A homecoming of sorts

Harold sat quietly in the car as Mariah pulled out of the driveway to his old house and turned down towards the highway leading to the interstate. The two of them had decided to take Mariah's car as a precaution and they spent the next hour or so going over various things about his new life as Mariah. Robert's life was a bit more complex, given that he worked in finance, but Mariah had worked as a banking manager for 2 decades so it was really not at all different, just a different part of the machine. Harold too was not too occupied by the prospect of having to work her job, just that it would be different to look in the mirror and see his sister's face.

"Your face, you mean," Mariah corrected him as she switched lanes and took the offramp a few miles later. "I know it's weird but you have to start thinking of yourself as me, as Mariah." She continued, eyes on the road. "Would be weird if it slipped when you're with Kiersten or with Jack."

Harold nodded and leaned back in the chair. For better or worse, at least for the next few months, he had to put aside the fact that he was Harold and accept the fact that the world would see and treat him like Mariah, Mrs. Mariah Michelson. He looked over at Mariah, knowing that she would have to live the life of Robert Davis, a 27 year-old finance executive and the husband of her own daughter. It was a weird way that they got themselves into things like this but as they reached the gas station before the turnoff to the house, Harold decided that it only made more sense to do things this way. In for a penny and all that jazz.

"Ready?"

He looked at her...no, at him, and nodded slowly. "Let's go do this."

****

The evening turned out more than a bit interesting, namely because as they arrived back at the house, there were a few cars in the driveway. Robert and Kiersten's car was next to Jack's car and they spotted the two of them standing out near the front door and when they pulled in, Kiersten waved at the two of them before walking up and giving her apparent mother a warm hug and then walked over and gave her husband a hug and a kiss on the lips. "Hey honey," she greeted before motioning for them to open the trunk. Robert (Mariah decided to refer to himself as his son-in-law) flashed a wink at Mariah who, unseen by either Jack or Kiersten, simply rolled her eyes before she took her overnight bag from her daughter and after giving her one last hug, watched as the two hopped into their car and drove off.

"Had a good trip?" Jack asked, causing Mariah to turn a bit suddenly and then she smiled and nodded. "Well, good to hear it. We managed to get some take-out Chinese for dinner, figured you'd be a bit tired coming in and probably wanted to get some rest."

She was silent as they walked into the house (her house, she reminded herself) and after watching him go into the kitchen to get things squared away, Mariah turned and walked into the master bedroom and paused for a moment to get her situation under control and then sighed as she caught her reflection in the mirror. "What the hell did I get myself into?"