None of the Millers know

"...so, it's been...?"

Joanne leaned back and tilted her head to the side, something that she always seemed to do when she was feeling more than a bit ornery. "The accident? That was about 8 days ago. I've been up for about 4 days now, they think it's because this body's young and recuperated rather quickly. You, well, the injuries were a bit more severe." She looked up at the mirror across the way. "Are you curious?"

You paused for a moment and then instead looked at her again. "So...tell me about yourself now...I mean, are we...?"

She nodded after catching on to what you were asking. "Yeah, our bodies were already pretty far gone and without a next of kin for me, I signed off on cremation. Your body was released to your family two days ago. For better or worse, we're like this now." She laughed despite the situation that you were facing and then playfully flexed her arm. "Still, could be worse!"

"Better off wed than dead?"

She slapped your shoulder gently. "That's the spirit!" Joanne then looked at the phone buzzing by the side of your bed and then got up to leave. "Well, I've kept you long enough. I'm going off before mom and dad get a bit more concerned."

You just smiled and with a last look at you, she leaned over and gave you a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be in touch, okay? Try to get used to it, James. Think of it as a new lease on life, especially since you've gotten a second chance at it."

****

The rest of the afternoon was spent on tests and more tests as Kerry and Saunders made sure to keep your operation under wraps and the nurses, the majority of them in the dark, were very diligent in keeping an eye on you. IT was still odd to think of yourself now living as Julianne Miller, a woman of 42 years and a married one to boot. You weren't sure if you could even pull off being another person, much less trying to impersonate someone who you had known socially but not that well. With the added issues of her family being in the dark about the whole situation, you weren't sure if you could even rely on having help.

Still, curiosity overcame what hesitations you had and after the last evening check, you slowly managed to sit up in bed and with shaky legs, you stood up. It was a whole range of different feelings, emotions, as you made your way over to the mirror and after taking a deep breath, you opened your eyes to look at yourself.

"Holy..."