MFS - 7 (Patreon)

The following morning, Emily once again stood before the mirror, studying her reflection. She wore her cotton pajama top and pants, which now dragged on the floor since I had shortened them the previous night.

Black splotches covered her body, each patch accompanied by coarse, thick hair. They seemed to itch, as she kept scratching them with her darkened fingers.

"You're going to hurt yourself," I said, gently pulling her hands away. "Let's get you a nice bath."

She nodded and emitted a few "ook ook" sounds as I ran the water in the tub.

Assisting her into the bath, I soaped up the areas with patchy fur, delicately scrubbing away the dead skin with a soft loofah. She closed her eyes, clearly relishing the sensation.

"Any luck with words today?".

She opened her eyes and shook her head.

"Try saying 'John.'"

She furrowed her brow in concentration. "Joook, Jooook."

"No worries, honey."

After bathing, I dressed her in one of her many 'Stellaris' jumpers. I had to cut off several inches from the arms and legs, but afterward, she was able to walk, although she held her arms above her head to prevent them from touching the ground.

For breakfast, we had berries, citrus, and a banana. Emily then played in the backyard.

As I sat in the lounger, sipping orange juice, her phone pinged. Glancing at it, I saw the sender's name as "DPATEL," but the phone required her face to unlock it.

"Baby," I said.

Emily paused, looking at me, a wide grin on her face.

"Dave texted you," I said, handing her the phone.

She scurried down the tree, lumbering over to me. Using her arms to aid her, she climbed onto the chair and took the phone.

"Ook ook!" she exclaimed, but the Face ID did not work.

"You'll have to use your passcode. It doesn't recognize your face," I said.

She huffed but entered the code.

Frowning, she stared at the screen, scrolling every now and then. Eventually, she set it down quietly and looked at me.

"What is it?" I said.

She got off the chair and squatted beside me, a pose she had adopted more frequently. She extended one of her long arms, handing me the phone.

I scrolled through the texts, my heart pounding in my chest. Then I looked at her.

"So you did have an affair,"

She nodded.

"Well, Dave thinks you're still having one."

She shook her head, then placed her hand on her heart and mine.

"Your heart belongs to me," I affirmed.

She nodded and touched my lips before pointing to the sky. It was a motion she often made, "your lips to God's ears," and tears welled up in my eyes.

The last time I had seen her make that motion was at Eric's deathbed. I had prayed for the Lord to protect our little Eric and provide him a place by His side. Emily had gently touched my lips and pointed toward the sky.

The memory overwhelmed me, and I closed my eyes tightly.

I had sensed that something was amiss. During our weekly chats, Emily had become more distant, struggling to find words to say, to maintain our connection.

Because she was already connected to someone else.

I sighed. Emily was a radiant flame in this world, exuding love for everyone and everything. She possessed a zest for life that I had never found in anyone else.

Besides, things were different now.

I touched my chest, then pointed to her heart. "You have my heart too."

She smiled and nodded.

"Say, why don't we go to the primate institute and see what they have?" I said, taking her hand in mine.

"Ook!" she jumped up and down.

Whatever had transpired between them, whatever they had been to each other, belonged to the past. Hell, I had done things during her absence that I wasn't proud of. I was glad she had found someone to support her during the long days and nights circling Europa. Right now, we needed to understand what was happening to her and find a way to stop or reverse it.

As I watched her stand before the mirror, I noticed that the arms and legs of the jumper extended beyond her wrists and ankles. I grabbed a pair of scissors and trimmed a couple of inches.

At this point, she was less than four feet tall, even shorter when she squatted, as she often did.

She ran her hands over her stubbled head, then made a kissing face in the mirror before turning to me.

"Gorgeous!" I lifted her into my arms.

As we walked to the car, a neighbor called out, "Hey, who's this little guy?"

I looked up and saw Roger Cartright, our nosy neighbor from across the street.

Emily ooked at him, baring her teeth.

"Oh, is that Koko?" Roger said.

I shook my head. "No, it's ah... Kiki. She's another one of our... um... chimps."

It was the first time I had ever referred to Emily as a chimpanzee, and it sent a strange shiver down my spine. Would this be our new normal?

"Oh!" Roger smiled and placed his hands on his knees. "Well, Hello Kiki! Are you going to space too?"

Emily shook her head, grinning, before climbing into the car. I realized I would need to get her a different type of seat; the passenger seat was not designed for her body frame, and I worried she might get injured in an accident.

"Have a good day, you two!" Roger waved.

I waved back.

Emily turned on the radio as we drove, finding a station she liked. She made ooking and eeking sounds as we navigated through Houston's traffic.

We were on our way to the primate facility.

As we drove away, she giggled and ooked with excitement.