Chapter 3
Gina glanced at the clock. It was almost time to clock out and her coworkers noticed how impatient she was getting.
"Got something important after work?" CM questioned, enjoying how he got on her nerves.
"Yes, if you must know," Gina retorted, tapping her fingers on her desk. "It's already late as it is."
Ben leaned back into his chair, "New date?"
Gina shook her head, "New friend. She cremated her husband today and I want to check on her."
"What's your friend's name?" CM asked, ready to type away at his computer.
"Elliot Beckett," Gina replied. "Why?"
"Background check," CM answered as he waited for the results to pop up. "Uh... Gina, there's a lot of redacted stuff on her file."
Gina pushed her chair over and looked at CM's screen. She scanned the info. The profile picture was right, the age was right, but other information was redacted. She didn't know why.
"Check her husband's info," Gina suggested and CM clicked on the husband's name.
Nothing regarding the husband was redacted.
"How strange," Gina stated, moving her seat back to her desk to clock out. "I'll just have to ask her about it later. Good night, boys."
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Ben called out as Gina rushed off to her car.
/ - / - /
It was late when Gina arrived at Elliot's home. The front door was wide open so she entered and found Reese.
"Hey, Reese," Gina smiled. "Where's your mama?"
"Bedroom," Reese answered before joining the other children in the playroom.
Gina looked up the stairways and the rest of her surroundings. No one was paying attention to her. She went up and knocked on the bedroom door. A voice beckoned her inside. There was a man, half-dressed, lying on the bed with his arm across his face, covering his eyes.
"Elliot?" Gina questioned.
"Yes?" the man responded.
Judging by his disheveled looks, Gina could tell that he had one too many and was probably confused. "Are you really Elliot Beckett?"
The man scoffed, "Stop playing around, Rayna. You know how the family curse goes."
"I'm not Rayna and I don't know how the family curse goes," Gina replied.
"And I'm not cursed," the man laughed. "Oh, to be female by day and male by night. It's quite the opposite for dear old Quincy. We're on the 12th iteration of this Gender Bender Curse that affects every 3rd generation. Just 12 more iterations for the curse to be lifted from the family."
Gina sighed, "You're drunk."
The man hummed, "You would be too if you lost your partner. Terrance made me feel so whole, no matter what gender I was at the time. Now he's gone and I'm crumbling."
"They say time heals all wounds," Gina informed, taking a seat on the bed, beside the man.
"Rayna, don't tell Topher but I met someone that reminded me so much of Terrance," the man mumbled. "Her name is Gina. I like her but I don't know if she's like me once I tell her about this curse."
"What do you have to lose?" Gina questioned.
He chuckled sadly, "The last remainders of my heart. Gina... She's so beautiful and sassy. I like it. I'll settle for being friends with her, Rayna. I'll put up my walls again, sis. I wish Gina was here."
Gina smirked, "I doubt you would want her to see you like this. Legs up."
The man sighed, "In a bit, sis. The world is still spinning."
"If you have a good opportunity to tell her, you should, Elliot," Gina advised, wondering what 'Elliot' would say.
"Why would I pull her into our family's mess?" he replied. "It's just a crush. It'll go away eventually but for some reason, these feelings for Gina don't want to go away."
"What if she feels the same way?" Gina asked.
"That would be wonderful, Ray," the man sighed happily. "But we don't live in fairytales. Why would Gina be interested in me?"
Gina reached over, taking the man's free hand, and squeezed it. "Will you remember tonight?"
"Probably up until I got stupid drunk," the man chuckled. "My husband is gone and I've got to hold it together for our sweet baby girl."
"I was never here, Elliot," Gina whispered upon leaning in close and pecking the man's cheek before leaving.
"Never here." Gina heard him murmur as she closed the door behind her.
No one noticed her presence at all save for Reese, who waved goodbye and closed the main door behind her.