Unwanted Power

We Both Got Screwed

Heather decided to use her Dora body for this unexpected addition to her day. Dressed in jeans and flannel, as Jessie had been. Boots. Fingernails were short. Blonde mane pulled back in a ponytail.

Heather walked up to the Mercedes.

Esmerelda was standing by her car, looking down at the flat. She had a phone to her head.

"Hi. Need some help?" Dora asked.

Esmerelda looked up. "Hell yes. My dumb boyfriend is not answering. Useless man." She flicked an immaculate set of dark red fingernails, straight out of the salon, at her flat passenger side tire. "Brand new car. Brand new. This happens. I have never changed a tire in my life. Called for a tow truck. They said it would be an hour! Or more."

"That's OK. I do. I change tires all the time." Dora assured her.

Esmerelda tilted her head to regard the beautiful woman before her. Beyond pretty. Her appearance was not at all diminished by her practical dress. Her lack of makeup. "Uhm. You do?"

Dora bobbed her mane and knelt next to the flat to give it a look-over. "Sure. This is a lot easier than a truck or a Jeep. These tires are big but nothing like the mudders I have done. That's one of the things my boyfriend likes about me... Well. My ex-boyfriend. Cheating jerk."

"Honey. There is no way any man cheated on you." Esmerelda assured her.

Heather looked up at Esmerelda from her position and gave her a smile. Part acknowledging the compliment. Part sisters in arms. Part wry. A sincere middle finger to men. It was a very loaded smile. "Yeah. I don't have to put up with that kind of shit, you know?"

Dora stood and walked to the trunk. She tapped the lip. "Can you pop this with your remote?"

"Sure." Esmerelda looked at the fob and tapped a button she had never used on her remote. Brand new car. Never had a reason to. The lid popped upward.

Dora reached inside the empty space. She flipped up the cover on the bottom of the truck well to expose the tools, jack, and space-saver spare. She went to work freeing it all.

Esmerelda came around to watch. "You have done this before." She said.

"A time or two. I know a guy with an old S type. Diesel, and way bigger than this one. It's from the 1980s, so it had a few flats down the years." Heather referred to Bill's Mercedes. The battery of which had been her first clue about her new situation.

Esmerelda looked at her fingernails and considered their current practicality. "Before I got all fancy and uptown? I could have learned to do things like this. Lawyers are supposed to have a look. You know? My boyfriend likes the look too. Different reason."

Heather laughed. "I gotta be me. My Ex just learned that. Did I mention he is an asshole? I'm going back to men who take me the way I am."

"Gorgeous and practical? You are going to be single for about 12 seconds. Hell, honey! If I was not straight, I'd take you off the market myself." Esmerelda assured her.

Heather gave Esmeralda a different smile. "Same. Never dated a lawyer ... long term thing with a cop once, though. I may go dig him up and marry him."

"Why didn't you?" Esmerelda asked curiously.

"Well. I'm white. Possibly you noticed? He is black. Lives down South. We got some shit about that. Shouldn't have let that bother us."

Esmerelda agreed. "You totally shouldn't. I'm dating a white guy right now. Color is not all there is to it. It's who the man is, you know?"

"Agreed. Let's get this show on the road.

Dora carried everything she needed from the sub-compartment of the trunk over to the flat tire and set it all down. It took two trips.