Alas, Jon had no such luck. Karyn was the sort of person who left her cell phone off for most of the time she wasn't actually using it, especially at school. Jon lefta message, but she didn't have much hope of getting to Karyn before the end of the school day. Which meant that she'd just have to find the stone herself.
Or at least, that was the plan before her mom returned, carrying a few items of clothing. "I found some things we can use, dear," she said. "What are you doing?"
Jon shrugged. "Um, just looking for some things of mine."
"Well, I'm sure you'll find them eventually," her mother replied. "I swear, it's a wonder you know where anything is in this room. What are you looking for, exactly?"
Jon briefly described the stone and its case, leaving out the parts about it being magic. But Mrs. Madison just shook her head. "Well, dear," she said, "I'll keep an eye out for it, but I haven't seen that box since the will reading. It's probably in here somewhere; you should take another look when we get back."
Jon gulped. "G-get back?"
Her mom nodded. "Now that I've found some clothes you can wear temporarily, I figure we had better get that need taken care of. I'll help you get dressed, and then we're going to the mall."
Jon didn't really want to cooperate, but she wasn't in a position to argue, so she simply sat quiet as her mother pulled a brassiere out of the little pile of clothes she'd brought in. "This is from my last pregnancy," her mom said. "Obviously, you don't need it for that, but it was the only thing I could find that would fit you." She put it on Jon, who just sat there cooperating and trying not to think about all the new sensations flooding her brain.
As much as she hated to think about it, though, Jon had to admit that it was nice to have some support; things hadnt been problematic in the water, but once se'd spent a while on land, the weight had been a little more noticeable. This was a little tight, but it did take the strain off. Her mom pulled out a plain white shirt and she put it on, half-consciously shifting her lower half to a blue denim pattern. Mrs. Madison noticed and smiled.
"Ah," she said, "I brought a skirt for you, but it looks like you've got one built-in. Come on, we should get going." Jon's mother hefted and carried the squid-girl out to the car, then started up the engine and pulled out of the driveway. Jon watched her house gradually recede into the distance, hoping that the stone would stay out of the wrong hands until she could find it.
