Chapter 8

“Oh hi Ellen, what a nice surprise!” Natalia said playfully, “Do come in!”

Ellen skillfully moved the bottles to one hand and hugged the redhead with her free arm as she spoke softly in her ear, “How are you doing, sweetheart? I thought to bring you some more wine.”

Natalia harrumphed and scolded, “As if that is going to change the fact I can’t get drunk anymore!”

Ellen softly closed the door as she said, “The great thing is that you can enjoy every sip of wine without getting sick.”

She walked to the kitchen and as she placed the two bottles in the fridge she continued, “But that means you should start to drink something better than this ‘chateau the migraine’.”

She took the bottle from the countertop and as she emptied it out in the sink she said, “Two things you should know if you’re going to drink large quantities of alcohol, and I’m pretty sure Pam will agree with me: 1. All the alcohol will be instantly transformed into glucose which you directly can use for your muscles, so good for fight or flight. 2. Since the alcohol will be removed from the possible toxins of the wine all other toxins, like sulfur and other nasty preservatives, still might give you a stinking headache if you drink crappy wine.”

“I second that.“

“Oh shit,” Natalia said shocked, “That’s even worse! Getting sick from drinking without getting drunk!”

“Uh huh,” said Ellen, “From now on I’ll make sure that your fridge is filled with some decent wines until you know what to buy.”

“Tell Ellen you’ve gotten a connoisseur thrown in with the last deal.“

Natalia had to chuckle when she read Pamela’s remark and she really had the urge to banter back but somehow it would look stupid. Plus the fact that Ellen would’ve missed out on Pamela’s remark.

She was wracking her brains to come up with a solution that Pamela could join the conversation.

For now she looked at the older woman with a smirk as she said, “Thank you Ellen. I’m looking forward to seeing what wine you’re planning to enrich my fridge with, but I think I’ll be fine. You know, they’ve thrown in a connoisseur with the package I received from the GIS.”

Ellen gasped and instantly exclaimed, “Oh I’m so sorry Pam! I still need to get used to the idea you’re there as well.”

“Deep sigh (if I would be able to do that). It’s okay, I’m not upset. It’s understandable when you’re invisible.“

“She’s not upset with you, Ellen,” Natalia said reassuringly, “she is quite invisible at the moment.”

Ellen face darkened as she warned, “Stop it Natalia, this is not funny. Pam has no means to express herself what so ever which makes it all a lot more difficult.”

Suddenly Natalia had an epiphany and as she rushed to her bedroom she asked Ellen, “How good are you in reading mirrored texts?”

Ellen was silent for a second and said somewhat reserved, “I think I can handle that. What the hell are you planning to do?”

“Just wait a moment I’ll be right back,” she said as she took off her jacket and her crop top. She unhooked the mirror from the wall and triumphantly walked back to the living room and said, “Let’s sit on the carpet and I’ll explain to you both what I’ve come up with.”

Ellen raised her eyebrows as she saw Natalia taking down the straps of her bra and commented, “Don’t expect me to do the same.”

Natalia chuckled and said calmly, “No you don’t have to. I want you to sit next to the mirror.”

Ellen obeyed Natalia’s instruction and sat down cross-legged against the sofa next to the mirror.

Natalia grinned as she said, “Pamela, the upper part of my chest is your canvas which you can use to express yourself but please do take in mind I’m looking at it via a mirror.”

“Oh my,” gushed Ellen, “This is such a brilliant solution!”

“Yes! This is so amazing! Thank you so much Natalia!“ was the first text Natalia could read which had been appeared on her upper chest.

“You’re welcome Pam,” Natalia said enthusiastically, “This is so much easier to have a three way conversation.”

“Let me try something, “ was the next text Pamela had painted on Natalia’s flawless skin.

“Pam!” Ellen exclaimed as soon as she saw a smiling face appear above Natalia’s left breast.

“Is this really your face Pam?” asked Natalia as she studied the almost angelic features of Pamela’s face, “You look so beautiful.”

Natalia was taken aback as Pamela’s face blushed a little as the text appeared next to the animation, “Thanks, it’s how I remember myself.“

Ellen was silent and staring at Natalia’s chest for a long time she asked, “Pam, what is left from your original count? I see you’re struggling with keeping this up.”

Natalia was surprised as she saw Pamela looking down as if she was ashamed of herself and was blown away as soon as she read the text, “I’ve lost about 65%. I have just enough to keep my memory intact. 96% has a double function at the moment.“

Natalia instantly asked, “Will you be able to survive until we have the opportunity to replenish you?”

Pamela’s smile was forlorn as she stated, “I’ll be fine. I don’t think there’s a way to get any additional nanites for me.“

Natalia thought about it considering the story of the Enzuins’ unwillingness to rescue her by creating a new body, Pamela might be right. But she knew that her situation, being injected with type R nanites might open doors if one would play the cards well. It was an opportunity she definitely wanted to try when the time was right.

“Alright,” Natalia replied, “maybe we should have a toast on having new opportunities and reuniting old friends.”

Ellen got up and said, “Let me get the bottle and some glasses. I assure you, you’re going to like this wine.”

“Take it slow Nat. I can’t keep up my appearance if your blood starts to be inundated with alcohol molecules again.“

Natalia understood her companion’s concern and said soothingly, “I’ll have a taste. Maybe I’ll take a few small sips.”

“Nonsense,” said Ellen brusquely in a cocky way, “You should take a large amount in your mouth and let it sit there for a few seconds and then let it slide into your stomach. Best experience ever to destroy a bottle of the finest Chablis.”

Natalia laughed as she saw Ellen’s eyebrows move up and down knowing she was joking.

Natalia took a sip and the fresh wine exploded into her mouth in many beautiful flavors, instantly telling her how magnificent the wine was.

“I don’t think Pam would appreciate your way of devouring an expensive wine. How much were these bottles anyway?”

Ellen emptied her glass and before she poured herself another one she briefly looked at the label of the bottle. As she poured the crystal clear liquid into the glass she said, “Hmm, a Chablis Premier Grand Cru, I guess about 50 to 60 bucks.”

Natalia gasped cherishing the golden liquid in her glass suddenly a lot more.

“Ellen has a much more elaborate taste. These are just for getting the party started.“ Pamela confided to her letting her animation wink.

“No, Pam!” Ellen exclaimed, “You’re not going to tell her the story.”

“Why not, Ellen?“ Pamela’s face had changed into a frown.

“Because I would like to tell her that, but not now. It’s just too much information for the poor kid.”

“Hey,” said Natalia a little shocked, “I’m not a kid!”

Ellen looked down as she realized what she just had said. She sighed before she continued with a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry Natalia. I’m afraid I’ve let myself go a little too much.”

Natalia closed her eyes trying to get some sense of self. It was clear there were old emotions involving the group which had scratched the surface again. She felt she was at verge to be dragged into it while they were not hers to deal with.

Natalia looked at her dear friend and smiled a little forlorn as she said, “A lot has happened the last few days and I have a feeling we all are suffering the consequences from all the changes. The question is how we can embrace those changes so I think we need a little bit more time to find a new balance.”

“Hear, hear, “ showed on Natalia’s chest with a happy looking Pamela above it.

“Yes,” agreed the older woman as she looked at Pamela’s animated face, “well-spoken my dear. What has happened today definitely has a bigger impact than I had anticipated.”

Pamela looked forlorn as she showed the text, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys sooner.“

Natalia thought about it and tried to imagine how she would feel if she would found herself in that situation.

“You don’t need to apologize Pam. You did this to survive and I’m glad you did, and survived,” she responded with a smile.

Ellen shivered as she said, “I guess I wouldn’t have survived the solitude for that long.”

A flashing text appeared, “You always were the party animal, Ellen.“

And Pamela’s animation was wearing a party hat, surrounded with ribbons.

Ellen chuckled and conceded, “It was fun to get the others to do things they normally wouldn’t do.”

She sighed as she said dreamily, “We did have some great fun back then.”

Natalia couldn’t stop herself from yawning and said, “I bet you both were party animals.”

Ellen smiled warmly and said, “We were, but that was more than 30 years ago.”

Natalia yawned again.

Ellen moved close to Natalia and as she hugged the woman she whispered in her ear, “I guess that’s my clue to leave. You need to have your beauty sleep, my sweetheart.”

Natalia rubbed the old woman’s back as she said, “You can stay here if you want. The sofa bed is very good. I’ve been sleeping on it until my new bed had arrived. Or you can join our little group in my bed.”

Ellen stood and helped Natalia to stand as well. They hugged again, enjoying the warmth of the embrace.

“Don’t worry about me,” Ellen said, “There’s hardly any traffic. I’ll be home in no time.”

As they parted Pamela showed a text only Ellen could read, “Two things I want to say to my lovely one night stand lover: 1. I will never blame you for what happened to me. 2. If Natalia has been a dear friend of yours for more than two years, I have faith I can be her partner for the rest of my life.“

Ellen smiled as she read the text and said to Natalia with a smirk, “Be nice to Pamela.”

“I’ll try,” Natalia said between two yawns, “Don’t you need to sleep?”

Ellen nodded, “Our physical body needs to have about 4 hours rest per day to be fully functional again.”