
Annie walked into the coffee shop several doors down from the bank where David worked. She caught sight of Dave sitting in the corner furthest from the door. He glanced furtively at Annie, and pointed to the latte heâd bought her.
She walked to the table and leaned over him to kiss him. He shifted uneasily away, checking around the room to see if he was being watched by anyone.
âNot here,â he said.
âHello, Dave,â said Annie, affronted that heâd not greeted her politely.
âIâm sorry,â he replied, embarrassed by his lack of manners.
âWould you rather come to my car,â said Annie with a smirk. She was aware how he disliked public displays of affection, but old habits die hard. Sheâd always been a little bit of an exhibitionist. And really, who could blame her. Anyone who had spent this much time trying to look good had a right to enjoy being looked at.
âYour car? Good God, no! Thatâs what got me into this mess!â said Dave.
âYes,â said Annie a little awkwardly. âI had no idea anyone would see that. I mean, it could happen to anyone, right?â
âIt wasnât just âanyoneâ that saw us. It was Shannon, my wifeâs sister,â said Dave.
Annie sipped her latte, a thin trace of frothy milk lining her top lip above the scarlet lipstick she liked to use. Dave looked at it. A milk moustache. How awkwardly appropriate.
âYou can hardly blame me for that, Dave,â said Annie politely. Even in disgrace she embodied poise and dignity. She sat very straight, her shoulders back and her chin held high. She brushed a lock of her chestnut hair from her face, and looked coyly at Dave. Sitting there, in her blue blazer, high necked blouse and pencil skirt she looked the picture of propriety.

âBesides,â she continued, âit didnât exactly stop you. As I remember it, you were quite absorbed in things as she knocked on the window.â
Dave cringed as he remembered the moment, Annieâs head between his legs and the slow tap, tap, tap on the car window. His sister in law had been with the local police detachment for a little over five years. The torch, the tone of voice. Everything compounded to form an overwhelming swamp of nightmare soup, and he felt himself drowning in it.
âI thought that was you,â his sister in law had said, the reflections of her torch playing over the shiny badge on her uniform. And Annie, looking up in surprise as his convulsions ceased, a drop of semen falling from her lips.
âAt least she doesnât know youâre,â he paused as he awkwardly searched for the words, âyou know.â
Annie stared at him. There is a look only a transgendered person can give, and she gave it on high beam.
âYou mean, âshe doesnât know Iâm a trannieâ?â said Annie slowly.
âOh God,â said Dave. âI donât meanâŠâ
âItâs ok,â said Annie. It wasnât as if she hadnât heard it before.
âNo. Really,â protested Dave. âYou know Iâm not like that. Iâm a compassionate person. I didnât mean to be like that.â Daveâs words hung there, but his face silently added, âThank god she doesnât know.â
âWhatâs the matter Dave?â said Annie. âThe thought of you getting nailed by a trans girlâs worse than you doing one of your co-workers?â
âNo,â he said squirming inside. âItâs not that.â
âSo, it would be better if I had a vagina?â said Annie mockingly. She checked herself. It was easy to be unkind. Too easy.
âDonât,â said Dave.
âI suppose itâs as good a reason for vaginoplasty as any,â she murmured as she looked across the tables and chairs and noticed a disabled young man was trying to negotiate the door of the cafĂ©. His wheelchair was getting stuck and blocking people trying to enter the place.

Dave groaned. He didnât want to hurt Annieâs feelings any more than he had to.
âAt least Shannon hasnât told Debbie,â said Dave.
âNo,â replied Annie. âShe wonât just yet.â
âWhat do you mean,â said Dave.
âSheâll make you sweat for a bit first. Maybe sheâll see what she can get out of you first.â Annie paused and then added, âSheâs bound to. Sheâs a cop.â
Annie slid her hand onto Daveâs leg beneath the table and stroked it. She noticed his hand tremble on his coffee cup. She smiled to herself.
âYouâre in a real pickle, arenât you, Dave.â
Annie got up and walked across the room. She held the heavy door open and the young man in the wheel chair moved through quickly, a flurry of apologies.
She returned to her seat, several of the people in the café looking at her for the first time. She was tall, a little oversized, probably an athlete. An unusual woman.
As she sat down she returned her hand to Daveâs thigh, a little higher up this time. She continued the gentle pressure.
âPlease donât,â said Dave.
âBut Davie,â said Annie, âYou said something about, what was it now?â The words hung there for a moment, and then she continued, âOh yes, I remember now. Youâd do anything for a night with â how did you phrase it â âsomeone like meâ. Yes, that was it.â
âAnnie, please. We have to stop this,â said Dave pulling himself backward in his chair.
âOh, donât worry,â said Annie. âWeâll just be a little more discrete.â
Her hand slid between his legs and he glanced nervously around the coffee shop.
âTomorrow night then?â asked Annie.
âTomorrow night,â assented Dave.
The End