I tell Lucas that I’m their son, Charles, on X-Change

“I am. I’m Charles,” I tell him directly.

“Charles is a peculiar name for a young woman. But surely the Flores’ son Charles is most definitely a young man,” Lucas points out the obvious.

“Not today, he isn’t,” I quickly corrected him. “Today, he is Charlene. All made possible by a pill called X-Change.

Lucas seemingly goes back to his work, completely ignoring me, an attractive young woman, together with him in this combined backyard space. I cross my legs and gaze intently at my neighbor. What is going on in his head? It is fairly a lot to process, but Lucas sure is taking his time with it.

Finally, he stops his work and turns to face me, asking me a question. “And why would you do that, Charles?” he asks, addressing me by my birth name. I give him a shrug, which causes him to say, “Well, I’m not stupid. And I was not born yesterday. I know of this **** you call X-Change and the wonders it does to someone’s body. Did you do all of this just to seduce me?”

I can’t say I’m guilty as charged, because for some reason I don’t feel guilt for my choice. He could have flat out ignored me from the first moment he saw this young woman on his neighbor’s deck, but instead he was friendly.

“What if I did, Lucas?” I ask, getting to my feet. “I know you’ve been a widower every since her passing. And my family and I have never seen you with another woman. I just thought…”

He interrupts me, but in a calm, yet stern way, “You just thought you, the son of Robert and Joanna Flores, could take a pill that makes you female, would entice me?”

“I have to wonder, Is it working?” I ask what may seem like an insensitive question. And of course, he doesn’t answer. I walk up to him, closing the distance. He backs away, expertly stepping over the foundation of the fence, back onto his property. I continue walking up to the fence. “What are the chances your next-door neighbor shows up as this young woman who clearly is attracted to you? What would you do?”