It didn't occur to Jon that parenting magazines all said different things about the best way to be a parent and there wasn't only one best way. Not really experienced in parenting, he decided to go by the magazine he had looked at. There was something about the mother having a companion and the child having brothers and sisters.
"I know!" said Jon. "I wish I had a large family, with lots of brothers and sisters, who all love Karyn!"
The stone got warm and Jon had to look away for a second, which distracted him from the change going on. When he looked around himself the room seemed unchanged, but something seemed different. He couldn't quite place it. Then he realized--there was a lot more noise coming from all around the house than before.
Keeping a good hold of Karyn, he walked out of the nursery to see that the hall was much longer than it was before. He heard sounds coming from some of the rooms. He'd have to look into them. "I wish I knew who everyone who lives here is."
Jon opened the door and glanced into one. There was a girl there, a year older than himself, wearing a pink nightgown. Jon's snotty older sister, Jessica, the cheerleader. She turned at the sound of Jon opening the door and said to him "Jon, why don't you just keep out of people's rooms? Karyn's too good for someone like you."
"Sorry" muttered Jon, and closed the door again.
He opened the next door. There was his other big sister, Becky, watching TV. Jon realized that almost the only way he could have two older sisters both in high school was for them to be twins--fraternal twins, who don't look the same. "Can I help you?" said Becky.
Jon just looked at her.
"Fine," she said, "I admit it, I was spying on you the other day. Karyn was crying and I wanted to be sure you were treating her right."
Jon slammed the door and went on to the next room. In it was Zoe, a goth, or at least a wannabe, who was a year younger than him. She liked to wear black and she dabbled in the occult. She even claimed to be Wiccan, though Jon wasn't sure she knew exactly what it meant.
The next room was bigger. The uninvited guests in it were the two twin sisters, Wendy and Mindy. They were 14 years old. "Hi Jon" said Wendy. "If you're looking for Karyn's pacifier, I put it back in the nursery. And never mind what Becky and Jessica say, I think you and your daughter are doing great!"
Then it was his little brother's turn. In the next room lived Mikey, who wasn't yet in high school. The room was silent and he thought Mikey might already be asleep for the night.
And finally, Jon peeked into the last room. A girl with long brown hair, wearing khaki shorts, a pink blouse, and sandals. Her name was Michelle, and she wasn't a brother or sister, she was Jon's cousin. Her name had once been Mike, until Jon had wished her into being a girl. As a boy, Michelle had been rude and inconsiderate, but she was much nicer after the transformation. And it occurred to Jon that at least there would be no name confusion between her and Mikey any more.
Jon followed the hall to his own room. Well, that certainly wasn't what he was expecting when he had wished for a large family. Six brothers and sisters and a cousin. It must have been hard for his parents. Well, they did love Karyn, anyway, and they didn't seem to think there was anything strange about him having a daughter or breastfeeding her. At least there were plenty of people around to babysit Karyn if that was ever nececessary....
