Revelations during the drive.

Andrea Blackburn was one of the toughest and most resilient women I'd ever known. It came as quite a shock to see her crying like a schoolgirl.

"Oh, what is that about, now?" I asked. "I know there's a lot to take in with all this, but I'll get it sorted. Seriously."

The actual tears and few sniffles didn't last very long, but her usually-pristine makeup had been smudged badly. She didn't seem to care. "I'm not crying about that. Don't you see? The whole world has just been thrust into some kind of hell for all women, and if you, a normally kind and decent man, are this kind of asshole, then there really is no hope for any of us. Those poor girls. I want to help them, but I know I can't."

She lowered the visor to look at herself in the mirror, making a disgusted sound when she saw the state of her face. She wiped most of the runny bits away but made no effort to properly fix the makeup. She looked at herself. "I do see it, you know. That I'm not really a person. My reflection is alien to me." She shut the visor. "I hate this. But what can we do?"

I was only barely listening. The radio in my car was broken or I'd have drowned her out already. "Uh huh."

She frowned at me, then took a shaky breath, looking at her hands in her lap. "I'm... worried what my husband will be like. I'm so scared. Do you think he will still love me?"

"Oh, yeah. He's a great guy. One of the best, right?"

She shrugged. "Yes, I think so. We've been together for twenty three years, you know. He's always been so good to me. Very supportive of my dreams and career... but now? Am I even still me?"

I looked at her, taking the conversation seriously for a moment. This had entered a mildly interesting topic. "Yeah, definitely still you. I look at you and I recognize you. Like I know your name, and our history. You're you."

I reached over and grabbed her breast through her clothing, eliciting a yelp from her. "But then, I'd never do this to you. Not before, anyway. You're you, but also not anything I feel the need to respect in any way. In my mind, I know you probably have thoughts and feelings but I cannot make myself care about them any more than I might care about the thoughts of a computer as it runs a program. They're just not real to me." I withdrew my hand. "Nice tits, by the way. I mean it."

She was shaken by my sudden advance. "Y-yes, well, in any case. My heart breaks when I think about all those girls who will never get a life of their own. I lived my life, I can move into this unexpected new phase with grace and dignity, I think. But them? They're being robbed of everything."

"I suppose," I said, trying to care about the conversation again.

She looked at me. "You need to care about this, Robert Miller. If not for their sake, then for yours. You have girls in that school going to turn 18 any day now. You have female teachers, faculty. What are you going to do? Have you even thought about the several women still teaching class when this thing happened? Have you checked on any of them?"

We arrived at her address. She continued. "I can't care about this any more. This is too much. I have my own lot to deal with now. I'm retired. Or fired, likely. It's up to you now. Please, I know this change is doing things to the men, too. As least I hope that's true. That must be why you are all so callous about this."

She took my face in her hands. Her eyes were teary again. "Please. If you feel nothing for us, take care of us for your own sake. For the fathers and the husbands we belong to. Make your school a safe place for us. Some men must still care about some of us. Remember them if that's what it takes for you to care about us. The school is yours. I fucking quit."

She climbed out of my car and made her way to the front door of the house. She'd given me her keys, which apparently included her house key, because she had to knock and wait to be let in.

I watched her husband open the door and embrace her. She cried again. She pointed to me and he waved.

He came down towards my car so I got out to meet him. He gave me a hug. "Thank you, Robert! You've done me a huge service. I saw the news and feared the worst for her. I owe you one."

"It was nothing, Dr. Blackwood. Really. Once I realized you must have been worried for her, it was the least I could do for a friend."

He hugged me again, and we said goodbye. He went inside.

I climbed back into may car and paused. Did Andrea Blackwood just curse? I laughed. What a weird day.

But something she'd said had stuck with me. I needed to take care of the school. They were counting on me. Putting the car in gear, I pulled out of the driveway, but I wasn't going home.