Though the room didn't look any different, Mike looked over at Melody from within his studio. Her lips were moving, but he couldn't hear a single word she was saying. Stepping out for a moment, he revealed this to her, asking, "Is it possible to let sound into the room, but not out?"
"So picky," she replied, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.
Tingle. Flash.
As he stepped back into the room, Melody asked, "Can you hear me?"
Nodding, Mike turned with his back to her and also asked, "Can you hear me?" No response. He thought to her, Could you hear me there?
Nope. Looks like it worked perfectly. Shall I put a little fuck session on the calendar for us?
He laughed in her head. Nah, I can be more spontaneous than that.
Ooh, yay… she replied in anticipation.
Chuckling to himself, Mike returned his focus to his audition preparations, advising Melody to explore her personality and interests some more. He pulled out his music books and placed one on his graduation present from a few years back, a beautiful wooden music stand made of cherry and mahogany. As he began to work on excerpts, he was instantly enjoying the benefits of his new soundproof practice studio. The small sections of larger orchestral works he was working on were quite loud and bombastic, and the newly insulated room allowed him to throw himself into the music without worrying about disturbing the neighbors. After a few hours of practice, during which he could immediately tell the difference thanks to his wish from yesterday about his musical skills, he decided to play one more excerpt before taking a lunch break. Looking at the audition list, he pulled up one of his favorites.
The second movement of The Pines of Rome had a gorgeous, lyrical trumpet solo in it. Requiring immense breath control and musicianship, Mike's performance was the deciding factor when he won the job of Assistant Principal a year and a half ago. Beginning the solo, he closed his eyes and lost himself completely in the music, feeling a new ability of expression. He wasn't sure if this was specifically due to his wish, or simply because of meeting Melody last Friday, but he didn't care. The sweet melody perfectly encapsulated his feelings towards the girl he had named as such, and that's all that mattered to him in that moment.
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Melody sitting on the living room sofa across from him, smiling right at him. Stepping out of his studio, he asked, "Why the big grin? You weren't able to hear me."
"Didn't have to," she replied. "The look on your face said it all. You were thinking of me, weren't you?"
Without a word, he motioned for her to join him in his studio. Seating her in the small folding chair in the corner, he began to play once more, again losing himself in the music. As he finished the solo, Melody was no longer smiling. Her expression was one of amazement, enchantment even. Each day she lived brought new experiences for her with Mike, but at this moment, she felt for the first time as if she was peering into his very soul.
"That was… incredible," was all she could say.
"I know."
His smartass remark instantly snapped her back to reality, as she giggled and slapped his shoulder playfully.
"Are you getting hungry for lunch?" Mike asked.
"Sure am, that chicken smells awesome."
Mike got to work on shredding the chicken, now juicy and tender, while Melody got the rest of the supplies in his direction. She watched as Mike coated two soft tortillas with Monterey Jack cheese, filled each with a layer of chicken, and finished the concoction with another coating of cheese. Placing a tortilla on top of each one, he set the stove eyes to medium heat and began to cook each in a skillet. As the bottoms began to turn golden, he deftly flipped each of them over to finish cooking both sides. Once they were done, he separated them onto two plates and cut each into slices with a pizza cutter.
"Oh, wow! This is yummy!" Melody gushed, taking her first bite.
"Yep, and there's plenty of chicken left over, so this should feed us for lunch for at least a couple of days."
The couple sat on the sofa to relax for a bit, turning on the local news for background noise. Turning to Melody, Mike asked, "So what did you do this morning?"
"Let me show you," she said, reaching for Mike's laptop. Pulling up the web browser, she typed in a web address, pulling up a site entitled "Melodious Photography."
"Your photography website you mentioned?"
"Yep, now fully functional and open for business," she beamed.
Slack jawed, he said, "Wow, I thought that was just a cover story?"
"You'd be surprised how far my free will has allowed me to stretch the rules of blending into modern society and being your ideal woman," she explained. "After all, with you wishing for me to be an equal partner and, I can only assume, a modern woman, it's only right that I find a way to be that equal partner and earn a living. Additionally, not having any way of supporting myself after, supposedly, moving from Houston to start a new life, could potentially raise suspicion and threaten our anonymity.
"To that end, it only made sense to create my own small photography business, using the portfolio website as a starting point. In addition to the website, I was able to instantly gain everything necessary for actually running said business. So far, that includes genuine photography skills, a cell phone to set up jobs, a legally registered car and driver's license to travel to them, and, of course, all necessary photography equipment."
"Wait, you were able to just create a cell phone and a car?!" Mike marveled.
Melody giggled. "Yep, since they are necessary for blending into modern society," she replied, pulling an iPhone 6 out of her back pocket. "I've also connected to several forms of social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. These increase my ability to actually find work, plus they're free with an email address, so magic wasn't actually required to set them up. I've also reached out to Ashley to start making contacts with people who need a photographer at a good price. Wedding season is coming up after all."
Nodding, Mike then inquired, "Now I'm curious. What kind of car does Melody Roberts drive?"
"Something practical and inconspicuous was my goal," she responded. "After checking reviews of current popular models, I decided on a 2014 Honda Accord."
"Good choice. I nearly went with that over my CR-V. So, is it parked outside right now?"
"Yep. I doubt it would raise suspicion, as big as your apartment complex is. And if we, theoretically, were to have met online and just now decided to move in together, it would make sense that I would now start keeping my car here."
Shaking his head in amazement, Mike took her hand. "Melody, I can't tell you how proud of you I am. Not just that you want to earn a living, but also with how far you've come in exercising your free will. I know that you love me, and that you're programmed to love me unconditionally, but this is probably the most touching gesture you've made. You want to make sure I'm not just taking care of you with whatever money I happen to earn; you want to contribute to that. It really is incredibly appreciated."
She smiled, feeling his genuine admiration for her efforts. "Thank you. I had hoped you'd be pleased. Wanna take a ride in my car? We still need to go by the apartment office for those errands you mentioned."