Carl was sitting on the couch, a shot glass in one hand and a whiskey bottle in the other. He wasn't looking at anything in particular when Karyn and Jon appeared in the living room.
"Dad? Dad, are you all right?" Karyn gingerly walked toward him. She noticed his wedding ring on the coffee table in front of him. Her mother's was sitting right next to it.
"Karyn?" He looked up and his eyes focused on his daughter. "You look beautiful."
Karyn grimaced and sat down, for the first time feeling awkward in her costume, "Dad, what happened?"
"She "“ your mother "“ she left." His lip quivered, "I don't know why she wouldn't. She did before. There was no warning. Just "“ this." He picked up the ring he placed on Sheryl's finger almost twenty years ago. Karyn bit her lip and began to feel the tear move to the surface, and she embraced her father. She knew the truth "“ the why and how mom came back, and left again. She was the one who made this mess. She had to be strong for her dad now. His body shuddered in hers.
"C'mon," Karyn said, glancing at the clock. "It's too late for you to be up and drinking." She helped her dad to his feet and walked him to his bedroom, then gently laid him into his bed.
"I'm sorry, Karyn. It's not right for you to be taking care of me."
"You can take care of me tomorrow. You can make some waffles, we could go somewhere. Just spend a day together healing."
"Oh my god, what about Anna?" He said. Karyn used all her willpower to stop herself from cursing that woman.
"We could call her in a few days. But tomorrow, it should just be us, OK." Her dad nodded, and Karyn kissed him on the cheek. She smiled as her dad used his innate ability to fall asleep almost instantly, and then walked back to the living room where Jon was.
"Jon, I need to know what exactly you wished for. The exact wording. Because what you told me doesn't match what I just saw."
"I wished that your mother and father would get back together again."
"That's it? Exactly?"
"Damnit, Anna, you stupid bitch." Karyn said, working her knuckles.
"What?"
"Jon, did you know that, technically, my mom and dad are still married? See, Mom left two years ago, but neither filed for divorce, and Dad still had his ring. You didn't change my dad's mind about anything. He would have dumped Anna the minute Mom returned, wish or not."
Jon thought for a moment, "So, my wish "“"
"Just made Mom come back. But Anna, being Anna, thought there was no way she could be dumped. She thought you must have used magic to change my dad's mind."
"But, Karyn, you didn't actually hear the wish. So "“ maybe your memory was changed so you would think that?"
Karyn paused, having not considered that option, "Maybe, but not necessarily." She grabbed her keys and walked to the front door.
"Karyn, where are you going?"
"I need to find Anna and find out what the truth really is." She opened the door, and was surprised to see Anna there, preparing to knock.
"So, how did your powwow with your dad go?" She smiled.
"He's devastated, but that's what happens when your wife leaves you again."
Shock worked itself over in Anna's eyes. "Oh my God, I need to go talk to him." She tried to walk into the house, but Karyn blocked her path.
"Get out of my way. I'm his family. I need to see him."
Karyn pulled her fist tight and let out her anger she had felt for Anna and punched the woman in the nose. "I'm his family," she said.
Anna glowered and her eyes became angry. The same kind of angry Karyn saw before she went after Jon."
"I wish "“" she began . . .
