None of us really knew what to do and so Pam turned on the TV and flipped through channels. A few minutes later Carl said, “You know, I’ve been thinking. What happens next?”
Without taking my focus off the TV I asked, “What do you mean?”
“With all these changes, how do we live now?” he asked. “Do we all have the same jobs? Aren’t some jobs going to become obsolete? What about our identities?”
“Yea,” agreed Scott. “What’s going to happen to, like, men’s sports leagues and stuff?”
Suddenly the whole room stopped as we all started asking various questions. What would be the future of movies and TV shows? What would happen to anything typically male-dominated? Pam asked a very important question when she said, “What about clothing? We keep taking ours off. So do the news anchors. I think we’re all going to end up being nude all the time!”
“Sounds like fun to me,” said Joyce.
“Oh, yea, me too,” said Pam. “But what about all the people who make clothes? We’re talking about jobs changing. That sounds like a lot of people who won’t have jobs!”
Rachel and I shot each other a quick, nervous glance. Obviously we hadn’t fully contemplated how our wish would literally change everything. We broke off eye contact so that the rest of them wouldn’t notice and perhaps suspect something. “Maybe it will just work itself out,” I said. “Maybe people are already working to figure these things out.”
“I really hope so,” said Pam. “Everything about the last two days has been so great, but what good is it if people can’t work?”
I glanced over at Rachel again. She attempted to avoid returning my glance but finally could not. She tilted her head back and forth rapidly. I guessed that she meant for me to do something about the realizations we had made. I had already come to the conclusion that I would have to rely upon the ring again. I wished that all people who might lose their job as a result of the changes would be able to find another one without difficulty. I wished that any other situations that might arise because of the changes would also work out somehow. I hoped that this would cover anything that might arise so that I wouldn’t have to think about each particular potential problem. I made this wish to myself, of course, so that the others wouldn’t hear me.
“Maybe we should just keep watching the news for awhile,” I said. “You know, to see if anything happens.”
Despite some audible grumbles, we did turn on the news and keep it there. We turned on the channel where yesterday we saw a male anchor wearing a tie but no shirt. I was curious to see if that same anchor would be there. I was happy to see that the same female anchor was present. The woman, whom Joyce had pointed out yesterday wasn’t wearing a bra, wasn’t wearing her shirt anymore. She was reading the news while her very prominent breasts were proudly on display. “One guess why she got that job,” said Pam with displeasure.
“Her teleprompter skills?” Carl deadpanned. Pam responded by slapping him in the arm. “Ow,” he said.
“Want another one?” asked Pam.
Carl opened his mouth, paused, and then said, “Eh, maybe later.”
When the female anchor was done, she switched over to the male anchor. He had clearly undergone further changes since yesterday. The lines on his face had faded away. His hair had grown down to his shoulders and also grown darker. His face was still essentially his own, which was how I could identify him. He was still wearing his tie with no shirt. I took notice in the fact that his chest looked puffier and his nipples swollen a bit.
“Look out,” said Rachel. “Breast growth is beginning!”