Jon and Karyn talked a while longer about his new condition. Neither had any new information or insights, but just talking about the situation helped Jon relax and accept it. He certainly didn't want the sex organs of a girl, but at least he accepted them for the moment. He would do the best he could.
Jon hardly noticed when his dad arrived home. He barely noticed the sound of his dad climbing the stairs. The shock of his life, however, came when Jon's dad stuck his head into the room and said, "Hi, kids! Do either of you have a spare tampon? I started early this month and your mom used the last one of her's yesterday."
Jon was speechless. Karyn, however, boldly looked inside Jon's top dresser draw and found a box half full of the requested items. Jon watched in utter confusion as she handed three of the wrapped tubes to his dad.
"Thanks, I'll get you a new box," Jon's dad promised, and then he headed toward the bathroom.
"Karyn, how did my dad get mixed up in this?" Jon wondered aloud softly. Unbelievably, Jon's dad hadn't bothered to close the bathroom door.
"I'm not even going to guess," Karyn replied. "Maybe you should hold the stone and wish you knew."
"That seems safe enough," Jon replied and then, touching the stone, he made the wish. "Oh, brother!" he mumbled a second later.
"What?" Karyn inquired.
"My mom and my dad are both inflicted with Y.5 chromosomes. You know, women are supposed to have two X chromosomes, and men are supposed to have an X and a Y. But my parents each have an X chromosome and something that's halfway between and X and a Y."
"Ew!" Karyn exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, the results of that are unstable and unpredictable. It often leads to babies of mixed sex, and to spontaneous sex changes later in life. My dad had male sex organs until he and mom had Mikey."
By chance, Mikey ran past at that moment, shouting, "Mom, Zoe's taking my bras again!"
"Well, at least it's not contagious," noted Karyn.
