The old man standing before Jon blinked, then shook his head, as though he were just waking up. "I'm sorry, young lady," he said, looking at Jon. "I..." Suddenly he became aware of his surroundings. "Where am I?" He looked around, taking in every corner of the library... then his gaze fell on his own clothing. In a low, frightened voice, he said, "And what on earth am I wearing...?"
Jon hesitated for a moment, then grabbed hold of the man's arm; he figured touching the old man at this point couldn't do any more harm than it had already done. Somewhat to Jon's surprise, the man didn't turn into someone else; he was the same man, looking just as confused as before Jon had touched him. So Jon opened the restroom door and attempted to pull the man inside. "Follow me," he said.
The man, coming to attention, resisted Jon's attempts to tug him inside. "That's the ladies' room," he said indignantly. "I can't go in there."
"Yes you can," Jon said under his breath. "Trust me... you'll understand in a minute."
The man raised an eyebrow, then stopped pulling against Jon's arm and followed him into the women's restroom.
"What on earth is this about, Miss?" the old man said, clearly flustered. "I don't understand any of this. The last thing I remember, I was at home, and I..."
Just then the man caught sight of the mirror where, standing next to the perfect figure of Meagan O'Shea, he saw a petite Asian-American girl dressed in the same clothing he was wearing. The man gaped for a moment in silent astonishment, then crept toward the mirror, one step at a time, until he was up against the row of sinks. Jon followed and stood a step behind the man.
Reaching a hand up to the mirror, where his palm met the reflection of the girl's own hand, the man said, in a quiet voice, "I'm... I'm a girl?" Then, a moment later, "And an Oriental?" Jon flinched at that last line.
The man stared a moment longer, then turned abruptly away. "No, no, I'm... my name is Jacob Foster. I'm a preacher at a Baptist church. I have a wife, children, grandchildren..." He looked Jon directly and said, with more than a little force, "I'm. Not. A woman."
Jon looked the man... Jacob... over. It had not escaped his notice that the man had been calling him "young lady" and "miss", or that he hadn't seemed to have any objection to Jon entering the women's restroom. Clearly, although Jacob had been switched himself, he still saw Jon as Meagan. For the moment, until he learned more about this man, he decided it was safest to run with that.
"My name is Meagan," Jon said, placing a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "And I believe you."
Jacob held Jon's gaze a moment, then he shut his eyes and his mouth quivered. He took a deep breath and mouthed a few silent words. Then he opened his eyes again. A look at the girl in the mirror. A look at Jon. Then, "Do you see me as her? As that girl?"
"No," Jon said, shaking his head. "I see you as a man. As yourself, I think. But I think everyone else sees you as her. I've..." Jon hesitated. "I've met other people today who this has happened to, believe it or not. I'm the only person who sees these people as themselves. Everyone else... well..." He nodded at Jacob's reflection.
Jacob looked at Jon curiously. "What makes you so special?"
Again Jon hesitated. At last, he said, "I don't know."
Jacob sighed and ran a hand over his face. Strolling back to the mirror, he studied his new reflection for a long time, glancing occasionally at his own body and the clothing he was wearing. At last he said, "This must be the devil's work."
Jon blinked. "Excuse me, Sir?"
"This is the devil's work," Jacob said. "It has to be. There's no way on earth God would turn a good man into a crossdresser. Is there?"
"Uh," Jon said, taken somewhat aback. "No... no, I guess not."
"Then it has to be the work of the devil," Jacob said. "Testing my faith, or trying to turn me into a sinner, or... who knows? Who can understand the devil's foul motives except the Lord?" He turned to Jon and grasped his hand, squeezing it; he seemed to have worked himself into quite a fervor by this point. "But you, Meagan. You must be an angel. God is working through you, to protect the good Christians who the devil has attacked. That must be why you can see me as me." Jacob turned back to the mirror, then shook his head with a bitter chuckle. "And to think, just last Sunday I gave a sermon about sodomy..."
Jon's head was beginning to spin. What exactly had he gotten himself into by talking to this man?
