“I would really like to hear more about you. I think I know enough about Doug, but I’m curious to get to know you a little more.” Richard smiled as genuinely as he could.
His first step was to determine if she would be a good fit for him to take over her life. The idea of returning into a woman’s body ignited an excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time. He could visualize the familiar tether, the hazy hand shape reaching out to her, ready and eager to claim her life as his own.
“How kind of you! I hope after I talk your ear off you’ll tell me about you as well. I can tell we are going to be fast friends!” Darla clasped her cupped hands to her chest.
Not likely,Richard immediately thought, but he nodded in agreement.
“Well, my name is Darla Samson, and I am twenty years old. Doug was my childhood sweetheart, and we had plans to get married and settle down.” She continued to pull items out of the picnic basket.
“But sadly, his parents finally wore him down, and he joined the Army at their request. I just don’t have it in me to love someone capable of such violence.” She had packed more than enough food, and Richard suspected she was hoping to meet people here to share this meal with.
Doug returned to them with his driver in tow, who carried the blanket. The man opened the blanket into the wind and laid it carefully next to the small blanket Darla had brought. He came near to the wheelchair.
“Shall I help you move to the blanket, sir?” his driver asked.
“Yes, and this is Doug and Darla, my new friends.” He hesitated atfriends, but managed to speak the words. To take on Darla and access his fortune, he would need to get her name and face out among his staff quickly. “Very good, sir.”
After a few minutes, Richard was situated on his blanket, and soon after that, Darla was making him a plate. He watched as she piled his plate generously with each item she packed: crisp fried chicken with a cornmeal crust, a side of beans, and fresh biscuits with homemade jam.
A thermos of black coffee was poured into a steel cup and offered to him. She had also somehow managed to pack an entire apple pie. The smell from the food caused his mouth to water desperately.
He made a mental note that he would need to fire his current chef and get a new one to freshen up the menu at home.
Richard took a bite just as Darla finished plating Doug’s and she immediately bowed her head to pray. Richard rolled his eyes and bowed as well to not appear rude.
If I switch with Darla, being religious is just another act I have to pull off. I could move away and start fresh in a new town and then I could drop all previous mannerisms and act how I want.
“Amen.” Darla concluded the short prayer thanking God for the food.
“Amen.” Doug loudly agreed and took his first bite.
“Amen.” Richard whispered, still trying to be polite but not buying into the faith movement.
Richard took a bite and was amazed at how delicious everything was and the three ate in silence for a few minutes.
“So, tell me about your parents,” Richard asked pointedly to Darla, right before he scooped a bite of beans.
“Oh yes, well, they’re no longer alive.” Darla looked from Richard to Doug, her expression was a mixture of sadness and confusion.
“Sorry to hear that,” Richard said, taking another awkward bite. “We don’t have to talk about them. What do you do for a living?” He offered the question, and it did the trick of diverting her attention away from her parents, allowing an avenue of conversation she was comfortable with.
“I’m currently a librarian on Main Street, though I’m also in school to become a kindergarten teacher.”
“Well, that is quite the quaint life you must live,” Richard offered. “Do you have any siblings?”
“None. I was an only child. My hopes are to marry and have lots of children so that I can be surrounded by lots of family for the rest of my life.” Richard shook his head at Darla’s declaration.
“Kids are great as long as you don’t want to accomplish anything important in life.” Richard felt a lump form in his throat as he thought of Lizzie again.
The truth is, being tied to someone you love is hard to leave behind.
A heavy silence settled as Richard wondered how he might complete the switch. He considered inviting her to his house for dinner, but that could be frowned upon. His staff would have too many witnesses, and he would need a place less visible.
After a few minutes, the silence continued on, and just before it could become awkward between them, a commotion in the large crowd drew their attention.
From what Richard could see, there was a man holding something up in the air, and the people closest to him were cowering to the ground.
“That man has a gun!” Darla whispered in a panic. A man in a long brown trench coat, and military-style black boots, crossed the lawn in the shade of the trees. His dark hair was long and so greasy that large clumps hung together.
