* * *
Jamie saw Lori sitting at the coffee shop where they had agreed to meet and ran toward her in stilettos, crying out, "Lori, it's me Jamie!"
Lori put down her coffee cup, "James is that you?"
"I’m Jamie now."
"My God, James, I can’t believe it. You’re beautiful. Everyone told me you were, but seeing you again like this is absolutely amazing." Lori paused, unsure of how she should act. This was the man she had loved and who had risked his life out of love for her. Now he stood in front of her, a woman. Tangled thoughts crowded Lori’s mind as she tried to determine the best way to break her news to Jamie. "I’m sorry, Jamie, I will have to adjust to your new name. I still see James in your eyes."
Jamie paused, and glanced down to avoid meeting Lori’s eyes, she tried to keep the conversation light. "I was so excited when I got the letter notifying me that my parole conditions were changed and that this meeting was set up. I haven't been able to sleep for the past couple of days."
Lori noticed the embarrassment and tried her best to encourage Jamie’s confidence. "So what's it like, you know…being a woman?"
"Well, the surgical part of the gender reassignment wasn't so bad, but learning to think and act like a lady has been tough. Not being able to talk to you was the worst part."
"And are you doing OK?"
"Like they told me, women are special. I have a fantastic social life, and my career is going well. How have you been?"
Lori glanced around the café before answering. She wasn’t sure whether Jamie knew that she had fathered a child. She looked Jamie up and down, from her stilettos to her swinging A-line skirt, to the low-cut V-neck sweater. Her hair was soft and dark, curling around her ears and framing her face perfectly. Lori recognized her own daughter in that face and continued, "I have four wonderful children and two of them are healthy girls. Sally is eight now, and, Jamie, she’s beautiful just like you. The resemblance is stunning."
"I saw you were pregnant during the trial and I hoped the baby was mine. Is she?"
Holding back her tears, Lori responded, "Yes, she’s ours."
Jamie looked down again. Rage flooded her body, then guilt, then sadness. She had fathered a child. She had created another life, the product of her love for the woman facing her at the café. She wondered how she would have reacted as a man. "Did your husband accept her?"
"Oh Jamie, I was so scared to go through the marriage lottery, but it worked out. I was grieving for you so much, that all I could do was cry, even in my sleep. Arthur, my husband, was kind and patient. He was a bit jealous during my pregnancy, but loved the baby right off, and has taken wonderful care of us. I didn’t want to go on living after we were caught and they separated us, but with Arthur's help I made it. His only condition was that we have more children of our own."
"I spent most of my time, in prison worrying about you. I felt so worthless not being able to even comfort you. I'm glad they found you a good husband."
"Jamie, he is a good man and the best husband I could have hoped for. I mean, except for you, before your change."
Jamie’s mind was filled with conflicting emotions. They had made the decision to elope together. Why was Lori granted a perfect life and she had to undergo the sentence alone? "Do you love him?"
"Yeah, the hormonal treatments they gave us worked and we bonded okay. I love him, not the way I loved you, but…" Lori looked up. She saw the pain in Jamie’s eyes, recognized the jealousy and the hurt. They locked gazes for a minute, and Jamie finally smiled.
"Good." Lori exhaled with relief. They had connected again.
Jamie said, "But you haven't told me anything about yourself."
"Not much to say, really, I’m a full-time mom." Lori avoided Jamie’s eyes this time. She wasn’t sure how to approach the real reason that this meeting was scheduled.
"Are you feeling OK? You look a little thin."
Lori shifted in her seat, re-crossing her legs. "I'm not hungry much anymore. Would you like a piece of cake or a coffee or something? Here we are chatting this whole time and you don’t have anything to eat or drink."
Jamie ignored the attempt to change the subject. She saw the fear in Lori’s eyes and pushed for more information. "No. Why are you not eating? Lori are you ill?"
Lori looked up with amazement. How could this stranger recognize that? Then she remembered, this stranger was her true love. "I have a tumor," she admitted softly.
"Can't they fix it?"
"No, it's one of those damn hormonal cancers. The plague of the Sacred Womanhood never ends."
Jamie’s heart sank. The medical care on Eros had been able to treat everything except for the diseases of the Sacred Womanhood. "Shit, this isn't fair. I finally get to see you again and now you're telling me that you are going to die."
"My dad always said that nothing was fair in this world."
"Is this why they changed my parole?"
"The Sacred Womanhood petitioned the court, on my behalf, for the change. I needed to see you again and ask you to do something for me."
"What? Anything!"
"The children need a mother," Lori said, her voice indicating the gravity of her situation.
Jamie was stunned. "Me? But Lori, I don't know anything about being a mother."
"I'll teach you."
"What about your husband?"
"Jamie, you’re 27 now, I’m sure you can handle the responsibility. Arthur is going to need you after I'm gone," Lori pleaded, reaching across the table to take hold of Jamie’s hands. It was their first physical contact in eight years and a rush surged through Lori’s body.
Jamie resisted with fear and uncertainty. The physical contact unnerved her. "But what about my career?"
"Being a mother is the most important of all careers. The children, our child, needs you. Arthur and I will teach you."
Jamie let go of Lori’s hands. She shook her head, looking around the café and imagining herself adopting yet another role in society. "I just don’t know if I can do it."
Lori watched her, saying resolutely, "James, you have to. It's the best thing for everyone."
The End.