Carly' the whole time?"
"Of course not, honey. You'll be my husband. As far the rest of the world will be concerned, my sister Carly
went into seclusion after Big Brother ended. Big Brother will be a one time thing for her. She'll be known as
very private and reclusive, avoiding press like the plague."
"And what if your powers run out, or something. What if I'm stuck like this?!" demanded Carl.
"Then at least I took a decade and a half off of your life", laughed Wendy.
***
A half hour later, room service arrived, and Carl(y) thanked the waitress for what looked like a delicious
meal. The waitress smiled, and then left with a decent tip from Carl. Carl shut the door, consumed the meal
with savoring glee, and went to bed in somewhat less of a restless spirit than how he started out with.
That night, he had a dream. He and Wendy were both standing in a group made up of strangers on a set in front
of a house. The house had fake decorum. The group was made up mostly of identical twins with a few male-female
fraternal twins to round out the mixture. They were by and large the young, attractive types that you usually
find on reality shows, with Wendy and Carl(y) themselves being among this select group of Adonis lookalikes
and Sirens. The hostess, Julie Chen, was speaking to them about the "three month long power struggle" they
were about to endure. Carl could feel the tension rise immediately among everybody. Two girls, both Cuban
looking, were looking in his and Wendy's direction from the other side of the cluster with looks that could
kill. Then the dream ended...
Carl woke up, determined that he had cabin fever, and decided to exit the room in a mad hurry. He had to get
some air. He needed a minute to breath. Just stay outside the room. Don't go anywhere else. The producers
wouldn't mind. Would they? Who cares? They can't drop him or Wendy at the last minute like this. Getting
dressed in some ridiculously mismatched outfit, Carl opened the door wildly, shut it, not forgetting his key,
and inhaled. Then he exhaled. He didn't notice the other person standing to their left until ten seconds
later. They were in front of their hotel door just like he was, and they also looked somewhat flushed as if
they had been stressed out over something.
"Hi" said Carl in the most polite way he could offer at the moment.
"Hey" said the stranger, suddenly looking in his(her- to the stranger) direction.
Who was the stranger?