Submitted for the October 2023 prompt: Machine in the Ghost

Xavier woke with a start, dripping in sweat. Panicked, he extended his hand across the bed to find Gail, asleep next to him. “I love you,” he told her, caressing her shoulder.

“I love you, too,” she murmured.

Relieved to find Gail beside him, he still couldn’t shake the residual feeling of fear from his dream. Xavier stood and walked across the room. The large mirror on the wall beckoned him. He was a fit thirty-something in need of a shave. Turning to Gail, still asleep in the bed, he admired her beauty.

She was also thirty-ish, attractive, the picture of perfection, kind, funny, smart...

She stirred, breaking Xavier from his thoughts. He held his breath, not wanting to wake her. He quietly turned back to face the mirror as he reminisced about the day they met.

* * *

“Taxi,” Xavier called out, waving his hand excitedly. As the yellow transport pulled to the curb near 85th and Amsterdam, a flurry of blond hair pushed in front of him.

“Excuse me, may we share this one?”

Xavier’s dumb stare revealed more than he had intended. “Yes, of course.”

Once they had clambered into the cab, Xavier introduced himself. “I’m Gail,” the lovely goddess replied. He was headed to Wall Street, but offered to drop her first in the SoHo district.

“Are you native to New York?” he asked.

“No, I’m originally from the Midwest. Iowa.”

“Iowa? Did you grow up on a farm?”

“Not everyone in Iowa farms.”

“Right, sorry. That was a stupid thing to say.”

Gail laughed. “It’s okay. I’m not offended. My family does farm. Every year they still plant a maize maze.”

“Maze maze?”

“Maize as in corn. We grow corn.”

Gail wasn’t pretentious like most of the women Xavier knew. Talking to her felt easy, organic, like a breath of fresh air. After thirty minutes of conversation they were at Gail’s stop. Before she escaped, Xavier took a chance, “Would you have dinner with me?” Although he had no idea why, she'd accepted and the stage was set. The two had been together ever since. Fifty years, three kids, and all the love in the —

* * *

Xavier’s vision blurred and a sharp, high-pitched squeal caused him to clasp his hands over his ears.

“Suzy, Aaron, Gladys,” he cried out. A mental image came into focus - Suzy’s birthday. In the seat next to him, Gail’s beautiful hair stood up from her head, touching the roof of the vehicle. Blood painted her forehead. He could see the world inverted through the windshield. Feeling the safety belt cut into his collar bone, supporting him as he dangled upside down in his seat, he peered into the back row where all three of their children hung motionless.

* * *

Then, as if nothing had happened, Xavier resumed his previous thoughts. The two had been together ever since. Ten years, passionately in love, and hopeful for a large family. Xavier smiled at the thought.

The mirror. He realized he was still standing in front of the mirror. Staring at it soothed him. He felt tired again.

He made his way to his side of the bed again. Lying down, he kissed Gail’s forehead and closed his eyes, hoping the terrifying visions of the car wreck from his nightmare would not return.

* * *

On the other side of the mirror, a team of scientists steadily fiddled with knobs and tapped out instructions on their keyboards. Staring through the mirror at an eighty year old man lying in bed alone, the man in charge spoke, “What happened back there? We can’t have him glimpsing reality when he reminisces.”

“Yes, sir,” answered another man in a white lab coat. “How long is Mr. Robinson staying in virtual replay?”

“For the rest of his life, according to his contract,” answered the chief. “After the accident, he couldn’t go on living without his family. Just keep him on a continuous loop from when he met Gail to the day before the wreck.”

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