Jon found himself entirely distracted at dinner. He didn't think he saw any new changes in his mom, but his focus was split. What was he going to do about the stone? It was one thing to let the current wishes, as world-altering as they were, play their course, but it was entirely another to leave open the possibility that any random person who wandered into his bedroom may absent-mindedly make a new, even more disruptive wish.
Reality itself could be at stake.
Even as it was, Jon could barely stand to look at his father, Roger. As far as Jon could tell, there weren't any changes yet, but the anxiety that a change might occur during dinner was paralyzing. He could hardly eat.
Was anything different about Zoe or Mikey? Jon didn't even want to think about that.
So Jon's plate was still half-full when he heard his father say "Zoe, are you done? Let me come up to your room with you, I want to try something with your look."
Jon looked up. Everyone else had finished eating. Zoe and Roger got up to clear their plates and headed up the stairs. Mikey followed shortly after, choosing instead to head for the back yard.
"Are you feeling alright, kiddo?" Linda's voice was full of familiar concern. "If you want I can sit with you while you finish eating, or do you want me to wrap that up?"
Jon only half-heard what his mother had said. He was trying to figure out what his father and sister were doing upstairs.
"I think I'm going to go lie down," Jon said with a distant voice as he stood up and made his way upstairs.
Normally Linda would make him come back to clean his dishes, but she could tell he wasn't feeling well. Maybe she'd pushed him too hard at the park.
For his part, Jon approached Zoe's bedroom door, behind which he could hear voices, and gave a knock. "Can I join?"
"No!" Came Zoe's callous voice almost immediately.
"Not quite yet," followed Roger, "but we'll show you when it's finished?" The last few words sounded more aimed at Zoe than Jon.
"Fine, sure," Zoe relented.
Now Jon really did need to lie down. What was happening in there? He retreated to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed, nausea and a headache slowly developing.
Jon wasn't sure how much time had passed before he heard a soft knocking on his own door.
"Hey Jon, you wanted to see what me and Zoe were working on?" Roger asked through the plywood.
Jon groaned a little as he pushed himself off of the bed and opened the door.
And he blinked.
"Zoe?"
Jon was used to seeing his sister with a full face of Gothic makeup, and that certainly described what she looked like now, but where her usual look was chaotic, almost angry-looking, she now appeared a lot more refined. Tight lip liner. Sharp eyeliner. A layer of pale foundation, but with highlights and contours that made the 14 year-old look downright elegant.
"Dad taught me some makeup tricks," Zoe said. "I can't wait to show Athena."
Jon was speechless. He looked from Zoe to his father and back. His mom was teaching him about football, and his dad was teaching Zoe about makeup? It was too much. "It... it looks good," was all he could stammer out.
"Aw," Roger gushed, "you've left him speechless! You're so adorable."
That kind of language was new for Jon's dad, but it did sound like something Karyn's mom might say.
Linda, meanwhile, was just finishing up downstairs when she heard the commotion and came up to see what was going on. As she got to the top of the stairs, Zoe turned to face her with a broad smile.
"Look at what Dad did for me!"
Linda was even more surprised than Jon. Having heard her own wish, she remembered the original Roger, and since when did Roger know even the first thing about makeup? He'd done a better job than Linda, herself would have done! It didn't make sense.
But, a sly thought entered Linda's head, the fact that her husband had this new skill was suddenly turning her on. If Roger could make Zoe look that pretty, maybe he could make himself pretty as well?
"Oh, you look incredible, honey!" is what came out of Linda's mouth instead. "But you're going to have to wash that off before bed, you know."
"It's fine," Zoe's smile grew wider, "I think I can do this myself in the morning."
And so Jon, Zoe, and Roger each retreated back into their own bedrooms, and Linda returned downstairs to call Mikey in from outside, and the Gibson household slowly made preparations for sleep.
Well, Linda had a small detour in mind that involved wrapping her big, strong arms around Roger's body. But in general, they prepared for sleep.
