A Ye Olde Body Shoppe story-2

"... and of course there's the discount, as we didn't have to, well, broker this exchange."
The man shrugged and looked down at the clipboard containing the forms. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, before either of them changed their minds. Changed their minds... He smiled to himself. He realised the receptionist was staring at him, waiting for him to say something. "Oh, yes. That's good. Very good." He picked up the pen from the counter.
The receptionist coughed politely. "And for payment?"
"Oh, right." The man reached in his jacket pocket. "A banker's draft is all right, isn't it?"
"That's fine." The receptionist examined the slip of coloured paper briefly before clipping it to her notes.
The man thought briefly about the amount of money involved. Taken out of context, it seemed impossible to justify. Still, some things are worth more than money, he thought, and it's not as if I'll be needing it much more...
He signed the form in the three spaces indicated with little hand-drawn crosses. When he was done, he passed the clipboard over to the woman. "Your turn," he said. She looked at the papers with intense concentration and no small amount of suspicion. "It's OK," he said to her, "They're not going to hurt you."
"It wasn't me I was worried about," she said, and signed.

A Ye Olde Body Shoppe story

"There's still plenty of time to change your mind. You don't have to go through with this."
The man held the door open for the woman and shooed her in. "It's all right," he said. "My motivation isn't entirely altruistic." He smiled, feeling like a gentleman.
"It just seems like such a waste." The woman's face was tight and drawn. There were deep lines around her eyes and mouth that made her look much older than she really was. She wore a look of desperation, and a casual observer would have found it difficult to imagine her with any other. The man could see deeper, however, to the beauty only he knew.
"Where have I heard that before?"
"But you have a choice." The woman raised her hand to her hair, running her fingers through in a nervous gesture. She stopped abruptly as her wig began to come loose.
The man reached up to take the woman's hand in his own. He looked down at it, caressing it like a small, frightened animal. "And so do you, now."
"But, I... I don't..." The woman's words dissolved into tears. They took hold of each other and held tight. The moment passed.
"It's all right," the man said, whispering into her ear. "Everything's going to be all right."
They looked at each other again and then, as if embarrassed, around at their surroundings. The reception area of the office was bland and unobtrusive. It made them both relax, without realising why.
"We have some paperwork to fill in," the man said.