A Crossed Reality

by Gerald Pruett

  “Okay, I’m not following you.”

  “I’m feeling like a woman.” When Trudy made a gesture that she’s still wasn’t following, Alex blurted out, “I’m feeling things for Miles that I shouldn’t be feeling.”

  Trudy thought for a second and when it suddenly dawned on Trudy as to what Alex was meaning, she said, “Oh. That’s uh… that’s uh…”

  As Trudy was having trouble at finding the words to finish the sentence, Alex said, “Yes; my thoughts exactly.”

  “Okay… well if you can’t get back to your reality then that’s actually not a bad thing.”

  “Trudy, I have only been here since Thursday and already I’m being assimilated as a woman. That is not good. And why didn’t you tell Miles that I was a man in my reality?”

  “Okay, if you want Miles to know then that is something you have to tell him. That is not my secret to tell.”

  “Well, he wants to date me and if I tell him now, I feel that I would lose him as a friend.”

  “If you are going to act cold towards him then what does it matter?”

  “I just need to get a handle on the feelings that I’m having, and then I can be around him as a friend.”

  “Yeah… good luck with that.”

  Alex gave Trudy a confused look before asking, “What do you mean?”

  “You have a romantic interest in Miles…”

  “Okay, you don’t have to keep telling me what I already know.”

  “And that’s not going to change, unless you find someone else who you are more attracted to.”

  “I wonder if I should go out and find a woman to be with.”

  Trudy gave Alex a skeptical look while saying, “Yeah, I really don’t see that happening.”

  “Why don’t you?”

  “I’ve seen how you were checking out hot guys Friday night.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “O’Shannon’s Pub was packed Friday night with men and women, and the only half I saw you staring at the entire night were the men.”

  “I’m sure I stared at a few pretty women.” Trudy just shook her head ‘no’. Alex gave Trudy a curious look before asking, “Not even one?”

  Trudy continued to shake her head while saying, “I’m afraid not.”

  “Okay, I have to get out of this reality and back to mine as soon as possible before I completely lose myself.”

  “Meanwhile I think you need to maintain the image of Alexandra.”

  “Fine, I’ll put on nicer clothes and some makeup.”

  “Alex wore perfume too, so it wouldn’t hurt for you to put some on.”

  “Fine, I’ll put on perfume too,” Alex said before stepping out of the doorway while walking towards her closet. When Trudy followed, Alex asked, “I think I know, but what did you mean that I’m not due to become moody for another week?”

  “Your menstrual cycle is almost exactly a week before mine and mine is about two weeks away.”

  As Alex was opening the closet, she said, “And I thought that was what you were referring to.” Alex pulled out a nice blouse. “Perhaps you should tell me what I need to know about that now.”

  Trudy grinned before saying, “I was actually thinking the same thing.”

  As Alex was changing her shirt, Trudy was telling Alex what she needed to know and do when she has a menstrual cycle.

  After Alex put on a nice blouse, her boots, makeup, and perfume she went to Brandy’s dorm and knocked on her door. The hallway was slightly crowded with people walking in both directions.

  Chloe, Brandy’s roommate, opened the door and asked, “Yes, may I help you?”

  “Yeah, I’m Alex…”

  Chloe said with a slight attitude, “I know who you are, but what I don’t know is what you want.”

  “I’m looking for Brandy.”

  “She’s not here,” Chloe uttered, while being snippy.

  “Do you know where she is?”

  Chloe shook her head while saying, “No; I don’t.”

  “Thanks, and I’m sorry for what I did to you in the past.”

  “You never did anything to me.”

  “Then why are you having an attitude towards me?”

  “I’ve seen how you treat people and you never did anything to me because I stay clear of you. Brandy stays clear of you too so I can’t imagine what you want with her.”

  “Well, if you see Brandy please let her know I’m looking for her.”

  “Yeah, I’ll put it at the bottom of my to-do list.”

  “You stay clear of me because of how I treat people, but where I’m standing at the moment you’re no better,” Alex hissed before turning and walking away.

  As Alex was walking away, Chloe blurted out, “That’s where you’re wrong.”

  Alex never responded to what Chloe had said. The people in the hallway stared at Chloe as if she had lost her mind. When Chloe saw that the people were looking at her, she stepped back into her dorm and closed the door.

  Alex went straight to the library and looked around. Brandy wasn’t there, but Cindy was. She walked up to Cindy and asked before Cindy had a chance to notice her presence, “Hey, have you seen Brandy?”

  Cindy looked up and when she saw who it was, she said, “I saw her this morning. What’s going on?”

  Alex sat down before saying, “I’m thinking that at least one of us needs to go to Mexico City to look for Randy now and I want to be the one to do it.”

  “None of us has the money to go to Mexico City.”

  “Brandy has the money for one person to go.”

  “Alex, I really think that we should stick to the plan and that we all should go there together.”

  “And that will take weeks; possibly even months.”

  Cindy gave Alex a curious look before asking, “Why is that a problem for you all of a sudden?”

  Alex stood up before saying, “I can’t stay in this reality and be a woman.”

  Before Cindy was able to respond Alex walked away. Cindy then said barely above a whisper, “Nice talking to you too.” Cindy then went back to her studies.

  Alex was gone for five minutes when Cindy noticed Doug walking in. Cindy then left her book on the table and as she walked up to Doug she said, “Hey, Doug.”

  “Hi, Cindy, what’s up?”

  “Something weird is up with Alex and I think you need to talk to her about it.”

  Doug gave Cindy a curious look before asking, “What do you mean?”

  “She was in here about five minutes ago looking for Brandy. I think she wants to borrow money from her so that she can go to Mexico City alone.”

  “Did she say why she wanted to go alone?”

  “I think she is having a problem with being a woman in this reality.”

  “Okay, I’ll talk with her to see what’s up. Do you know where she went?” Cindy just shook her head. Doug took a breath before he continued to say, “She works tonight so if I can’t find her soon then I’ll check there when her shift starts.”

  “Okay. Well I’m going to get back to my studies.”

  “Okay, bye,” Doug said before turning and walking away.

  After a short search, Doug saw Trudy in the hallway of the dormitory and walked up to her.

  Trudy saw a concerned expression on Doug’s face and as Doug stepped up Trudy asked, “Is there a problem?”

  “I just talked to Cindy and she’s worried that Alex is not adjusting to this reality too well. Have you seen her? I want to talk to her about how she’s adjusting.”

  “I saw her about fifteen minutes ago. She was getting ready for work.”

  “How did she seem when you saw her?”

  “Doug, I know what’s going on with Alex and her adjusting to this reality isn’t the problem. Her problem is that she’s adjusting to this reality too well and that’s frightening the hell out of her.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Doug, Alex is losing her male identity…”

  �
�Wait!” Doug interrupted with. “You know that Alex was a man in our reality?”

  “I do, and because she’s a female in this reality, she’s having female urges and desires.”

  “When you say female urges, you mean what exactly?”

  Trudy grinned before saying, “I think you know what I mean.”

  “I think I do too, but tell me anyway.”

  “Alex finds men sexually attractive… my brother Miles for one in particular.”

  “And you said this is frightening her, which explains why she’s in a hurry to get to Mexico City to look for Randy. Thanks, Trudy, for the information. I’m going to Little Bucks and wait for her there.”

  “Okay; bye.”

  “Bye,” Doug said before he and Trudy went their respective ways.

  Chapter Ten

  3:50 P.M. at Little Bucks, Doug was sitting at the bar drinking a beer and talking to Bryon. A man and a woman sat at the other end of the bar and were engrossed in their own conversation to notice anything around them. The tables were empty. Stephen was the only cook for the day and he was in the kitchen cooking a meal for Doug.

  When Alex walked in she saw Doug at the bar. She walked up to an empty barstool next to Doug and placed her purse on the bar before sitting down.

  When Doug looked at her, she asked, “Is it Super Bowl Sunday?” Doug gave Alex a confused look. “You don’t usually drink on Sundays.”

  Doug gave an ‘Oh’ look with a slight grin before saying, “Actually I’m here waiting on you. I want to talk to you.”

  “What about?”

  Doug gestured towards a table and said, “Let’s talk in private.”

  “This must be serious.” Alex then stood up followed by Doug. Before Alex and Doug walked away, Alex said, “Bryon, I want a cola.”

  “You got it; it will be next to your purse.”

  Alex just nodded before she followed Doug to a table. After they sat down Alex asked, “So what’s up?”

  “You have Cindy worried about you. She thinks that you’re having a really rough time adjusting to this reality.”

  Alex slightly bowed her head before saying, “I am… to an extent.”

  “Yeah I know all about it.”

  Alex quickly looked up at Doug before asking, “What do you mean you know all about it?”

  “I ran into Trudy just after talking with Cindy and Trudy filled me in on how you are having female urges.”

  Alex blurted out in a shock tone, “What? I can’t believe Trudy told you that.”

  “She only told me because I expressed my concern for how well you are adapting to this reality. She didn’t tell me to betray your trust.”

  “Okay, well, since you do know, you know why I have to get to Mexico City as soon as possible.”

  “Alex, Randy might be on his way here, so you shouldn’t be in a hurry to get to Mexico.”

  “Doug, I’m losing my identity as a man, and I can’t sit still and let it happen.”

  “Well, by you running off to Mexico by yourself is not going to help anything. Randy might not even be there. The idea of him being in Mexico is just a hunch that you have.”

  “Then what am I suppose to do?”

  “Just keep your mind occupied on making money, and try to think of other ways to make money… make money honestly.”

  Alex grinned before saying, “You didn’t have to add the last part to that sentence.”

  Doug grinned before saying, “Well, with how desperate you are to get to Mexico, I thought I should.”

  Alex gestured towards the bar while saying, “Well, it’s almost four, so I better get to work.”

  As Alex and Doug were standing up, Doug said, “I’m going back to the bar also. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries just before you came in.”

  Alex and Doug walked back to the bar and sat down. As Alex picked up her glass of soda to take a drink, Doug and Byron started their discussion at the point of where they had left off. Before the conversation got too far Stephen came out from the kitchen with Doug’s food.

  After Stephen put the plate of food down in front of Doug, he looked at Alex and asked, “So, are you ready to work the dinner crowd solo tonight?”

  Bryon stopped talking and listened to Alex and Stephen as Alex answered, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be ready?”

  “It’s infrequent, but sometimes this place gets packed on a Sunday. In fact, last Sunday this place was busier than usual. That’s why Sylvia didn’t want to work Sundays… especially by herself.”

  “Well, if we get busy today, I’ll just brave the storm.”

  “Alex, I was watching you last night and you can handle the rush if we get busy,” Bryon said.

  Alex grinned before saying, “Thanks.”

  “Oh, Bryon, you would know this,” Stephen began. “What’s the story behind Francis Star?”

  “Who’s Francis Star?” Alex asked.

  “He’s a rookie jockey who is going to be riding the horse White Dasher tomorrow,” Byron said. “This is both Francis’ and White Dasher’s first race, and I hear White Dasher is fast. I think that horse is going to be interesting to watch.”

  Doug saw Alex as Alex was concentrating on a thought. He put his hand on Alex’s shoulder and asked, “Are you okay?”

  Alex came out of her thoughts before questioning, “What?”

  “Are you okay?” Doug repeated.

  “Why are you asking me that?”

  “You spaced out there for a minute.”

  “I was thinking about something, that’s all.”

  “What were you thinking about?”

  Instead of answering Doug’s question, Alex said, “So tell me all the juicy details between you and Liz.”

  “All right, you made your point.” Alex just grinned as Doug continued to say, “I won’t ask you about private matters.”

  “I knew you would understand,” Alex said with a slight smirk. She then took a drink of her soda.

  As Alex was putting her soda down a group of eight people walked into the bar. The group consisted of three men in their early to mid thirties; two women also in their early thirties; a ten-year-old boy; a seven-year-old girl and a nine-month-old boy. The baby was being pushed in a stroller. The group waited at the entrance to be seated.

  Bryon gestured towards the customers while saying, “Alex, you’re on.”

  Alex scooted her purse towards Bryon and said, “I need a ticket book, and put my purse behind the bar.”

  Bryon grabbed a ticket book for her. As he was handing the book to Alex he said, “Your purse will be where it was yesterday.”

  As Alex was taking the book, she said, “Thanks.” She then turned and walked towards the customers.

  When Alex stepped up to the customers she gazed at the baby as he slept. The girl noticed Alex looking at the baby and said, “That’s my baby brother. His name is Alex.”

  Alex gave the girl a grin before saying, “Alex is my name too.”

  “Alex is a boy’s name,” the girl said with certainty in her voice.

  “Well, my name is actually Alexandra, but the people who know me call me Alex.” The girl just bashfully grinned. Alex then focused her attention on the adults. She gestured to a group of tables and said, “I’ll pull three or more tables together so everyone can sit together.”

  “Sounds good,” one of the men said.

  The customers followed Alex to the tables. Before Alex was able to push the three tables together, the three men did it for her.

  As the customers were taking their seats, Alex said, “Thanks.” Each table had a menu-holder with menus. Alex pulled out five menus and placed them in front of the adults. “So can I get anyone something to drink while you are deciding what to eat?”

  As Alex was taking the drink order three more customers walked through the door. Alex heard the three customers and glanced at them long enough to see where they were sitting.

  As the minutes passed, the dinner crowd remained steady for the first ho
ur and a half. Alex had no problem keeping up. Doug remained at the bar and talked to Byron. When Alex was able to find the time for a short break she joined in on their conversation.

  By 6:00 P.M. the dinner crowd was more than normal for a Sunday as small groups were coming in only a few minutes apart from each other. Alex wasn’t able to wait on each group immediately as they walked in, but she made sure that she acknowledged their presence and waited on them as quickly as she could. The customers saw as to how hard Alex was trying to keep up and not one person complained about the time that it took for him or her to be served.

  Byron stayed busy at the bar as the customers waiting to be served went to him for their drinks. Doug helped Alex by collecting the dirty dishes and glasses from the tables after the customers had left.

  It wasn’t until 7:00 P.M. when all the customers were waited on and Alex was able to take a short break. Alex was sitting down for five minutes when Kenny, Ben, Brandy and Cindy walked in.

  Alex saw them as they walked in. She walked up to them and said, “I didn’t expect to see you four.”

  “Cindy told me that you were looking for me earlier,” Brandy said. “I figured I could eat and find out what you were wanting.” Brandy gestured to the others. “They wanted to come eat here too.”

  “About the part I was wanting earlier; I had a small crisis. Doug and I talked it over though, so I’m now good on that.” Alex gestured towards an empty table near the bar and continued to say, “As for you four coming here to eat, there’s a table up front.”

  Kenny gestured while saying, “After you.”

  Doug saw Kenny and the others as they were taking their seats at the table and joined them. Alex took their drink order and then went to the bar to fill it. Once she returned with the drinks, Kenny, Ben, Brandy and Cindy placed their food order.

  Before Alex had a chance to walk away, Kenny said, “Hey, Alex. You and Doug should rent your favorite movies and watch them again.”

  Alex gave Kenny a curious look before asking, “Why should we do that?”

  “Brandy, Ben and I spent most of the day watching movies that we saw before, but in this reality one out of every three movies has a completely different ending. One of the movies we watched was completely different and even another one had a different person playing the lead role. It’s almost like watching remakes of your favorite movies.”