Chapter 17

This went on for the entire period that Mom was away. When she returned, she took one look at the two of us and knew something was up. I don't know how she knew; but that night after everyone else was asleep; she came into my room and shut the door. She sat on the edge of the bed;

"I know something is going on between you and your brother; I can tell that you're treating each other differently. I'm afraid to ask what it is, but I have to know."

"Mom, there's only one way to put this; we are in love with each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together."

Before she could burst into tears or start yelling at me. I tried to explain.

"Mom; before you say anything I have something that I want to tell you; something that you're going to find impossible to believe."

"Ok, you have my full attention."

"Mom, do you remember the morning when I was in ninth grade and I fainted in the bathroom while I was getting ready for school?"

"Yes, I remember, go on."

"The reason I fainted was because up until that morning I was an old man, lying in a hospital bed in the year 2012. In fact I wasn't just any old man, I was Jack. We had all screwed up our lives so much that at that point, I was dying of heart failure after living a life of drugs, Anne was a drunk, living in a trailer park and you and Dad were already dead. I asked God for another chance to make things right, and when I died, I woke up in Anne's body. You can imagine the shock I had trying to go to the bathroom and finding out I was a girl. Everything I've done since then has been to try to change our lives for the better."

She looked at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Let's assume for a moment that all this is true. That still doesn't explain why you and your brother are sleeping together."

"I'm getting to that. I soon realized that we were going to change our futures, history as I knew it. I wanted to minimize that as much as possible. My plan was to have Jack and I live out in the country as man and wife; so that we would have little contact with the outside world."

"What about your father and me? What about kids?"

"I knew that I was going to have to have this discussion with you before he and I moved in together. As for kids, I already know that Anne can't have any kids. That was the main reason why her marriage broke up."

"This is too much for me to believe. Is there any way for you to prove to me that what you're saying is true?"

I thought for a moment, and then came up with a solution.

"What if I told you about something that was going to happen next year? Would that convince you that I'm telling the truth?"

"That depends on what it is?"

"Unfortunately, the only interest that Jack had after he turned to drugs and dropped out of school was rock and roll. The next historical event that I can remember from that period is the death of another rock star. Would that convince you? You know the musical group named The Doors, the lead singer Jim Morrison is going to die on July 3 1971 in Paris from what will be reported as a heroin overdose but no autopsy will ever be done so it will never be confirmed."

"That's awful; but yes that would convince me. I want you to write it down, put it in a sealed envelope and give it to me. I'll keep it safe until then. In the mean while, I want you to promise me that you and your brother will stop this affair until then. If what you say comes to pass, then we'll reexamine your situation. Is that fair enough for you?"

"It'll be really hard especially on Jack; but I'll explain it to him."

"I don't want you to say anything to your father; I think we'll all have to explain it to him when and if the time comes. How am I ever going to sleep tonight?"