It was a week or so later that Joan, she was trying hard to think of herself as Joan now and it wasn't too difficult what with everyone calling her that, decided she couldn't cut all ties with her past. Her old self might very well be lost forever, and truthfully she hadn't tried very hard to regain it, so she might as well try salvaging some connection to who and what she used to be. Wishing to be Jon again, however circuitously, might have disastrous effects and DeMorrell - - no, Luke is his name now, she chided herself - - was so much more manageable in the current arrangement. All in all it was safer to stay like this and her babies needed their mommy.
So, how to best rekindle those old connections? Making contact with her family seemed like a good place to start, but a few simple wishes filled her in on her new history in regard to them. Jonni, as she had been known before fleeing into protective custody, was the eldest of four children. She had developed at an early age and was considered attractive if a little plain-face, but had remained firmly focused on school and academics rather than getting carried away in a whirlwind of fashion trends and boyfriends.
That had all changed when she got a position with a local charitable trust as part of her high schools extracurricular program. It was a historical society dedicated to thoroughly researching Lake Pointe's surprisingly lively history. Jonni had done well and come to the attention of her superiors, specifically the mysterious foreign investor bankrolling the trust.
Lucius DeMorrell.
Jonni swiftly fell under his spell in an illicit whirlwind romance carried out under the twitching noses of her parents. Just before her eighteenth birthday she had fled the country with a forged passport. Her parents were horrified and deaf to any explanation she offered via phone or email, least of all that she loved the lecherous businessman that had "corrupted" their daughter. DeMorrell provided everything for her, even if much of it was not quite what she had dreamt of as a bright, if busty, young student. He used his contacts to open doors for her in the modeling and fashion worlds. Soon she was prancing down runways and posing for magazine covers, even picking up small parts in movies, TV shows, and commercials. Of course, it was all based upon her looks, which was frustrating, but various agents and investors soon realized she had a "passable" memory and grasp of public speaking, so she wound up a beautiful young spokesperson for businesses and charities.
None of which brought her closer to her estranged parents. They were disgusted by her shamelessly prostituting herself. The paparazzi photos of her shamelessly frolicking nude on a private beach with her towering husband did not help things either. Nor the photo spread in Playboy that Lucius had insistently urged her to produce. Needless to say, pretty much ALL of this was the product of wishes DeMorrell had made to flesh out the new reality the stone had created to justify a female Jonni, fucking, marrying, and making babies for her grandfather's worst enemy.
Shortly thereafter, Jonni in control of the stone now, DeMorrell's illicit empire collapsed by internal treason and under its own weight, just as her parents had always suspected it would. She and her amnesiac husband were forced into hiding and so they had returned with new documents and identities, Jonni as Joan and Lucius as Luke, to Lake Pointe, living in seclusion at the old Grandhorne mansion overlooking the town. All that most of the townspeople knew was that a reclusive rich couple had taken up residence and kept to themselves. Jonni did not bother dropping by her old home. She already knew what kind of a reception she would get.
That left Karyn, her best friend, almost her only friend. In this new reality, Karyn had advised against her infatuation with the visiting businessman from the south of France, but she had never disowned her because of their relationship. Indeed, many times she had even helped cover for her. Their had been mutual tears and hugs they day Jonni had skipped town.
Now Joan was back, babies and a slightly mentally impaired husband in tow, and she wanted, no, needed to see her friend. Calling the stone forth from a pocket dimension where she kept it safe, Joan made a wish. She wanted the encounter to seem spontaneous and naturally evolve out of her new life, but had a few preconditions.
"I wish that sometime in the next week, Karyn and I will bump into each other while we both are out shopping. I wish that she will recognize me, but not call attention to my true identity and discreetly approach me. I wish that she will remember our true past together if she doesn't already."
Satisfied, Joan banished the stone back to its hiding place. There was no telling where they might bump into each other, a restaurant, an antique store, the pharmacy, but she wanted her surprise to seem genuine and that would help. Joan considered her lush female figure, remembered Karyn's own enhanced assets, and smirked. Hell, they might even meet at the lingerie shop.
