Family Picture Wall, "Jon's an only child" version.
When Karyn emerged from the bathroom, she found Jon still right outside in the hall. He was perusing the wall covered with portraits and other photographs. She stood by his side and faced the array. "So, what can we tell about this world from the pics?"
Jon waved his hand to encompass the pictures before them. "This wall, it's supposed to be the one reserved for our family pictures. Almost all of them are totally different than those at Home, but the people in them are familiar... most of them, anyway. I think I've got at least one new aunt, one new uncle, and three new cousins, and that's just by blood. I'm up to at least four new people related by marriage, I think. That's harder to tell for sure. Of course, Mom never bothered labelling any of these. That would be too easy. And there are other weird things going on." Jon pointed to a wedding picture. "This one here, is the most telling. I remember one like this from our Home reality, but it's changed. It's supposed to be a 'blood relatives' portrait of my mom and dad's wedding."
Karyn looked over the photo Jon indicated. It was a formally-posed standing group shot with the bride and groom in the center. All the people in it were young adults. No one appeared older than 25 or so. The relatives from both sides surrounded the happy couple. Jon's mother's siblings were behind her and to the left, and his father's behind him and to the right. The men on both sides had matching tuxes, and the women were obviously bridesmaids with matching gowns. She recognized many of them; Jon's extended family visited often.
Karyn pointed out a discrepancy. "It's only two new sibs for your parents? I thought I'd met all of your aunts and uncles, but I count six new faces, not two."
"Six? Oh, right, that part isn't as easy for you to spot. Jon pointed to a woman on his father's side of the wedding picture. "She's new." He pointed to a man on his mother's side. "I don't know him either. And the four 'new faces' in the back, right behind Mom and Dad... well, look at the man behind Mom. Are you sure you haven't seen him before?"
She peered closer, and then her eyes got very wide. "That's your Grandpa! The one who left you the stone! But he's so young! That can't be! He would have been even older than your parents are today, right?"
Jon did the math in his head. "Not that much older, but yeah. That's all four of my grandparents back there. And none of them look any older than they do in their own wedding photos." He pointed up to two older pictures set up above all the rest, near the ceiling.
Karyn got it now; her eyes were shining. "It has to be the technology. Better medical care. Maybe people don't age as fast, or it's rejuvenation. That's... like, wow. Awesome! And Jon, maybe your Grandpa is still alive in this reality! Oh, oh, and maybe the ones I've lost are still here too!"
Jon nodded. "I know for sure two of them lived longer in this reality." He pointed to his father's parents. "In our 'Home' reality, Dad's parents died in a car accident about a year before the wedding."
Karyn beamed at Jon. "Well, here and now, you could meet them!"
Jon frowned. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. This isn't really 'Home'. I wouldn't want to get attached."
That sobered her up. "Oh. Yah, you'll have to be careful, but I don't think you should miss the opportunity."
"Something to think about. I don't know how much longer we'll be staying."
Karyn's eyes wandered back to the wedding picture. She thought of an alternate explanation for the new faces. "Those two new people, maybe they're spouses?"
"Nope. This picture is a 'blood relation only' shot. Look at the family resemblances. They fit in. They're an aunt and uncle I don't remember. And... they're taking the places of an uncle, and an aunt whom I do remember were there at my parents' wedding back 'Home'. Uncle James should be over there by my father, and Aunt Sue by my mother. You've met them."
Karyn studied the new faces, and tried to recall what Sue and James had looked like. Since they weren't her relatives, after all, that wasn't so easy without them being there in the picture to remind her. Then she had a flash of inspiration. "Jon! Could this be the 'butterfly effect'? Just a minor little change, and ping! You get a baby girl instead of a baby boy at conception."
"Oh, that's an interesting idea... but wrong, at least in this case. James and Sue do exist; they just weren't at the wedding." Jon pointed out a shot taken at the Statue of Liberty. "There's Aunt Sue, along with Mom, Dad and me. Yes, that's me in the stroller." He pointed at another shot. "There's me and Dad with Uncle James, and Uncle Dean along with their sons. I think we're camping; I don't remember the trip. I look about 10 or so."
Karyn looked at these other pictures, and of course once she saw the pics she placed the faces and she remembered meeting them. She also remembered meeting James's and Dean's kids, who were of course Jon's cousins.
Jon continued on. "So anyway, they're here too in this reality, but they didn't make it to the wedding. I have no clue why."
Karyn took in the other photographs, and started spying out the two new relatives here and there in other shots. Her only reliable guide to the dates of the photos was the age Jon appeared, since the adults in this high tech reality didn't age. "Now that I'm looking, I'm seeing those two all over the place...Oh, here's another aunt for you, Jon."
"Another one? Where? Show me."
Karyn pointed to a shot with a young Jon, his mother, the new aunt, and another stranger. "No question, that's yet another sister for your father." This new one had her hand on Jon's shoulder in the pic.
Jon squinted. "Wow, good eyes. Yes, I can see that now. I just assumed that was a friend or maybe a new spouse. Well, there's another one that didn't make it to the wedding."
